Part 5 (1/2)

The time was five minutes to eight when Helen finished applying her mascara. With what felt like nothing but five thumbs on each hand, she smudged her way through two tissues and several profane words before she claimed victory over the brush.

”Done.”

She approached a floor-length mirror. To keep the evening simple, she chose tan slacks and a deep brown, oversized sweater. Comfort would help her through the evening but when she looked into the mirror, she was horrified.

”d.a.m.n it. I look like a root beer Popsicle.” The doorbell rang and she threw her hands up in resignation. ”Why would I think any of this would be simple?” She pulled on one shoe and immediately tore it off. ”So I'll be a comfortable Popsicle.”

At the front door, Helen watched through the peephole. One by one, a slow striptease, Cory pulled at her fingertips and removed the first glove.

”Look at you,” Helen whispered.

Now was her deciding moment, but which decision would hold more regret? If she didn't open the door, she could remain safe in her sparkling apartment and work-oriented life. That would serve Cory right, more than Helen, but sending her home would even the score, in Helen's mind. Or she could open the door, which provided no more promise than a solitary bath. Promises. She wasn't looking for them, but a growing part of her yearned to meet the future and what it could present.

Just as Cory rang the bell again, Helen stepped back from the door. She looked at the lock and placed her hand on the doork.n.o.b. She grasped the deadbolt latch and waited. Before her inner voice kicked her in the pants again, Helen turned the lock and quickly opened the door. There they stood with nothing but a simple threshold between them.

Cory raised her head and reached down to the bag beside her. She raised it to shoulder height.

”Popcorn delivery,” she said with a wide, half-moon grin.

Helen smiled and a new feeling overcame her anxiety. The feeling was bliss. ”I never turn down popcorn. Please come in.” She reached for the bag and closed the door behind them.

”h.e.l.lo, Helen.” Cory removed the other glove and extended her hand. Gently, their fingers grasped. ”I'm Cory Chamberlain.”

With Cory's tender squeeze, she became real for Helen. No bodies collided, and no one ran in the opposite direction.

Helen sat comfortably on the sofa. She peeked into the bag and giggled like a ten-year-old when Orville Redenbacher smiled up at her.

”What is all of this?”

”You said to bring popcorn and I wasn't sure what kind you liked.” Cory reached into the bag and introduced the items one by one. ”We have Jiffy Pop, microwave with or without b.u.t.ter, and this bag has different-colored kernels.” Helen laughed at the a.s.sortment that Cory piled onto her lap. ”This one gets popped on the cob and here's one popcorn ball. I don't care for them.” She seemed pleased at Helen's amus.e.m.e.nt. ”Pick your poison.”

”You're too much.”

Cory leaned back onto the sofa and crossed her legs. She looked elegant in her black pleated slacks and white crepe blouse. A delicate gold necklace hung gracefully at her throat. There was a small charm that Helen couldn't identify from her distance, and Cory's rich brown hair hung loosely over her shoulders. A wisp of bangs fell over her forehead. Helen noticed a slight overbite that shaped Cory's mouth to tantalizing, kissable perfection.

Feeling awkward with their first real meeting, Helen opened with small talk.

”Your name is interesting. Is it short for Corrine?” She pulled her legs under her, in keeping with her comfort theme.

Cory shook her head. ”I was named after a county in Texas.”

”Really?”

”It's true. My parents lived in Coryell County. A small town called Copperas Cove.”

”Coryell. I like it. It flows nicely. Mine is forceful. It's too harsh.”

Helen couldn't believe the verbiage that her brain voluntarily blew through her mouth. Certainly, somewhere along her life, she had learned to structure a meaningful sentence of more than three words.

”Helen's a lovely name.” Cory smiled. ”Tell me about yesterday's column and the black sheep one. You sound like a woman with a plan.”

Right to the point, just when she thought Cory might become a bit more veiled with more than a few seconds in Helen's presence.

”Well.” Helen fidgeted with the ear of popcorn. ”I hear over and over that much of the entertainment world wouldn't exist if it weren't for the talents of the gay population.”

Cory nodded. ”I believe it's true.”

”I'd like gay Hollywood, any gay celebrities, to get their act together, so to speak.”

”Come out together, you mean?”

”Yes.”

”A group thing is unprecedented,” Cory said. ”We need more names out there.”

”Could you come out in such a way?”

Cory thought for a moment. ”I could, providing I had a lover.”

”Why would that matter?”

”It would be important for me to say 'Look, world, I'm in love with this fabulous woman.' I'd want to show all that she means to me, to everyone around me.”

Helen sat in silence and studied Cory's eyes. Looking for evidence of color-enhanced contacts was closer to the truth, but she found her eyes to be quite real, as real as her words. Cory charmed her, and her intuition said that Cory Chamberlain was no phony. She stared long and hard.

”Hey, you,” Cory said with an air of seduction. ”Vacationing again?” She reached for Helen's hand and slipped her fingers beneath it. Helen smiled but pulled away, not wanting the ants to awaken. Cory withdrew her hand, reached into the pocket of her slacks, and took out a plain elastic band. She pulled her hair together and secured it behind her. Helen saw she missed some strands. With quiet restraint, she didn't reach over to tuck them behind Cory's ear.

”I've been wanting to meet you,” Cory said, pus.h.i.+ng back the loose strands of her hair, ”but I wasn't sure how to go about it.” She looked to Helen for a reaction.

”So you ambushed me.” She kept a serious face, all the while wis.h.i.+ng she hadn't let go of Cory's hand. ”You could have called my office.”

”Yes, but what do you say to someone who doesn't know you?”

Helen nodded. ”I'd say 'h.e.l.lo' and introduce myself, but your ambush worked. There was an immediate intensity to your way. You left me with that huge question of 'is she gay?' After that you just annoyed me.”

Cory laughed. ”I'll tell you honestly that I planned our first encounter, but running into you while I jogged was an accident. I felt badly about your scarf.”

”You've made good on the scarf. More than once, if I remember correctly.” She looked over at the piano and hoped Cory wouldn't see how the box of scarves sat there and remained untouched from the day she received them.

”And have you found the answer to your question?”

”Yes, I have,” Helen said.

”Good, and I didn't a.s.sume incorrectly about you?”

”You did not,” Helen said. She smiled at their stuffy speech.

”Even better, so I'll just throw this out there for you. You're wonderfully attractive.”