Marnie

Marnie made sure that she made eye contact.

"I'm a lesbian, Professor Wentworth." Marnie said it even though she wasn't sure herself of her sexual orientation. Despite her innate good nature, she instinctively defended Lauren and said something that would hurt.

"Are you, my dear?" she said with a smarmy tone. "Is that why you're interested in Dr. Byrne? She is quite pretty."

"It's not like that Dr. Wentworth, I haven't even met her yet," Marnie protested.

"I'm sorry I raised it. I'll note my objection in your file, but I'll include her in the list of possible candidates."

"I'm not sorry," said Marnie, her temper now inflamed.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not sorry you mentioned it to me."

"You're not?"

"I'm not. Now I know I never want to speak with you again ... Pam." She put extra emphasis on the last word.

Dr. Wentworth hated to be called Pam.

Marnie tried to walk out of the office with an air of dignity, but her shoulders slumped slightly when she realized she had shot her mouth off without thinking. Dr. Wentworth would have to approve her choice of a faculty advisor.

Pamela's eyes narrowed as she watched the young, beautiful and smart mouthed student leave her office. No one talked to her that way, least of all a naïve local who knew nothing of the real world.

* * * * *

Chapter Four

The Conversation

Marnie met with the professors Dr. Wentworth recommended, but none of them sparked the kind of connection she was hoping for. She wondered if she was wasting her time reaching out to Lauren Byrne, given Dr. Wentworth's reservations and the choppy ending to their conversation. She decided to go online to learn more. She discovered Dr. Lauren Byrne was from South Boston and joined the Dominion English department less than a year ago on a two year faculty exchange program with Boston University. She was divorced, a mother of two, as Dr. Wentworth had mentioned, and from Marnie's quick math, about forty-two. She scrolled down to the official picture ... a head shot.

Medium length fine blonde hair, striking blue eyes, with an attractive face and an alluring smile. Just based on the little she knew, she didn't think there was much to risk with a phone call.

Marnie tried three times to connect with Dr. Byrne by phone. On the third try she caught her in her office.

"Dr. Byrne?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I'm Marnie ... Marnie Dunlavy. I think Dr. Wentworth told you I'd be calling."

"Dunlavy. Yes ... yes ... I remember. What can I do for you?" she asked in a hurried voice. Marnie could hear a spirited conversation in the background.

"So sorry. Maybe I've caught you at a bad time."

Lauren Byrne stopped herself. She was in a hurry because she was on a conference call that dragged on well beyond its scheduled end, and had two students in her office carrying on a separate conversation. It wasn't Marnie's fault. She was intrigued by the timbre of Marnie's voice and the charm of her brogue. She sounded sexy to her, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that her baser instincts always led to trouble, and usually trouble with a capital "T".

"No ... no ... Marnie ... my bad. Give me a minute."

Marnie heard voices in the background as Lauren told the students she needed to clear her office so she could take the phone call. Lauren didn't want to be interrupted so she attempted to lock the door. The old locking mechanism often stuck, so Lauren jiggled it until she thought it locked. She went back to her conversation with Marnie.

Marnie and Lauren hit it off, spending the first part of the conversation talking about possible topics for her dissertation and Lauren's interest in acting as her faculty advisor. Lauren told her she would be delighted to act as Marnie's advisor with the proviso that when Lauren's two year term was up, there would be a back-up advisor to take over the remainder of Marnie's candidacy. Lauren recommended Professor Steiner as the back-up advisor. Marnie appreciated the offer, and told her that she'd like to meet in person before making her final decision. Marnie proposed a handful of dates.

Lauren checked in her calendar and said "no ... no ... and no" to all of the proposed dates.

Lauren's supposedly locked door opened, startling her. It was one of her students, Pauline Mancuso, an undergraduate.

"Excuse me, I saw your light on in your office. Are you free to talk?" the student asked.

"Hang on Marnie."

Lauren pointed to her cell phone. "I'm on another call with a student and I'm late for an appointment. Pauline, can you come by tomorrow?" She accessed the calendar on her phone. "Around 3?"

"Sure, sure, Dr. Byrne. Sorry to bother you." The young woman softly closed the door.

"Sorry Marnie, the lock on my door is a bit sticky." She cursed the maintenance man, who she had complained to twice about the faulty lock. She went back and checked dates for a meeting with Marnie since none of the ones proposed by her worked. "So you are free on the 17^th?"

There was a noticeable pause on the phone. "You know that's St. Patrick's Day, ma'am."

"Yes ... yes ... and I'm so sorry, but it's really the only day I have available in the timeframe that you've proposed."

Marnie refocused. Sure ... she'd miss out on at least half of St. Patrick's Day. She usually made a month's worth of tips in a day. But she really wanted to have this meeting before too much time passed, and a bit of financial sacrifice wasn't going to stop her. "Sure ... sure. The 17^th will be just fine ma'am."

"Well ... just call me Lauren. That's my name. We might as well start to get to know each other."

"Sure Lauren. Can't wait to meet you." Marnie smiled. She felt she was making the right decision.

"And me as well." Lauren cursed to herself again at admiring the sexiness of Marnie's voice.

* * * * *

Chapter Five

The Meeting

Marnie arrived at the Whole Bean Coffee Company ten minutes early for her appointment with Dr. Byrne. The coffee shop was only a few minute walk from campus. It was St. Patrick's Day, so it took her about twice as long as usual to drive to campus given the throngs of people whose early celebrations had spilled over to the streets. She ordered her usual double expresso and found an open table at the busy cafe, checking her phone when it chimed with a new message. It was from Dr. Byrne. She was going to be thirty minutes late. Lauren asked if Marnie wanted to reschedule and she replied no, she'd wait.

Marnie had the foresight to bring her novel, and opened it to the bookmarked page describing Sonny spiriting away one of the lusty bridesmaids at Connie and Carlo's wedding for an afternoon delight. She was caught in the erotic imagery of a full-figured woman being fucked from behind with her flouncy bridesmaid's dress thrown over her back. Her reverie was interrupted by a touch on her shoulder.

"Marnie?"

Marnie looked up. A tall woman, reed thin, stood over her. She was wearing a worsted wool jacket and matching wool skirt cut below the knees. Her blouse had a large bow adorning it. Marnie was sure her clothes were expensive, but she wouldn't have been caught dead wearing them.

"Professor Dawkins."

"Yes, yes, fancy seeing you here Marnie."

Simone Dawkins was one of the professors that Pamela Wentworth recommended Marnie speak with. Marnie spent an hour with Simone less than a week ago.

"So Marnie, how's your decision coming along?"

Marnie hadn't told Simone that she wasn't under further consideration as her faculty advisor. Marnie had decided to wait to tell her after her probable choice of Dr. Byrne was confirmed.

"Oh ... still weighing my options."

Marnie studied Simone's face. She bought the half-truth.

"So ..." said Simone, inviting herself to sit down in the empty seat across from Marnie and putting down her full cup of coffee, "who else are you talking to?"

One of the reasons Marnie ruled out Simone was because of her reputation as the faculty gossip, and that reputation seemed to be well-earned. Marnie decided to be truthful, knowing that Simone would find out anyway, as it wasn't a closely guarded secret.

"As a matter of fact, I'm here to meet with Dr. Byrne. She should be here in fifteen minutes or so."

Simone's eyebrows arched. "Lauren?"

"Yes ... of course ... is there another Dr. Byrne I don't know about?"

"No ... no ... it's just that Lauren's made ... how shall I say this ... quite an impression on all of us."

Her statement of course invited further probing.

"So ... exactly what do you mean when you say quite an impression?"

Simone scanned the café out of the corner of her eye before she continued. "We have so few Americans on the college's faculty, and had none in the English department until Lauren arrived."

She stopped and tried to see if Marnie would react. She half expected that Marnie would rail against Americans, being in the hospitality business. Marnie didn't take the bait.

"I think it's great that you have more diversity in your faculty," Marnie told her, making it clear they were going to have divergent opinions on Lauren.

"Well ... yes ... that's true ... it's just that Dr. Byrne doesn't seem to have the ... umm ... proper respect for our traditions, and she ..."

Simone stopped mid-sentence. A tall, blonde woman stood over her, holding a paper cup with hot coffee in it.

Simone looked up. "Hello Dr. Byrne."

"Hello Simone. I think you're sitting in my seat." Lauren had arrived earlier than she expected and overheard what Simone was saying (and knew what she was thinking). If she hadn't shown up, Simone would have unquestionably bad mouthed her as an "ugly American" -- aggressive, self-centered and disrespectful.

Simone realized with horror that Lauren couldn't help but have overheard what she was saying. She rose up quickly from her chair, flustered, and her hand accidentally knocked over the full cup of hot coffee sitting in front of her. The creamy brown liquid flowed over the edge of the table as a coffee waterfall, creating a large puddle on the floor.

"Shit," Simone said reflexively, then realizing she was being watched by the people around her.

The three of them did their best to staunch the spill with paper napkins. Fortunately, a worker wheeled over a mop and bucket and sopped up the remaining coffee, then used a clean rag to dry off the table top.

Marnie saw the contrast. Simone was dressed rather formally, and conservatively. She wore little make-up and her overall appearance was plain and dowdy. Lauren looked like a beacon next to her, brassy blonde hair, wavy to the shoulder, striking eyes accentuated by perfectly applied make-up, and strong shoulders and arms apparent from her tight fitting sleeveless dress. She was clearly very well endowed, with an hourglass figure. Marnie couldn't believe she was in her forties. She was slightly awestruck when she was shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, laughing together at Simone as they spread napkins across the table.

Simone left wordlessly. Marnie's quick assessment was that Simone's negativity towards Lauren was motivated by jealousy over Lauren's attractiveness, and probably her perceived American abrasiveness. In her mind, both of those attributes were extreme positives.

"Thank you ... thank you Dr. Byrne for meeting with me." Marnie was a bit nervous and still a bit star struck by Lauren's good looks. She felt an attraction, even though she'd never been interested in woman and never had more than a superficial conversation with an American.

Lauren's eyes sparkled at Marnie's sincere interest and her attractive innocence. She watched Marnie's hands fidget as she talked. She wanted to make sure Marnie was going forward with her eyes open.

"It's my pleasure. I'm surprised you're talking to me. Faculty advisor assignments have to be approved by Dr. Wentworth." She doubted that Wentworth would approve anything she proposed, and certainly not something as important as a faculty advisor to a doctoral candidate.

"That's my understanding as well," Marnie admitted, her voice suddenly going flat.

"Did she tell you to talk to me?"

"No ... not exactly ... she kind of suggested that I didn't talk to you."

Lauren was a bit incredulous. "So why are you here?"

Marnie was interested in Lauren in part because Dr. Wentworth discouraged it. She instinctively disliked Dr. Wentworth from the moment she met her. But her true feelings didn't make their way into her answer.

"You sounded interesting. I've met a lot of Americans at the pub my family owns ... "

''Your family owns a pub?" Lauren interrupted, her interest sparked and her reservation forgotten. Lauren was a free spirit, and learning the local pub scene was high on her list.

Marnie felt proud to talk about the family business. She sat up a bit straighter and her nervousness began fading away.

"My great grandfather started the pub, Ramblers End, which at that time was more in the country. The town's grown around it and it's become sort of a local gathering place. I work in the pub on the evenings and weekends. We serve dinner on Friday and Saturday, and sometimes I work in the kitchen. Most of the time I'm tending bar."

Lauren was charmed by Marnie. She watched her talking, enjoying her animated style in describing her family history and her love of the town where'd she spent her entire life. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

Not wanting to continue talking about herself, Marnie pivoted to sate her curiosity over the mysterious Lauren.

"I understand you're from Boston."

"That's right."

"I've always wanted to visit the United States. I've never taken a class from an American. I guess I just really wanted to meet you."

Lauren noticed the book Marnie was reading.

"Mario Puzo. It's a great book and maybe even a better movie. I think that the movie, "The Godfather," was even better than the great book. It's one of the few movies I can say that about. Most times the movie after the book disappoints. Bonfire of the Vanities is one that comes to mind. I loved the book. It was dark and gritty. The movie was just plain boring."

"God, I hated Melanie Griffith in it ..." Lauren paused mid-sentence. "I'm sorry to ask this, but it's killing me. Has anyone told you that you look like Nicole Kidman?"

Marnie lowered her head and blushed. She had no idea who Melanie Griffith was but definitely knew who Nicole Kidman was.

"A few," Marnie confessed. The truth was it was more times than she could count, mostly from American tourists. Her brothers thought she looked like the back end of a horse, but of course they were oblivious to most matters concerning their sister.

"Sorry... where was I? Anyway how do you like the book?"

Lauren took a sip of her double latte to stop her babbling. She was getting nervous in Marnie's presence. She shuddered at the thought that someone who was at least a dozen years younger than her was making her feel uncomfortable. She had good reason to be uncomfortable. She was impulsive and had a hard time resisting her darker urges.

Lauren's two year visiting professorship in a charming seaside resort town near Dublin wasn't a well-earned sabbatical. It was a self-imposed two year banishment. Three thousand miles seemed to be about the right amount of distance between her ex-husband Lawrence and herself after her ex's discovery of her head between the legs of his best friend's wife, Aline. Aline naturally gasped in horror at seeing Lawrence home early from a business trip, Lauren's husband having been the best man at Aline and Stewart's wedding. Needless to say, the following two years before the divorce became final was Lauren's worst nightmare, living in some sort of marriage hell.

Aline ended up divorcing her husband of twenty years as well (fortunately they didn't have any children), and surprisingly their getting caught wasn't the end of the affair. The way Aline and Lauren discovered each other is a separate story, but suffice it to say the permanent stain on the sofa cushion in Aline's study was a source of amusement every time the two of them sat on it.

Lauren exile to Ireland meant that the casual affair with Aline had come to an end, at least physically, and the two of them came to a silent agreement that they might find somebody else while they were apart. Lauren really didn't have time to find someone, so her outlet for sexual gratification was raunchy video phone sex with Aline, preferably in more risky venues, such as the restroom in a restaurant or in the back seat of a taxi. Lauren was very curious, and adventurous, when it came to sex. Her curiosity helped end her marriage (though Lawrence was at fault as well), and that was a very dear price for them both to pay.

Marnie wanted to keep Lauren and engaged and talking about herself. "So tell me about American baseball. I heard it's popular in Boston."

"Just so you understand how popular, baseball is a religion in Boston, and Fenway Park is their house of worship." Lauren stated it as a hard truth, which it was (and is).

"I see," said Marnie, sipping the last drops of her double expresso, "I'd really like to go to a game there."

"You'd love it. They have names for the landmarks in the stadium, like the Green Monster, and Pesky Pole. We'll eat Fenway Franks and after the game we'll go to the bars on Lansdowne Street. You'll experience the essence of American baseball." Lauren was waxing poetic as she said it.

"It sounds wonderful," gushed Marnie. She was taken by Lauren's dazzling personality and clear zest for life. She had never met a woman who dressed as sharp and who brimmed with self-confidence like Lauren Byrne. She was already becoming smitten with the American professor.

They adjourned to get refills. Lauren paid. They ended up talking for another hour, mostly about living in the United States, and then Lauren's difficulty with driving on the left in Ireland. She freely admitted, being from Boston, that she wasn't the world's best driver. The conversation flowed freely, and they were carrying on as if they were old friends. The meeting was only supposed to take fifteen minutes, but had already lasted almost an hour.

The conversation finally returned to Marnie's studies.

"So you met with Wentworth."

Lauren restarted that part of their conversation, knowing it would confirm their mutual dislike of Pamela Wentworth.

"She doesn't like you," Marnie stated as a fact, and not an opinion.

Lauren smirked. "I think I gave her a lot of reasons to do so, but it's because she's living in the 1800's, she's closed minded, and she hates gays."

"She mentioned you were gay. She wasn't very approving when she said it." Marnie then rolled her eyes to the side. "Besides that, she's great."

"It's true though that I am ... gay that is. I'll tell you the story of how I realized it after we've had a few drinks together. I'm sorry you had to find out about it that way. I really don't think it's relevant to ...."

"It doesn't matter to me. We can maintain a professional relationship, can't we?"

Lauren put her hand on top of Marnie's.

"It will all work out."

The touch was electric. Marnie never had that feeling before. She wanted to touch her again.

Lauren was likewise knocked off kilter. Shen tried to block out the noise in the crowded café and focus. She struggled to remember the thread of the conversation and respond to the issue of Dr. Wentworth. She broke off the edge of her scone and ate it to buy herself more time. She felt that familiar buzz in her body that made her mind foggy.

"I'm sorry Marnie ... what were we talking about?"

"Wentworth."

"Oh yes ... Wentworth ... I don't think she'll approve our arrangement."

"There's really something between you two ... what was it?"