FOL Fan Fiction
Here is Part 2 ( Conclusion) of "Catching Up"
This isn’t as much fun as it used to be, Blair mused. Peter and Roger were debating investment strategies in Eastern Europe and Nancy was sipping her tea.
Still, it was nice having Peter pull out the chair so elegantly, without the fear of a paint pan on the seat, Blair conceded. And the other diners were shooting them a lot of admiring glances. Peter’s accent is charming....
I hope Jo isn’t getting pizza on the new couch. Blair suddenly thought with a jolt. There’s that Barbara Stanwyck movie on Channel 13. I just see her scarfing pepperoni and beer in front of the TV and dripping all over. Maybe I should call. I can ask her to tape the movie. I wouldn’t mind watching it some night this week. What do we have going on this week? Dinner? We can have Chinese tomorrow night. But we should drive to Connecticut early to check out that landscape architect. A fountain in the garden would be fabulous. Maybe with big goldfish. Could they live through the winter? We’ll have to ask. Jo can fix the boiler but can I trust her with heating a fountain? A trellis would be nice. She could probably build a trellis. Making out by a trellis could be fun, as long as the neighbors couldn’t see. It would be quite a show, particularly if Jo pulled the move she did last night. Where did she learn that, I wonder? Blair shifted a little in her chair.
“Does that sound like a good plan, Blair?”
Blair started from her reverie. “Oh I beg your pardon, Peter, what did you say?”.
“Roger was telling me about this club, Doubles, is it? He thought you might be give be able to give us an entree.”
“I think I’m still a member. I haven’t been in a while.”
“Perhaps an after dinner drink?” Peter inquired in a hopeful tone.
“Come on Blair.” Roger nudged her. “The night’s young. We don’t get to do the Big Apple with Princess Warner as a guide very often.”
“Nancy, what would you like to do?” asked Blair. “You look a little tired.”
“She’s fine,” said Roger.
Nancy adjusted the Hermes scarf around her neck. “I’ll do whatever the group wants. Let me just go to the powder room.”
Blair started to rise from her chair. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, you stay and entertain the men. I’ll be right back.”
***********
“So Nat, what happened to that hunk of a cameraman you were seeing? James, was it?” Jo asked.
“His wife in Ireland, whom he forgot to mention, happened.” Natalie said dryly.
“I’m sorry,” said Jo.
“Don’t be. I‘m dating his brother-in-law Sean, the guy who spilled the beans.”
“Wow. No flies on you.”
“I hope not.” Natalie laughed. She suddenly froze. “Jo, incoming, incoming, dormmate at eleven o clock!”
Jo’s eyes widened as she quickly opened the wine list to an inch of her face. “Is it Blair?” she whispered.
“No, you dolt, dormmate, not roommate. There is a difference.”
Nancy walked by their booth and looked briefly at Natalie who sat stock still, holding a fork suspended in air halfway to her mouth. Nancy kept going.
“Phew,” sighed Natalie in relief. “I don’t think she recognized me.” She frowned. “Wait a minute, she didn’t recognize me? Who does she think she is, Princess Di?”
“Easy there, Nat.” Jo said.
Nancy came back to the table with a quizzical look on her face. “You know, Blair, I think I just saw Natalie Greene.”
Blair looked up quickly. “Really, where?”
“Up by the bar. I didn’t stop, it took me a moment to place her. But I am pretty sure.” Nancy replied.
“Who is Natalie Green?” Peter asked politely.
“A schoolmate of ours from Eastland.” Nancy said.
“The fat one right?” Roger queried.
“Roger, please.” Nancy sighed.
Blair felt the blood rushing to her face. She turned to Roger. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, Blair, she was a real porker.”
“I will have you know, Roger, that Natalie is one of the most intelligent, charming, funny, loyal, attractive...”
Nancy cut in. “And she was with Jo.”
“What?!?” blurted Blair.
“Yes, there was another woman in the booth. I think it was Jo, Jo P...
“Jo Pole-no-fuck.” Roger chimed in with a laugh.
The blood that had rushed to Blair’s face turned to ice. “What did you say?” she managed.
“Jo Pole-no-fuck, her nickname at Bates.” Roger said. Catching Blair’s death glare, he added, “Hey, no offense, it was just a joke.”
Charming. “You know,” Blair gritted out. “It is getting late, and I have a lot to do tomorrow. Perhaps we should call it a night.”
“That is a shame,” said Peter. “I so enjoyed meeting you, Blair.”
“Thank you Peter. Likewise. I’m sorry to cut the evening short.”
“Oh be a sport, Blair. I’ve ordered a stretch limo. Come look at it. Maybe you will change your mind when you see the back seat.” Roger said, waggling his eyebrows and signaling for the bill.
“It is highly unlikely,” Blair replied icily.
“I’ll retrieve the coats and meet you outside,” offered Peter who rose and left the table.
After Roger paid the check, over Blair’s objection, Nancy, Roger and Blair walked to the front of the restaurant. Nancy stopped. “I was right, there they are!” she cried.
Jo and Natalie looked up at the threesome who appeared by their booth and simultaneously gulped.
“Natalie, it’s me, Nancy Olsen, from Eastland. How are you? I can’t believe it! And Jo, isn’t it? Jo... ?
“Polniaczek,” Natalie interjected helpfully.
“Of course,” said Nancy. “How are you both?”
“Fine,” they replied flatly and in unison.
“You remember my husband, Roger. And here is Blair Warner, of all people. What a coincidence. Your fellow dishwasher, right?” I just remembered that you were all part of Mrs. Garrett’s kitchen staff.”
“Is she kidding with this?” Natalie muttered under her breath.
Blair said nothing, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
“Nice to see the three of you again.” Jo deadpanned, glancing briefly at her girlfriend. I guess you haven’t given them the news flash, have you honey, she thought.
Peeved, Jo turned and asked, “And how are you, Roger? It’s been a while. Last time I saw you was behind Mr. Knighton’s science lab, with your buddies, Mason and Stewart. Do you remember?”
Roger’s face flushed deep red and he cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you are talking about. It’s Jo, right?
“Right. Too bad. A good time was had by all. You look well though.”
“Thanks. Well, we really should be going. Our limo is waiting. Come on Nancy.” He said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her away.
“Oh. All right. Lovely to see you both. Are you coming Blair?” Nancy asked as she trotted to keep up with her husband.
Blair stood still. “I’ll be right there,” she called out. She glared at her friends and ordered in a sotto voice. “You two will not move on pain of death, I’ll be back shortly.”
As Blair strode off, Natalie piped up. “That went well, I think.”
Jo slouched. “Yeah, sure.”
“Can you believe that Nancy described us as what...‘fellow dishwashers, Mrs. Garrett’s kitchen staff’? Reducing our years of friendship to such mundane terms. It’s insulting.” Natalie complained. “Accurate, but insulting.”
Jo laughed.
**********
Blair and Nancy stood outside the door of the stretch limo as the men had brandy and cigars inside the car.
“Blair, I had a brilliant day. It was just fabulous to see you. You and Peter.....”
“Nancy, he’s very nice but I can’t pursue it. The chemistry... you know.”
“I’m sorry if Roger...”
“It’s fine.”
“Are you sure that you don’t want us to drive you home?” Nancy asked.
“No, it is just a couple blocks away. I can walk.” Blair replied.
“Well, we are heading back to London tomorrow.”
“You must be looking forward to seeing your children.”
“I am.” Nancy said. “They are my refuge. They keep me sane. I mean....” She petered off.
“Everything is all right with you, isn’t it Nance?” Blair asked with concern.
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
“And don’t worry about me either,” Blair said. “I’m very happy.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.” Blair swallowed. “Nancy, there is something I need to tell you.”
Unexpectedly, Nancy teared up. “Blair, you don’t have to. In fact, I’d rather you wouldn’t.”
“Why not? It’s nothing bad. It’s wonderful, in fact.”
“Because I still want to believe I can fix you up with a respectable man and that we can go to each others’ dinner parties and charitable events. That we can summer together in Italy and winter in Switzerland and that our children can attend boarding school together. Give me that, won’t you?” Nancy breathed, choking back a sob.
“Oh Nancy.” Blair pulled her into a hug.
Nancy whispered into Blair’s ear. “She has such beautiful eyes and she seems kind. Don’t listen to me. I am glad for you, really.”
Blair drew back with a gasp. “You knew?”
“I figured it out tonight.” Nancy replied. “The way you reacted to running into her. The way she looked at you. The connection was fairly electric.”
“It always has been.” Blair said with a smile.
They hugged again. “Have a safe trip.” Blair said. “Write me.”
“You too,” Nancy replied.
As she was leaving, Blair turned around and said. “Tell Roger or don’t, it’s your choice.”
Nancy nodded and then opened the door of the limo.
Blair returned to the restaurant and walked up to her friends who, avoiding her gaze, were assiduously focused on sharing a tiramisu.
Blair rolled her eyes. “Move over, Polniaczek,” she growled, bumping Jo’s hip as she slid into the booth beside her.
“Oh hi. Don’t tell me. It’ll come. Gimme a minute. It’s Blair, Blair Warner right?” Jo asked innocently.
“Ha. Ha.”
“So, Blair,” Natalie intoned in a sing song voice. “How was your date? Are you going to see him again? Did you let him kiss you good night? Do you think he will ask you to the Harvest Dance?”
“Again, Ha. Ha.” Blair muttered.
Feeling much cheerier, Jo threw her arm around Blair’s shoulders and squeezed affectionately. “No really, how was the evening?”
Blair shook her head. “You know, I was going to give you both heck...”
“Heck ?” Natalie interrupted. “Who are you, Gomer Pyle?”.
“As I was saying, I was going give you a piece of my mind for spying on me but the truth is, I am glad to see you.” It was more than that, Blair admitted to herself wryly. The stab of pure joy she had felt at the unexpected sight of her lover was a little disconcerting. I have it bad, she thought.
“In fact,” Blair announced. “I will agree to forget the whole thing if you get me a spoon so I can have a bite of this tiramisu.”
“Here,” said Jo, holding a forkful of the dessert to Blair’s mouth.
“Mmm.” Blair hummed as she took the bite, closing her eyes and running her tongue over her lips.
Watching her, Jo blinked and swallowed hard.
“I felt too guilty to order a sweet while Nancy was subsisting on tea and salad.” Blair said.
“Sure,” said Jo, shaking her head to clear the haze. “How is the royal couple?”
She would tell Jo about Nancy’s insight later, Blair decided. “Nancy was fine. She seemed a little subdued. And Roger, well, Roger is a pig.”
“Blair!” objected Natalie. “He took you to see Baryshnikov!”
“I couldn’t agree with you more, babe.” Jo said quietly.
“By the way, Jo, what was that remark about the science lab?” Natalie asked. “Roger looked like he was going to have a stroke.”
Not much gets by you, does it Nat, Jo thought. You really are a hell of a reporter.
“It was nothing.”
Blair looked up. Something in Jo’s tone bothered her. “What is it, Jo?”
Jo stared at her hands for a second. What the hell. Get it out. It couldn’t matter less, now.
“It was near the end of my first term at Eastland. I was taking a science class at Bates. One day I was heading back after a late afternoon lab and I ran into Roger and two of his buddies in the hall.” Jo kept looking at her hands. Blair and Natalie fell silent.
“They grabbed me and pushed me out the fire exit. I tried to yell and run but there were three of them and they were pretty strong.”
“Oh, god,” Blair murmured, closing her eyes.
“They dragged me behind the dumpster and ...conducted their little experiment.” Jo said with a thin smile.
Natalie coughed. “What experiment?” she asked unsteadily.
“What they said was ...they wanted to see if I was really a girl.”
“Jo, did they... were you...?” asked Blair softly.
“Nah, they didn’t have the cojones. They basically felt me up and pulled off my skirt to check out the equipment. Then they heard Knighton coming and took off.”
“What did you do ?” asked Natalie.
“I gathered my uniform together and tried to tell Mr. Knighton what happened. The bastard took me into his office and told me that it would be better if I kept quiet about the whole thing. He said that Bates Academy would deal with it as Bates Academy saw fit. Boys will be boys and all.”
Blair grabbed Jo’s arm. She had tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or if not us, why didn’t you go to Mrs. Garrett? She never would have let them get away with it.”
“Oh, Blair. I was finally starting to settle in. Things were beginning to work out with the four of us. And what with the van and the shoplifting and Eddie and everything, I had already given Mrs. G. more than enough drama for one semester. So I decided to let it go. It wasn’t that big a deal. A lot worse happened in my old neighborhood all the time.”
Looking at Blair and Natalie’s stricken faces, Jo chuckled. “Lighten up, you guys. It was a long time ago. I survived. But seeing that jerk tonight, I just thought I should remind him of his youthful indiscretions.”
“Was what happened with Roger the reason you decided to spy on me tonight?” Blair asked, wiping her eyes.
Jo shrugged. “Maybe a little bit. I don’t know. I’m sorry, Blair, I really did want you to have a good time.”
“That’s OK. Hey, wait a minute!” Blair snapped. “After what he did, I can’t believe you let me date Roger back in school.”
“Are you delusional?” Jo retorted. “How was I supposed to know you were planning on sneaking around behind Nancy’s back with her boyfriend. ‘Let’ you date him, Jeez.”
“Well, you could have at least warned me.” Blair complained.
“Yeah, like you were really in the habit of taking dating advice from me. Anyway, he wouldn’t have dared sully the sacred Harvest Queen.” Jo said sarcastically.
“Ladies, ladies,” Natalie interrupted. “That toad isn’t worth arguing over. Eew, I can’t believe I used to have a crush on him. Fortunately he’s heading across the pond and out of our lives.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Blair. Calling their waiter over, she declared, “A bottle of chilled Veuve Cliquot Reserve, and three glasses please.”
“Right away,” the server replied.
“He’s not out of Nancy’s life.” Jo stated matter of factly. “Blair, try and keep in touch with her.”
“Why?” Blair asked. “I didn’t think you liked her.”
Jo sighed. “I just got the sense that maybe Roger hasn’t changed so much from that boy behind the science lab. I also wonder what that scarf around Nancy’s neck is hiding. Just let her know that she has someone she can talk to. Someone who has connections in law enforcement, even in England.”
Blair lifted her hand to softly stroke Jo’s cheek. “She was right, you are kind.”
Jo gave her a puzzled look.
As the waiter poured the champagne, Natalie proposed, “Hey guys, do you want to get the house seats for next Sunday’s Les Miz matinee and see if we can get Tootie to crack up?”
“It hasn’t worked the four times we’ve tried before.” Blair pointed out.
“Fifth time’s a charm,” Natalie declared, as she lifted her drink in a toast.
“Sounds like a plan,” Jo said, clinking her glass with the others.
The End.