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Denise looked up at Randa who had perched herself upon the arm of her chair before turning towards Diane. "Look! & " DJ cast her gaze once more
between her lover and Diane. "Not that I want to interrupt your tête-à-tête on the state of British weather but I do believe we have things to discuss!"
Diane sobered rapidly and her sombre expression returned. "Yes& that is right."
"Well I don't want to push but I think I have a right in knowing what all of this is about." DJ paused, feeling Randa's hand move soothingly over her back.
She took a breath, lowering the curt tone in her voice. "I'm sorry& I don't mean to sound angry, Di, but it is just that& well& I need to know. I have some
crazy woman following me who seems to hate my very existence and now I realise there were parts of Sara's life that I was never aware of. And to top it all
off, this Maggie claims to be a part of that."
Taking her cup from the small wooden table Diane took a drink of her sweet tea. "I know. I'm sorry, DJ. It's just that this brings back a lot of bad memories
for myself as well." Diane sighed lightly, composing her emotions as she began to recount one of the most heart breaking periods of her and Sara's life.
CHAPTER 11
London, June 1961
The last of the boxes were being packed. Sara sat numbly in the slightly battered wingback chair and watched as Diane wrapped the few remaining items
of hers left in the living area of the third floor flat. Soon the only thing left of Diane's would be the small record player that had been a shared source of joy
for the young women. The record player belonged to Diane but they had jointly saved their coins and always went together to select additions to their
collection from the music shop on the next block.
The term at the university would be finished in a week and Diane's father had made good on his pledge to her. She had been allowed to finish her
education but her absence from Derbyshire would no longer be tolerated or subsidized. After the commencement exercises in ten days, Diane would be
accompanying her parents and Roger back north where their engagement would be announced and the wedding date would be set.
Sara sighed in exasperation as she recalled the last few weeks with Diane. When the barriers had come down between them that night in Diane's
bedroom, Sara had become one of the happiest women in Britain. She had known from that moment that she had found the one great love of her life.
Their physical and spiritual intimacy blossomed and that, added to the devotion between them as best friends, was a strong and beautiful thing. But it's
not strong enough Sara thought bitterly. Diane was going home.
Diane looked over at her best friend at the sound of the sigh and knew instinctively what the other woman had been thinking. She knew Sara was trying
again to think of another way for their situation to have a different ending. Diane knew that was impossibility. She looked at the face of the most important
person in her life and saw a grim expression clouding the brilliant blue eyes. Sara, you are the most wonderful person in the world. You've kept your marks
high and you're going to graduate with honors all the while working and helping me with my schoolwork. You're my best friend and my love and it's killing
me to cause you this pain.
When Diane announced she was returning to Derbyshire with her parents after graduation she thought all hell would break loose but Sara had surprised
her yet again. She made tea and brought it into the living room where she soothed Diane and calmly set about to find a solution to the problem. Hour after
hour had yielded little results. No matter how logical Sara's reasoning, no matter how persuasive her arguments and no matter how passionate her
declarations of love, Diane remained firm in her decision to leave.
Diane placed the last newspaper wrapped item into the box and glanced around the flat in assessment. The small flat had become more of a home to her
than the large house belonging to her parents and she knew no matter what happened in her life that she would consider the years she had spent here
with Sara to be the happiest of her life. Diane's gaze fell to the picture hanging on the wall that separated the doors of their bedrooms. Diane's cousin
Rodney was an amateur photographer who had been visiting London and dropped in to see his cousin briefly in between her classes at the university. He
had been experimenting with trying to capture the stately architectural composition of the buildings when on a whim he had decided to highlight Diane in
front of one of the ivy covered structures. She was a camera shy subject who fidgeted nervously until she called out to a strikingly good-looking young
woman.
Diane introduced Rodney to Sara and he was immediately taken with the tall, dark haired woman. He abandoned plans to capture the image of his rather
ordinary cousin in order to concentrate on getting her friend on film. As he focused his camera and made adjustments to the settings he wondered how he
could get Diane to move away from her beautiful flat mate. As he peered through the lens at the two women who appeared to be idly chatting he saw
something that both amused and astonished him.
Suddenly his ordinary cousin was changed. Instead of the girl he had known all his life there was a woman of confidence and serene beauty. He wondered
what had effected the change only for as long as it took him to realize the same look was on her friend's face as well. I'll be damned he thought and
snapped the picture before either woman realized it had been taken. Two weeks after Rodney's visit, a sturdy envelope was delivered to the third floor
London flat. Inside the envelope was a note from Rodney.
Sometimes a photographer needs to use all his skill to bring out the emotion and beauty of his subject. Sometimes, though, the subject doesn't need his
help at all. Love, Rodney
The accompanying photograph showed Diane and Sara on a sunny afternoon gazing at one another, lost in conversation. That they were deeply in love
was very apparent. Both women were stunned but it was Diane who spoke first.
"Do I...do I really look like that?"
"That's how I've seen you from almost the first time I met you. I'm glad Rodney captured it so you could see for yourself," Sara vowed and leaned over to
place a light peck on Diane's lips. They had gone out then to a nearby second hand store and purchased a small oak frame for the picture. Now Sara
followed Diane's line of sight and gazed at the photograph too. She decided then to try one last time.
"Diane, please reconsider. I love you and I know you love me and if that's true then everything else will work itself out. I'll go with you to talk to your family.
We'll tell them you don't need their money or their approval and that you're not going to go through with a sham of a marriage to Roger. We can teach just
as we always planned to do. Anything as long as we can be together, Diane. Please don't go, I beg you." Sara's voice broke and tears formed in the
brilliant blue eyes.
Diane turned away, unable to meet the pleading gaze any longer. With her back turned, Diane found the strength to say the words she knew she had to.
"Sara, I know we've said some things to each other and I know at the time we both thought we meant them. I think, though, that we need to face facts and
grow up now. We are about to graduate from the university and begin our adult lives. The fanciful notions we had while in college need to be put away. I
won't say it wasn't pleasurable, but do you really think anyone would accept two women together? Especially two women together in the social circles I will [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]