The Truth About Gravity: Chapter Four

Janice woke up from an unsound sleep and looked over at the

pillow next to her. Still empty. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but

she waited every day for an answer. Her heart broken, she got up and walked

into the dark kitchen so that she could make a pot of coffee. For once, she had

plans, and she knew that if she was late, her sister would be on her like syrup

on a hot pancake.

Janice sat down and sighed, setting her hands on the wooden

table as she waited for her brew. From where she was sitting, she could see the

wrinkles that had begun to etch themselves into her hands and as she looked

from side to side, she noticed the small bit of fat that had developed on her

arms. She was getting old, and though she wasn’t quite senile at this point,

the looks that she had in her younger years were starting to fade.

Janice shook her head, thinking about Lara’s plan to set her

up on a wedding date. How awful! Surely the other woman would take one look at

her and instantly be disappointed. She wasn’t much of a looker anymore, and being

widowed and disgruntled couldn’t be high selling points. Janice propped her

chin on her hand and waited until the coffee stopped gurgling. The whole

wedding situation made her highly uncomfortable, and though she wanted nothing

to do with the decision, she knew that her hardheaded sister wasn’t going to

let her skip the event.

Janice got up and poured herself a cup of coffee. Her

cousin’s wedding was only hours away, and Lara had insisted that she join her

and Nirece at the venue an hour before it started. Lara seemed to think that if

she introduced Janice to her date early, the two of them would have time to

talk and that she would change her mind about the whole thing. However, what

her sister didn’t know was that she had no intentions of being anything but

cordial with the woman she was being set-up with. She knew that the other woman

probably didn’t have a say in the matter either, so she definitely wasn’t going

to make things uncomfortable. She would go to the wedding, make a short

appearance at the reception, and by the time the bride and groom cut the cake, Janice

would bounce, allowing her date to find someone else to take her home.

Janice smiled at her plan. If she did it right, she could

make it home in time for her week night shows. Who had a wedding on a Monday

anyway? Janice shook her head. The whole situation was insane, and when she had

received the invitation from her cousin Bob regarding his wedding, she originally

had thought it a joke. Bob and her hadn’t spoken in years, so it was unusual

that she was even invited. She had discussed this with her sister, and her

sister had decided that he invited her because he was friends with her. ‘You

can’t invite one sister and not the other,’ Lara had said. ‘Besides, he’s

family. Family is supposed to go to these types of events.’ Janice had argued

that Nirece wasn’t family and that Nirece didn’t even know Bob very well, but

Lara rebutted that Nirece was her plus one. And though Lara wasn’t gay, Nirece

soaked the moment in, exposing a cocky smile.

Nirece was something else. Janice had been friends with her

since they were little kids. Nirece and her had gone through most of their

major life changes together. They had gone to prom together. They graduated

college together, and they both had gotten married at the same time, though

Nirece had gotten divorced two years later. However, lately, Nirece had been spending

a lot of time with Lara, and Janice could only contribute this to the fact that

Lara recently went through a major breakup. Now, Janice knew almost everything about

Nirece, even the things that Nirece didn’t want her to, and she had always had an

inkling that Nirece had a crush on Lara. With most women, Nirece was hardheaded

and got her way, but when she was around Lara, Nirece would jump at the slightest

beckon. This was one reason why she wasn’t surprised when the two decided to go

to the wedding together. She knew that Nirece would jump at the chance to be anywhere

near Lara, and Lara would soothe herself from her recent heartbreak by the attention that Nirece gave her.

Janice laughed as she thought about the two of them. Maybe the wedding wouldn’t be all that bad. At least she would have some entertainment.