Page 22 of Fight

“We’ll see. Let’s put a bit more effort in on Monday, shall we?”

Lena fixed her face in a smile that probably more resembled a toothy grimace and nodded fervently. Cynthia let out a long disapproving sigh while she continued to fix Lena with her angry glare for what felt like minutes upon minutes. She gave Lena a final dismissive look before she picked up her binder and walkie-talkie, and briskly walked away.

“Oh god.” Lena let out between her clenched teeth. She looked at her computer screen through blurry eyes and started randomly clicking the mouse.

“Don’t worry, girl. She’s a tough nut, but you’ll crack her. I swear she hated me for months before she started acknowledging me in a positive way—or at least in a not-exactly-negative way. Every time I came back from break she always sniffed me to check if I smelled like pot.” Maggie laughed and Lena felt bad for doing the same thing herself a few times during the week.

“Thanks, Maggie. I really appreciate all your help this week.” She touched the corners of her eyes, they felt itchy and prickly.

Maggie gave her a sad, reassuring smile. “You’ll be great here. This isn’t rocket science and you’re a smart cookie.” She reached out to nudge Lena’s shoulder before walking into the back hallway to get the reports she’d printed.

Lena lifted her lips in a faint smile after Maggie, and then turned to stare blankly at the computer screen again. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and, after looking around for any sign of Cynthia, she pulled it out to see a text from Cori.

Cori:

Glad it’s GREAT. I am also GREAT. I miss you and I love you. Call you this weekend?

Lena:

Definitely, baby sis.

Returning her phone to her pocket, Lena looked around the lobby and willed her eyes to feel normal. It was mostly empty with the exception of a few people walking out of a conference room by the fireplace, and some laughter and voices coming from the Black Bear. Muzak wafted softly in the background.

I can do this. I am a smart cookie. I am GREAT. Lena sighed as she straightened her back and looked up to smile fiercely into the empty lobby.

“So, what are you wearing tonight?” Annie asked as she distractedly looked up from her phone.

Lena sat with Annie on their back patio later that evening with her hand wrapped around a stemless glass of Rosé. The sun was setting in the distance and soft music played through Annie’s Bluetooth speaker on a table between them. They’d just feasted on take out Super Salads from Crunchie's, and were relaxing on the patio before preparing for their night out.

As a slight breeze wafted the woodsy scent of pine needles over Lena, she couldn’t help but acknowledge it was kind of a pleasant end to a pretty crappy week. She still felt the sadness from earlier in the day, but this setting definitely helped dissipate that a bit.

“I don’t know,” Lena replied softly to Annie's question, staring blankly at the glowing sunset that peaked out between the trees.

“Well that’s not a good Lena answer. You’re supposed to cite one purple monstrosity or the other. Youdon’t know?” Annie had picked Lena up from work that afternoon, and while Lena had tried to put up a good front about how her day had gone, Annie was intuitive and the wine and the sunset had chipped away at Lena’s will to keep her bad day from Annie.

“I think I’m going to wear black tonight.” She had the perfect velvet mini dress. She could also wear red lipstick, and do a whole sexy black widow vibe. She actually started to perk up a bit as she started to mentally plan the outfit.

“Black?!” Annie squawked and leaned forward in her chair.

“Yeah, I’m in a mood,” Lena murmured as she continued to gaze peacefully at the sunset.What about those black Steve Madden heels covered with spikes? Cori was always stealing her shoes, but those weren’t exactly her style, so Lena was pretty sure she’d had the opportunity to pack them.

“Well, obviously…oh! I know what can get you in a purple kind of mood!” Annie set her glass on her chair’s wide arm and attempted to pull herself up out of it, but kept falling back down. “Oh man, I can’t get out of this chair.”

Lena shifted her attention to Annie and reluctantly chuckled as Annie finally made it out of the chair and sprinted into the house. She came out seconds later holding a piece of paper in her hand. “Look, look, look!” She waved the piece of paper in Lena’s face before Lena grabbed it and gave her a faux disapproving look. It was a flier.

Calling all Conrad Artists!

Where do you see beauty in Lake Conrad?

The Lake Conrad Civic Association is looking for a local Conrad artist to create a mural celebrating the diverse sites of Lake Conrad. The mural will be located on the lakeside wall of the Lake Conrad Square Gathering Hall and will face Lake Conrad Square for all to see. The chosen proposal will receive a stipend of $5,000.

Submissions due by June 30!

The flier continued to provide more information about the requirement for all mural proposals and where they could be submitted.

Lena remembered the Lake Conrad Square Gathering Hall was a huge boring tan building in the middle of Lake Conrad Square. The side of it tilted into the Square, so a mural would be visible to everyone strolling the Square, and to anyone on the beach.

She looked up at Annie. “Where did you get this?” Lena felt herself brighten. Something like this would do amazing things for her visibility and credentials as an artist.

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