Perfect Revenge #3

There are many ways to kill a rat without seeing blood. ~ Anonymous

Sydney listened to Karen talk, while a part of her processed the information.

Different thoughts passed through her mind; anger at the fact that Karen hid the information from her when it could have saved her a lot of pain, shock at the fact that she had lived with Karen for three years and she had no idea that she was an exotic dancer, and wonder at the wickedness which could be hidden in the heart of man, and yet one might not be aware of it.

By the time Karen was done talking, Sydney’s mind was filled with different thoughts, and so she ended up speechless. The silence which descended in the room after Karen’s confession was uncomfortable for Karen, but for Sydney it was done unintentionally as she was still wondering how to react. She realised she was not really angry at Karen, just wished she told her so she wouldn’t have been a fool before Edmund and Rita.

“Please say something, Sydney,” Karen said, still surprising Sydney with her humility and apparent vulnerability. “I’ll understand if you are angry with me, and if you think I was not a good friend. Yell, insult me and get mad, but please now is not a good time to keep silent.”

“When I saw that article in the papers and I thought back to your reaction to their presence each time they came here, I suspected that you suspected their infidelity,” Sydney started as she walked away from Karen to the only window in the sitting room. “I’m surprised to find out that you actually knew something.”

Sydney gazed at the view which made her fall in love with the apartment, but she saw nothing. The view showed the busyness which was typical of cities, people with purpose and drive, people confused but faking direction, people with stagnant lives but apparent growth, all of them walking up and down the busy road appearing too busy for anything else. It appealed to Sydney’s artistic, busy mind, and she fell in love with it.

She was gazing at the same busyness which attracted her to the apartment but she was far away. “You should have told me, Karen,” she continued still looking at the view with unseeing eyes. “You should have told me because you are on my side, you should have told me because you saw proof that Edmund... that Edmund was not good for me,” she ended, pausing at the mention of Edmund’s name. It still hurt that she actually fell in love with such a person. She suddenly felt cold.

Sydney turned to face the room again, and saw that Karen was now seated, with her head in her palms, facing down and accepting the mild scolding she received.

She decided to let it go.

“But knowing you, you did it because you thought it was the best for me at the time, and so I forgive you.” The speed with which Karen raised her head made Sydney breathe easier. She made the right decision.

“I’m so sorry,” Karen said. “I was also protecting...”

“Hold on,” Sydney interrupted, hold up her hands to stop Karen’s flow of words. “I know somehow and somewhere in your mind you think there’s a need to protect me from the ugliness of the world, but I don’t need it. I may not be the strongest woman I know, but I am able to face whatever life throws at me, I mean it’s my life, right?”

“I’m sorry,” Karen apologised again.

“I know. I just wanted to get that out, so you can stop your protective, mothering attentions towards me. First I’m getting used to it, and it is reducing our chances of being great friends.”

“Okay. I will stop. Note to self, Sydney is a strong, capable woman, stop being protective of her.”

“Good. So – an exotic dancer, eh?”

“Oh no!” Karen exclaimed, putting her head back into her palms.

“I’m listening,” Sydney encouraged, feeling better than she has in a long while. Moving to the sofa close to the chair occupied by Karen, she sat, waiting patiently.

“I don’t understand what you are listening to, but you are not hearing anything from me about that... about my job,” Karen said in a groan, head still in palms.

Sydney took a pause, carefully choosing her words.

“Karen, you have been my friend even when we were not legally friends, whatever that means,” she said slowly. “You have no idea how I looked forward to your calls each day when all I wanted to do was sink into despair. You have been there for me, acting like a big sister even though we are mates. You have been my steady in all these disappointment and shock I’ve suffered recently. I know you, I like you a lot, but I don’t think you should be an exotic dancer. I could be wrong, as it’s your life and you know yourself better than I do. So, although I don’t have the final say in what you do, I hope you realise that I am speaking in love for you. Exotic dancing is not supposed to be your job.”

The silence this time was unexplainable for both ladies. Sydney wondered why Karen was quiet and Karen wondered what she was supposed to say.
“I...I don’t – "

Karen’s forced, yet to be constructed response was interrupted by a knock.

Grateful for the save, she ran to the door.
Understanding what happened, Sydney assured her, “You haven’t escaped this discussion.”

Smiling, Karen looked through the peephole, and turned to look at Sydney with a slight frown on her face. “Are you expecting any visitor? I don’t recognise the young man standing outside our door.”

“You know I don’t have anyone who would come looking for me, especially not during weekdays. What does he look like?”

“Let me check,” Karen said. “Well, he is one handsome hunk; blond, I think blue eyes, wearing a...”

“... Blue shirt with NYC written on it,” Sydney completed. James.

“What does he want? How did he find out where I live? What do I do?” Sydney began pacing again and Karen understood immediately.

“I guess that is James who had you pacing earlier? You are doing it again.”

“Yes. What does he – ”

The knock came again.

“What do we do, because he doesn’t look like he will be going without seeing you,” Karen said, looking through the peephole again. “In fact he looks ready to sleep at the door until you...”

“Shut it Karen!” Sydney retorted.

Hearing the retort Karen released the bolt and opened the door, ignoring Sydney’s gasp of fear. The anger had shown her that the fear Sydney felt towards James was not from an experience with him, but from the thought of a future with him. She knew she needed to see him closer.

“Hello James, I’m Karen, Sydney’s roommate,” she extended her hand for a handshake immediately the opened door revealed the complete man.

Glad to see mild shock on his face, she gave him a thorough perusal from his head to sneakers, and knew there was no way she was allowing Sydney lose this guy. Having seen all sorts of men at the clubs, she knew a good man when she saw one, and this, standing before her was a good man.

In her opinion, Sydney needed a good man.