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Lee got up and walked over to Walter’s secretary’s desk “He must’ve been confused then He and so They’ve been there since thisto his calendar, he’ll be out all day”

On a nor into DC froinia because of all the taxes we had to pay, but he was never listening to me

“Well, I guess ot” I was ashamed to admit he’d actually done it to me before

Lee, flipping through the stack of papers she was cradling in her arm, headed toward the door but stopped and stole a look at her watch “Look, I’o to lunch myself, and I’d hate for you to have co me? I mean, I can understand if you don’t want to; since you just o”

“Oh, no, no I wouldn’t ”

I laughed, collecting my purse and car keys Thea new realm

We’d agreed upon Union Station for lunch since she wanted seafood, and I wanted a good salad In the ten minutes it took us to one to Mount Holyoke for undergrad, had one brother, had interned at Marriott Hotels and had been instruent diversity inclusion progra to how passionate she was about the protection of gays in the workplace and the occasional references to her “ex-roommate,” I concluded she was in the life My sister, Melba, was gay, and, before opening up to me about her lifestyle, all of her former lovers had actually been ex-roo able to have sos, and different people, whenever she wanted In this short period of ti different for e, I noticed Lee looking around at all the cars

“Seems a bit crowded today, you think?”

Wrapping around the curves in search of an ereed “Yeah, it is, but I’ht then an Escalade, with its reverse lights on, floated fro”

Walking through the door, I glanced over the railing and saw people entering the train station froain, walked over to theby waiting for her to get finished, I was corabbed my hand

“Come on! It leaves in ten minutes!” she shrieked

“What?” I said, taking off

Lee didn’t say anything else; scah the crowds We ended up at the ticket

“Two to New York City, please”

“What are you doing?” I asked

“Hold on,” she shushed

Accustoainst the vacant counter to put my shoes back on and catch rabbed ain and took off toward the platform

“I hope you don’tcar That’s all they had left”

“Sleeping car? New York? What’s going on?” I asked “I thought you wanted to go to lunch”

Again, Lee didn’t say anything She pulled h the crowds like a Yaot to the steps of the train, she turned toith sweat and simply smiled

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

I wanted so badly to tell her yes, but my spirit, in need of this liberty, put its hand over my mouth

“No, I don’t” I giggled, grabbing the handrail and lifting myself onto the train

Giving our tickets to the attendant, Lee and I followed behind him as he led us up the stairs to our accommodations I was pooped and droppedchair