Chapter 3

The chirping phone startled Cheryl and, looking at the caller ID, she didn't recognize the number. She was tempted to just not answer it but then thought, what the heck and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Is this Cheryl Rhodes?" the caller asked.

"Yes, it is. May I help you?"

"My name is Jasmine and I just got off the phone with someone you know."

"And who would that 'someone I know' be?"

"Katherine Reynolds," came the reply. Well at least it was someone she did know.

"Yes, I know Katherine. Whom am I talking to, please?" she hated it when people didn't identify themselves.

"Jasmine," came the answer. "I already told you that."

Now she was befuddled. How in the hell could she forget the woman's name so fast?

"I apologize, Jasmine. It's not been a good day for me. I'm so sore from walking yesterday that I'm just sitting in the tub right now, trying to relax."

"I do understand. I did that last week myself. First time walking?" she asked.

"Yes. I decided to go walking yesterday and I literally ran into Katherine. We went to the stadium and walked a couple of miles before leaving. Now I'm paying for it. I should have started slowly and only done maybe a half mile instead of two."

"You'll be ok. Do you have any Ben-Gay you can use?"

"Already done that," she laughed. The caller, Jasmine, was beginning to sound like a nice woman and she had to admit, right now the conversation was taking her mind off her sore muscles.

"Listen Cheryl," Jasmine said, "if you're busy I can call you back later. I don't mind. I was just wanting to talk and meet some of the neighbors, that's all."

"It's not a problem at all Jasmine. But, if you don't mind, could you call me back in about twenty minutes? That'll give me time to get out of here, dried off and dressed."

"Sure, not a problem at all. I'll talk to you then."

The line went dead, so she flipped it closed and reached out and once again set it on the downed seat of the toilet. It really was time for her to get out and get dressed. She'd been sitting in the cooling water for almost an hour and if her muscles still ached it wasn't her fault. Or was it? After all, if she hadn't done all that walking with Katherine they'd never be hurting right now, would they? She had to admit though; the walking had been fun, especially with someone to share the event with her. She was hoping that the two of them could be friends and that would definitely make her feel more at home in this place.

Almost thirty minutes later, as she sat at the kitchen table reading the morning news on her laptop, the phone rang and this time she recognized the number from earlier.

"Hello Jasmine," she answered. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten to call."

"Well, I have been busy. I'm working in my yard and time just flew by. As soon as I realized I'd forgotten to call you in the twenty minutes, I stopped what I was doing and came inside to sit in the cool shade while we talked. I do apologize."

"Not a problem, dear. I've done the same thing. I'm so forgetful sometimes. Must be a 'blonde' thing, though I don't have blonde hair."

The two shared a laugh. Jasmine already knew by their earlier conversation, as well as from talking to Katherine, that Cheryl was white, and a redhead. Like her though, Katherine was a black woman. A well-educated black woman no less, who had a Master's Degree in Accounting. Jasmine had her Master's in Engineering.

"Jasmine, would you like to come over and have a cup of coffee with me? I'll call and invite Katherine over as well and we can really get to know each other," Cheryl asked.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure. Give me about 30 minutes to get Katherine and extend the invite to her as well and I'll see you shortly. Okay?"

"Fine with me. I'll see you shortly then. Bye."

"Bye," and she hung up the phone. Now all she had to do was call Katherine and get her over here as well. Then she'd have to do a little cleaning up to make the place presentable as well.

Flipping open the phone she punched in Katherine's number and after the third ring got an answer.

"Hello?"

"Katherine? This is Cheryl."

"Well hello yourself. What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you were busy and if not, would you care to join me and a mutual friend for some coffee here at my place?"

"And which mutual friend would that be?" Katherine asked.

"Jasmine. I never got a last name, but she called me and told me that you'd given her my number. Anyway, I've asked her over and thought that perhaps you'd like to join us as well."

"I'd love to. Let me get cleaned up and I'll be right over."

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye bye," and Katherine hung up.

"Now all I have to do is straighten up this mess," Cheryl said to herself.

Within minutes she was lightly dusting the furniture in the living room and then the kitchen, making sure the table was clean and also getting the coffee pot ready. It wasn't long before the aroma of fresh coffee was filling the house. She was tempted to grab a cup before the girls got here but decided to wait. After making sure the house was presentable she went into her bedroom and got out of her clothes, then into the bathroom and washed up a bit. Once back in the bedroom she put on something comfortable and pulled back the sheets and coverlet on the bed, exposing the clean sheets covering the mattress.

Yes, she was looking forward to getting to 'know' her new friends very well.

After her walk with Katherine the day before, she gone home and soaked in the bath, trying to ease the soreness out of her leg muscles. She'd soaked for almost an hour before getting out and putting on her nightshirt. Once that was done she went into the living room and over to the table on which her laptop rested. She turned it on and opened her AOL account and then accessed Bing.com, getting ready for a search. She keyed in 'Katherine Reynolds' and hit search, then she waited for all of about two minutes before several entries appeared on her screen. The name had sounded familiar to her during their walk and now she was checking to see if her hunch had been right. The first entry was related to bookkeeping and she knew that wasn't the one she was looking for. The second concerned a porn star. Wrong again. The third entry was regarding a white woman, as her picture on the web site showed the picture. Wrong, again. The fourth attempt showed a picture of the black woman she now knew as Katherine Reynolds. She knew Katherine was wealthy but had no idea how wealthy until reading the article before her. While her instincts told her that Katherine was a lesbian, there was nothing on the web site to give any indication of her sexual preferences, but then again she'd expected that. A woman as important as Katherine wouldn't advertise her tastes in women.

Looking at the clock at the bottom of the computer screen she realized it wouldn't be much longer before her company arrived. She'd already tried to locate Jasmine on her computer but without remembering her last name, she wouldn't be able to find anything.