"Perhaps you should," Helen said gently, reaching up with her fingers to straighten out the wild mess of platinum hair being blown by the gentle breeze. "I may be a hopeless romantic but I know that love sometimes shows up in the most unexpected places. You shouldn't shut the doors without at least taking a look at what's inside." Just then the door opened and Laura stuck her head out.

"Hey, I found the old home movies and Bobby just went to the attic to get the screen. Crystal, do you want to watch some boring home movies?" "Oh," Helen said excitedly, pushing herself up from her chair. "I haven't seen those in years. You were such a cute little girl."

"Sure, sounds like fun," Crystal said, rising from her chair as well. From the portraits and photos lining the walls of the house, she had a good i.e.of how Laura looked as a child but to actually see a home movie would give a life to those images. It also helped that the movies would serve as a way to end the conversation between her and Helen. The older woman entered the house first and Crystal was very aware of Laura holding the door open for her and the way the writer's hand seemed to brush her shoulder as she walked past.

"What?" Laura asked, causing Crystal to realize she had been staring.

"Oh nothing, just got lost in thought, I guess," the blonde woman replied lamely, hoping her answer did not sound as stupid to Laura as it did to her. The living room boasted two chairs and a low couch. Bobby rearranged the furniture so they were all facing the portable movie screen and took his seat on the right side of the couch while Gail and Helen took possession of the chairs. Feeling that it would look silly to sit on the floor when there was space available on the couch, Crystal took a seat at the left end, leaving the center for Laura, who was busy threading the film through the projector. When Laura did sit down, Crystal decided the couch wasn't as wide as she had originally thought. Her body was pressed against Laura from hip to shoulder. The film was starting, showing a gangly girl of ten and a baby dressed in blue sitting on the grass in front of a house.

"Forgot the lights," Bobby said, rising to his feet. Crystal looked over at Helen, surprised to see the older woman looking back with a knowing smile on her face. Crystal wanted to scowl but thought it inappropriate since she was a guest and turned her attention to the screen where the scene had changed to show Laura's mother and a big burly man with short white hair that she could only assume was Laura's father. Crystal started when she felt warm breath near her ear.

"There really are some funny parts in here," Laura whispered. "Like when Bobby climbed into the fish tank trying to catch Dad's prized angel fish. Mom caught it and filmed it before Dad got home."

"Uh huh," Crystal murmured, hoping Laura would turn her attention back to the screen, certain that Helen could somehow see in the dark and was smiling at them.

"That wasn't so bad," Laura said as she backed the Jeep out of the driveway.

"It was fine. Your family is very nice," Crystal said, looking out the passenger window as the Taylor house slowly slipped out of sight. "I don't think Mom had to break out the photo albums, especially the baby pictures."

"Oh I thought those were cute, especially the tub pictures." Crystal said but the teasing tone that should have been there was conspicuously absent. "Is something bothering you?" Laura ventured.

"Naw, just have a lot on my mind," came the dismissive answer. It didn't satisfy the writer at all, especially when she looked over and saw the faraway look on Crystal's face.

"It helps to share."

"Naw, I just need to think some things out." Clearly it wasn't a subject that Crystal wanted to share. Laura tried twice more on the ride home to initiate a conversation only to give up when she could not get anything more than one or two word answers. When they arrived home, Crystal said her good nights and immediately disappeared into her bedroom, leaving Laura to wonder what had happened at her mother's house to have such an effect on the younger woman's mood.

Chapter Thirteenth

R-r-r-rrrr, click. R-r-r-r-rrrr, click. "Dammit, why won't you start?" Slamming her hand against the steering wheel, Crystal turned the ignition back to the off position and tried again. This time the Omni started but not without a great deal of fuss and a misfire. It had been a good day at work but to come out and spend ten minutes trying to get her car started had soured Crystal's mood considerably. When she was finally certain that the hatchback would stay running, she put the car in gear and pulled out of her parking space. The blocks passed as the blonde let her mind wander over the day's events. After six weeks of sweat and labor, the renovations and restoration of the building was almost complete. When Michael had called her into the office shortly before the end of her shift, Crystal feared it was to tell her that there was no more work for her to do. To her surprise, he actually called her in to make certain she wanted to work on the next project he had lined up, renovating an old school into a set of low income apartments. To top it off, he gave her a dollar an hour raise, citing her flexibility and willingness to learn new jobs, minimizing down time. To some people an extra forty dollars a week before taxes wasn't much but to Crystal it meant she could afford to pay for her therapy sessions without having to juggle the other bills or work too many hours of overtime.

And those sessions with Jenny Foster became more important as each week passed. Crystal still refused to attend the Tuesday night women's support group but she found herself more willing to talk about her feelings with her therapist. The role playing and talking about her father were still difficult, often ending up with Crystal needing to take time to get her anger, or on rare occasion her tears, under control. Even then it always meant a long night for her and Laura as Crystal would stay up late talking to her best friend about what had happened in her therapy session and how she was feeling. Laura never seemed to mind the heavy conversations, even making the point of asking about them whenever she knew Crystal had a session scheduled for that day. The two women had gotten into a habit when it came to talk, sitting on opposite ends of the couch with their feet sharing the middle cushion. It made it easier for Crystal to talk, giving her the space she needed but still close enough to get a hug when the pain was too great.

Turning onto the highway, Crystal let her thoughts drift to the relationship she and Laura shared. Since Helen's observation opened her eyes, Crystal found herself very aware of her roommate's presence and actions. There was never anything sexual or even romantic about the way Laura treated her but Crystal was aware of the affection and closeness building between them. It was the little things, she decided. A casual brush against her shoulder whenever the writer passed by, the dinner waiting for her each night, the evenings spent together on the couch watching television or sitting at the table working on the modules for the GED exam. Crystal could swear once she even felt Laura's lips brush against the top of her head during an intensely emotional chat session where she had sought the safety of the writer's embrace to release tears that otherwise refused to fall.

Rather than being disturbed by the growing closeness, Crystal found herself most agreeable to it. She willingly tagged along to the softball games and inevitable trips to the lesbian bar afterward. When Bobby left for college, Crystal went with Laura to wish him good luck, even accepting a hug from the young man and tousling his blond hair as if he were her own little brother. Since her early working hours meant that she was usually the first one up in the mornings, Crystal had taken it upon herself to make sure there was always fresh coffee waiting for when Laura awakened. Then of course there was the way the two of them had come to an unspoken compromise with each other in terms of their vastly different attitudes toward neatness and order. Crystal made sure she put the newspaper back into some semblance of order and Laura had not made a comment in quite a while about the panties that dried on the shower rod each day.

Tonight was a special night and Crystal could only smile to herself and glance over at the brightly wrapped package sitting on the passenger seat. It was Laura's birthday and despite how tight her funds were, Crystal was bound and determined to get her best friend a special present. It had taken several trips to various stores before she passed a kiosk in the middle of the mall and spotted the perfect present sitting on an upper shelf. With little thought to the cost, she ordered it, paying extra for the special items she wanted on it and waiting over two weeks for it to come in. Crystal wanted to pick up a birthday card but after checking dozens of them could not find one to properly express how she felt about Laura. In the end she gave up, deciding that the present was always appreciated more than the card. Now the time had come to finally take it out of the car and give it to her friend and Crystal found herself oddly nervous as she approached their townhouse complex. Would Laura really like it? Would a gift certificate have been better? Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, Crystal guided the Omni into the parking space and shut the ignition off, listening unhappily as the car continued to sputter and run for a few seconds before finally going silent.

When she entered the house, Crystal was surprised not to see Laura waiting downstairs for her as had been the case for every evening for the last few weeks. The faint sound of the shower clued her as to where Laura was and Crystal quickly hid the present between the couch and the bookshelf, planning on giving it after dinner. Walking into the kitchen, she was surprised to find that dinner was not in the oven nor were there any signs that Laura was planning on making anything. Confused, Crystal returned to the living room and sat down on the couch. Laura had not said anything to her about going out for dinner. Hearing the shower stop, Crystal shifted sideways so she could see the stairs. "I'm home," she called when Laura stepped out of the bathroom.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," came the reply before the door to Laura's bedroom shut.

When Laura came downstairs a few minutes later, Crystal was surprised to see her wearing sweat pants and a lavender t-shirt displaying a double women's symbol. Certainly not an outfit to wear if going out to dinner. "How was work?" Laura asked.

"Busy. We're trying to finish up everything by the first week in October and I think it's going to be close. You have plans for dinner?"

"Yes, veggie pizza from Coloso's," Laura said as she took her usual seat on the couch, propping her bare feet on the center cushion and smiling at the face Crystal made at the suggestion. "I ordered you a supreme, no anchovies and there's a pepperoni, mushroom and a cheese one coming as well. They should be here by seven."

Now Crystal was really confused. "Why so many pizzas?"

"The boys are coming over, so is Jenny. Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"We always have a pizza party for my birthday. I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to mention it."

"Oh, that's fine. I just thought well, never mind what I thought," Crystal said. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks. Jenny should be here in a few minutes and Peter called. They're running late but they should be here by seven thirty. We'll just reheat the pizza if we need to."

"Sounds like fun." Crystal tried to keep her voice cheerful but inside she was even more nervous than before. It was one thing to give Laura her present alone, it was quite another to have it opened in front of everyone else. Why didn't I get a gift certificate instead? "Um, if they're all coming over, I'd better go change." She went to stand up but found herself stopped by Laura's hand on her wrist.

"Wait a minute. Are you okay? Seems like something is bothering you."

"No," she lied. "I'm probably just tired from work. I'll take a shower and change. Be down in a little bit."

"Hey Crystal?"

"Yeah?"

"Going for a new style with your hair?" Laura grinned. "I don't think white on blonde is a good combination."

"What?" Crystal reached up and sure enough felt more than one spot where white paint had taken residence on her head. "Must have been when I was doing the cutting in near the ceiling. I had the brush above my head most of the time." Aware of the time, she stood up and scooted past Laura on her way to the stairs. "Did you save me any hot water?"