"I was at the park with some friends one day, and this kid was there, with his parents, or whatever.  I was watching him, and every time his mom would turn away, he'd dig for all he was worth.  It amused me, so I captured it on paper."

"As disgusting as that is, the work is exquisite."  Sapphire eyes met Kansas' gaze.  "You're very, very good at this."

"Thank you," Kansas said quietly, her heart pounding just a bit harder, pride and joy washing through her to make her feel as though her chest would explode.

Nina continued to look through the work, stopping on a few to study them more closely.  Some she'd ask about, others she'd just study then move on.  She held up another drawing.  This one made Kansas' heart flat out stop.  She hadn't realized she'd kept the drawings of her in the bunch.

"Is she a friend?  You have lots of sketches of her in here." Nina asked, the drawing of Kayla in her cheerleading outfit held aloft.

Kansas shook her head, fingers playing with a napkin, slowly mangling it.  "No.  Just someone at school."

Nina nodded, eyeing the blonde.  She was surprised by the reaction the simple, innocent question got.  "She's a pretty girl.  What's her name?"

"Kayla McPhee."

"Well, you certainly like to draw Kayla."  Nina set the latest Kayla artwork aside and kept going.  After she'd gone through the entire thing, Nina slapped the folder closed, smiling proudly at Kansas.  "You, dear Kansas, are a talented artist."

"Thank you."  The blonde took her portfolio, setting it on an unused chair to get it out of the way.  She chewed on her lip for a moment, deciding whether she wanted to share what had been on her mind the past few months.  With the tangy sweetness of the lemonade for encouragement, she spoke.  "Wanna know my dream?"

"Sure," Nina said, resting her chin on her palm, giving the blonde her full attention.

"I really would love to work in the film industry.  Like, work on movie sets, painting them, or making models."

"Like, monster/special effects models?"  the brunette asked.  At Kansas' nod, Nina smiled.  "So do it.  From what I saw here today, you have a God-given gift.  Go for it."

"Really?  I mean, it's not like Dayton, Ohio is the center of the film world, or anything," Kansas pointed out, brows drawn.

"Thank god you're not stuck in Dayton, Ohio forever and ever," Nina said with a wink.  Kansas grinned.  "So, why don't you have a job?" Nina asked conversationally, sipping from her drink, and wiping up the sweat ring from the tabletop.

"I did.  I was doing portraits at the fairgrounds, but when they shut the fair down early, after that kid got killed on the ride, I was out of a job.  By that point, I only had two months before school, so my mom wouldn't let me get another job."  She met Nina's gaze.  "She doesn't like me working during school," she explained.

"Ah, I see.  That was pretty horrible, about that kid.  I remember that."  Nina studied Kansas for a long moment, almost making the blonde uncomfortable.  Finally she spoke.  "What do you want for yourself, Kansas?  Where do you see yourself in five years?"

The blonde blew out a breath.  "Boy, I don't know.  That's a big question.  I want to be doing art, I know that much.  But what, I don't know.  As for five years, I want to be out of here.  I want to have my own place somewhere, overlooking a lake or something.  I love nature.  I want to be able to wake up to the sounds of birds and frogs."  She looked down, suddenly feeling very stupid.  It wasn't cool for someone her age to be thinking about nature.  She'd heard that enough.  "You know," she shrugged, indifferent.  "Whatever."  Kansas was surprised when she felt a warm touch on her hand.  She looked up, meeting an amused smile.

"Kansas, honey," Nina said softly, "you don't need to posture.  I'm not a 16 year old kid who's going to make fun of you for your dreams.  Share them with me.  I think they're fascinating."

Kansas felt herself melt.  All she could do was nod, her hand burning where Nina's touch remained for a moment more, then it was gone.

***

Kansas was flying on a cloud that night as she sat in her room.  She's spent the entire afternoon with Nina, learning so much about the brunette: she was in fact, 26, was originally from Maryland, met Dan while in law school in Cincinnati, and they got married two years later.  Nina was one of the warmest people the teen had ever met, and she just couldn't get enough of her.  She loved to hear what Nina had to say, the way her mind worked.  She was logical and intelligent, yet had a wonderfully whimsical side to her.  Kansas figured that was probably the side that had a problem with the way the legal system worked.

She hadn't wanted to leave the Bruckner place, but knew that her welcome would only stay for so long.  Nina was probably just being nice, or maybe just wanted some company for a little while.  After all, what would a gorgeous 26 year old want to do with a 17 year old kid, who didn't have any life experience, couldn't really relate to any of Nina's worries or concerns in her profession.  In some ways Kansas felt very small, though she had to admit, Nina never made her feel that way.  In fact, quite the opposite- Nina seemed to hang on every word and insight the blonde had.

Kansas sighed in contentment as she walked over to the window to close her blinds for the night, wondering if she'd see Nina in her office or not.  And what did she do there, anyway?  Work?  Was she a writer, too?  Bills?

The blonde stopped short when she got to the window.  Nina was in her office, alright, but so was Dan.  It looked like they were in a huge argument, Dan's face red, a vein standing out in the middle of his forehead.  Nina was gesticulating wildly, though her back was to Kansas, so she couldn't see her face.  Dan began to speak, though it looked more like he were yelling.  Finally he stormed out of the room.  A moment later, Kansas heard a door slam, then the engine of a car rev to life.  She watched Nina, who still had her back to her.  It was obvious the brunette was crying, her head handing, buried in her hands, and shoulders shaking.

Marina was watching the nightly news when her daughter zoomed down the stairs, calling out she'd be back, then she was out the door.  The older blonde didn't even get a word in edge-wise.

***

Nina blew her nose for the third time, the tears beginning to dry, making her face feel tight and uncomfortable.  This had been a bad one- one of the worst they'd had in awhile.  She had  no idea that when Kari called to see how she was, it would cause World War III.  Yes, she knew Dan didn't like Kari, never had.  But by god, it had been nearly a year since Nina had spoken to her!

But then the brunette thought about her friendship with Kari.  It had been nearly obsessive on both sides.  It hadn't seemed like that at the time.  It hadn't occurred to Nina then that Kari calling her on every break at work, or them getting together every single day, was strange.  Not until it became a battle between Kari and Dan.  They would both try and be the first to call Nina, making the brunette choose.  What had been the breaker for Nina, however, was the one night when she realized she had lied to her husband, telling him her mother had called, and was on the other line, when in fact, it was Kari.  Dan had caught her in the lie when he'd gotten home the following morning from a long-haul, and Nina's mother's name didn't appear on the caller I.D.

That had been a moment of truth in their marriage, and for Nina.  She'd slowly backed off from the friendship until it dwindled to nothing.  She and Dan had moved away, and Nina hadn't allowed herself to think about her friend since then.  Until she called tonight.

The attorney plopped down on the closed toilet seat, sighing heavily.  "Shit."  She was brought out of her stupor by the sound of someone knocking.

***

Kansas waited impatiently for her knocks to be answered.  Finally a very puffy-eyed Nina opened the door.

"Kansas," the brunette said, surprise in her voice.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked.  Now that she was faced with the woman, she felt unsure, like maybe she should just mind her own business.  But one look into Nina's tortured eyes, and she couldn't walk away.  "I'm sorry to barge in, but I saw it."

"Oh," Nina blew out, looking slightly flustered.  "It's nothing, really.  We just had a little argument."

Kansas studied the other woman, knowing it had been a fight, but also knowing what it felt like.  "Nina," she said, voice soft.  "I just watched my parents go through a divorce.  I know it's not easy- relationships, I mean.  If you wanna talk. . . "  To Kansas' surprise, she suddenly found herself engulfed in an embrace, a crying Nina in her arms.   "Come on," she whispered, slowly moving them into the house so the entire neighborhood didn't see how upset the brunette was.

Nina moved back into the house, allowing the blonde to close the front door, but held on.  She stroked Nina's back and hair, letting the brunette get it all out.  Finally Nina's tears slowed then faltered.  She pulled away from the embrace, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled.  "God, I feel like such an ass."

"Don't."  Kansas grabbed a Kleenex from a nearby end table and handed it to the brunette.  "Are you okay?  Do you want to talk about it?"

Nina said nothing, instead leading them to the couch.  They sat in silence as she got herself together, Kansas sitting expectantly beside her.  "I'm sorry, Kansas.  You shouldn't have seen that."

"But I did."

Nina nodded. "Yes, you did."  She blew out a cleansing breath, blew her nose then looked at her fingers as they held onto the soiled Kleenex.  She couldn't look at her friend.  "You know, I really thought that moving here, into this house, would make things better.  It was stupid, really.  Last ditch effort, I guess."