Masterpiece.

Hye! I've finally got around to update this thing. But sicne we moved I didn't know if I had to repost of something, so I will, k?

Part 1

"Oh you could say it was a work of art
Like someone took a brush and painted their hearts
Together they made such a beautiful thing
And oh if there was anything that they could do right
It was painting love in the perfect light
So we could see
That love is a masterpiece"
Carolyn Dawn Johnson


Helen was sitting at her kitchen table, eating some toast before leaving for work. She was absentmindedly stirring her coffee while reading the paper. Nothing but bad news, what else is new? She was reading about a robbery in Fulham when her Persian cat, Munch, decided to hit her spoon, sending coffee all over the front of her white blouse.

" Bloody hell Munch! Why'd you do that? I was all ready for work."

She looked at the cat who seemed to be smirking at her.

" Fat load you care! Why I keep you, I wonder."

The cat's answer was to jump from the table and rub himself against her leg.

" Yeah purr all you want, you evil thing, I ain't petting you after this little stunt."

He looked up at her and meowed once, pitifully. Helen smiled and melted, bending down to take him on her lap. She scratched him behind the ears and he licked her nose.

" Alright, alright, I'll keep you. Now, I'm going to get changed if you want me to bring back money for food."

Helen dropped the cat back on the floor and rose to go back to her room to change. She picked a burgundy blouse out of the walk in closet and shed her white blouse. She put it on and went to the mirror to observe the results. It was decidedly too tight around her breast, there was a little gap at the bottom where there definitely should be a button and Helen realized she had better not stretch her arms above her head or she'd be showing about an inch of skin that shouldn't be shown. She looked at her bedside clock and sighed, there was no time to change and put on something more decent. She consoled herself by putting on the charcoal suit jacket that went with her pants. She took one last critical look and was relieved to see it hid most of what should be. Helen made for the door, grabbing her keys, purse and briefcase by the table in the hallway.

" Bye Munch, I should be back around seven, don't set the house on fire."

The cat looked at the door closing and curled up on his cushion, knowing that his mistress had lied. She would be working until much later, she always was. Helen drove to the gallery and parked the Mercedes in her designated spot near the door. Being the owner had its advantages. She glanced at her watch and noticed she still had a few minutes before she was due to start so she went to the second floor coffee shop she had put in last year. An excellent investment, if she was to say so herself.

" Good morning Miss..."
"... Miss Stewart."

Helen smiled at the two Julies. They were both a little crazy but they brought most of the charm to the place.

" Morning Julies, how is everything?"
" Oh, everything's just fine, ain't it Ju?"
" Oh yeah, just fine Miss. Your usual?"
" Please."

Helen smiled and heard the door downstairs open. She was tempted to go and look over the railing, but she restrained herself, assuming Dominic would come out of his corner office to greet whoever was in so early in the morning.

" Here you go Miss."

Helen looked up and smiled when she noticed the fatty chocolate danish the Julies had added to her order.

" Have you got something to ask ladies?"
" No Miss!"
" Alright, I'll see you later then."

Helen took her coffee and the danish and left. She couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Julie J admonish Julie S.

" I told you the Danish was too much, she rarely eats those!"

Helen considered staying to hear the rest of the conversation, but she figured she'd know soon enough what they wanted. She made her way up the stairs to her third floor office, noting on the way that the cleaning crew had been sloppy on the floors and it needed a touch of paint under the railing. She made it upstairs and greeter her PA.

" Morning Monica, how are you?"
" Good morning Helen, I'm well, you?
" Fine, just fine, how's Spencer?"
" Oh, he is doing great, he has an art class at Hill Grove this morning."
" Fantastic, we'll soon be able to expose his work here."

Monica smiled at her and handed Helen her messages.

" Thank you, anything urgent?"
" Not that I noticed."
" Alright, I'll see you later.

Monica nodded and sat at her desk while Helen walked to her office. She opened the door and sighed, here for another day. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:48 am
PART 2

Nikki was slowly munching an apple, observing her latest painting. She had started it late last night or early this morning, depending on how you looked at it, when she had been struck awake with a desire to paint. She followed the curve of the two intertwined bodies with her eyes and frowned. In itself, the painting was great, in fact, it was brilliant, but there was something missing. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something wasn't quite right. She was brought out of her musing by the creaking of the stairs. She sighed and waited for Trisha to lift open the attic trap door. The anticipated 'thud' that announced Trisha's arrival came too soon for Nikki’s liking, she didn’t appreciate people coming in her studio.

" Nikki, you in here?"
" Yeah."

She heard Trisha come through the trap, but made no attempt to rise from the floor nor did she turn to acknowledge her presence. Nikki didn't have to wait long before her girlfriend came to stand in front of her, hands on hip, a clear sign of her annoyance.

" Did you spend the night here?"
" Hummm, most of it, I think."

Nikki registered the exasperated sigh, but, per usual, decided she was better off ignoring it.

" What are you doing up this early anyway?", Nikki inquired, having glanced at the clock.
" Oh... Euh.... I have an... appointment, yeah, so hummm... I was just coming up to tell you I was leaving and I won't be back 'till later."

" Right, I should get going soon too. I'll see you tonight at the club then?
" Yeah, see you later."

And Trisha left, not once having glanced at what was Nikki's life. Nikki sighed and waited until she heard Trisha's car leave before making her way downstairs. She went to her bedroom and clicked her tongue in annoyance when she noticed Trisha had left the bed unmade and her nightclothes in a heap next to the clothes basket. Though she usually would have picked it up, Nikki decided that it wasn't worth it and went to the shower to wash away both the smell and the paint she knew to be clinging to her.

As she was washing her hair, she thought about her errand of the morning. She was going to try and find a gallery that would be willing to expose her work. She was quite fond of the place the two Julies worked at, mainly because of the building itself and how the owner exposed the canvasses, but also because the paintings exposed and up for sale were different and spoke of an open mind choosing them. She knew it was early morning to go out feel her chances, but the Julies had mentioned the owner was more opened to suggestions at that time of the day. That was about the only thing they had mentioned about the elusive owner of Larkhall Gallery.

Nikki shut off the water and wrapped herself in a towel, getting her unofficial pitch ready in her head. She was in the middle of an extremely important point when she started to struggle with the closet sliding door. She sighted and yanked has hard as she could, rightly assuming that a pair of shoes Trisha had haphazardly thrown in were blocking it. Once she had won the battle, she shook her head in despair at the state Trisha's half was in. Nikki chose her outfit and tried to close the door, but one of Trisha's shirt was blocking the mechanism. Nikki growled and pulled on the shirt hard enough to rip it. She let it fall at her feet and thought, not for the first time, that either Trisha would have to clean the closet or she would burn every piece of expensive clothing that wasn't on a hanger. It never occurred to her that though she used to find this particular trait of Trisha's personality endearing before, now she'd gladly put everything she found ur of place in a wood shredder.

She got dressed and observed the results in the mirror. The black trousers were snug enough to be flattering, the multicolored knit turtle neck hugged her forms in all the right places and the leather jacket combined with her studied wild hair gave her a sophisticated reckless look she knew was appealing. She smiled in satisfaction at her reflection and left the house. She avoided stepping in shit when she crossed the lawn to her silver Audi. Nikki shook her head while she got into the car, while softly muttering to herself:

" What was I thinking when I got him that bloody flea rack, I wonder."

She drove to the gallery while singing along to a few good track her favorite rock station was playing between the numerous traffic reports. She pulled in the parking lot next to a black Mercedes and walked inside. A young man immediately came in to greet her.

" Can I help you?"

Nikki smiled amicably, but shook her head in the negative.

" No, thank you, I came to see the two Julies."

Dominic smiled at her.

" Ah, well, I'll leave you to it then."

Nikki climbed the grand staircase to the second floor, she turned around the railing just in time to see a gorgeous figure cross a 'staff only' door. She walked to the counter.

" Morning Julies."
" Morning Nikki, you just missed Miss..."
" ...Miss Stewart, yeah."

Nikki pouted and leaned against the counter.

" Shit. That's what I get for taking my sweet time to get pretty. Should I try to go and see her in her office?"

Both Julies vigorously shook their heads.

" No, you'd have to try and get pass Monica."
" And that's impossible"
" Yeah, impossible, but she'll should be back down in...
" One hour and a half for her second cup of..."
"... coffee."

Nikki sighed and nodded.

" Alright then, I guess I'll have to wait. Can you get me a cappuccino?"
" Coming right up."
" And while your at it, can either one of you tell David that if Rico insists on shitting on my lawn, he has to pick it up?"

Both Julies looked at her, horrified that their David would forget something as basic as that, especially on their beloved Nikki’s lawn.

" Course, Nikki. It won't..."
" ... happen again, we promise. Here's your cappuccino."
" On us."

Nikki smiled her thanks and went to sit at a near by table. She looked around and smiled, she really loved this place. The two story arch window, the high ceilings and it's light hardwood floors gave the gallery a sense of space. She found appeal in the large staircases and the fact that if you leaned on the railing, you could see the paintings downstairs. This place was really great.

It wasn’t long before she was joined by the two Julies. They had decided that the lack of costumer and Nikki's presence was an omen that meant an extensive break. They sat, gossiping about their neighbors, or more accurately, the Julies talked and Nikki listened. At some point in their conversation the staff door opened and a vision came through, leaving Nikki gaping like an idiot. Nikki couldn't pin-point what made her take notice, though her figure was perfect, the shade of blond in her hair was just honeyed enough to be distinctive and her lips begged to be kissed, it was her mere presence that made Nikki's stomach feel jumpy and her heart beat a little faster than it should. Their eyes met for the briefest of instant and Nikki's heart went ka-wham. She had never felt her hands go clammy or her legs feel weak just at seeing someone walk in a room.

Helen passed them by and went to the counter, where Julie J had slipped behind, unnoticed by Nikki, who was trying to get a glimpse of Helen's backside, unfortunately hidden from view by the jacket she was wearing. Helen hadn't notice the attention she was the object of and went to sit by the window with the coffee Julie had supplied. Julie came back the table and looked at Julie S in confusion when she saw the baffled look on Nikki's face.

" Nikki?"
" Who IS that?"
" Oh, that's Miss Stewart. She looks lovely doesn't she?"

Nikki could only nod and swallow hard. She had to convince that woman to expose her paintings. How was she supposed to do that with a crazy flutter in her stomach? She took a deep breath and rose from her seat missing the knowing look that passed between the two Julies. She walked to Helen's side trying to calm her breathing. Helen was staring at the street below and seemed lost in thought. Not wanting to startle her, Nikki cleared her throat. Helen's face turned toward her and their eyes met. At close range Nikki could see their color, it was the warmest shade of green she had ever seen. She was speechless for a second or two and then realized she wasn’t helping her cause by standing there.

" Miss Stewart, I'm Nikki Wade, Do you mind if I sit down?"

Before Helen could say anything, Nikki took the seat opposite to her.

" Have we met?"
" No, I do not believe I've ever had the pleasure of talking to you."

Nikki bit the inside of her cheek to keep a grin from emerging at the smallest hint of color that bloomed on Helen's cheek. She knew she was flirting, but it never hurt anyone, especially to someone this gorgeous.

" But you know my name."
" Well, yes, the Julies have graciously supplied it."

Helen nodded in understanding.

" Have you known them long?"
" Years, we're neighbors."
" Ahhhhhh... Any reasons you asked for it?"

Nikki nodded and brought back the pitch she had rehearsed in the shower.

" I am an artist Miss. Stewart and..."
" That explain the danish."

Nikki frowned and lost her train of thought at the unexpected and incoherent interruption. She wasn't helped much by the knowing smile Helen now wore on her decidedly lovely face.

" The what?"
" Nothing. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you Miss Wade...
" Nikki."

Helen continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.

" The next six months worth of exhibit are full, including four vernissage of new artists and one of a recurring painter. I'm afraid you'll have to seek your fortune elsewhere."
" You're dismissing me just like that, without even seeing my canvasses?"
" Just like that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my office."

And she rose, taking the cup with her and walked determinedly back to the door, leaving Nikki god smacked at the table. The two Julies made their way over as soon as Helen walked away.

" What'd she say Nikki?"
" She said no. Can someone explain to me why she talked about a danish?"

The Julies looked at each other and then to Nikki.

" Well..."
" You see..."
" The things is..."
" We thought we'd try to help you."
" You know, put her in a good mood..."
" ...for you and she LOVES chocolate danishes."

Nikki smiled and shook her head indulgently.

" Well, she blew me off anyway, but thanks for trying."
" So, whatcha gonna do? Search for a new gallery?"

Nikki thought for a minute. After meeting Helen, that prospect looked very uninviting.

" She comes down from her office every day at this time?
" Yeah, but she usually stays for 15 minutes."

Nikki nodded and rose from her chair.

" Alright, then see you tomorrow or later tonight, whichever comes first."
" Bye Nikki."
" Bye Nikki."

She walked down the stairs and smiled at Dominic on her way out, she would be back, tomorrow and the day after and after and... until Helen agreed to see her paintings. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:49 am
PART 3

Helen walked in her house at a quarter past 10. She had meant to get back earlier, but Monica had given her the list of guest for the opening night of Zandra's exposition and they had forgotten some pretty important people on it, so she had taken it upon herself to check the four others, regardless of the fact that those exhibits wouldn't be ready for a little while yet. Helen let drop her keys and purse in their usual spots and kicked off her shoes, leaving them in a corner by the door. She stretched her neck and almost fell face first when Munch came barrelling from the kitchen and started to rub himself like crazy on her leg.

" Nice to know I've been missed."

Helen bent down and picked up him up and rubbed her face in his neck, enjoying the cat's simple affection. She walked to the kitchen, dropped Munch on a chair and took out some cereal from the cupboard. She hadn't eaten dinner, but she didn't feel the energy to cook or even order something. She sat down to eat and talked to Munch about her day.

" I think I'm turning into a bitter lady Munch. I blew off an artist today without even seeing her paintings. I don't know why I was so rude to Nikki either. That's her name by the way. Nikki..."

Helen smiled and frowned when she noticed what she was doing. She knew why she had turned her down, her stomach had turned very warm and seemingly liquid when their eyes had met. That hadn't happened to her in... years. Probably never at this intensity either. And it had freaked her out to no end. The memory was enough for Helen's stomach to turn into knots and she pushed back her half eaten bowl of Rice Crispies, suddenly no longer hungry. She sighed and went upstairs to take a shower.

When she stepped out of the shower, Helen looked at herself in the mirror. The knot in her stomach only wound up tighter when her eyes glazed over the scar on her arm. She had done well to turn down Nikki. Helen put on a t-shirt and slipped under the covers, exhausted by her day at work. She felt Munch curl up next to her head and fell asleep in minutes.

********************

Nikki walked into the house at 11h30 that night. She was exhausted. She had ordered Trisha to close Chix and had come home, dreaming of crashing in her bed. She kicked off her shoes with a sigh of relief and headed for the stairs. Instead of heading for the shower as she had previously envisioned, she made a detour by the attic and went back to see the painting she had completed this morning.

She looked at it and went to place it on front of her old battered couch. She sat down and stared at the painting as if it held all the secrets of the universe. It offered her none. Except maybe that the green of the edge of the canvas was the wrong colour it was too yellowish, so unlike Helen's eyes... The thought came from absolutely nowhere and startled Nikki in it's suddenness. But then the face of the beautiful Scot came back to her mind and Nikki smiled. Yup, definitely the wrong colour, though she would only be sure of the fact when Helen would be standing next to her painting and Nikki knew that even if it took her years, it would happen. She fell asleep with that thought, alone on her battered couch, where she couldn't hear Trisha come in 4 hours later that she should have. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:50 am
PART 3.1

The next morning, at the time of her break, Helen went to sit at the table by the window . She took out her book as soon as she did, but was interrupted in the middle of her first sentence by someone sitting down in front of her. Fully intending to tell the person to sit elsewhere, she was struck mute when looked up into Nikki's warm brown eyes.

" Good morning, Helen."

Her name on Nikki's lips made her stomach melt into a warm goo, but she tried to hide it as she brought a lock of hair behind her ear.

" Miss Wade."

Nikki pulled a face as she leaned back on her seat, getting comfortable.

" Please, call me Nikki. Miss seems so formal, doesn't it?"

Helen nodded, un-happy that the distance she had been trying to set between herself and Nikki had been shattered so easily, by someone who was lounging so self-unconsciously on a hard chair. Nobody had the right to be so self assured.

" Miss Wade, I thought I had told you yesterday that our exhi..."
" I know, I know. I'm not here to talk about that."

That took Helen aback and made her slightly uncomfortable as she had no grounds to base this conversation on.

" Than why are you here?"

Nikki smiled and Helen had to look away because, for some odd reason, it made the goo in her stomach ripple in waves.

" Well, you see, this is a coffee shop and they make good coffee."

Helen nodded and called herself all sort of fools for assuming Nikki was there just because of her. But she couldn't help but marvel at the feeling of being let down, yet dreading what it could even mean and chose to ignore it. Doing so, she ran.

" Ah, well... I hope you enjoy your coffee."

She picked up her book and left her full cup of coffee on the table. She went to pass Nikki, but her wrist was grab by a soft warm hand. She wrenched it away as if she had been burned. She looked at Nikki and found her frowning at Helen's sudden reaction.

" I'm sorry Helen, I didn't mean to..."

Nikki never had the time to finish her sentence as Helen almost ran to the safety of the closed door. She leaned against it and took several deep breaths to steady her wildly beating heart and to settle the adrenaline that was madly coursing through her bloodstream. She harshly wiped the tears of panic that had sprung to her eyes and hit her head back on the door several times.

" Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm certifiable..."

She took another deep breath and walked up the stairs, putting on her armor, trying to pretend that the receding adrenaline hadn't left her shaking like a leaf. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:51 am
PART 3.3

When 6 o'clock came that evening, Helen decided that she wouldn't achieve more than the little she already had that day. She didn't dare to admit that the events of the morning had shaken her to the core and had opened a secret closet in her mind she had thought was closed forever. Instead, it leaked images and sounds she would have rather forgotten, that made concentration almost impossible. Despite knowing the nightmares would assault her at home, she picked up her briefcase and made her way downstairs, passing Monica's empty desk. She went by the coffee shop and saw the Julies closings up for the night. She discreetly said goodnight but was prevented from leaving by Julie J calling out to her.

" Oh, miss Stewart?"

She sighed but smiled over at her.

" Yes?"
" Are you alright?"
" Yes, why?"

She saw them both biting their lip and knew at once why.

" Yes Julies, I'm fine."
" That’s good, Cause Nikki was really upset after you left."

Helen stood straighter, in unjustified mild outrage.

" Upset?"
" Yeah..."
" Yeah..."
" She was sorta sad..."
" Sorta hurt."
" but that's..."
" Nik for you. So sensitive she is."
" Yeah, sensitive."

All of Helens defiance drained out of her. She hung her head and took a deep breath.

" Yeah... I'll apologize to her next time I see her.

The Julies looked at each other then back at Helen. They hadn’t really believed Nikki that morning, knowing just how short a fuse she had.

" So she really didn't do anything to upset you?"
" Yeah, nothing?"

Helen shook her head.

" No Julies, that was all me. Good night.
" Night Miss Stewart."
" Night Miss Stewart."

Helen walked down the stairs, taking deep breaths to stop the prickling behind her lids. She succeeded until she got in her car. She laid her forehead against the wheel and let the two warm tears that had been blurring her vision fall on the horn. This day had come from hell as a reminder. She would have sworn it. A little note that she was a fucked up and that she would always end up hurting good people because of it. The guilt at having made Nikki upset came in a strong wave. She had hurt Nikki because she had dared to dream she was okay, that she was cured, but she wasn't and now she had to apologize to Nikki. As she wiped away the tears from her eyes and turned the key in the ignition, she fervently wished to never see Miss Nikki Wade, artist. again because those two brief encounters had stirred her and made her feel more than she had in the last seven years. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:52 am
PART 4

A little later that evening, Nikki was locking the door on her way to Chix when she heard David call out to her.

"Hey Nik!"

She smiled over at him as he ran up to her, Rico on his heels.

"Hiya David, hey Mutt. What are you guys doing?"

She spied David looking down and knew at once what was coming.

" No! David, forget it."
" Awwww! Come on, aunty Nikki."

Nikki shook her head and crossed her arm over her chest.

" No way, uh-hu. I ain't walking the mutt. I'm expected at work. And drop the aunty Nikki routine. It hasn't worked since you got me to go to that paint ball thing from hell last summer and you know it!"

David laughed at her scowl because he knew she was right. They had gone to paint ball and she had had a good time until she became a target and got shot on the rump. The stream of curse she let flow started then and lasted until she could sit properly again, about a week later. Since then, he had to finesse her into everything he wanted her to do. His charm was no longer a sufficient weapon, but he knew that in the end, she'd give in to whatever he could want. She loved him too much to say no.

" Please Nikki. I've got a study group in five Minutes, I can't walk him. He needs his schedule and mum ain't home. Please???"

Nikki smirked

" Study group my arse! What's her name?"

She resisted the urge to laugh when his face fell and he blushed beat red.

"Jenna. Please, please, please!!!!!!!"

She pretended to consider it a moment, just to leave him hanging really. The begging look on his face was truly worth it.

"Oh, alright! Hand the dirt bag over."

David thrust the leash and the poop bag in her hands while he pecked her hard on the lips.

" Thank you! If I wasn't taken and you weren't my aunt, I'd marry you!"
" Yeah, yeah, got going Romeo."

She snorted when he turned on his heels and ran down the street, yelling:

" Don't tell mum!"
" First chance I get!"

He didn't stop and Nikki wasn't sure he even heard her. She tugged on the leash and started toward the direction opposite to David's.

" Come on sack on shit, let's get rolling."

Nikki decided to head for the park, but her progress was somewhat halted by Rico’s insistence to pee on every single tree he encountered, whether they were on their path or not. When they reached their street corner, Nikki’s patience was hanging by a single tiny thread. She pulled on the leash to make him go a tad forward when she was got hit by something, or someone. She managed to just barely maintain her footing and turned to see who had targeted her so squarely.

" Helen!"

The surprise Nikki felt was mirrored on Helen's face. It had obviously left her speechless and Nikki took that opportunity to give her the once over: Black track pants, long white t-shirt, a pony tail stuffed at the back of a Guinness cap. All in all, it was a formless, style less attire, yet, she looked absolutely adorable to Nikki. When her eyes made it back to Helen's face, Nikki noticed the professional mask was, once again, firmly in place.

" Miss Wade, how surprising to meet you here.

Nikki resisted the urge to groan. She was still on the Miss Wade thing.

" Well, it'd be less surprising if I didn't live down the road."

To emphasise her point, she indicated the street she had just walked up. Nikki turned back to Helen as she tugged on the leash to keep Rico from venturing in the street. She casually said:

" I didn't know you lived around these parts."
" OH! I don't."

Nikki looked at Helen expectantly, but she quickly realized that no more information was forthcoming as there was an awkward minute of silence. Both contemplated bringing up the morning's event, but neither really knew how. It was Nikki who finally found her tongue first.

" Look, Helen, about this morning. Hummm. I'm sorry. I obviously did something to upset you and it wasn't my intention at all, so I'm sorry. Really."

She spied Helen looking down at her trainers and was momentarily shaken by her lack of response.

" Am I forgiven?"

Helen finally looked up and Nikki was surprised to find the same vulnerable look she was seen this morning in her eyes. She briefly asked herself if bringing it up had been such a good idea after all. Her doubts were short lived when Helen shook her head and spoke.

" No, I'm the one who's sorry. I was rude and there no excuses to it nor was there any rational reasons for me to flee like I did. Especially when you were being perfectly nice. I’m afraid my people skills leave something to be desired."
" But you work with people all day."

Helen looked down and smiled sadly at Rico.

" Yeah, well... My professional skills have yet to fail me. Except where you’re concerned. I'd like to remedy to the situation."

Nikki's eyebrow rose in a question mark, hardly believing it was that easy to get her to agree. Apparently it was.

" If you still want me to see your canvasses, I will. Any time you want."
" What about now?"

It was obvious Nikki had just thrown her off balance by the fall of her face.

" Oh! Euh... I don’t know, you seem to be ready to go out, unless you always walk your dog in Armani."

Nikki looked down at her clothes and smiled.

" Nah, I'm nowhere near that odd. I was leaving for work when David dumped this on me. So seeing I'm already late and I live just down the road, now is as good a time as any. Come on."

And she started to walk toward her house, an uncertain Helen following her somewhat reluctantly.

" Are you sure? Won't your boss mind?"
" No, I won't mind."

The laughter in Nikki's voice was evident, but it was soon interrupted when the arm that was holding on the leash refused to follow the rest of her body as Rico stopped at yet another tree.

" Oh, enough of this already! You peed on that one not five minutes ago you stupid urinary maniac!"

She picked up the pup and stuck him under her arm, amazed at how heavy he had become. She noticed Helen smiling and found it to be absolutely endearing. It took away all of her ice queen persona and it was all for the better. It seemed her good humour was to last as she asked with the smile still in her voice:

" He's not yours, is he?"

Nikki shook her head.

" But I'm the idiot who bought it for David's birthday."
" Is that your husband?"

Nikki barked out a laughed that was rewarded by a puzzled expression.

" No, he's definitely not my husband, I don't deal with that sort of things. He's Julie Saunders' 16 years old son."
" Ahhhh..."
" Yeah, and he's been begging everyone who dares to listen to get him a dog and I'm the only sucker who listened. Apparently, it would have given him a sense of responsibility, it's a safety when the Julies are at work, it would make him exercise more and it’s a babe magnet."

Nikki almost dropped the beagle when she heard Helen chuckle. The sound made her shiver. She sent a sidelong glance at Helen and broke into a grin answering the one that now graced her companion's face.

" And is he?"
" Well, I am bringing you home with me aren't I?"

Nikki knew at once she had gone too far. Helen sobered up immediately and the uncertainty came back in a rush Nikki hadn't expected. It made her want to kick herself for breaking the good mood the had been sharing only moments before.

" I was only teasing Helen, all in good fun."

She spied the sharp nod, somewhat sharing Helen's obvious discomfort.

" I know. I'm sorry. Once again, my people skills, not so good.

Nikki smiled at her reassuringly, gently touching her forearm. She noted how smoothly Helen came from the touch.

" It's ok. I'll stop teasing."

She turned onto the walkway to her house and put Rico back onto the ground. He ran toward Nikki's elm tree and peed on it. She looked at him and shook her head despairingly.

" Unbelievable, the Urinator ladies and gentlemen."

She was glad to see it broke the tension in Helen as a grin broke onto her beautiful face.

" You really don't like dogs, do you miss Wade?"

Nikki smiled at her and fought the urge to correct her.

" I like dogs, I just have an acute case of resentment toward Rico's bladder."

She caught the puzzlement on Helens face and answered her unspoken question.

" The day I got him from he shelter, I disregarded the advice of putting him in a box with newspaper on the car floor. It felt too heartless, so I let him sit on the black leather seat of my car."

She made a disgusted face that sent Helen laughing, much to Nikki's delight. Her day was done folks, she had made Helen Stewart laugh. She noticed it wasn’t so much the sound that pleased her, but how the whole action transformed the woman. It was night and day from what she had previously seen. She wanted to keep it that way

" So, yeah, obviously, he peed all over the seat and it dripped onto the carpet. Cost me max to have it cleaned of pup's pee smell. And ever since he's been shitting on my lawn. I'm really, really starting to take the whole thing personally."

Helen's laughter followed Nikki as she made a go for the dog before he could reach the rose bushes he was now targeting. She grabbed him and went up the stone steps. Unlocking her door, she waited for Helen to join her. She practically saw her take a deep breath and steel herself, her laughter all forgotten about. Nikki opened the door when Helen reached her side and motioned her inside. Once they were inside the hallway, Nikki put Rico on the floor and turned to Helen.

" Come on, my studio's upstairs."

She saw Helen's brief nod and knew she was arming herself. Nikki smiled at her and lead the way to the upper floor. She noticed Helen looking around and was glad she had picked up all of Trisha's stuff.

" This is a nice house, have you lived here long?"
" Thank you and we moved in four years ago."
" We?"
" Me and my partner."
" Ah."

The sound was as non-committal as Nikki had ever heard. She got under the trap and pulled on the folded stairs. She noticed Helen's surprise.

"I did say my studio was upstairs. It's the only place in the house I could put it and have sufficient space and no one to bother me. Besides, Trisha hates the smell of paint, so it was a perfect arrangement. Come on, I promise you'll come back in one piece."

She went up the stairs, pushing the trap open as she went. Once she was through, she offered her hand to Helen to help her up as she hit the light switch. Nikki noticed Helen looking around and wondered what she thought. The place was spacious and during the day the four half moon windows on each side did give a fair amount of natural light. The hardwood floor and wooden beam that made the ceiling gave it a warm feeling. The old battered couch in the corner opposite to the trap door was the only furniture worth mentioning, except for the table that supported the tools of Nikki’s craft. The rest of the space was occupied by canvases of various sizes, including the one she had left in front of the couch. Helen made a bee line for it as it was the one most obviously displayed.

For a reason Nikki couldn't understand, she felt nervous having Helen view her work. It usually didn't bother her to show her paintings to people. After all, the biggest point of art, after expressing oneself, was sharing it with other people for various reason, but this time, it unsettled her a bit. Maybe it was because Helen hadn't been quite receptive to her as of yet or because Nikki felt the paintings were to explicit for Helen's delicate nature, she didn't know. All she was aware of as she went to stand beside Helen was that a knot had painfully formed into her stomach and it made her hands sweat.

Nikki looked at Helen observing her work and was disappointed to see that her face gave nothing away of the feelings the painting evoked in her. All it showed was concentration. On what, Nikki did not know. So instead of agonizing over it, she looked at her work and tried to imagine what Helen saw.

She looked at the two bodies, obviously both female, laying close together. The lady on the left hand side had a leg over the hip of her lover, pressing their crotch close together. Her head was thrown back to expose her throat to the questing lips of her companion, whose face was hidden by a arm that was holding her head in place, or urging it downward, that was for the rest of the world to guess. There was a grace and an obvious enjoyment to the scene that nobody could deny. The colours of flesh on flesh were warm, almost alive and vibrant in the brush stroke. The cool green against which they laid offered a soothing and pleasant contrast to the eye of the viewer, but it took nothing away from the two woman. On the contrary, it enhanced the light they shared. It was beautiful, Nikki knew it. Now all she had to know was if Helen saw the beauty in it or if she would see what Nikki felt was missing.

"It's erotica."

And the verdict was delivered, enlightening in it's simplicity. Nikki groaned and let herself crash onto the couch. She looked on as Helen turned around to face her, wondering if she looked as dejected as she felt. Apparently, she did.

" Don't get me wrong, it's good! You've got amazing talent, no doubt about that, I mean, the colours, the lines, it's all great. I just don't think I can fit it with the other pieces in the gallery. Though I could recommend some that would be delighted to expose your work."
" Don't bother."

It had come out harsher than Nikki had intended and it showed on Helen's face. She had the look of someone who had just been hit. Nikki felt immediately guilty. She leaned forward on the couch and took Helen's hand in hers, pulling her toward the couch gently. Once they were both sitting, Nikki let go of the hand Helen had been trying to dislodge without being to obvious about it.

" I'm sorry, that came didn't come out the way it was intended. I appreciate the fact that you want to think I have enough talent to be exposed, albeit elsewhere. The problem is..."

She took a deep breath and looked at her painting, now seeing where she had failed.

" The problem is that you've reduced everything I felt was wrong with my work in two words. 'It's Erotica'."

Nikki sighed and looked back at Helen who had stayed quiet until now.

" Wasn't that what you were aiming for?"

Nikki sadly shook her head.

" No, I was aiming for love. To put love on a canvas. I know it sounds like a pretty futile idea, I mean, loads of people of tried to do that, right? But... I don’t know. I wanted to have my take on it. Seems like I couldn't hack it, even in it's most expressive method."

She saw Helen nod and look back at the canvas, obviously thinking about her statement. Nikki could see her eyes follow the line of the painting and wondered once more what was going on in Helen's head. She had the best poker face Nikki had seen in a long time. Nikki sighed and leaned her head back on the couch as she waited for Helen to speak again. There was very little else she could do, except looking at Helen, which she gladly did.

Since they had met, Nikki hadn't had any quiet time to see the beauty in the beautiful Scot. Oh, she had noticed that Helen was gorgeous alright, she would have had to be completely blind not to notice it. But in the quiet of the studio, she looked her fill. And what she saw went straight to her heart. From the delicate bone structure to the slightly fuller lower lip, passing by her nose, that for some reason she couldn't explain Nikki found adorable, she looked perfect. She seemed perfect to Nikki at least. And that was the oddest thing, because Nikki had the eye to find the flaw and smooth it over by element seemingly worthier, but here, there was no flaw, not even the little scar at Helens hairline, nor the mole on the side of her neck, everything was just... perfect. Breathtaking was also a word that came to Nikki's mind, but she dismissed it until she remembered Helen's smile. As she pictured it now, it made her smile. Helen Stewart was definitely the most beautiful woman she had seen in a long time. Helen’s voice startled Nikki back into the present.

" You know, maybe you didn't fail, maybe it's your subjects that failed you."
" Come again?"

Nikki sat straighter and turned to Helen, giving her all her attention. It seemed to unsettle her, as she blushed and had to start her sentence twice.

" Well, they... Ummm... Though it is a common form of expression of love, it can be also simply be for pleasure. If your subjects were just having sex, as opposed to making love, then you can't be blamed for not painting something that wasn't there in the first place."
" Is that an argument in favour of the Loving is different than Being in love thing?"
" Absolutely. I do believe there's a difference and that regardless of how much a person can love another, if they're not in love and they sleep together, it remains only sex."

Nikki leaned back onto the couch as she assimilated the notion. She had never been a believer of the loving/being in love notion, but when it was brought up that way it made sense, a whole lot of it. Though there was something that bothered her in that concept. She turned to Helen, to notice she had done the same thing and they were both resting close onto the couch.

" You do know that the people on the canvas are imaginary, I had no one pose for it. So it has to be based on my own experiences."
" Oh... Euh... Oki."

Helen remained silent for a minute, but turned back to Nikki, her brow softly creased in puzzlement.

" I'm not sure I see your point."
" Oh, you don't really need to. It's got very little to do with the painting, but everything to do with my life and I guess what's missing if I can't make the difference."

Helen nodded her understanding and they both stay quietly for a moment longer, basking in the comforting silence as they gazed back to the painting. It amazed both that despite not having know the other for long, they felt no need to fill the silence with unnecessary words. Instead they both found themselves relaxing into the moment. After a few more heartbeats, Nikki turned to Helen and smiled.

" What?"
" The green around the painting. It's not the same colour as your eyes."
" So?"

Nikki moved closer to Helen until their noses were practically touching and looked deeply into her eyes.

" What are you doing?"
" Trying to memorize the colour of your eyes for future artistic use. I love it."

Helen blushed and lowered her head to escape Nikki's probing eyes. Unfortunately for her, Nikki wasn't going to be deterred and raised her chin gently with her index finger.

" Hey, I wasn't finished."

Nikki didn't let her finger drop as she looked into Helen's eyes. Instead, she let it run the length of her jaw, so softly it might not have been there at all. She used it to pull back Helen's cap, under the pretence of needing more light. But as she looked at Helen, she stopped seeing the colour and instead saw the fear mixed with confusion and what she wanted to be a hint of desire. That little speck of something pulled her in and Nikki brushed her lips to Helen's as slowly and tenderly as she could. When she wasn't immediately thrown off, she laid her mouth against Helen's and closed her eyes to the feeling of her soft, soft lips. It made Nikki's tingle in a way she had never felt before, it made her want to crawl into Helen and never leave, so she tried to get closer. And she did, with one arm, holding Helen softly, as if she was an illusion made of wind that would disappeared if Nikki was to grasp her too firmly.

The motion made their connection almost break and Nikki shivered at the sound of protest that emerged from Helen's throat. She resumed the kiss more fully, cautiously slipping her tongue into Helen’s mouth as they shared a moan the other swallowed. That kiss turned into a second and then another, making Nikki's toe curl with the swirl of taste, texture and feelings. It was almost too much and at the same time not enough. It made the fine hair on her body stand on end at the overload of feelings she never would have guessed she'd experience from a kiss. And yet, here she was, feeling all that. Nikki moaned and tried to hold Helen closer, but it somehow broke the spell they were under instead and Helen tore herself away. As she stood up and away from the couch, the fear mixed with anger back in her eyes, Nikki immediately tried to apologize.

" I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that!"
" No, you shouldn't!"

And with that, Nikki could only see her flee toward the trap and disappear down the stairs. It took less than thirty second for the front door to slam and Nikki let herself melt on the couch she didn't even had time to raise from. She looked at the ceiling and swallowed back the tears that wanted to emerge while calling herself all sorts of stupid. But at the same time, the fluttering of her stomach could not be fooled. She ignored it and once feeling returned to her legs, she rose from her spot to follow in Helen's path. She took hold of Rico and dropped them by the Julie's before heading to work were distractions would be provided to keep her from thinking too hard about the kiss that had positively seared her soul.

**************************
Helen literally ran from to house to go to the safety of her car. She had parked it about a block away from where she had ran into Nikki. When she reached it, she was breathing hard and her lungs were burning She unlocked the door and sat behind the wheel, trying to regain her breathing.

As she did so, she unconsciously touched her lips with her fingers. She could still taste Nikki in her mouth. The realization made her want to moan as it brought back the intensity of the kiss. It had made Helen feel alive like she had never before, it had made heat puddle into her belly and it had left her trembling all over. Just thinking about it made it happen all over again and it left her weak because she had loved it so much that she hated it.

That kiss had been one of a kind, destined to make her want more, make her want Nikki Wade with a strength she had never believed herself capable of, a depth she thought had been banished from her life. No kiss like that had ever happened to her and Helen was not one to fool herself. If a kiss could have done the trick and transform the monster that she was into a beautiful princess, it would have been that one. The thought made Helen's heart flutter, but her practical self shut it up.

Fairytales did not happen, there was no way she would ever change so she was better to stick to her resolution and stay clear of Nikki Wade. Helen stiffened her spine and turned the key into the ignition, ready to go back to reality.

PART 5

The next morning found Nikki in bed, alone. She had set the alarm to be at the gallery before Helen took her break, but as she looked at the ceiling, feeling the lack of sleep brought on by an evening of punishing work at Chix, she wondered is it was such a good idea after all. Helen had made it quite clear she couldn't stand her, twice she had ran away from Nikki, so why was she torturing herself by going back? Helen's beautiful lips came into Nikki’s mind and she groaned. Yeah, that was part of it, but was it worth it? The empty bed and the surging of her blood at the thought of Helen answered for her. She rolled out of bed to get dressed.

She arrived at the gallery with little time to spare. She greeted the Julies and order a coffee and Helen's usual. She took them both to what she had come to refer as Helen's table and sat waiting for her to come down. The hour struck, but there was no sign of Helen. Nikki frowned, but shrugged it off. She was an active business woman after. Nikki took out the pad of paper she always carried with her and started to draw, not totally aware nor ignorant of the time that passed. She came up from her imaginary landscape and realized that 47 minutes had passed since she had first expected Helen, but she had yet to show up. Nikki's brow furrowed, that was definitely odd. She knew Helen was in because the Julies had confirmed it. She assumed she had gotten tied up, but this long was ludicrous, or was it?

* She's avoiding me*

The thought came clear in Nikki’s head but she tried to dismiss it as ridiculous: how was Helen to know she was there? Then again, how could she not? She had already showed up two mornings in a row at the same time, wouldn't it indicate something? And after last night, wouldn't it be obvious that she would be there? Nikki sighed, they hadn't exactly parted on good terms the previous night. If Helen was avoiding her, shouldn't she respect that? She considered leaving for about... oh, say a total of 15 seconds, but then decided to wait a little while longer. They had to clear the air or at least she had to say sorry and leave Helen behind for good if there was no hope of anything. With that resolution, she settled down an added details to her drawing. But as the minutes passed the additions were less and less frequent and the glances thrown at her watche were occurring more and more often.

When she looked at it three times in the same minute, she put her pad back in her postman bag and rose from her seat, reaching for her jacket, her hand shaking slightly with repressed anger. She had the irrational feeling of having been stood up. She knew it was crazy since there had been no previous plan and after what had happened the day before, she could hardly blame Helen, but all those very normal thoughts were obscured by the hurt she felt. She briefly said goodbye to the Julies and was walking past the door to Helen's office when it opened and Helen emerged. Nikki briefly noted the dark circles under her eyes but felt no sympathy, considering she had cut short her own night to see Helen and she hadn't even showed up. She sent her a dark look and made to walk past her, but she was stopped by Helen saying her name, for the first time.

" Nikki... What ...?"

She closed her eyes to the fire it sent to her heart, followed quickly by an arrow of pain.

" Don't you Nikki me!"

Helen took a step back at Nikki's tone. There was such anger in that beautiful voice that it shocked her and frightened her a little.

" And stop that! Stop looking at me like I'm Jack the ripper and you're the innocent victim because I'm not and neither are you, alright?! What you are, on the other hand, is an icy bitch who should come off her high horse once in a while and mingle with us common mortals!"

Nikki took a deep breath and felt the fire flutter in her stomach at how scared Helen looked, but instead of diminishing her anger it only added fuel to it.

" You know what Miss. Stewart? I came here this morning, two hours ago actually, isn’t that pathetic? I've waited on that bloody chair with a coffee for you for the last two sodding hours to apologies because of yesterday. Two fucking hours! to say sorry because you're crazy! Because I didn't do a single thing wrong! And you didn't even have the decency to show up and hear my apology for something I didn't even do! And that even if you knew perfectly well I'd be there! That I cared enough to be there. God knows why considering how neurotic you are! But you know what? No more! I'm gonna leave this place and You and never come back. So I'll hope you'll enjoy your lonesome life in your ivory tower Missy, cause no one'll come to save you now!"

And she turned on her heels, only conscious of the pain flaming in her heart, oblivious to the tears that had gathered in Helen's eyes as she stubbornly refused to look up to her face as she went down the stairs. Nikki rushed out to her car and got in quickly before she could give some serious thought to the possibility of going back in and beg Helen for forgiveness. She set the car in reverse and got out of her parking space with a squeal of her tyres, the sound going straight to her heart, starting the receding of her anger. The more miles that passed under her wheels, the more the daze induced by her outburst faded, leaving her absolutely mortified. What had she done?

***************

Helen stared at Nikki's retreating back when she went to the stairs and then at her face when Nikki made her way down them and refused to raise her eyes to Helen's. She didn't feel the tears run down her cheeks, but felt them drip from her heart with little drops of pain she never imagined to feel again. She slowly turned toward the coffee shop, considering maintaining the facade by acting normally, but when she noticed the two cups at her table, she knew herself to be incapable of it. New tears passed her lids and she felt like such a jerk she disgusted herself. She went back through the door, up the stairs and passed Monica’s desk without a word, closing her office door to the world. She went to the window and put her arms around herself as she cried.

She had known Nikki would be there, she had felt it, but she hadn’t gone down to see her. Oh, it hadn't be totally on purpose, fate had decided it'd be that way. She had gotten in late that morning. The night had been pent tossing and turning and jolting awake from the nightmares, so she was too tired to hear her alarm when it went off. She had been woken up by Munch's claws when she had rolled onto him. From that point on it had been crazy rushing, through a fog of physical and mental exhaustion, to be on time, which turned out to be 45 minutes too late. 45 minutes she would usually have used to return her calls before digging through the day, but the time had gone ahead without her and she had been caught on the phone all morning.

When she had noticed the time of her break come and go, the wave of relief that had washed through her now made her feel like the bitch Nikki had rightly accused her to be. She had left her hanging there, though to be quite honest, she had never expected Nikki to wait for her more than 10 minutes. She wasn’t worth more than 2, but Nikki was a considerate person, Helen knew that much from how long she had waited and the why. And now, she had hurt Nikki. Badly if she considered the anger that had come from her. And now Helen would never see her again. New tears came to her eyes.

Oh, she had wished to never meet with Nikki again, more than once, in fact, there was no use denying it. But now that she had gotten what she thought she wanted, Helen realized that wish had been false and hollow. That said, she knew that staying away from Nikki would definitely be more sensible and a better option for Nikki than dealing with a psychotic like her, but it would be so lonely, so very lonely.

She visualized Nikki in her mind and was torn between a new wave of tears and a smile. She was such a lovely, beautiful person. And she had hurt her. Helen's smile crumbled. She couldn’t help but go back to that little all too significant detail: She had hurt her and that’s all she would ever managed to do.

Helen took a deep breath and wiped her eyes and steeled herself with her familiar thoughts: Alone was good. Alone was safe. Alone she would remain. It was best for all involved. She turned from the window and sat at her desk. She took out a compact and freshened her make up to erase all traces of her crying spell. She picked up the gallery's account and lost herself in the work, ignoring the occasional twinge of pain in her heart. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:53 am
PART 6

Babs? Where you at?"

Nikki walked into the house and kicked off her shoes.

" Kitchen."

She walked in there and completely disregarded the ingredients of Barbara's new concoction lying everywhere and crashed onto a chair. Babs eyes rose from the pot she was slowly stirring and gave Nikki a look over her glasses.

" May I ask what Trisha has done to upset you so?

Nikki sighed and lower herself onto the chair, grabbing some butter cookie dough to nibble on.

" Surprisingly enough, nothing. I have yet to see her today."

She spied Barbara’s eyebrow shooting up in surprise, whether it was about the first of second part of her answer, she would find out soon enough

" Then the long face you're so beautiful sporting was caused by?"
" Helen bloody Stewart."

Barbara took a bag of chocolate chunks from the fridge and tried to put a face to the name, but came up with nothing.

" Who?" Barbara inquired, still at odds with who this person was.
" Oh! The owner of the gallery the Julies work at."
" Oh, Yes. Did she turn down your paintings?"
" What? No. She... wait! Yeah, she did, but..."

Nikki was distracted by the sight of Barbara tossing the chunks in the lukewarm caramel and scoop them out as soon as they were coated onto a cookie pan that was peaking from the fridge door. This promised to be one of the top 10 new causes of cardiac arrest in the world.

" But that's not why you're upset with her?" Barbara asked, jolting Nikki back onto the conversation. Nikki sighed and reached for some more dough, but was whacked by a wooden spoon.

" No, it isn't."
" Then why?"

And off she was with the whole story as Barbara finished putting up together the cookies that Nikki was sure were making her gain 10 pounds just by breathing them in. As she poured her soul out, she felt like she was sixteen again, glad and relieved to have someone to listen to her, surrounded by sugary smell that never failed to comfort her and that since the day she had met Barbara at the bakery she and Peter had owned.

Her parents had just kicked her out because they had found her she was a lesbian and had given her an Ultimatum: Get straight or get out. So she had chosen to get out and had met Barbara that very same day. Nikki had packed her few valuables in a hold all and had taken a bus to the other side of town without looking back. She had found herself lost and struggling not to cry in front of the bakery when Barbara had stepped out. She had taken one look at Nikki's cloudy brown eyes and her quivering lower lip and had fallen in motherly love with her. She had taken her into the bakery and listened to Nikki pouring her little heart out over some cookies. Peter had come in a little later on and had been somewhat reluctant when he was informed they were taking the stray teenager in, but one conversation with Nikki had been enough for him to be completely won over.

Barbara and Peter had become the parents Nikki never knew she wanted or needed and she became the daughter they had never considered having before. They had helped her become the woman she was today, sharing the good and the bad with her. The worst thing they all had shared would forever remain Peter's cancer that took him 4 years previously. It had been a day to day struggle to go on without him on Barbara's part as she had relied heavily on Nikki, but the trial had brought them even closer and together they had kept their heads above the water. Despite already having a house and Trisha constant complaints, Nikki sold it and bought the house with the connecting backyard to Barbara's.

To this day, she still had to regret this decision. The house was great, she was one step away from Babs, her kitchen and the experimental baking that would always be offered when Nikki needed to pour out her problems, as she was doing now. She finished her story as Barbara was scooping her sinful concoction onto a cookie sheet.

" So that’s how I left her. With tears in her eyes and looking so frightened I thought I'd just spurted another alien head."

She looked so dejected that Barbara couldn't contain the smile that tugged at her mouth.

" Oh, Nikki."
" I know, I know, I'm idiot."

It came out as a whine and Barbara's smiled widened as she set the timer and sat beside Nikki, taking hold of the young woman’s hand. She had heard her say things like this so many times, but in so very few occasion had she actually learned to keep a tighter leash on her mouth.

" You are not an idiot Nikki. Well, not completely."

That got them both smiling and Barbara squeezed Nikki’s hand.

" What confuses me, however, is why you're so upset about giving this particular person a piece of your mind."
" I was hurt! I'd just wanted two hours to say sorry, didn't you hear?"
" Yes, my hearing is as good as ever, thank you. And this also surprises me, you're no the most patient of person on your good days."

Nikki looked down and Barbara knew at once what the problem was.

" Ahhhh! You're attracted to her."

For the first time in God knew how long, a healthy blush graced Nikki's face as she averted her eyes from Barbara.

" That serious, huh?"
" I kissed her!"

Nikki's blush deepened as she blurted out the part she had ommited to tell and the smile Barbara had been fighting won.

" Oh Nikki, lighten up! You're acting as if it was something to be ashamed of."
" Ain't it? I've got a girlfriend."

Barbara's smile turned sour and she rose and went to the oven as the timer went off. It wasn't that she didn't like Trisha, as a person she was a fine girl, lovely really, but she was all wrong for Nikki and the fact that she was doing her wrong too was not endearing her to Barbara.

" So you'd have to let Trisha go. Would it be that bad?"

Nikki seemed to turn gooey on the chair as she deflated.

" No, it wouldn't be that bad. I know I have to let her go. We've been having... Problems."

She watched Barbara take out the cookies from the oven and knew she was holding back her comments for the sake of her feelings.

" She's cheating on me. And I let her. And I realize it's not because I couldn't stand the thought of her leaving me so I let her have her fun."
" Then why are you?"

Nikki sighed and leaned her head back on the backrest of the chair.

" Because I can't manage to summon the pain nor the rage I'd always thought I'd feel. Isn't that strange? I'm sad that she's sneaking around, but not that she's looking for something we haven't had in..."

Nikki put her head to the side and frowned.

" God, I don't even remember the last time we've had sex!"

Barbara sat next to her with the a glass of milk for Nikki and the pan of cookies on a cooling board.

" Doesn't that tell you something?"

Nikki sat straighter and took one of the hot cookies, burning her fingertips in the process.

" That it's more over done than it should be?"
" Well, yes, among other things."

Nikki took a bite and remained silent for a minute.

" But I've totally blown it with Helen."

Barbara shook her head.

" Not necessarily. I'm sure you'll be able to charm her into forgiving you. You seemed to have a certain talent for that. But Trisha and Helen aren't linked, Nikki. You do have to let Trisha go to be able to pursue Helen, but you don't have to pursue Helen if you let Trisha go. Don't you understand? You must do it for you're own sake. It's not an healthy way to live."

Nikki nodded and reached for her second cookie.

" I know. And I will, I just need a find the time to sit down and talk it out with Trisha."
" You do that. Now what is the verdict?"

Nikki smiled, knowing Barbara felt the conversation was over, she had done her motherly duty and Nikki did feel better. It had most certainly given her food for thought and had made her consider that she had to fix her problems if they were out in the open for everyone to see.

" You're going to have to put up an health warning sign on these."

And she reached for her third one, as Barbara frowned at her.

" Too fatty? Too sugary?"

Nikki wolfed down most of the cookie, letting Barbara simmer for a moment. Before too long, she broke into a grin and said:

" Too good for words!"

She joined in Barbara's laughter as she stuffed the remains in her mouth and reached for her fourth one. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:54 am
PART 7

That afternoon, Helen was comparing stock inventory of the shop when the door opened to admit a huge bouquet of flowers followed by a pimply teenager. She rushed to his aid and they lowered the bouquet onto the glass counter top.

"I'm looking for a... Helen Stewart?"

Her eyebrows shut up in surprise.

" I'm Helen Stewart."
" Ah, great. Sign here please."

He handed her the pad and she scribbled her name on it, looking at the flowers to find a card.

" Thank you Ma'am. He must really love you."

Before she could say anything, the boy had left. She shook her head and turned to the bouquet in search of who would send it. Dominic’s voice piped from behind her.

" The kid was wrong."

She turned to him.

" Sorry?"

He moved from the doorway of his office to come and leaned onto the counter.

" The flowers, they're not for love. Purple hyacinths means forgive me and pale pink roses are for friendship. So you have a friend who's sorry."

Helen’s eyes widened and she snapped the card from holder she had just located, her hands shaking slightly in the knowledge that they were from Nikki.

" And how do you know that?"

Dominic sighed.

" I dated this girl once, her dad was a florist."
" Ah!"
" Not really, the knowledge came after the end of the relationship. We about 14, I didn't have a lot of money, but I wanted to by her flowers for our three month anniversary, so I bought her a bunch of carnation. Pink, purple, stripped and yellow."

Helen smiled at the thought of a young Dominic buying flowers.

" Awww, that's sweet."
" Apparently not. Carnations are very tricky flowers. The red ones mean love, but all the other ones are really nasty. Yellow is for rejection, purple for capriciousness, stripped means I can't be with you and pink I'll never forget you. In a nutshell, it meant I was dumping her because she was capricious, but not to worry, I'd never forget her. Never thought carnations could hurt this bad."

He looked thoroughly dejected, but Helen couldn't help but laugh.

" So, I guess you were very careful buying flowers after that."
" Yeah, I didn't fancy getting whacked by my gifts anymore. Need help getting that one upstairs?"
" Please."

She followed Dominic all the way to her office, resisting the temptation to look at the card. She wanted to keep this to herself. She directed him to put it on the corned of her desk, grateful Nikki had them put it in a vase at the shop. She allowed Monica plenty of time to Oh! and Ah! over them, all the while silently hoping she'd go away soon. That moment finally came and she sat at her desk. She closed her eyes and opened the little envelope.

" H,
I'm so sorry. Wanna start over tomorrow?
Love, N."

Helen passed her finger over the words, briefly wondering if Nikki had written the note herself. She read the card over and sighed. Start over. Could she do that? Was it worth it? Was it even something coming close to being a good idea? In her heart of hearts she knew the answer to the two first question was yes.

She could indeed start over with Nikki if given the chance and she was. It had been handed over in beautiful flowers, all she had to do was take it. And she could, because she was not angry, well at least not at Nikki. At herself and at fate yes, but not at Nikki, despite the ugly words she had spoken. They had been born out of anger and hurt and Helen was grown up enough to know that what came out of those emotions was rarely thought through. So she could easily gloss over the words and pretend they had never happened. She practically had, except for the part where she thought she fully deserved them. That was harder to ignore, but that was something Helen could deal with privately, there was no need to let Nikki know of the impact her outburst had on a part of Helen's life that had, essentially, nothing to do with her. So yes she could start over, in a minute if Nikki wanted, and she obviously did.

It was worth it. There was no denying that she had spent a lovely time with Nikki the night before, well before they kissed anyway. Meeting her like that had been unexpected. But more than the actual surprise of seeing Nikki like that, what had left Helen somewhat shocked had been the joy she felt upon first sight of Nikki. It had been unexpected and, to be honest, quite unsettling, but it had filled her so swiftly and so completely that she couldn't have done anything about it. So she hadn’t, but she hadn’t let it show either. Helen knew she had been able to regain her balance without much problem and once she had, she couldn't do more than enjoy Nikki's company, her charm, her humour.

Nikki had made her laugh. Really laugh. To this day, laughter, outside the realm of politeness had always been as foreign to her as standing on her head. It had been so long since she had the opportunity to laugh, free of guilt and baggage that she had forgotten what it felt like. Yet, Nikki had made her feel that way so easily and it had felt good. Almost as good as the peace she had felt on Nikki's couch. For a short moment in time, Helen had felt completely relaxed and at peace, almost normal. She knew that was because of Nikki. Her presence had wrapped Helen in a blanket of comfort she hadn't experienced since... Her 18th birthday, since Claire. It had been a long time coming and it had left her feeling light, so very light that Helen had wanted to freeze time and live in those moments forever.

And then, when Nikki had looked at her so intently she had felt... No fear. None. At all. Instead, she had felt beautiful and human and desirable. It had been so weird and so wonderful. Nothing had ever felt quite like that. Never had felt this good. Never had made her stomach flutter this nicely. Never had made her skin prickle with pleasure at someone touching her. Never had made her want to lean forward and ask for more of the sweet touch on Nikki's finger on her face. And that had scared her. She was willing to admit that much, but Nikki hadn't. There was such a gentleness and a kindness to her. Helen had never seen that in a person before. Never knew it could exist.

Helen sighed. How many never could she stick in her thoughts? The fact that Nikki was everything she had never known was why it wouldn't be wise to start over. Because Nikki was beautiful and gentle and funny and thoughtful and she made Helen want things she didn't deserve. She made Helen wish things were different. Helen leaned her head back and sighed. For the first time in her life, she wished she was an idiot, because regardless of how little she had felt it before, she knew what attraction was and it would be stupid to deny that she was attracted to Nikki. She was, irrevocably and that was dangerous because it made her long for more of that heady rush of desire she had felt when their lips had touched. Nikki made her need to be held like she had done the night before. She made Helen crave to be touched in places she hadn't been in more than 7 years and never with the kind of care Nikki had shown her. Nikki made it easy to forget what and who she was.

Nikki deserved better than to be around Helen. She deserved to invest her emotions in someone who was whole and who could return them without any hesitation nor with any of the ghosts that roamed in Helen's life to shadow them.

With a sigh, Helen leaned back in her chair. Why was everything so complicated? Or did she make things that way? She shook her head in despair and caught sight of the roses. The needy part in her caved. Friendship, she could do that. She could focus all her feeling into that. It was one step above her rule of alone, she knew that, but it was several step behind anything that could be considered even remotely dangerous. Yes. Friendship was good, very good.

With a small smile Helen propped the card against her pen holder. She glanced at it sporadically during the day and it made her smile every time. When she left that night, she hesitated slightly and the picked it up to stuff it in her wallet. She tossed it in her purse, Helen smiled. Tomorrow was going to be a good day. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 12:54 am
PART 8

The next morning, Nikki got to the gallery right on time. She kept wiping her hands on the thighs of her black jeans to try to keep them dry. She was nervous. No, nervous had been when she had left home. Somewhere along the drive, she had moved from nervous to terrified. She was, in turn, afraid Helen wouldn't be there and that she would be there. Both had their distinctive reasons, but they also shared one common reason that Barbara had summarized in five words: She was attracted to her. It had been a long time she had that happen to her and it was frightening. Nevertheless, she forced herself to leave the safety of her car and walk into the gallery, up the stairs and to the counter.

" Morning ladies."
" Morning..."
" ...Nikki."
" Can I get my cappuccino?"

Twin grins appeared on the Julies faces.

" Miss Stewart...
" ...Ordered it..."
" ...Already."

Nikki looked around the coffee maker that hid Helen's table for her view. She was indeed there, reading with two cups of coffee in front of her.

" Thanks Julies."

She walked around the counter and wiped her hands one more time. She let out a deep breath and went to stand next to the table. Her heart flipped over in her chest when Helen looked up to her and grinned at her, her pleasure obvious. Nikki offered Helen her hand and saw her smile falter before it's fullness resumed.

" Hi, I'm Nikki."

She smiled when Helen shook her hand and gestured her to sit. She did so when Helen 'introduced' herself.

" Helen."
" It's nice to meet you Helen."
" Likewise. Nice t-shirt."

Nikki looked down at the red 'Gas, Grass or Ass - No one tides for free' t-shirt she was wearing under her black leather jacket and smiled back at Helen.

" Yeah. I could say wash day but that would be lying. I just love that shirt."
" Well, it's got attitude."

Nikki nodded and then became serious. She knew they were starting over, but she felt the need to apologize for the awful things she had said the day before.

" Talking about attitude, I'd like to say sorry for mine. I had no right, nor any reason to lose it like that, I'm..."

She stopped talking when Helen laid her hand over her own on the table. Nikki looked at her when Helen spoke.

" You were upset and angry with cause, my behaviour was lousy, both at your house and here. Though I have to say it wasn't entirely on purpose that I left you waiting like that. I'm sorry Nikki."

Nikki nodded and turned her hand so her palm was facing Helen's. She intertwined their fingers and squeezed Helen’s gently.

" I'm sorry too. Let's call it even?"
" You're on."

They smiled at each other and Helen freed her hand to reach for her coffee. Nikki wanted to question her on that habit she had, but didn’t think it was appropriate for the morning. So went safely.

" What are you reading?"
" Sophie's World, for about the fifth time. Have you read it?"
" Mmmmmno, can't say I have."

Helen took the book and handed it to Nikki.

" Well, now you can."
" Thanks."

Nikki took the book and put it in her bag. She looked at Helen and took a sip of her cappuccino. She looked at Helen over the rim of her cup and they both snorted. Helen softly shook her head and smiled at Nikki while saying:

" I don't know what to say anymore."
" Neither do I."
" Isn't it just pathetic?
" Absolutely."

They smiled at each other and before either could think of something, Monica came toward their table.

" Helen, I'm sorry to interrupt like this, but there's an urgent phone call you ought to take."
" I'll be right up."

Helen turned to Nikki and gave her what could only be considered as an apologetic smile.

" Seems like we won't have to find something to talk about then."

Nikki smiled back at her.

" I'm sure we would've found something."

Nikki watched Helen rise from her seat, oddly sad to let her go so soon.

" See you tomorrow Nikki?"
" Not on a weekend day, more like see you Tuesday."

Helen nodded.

" I'd forgotten it was Friday already. See you Tuesday then."

Nikki rose from her seat and gave in to her impulse and kissed Helen softly on the cheek. She had wanted to press her lips on Helen's soft ones, but she figured it wouldn't be well received so she settled for something less dangerous. It had still surprised Helen, if Nikki took her slightly widened eyes as an indicator, but Nikki's whole being warmed when she saw the hint of pleasure course through them.

" Have a good weekend Helen."

And she left, discreetly putting a hand on her jumpy stomach, not sure yet why it had formed into a painful knot at the thought of not seeing Helen for three days.

PART 9

When Tuesday finally dawned, Helen woke up to it gladly. It had been a long three days. Or more accurately, Saturday and Monday had been busy at work, a welcomed distraction, as it always was. Sunday, on the other hand, had lasted a thousand hours in itself. Or, at least, that's how her one day off had appeared to Helen.

She had woken up at a decent hour and once the paper had been read, Helen was forced to notice she had nothing to do. The cleaning lady she had hired when the gallery had really taken off, leaving Helen with little time to clean up after herself, was doing a terrific job. Helen never had to worry about the state of the house or about meeting a new life form in her fridge. The down side to that was that it left her with idle hands on Sundays, and this one had been no exception.

Normally she wouldn't mind. Normally she wouldn't be bothered by the silence of the house, nor by the shadows that loomed, heavy with ghost who took a perverse pleasure in whispering the most cruel stuff in Helen's ear. In any circumstances, Helen would listen to them. The voice had become the soundtrack of her life and she had come to expect it as such. But not on that day. For the first time in recent history, Helen had refused to hear what it was saying. She had shut down the cruel and snide comments it fed her. She had drowned it out by the music she had cracked up to deafening. She had kept busy by ambushing Munch and giving him a bath.

Helen couldn't have chosen a task better appointed to keep her busy for hours. She had come out of there with more scratches that she believed necessary, along with a snub that didn't melt when she offered him a shrimp that was part of her own dinner. He only seemed to feel better when he scared the living shit out of her by climbing on the curtain from the back and sticking his head out between them when Helen had gone to close them. He had leaped down at her yelp and she practically saw him strutting all the way to the bed, where he propped himself on the pillow next to Helen's. She was forgiven. Helen wasn’t exactly sure she had forgiven him, but was glad when he cuddled up to her when she went to sleep.

As she had waited for sleep to come and claim her, Helen had been surprised to find that the voices didn't come back. It had allowed her to fall asleep on a good note and had kept the nightmares at bay. When she had woken up on Monday morning, she had been rested. She hadn't woken up once in cold sweat, as she'd done so many times since she had met Nikki and her demons had started to pay their nightly visits again. Instead, she had dreamt of something sweet and beautiful. She couldn't remember what it was, but Nikki had been there and it had left her feeling at peace and, oddly enough, cheerful.

Last night had been spent the same in pretty much the same fashion so when Helen woke up in the same fashion, with one element added. Anticipation. She was eager to see Nikki. It was something good she didn't think she had ever experienced in regard to another person. But today she was and it was feeling great. Light. It made her smile, something the people who were around her on a daily basis didn't see nearly enough. It was a comment the two Julies shared when Helen finally gave in and went down five minutes before she was due to meet Nikki.

She ordered both their usual and went to sit at her table. She had time to kill and she didn't know what to do with herself. To keep her mind from wondering in uncharted territories, mainly, in this case, how nice Nikki had looked in the black jeans she had been wearing the previous friday, Helen took out the book she always carried with her and forced herself to read. It wasn't an easy task, but she finally managed to focus on the story. Once she reached the end of her chapter, she glanced at her watch and frowned. Nikki was late.

Helen took a nervous sip of her coffee and swallowed it around the knot that had formed in her throat. She took a deep breath and went back to her book. She kept on reading, but if someone had asked her about the content of the pages her eyes had skimmed over, she would have been forced to admit that her brain hadn't registered a single word. Helen reached the end of the second chapter and glanced at her watch again. She had been due back to her office ten minutes ago. And Nikki hadn't shown up.

The realization brought and arrow of pain to Helen's heart. It has so sharp that her breath faltered and stuck in her throat when it closed down. Helen forced herself to take several deep breath and when the pressure alleviated in her chest, she rose from her seat and went back to her office in Silence, her hands clenched in fists to keep them from shaking. When she sat at her desk, Helen took a minute to calm her wildly spinning thoughts.

There had to be an explanation. Nikki had told her she'd be there and Helen was sure something must have prevented her being there. Something had to have happened for Nikki to miss their coffee. The thought somewhat comforted Helen, but it did little to ease the pain in her heart. She was unfortunate enough to realize that anticipation was a vicious thing. As wonderful as it had
been that morning, the by-product of it not being fulfilled was slightly less painful than a root canal done without any anaesthetic.

Helen sighed and went back to work, determined not to let it get t her. Nikki would be back the next morning with a perfectly good reason for having let Helen hanging. She just knew it.

************************

When Helen woke up the next morning, she felt agitated. She couldn't deny that her sleep pattern hadn't been as peaceful as the two previous night, but, fortunately, her goblins had been kept at bay. As of yet anyhow. She could hear them buzz angrily in the dark corners since the previous evening, but she had paid them no attention since she had gotten home the previous evening. She made it through the morning in a daze, as if she was standing beside her brain.

She went down the coffee shop right on time that morning, promising herself that there wouldn't be anymore being early nonsense. Still, she held her breath when she opened the door leading the gallery as she fully expected Nikki to be lounging on her chair. Helen's heart broke a little when she noticed Nikki was nowhere to be found.

Helen blinked back the traitorous tears that were prickling at her lids and ordered her coffee, pretending not to notice the puzzled look the Julies sent her way. She fought the urge to ask if they had seen Nikki since the previous morning, but it was only her pride that kept the words from passing her lips. It was also her pride that kept Helen from running to the safety of her office when, halfway through her coffee cup, she realized that Nikki wasn't coming.

Despite feeling unbelievably foolish, Helen had kept hoping that Nikki would rush up the stairs and seek her while she went across the second floor and apologize in one breathless sentence. But now it was too late for that and in a single moment of stunning clarity, Helen knew her hopes were useless, Nikki wasn't coming.

The sudden realization broke the fragile dam she had managed to build for the first time to keep her ghosts at the back of her mind. They assaulted her brain and her heart with a viciousness she knew was unprecedented. It left her breathless for a moment, but with all the dignity she had in her, Helen walked back to her office calmly, pretending that her mind wasn't full of: See, I told you so! See, you didn't deserve it! See, you'll never be free! and images of gleeful spirits.

She tried to work best she could, but by early afternoon, the internal struggle to keep them away left her with a strong headache to threatened to turn into a migraine very soon. Helen knew they had won and gave up. She barely made it home before the throbbing pain between her temples turned into a full blown migraine. She blindly made her way to the bathroom where she gave back the little of her breakfast that was left. When all she brought up was air, she shakily rose from the floor to open the medicine cabinet where she swallowed her tablets dry, praying they would stay down. She managed to walk unsteadily, and blindly as the light seemed viciously turned up to transmit the pain in her brain to her eyes, to her bedroom where she undressed hurriedly before crashing onto her bed, all the while cursing Nikki. Helen fell into a medicated restless slumber, where the faces were long and the shadows looming were too hazy for her to remember. She slept 'till morning, unaware of Munch's vigil as he circled her relentlessly, his attention solely focused on guarding her from her spirits.


The following morning found Munch ready to drop and Helen with dark circle beneath her eyes. She gingerly ate breakfast and treated her cat to a large bowl of warm milk, now aware and grateful of his effort of the previous night. She spent a few long minutes to scratch his back and didn't mind when he followed her step by step as she got ready for work. When she applied the minimum amount of make-up required for damage control, she sighed, bowed her head and admitted defeat,

No matter how much she was attracted to Nikki, it wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth the kind of pain she had gotten through the night before. Nothing was worth the reawakening of memories long buried. Nothing. To think otherwise would kill her. She knew that for a fact as her brain was still fogged with medication and a slight residual headache.

But as she came to that conclusion, her heart gave a throb of pain that surpassed the one in her head. It was a pain so sharp that the tears that always seemed so close nowadays threatened once more.

Helen had wanted it to be worth it. She had wanted it to be a leap into the freedom she was starting to realize she would never come to know. She had wanted it to be her chance, but it seemed that her carefully built prison was meant to cage her forever. He had won yet again. Helen sighed once more and stepped away from the mirror, her resignation clear. She put on her jacket and picked up munch from the dresser where he was perched. She walked to the living room and gently dropped him onto his cushion. Helen scratched his ears and planted a kiss n his head.

" Thank you baby, I'm sorry I've put you through such a night. It was the last time, I promise."

She rubbed her nose on his head and softly passed her hand over his back then left for work, missing entirely his eyes full of sadness before he passed out from utter exhaustion.

From that point on Helen's life reclaimed its steady, if slightly predictable, pace. But every morning while she sat in the coffee shop, her routine unchanged, she couldn't help but see it as dull and grey around the edges. She didn't even have the strength to curse Nikki about it, because Helen had been the one to let in the splash of color and warmth that Nikki was. She knew she couldn't afford the luxury of complaining when she knew she had no one to blame but herself, so Helen went on as she always did before: slowly gently, careful not cause any explosions in the minefield that was her life. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 03:27 am
PART 10

The relative peace she had achieved was shattered two weeks later. Helen was reading when her peripheral vision registered someone crashing onto the chair in front of her. When she rose her eyes fro the page, her mouth became dry and her hands clammy as she stared into Nikki's beautiful brown eyes. Helen was shocked into momentary speechlessness at her sudden, and now unexpected, appearance. It made her heart rate raise exponentially as she noticed how beautiful Nikki looked in her purple polo shirt and soft blue jeans. The tired and vulnerable look in Nikki's eyes did nothing to calm the butterflies that had suddenly taken like in Helen's stomach. In fact, they took flight the minute Nikki gave her a tiny smile and Helen hated her for it.

" Hi."
" Hello Nikki."

Helen couldn't bring herself to look at Nikki's face for fear of saying something she shouldn't and closed her book, getting ready to go back to her office. She made no attempt to hide it and it seemed to unsettled Nikki.

" Helen, are you alright?"
" I'm fine, I just have a very busy day.
" Oh. Oh, okay, I'll just keep you for one more minute then.

Helen nodded her agreement and crossed her arms across her chest. She knew how much of a major 'Fuck Off!" she was giving Nikki and at the moment, it seemed perfect.

"What?"

Her cold tone sent daggers of anger in Nikki's eyes, but Helen was glad when she kept it in check.

" I wanted to say sorry for not being there Tuesday before last. there's a major water pipe that busted at the club and I had to..."

Helen held her hand up to stop her.

" It doesn’t matter Nikki. You weren't there, end of story. You don’t owe me anything alright. So, see you around, yeah?"

And Helen left, her heart still racing, strangely aware of the slits of Nikki's narrowed eyes on her back. When she got to her office, she placed her deadly cold hands on her flaming cheeks and wondered what the fuck she had just done, although convinced it had been the right thing to do. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 03:28 am
PART 11

The next morning found Nikki already up awake and bristling with anger when her alarm clock rang. After Helen had left her there, dismissed like the remains of a not so tasty tv dinner, Nikki had had no one to vent her anger to. The two Julies had been highly unsympathetic to her plight, having witnessed, unbeknown to Helen, her sadness at Nikki not showing up. Oddly enough, that made her even angrier because the whole thing had been out of her control. And she was going to prove it, damn it! So when she had given up on sleep, Nikki had gathered copies of her Insurance papers, pictures, receipts and the like to show them to Helen.

Nikki got the gallery with plenty of time to spare, but she decided to wait in the car. She wanted to be calm, collected and fashionably late so Helen wouldn’t bolt if she saw her there. And she was, by the time Nikki made her way upstairs and toward her, Helen was already settled with her bloody book, giving very little attention to the world around her. Nikki got to the table and dropped her stack of papers onto the table. She was satisfied when the noise startled Helen to a jump. Before she could say anything, Nikki let herself drop onto a chair and crossed her arm across her chest, unconsciously mimicking Helen's stubborn pose of the previous day. She saw Helen peer at the bundle.

" What’s this?"
" Take a look Princess."

Nikki held back the smirk that tugged at her lips when she saw Helen practically flinch and reach for the pile as if it was highly contagious. Nikki let her leaf through it and was a little bit glad to seethe guilt in Helen's expression and puzzled at the relief she saw there as well. She spoke after a minute or two.

" Did you know that a plumber’s hourly rate is directly proportional to how much but crack he's displaying?"
" No, I didn't."

Nikki heard more than saw Helen's smile as she was still leafing through he file. She took the opportunity to ask another question.

"Didn’t you also know that your phone number is unlisted?"

She almost raised an eyebrow at Helen’s sudden and absolute stillness.

" Yeah, that I knew."

Nikki lowered herself further onto the chair and couldn’t help the pour that formed on her lips.

" Well, so I found out when I tried to directory enquiries to get your number so I could call you on Tuesday evening."

Nikki's heart expanded in her chest when she saw Helen’s head snap up sharply and the hope that shined brightly in her green eyes.

" You tried to call?"
" Yeah, and then here on Wednesday afternoon, but your P.A. said you had left early."
" I had a migraine."

Nikki's eyebrow knitted together in concern, she had expected an appointment or something.

" You alright?"
" Yeah, I'm fine, but... You really tried to call?

The surprised delight in Helen’s voice melted the last of Nikki’s annoyance, hurt and anger.

" Of course I did. My manners couldn't let me stand up a beautiful woman without at least an explanation."

Nikki was oddly pleased when she noticed the blush on Helen’s cheek and she had a hard time to sto herself from smiling at her companion's prim but obviously flustered behaviour as Helen returned to the pictures of the club’s devastation.

" Nice boots."

Nikki leaned forward over the table and peered at herself in knee high black water boots.

" Yes, they’re very attractive, rage of the hour. They come in many shades too. Had I know you'd find them pretty I would have had you outfitted for some."

They shared their first smile and the pressure in Nikki’s stomach released drastically, leaving her light-headed. However, she forced herself to a moment of seriousness.

" Honestly Helen, I'm sorry I left you hanging. Josh, that’s our sound engineer, went to check the stereo system on Tuesday ad he was flooded when he opened the door. He called me just as I was getting out of the house. There's this major pipe that busted in the ceiling somewhere between when the cleaning crew left at 4 Monday afternoon and Josh's arrival at 9 am Tuesday. Have you ever noticed that whenever a pipe bust, it's NEVER in a remote place where it wouldn’t bother anyone? No! It's always somewhere big, where it'll do the most damage."

Nikki sighed but she was lightened up by the smile on Helen's face.

" Go ahead and laugh, I already did my crying when I signed the checks."

Nikki lowered her head on her arms in mock defeat. She peered at Helen who laughed and, much to Nikki’s surprise, ran her fingers through the short dark locks.

" That bad huh?
" Hummmm, the water got into everything, the sound system, the lighting system, the walls, the couches of the VIP lounge... Just everywhere."

Nikki let out an exaggerated shudder that gained a giggle from Helen and then she shrugged.

" Up side is, we did the revamp we've been talking about for ages on insurance money. And we'll be back in business next week, which is a bloody, though highly expensive, marvel. Never underestimate the power of a healthy bonus."
" Well, see everything happens for a reason.
" I guess so, but trust me when I say I would rather have been here with you."

Nikki had taken hold of Helen's hand and gave it a soft squeeze that sent a twinkle of pleasure sparkling in the green orbs.

" It's ok, now. I'm sorry too."
" What for?"
" All the mean things I've thought about you."

That made Nikki smile.

" Alright then, we're both forgiven and it’s forgotten."
" Yes, it is."

Nikki saw Helen glance at her watch and she sighed.

" I know, you've got to go.
" Yeah... you'll be back tomorrow?"

The question warmed Nikki.

" I have no idea, that depends on Trisha, so probably not, I'm sorry."

the obvious disappointment in Helens, eyes sent a tingle of pleasure down Nikki’s spine. She squeezed the hand she was still holding.Helen nodded and rose from her seat, her hand still in Nikki's. She gave her a tight smile that soften immensely when Nikki brought it to her lips and kissed her knuckles softly.

" I'll try, but I don't promise anything, Ok?"
" Yeah, ok. See you Nikki."

And she turned around to leave, but Nikki tugged on her hand to stop her.

" Helen? can you give me your phone number?
" Yeah, sure, ok."

She wrote in on top of a paper Nikki handed to her with a pen and Nikki smiled at her brightly.

" I'll talk to you later then.

And she finally released Helen's hand, letting her go back to her office, while gently passing her finger on top of the number. After a minute, Nikki rose from her seat and gave the Julies a triumphant smile before leaving the gallery with a sigh. Back to muscle making, back breaking work. Bleeeeech! Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 03:29 am
PART 12

The following evening, Nikki limped into the house. Her whole body was aching. She made a mental note to call her masseuse as soon as the club was reopened and she had more time to do other things than work and ... Work! In the mean time, she was going to happily settle for a long bath in which she opened she wouldn’t drown. Nikki groaned when she lowered herself in the bath. She didn’t want to sound snob, but she wasn't used to work this hard and this kind of manual labour wasn’t for her. An intense night of bartending at Chix was never this demanding and she was glad for it.

Nikki let herself lean back on the back rest and sighed as the pain in her limbs evened out. She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax, but found it almost impossible and she knew her current physical state had little to nothing to do with it. The problem was Trisha. The acknowledgement drew another sigh from Nikki and her emotional tension went up a notch higher. The last weeks had been a trial. Before the water flooded the club, Trisha had gone away to 'resource herself'. Nikki was no fool, it meant she was going to spend some uninterrupted time with her bit of stuff. Strangely enough, that fact bothered Nikki less and less, what did, however, was both their cowardice and refusal at ending things between them.

That, combined with the fact that she hadn’t been able to get a hold of Trisha when the pipe busted in the club, had brought Nikki's annoyance to a mounting anger that had erupted when Trisha showed up late Thursday afternoon, one day later than she should have been home. Her look of total surprise at seeing the best part of the inside of the club gutted and how Trisha had snapped at Nikki about making renovations without her consent had been enough for a very tired and aching Nikki to skip a rope and it had left her with a barely contained anger until they had gotten home that night, under Trisha's constant snipping.

A shouting match to end them all had followed. All of Nikki's resentment at Trisha's affair, at her cavalier attitude about the club and, somewhere at the back of her mind, at Trisha not being there to pick up the slack so Nikki could have five minutes with Helen, came out in one big shout that rattled the windows. The argument ended when Nikki called Trisha a tart and told her she knew all about her affair.

The silence that had followed had been more deafening than the yelling and Trisha had walked out without a word and she hadn’t been back home since. She showed up at work but they were all business, Both knew the club wasn’t the place to have a private conversation. On the other hand, Nikki wanted to talk to Trisha so they could sort out the technicalities of their break up as both knew it was over, but the guilt didn’t make Trisha all that keen to have that particular talk.

Annoyed beyond hope, Nikki rolled her head from side to side, trying to somewhat relieve the knots that had formed there. It was working, to a relatively short extent. After a while, Nikki gave up. She rose from the still warm water and surrounded herself with a bath sheet. She went to her bedroom and glanced at the phone. She paused for a moment and then went to put on a white tank top and red silk drawstring pants. She walked by the phone again and gave in. She picked it up and dialled the number she had already memorized.

" Hello?"

The voice was deliciously sleepy and Nikki glanced at the clock. It was closing on 11:30. Oups.

"Helen?"
" Yes?"
" Hey, it's Nikki. Did I wake you?"

She heard the sheets shift on the line and she flushed suddenly, feeling pleasantly warm as it hit her squarely that Helen was in bed.

" Oh, Hey. Maybe a little, but it's oki."
" Sorry, I won't keep you long then. I just wanted to say I and that I missed you this morning."

Nikki didn't know how, but she knew in that moment that Helen was smiling. Maybe it was because she was herself.

" Ummmm, thank you. How is your work coming along?"
" Ugh! It'll be on time, but God! it's hard work. Though I have to say it will be something. You'll have to come by and see it."
" I'll se what I can do about hat."
" You do that. In the mean time, I guess I will let you go back to sleep."

Nikki didn't want to just yet, but her own eyes were starting to burn with tiredness. Her heart became very light when she heard the disappointment in Helen’s voice.

" Oh, oki... Will I see you tomorrow?"
" No, I'm sorry."

She heard a sigh on Helen's end and her own answered it, her anger at Trisha suddenly revived.

" We'll find some time to hang out I promise."
" Oki, yeah. Night Nikki.
" Goodnight Helen, sweet dreams."
" Mmm, maybe. Bye."

Nikki heard Helen hang up and sighed as she put the phone back on it's cradle. This had to be fixed. She had to talk to Trisha.

*********

Helen hung up the phone and slide back down the bed to go back as she was before Nikki's call woke her. She looked around the darkened room, having this feeling of something lurking into the corners even though she knew she was alone. She jolted when Munch came to stick his nose on hers.

" Hey you."

She scratched him behind the ears and asked them both:

" Am I doing the right thing by letting Nikki into my life?"

Munch came to rub his face on her cheek and neck, soothing her with his easy affection.

" So you think it'll be alright? To be friends?"

Munch rubbed himself harder on Helen’s jaw and he started to purr gently. Helen decided it was his way of saying yes.

" Thanks baby."

Munch licked her nose once and then went to curl himself in a ball, cuddled close to Helen’s stomach, his side of the conversation over. As his breathing evened out, Helen tried to fall asleep, ignoring, for the most part, the oppressive feeling she got from the whispering shadows, scrunching her eyes really hard in a silent prayer. Let me not set myself for another painful fall. It was the last thought on her mind as sleep claimed her. Down the Block



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 29





AngelTrisha9 Posted: 28 Jul 2005 03:29 am
PART 13

Nikki's determination hadn't wavered the next morning. Around 11, she made a dash for the door and told Trisha:

" Be home at 7, it's not optional."

And she left, fully aware of Trisha's apprehension, but not caring in the least. She dropped by the bakery and got lunch supplies as well as one too many sweets. When she got out of the car, she had a hard time balancing her three bags and trying to look as if she wasn't out of place and doing this everyday, especially as she reached the ‘staff only’ door. She almost felt like on Mission Impossible, except that there wasn’t any music to pave her way. The thought almost made her giggle. She opened the door and walked in, glad the Two Julies had been too busy to notice her. She got upstairs and met an obstacle she hadn’t expected.

" Hello, may I help you?"

Nikki shifted her bags and smiled at Monica.

" No, thank you, I'm just here to see Helen.

Monica smiled her best 'I'm not buying anything' smile.

" Do you have an appointment?"
" No, No. I uh... I have lunch."

As soon as the world left her mouth Nikki could have slapped herself for sounding so absolutely moronic. She closed her eyes for a moment and then reopened them to trying to cover this last little lapse of IQ.

" What I'm not so cleverly trying to put across is that I'm a friends of Helen's. And I thought I'd surprise her with lunch."

Nikki almost groaned when Monica scowled, not at all convinced this wasn’t some trick.

" We saw each other in the coffee shop, remember?"

There was a slow nod on Monica's part and Nikki realized she wasn't exactly convinced or she just didn't remember her.

" Look, I promise I'm not a terrorist or a killer or something, I'm not here to harm her, I simply want to have lunch with her. If I turn out to be some sort of criminal or if she start kicking and screaming when she'll see me, I'll hand you the phone myself. Do we have a deal?"

The hesitation was clear in Monica's stance and Nikki sighed. She put down her bags and came up with a box of strawberry shortcake that she handed over at Monica.

" As a token of my appreciation."

Monica looked and the box and smiled in approval at the distinctive sticker. Everybody who shopped at Gourmandise was sure to have good taste. She took it and smiled at Nikki.

" This is more along the lines of a bribe."

Nikki gave Monica her best wicked smiled, especially when she noticed the lady put the cake in the little fridge behind her desk. She then walked around the edge of the desk and told Nikki:

" Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll head to the ladies so I will not notice you slipping past my desk."

Nikki chuckled and waited until Monica was out of sight before she grabbed her bags again and went to knock on the door.

" Yes?"
" Lunch delivery"
" What?"

And she gratefully heard Helen get up from her seat and come to the door. When the door opened, Nikki's little smile turned into a full blown one when Helen’s puzzled expression turned into one of delighted surprise.

" Nikki! Hi! What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't come today."
" Euh, Helen could you...?
" Oh sorry!"

Helen took one of the bags from Nikki and they both walked to her desk, clearing out the surface as Nikki answered Helen's question.

" I couldn't come this morning, but I decided to take an extended lunch break that I would share with you."
" Lunch? Seems like you've brought a whole weeks worth of grocery."

Nikki smiled at Helen as she started to take out sandwiches, salads and various spreads she had carefully selected. She laid it all down on the desk and motioned Helen to sit as Nikki grabbed a sandwich and plopped herself in the chair in front of Helen's desk. When Helen was settled and had taken a sandwich herself, replied her last comment.

" It does seem that way, but that’s only because I found myself faced with an extreme dilemma. I have no idea what you eat, now do I? So, we are going to get to know each other."
" And how do you suggest we do that?"
" 20 questions."

Nikki saw Helen freeze and she could almost see the cogs hitting each other in her head and the apprehension on her face, but she nodded slowly.

" Oki, but we both have to answer the question."
" Deal. Now this is where I learn all your deepest secrets Miss Stewart."

Nikki saw Helen's face drain from blood and knew she may not have chosen the best turn of phrase. So despite her inner desire to know everything about Helen she focused on the comfortable.

" What's your favorite color?"

The tension in Helen snapped and she started to laugh. Nikki's own grin answered her as she noticed Helen lean back in her chair, at once comfortable with this line of questioning.

" Blue, you?"
" Red. Full name?"
" Helen Elizabeth Stewart. You?"
" Nicola Gabrielle Wade."
" Gabrielle?"
" Yeah, my grandmother's name. She was French."
" I like it."

And they kept asking questions like this as they shared lunch and drinks. They talked about pets, books, movies, schools, favorite sort of sweets, ice creams, cookies, telly shows, clothes. All sorts of little details they could think of that didn't border on things that made Helen squirm away from Nikki. As they talked, Nikki could feel her heart thug toward Helen . It was the oddest feeling, but her heart let out those little clouds of warmth whenever Helen laughed or at how her eyes sparkled when she was talking. She was blossoming form the shy and reserved person she always seemed to be to a lively fascinating woman that left Nikki totally enthralled.

And it was effective on other parts of Nikki as well. Every time Helen smiled, she did this little thing where she stuck her tongue behind her teeth and it made Nikki want to take hold of her face to hold her still long enough to seek out that little flash of pink with her own tongue. Every time Helen pulled her hair back behind her hear, Nikki wanted to tangle her hands in the soft blond locks. The thoughts crossed her mind more of often than she could wish, leaving her slightly frustrated, but it was a little spark of nothing compared her enjoyment of Helen's company. She almost gave a sigh of pleasure, but stopped herself at the last minute. Instead, she answered Helen’s current question.

" Cancer, you?"
" Virgo"
" Oh really? That means you're in birthday period lady. When is it?"

Helen took a bite of her sandwich to delay answering.

" Helen... Tell me when your birthday is."

She smiled and shook her head at Nikki, taking a long sip of her drink.

" Tell me!"
" No.
" Why?"
" Because then you'll be guessing my age."
" Not just from the date you silly woman! Beside, I don't care if you're an old fart, I just want to set your birthday party."

The last part seemed to surprise Helen.

" My what?"
" Birthday party, you know where you get presents and cake and where you’re allowed to get blind stinking drunk on your friends dime?"

Helen’s already shaky smile faltered at the last of Nikki's sentence and something that left Nikki cold flashed across her eyes. It was brief, but enough for Nikki to know she had better drop this subject if she wanted Helen to keep smiling. Especially when she said:

" I don't ever drink."

Nikki nodded, registering the information before she moved out of that dangerous zone she so easily got herself in.

" Ok, but you've got nothing against gifts or cake, do you?

A shadow of Helen‘s former smile came to play across her lips.

" Nothing, no."
" Then give me the date or I'll set one up."

Helen's smiled broadened and Nikki's stomach unclenched.

" Why don’t you do that?"
" Alright then, two weeks from Saturday will be your birthday celebration. Be ready for anything!"

That made Helen laugh and Nikki was glad. She was made to be happy not gloomy and yet, she seemed to know more of that than anything else. To keep them on a high note, Nikki took out the desserts she had brought. When Helen reached for the cookies, Nikki had to smile.

" What?"
" Oh, Nothing. It's just that those cookies make me think of you and you went straight for them, seems like fate."

The statement made Helen blush pleasantly.

" And why do they make you think of me?"

And Nikki told her the story, or most of it anyway. She left out Babs assessment of Nikki’s feelings. The whole thing made Helen smile.

" She seems like a lovely person.
" She is. I'll introduce you the next time you come to my house.
" I'd like that."

Nikki smiled and started to say something else, but she was interrupted by her cell phone.

" Excuse me. Yeah? No, Trisha it's in the office... You don't need me to find a bloody ledger... No, I... No... N... Argh!!!! Alright damn it!"

And she hung up, displeased to a point she couldn't even begin to describe. She took a deep breath and looked at Helen.

" I'm sorry."
" That’s oki. Thank you for the wonderful lunch."
" It was all my pleasure."

Nikki rose from her seat ad went around Helen's desk. She leaned down and softly kissed her cheek then unconsciously nuzzled it with her nose.

" Thank you for the lovely company."

She kissed her again, closer to Helen's lips than she meant, but not close enough to satisfy the tingling in her own. She had to smile when she felt a shudder course trough Helen, a fitting answer to the electric sizzle that went down her own spine at their close proximity. She lingered a moment longer and then straightened, walked to the door. When her hand was on the handle, Nikki turned around and asked:

" Helen?"
" Yeah?"

The breathlessness of the word did little to settle the beat of Nikki’s heart.

" Wanna have dinner with me tomorrow? My place? 6:30?"
" Won't your partner mind?"
" It's no longer any of her business."
" Oh.... yeah, I'd like that.
" Italian ok?"
" Perfect."
" See you tomorrow then."
" Yes, tomorrow."

And Nikki walked out, giving Monica the biggest grin she could manage.

" Have a nice day Mrs. Lindsay. Mine is already perfect.

The statement made Monica laugh and Nikki’s impossibly huge smile broadened as she walked out of the gallery, her whole being light, light, light.

PART 14

When 7 came that night, Nikki was waiting for Trisha in the sitting room, a glass of red wine rolling between her palms. She was almost sad as she looked into the rich ruby depth. This conversation would mark the official end of a 9 years chapter. What made Nikki sad wasn’t that it was over, it was her relief that it was. She had never expected to invest so much of herself in a relationship and then be just glad it was over. But then again, the last months had been so mixed up that she didn&