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  Small Packages

  Brooke and Tess: Episode Two

  J.A. Armstrong

  Text © Copyright 2015 J.A. Armstrong Books

  All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced without permission.

  Chapter One

  Brooke was sitting at her desk, looking at a file. Her hands continually moved the reading glasses on her nose up and down. She finally pulled them off and shook her head in frustration. Lately, it had been difficult for her to focus. There was simply too much on her mind all of the time.

  “Hey,” Dr. Rachel Cantrell called into her best friend’s office. Brooke looked up and offered Rachel a halfhearted smile. “You headed home soon?” Rachel asked.

  Brooke sighed heavily and nodded. “I guess.”

  “You guess?” Rachel asked.

  “Depends on what you mean by home,” Brooke answered.

  Rachel entered the office, closed the door and took a seat in front of Brooke’s desk. “What’s going on?” she asked pointedly. “Everything okay at home?”

  Brooke chuckled. By home, Rachel was referring to Brooke’s relationship with Tess Sinclair. “Tess and I are fine, Rach,” Brooke said. “At least, I think we are.”

  Rachel’s brow furrowed in concern. “You think you are or you are?” she asked.

  Brooke sighed again and rubbed her tired eyes. “I just don’t know what she wants sometimes,” Brooke said honestly. Rachel’s confusion was evident. And Brooke offered her a smile. She and Tess had been together a little over six months. There was no doubt in Brooke’s mind that Tess loved her. Brooke loved Tess more than she sometimes was able to articulate, even to Tess. That was not the problem.

  “I don’t understand,” Rachel confessed.

  Brooke stood up and started to pace the office. “I’m not sure she wants a home. I mean, a home with me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rachel asked in disbelief. “You two are practically living together now.”

  Brooke turned and faced her best friend. “You mean that I practically live at Tess’s house.”

  “Yeah?” Rachel threw up her hands slightly.

  “Yeah. Not my house, not our house, her house,” Brooke said.

  “Well, if you would sell that condo then it would be your house too,” Rachel commented without hesitation.

  Brooke’s gaze hardened and she shook her head. “No, actually it wouldn’t be. Tess won’t even hear of me paying part of the mortgage.”

  Rachel nodded and pursed her lips. “Yes, actually it would be. And, maybe that’s because you are keeping that stupid empty condo of yours.”

  “What do you mean?” Brooke asked. “It’s not empty.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. Sometimes, Brooke needed to be smacked in the head to see reality. Right now, Rachel was tempted to give her best friend a good whack. Instead, she shook her head and sighed.

  “What?” Brooke urged her friend. Rachel’s only response was a low groan. “What?” Brooke asked again.

  “Brooke, why don’t you just sell that condo? You are never there anyway.”

  Brooke painted on a sarcastic smile. “Because I haven’t found a house yet.”

  “Why is that?” Rachel challenged.

  “Rach…We just haven’t. It’s like…every time I think I have found something, well….Tess just smiles and says ‘it’s great.’ That’s it.”

  “What do you want her to say, Brooke?”

  “I don’t know! I love it. Let’s buy it!” Brooke answered.

  “Let’s buy it as in you and Tess will buy it, or let’s buy it as in you will buy it and Tess can live there?” Rachel asked.

  “What do you mean? What does it matter who buys it?” Brooke asked. “When we find one, then Tess can sell her house and I can sell the condo.”

  Rachel huffed. “Does she know that is your plan?”

  “What? Of course, she knows!” Brooke defended herself.

  Rachel chuckled. Brooke’s cluelessness was running at full tilt. It was both funny and frustrating to Rachel. Brooke was, at the very least, one of the most intelligent people Rachel had ever met. She was not just educated or a skilled doctor. Brooke Campbell was well-read, knowledgeable on a breadth of subjects, and articulate. She was interested in everything from aviation to anthropology. But, Brooke could be as dense as a rolling fog when it came to relationships.

  “Something funny, Rach?” Brooke asked in annoyance.

  Rachel sighed. “Brooke, why don’t you just talk to Tess?”

  “I talk to Tess about everything.”

  “Mm-hm. I mean really talk to her. What do you want? Do you want to buy a house with Tess?”

  “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Brooke said exasperatedly.

  Rachel laughed a bit harder. Brooke’s cluelessness could be endearing. She imagined it must be frustrating at times for Tess. And, Rachel had a feeling that what Brooke had actually said, and what Brooke had meant were likely drastically different. That almost certainly had left Tess in some state of limbo. In the past, Rachel’s inclination would have been to set Brooke straight. She had learned over the last year that Brooke sometimes needed to find her way in her own time. A little push sometimes helped, but learning to make a relationship work was a lot like residency—on the job training. She had confidence that Brooke had met her match in Tess, in more ways than one.

  “Are you unhappy at Tess’s?” Rachel asked.

  “Not at all,” Brooke said.

  Rachel nodded. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “She deserves more,” Brooke said honestly.

  Rachel smiled. One thing was for certain, Brooke was in love. “Maybe you should ask Tess what she thinks about that theory,” Rachel said as she made her way back to the office door. “Nervous about the trip?” she turned back and teased Brooke. Brooke’s expression was a dead giveaway to her answer. Rachel winked at her best friend. Brooke was leaving the next day with Tess and her twins to visit Tess’s parents for Thanksgiving. “Tess will protect you,” Rachel laughed.

  “Cute,” Brooke replied.

  “Relax, Brooke,” Rachel said. “It’s not like you’re getting married this weekend or something,” Rachel said. She had a feeling the trip was the catalyst to Brooke’s stress. Brooke forced a smile. She had not met Tess’s parents yet. “They can’t be that bad,” Rachel said.

  “Well, she did say her mother always hoped she’d marry a doctor,” Brooke muttered.

  Rachel quirked an amused brow at Brooke but decided to let Brooke’s innocent comment lie. “Have a good holiday.”

  Brooke nodded. “You too, Rach. Thanks for letting me vent.”

  “No problem. Now, go home,” Rachel ordered her friend gently.

  “After I check on a couple of patients that were admitted.”

  “Brooke…”

  Brooke held up her hand. “I’ll be in and out Rach. Five days off….I’ll feel better if I just…”

  “I know,” Rachel conceded. “You are not on call, Dr. Donaldson is.”

  “I got it,” Brooke laughed.

  “Make sure you do.”

  “Scary, Rach.”

  “Hey, I don’t want your girlfriend pissed at me,” Rachel explained.

  “Scared of Tess?” Brooke joked.

  “Let’s just say I would like to keep her in my camp.”

  Brooke rolled her eyes. “I don’t even want to know. I promise…in and out.”

  “I hope you don’t promise Tess that,” Rachel cracked. Brooke picked up a folder and threw it at her best friend, just as Rachel made it through the door.

  “Pain in my…” Brooke snickered as she moved to pick up her mess. “And, she’s never complained,” Brooke laughed to herself.

/>   “Yet!” Rachel peeked back through the door.

  “Ass!” Brooke replied.

  “That’s Dr. Ass to you,” Rachel said with a wink. “See you next week.”

  Brooke finished picking up the stray papers and collapsed in her office chair. She looked at a small picture that sat on her desk and shook her head. “You’re a doctor, Campbell. You survived medical school, residency, and D. squared so far. How bad could it be?”

  ***

  “Mom!” Davey’s voice rang through the small Cape Cod home.

  Tess put her face in her hands and groaned. She had been attempting to pack for the Thanksgiving trip her family was taking to Florida for hours. Every time she started to make some progress, something interrupted her. The constant interruptions were not helping her nervousness. She had not traveled to her parents’ home in nearly a year. The everyday chaos of raising two children and the financial realities of being a single mom had prevented that trip.

  Brooke had offered to take care of the expense for Tess at the end of the summer. Tess had politely declined. Tess’s reluctance to accept Brooke’s offer had caused one of their few arguments. Brooke struggled to understand why Tess would not accept her help. Tess gave Brooke a laundry list of reasons as to why she did not want to make the trip. Brooke had remained skeptical. In her frustration, she had snapped at Tess. The resulting argument ended in a stream of tears from Tess, and Brooke let it go.

  Tess found herself replaying that conversation in her mind as she continued packing.

  “Why won’t you let me help you?” Brooke asked in frustration.

  “You help me with all kinds of things,” Tess tried to placate her girlfriend.

  “You know what I mean. The kids want to go. You miss your dad. Go before school starts. It’s not a big deal, Tess.”

  Tess sighed heavily. “I don’t want to go until you can go with us,” she said.

  Brooke pursed her lips. “I can meet you down there on the weekend. It’s a short flight.”

  Tess shook her head. “Brooke….I…There’s too much going on. Davey has karate. Dani will just be coming home from camp…”

  “And? Tess, why don’t you just say that you don’t want to take the money? That’s what this is about,” Brooke said pointedly.

  “Brooke…”

  “What? It’s the truth. Isn’t it? You never want me to help.”

  “I just told you, you help me all of the time!” Tess countered.

  “With what? You pay this mortgage…”

  “It’s my house. You still have your own mortgage to pay,” Tess said. “Why are we arguing about this?”

  “We wouldn’t be arguing at all if you would just let me help.”

  “God, you are so infuriating sometimes!” Tess said in exasperation.

  “Me? My wanting to help you makes you mad?”

  Tess groaned. “You are not listening to me.”

  “I am listening to you. I hear you loud and clear,” Brooke said.

  “No. You don’t!” Tess shot back. She looked at Brooke whose face had flushed in frustration and an underlying sense of hurt. Tess had been ready to keep yelling. The expression on Brooke’s face sent a wave of regret through her instantly and she began to cry. “I can’t go. I just can’t go,” her voice dropped and she started to shake from the sobs that followed.

  Brooke crossed the room and took Tess into her arms. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. With a deep sigh, she kissed Tess’s head. “Please, don’t cry. Tess…Come on…I’m sorry. I just wanted to do something for you.”

  Tess held onto Brooke tightly. “You do everything for me,” she whispered.

  Brooke decided against the response in her head and pulled Tess closer. “I would do anything for you, Tess.”

  “I know,” Tess continued to cry. “I know.”

  Davey’s booming voice snapped Tess from her memory. “Mom!” Davey stomped into his mother’s bedroom. “I can’t find my blue sneakers.”

  Tess forced a strained smile. “Did you look in your closet?” she asked through slightly gritted teeth.

  “Yeah. They aren’t there!” he said indignantly.

  “When did you wear them last?” Tess asked.

  Davey thought for a minute. “I dunno!” he exclaimed. Tess folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. Davey understood that was Mom Code for “think about it.” He sighed dramatically. Tess arched an eyebrow at him. “Oh!” he lifted up a finger in proclamation. “I know! When Brooke took me and Dani hiking!”

  “Uh-huh,” Tess replied. Unseasonably warm weather that past weekend prompted Brooke to lead Dani and Davey on a hike through the woods. “And?” Tess asked. “Where did you take them off?”

  “Right!” Davey said emphatically. “On the porch!” he said. Tess smiled as Davey abruptly turned and ran out of her bedroom full speed.

  Brooke was just walking up the front walkway when Davey sprinted out of the front door in his bare feet. She laughed. “Are you escaping or something?” she asked him.

  “Brooke!”

  “Well?” she asked, pointing at his naked feet in the November cold.

  “Oh,” he said as he looked down at his feet. Davey scurried to the far side of the front porch, grabbed his sneakers and held them up for Brooke to see as his only explanation.

  Brooke smiled at the young boy. “Where’s Mom?” she asked.

  “In your room,” Davey said. “Is that pizza?” he pointed to the boxes in Brooke’s hands.

  “Maybe,” Brooke said. “Go get your sister and get washed up,” she instructed him.

  Davey nodded and scampered back into the house. “Dani!” he called out excitedly.

  Brooke made her way through the front door and headed toward the kitchen as Davey’s voice carried through the house. “Mom!” he yelled more loudly than was necessary.

  Brooke looked up at the ceiling and laughed. She placed the two boxes on the kitchen table and draped her jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. She had just set about the task of retrieving plates from the cabinet when she felt two arms encircle her waist from behind.

  Tess kissed Brooke’s back. “What’s this?” she asked.

  Brooke turned in Tess’s arms and smiled. “Nice to see you too,” she joked.

  Tess smiled and accepted a gentle kiss from Brooke.

  “Gross,” Davey grumbled from behind them.

  Tess snickered and leaned her head into Brooke’s chest. She had barely seen Brooke the last two days. Tess inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Brooke looked over Tess at a pair of mischievous eight-year-olds. “If you think pizza is gross, I am sure Mom won’t object to you making yourself something else,” Brooke offered. Tess giggled into Brooke’s chest.

  Dani rolled her eyes at her brother. She looked at Brooke. “Can we eat downstairs?” she asked.

  Tess looked up at Brooke and winked. Brooke pretended to consider the request thoughtfully.

  “Can we?” Davey repeated his sister’s question.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Brooke said. Dani and Davey waited for her terms. “You promise that you will both clean up afterward, and that you will have your bags by the front door before bed.”

  “Promise,” they both said in unison.

  “Okay. I’m holding you to it,” Brooke told them.

  Tess turned and faced her children. “A deal’s a deal,” she reminded them. “If you two suddenly forget your end, you won’t be eating downstairs for a long time.”

  “Got it!” Dani said as she opened the first box. She wrinkled her nose and Davey peered over her shoulder with a look of disdain. “What’s that?” she asked as she pointed to the contents of the box.

  “That?” Brooke repeated the question. “That is for your mom and me. Other box.”

  Davey looked up at Brooke and his mother and made a face feigning illness. “It’s green! Pizza is never green.”

  Tess snickered and patted Brooke’s stomach. “Of course, it’s green,” she whis
pered.

  Brooke rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. “No slimy meat. Your house, your orders,” Brooke reminded Tess teasingly.

  Tess sighed. Brooke had been making little comments over the last few weeks about their living arrangements that on the surface seemed innocent and light. The problem was, she was making them more frequently than usual. As much as Brooke tried to play off her comments as jokes, Tess sensed the sentiment underlying them. She wasn’t certain how to address it with Brooke. Brooke Campbell was confident in nearly every facet of her life. Tess admired that. But, when it came to talking about what was bothering her in their relationship, Tess was aware of Brooke’s struggles. Drawing out Brooke’s worries often took time. Confronting her directly tended to make Brooke go on the defensive. The last thing Tess wanted right before a trip to visit her parents was an argument or added tension. She made a mental note to address the issue when they got home.

  Brooke pulled away gently from Tess’s grasp and handed Davey and Dani their plates. Tess followed her to the table as Dani and Davey hurried off to the rec room in the basement.

  “Pizza, huh?” Tess asked.

  Brooke shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea.”

  Tess nodded her agreement. “How was your day?” she asked Brooke.

  “Uneventful—for the most part,” Brooke replied. She looked at Tess and sighed. Tess’s eyes were almost slits, a clear indication that she had a migraine. “You okay?” Brooke asked softly. Tess nodded. “Don’t ever go into politics,” Brooke commented.

  “What?” Tess asked. “Why not?”

  “You would suck.”

  “Thanks,” Tess laughed.

  “You can’t lie to save your life, Diana,” Brooke teased a bit.

  Tess sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  Brooke regarded her girlfriend silently for a moment. She reached across the table and put her hand over Tess’s. “I promise, I will be on my best behavior. I won’t even sleep naked,” Brooke winked.

  Tess laughed and shook her head at Brooke. “Oh no, if I am going to survive a weekend with my mother, you are definitely sleeping naked,” Tess said.

  Brooke smirked. “What do you need help with?” she asked Tess as she took a bite of her pizza.