Chapter 7

After Melody left, Andy and I spent the next few hours having a very long talk. He admitted that it had been hard for him to see me kiss someone else, and quite surprising to have it be a girl. As it had been a little uncomfortable for me to see him out on dates with other girls, I understood completely, and told him so.

Andy also expressed his appreciation for my encouragement over the holiday break, ex-wise. He needed that experience to move forward, he said, and that my support meant a lot, because he hadn’t expected to get it. I told him that first and foremost, he was my friend, and that I wanted him to be happy. Besides, why should I begrudge him for doing something that I did as well?

Classes started the next day, Wednesday, owing to the fact that we had seven school days off for Spring Break. I had no plans for that time, but the thought of going up to see Rael was definitely tempting.

I always seem to have intriguing dreams before significant events in my life. Most of them hint at what’s about to happen, without giving too much away. So, when I woke up on Wednesday morning just having dreamt about meeting a couple in an elevator, I vowed to take every single elevator that crossed my path that day.

All my classes were on the third floor or above, so riding elevators wasn’t going to be difficult. Well, aside from the fact that they’re akin to crowded Japanese subways.

My first class was Narrative Essays, which was on the third floor of the Nord building. I passed a very attractive girl with long, wavy light brown hair, wearing jeans and a black school sweatshirt. She was entering the elevator as I was exiting it. Due to the crowd, all we could do was smile at each other for a second.

Andy and I had a quick lunch at Pasta Rocks before I headed over to the Edderton building for Chemistry class. We made plans to finish off the pizza with some salad at his place for dinner.

I walked across campus to the Edderton building, where my Chemistry class would be held. I walked into the building the center elevator absentmindedly, momentarily distracted by recollections of being kissed by Melody.

“What floor?” A female voice asked.

I looked up. The attractive girl in the school sweatshirt I’d seen earlier was talking to me. She was standing next to an attractive guy with black hair and light brown eyes who was a few inches taller than her, wearing the exact same sweatshirt. We were the only three in the elevator.

“Five.” I smiled. “Howdy.” I said to them both.

“Howdy.” They replied in unison.

“What class are you going to?” I asked.

“Chemistry 101. You?” The girl answered.

“The same.” I smiled again. “Well, we’ll be riding the elevator together a lot this semester, I reckon.”

“I reckon so.” They replied, and laughed.

“Do you two always talk at the same time?”

The girl shook her head. “No, but we do it a lot.”

“Unintentionally, most of the time.” The guy added. “And I have to ask, did you see The Outlaw Josey Wales on TV a few weeks ago?”

I nodded. “It’s one of my favorites.”

“Ours, too!” The girl exclaimed. They exchanged smiles.

The elevator door opened, and we stepped out. The guy waited for the girl and I to exit before he walked out.

“So, do you like Chemistry?” I asked them.

“Better than Biology.” The girl answered.

“Are you taking the lab as well?” The guy asked.

I nodded. “Only lab science that interests me.”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, me, too. So I reckon we will see a lot of each other this semester.”

I smiled. “Definitely. Maybe we’ll end up studying together.”

“That would be nice.” The guy said.

“I don’t mind hosting the study sessions, as I’ve got an apartment in the housing complex.”

“Oh, cool. We live about 10 miles from here, so we commute.” The guy said. “My name is Miles, by the way. And this is Henriette.”

“My name is Shirley. Nice to meet you both. So, are you two dating?”

“Sort of.” They said.

“Again with the unison!” I laughed. “So does that mean you two date other people as well?”

“Yes.” They laughed.

We reached room 515 and stood between the doors.

“So, where are you from, Shirley?” Miles asked.

“Mermirabuena.” I said.

“I know where that is. Why not go to State Coast?” Henriette asked.

“Too much of a party school for me.” I answered.

She smiled. “Did you go home for the break?”

I nodded. “I stayed with some friends—I don’t talk to my parents.”

“Oh.” Miles said. “So, do you like this area?”

“Yeah, it’s nice. I haven’t explored too much of it, as I don’t have a car.”

“Oh, we’ll have to show you around, then.” Henriette said. “There’s a lot of cool stuff around here.”

“That would be nice.” I said, smiling.

After class, we walked down the stairs together.

“So, do you have any plans right now? Miles and I have a half hour to kill until my cousin gets out of Anthropology class. Want to grab some tea?” Henriette asked.

“Sure. You can come to my place, if you think you have enough time.”

Miles and Henriette looked at each other. “Okay.” They answered.

We started walking towards the housing complex.

“I like the color of your hair.” Hen said.

“Thanks. I just got it done yesterday. A friend of mine let me tag along when she got her hair dyed royal blue. Mine was done with henna and lemon juice.”

“I’ve always wanted to try that, but I think my hair’s too dark.” Hen said.

“Shirley!” I heard Andy’s voice behind me, and turned around. Andy was running towards me.

“Hi there!” I said, stopping to wait for him. Miles and Henriette stopped, too.

“Done for the day, right?” Andy asked.

“Yep. This is Miles and Henriette. They’re in my Chemistry class. This is Andy, my good friend and neighbor.”

Miles extended his hand to Andy. “Nice to meet you.”

Andy shook Miles’ hand. “Likewise.” He turned to Henriette, who shook his hand and smiled at him. She exchanged a glance with Miles.

“We were going to have some tea. Would you like to join us?” I said.

“I’d be delighted.”

“So, where are you from?” Miles asked.

“Willoughby. It’s a small town a couple hours south of here.”

“I’ve heard of it.” Henriette said. “Train goes through there on the way to San Diego, right?”

“Yep.” Andy said.

Andy opened the door to the building, and both he and Miles waited for Hen and I to pass through the door before they entered.

“Ah, a fellow gentleman.” Miles said. Andy laughed.

I opened the door to my apartment and held it open for Miles and Henriette. I looked at Miles. “You’re my guest; I insist.”

“Thank you.” Miles walked through the door. Andy and I followed.

“Have a seat at the table. I’ll get the water. I have green tea, Earl Grey tea, and chamomile.”

“Do you have milk and sugar?” They asked in unison. I laughed, as it was very amusing how they seemed to read each other’s minds.

“Yes. I take it you both want Earl Grey?” I asked.

“Yes.” They answered, and laughed.

“The usual, Shirley.” Andy said, as he took off his shoes and sat down on my bed.

“Green tea coming up, Andy.” I said, pulling mugs out of the cupboard. “So, what’s it like to commute?” I asked.

“Not too bad. We get here early and have breakfast before class, so we usually get a good parking spot.”

“We try not to stress about it too much, the way a lot of people do. I refuse to waste gas circling the lot for a half hour in order to save myself from exercise.” Henriette said.

“Very wise. So, what’s your cousin like?” I asked.

“Nora’s my best friend. Great gal.” Miles said.

“The three of us grew up together.” Henriette added.

“Cool. And she’s okay with you two dating?” I asked.

Miles laughed. “After some initial displeasure.”

“Us getting together just sorta happened at the end of senior year.” Hen explained. “We’d always just been friends.”

“Yeah, I know how that goes.” I said, looking over at Andy.

“Ah, so you two are very close friends, I take it?” Miles said, having noticed me look at Andy.

“Yes.” Andy said, rising from the bed to help me take the mugs to the table.

“We share a lot of meals.” I added, placing a mug in front of Henriette and Miles. They both took a sip at the same time and looked at each other.

“Perfect!” They exclaimed.

“Thanks.” I said.

“You know, I think Nora should meet you two.” Miles said.

“I agree. Should we page her and tell her to meet us over here?” Henriette asked.

“Yeah. I’ll leave her a message.” Miles said. “Do you mind if I use your phone?”

“Go right ahead.” I said, pointing to my bedside table.

“Thanks.” Miles went to the phone and dialed a number. “Nora, meet us in front of the housing complex. We met some cool people you have to meet. Page me with the normal code when you’re on your way, and we’ll be waiting for you. Thanks, bye.” Miles hung up the phone.

Henriette looked at her watch. “She should page you in about ten minutes. Five if there’s a phone near the elevator.”

Miles sat back down and had another sip of tea. “This is a nice place. I seriously considered living on campus, but my folks were going to make me pay for it myself.”

“I almost didn’t get this place—someone canceled at the last moment.”

Henriette laughed. “Someone we went to school with, I think. He got a last minute offer from the school he really wanted to go to, so he took it.”

“Good thing, you deserve this place more than he did.” Miles said, winking at me.

“Indeed, she does.” Henriette said, grinning at me.

“Definitely.” Andy agreed. He sat back down on the bed with his tea and was watching me carefully. Did he sense that I was attracted to both Miles and Henriette? Was he attracted to Henriette as well?

Miles choked on his tea and jumped up. He took something out of his pocket.

“Forgot you had it on vibrate?” Hen laughed.

Miles nodded, coughing.

“So I take it that’s Nora?” Andy said. Miles nodded. “Mind if I go with you to wait for her? You’ll need one of us to let you back in the building, anyway.”

“Sure.” Miles said. “Gonna wait here, Gallina?”

“Yeah.” Henriette replied.

“Why does he call you Gallina?” Andy asked as he put his shoes back on and walked towards the door.

“My nickname as a kid was Hen. Miles thought it would be cute in high school to call me the Spanish name for a hen.”

“Ah, I see.” Andy said, opening the door. “We’ll be back in a moment.”

“You two be good.” Miles said, winking at Henriette.

“We will.” I said. They laughed as Andy shut the door.

“Nice guy.” Henriette said.

“Yeah, he is.”

“You two serious?”

“No, by choice.” I said. “What about you and Miles?”

“Well, we’re only dating each other right now, but we’re open to dating other people. We think we’re too young to be monogamous.” Henriette said.

“Does that mean I have a chance with the both of you?” I asked.

Henriette giggled like a little girl being told she was about to receive a treat. She nodded.

“Cool.” I said, smiling as I walked to the kitchen. “Want more tea?”

“Sure. Make Nora a green tea while you’re at it. No sugar.”

“Okay.” I put more water into my electric kettle and plugged it back in.

“So, what year are you?” Henriette asked, walking towards me to hand me her empty mug.

“Freshman. So is Andy. What about you?”

“Same with us.” Henriette replied. There was a knock on the door. “I can get it.” She said, walking to the door and opening it. In walked in a girl that looked a bit like Henriette, but a little taller and with short, black hair. She had on jeans and a pink sweatshirt. Somehow I had the feeling she was more Andy’s type than Henriette was.

“Hi, Nora.” Henriette said, hugging her. Andy and Miles walked in behind her.

“Hello, Gallina.” Nora replied. “You must be Shirley.”

“Yes, I am. I made you some green tea on Henriette’s suggestion.” I said, bringing her mug to the table.

“Thanks.” Nora walked up to me and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you. I like your apartment.”

“Thanks.” I said. Nora sat down and pulled the mug of tea closer to her. Andy went and sat down beside her. Behind them, Miles and Henriette exchanged a knowing glance.

Miles, Henriette, and Nora stayed for about an hour. In that time, I learned that Miles moved across the street from Nora when they were nine, and they share the same birthday. Nora’s Mom and Henriette’s Dad are siblings. Their Grandparents raised Nora. Henriette wants to major in music history, but isn’t sure about taking music theory classes. Miles is majoring in Gerontology, and Nora hasn’t a clue what she wants to major in.

A few hours later, Andy and were settling down at his table for dinner.

“An interesting bunch we met today.”

“Yes, indeed, Andy.” I said, pouring salad dressing on my salad.

“It’s strange, but Nora reminds me a lot of my ex.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked.

“Good.” Andy smiled. “She’s not like most of the other girls I’ve gone out with here. Much nicer.”

“Henriette and Miles are an interesting couple. It’s cute the way they often talk at the same time.” I said.

“So, which one are you going to go for?” Andy asked with an amused expression on his face.

I grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Both.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s possible?”

I nodded, still grinning. “I asked Henriette about it while you and Miles went to wait for Nora.”

Andy laughed. “You’re a lot bolder than I thought.”

“Well, truth be told, I had a dream last night that I’d meet a couple in an elevator.”

“And I take it that’s where you met them?”

“Sort of. I passed Henriette earlier in the day, and then I ended up in the elevator with her and Miles on our way up to our Chemistry class.”

“I see.” Andy said, taking a bite of pizza.

“So I take it you’re going to ask Nora out?” I asked.

“If I have the chance.”

“I’ll make sure you do.” I smiled at him. “If Nora reminds you of your ex, I think you two might get along quite well.”

“I hope so.”

After dinner, we decided to get some studying done, so I went back to my room. Something told me to call Melody, so I did.

“Melody Burgess, at your service.”

“Hi, it’s Shirley.”

“Shirley! How are you?”

“Great, and you?”

“Tired, but happy. So, what can I do for you?”

“I need to know if I’m on the right track with something.”

“Okay. What’s up?”

“This morning I had a dream that I met a couple in an elevator. And I did just that on the way to Chemistry class. They’re in the class, too.”

“And you want to know if you’re onto something, or this is just mere coincidence?”

“Yeah. Haven’t had a dream like that since the morning I graduated high school.” I said.

“You’re on the right track. These two will be very important to you. And they’re connected to your namesake.”

“How?”

“Hmmm…” Melody was silent for a moment. “I get an image of Lady Godiva. That mean anything?”

“Well, Louisa has a friend called that. Someone asked about her and her husband at the New Year’s party. They were snowed in or something.”

“Well, that’s the connection. So, how did things with Andy go after I left?”

“Okay. We talked for a long time and got a few more things out in the open.”

“Good. Well, I should get back to writing up this lesson plan. Have a great semester and feel free to call me anytime.”

“Thanks, Melody.”

“Anytime. Hope to run into you soon.”

“I’ll frequent Pasta Rocks as much as I can.” I said.

“Wonderful! Good-bye.”

“Good-bye.” I hung up the phone and dialed Louisa’s number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Melvin.”

“Dollface! How’s it going? How was the first day of classes?”

“Pretty good. Hey, is Louisa around?”

“Yeah, one sec.”

“Shirley! How are you?”

“Great! And you?”

“The same. So, what’s up?”

“This is going to sound weird, but I think I just met some people here that you might know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Two girls and a guy. There’s some connection to Lady Godiva, but I don’t know what it is.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, I had a dream last night that I’d meet a couple in an elevator. Which I did. They’re in my Chemistry class. I told Melody about the dream and she said there was a connection to my namesake via Lady Godiva.”

“Ah, I see.” Louisa said, thoughtfully. “Well, The Godivas have a Goddaughter that lives near there that’s your age. We saw her and a friend of hers when they housesat for The Godivas while we all went to Reno over Memorial Day weekend. I believe they were named Hen and Miles.”

I gasped. “Yep, that’s them! And I met Hen’s cousin Nora.”

Louisa laughed. “What a very small world. I’ll have to tell Lady Godiva.”

“Would they know you as Portia or Louisa?”

“Louisa.”

“Cool, I’ll have to mention it when I see them in our lab on Friday.”

“I hate to run, but dinner’s just about ready. I’m making Sloppy Joes.”

“Okay. Enjoy dinner and thanks!”

“Hope you get along with Hen and Miles. They seemed like nice kids.”

“They are.” I said. “Good-bye.”

“See you later, alligator!” Louisa responded.

On Friday, I got to the lab class early. Henriette and Miles were already there.

“Shirley! Nice to see you again.” Henriette said.

“Likewise.” I said. “Apparently, you two know who I stayed with over break.”

“Really? Who?” Miles asked, intrigued.

“Louisa. Apparently she’s friends with your Godparents, Henriette.”

“You know Louisa? She was cool! So was her boyfriend.” Henriette said.

“Yeah, they were really nice.” Milo added.

“Do you guys know Rael, too?” I asked.

Henriette nodded. “He was one of the Groomsmen in my Godparents’ wedding. I was the flower girl and ring bearer.”

I smiled. “I met him over break. He’s a very nice guy.”

Henriette looked at me for a moment, then gasped. “You slept with him, didn’t you?” She asked.

I nodded. “It just sorta happened.”

“Lucky him.” Miles said.

“How was he?” Henriette asked.

“Great.” I said, blushing.

“Are you going to see him again?” Miles asked.

“Probably, but I’m not sure when. He lives pretty far away.”

“Yeah, distance can put a damper on things like that.” Henriette said.

We sat next together during lab class, which consisted of watching a bunch of safety videos. After class, we walked down the stairs together.

“So, do you have any plans for tonight?” Miles asked.

“No. I thought I’d have a bunch of homework, but I don’t.”

“Can we take you out to dinner?” Miles asked.

“Both of you? Definitely.” I replied.

“Awesome!” They exclaimed.

“By the way, is Nora dating anyone?” I asked.

“No, why?” Miles asked.

“Andy’s interested in her.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that. She talked about him the whole way home on Wednesday.” Henriette said.

“Why don’t we make it dinner for 5? That is, if Andy doesn’t have any plans.” Miles said.

“I don’t think he does. I can check when I get home.”

Miles took out a small notebook, wrote down a number, and handed it to me. “Here’s my pager number. Leave me a message when you find out.”

“Thanks.”

When we exited the building, we found Nora and Andy waiting for us.

“Hi!” Nora said, and hugged both Henriette and Miles.

“Hi!” Andy said, and hugged me.

“How’d you two run into each other?” Henriette asked, amused.

“Luck. I passed by her on the way back to the dorms.” Andy explained.

“This makes things simpler.” I said. “Are you two free for dinner tonight?”

Nora and Andy looked at each other and laughed.

“We were going to ask you three the same thing.” Nora said.

“Well, I guess the five of us are going out to dinner tonight, then.” Miles said, smiling.