Sunday is Cozy Reading Day in Celia’s new world, across the country from jealous ex-fiancées and intolerable ex-boyfriends. She had just finished showering and was in her bathrobe picking the day’s reading material when her phone rang. Unlisted number.
Ooh, maybe that cutie from the library yesterday found my bookmark? Asking a girl out at work was the height of desperation, Celia knew, but she was a little flirty and checking out queer books, and without a good link to the area’s gay scene, she didn’t have a lot of dating options at present. “Hello?”
“Hey, I saw your bookmark and decided to give you a call.” This woman was not the woman Celia gave the bookmark to – her husky alto was a far cry from the mild soprano of her library crush. Did she throw the bookmark away? Lose it? Give it to a friend? Celia paused, and the caller picked up on her hesitation. “I’m not the person you gave it to. She’s a friend, and I’m calling on her behalf.”
Celia rolled her eyes. What are we, in high school? “Look, if she’s not willing to talk to me herself, I obviously made a mistake. I’m sorry I got you involved.” She went to hang up the phone and almost missed Doreen's shout of protest.
“WAIT SHE DOESN’T KNOW I’M CALLING! Please hear me out!”
“I’m giving you five minutes before I decide you’re not as interesting as the book I was about to read.”
“Oh, what book?”
“I was still choosing. Four minutes, forty-five seconds.”
“Okay, okay.” The woman on the other end of the line collects her thoughts quickly. “My name’s Doreen. My friend liked you after your encounter yesterday, and she wants to see you, but she’s nervous. She’s… never had a lesbian encounter before, and as her one queer friend, I wanted to help ease her in, if you know what I mean.”
Oh, I found a baby dyke? That’s not what I expected. She sat down in her reading chair and got settled. “Doreen, you and your friend are officially more interesting than my book. I’m listening.”
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Doreen’s story was interesting to Celia. Her friend, Quinn, is a shy bookworm (no surprise or disappointment there) who had sworn off dating entirely, but was now, with Doreen’s encouragement, considering just swearing off dating men. I can’t blame her, after what Matt McMuscles put me through. Quinn was up for the date in theory, but might take some convincing to take the plunge, and Celia would have to act quickly once Quinn agreed to prevent cold feet from taking over. I should probably have a joke here about not wanting cold feet in my bed, but that sounds mean to poor Quinn. Doreen promised to be, as she put it, the right hand of light - oh, so she did read the book already - and have date night outfits ready for Quinn, but Celia would have to plan date night activities on her own.
“There’s a used book expo I was planning on going to on Saturday; do you think Quinn would be up for that?”
“Probably; books are her idea of a good time. You might want to be ready for something more… immediate and/or impromptu, though? She may not be able to commit to a particular date.”
There’s something here I don’t know. What’s your deal, Quinn, Mystery Woman? “Okay, I can have a Plan B ready to improvise with. I don’t know the area well, though; do you know a good place to take someone to dinner?”
“As long as you’re not looking super fancy, I have a place I like.” Celia grabbed a pen and scribbles Doreen’s suggestion down.
“Okay, let me get this straight: Quinn’s interested, but will probably text before she calls, and you don’t know when that would be. I should keep Saturday in mind, but have a backup plan. Dinner at George’s. And you’re going to take care of getting her ready and making sure she doesn’t run out the back door while I’m pulling my car up?”
“Sounds like. Nice doing business with you, Celia. Hope I get to see you in person sometime.” The line went dead.
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An encounter with a strange woman that feels fated, but needs some fight to get them together. Bonus points for a newly queer partner. Doreen walks over to what she thinks of as the Great Bookshelf - Christians can have their Good Book, people with filthier minds get Great Books - and makes a selection. She pours herself a glass of wine, and settles back down in her chair. If I play my cards right, I may be "giving thanks" this holiday weekend after all.
She opens the book, takes a sip, and begins to read.