Free A Table for Two by Janet Albert

Tracy's face.
    "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You go out and have a good time."
    "I will." Tracy glanced at the clock. "I've got to get going. Take it easy and be good to yourself, will you? I'll see you tomorrow."
    Dana finished up in the kitchen, locked the door and climbed the stairs to her apartment. Snippets of her conversation with Tracy echoed in her mind and she kept going back to Tracy's suggestion that Ridley Kelsen was interested in her. She felt drawn to Ridley, a fact she had not shared with Tracy, and at the same time she wanted to run in the other direction as fast as she could. She hardly knew her and yet Ridley disturbed her in a way she didn't understand.
    With a heavy heart, she unlocked the door to her apartment, kicked her clogs aside and went into the bathroom to take medicine to stem the headache gathering strength behind her eyes. As she swallowed the pills, she thought about the things Tracy had said about her being alone and needing someone in her life. Some of it made sense, but she didn't want her life to change, not when things were so easy and uncomplicated. She had her restaurant, her best friend was with her and she felt good. For the time being, she wanted things to stay the way they were. Her life made her feel secure and that was something she could count on. "I really don't need anyone. I really don't," she said to her reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror.
    After washing her face, she went into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. With her eyes closed, she thought about Sarah and their past and how much it would wear her down if she let it. She thought about how her dreams had evaporated into thin air in a single afternoon and how her plans had been destroyed by someone she'd loved and trusted, someone who had claimed to love her. The pain of the whole dirty mess had healed long ago, but she'd been left with something far worse. She'd been left with a pervasive sense of disillusionment.

Chapter Five
    TWO WEEKS LATER on Sunday evening, Ridley climbed the steps to Laurie's front door. Last week, Laurie had called and invited her to a surprise birthday party for Karen. Ridley had promised to take her mother and aunt somewhere during the day, but as soon as she got back to the city, she showered and changed and left for the party. When she got to Laurie's house, she was relieved to discover that she was only half an hour late.
    Laurie's cheeks were red and she sounded breathless as she opened the door. "I'm glad you made it." After Ridley stepped inside, Laurie shut the door and gave her the once over. "You should not be allowed to be out in public like that. It's not fair to the rest of us."
    "Since I know you meant that as a compliment, I'll simply say thank you. How's the party going so far? Did you manage to surprise Karen?"
    Laurie nodded. "Can you imagine that? I actually pulled it off for once."
    "That's amazing. How did you fool her and how did you get her out of the house?"
    "I took Karen out to dinner last night to celebrate her birthday, so she thought that was the end of it. Then I asked one of her friends to call this morning and beg her to go shopping to help her pick out a gift for her girlfriend. We weren't doing anything special and I pretended I had tests to grade, so Karen said she'd go. I don't think she suspected a thing. They got back about twenty minutes ago and by that time everyone was here except for you."
    "You'll have to come up with a new trick next time you want to give her a surprise party. She'll never fall for that one a second time. I meant to ask you this when you called me, but I forgot. Why did you decide to have the party tonight when yesterday was her birthday? Wouldn't you rather have had it on Saturday?"
    "Yeah, I would have, but I knew Dana and Tracy could only come if I had it on Sunday and I thought Karen would like it if they were here. Also, Dana offered to make something special for dinner and Tracy said she'd make the cake. All I had