A Night To Remember

"It's amazing to me people can destroy a house like a hurricane.", Joni remarked, laughing to herself. "Yeah, tonight has certainly a full-blown roof raiser," Hilary replied. The three-story house was a disaster from one end to the other. "Can you believe Donovan?" Joni asked, wide-eyed, gulping down some wine. "I can't believe you and Opal." Hillary slapped her forehead. "We just got caught up in the situation, ya know it happens.", Joni blushed. Opal, a beautiful, statuesque woman. She had flowing waves of flaming auburn hair, jade-colored eyes, a dainty mouth, with full lips. She was delicate, intelligent, witty, strong-willed, generous in sharing her love. Joni fell for her, but it wasn't really sexual, at least, not physically. Opal inspired her to be her best, to search deep inside herself and discover what she could be. Their relationship, an awakening of the soul, a melding of the two into one. "I thought that chapter of your lives was over, but it looked very different tonight.", Hilary teased. She knew, all too well, the love between Joni and Opal would never die. In fact, it seemed to everyone around the two, they both were miserable without each other.

"I know exactly what you mean about Donovan, the outlandish behavior she is engaging in!" Joni said. Donovan had always been an introverted personality, in a very true sense. She had even talked of becoming a nun, entering a convent, devout, and delicate. Donovan, more than anyone, had been stable, symbolizing level-headedness, keeping the peace among them. "I blame the actions of her bastard father!" venom coating every syllable, Hilary had tears wailing up in her eyes. " The police around here should be ashamed of itself!, Joni remembered, vividly, the devastating effect of Donovan's mother's death on her daughter. The whole neighborhood, abuzz with gossip and, as often happens, each story, getting more intriguing than the last. People told whatever version they chose, but isn't that usually the way it goes? Fiction is so often much more interesting than the facts. Vicious rumors, peppered with just enough of truth, to make them borderline believable. Donovan's aunt took her in, her dad gets investigated, starts drinking to excess, attempts suicide, eventually became super religious, and the matter ended.

"You knew, didn't you, that she confronted her dad? Hilary asked. She leaned in, staring at Joni like she expected some confetti to sprout from her mouth or something. "Yeah, I heard a little whispering about that." Joni rolled her eyes. She despised hearsay, so when people bring it to her, she drops it where it lands, refusing to spread or give credence to things she couldn't verify. "Did you see the upstairs bathroom had sex toys in the tub?" Hilary snickered like a pubescent. "I'm pretty positive I know who did it, not surprised." she turned deep red. "This mess is ridiculous, and what a freaking shame." "We'll be here forever, and I'm tired already." Hilary was in full tilt whine. Joni wanted to slap her because it irritated her when she acted like that. Hilary, even though she grew up privileged, her life had been a series of tragedies. Her parents gave her up for adoption, and when she went to find them, heartbreakingly, they had died in a fire. They hadn't wanted to put her up for adoption and were, in a sad irony, looking for her.

"Please, stop whining because I'm too tired." Joni was dragging herself, looking around the room, full of resentment. The disastrous area looming before her made being anal retentive a pain in the ass at this particular moment. Joni wanted to lay down right where she was and sleep for about a week. Parties, as a rule, weren't her thing, and this one had certainly gone off the rails, to put it mildly. Every person who showed up, except Hilary, had abandoned her. Opal said she'd stay and help, but all things considered, Joni felt relief she'd left. It still seemed surreal, what happened, and shook her, honestly. What do you do when time doesn't lessen your feelings? How is a person supposed to deal with their pent-up emotions when the object of their affections, whom they love, tells them their feelings have changed? Joni never felt such staggering pain. It was like emotional novocaine, numbing her ability to care for or wanting someone to care for her. She'd become very introspective, drowning her sorrows in drugs, hoping the needle would be kind and finish her. Life became an unbearable reality. Days consisted of getting stoned, miscellaneous strangers pawing her, sex taking on a gnawing urgency, driving her to more and more extremes.

Death evaded her, a cruel, taunting thing. Opal invading her every waking second and tormenting her. Her mother, praying she firmly believed, for her to get her wish so that she'd stop killing herself slowly. Hilary begged her to seek help, pleading for her to reach out to someone. Opal moved halfway around the world, thinking it would make it easier for her and Joni. The road they would both travel, changing them, in the end, bringing them back together. 5 years ago, getting together in the same room with her wouldn't have been thought possible. " She was remarkably comfortable, I thought.", Hilary commented about Opal. " Frankly, I wasn't, at first.", Joni said. "I'm sure, after all, you still love each other, I know.", Hilary said and squeezed her hand. The two women looked at one another, an unspoken mutual acknowledgment passing between them. Joni knew she was exactly right. The time for denials was long past gone, and Joni just wished it wasn't so obvious to everyone. Human beings spend an awfully long time lying to themselves, she thought, far more than lying to those they know. This evening was intended to celebrate Donovan's birthday, along with her impending nuptials.

A great, much-needed reprieve from the stress of her recent move back to her hometown. Traveling for years, Joni had been all over the world, but home is home. It felt nice being home. She grinned, thinking, as she surveyed the surroundings again, how happy she really felt. Family and great friends are the magic salve that heals the wounds inflicted by the world we live in. " We're making a dent in the situation at least, Don't you think?" Hilary said, blowing her breath out. Her eyes dancing like an accomplished child, seeking a parent's approval. "To be honest, far more than I realized, thank goodness." Joni was pleasantly surprised. "We make a pretty good team, huh Jo?" "Jo" was a nickname only Hilary and her parents called her. Hours continued to fly by, the house finally started to look decent. A sense of relief flooding Joni, and all she could think of was sleep. The night didn't go the way she'd planned, but that was perfectly fine. Joni knew, plans no matter how well laid, rarely do go the way we think they're going to go.