A Ghost of a Chance

Torrey sat up, "Okay. That's good. We are moving in the right direction. At least you're admitting that this is a processing issue and not a lack of options issue. Because Annie is very patiently waiting for you to figure out your processing issue."

Cal felt her face flush, "No she isn't."

Torrey pointed at Cal's phone, "Yes. She. Is."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Cal was running out of ways to deny how she really felt without lying outright.

Torrey groaned, "You can be so fucking stubborn, you know that?"

"Yeah? Who are you to talk? Have you put together a demo of your sets yet? Steve is ready to pass it along to his record exec clients if you want."

"I'm missing my lead singer," Torrey wiggled his eyebrows.

Cal scoffed, "Puh-lease. I was just filling in while you looked for your lead vocalist. And you found her! Janey's great! She can do gigs anywhere, weekends or nights. I can't. You know, kids. And I have a day job."

"I have a day job too, which is why it's fine for things to stay the way they are. I've no aspirations to be the next Coldplay. Tell Steve I'm not after the big time."

"You could be though."

"Yeah, just like you could start dating Annie."

Cal blew a raspberry at her brother.

"You like her. She likes you. Actually, I'm pretty sure you guys are head over heels for each other. And Annie is waiting for you to make the first move. Except you won't."

Torrey's statements set off a dozen conflicting emotions within Cal's heart; she instinctually clammed up.

Her brother continued, "You call her 'Belle'. She likes it when you do that." Torrey raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Plenty of people call her that." Cal retorted.

Torrey shook his head, "Good try, sis. I made a comment about it earlier when she was here and she said you're the only one."

Cal blushed, "You know what you are? A shit-stirrer. A giant good-for-nothing shit-stirrer."

Torrey grinned. He reached over and ruffled Cal's hair, "Only cuz I love you, sis. Don't spend the rest of your life thinking you can't be happy, okay?"

Cal sighed, "I'm not unhappy. That's got to be good enough, Torrey. Don't push. I can't. Please."

Torrey held up both his hands in surrender, "Fine. Okay. But deep down, you know I'm right. I mean, Annie likes you so much she voluntarily came over to put your kids to bed. And she did it like a pro. Think about that for a second."

"I think it's time for you to go home, Torrey," Cal leaned over and gave him a hug, "Thanks for coming over tonight. All this would be impossible without you."

Shutting down the conversation was the only way Cal could extract herself from getting all tangled up in half-truths and denials. Torrey didn't push further, he knew some of his more pointed comments landed.

After Torrey headed home, Cal crawled into bed and stared at the framed photograph of her and Becca on her bedside table. The photo was from one of the first holidays they took together as a couple when Cal was a sophomore in college. The beach and ocean were in the background; they were both sunburned and grinning.

Cal sighed, "Everyone is being ridiculous. They think me and Annie should be a thing..." Cal turned off the light. She glanced at the outline of the photo frame in the darkness, "I have you in my head and my heart. Why would I need anything else?"

Cal's phone buzzed.

{Annie} Did you survive the work dinner?

Cal put down the phone, as if trying to prove that she wasn't over-the-moon excited to get a text from Annie.

Moments later, she grabbed the phone again, the backlit screen glowing in the darkness. She couldn't help it. She had to respond.

{Cal} Yes. More importantly, Torrey owes you -- apparently bedtime was smooth like butter.

{Annie} It's all good. Now that you aren't a client, I feel at liberty to say this: if you ever need an extra set of hands, just let me know.

Cal suddenly had a very vivid, very explicit mental picture of Annie's hands on her body. It made her gasp. Before she could come up with a response, Annie texted again.

{Annie} And this: (it may seem aggressive, but fuck it) You are by far the most awesome individual I've had the great good fortune to meet in a long time.

Cal's heart twitched as she read the text. When the words started to really sink in, Cal felt another pang of joy.

{Cal} The feeling is mutual. Although it's somewhat surprising, given the fact that you're a bunny smuggler and all.

{Annie} Thankfully, that's not my best attribute :-p

Another vivid, very sexy image of Annie flashed up in Cal's brain. Cal let out a big breath, "Keep your hormones in check, idiot."

{Cal} What would that be? Your ability to make your patients scream in pain?

{Annie} Only the wimpy ones.

{Cal} Are you calling me a wimp?

{Annie} Maybe...

"Hey!" Cal protested, but her smile betrayed her true feelings about Annie's teasing.

{Annie} ... but you're still my favorite!

Cal's smile grew. {Cal} I bet you say that to all your former clients...

{Annie} No. Just you. I'm betting on your law degree getting me out of trouble one day.

{Cal} And there I was, thinking you liked me for my wit and charm.

{Annie} As my nana used to say, 'You can never have enough lawyers in your life.'

{Cal} I'm crushed.

{Annie} You'll get over it. Good night, Cal.

{Cal} See you tomorrow.

--Chapter 5: The Cultural Festival (The Following Day - August)--

Cal woke up with a big smile on her face. She stretched and listened for noises coming out of her children's room. Miraculously, they seemed to still be asleep. She smiled a little more. Her eyes fell on the photograph on her bedside table. The smile faded.

"Yep. This still sucks," Cal muttered to herself. In the days immediately after Becca's death, she'd wake up crying. Now, almost a year later, Cal enjoyed a couple of minutes of her brain in neutral when she woke up. Today, she woke up with a smile, which was nice. Sure, the sadness crept in, as it inevitably did every morning, but it seemed to have ebbed into a low, quiet hum. Without really thinking about it, she shot Annie a text.

{Cal} Distract me.

{Annie} The average American picks his/her nose 4 times a day.

Cal chuckled. {Cal} Ew. Why are you up so early?

{Annie} I had to pick my nose. Why are you up so early?

{Cal} Parenting body clock. 10am can't come soon enough.

{Annie} You need to get out more.

{Cal} Ain't that the truth. See you soon.

Moments later, two pairs of feet padded into the room, bringing with them two soft and cuddly bodies. Mother and children went through their morning routine, with the twins eagerly awaiting Annie's arrival. When the intercom buzzed ten minutes earlier than expected, Cal happily threw open the door.

Except it wasn't Annie who walked out of the elevator.

"I left my ring in your bathroom," Portia said as she sauntered in. The kids said quick hellos but, not knowing Portia well, quickly pivoted to a game of Bug Bingo.

"You left it there so you'd have an excuse to come back this morning!" Cal narrowed her eyes at Portia.

"Yeah, true. Thor had to go to a breakfast meeting at eight this morning. I had some free time so thought I'd swing by... I want to meet this crush of yours."

Shut the fuck up! Cal mouthed as her eyes darted pointedly at the twins.

"Sorry!" Portia covered her mouth apologetically. She leaned into Cal and whispered, "I tried to entertain myself in the hotel room but it got boring after a while. We had three marathon rounds of toe-curling sex last night... you should try it sometime!"

Cal smiled, despite herself. "You're incorrigible, Portia."

Portia's phone started to ring, "Oh! It's Thor. Can I take this...?"

Cal nodded and pointed Portia towards her bedroom. Not long afterwards, the intercom buzzed again.

"ANNIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The twins yelled. Before Cal could stop them, they ran out into the hall, waiting for the elevator. Cal smiled when she heard the kids' screams of welcome and Annie's delighted greeting back.

"Hey! Did you guys sleep well?" Annie picked up Adrian as Jamie launched into a monologue about the dream she had.

"Good morning," Annie said brightly to Cal, who was leaning against the entrance hallway wall, a gorgeous smile on her face.

"Hi," Cal couldn't manage any other words. The sight of Annie took her breath away. Unlike their weekly PT sessions, Annie was no longer dressed in sweats. She wore a tank top and a pair of hip-hugging shorts. Cal's brain turned to mush at the sight. Lara Croft, step the hell back; Annie Frye's got you beat.. Not for the first time, Cal was grateful for her children's persistent demand for Annie's attention. I am totally and stupidly checking her out.

Annie too, was seeking refuge in the kids' energetic chatter. She very much enjoyed seeing what Cal looked like first thing in the morning. The tousled hair, the sleepy grin, the... the bra-lessness...! Annie's eyes swept across Cal's breasts once, and then once more. A small hand applied a death grip on her wrist and yanked her sideways, and she allowed herself to be taken away. Adrian shoved a Bug Bingo card into her hands, "I've already won twice this morning!"

"Adrian, that's bragging!" Jamie admonished.

Cal's bedroom door opened as Annie settled into the game.

"I have to love you and leave you!" Portia declared as she stepped out of the master bedroom. She lifted up her arms and stretched.

Annie couldn't believe her eyes. A veritable Amazon of a woman had just come out of Cal's bedroom.

"Uh, Annie, this is Portia... Portia, this is Annie." Cal shot Portia a warning look.

"Hi" Portia waved.

There was no mistaking that Portia just had a very good time in there. Annie gave her best effort and smiled back at Portia, but her thoughts were a great big burning tower of hurt, anger, and jealousy. I'm sitting on the floor playing bug bingo, and a woman just slinked out of Cal's room. What's wrong with this picture??!!

Portia picked up on it immediately. She might be an unapologetic tease with a one-track mind, but she wasn't cruel. "I was borrowing Cal's room. Call from my husband. His breakfast meeting finished earlier than he expected and he was disappointed that I wasn't in the hotel room when he returned. I, uh, gave him a little pep talk that helped convince him that I was worth forgiving...." Portia's eyes were sparkling with innuendo.

"OKAY, that's officially over-sharing, Portia." Cal glared at her.

Jamie, single-mindedly focused on beating her brother, patted Annie on her arm, "Your turn, Annie!" Annie turned back to the game, her mind foggy. On one hand, she knew her feelings for Cal weren't going to go away. If anything, the manic -- and happy -- texting marathon of past two weeks served to confirm the fact that there was something between them. On the other hand, she knew Cal was resolute in not wanting to date anyone. Annie knew her surge of jealousy was a harbinger of harder emotional hurdles to come; unrequited love was something Annie had always dismissed as a waste of time, but it felt different to her now. Her feelings for Cal had been growing and she couldn't dismiss them even if she tried. Instinctually, Annie knew that at some point -- if nothing changed - something would have to give. But I don't have to think about that now.

Portia shrugged, "No harm done, Cal. Annie, it's nice to meet you."

Annie waved as best she could -- Jamie had shoved the bag of bingo tiles into her hand. Cal opened the front door, "Say hi to Thor for me."

Portia nodded, "Will do." She leaned in and gave Cal a hug. "Annie really likes you," she whispered in Cal's ear.

Cal stiffened. Portia let go and looked at Cal meaningfully, "Have fun today, okay?"

Cal ignored the look, "Bye Portia..."

Annie was uncharacteristically quiet as they rode the subway to Flushing Meadows Park. Cal was preoccupied too, mostly from trying not to stare at Annie's hands. Despite her best efforts, Cal couldn't tear her eyes away, and fantasies of how those hands might caress her body left plenty of x-rated images in Cal's mind. Luckily, Jamie and Adrian's non-stop chatter provided the necessary diversions to mitigate any awkwardness the two women may have felt.

The moment they stepped foot on the Festival's grounds, there was even less opportunity to talk. The children pulled them from one activity to the next, and they happily facilitated rides in a dragon boat, banging various drums that the organizers made available to children, and the highlight of the afternoon, watching a demonstration of Shaolin Kung Fu. The performers, in their familiar outfits of white t-shirts and orange pants with white over-socks and black leg bindings, bounded all over the main stage in a awesome display of raw agility and strength.

Jamie was jumping up and down with excitement, "Mom, can Adrian and me go sit up front for the rest of the Kung Fu show?"

Cal pulled out two obnoxiously neon yellow shirts from her bag, "Sure honey, but put these on and come right back here when it's done, okay?"

"KAY! C'mon Adrian, let's go!" The kids jammed the t-shirts on and sprinted towards the stage.

Cal and Annie watched the two yellow t-shirts weave forward to the front of the audience.

"Now that," Annie nodded with respect, "is a black-belt mom move."

"I lost them once -- temporarily -- at a county fair. Never again. I never did tell Becca..." Cal paused and smiled apologetically, "I guess she knows now!"

Annie laughed. She waved towards the sky, "Hi Becca, Cal's kicking butt today!"

Cal couldn't help but chuckle. Annie always managed to find a way to make it okay. Not once have they stumbled into anything remotely close to discomfort over Becca. She turned her head, her eyes running a path along Annie's profile, stopping at her chin. Cal dare not go further.

Annie felt Cal's eyes on her face. She liked it. "You're staring at me, Cal Warner. What's up?"

Cal blushed, "I was just thinking how awesome this day has been for the kids. Thank you."

"How about you?" Annie turned and looked at Cal, "Was it a good day for you?"

"Any day with you is a good day for me, Belle," Cal said unguardedly. Fuck. Fix it, Warner! "Uh, you know, I didn't think friendships like this could happen at this stage in my life."

Cal's last statement was like the soft click of a door gently swinging shut. Annie put on a valiant smile, "You make it sound like you are an octogenarian with bad teeth and a flatulence problem, when you are anything but."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Cal knew she was being unfair. She shouldn't be fishing for compliments, but some reptilian part of her brain wanted desperately to confirm that Annie was into her.

Because I'm fucking in love with you and I think you feel the same way but then we keep doing this platonic friend-thing... Annie looked back towards the twins, "Like I said, I'm building up credit for the day I need you to flaunt your JD degree and defend me in court."

"You're making me nervous now. What deep, dark secrets are you hiding from me?"

Annie lifted her hands up, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out. It'll be like peeling back the layers of an onion..." Annie's eyebrows lifted suggestively.

Cal's heart lurched. Images of her peeling off Annie's clothing invaded her thoughts. It was thrilling but terrifying all at once. The electric energy of their mutual attraction was unmistakable. Stop acting like a teenager. You're a widow with children for fuck's sake!

"I'll keep that in mind," Cal smiled, but the playfulness was gone from her voice.

Annie gamely brushed off the subtle dismissal. Oh this is really going to suck. Two neon yellow blurs of energy suddenly burst into her field of vision. She nodded towards them, "Here they come -- I think we'll have a lot of Kung Fu madness all the way back to the city!"

Annie was right on the money: the kids were exhilarated by the demonstration long after returning home. They could barely sit still during dinner, and there was more water outside of the bathtub than inside once it was all said and done. The benefit to all the madness? The twins wore themselves out. Adrian fell asleep before Cal could start reading him his story, and Jamie fell asleep not long after Annie started reading hers.

"Thanks again for today, Annie," Cal said quietly as Annie got ready to leave.

"I had a great time, Cal," Annie gave Cal a quick peck on the cheek, "Have a great rest of the weekend!"

Thrills sped through Cal's body, "Thanks, but it's nanny interviews tomorrow... the twins aren't going to like it."

Every braincell was exhorting Annie to politely sympathize and say goodnight, but her heart was thumping out a different beat. "Do you want me to come hang out and keep them occupied when you need to talk one-on-one with the candidates?"

Cal's eyes widened. Annie thought she looked adorable.

Annie laughed, "Cal, it's not a big deal. I wouldn't offer if I couldn't do it."

When Cal continued to struggle with words, Annie waved a hand in front of her face, "Earth to Cal?"

Cal suddenly wrapped Annie in her arms and squeezed tight, "Thank you," she whispered.

It was Annie's turn to be rendered mute. Cal's arms felt amazing, the contours of her body fit so perfectly against Annie's, and the soft brush of Cal's breath against Annie's neck was so enticing that she stopped breathing.

The two of them remained in an embrace for what seemed like forever, both of them relishing the coming together of their bodies.

Cal leaned back slightly and looked into Annie's eyes, "Seriously, thank you."

Annie nodded wordlessly, not daring to look anywhere other than the blue depths of Cal's eyes. Cal's eyes flickered down to Annie's lips for a fraction of a second, but it did not go unnoticed. Annie's stomach lurched. She wants to kiss me.

Cal knew her eyes had betrayed her. She released Annie immediately and shoved her hands in her pockets, "Um, really Annie, thank you. That's so nice of you, uh, I can't describe how amazing it is that you offered, but I think I'll be okay on my own."

Annie stared at Cal. She sighed and shrugged, "Fair enough." Annie wanted to come across as carefree as possible, so she smiled, opened the front door and said, "Good luck!" over her shoulder as she left.

Annie scrunched up her face the minute the elevator doors closed. You total, utter, effing idiot, Annabelle Frye!!! Annie shook her head as she walked out of the building. "I need to get my head examined..." she muttered to herself. Spending time with Cal was a study in self-control, and Annie didn't know how much more she could take. It was exhilarating to be in Cal's company, but it was also devastating. Annie yearned to touch her, to embrace her, to feel the soft ridges of Cal's lips against her own.

"ARRGGHHH!" She suddenly yelled in frustration, causing those walking near her to jump with surprise.

Annie stomped towards the subway, "Okay. Home. Shower. Bed. Lobotomy. And not necessarily in that order."

--Chapter 6: The Night At The Bar (Two Months Later -- October)--