Something
Different
By Sarah Levin Colter
For the third day in a row, second shift had been extended to twelve hours. It sucked getting off from work at two in the morning. The short-staffed situation was getting old.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Cathy Smith locked the storage cabinet, packed her gear and shoved the bag into her locker. As she pulled on her sweater, she thought about food. Tired of greasy fast food, she considered the new twenty-four hour Chinese buffet on Main Street. She was eager to get home and read another chapter of her recently-bought Dean Koontz novel.
It was the same routine day after day, night after night. She read an hour, took a shower, slept, and started over again the next morning. On her days off, she cleaned house and went shopping at WalMart or Target. Her life was getting a little too orderly and a lot too predictable. The only thing that changed in her ritual was where or what she ate. Sometimes she ate at home, either tuna casserole, her mother’s old iron skillet specialty that was cooked on top of the stove with macaroni and cheese, or a TV dinner nuked in the microwave. Once in a while, when she felt like going all out, she fixed a pre-made pizza in the oven. But other than that, there were very few variations from one day to the next.
At thirty-three, she was getting set in her ways, and it bothered her that she wasn’t more impulsive. What had become of the free-spirit she had been in her early twenties?
She was reminded of Bob, the head supervisor at the lab. Bob had his daily schedule down so pat it was almost like he had it written out ahead of time, and he seemed to resent anyone who inadvertently caused a disturbance in his routine.
But Cathy wasn’t quite to that point, yet. At least she hoped not.
When Rosa Santos opened another locker a few feet away, Cathy gave her a friendly smile. Speaking of free spirits, Rosa was a modern-day flower child. Nice face, nice body, sweet little tits - the whole package was attractive, and when she included the dynamic personality, she was the most impressive person Cathy knew. “Hey,” she said. “You got any plans for the night?”
Yawning, Rosa shrugged. “Ramen noodles, a coke, a shower, maybe a half-hour sit-com in bed. What about you?”
The young lab assistant was cute as a button, no matter how tired she was. Sometimes, she made Cathy want to pinch her cherubic little cheeks and other times she looked downright hot. The come-hither looks in those laughing brown eyes could send zings of desire through Cathy’s body, and there had been times it had happened at very inopportune moments. What about now? Maybe it wouldn’t feel so awkward now that they weren’t drawing blood from a diabetic or testing some druggie’s urine.
The nine year age difference didn’t matter. Not really. “Yeah. Same. Pretty much.”
“Tomorrow won’t be twelve hours. At least, that’s the goal. Bob said maybe six.”
“I won’t hold my breath.”
Rosa nodded, holding eye contact with her for a thoughtful moment. “Well, see you tomorrow,” she said, and shut her locker.
Cathy nodded, but as the younger woman turned to trudge away, she called, “Hey, um, you wanta grab a bite with me at the Chop Palace? I’m paying. I’ll even drive.”
“Sure. Sounds great to me.” Rosa turned around to face her. “That’s the new place that’s open all night?”
“Yeah, you like Chinese, don’t you?”
A fleeting moment of indecision burdened the clear brown eyes, but she nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
Cathy smiled, suddenly thrilled that she had just made an unscheduled variation in her life. If she was impulsive like that more often, who knew what other changes she could make?
The sky was the limit.
***
Across the booth from her, Rosa smiled peacefully as she took a bite of sesame chicken. “This is so yummy!” she said, rolling her eyes in pure bliss. “We should do this again sometime soon.”
Yummy was right, but Cathy wasn’t thinking about the sesame chicken. “How about we do it again tomorrow?”
“Chinese two days in a row?”
“Well, no, I was actually thinking about Mexican tomorrow, or maybe Italian. I’ll have to check and see which ones are open at two in the morning. Just in case we have another long shift.”
“What about a real dinner at my house?” Rosa sopped up some sauce with what was left of her eggroll and stuffed it into her mouth. Her voice muffled, she explained. “I’m a super good cook, you know.”
Damn, she was cute. “You can make fried chicken or maybe Salisbury steak?”
Washing down the mouthful with a swig of soda, Rosa nodded. She had a lot of enthusiasm for a woman just getting off her third long shift of the most boring-ass work on the planet. It was part of what made her special. “I don’t know. What do you think? Shepherd’s pie? Or maybe some chili and twice-baked potatoes?”
“It would be different,” Cathy said, gazing at her. She looked like a little Latina princess doll with those sparkling eyes and those thick waves of jet black hair. Her lipstick had long since faded but with those luscious pink lips, she didn’t need it. “I like different.”
Rosa pushed her empty plate to the side. “If you really want something different, I can whip up a tuna casserole you won’t believe.”
Cathy laughed out loud. “If you like tuna casseroles, I have a couple of recipes, too. Maybe we can start sharing.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Rosa winked knowingly at her.
Cathy’s heart flipped over in her chest. Even though their conversation sounded more like that of two housewives than two lab techs, there had been erotic connotations in every nuance. “You want to come over to my place and watch a movie? I’ve got a couple of really good new flicks.”
“Sure. What movies do you have?”
‘The Condemned’ and ‘The Devil’s Rejects’.”
Rosa cleared her throat. “I don’t know how to tell you this baby, but those aren’t new.”
She called her baby. Zings again. “No, but I haven’t seen them. Have you?”
“Well… No.”
“We can watch them tonight if you want to.” Cathy wasn’t interested in movies tonight, but she felt it was proper to make the offer.
“We have to be at work by two. There won’t be much time for sleeping if we watch movies.”
“If tomorrow is only a six-hour day, we could do it with less sleep. We could watch one of them tonight and the other tomorrow night.”
“Yeah,” Rosa agreed, stifling a yawn.
It was obvious that Rosa wasn’t a movie buff, either. That was fine, because Cathy preferred reading any night. “Good idea.” Cathy smiled at her. “Or we could stop by your place so you could grab a few things and sleep over. We can forget the movies and have a slumber party.”
“Sleep over? You have a spare bedroom?”
Cathy chuckled. “No.”
“So, then,” Rosa gazed at her with idle interest. “I get the couch?”
“I don’t have a couch. I’ve got a love seat and a chair.” Cathy set her plate on top of Rosa’s and took a sip of her soda. “But you’re welcome to share my bed.”
With a jerky nod of her head, Rosa licked her lips. “Okay. Sure. I guess that’s one way of breaking up the monotony.”
“Not exactly the reaction I was going for, but it’s something.”
The feigned innocence in the brown eyes was endearing. “What were you going for?”
It was going way too fast. Or was it? Cathy lost her nerve. “Hell, I don’t know, Rosa. I’ve got no idea at all. I’m burned out and I’m scared to death I’m getting a little too much like Bob. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that. I’m getting way too desperate for something different in my life.”
Rosa pondered. “Different? How? You mean different as in – a different kind of um… sexual experience?”
Unable to meet her eyes again, Cathy nodded, then shrugged. “You could put it like that. As opposed to having no sex at all.”
“Really? You don’t have sex?”
“It’s been a while. You?”
Real interest showed in the brown eyes but a moment later, Rosa’s confidence faltered. “It’s been ages for me, too. But what made you pick me?”
“How many hours a day do we spend together? We’re in constant contact six and sometimes seven days a week, six to twelve hours a day. Haven’t you felt the attraction? Is it just me? Am I really getting that pathetic?”
Rosa sighed and shook her head. “No, I felt it, too,” she confessed. “That’s why I flirted. I just didn’t know…” She paused to clear her throat. “I guess I just didn’t know it was mutual.”
Reaching across the table, Cathy took her hand. “Real life must be like that,” she said softly. “Nobody ever knows for sure. ‘Ambiguity’ is the word that comes to mind. We let love pass us by because we’re too busy or because we’re not brave enough to go after it, or sometimes just because we’re too tired to keep trying. I’m not old, yet but I’m sure not getting any younger. I don’t want to end up like Bob. He’s over fifty and he’s spent his entire life at work. Everything is about work. When he goes home, he eats alone. He sleeps alone. Me, I want somebody there. Somebody to hold. I want love. What about you?”
A tear welled in Rosa’s eye. “Yeah,” she answered, nodding. “Yeah, me, too.”
“I know it’s too soon to say this, but… do you want to give it a try with me?”
“Yeah.” Wiping her eyes, Rosa squeezed her hand. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here.” Cathy stood up and led the way to the counter, where she paid for their meal.
For once, she was anxious to get home.