"Do you believe in magic," Sarita asked. "The supernatural? Paranormal occurrences which can't be explained by modern science?"
The question caught Leanne off guard as they were having lunch at an upscale downtown restaurant. As department managers for a major corporation, they were used to talking about employees, deals, and deadlines, often during lunch hour.
But this?
"In some ways," Leanne answered after thinking for a moment. "I mean, I suppose I believe in the supernatural to an extent. I do believe in ghosts; my grandparents swear they've seen apparitions in their previous home."
"Are you religious?"
Leanne gave a coy smile and a faint shrug. "Mildly, if that makes sense."
"I thought so," Sarita replied knowingly as she nodded.
There was a brief moment of levity between the ladies as they took another bite of their food and squinted at each other.
"Why on Earth are you asking me these questions?" Leanne asked.
"I may have a gift for you."
"May? That's an odd way of announcing a potential present."
"I want to see if you'll accept it. These things must be done carefully."
"Now you're being a tease," Leanne said, washing down her food with more drink. "And you're
never
a tease. Seriously, what's going on with you and your paranormal talk?"
Sarita kept her eyes down as she poked at her food with a fork. "If you must know, I've accepted a job offer in England. I want to be closer to my family. Next week will be my last with this company."
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry. It's all very last minute."
"I get it..."
A soft sigh escaped Leanne's lips and she reached over to touch Sarita's hand. The contrast between her white hand on top of Sarita's dark brown Indian skin was beautiful.
In response, Sarita put her other hand on top of Leanne's.
"Don't be sad," Sarita smiled, looking up at her friend. "Be happy."
Leanne gave pouty lips. "I'll try."
Despite her brave words, small tears and a sad smile appeared on Leanne's face, betraying her soft heart.
"Oh stop," Sarita joked. "You're going to make me cry too."
Leanne pulled her hand back, sat upright and composed herself. The last thing she needed was for anyone from upper management to enter the restaurant and see her looking so vulnerable. Like most high powered corporate women, she was conscious of the way she was perceived. Her image was carefully crafted.
"So what does this have to do with the supernatural?" Leanne asked. "That was kind of an odd way of breaking the news that you'd be leaving. Did you consult an astrologer or something? I've always been interested in that sort of thing."
"No, nothing with an astrologer."
Leanne pried, "Come on, don't leave me hanging. Are you talking about a book or something?"
"If that was it, would you be disappointed?"
"Honestly, yes. You've given me quite a build-up, and your mannerisms suggested something momentous. Really serious. And I can tell when you've got something important on your mind."
Sarita briefly pursed her lips and looked down at her half-eaten food. She ran her fingers through her dark, silky hair and sighed to herself. In an instant, she made up her mind and finalized her decision, looking up at her friend and colleague.
"What are you doing after this?"
Leanne answered, "I'm meeting with Bryce at 2 pm about staffing issues. Then I'm reviewing audits with Chris at 3:30. Between that, I have some paperwork that requires attention. Why? Is it important?"
"Are you free at 5 pm?"
"I should be."
"That might work best," Sarita nodded. "I'll come to your office when I see that no one else is there."
Leanne seemed slightly taken aback. "That sounds fine. Are you sure you're okay? This seems a little unusual, even by our standards."
"Trust me, you don't know the half of it."
****
At 5 pm sharp, Sarita made her way to Leanne's office, in an unusually stealth manner. By this hour, their meticulous hairstyles were a bit messy, and their clothes weren't as wrinkle free as they had been first thing in the morning. The busy day had taken its toll.
"Please, can you sit here?" Sarita gestured to the leather couch.
Leanne stood and walked to the couch hesitantly. "You're being weird."
"I know, but things will soon become clear."
They sat on the couch and looked at each other awkwardly during an uncomfortably long silence.
Leanne made the first move. "You wanted to see me about something?"
"Yes, and I still can't believe I'm sharing this with you."
"I thought we had gotten over this already? But if it's too personal, you don't have to share."
Sarita cleared her throat and sat upright. "What's your darkest fantasy?"
"Sexually?"
"Yes, sexually. Or romantically. What's your deepest desire?"
Sure, they had plenty of sex talk over the years, but they were mostly in the context of dating success or horrible experiences. This was new territory entirely, which only fueled Leanne's curiosity over this.
"I don't know," Leanne shrugged. "I'm not dodging the question, but you know I'm a pretty vanilla person. My sexual preferences are like my skin color... fair."