Lady in Red

She turned out to be right as the hostess led them to a small table at the far edge of the overhang, one with a commanding view of the floor below. A waiter soon appeared to take their drink and dinner orders.

"How would you feel about sharing a bottle of wine?" Laura asked after they had made their food selections.

"That would be great," Kathy replied.

Laura requested a particular vintage that Kathy didn't recognize. The waiter certainly did as his expression reacted to her choice. No doubt, Kathy thought, because his gratuity would be based on the cost of the meal. She was about to suggest that perhaps the wine might not be a good idea when Laura practically read her mind.

She rightly pointed out that both the wine and dinner itself had been her idea and that Kathy shouldn't worry about anything other than enjoying herself. Besides, since they were going to be discussing the law, she could actually count it as a business expense. Kathy wasn't sure if Laura was joking about the last part or not, but she decided to just go with it and let the matter drop.

"Now," Laura said as she changed the subject, "you had some questions about the Madison?"

Questions she did indeed have as, for three quarters of an hour, Kathy delved into the most minute details of the case. Laura was greatly impressed by the details of the young woman's enquires, especially since they were more insightful than those that had been asked by some of the junior associates at her own firm. Her enjoyment of the exchange more than validated Laura's decision to invite Kathy to dinner.

About halfway through dinner, Laura had a disconcerting realization. The third button of Kathy's blouse had become undone, revealing much more of her cleavage than had been visible down in the bar. What was troubling about it was that, without realizing that she had been doing so, Laura had been staring at the impeccable mounds like a fourteen-year-old school boy.

Embarrassed, Laura refocused her attention in a more appropriate direction, only to discover a short time later that it had drifted back. Thankfully, absorbed in the answers to her questions, Kathy hadn't seemed to have notice.

Finally, by the time the waiter cleared the main entrée and took their dessert order, Kathy began to run out of questions. Which gave Laura the chance to ask some of her own, learning a bit more about Kathy and the state of life at Columbia.

She learned that, despite her youthful appearance, Kathy had turned twenty-five. She had been born and raised in a small town twenty miles south of San Francisco. Determined to succeed, she'd earned a full academic scholarship that allowed her almost her choice of schools. She chose Columbia over equally prestigious schools closer to home so as to make a new start in life. To be the person, she said, that she was born to be and not what people expected her to be.

For her part, Laura gave Kathy a much more honest synopsis of her life than she'd given James, including, much to her surprise, sharing the toll her success had taken on her marriage. There was something about the girl that made her want to give her whatever benefit her experience could offer.

By the time dessert was done, the conversation had become a comparison of changes and similarities between their respective times at the university. A comparison that had shifted from the academic to the personal.

"With a class schedule like you're keeping, I'm guessing there's little time for a social life," Laura remarked, remembering that her own ventures in that area during law school had been limited to recreational sex, occasioned as much by the need for stress relief as for satisfaction.

"Actually, I was involved with someone for a while when I was still an undergrad," Kathy offered as she took a sip of her after dinner coffee, "but in the end it didn't work out. Morgan just couldn't accept the amount of time I had to spend trying to get into law school."

"I remember those days," Laura sighed appreciatively, "they can be overwhelming."

"And then, when I canceled our summer plans so that I could take an internship at a law office, well..."

"... that ended the relationship," Laura said, completing the thought.

"Well, at least the exclusivity of it," Kathy said. "We still get together from time to time to, well ...I guess unwind might be one way to describe it."

"I see," Laura replied, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth as she caught the younger woman's meaning. "Sometimes you need a friend like that."

What Laura didn't share was that she had a friend like that back home in Boston, someone she could turn to when life grew too stressful. But since he was also a friend in actuality, there were limits to how far she could go with him. Hence the need to get away once in a while.

"Am I keeping you from something?" Laura asked, noticing that Kathy had checked the time on a nearby wall clock twice in the last ten minutes.

"No, I mean, I was planning to go to an art exhibition over on Tenth Avenue. It's the last night and a friend of mine has a few paintings in it," Kathy explained. "But it's no big thing. I much more enjoyed having dinner with you."

"Well, I was wondering why you came all the way down to the Royal Centennial, since you made it clear it wasn't to meet guys," Laura smiled. "What time does the exhibit close?"

Kathy said it was open until ten.

"Then we have plenty of time to walk over there and take a look," Lauren unexpectedly said.

"We?" Kathy asked.

"If you don't mind," Lauren replied. "As good as dinner was, it was a bit more than I normally eat, so a little exercise might be just the thing. Unless of course I would be in the way?"

"Not at all," Kathy immediately answered.

With that, Lauren caught the waiter's attention and motioned for the dinner check.

-=-=-=-

As Kathy had said before, it was only two blocks to where the exhibit was being held, so it took less than ten minutes to walk over.

Occupying the first floor of an old pre-war, five story building in the middle of the block, the galleria was only identified by the owner's name etched onto the plate glass window. Despite that, it would've been impossible to miss due to the crowd of people gathered in front. Concerned with the number of people and the lateness of the hour, Laura began to estimate their chances of getting in. Kathy, however, didn't seem to have any worry in that regard, moving to the front of the line and getting the attention of the tall, heavily muscled gatekeeper. After exchanging a few words, the sentinel undid a velvet roped barrier and granted her and Laura access, much to the openly expressed umbrage of those who had been waiting in line for some time.

Once inside, Laura was glad to see that the building's interior didn't match its exterior, having been totally reconstructed since the days when it had been tenement housing. A large floor plan sitting on an easel by the front desk in the foyer showed the gallery was subdivided into two large rooms and three smaller ones. After checking the diagram, Kathy announced that the room they were looking for was the smallest of the five.

"Isn't this awesome?" Kathy gushed as they walked through the first gallery.

"I'm not sure awesome is the word I'd use," Laura replied as she took in some of the work that adorned the walls around them, "but I will say that some of these are indeed impressive."

Laura had no real interest in art, at least not in regard to how connoisseurs applied value to it, but she did know when she saw something she liked. The name on the placard that identified the exhibit simply said "Argo," with no other real information about the artist. Laura wondered if the one for Kathy's friend would show as little information.

"It's through here," Kathy said, looking back over her shoulder as she heading for one of the adjacent smaller rooms.

The second artist at least had a full name, Victor Rush, along with a short biography under his name. That information, or at least the little that Laura took the time to read, was the most interesting part of the presentation. The work itself, at least in Laura's opinion, was way too cartoonish to be taken seriously. Yet it did seem to have its share of admirers, so someone must have thought it good enough to display.

As they neared the entranceway to the next room, which Kathy had indicated to be their objective, Laura had a disturbing thought. What if she hated Kathy's friend's work? What would she say?

'You'll lie and say you love it,' she reminded herself, recalling similar situations in the past, though even a white lie seemed wrong in regard to Kathy.

"Here we are," Kathy proclaimed as she led Laura into the smallest of the display halls.

Perhaps it was due to its size, but there was only a handful of people in the room, not a hopeful sign. A quick glance showed a half dozen paintings on the walls, but it was the identifying placard that drew Laura's attention. Specifically, the name on it - Morgan Ryan.

'No wonder Kathy was so concerned about missing the exhibit,' Laura thought, recognizing the name of her friend.

"So, what do you think?" Kathy asked as she turned her attention from the paintings on the walls back to Laura.

Laura took a long moment to look up at the three paintings on the closest wall before answering. All were similar in concept, in that they featured young women in various stages of dress - or perhaps undress might have been a better description. Morgan certainly preferred painting nudes or near nudes, she thought, but at least he was good at it. The paintings showed considerable talent, each being better than the one before it.

"They're lovely," Laura said truthfully.

Kathy's face lit up with a smile, happy to see that Laura approved.

Turning to take in the portraits on the opposing wall, it occurred to Laura that the works appeared to have been hung in chronological order, since the first one on the left wall was even better than the three that had preceded it. It was when she moved to the center portrait that she suddenly felt her breath taken away.

It featured a shapely long-haired blonde, stretched out on a bed, with her body facing the viewer in a way that made her breasts clearly visible, but not fully exposed. It was, Laura thought, the difference between naked and nude - hard to articulate, but you knew it when you saw it. Easily the most striking piece in the small collection, it was also, the older woman realized, familiar.

"This is you?" Laura asked Kathy, who had moved to only a few inches away.

"Yes, Morgan painted it last year when we were still together," Kathy replied nonchalantly. "Don't you just love it?"

"It certainly is ... impressive," Laura said, her eyes locking on the bare splendor of the breasts she had been staring at earlier in the evening.

"Oh, you have to meet Morgan," Kathy abruptly said as she spotted the artist just entering the small gallery. Stepping away, she headed off in that direction.

Laura didn't even notice Kathy's withdrawal, her attention tightly focused on the painting. She couldn't take her eyes off it; it was that captivating.

When she did realize that Kathy was gone, Laura started to look for her. She finally located her on the far side of the room, speaking to someone who, Laura concluded, must be Morgan - an assumption confirmed as the two of them began walking toward her.

About five nine with short, almost cropped, dark red hair, Morgan looked to be about thirty years old. Dressed in simple black jeans, mid-calf high boots and a blue denim top, the artist obviously didn't feel the need to dress for success. As they got closer, Laura further noted that, despite the decidedly cowboy attire, the artist was never going to be described as ruggedly handsome. It was only when they were right on top of Laura that she realized that there was a good reason for that - Morgan was a woman.

"Laura, I'd like you to meet Morgan," Kathy said, her face beaming.

"I'm pleased to meet you," the slim, small breasted painter said warmly, her hand outstretched. "Kathy was just telling me how much you liked her portrait."

As she felt Morgan's hand close around her own, Laura tried to say something but words just wouldn't come. In addition to her momentary confusion, her face turned pale.

"Laura, are you okay?" Kathy asked, noticing the abrupt change.

"Yes, I'm fine," Laura said, recovering her composure. "I just felt a little dizzy for a second."

"Kathy dear, why don't you get Laura something to drink?" Morgan suggested, turning to the younger woman. "Is water okay, or would you like something stronger?" she asked, shifting back to Laura.

"Water would be fine," Laura answered.

The reply had barely left her mouth before Kathy was on her way.

"Would you like to sit down?" Morgan asked.

"No, I'm fine, really," Laura insisted. "I just, I was just surprised for a moment, that's all."

"Surprised?" Morgan asked. "In what way?"

"I guess you weren't what I expected," Laura replied, realizing as she spoke that it had been the wrong thing to say. "I mean..."

Morgan mirrored a lighter version of Laura's confusion for a second, but then a smile replaced it.

"Would I be wrong if I said you were expecting a man?" Morgan asked.

Laura was too embarrassed to answer. Morgan, on the other hand, seemed to now take the misassumption in stride.

"I'm also guessing that Kathy mentioned that the two of us used to have a relationship, but left out one small pertinent detail," Morgan added, the smile on her face now broader.

"Something like that," Laura answered. "I mean, it just took me by surprise, I didn't mean there was anything wr..."

"Laura, take a moment to breathe," Morgan interrupted. "If she didn't tell you, you couldn't have known. Why would you have thought otherwise, especially with a name like Morgan?"

Laura took that breath, giving the artist a chance to continue.

"My parents were serious devotees of the Arthurian legend," Morgan explained. "They named my sisters, Guinevere and Igraine, and when I came along, it was too much to hope that they'd pick Elaine or Anna, something almost conventional."

Laura finally smiled, feeling greatly relieved.

"So, let's put this unintentional faux pas behind us and move on," Morgan concluded.

Laura agreed with a smile and a nod.

"How do you know Kathy?" Morgan inquired. "I don't recall her ever mentioning you before."

"Oh, we just met a few hours ago," Laura replied, explaining how Kathy had approached her at the hotel after the retirement luncheon and how, given her passionate interest in the law, she had invited Kathy to have dinner so that she could answer her questions. "Then, when she mentioned the exhibit, it sounded interesting so I asked if I might come along," she finished.

"Ah," Morgan said with a loud sigh, "I know all too well about Kathy's passions. They can be exasperating at times."

The answer was just ambiguous enough for Laura to wonder what passions Morgan was referring to.

"Still, she is a remarkable young woman, is she not?" Morgan added. "So full of life."

"Yes, I'm discovering that," Laura agreed as she glanced over Morgan's shoulder at the blonde's portrait.

"I call it "Lady in Red", Morgan said in response to Laura's gaze, which she took to be an allusion to the color of the sheet beneath Kathy in the painting. "That's her favorite color, by the way."

"I didn't know that," Laura replied, thinking that, given how few hours they had known each other, there was little she actually did know about the young law student.

Just then, Kathy returned with a small bottle of cold water, from which Laura took a few healthy swallows.

"Thanks, that helped a lot," she said once she was done.

They spent the next few minutes engaging in light conversation, touching on the artwork but mainly centering on various minutiae. Through it all, Laura could see that the redheaded artist still genuinely cared about her former lover.

As Laura took another sip from the bottle, she noticed another young blonde, this one resplendent in a flowing blue dress, enter the room and make a beeline toward the three of them. It took Laura a moment to make the connection, but a glance upward at the last portrait confirmed that the approaching woman was the subject of Morgan's most recent creation.

Ignoring Kathy and Laura, the young woman leaned close to Morgan and, while gently placing her hand on her shoulder, whispered softly into her ear. Neither of them could hear the words, but it was obvious that her tone was insistent.

"Yes, yes, I know, my dear, thank you for reminding me," Laura heard the redhead say in a low voice before turning back to her and Kathy.

"I do wish we had the time to talk some more, but there are people waiting that I'm told I simply must meet," Morgan said, reluctance in her voice.

"No need to apologize," Laura responded. "After all, this is your exhibit, your chance to be seen. I enjoyed meeting you."

"And I you," Morgan said, once more reaching out her hand.

In Kathy's case, however, a handshake wouldn't do and Morgan gave her a kiss that carried more than just friendship. From where she was standing, Laura was able to watch the other model as well, wondering what her story was, since she didn't seem to have any reaction to Kathy at all. Then, with another gentle nudge, the model in blue guided Morgan back to the other side of the room, where a small grouping of admirers awaited.

"Isn't she great?" Kathy asked, once Morgan and the other model were out of earshot.

"I thought she was very nice," Laura replied.

"Do you want to see the rest of the exhibit, or should we call it a night?" Kathy asked, the inflection of her voice giving her preference.

"I think we've seen everything that we came to see," Laura offered.

Kathy nodded her head in agreement and they began to make their way back toward the front entrance.

-=-=-=-

They'd gotten about a half block from the exhibition when Kathy again asked what Laura had thought of Morgan.

"Like I said before, I thought she was very nice," Laura repeated, then adding, "and she seems to still have a very high opinion of you."

"Well, like I said, we're still friends," Kathy responded.

"I have to confess, though, that I was a bit taken aback when Morgan turned out to be a woman," Laura admitted. "You sort of left that out when you were telling me about her over dinner."

"Did I?" Kathy replied, her tone unconvincing.

"Do you only date woman?" Laura asked, then, realizing that the question might have been inappropriate, apologized for asking, as it was really none of her business.

"No, it's a valid question," Kathy replied. "I know they seem to have a lot of labels for people today, lesbian, bisexual, fluid - sometimes it seems like you need a scorecard to keep track of who's who. Yes, I've always been into girls; I even came out when I was fourteen."

"Fourteen?" Laura repeated, unsure if she'd heard that right.

"Yep, fourteen," Kathy confirmed. "Surprised the hell out of my parents, but it sure made high school a lot more interesting."

"How was that?" Laura asked.

"I never realized how many girls there were in my school that wanted to make out with me," Kathy laughed. "All on the down low of course, but I didn't mind that."

"Really?" Laura asked.

Kathy nodded in reply.

They paused at the intersection, waiting for the light to change, allowing Laura to ask something else she had been curious about.

"That girl who was with Morgan, the one that reminded her that someone was waiting to meet her ..." Laura said.

"Krystal," Kathy interjected.

"Krystal," Laura repeated. "She was quite lovely and seemed quite devoted to Morgan. At least that was the impression I got from the few moments that I saw the two of them together."