Telling Secrets

Telling Secrets

(Exercise in Dialogue from Prior Post)

Olivia had almost an hour before she needed to meet her next client.  A perfect time to pull out her phone to read, have a coffee and a bit of time to herself. Selling real estate in these days was dog eat dog, but she treated herself to a little time alone now and then. This was the time, a lovely spring morning.

Settling into a corner table at Starbucks so she could be somewhat isolated from others, she noticed a woman sitting alone.  The woman looked vaguely familiar.  Oh, yes, she remembered, she had seen her coming out of another apartment a few doors down from her own the prior week.  It had been in the early afternoon and the woman, red haired, had been with a man as they exited an apartment.  The two had been just a few minutes ahead of her as she rushed to try and catch an elevator ride down to the car park. But that day she was running late for a closing, almost frantic as she fumbled with her door lock when she rushed back inside to retrieve her notebook.  Then, closing papers, phone and notebook in hand, she finally locked up and saw the elevator, fifty feet from her door. had already descended, taking away the couple and her opportunity to exit quickly.  She recalled having to wait for yet another elevator, feeling even more rushed and frustrated because she had missed that first ride down. When Olivia finally arrived in the basement car park, she noticed the couple exiting through the underground gate, the arm open to let through the man's blue Civic with "LUVLAW" on its back license plate.  

Coming back to the present, Olivia straightened the wadded paper napkin in her lap and turned on her Kindle app, resuming the process of trying to enjoy this time alone, ready to drink coffee and get back to her novel.  But two pages in, just a few moments after she found her place, she looked up to sip on her sweet, steaming latte and saw that same woman with the pretty auburn hair was joined by another female friend, a brunette, with coffee in hand. Olivia hoped they would not be too loud as they talked, because Olivia needed quiet in order to concentrate as she read. But sure enough, she could hear them talking about their workouts in the gym.  "Ah, perfect little butt girls proving their cross-fitness," Olivia thought to herself.

Red Head leaned closer to Brunette to talk.  Olivia kept her eyes on her phone, concentrating on the words as she clicked to the next page in her novel.  She tried not to listen, but heard "I know we don't know each other very well, but I need to talk.  Thanks for meeting me."  More hushed talking.  Red Hair: " ...it's not right, but I feel so powerless.  He has such charisma, and even though he is not that good looking, he seems to really care about what I say. He listens. I really think I am in love with him."

Brunette murmurs.  More words between them, and Olivia thinks maybe now she can comprehend the words on the book as the women are speaking more quietly.  Quick sip, coffee is getting lukewarm, she needs to finish it before it gets too cold.  Olivia looks back down and then hears Brunette say "...but if he is married, you know it won't end well."  

"He says he is not happy and he has been thinking of leaving his wife, and since there are no kids involved, that now is the time he should do it, before it is too late and his wife gets pregnant," says Red Head.  Olivia keeps her head averted, but glances upward to looks at that earnest female face, "a pretty face but certainly not a knock-out," Olivia thinks to herself.  

"I'll bet he won't leave his wife; they never do.  Just enjoy being with him for what it's worth.  You are getting attention and good sex, can't you just take it for that?"  Brunette says, as if she has been in that same situation herself.  Oh, boy, Olivia thinks, "do they know how loud they are talking?" Starbucks has filled up more, but being in the corner, their two voices seem amplified, especially since they are talking up against the window.  Olivia gets back to her reading.

Then she overhears Brunette saying "My husband would never think of having an affair. We have a really tight relationship and share everything.  We are talking about having a baby in the next year or so, and he is so sweet about telling me how he will cherish being a father and having our own little family."  She goes on, "We could stay in our place where we have been for a few years, and have even thought of asking his parents for a loan to buy a house if we decide to have a family.  Apartments are just too small to raise kids in. We could pay off a loan before too many years, even if I quit work, because he is on target with his career toward partnership."  More hushed chatter between the two tight butts.

Olivia notices Brunette gets up to leave, air kisses Red Head, saying "Talk soon.  Just enjoy your time with him, he sounds like a keeper.  Who knows, maybe he will leave that wife.  Hubby is here to pick me up for lunch, gotta go," and she rushes out of Starbucks. 

Olivia sees Brunette get into the passenger side door of the waiting car. As the blue late model car pulls away from the curb, she is astonished to see the back of the trunk with its license plate clearly visible, spelling out "LUVLAW".