Then in a rush of fast-forward the events whirled by until they stopped and continued at a normal pace again.


Like the return of the prodigal daughters that they were, Karen met the two lost but not forgotten picnickers with a mother’s welcome. "What took you so long? Did you have to rush him into surgery? We were worried about you." Her voice was a mixture of concern and scolding both. "Hey, now give. Why the scrubs?" Her look was stern and skeptical.


Danni dropped her eyes and started to blush. Garrett was quick to come to her rescue. "We got a little dirty and thought that it would be best to clean-up before we came back, Mom. The patient was doing well when we left him." Then changing the subject she attempted to take the heat further off of her blonde companion. "I hope we got back in time to eat, did we?"


"Well, you’re close but I guess we can find you two some burgers and corn. You know, Danni, we were just wondering where you hid that load of watermelons that you were supposed to bring."


The small blonde breathed a sigh of relief at the direction of the conversation. She winked at Karen and nudged the tall woman next to her. "Come on, Garrett, give me a hand getting them out of the car." She walked over to where her keys had been placed before the start of the softball game.


The surgeon shrugged her shoulders and followed the blonde toward the car. "Yeah, sure."


Once out of earshot of the group of assembled picnickers, the soft and gentle voice of the nurse drew Garrett’s attention. "Thanks, Doc. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to answer that. I…"


"What are you thanking me for? I didn’t cover anything up, I just choose to be discreet with the information that I shared. I didn’t see the need for going into details. Did you?"


"Hmmm…I guess you’re right. Thanks, any way." She smiled and opened up the trunk of the metro. "One for you and one for me." She offered the watermelon to the surgeon, closed the trunk and side by side they headed back to the gathering.


The muscular body became accentuated as limbs stretched and retracted causing the woman to roll up on to her side. She positioned herself away from the light that was straining to enter the room through the drawn blinds covering the windows. Settling into a comfortable position, sleep again beckoned the surgeon to retreat into her dreams once more.


"Now let me handle the salesman," the young blonde was drilling the idea into Garrett’s head. "Say nothing and be very indifferent to the color and model options. Are you sure this is the vehicle that you want, because once I get the deal ironed out, there will be no going back."


The surgeon looked over at her petite friend as they pulled into the dealership lot. She marveled at the all business approach that Danni was taking in her behalf. She would have just gone in and asked how much for that one and paid the price. The young woman at her side would hear none of it when Garrett brought up the subject of purchasing a vehicle. She obviously prided herself in the fine art of haggling for a better price. What could it hurt to let her help? "Yes, I am sure."


The nurse put the gear selector into park and pulled on the hand brake, "Whatever you do, Garrett, don’t let them know that you are a Physician. They’ll never bargain if they know you have the money to spend." She exited the door and walked over to the passenger side of the small Geo Metro to assist the tall surgeon in climbing out of her seat. Coming up to the now opened door Danni offered her hand, "Remember to listen to me, if I say we go, then be ready to walk right out of there with me. We are going to have to present a unified front. If you so much as hesitate, they will know that you want the car and never come down in price."


The raven-haired women stretched to workout the kinks of being confined in such a small space, listening intently to her friend. "Alright, I trust you completely with this. Let’s see what we can do."


They began walking over to the showroom door when Danni stopped suddenly grabbing the surgeon’s arm, "You did say that you wanted to pay cash right?"


"Yes, I got the checkbook right here," she patted the back pocket of her jeans. "I’ll follow your lead, my friend."


They entered the showroom and began walking around the display of vehicles. Within moments, a well-dressed young salesman approached the women, his eye taken obviously by the petite blonde. "Is there anything that I could help you with, Ladies?" He turned to the young woman, studying her intently, "Hmm, I can see you driving that bright red Corvette convertible over there. Would you like me to get the keys and we’ll take it for a test drive?"


She gave a coy smile and let go with a nervous laugh. "No, I really don’t think that is my style," she said with her nose wrinkling up slightly. "I figure myself more of a sunset on the beach at Malibu." She turned to look at Garrett, "While my friend there is more of the dark, sleek trailblazing kind."


The salesman’s eyes grew in size as his mind grasped the metaphor.


The surgeon leaned up against a car and watched as the young nurse played with the salesman’s ego. She was ruthless in her negotiating tactics, using anything she could to make this poor man offer her the world just to be able to be close to her. The exchange of information between the two was something to be seen. Each one playing the seducer in this dance of dissent. The advantage swaying between the two with each round of banter. The tall woman was completely amazed by her younger friend’s ability to steadily gain the advantage in this unorthodox sales negotiation.


Danni stepped over to her silent friend as the young man retreated into an office cubicle. "So Garrett, I guess you’re going to have to get some insurance before we pick up our new cars tomorrow," she said nonchalantly.


"Yeah, I guess I’ll have…" the tall woman’s mouth was suddenly agape, as her brain had finally registered what her young friend had implied. The surgeon’s eyes widened as she gulped, "you mean, it’s a done deal? I’ve got the Black Chevy Blazer with 4-wheel drive. Hey, you said our new cars…plural. I thought…"


The young woman rubbed her fingernails in a mock polishing effort against her blouse saying, "I was able to work out a better deal if I traded in the Geo and we bought two vehicles at once."


"What did…when did…" Garrett was confused. She thought she had been following the conversation, obviously she had not picked up on something. Shaking her head, she queried "I didn’t know that you were looking to buy a new car. Did I miss something here?"


"Shh! He is coming back, just play along. Okay?"


The surgeon slowly nodded her head, totally amazed at her petite friend. She was definitely going to find out what she had missed in the negotiations.


Again, she did what she was told and remained silent as the salesman joined them.


"It’s all set. If we could get some financial information from the two of you, your vehicles will be ready to be picked up tomorrow at 5 P.M." He looked first at the tall dark haired woman then to the perky little blonde. "If that’s alright with you?" He hesitated shifting his gaze from woman to woman, a look of apprehension on his face.


Danni smiled at the salesman, "Yes, that will be just fine."


The salesman nodded, "Now, if you follow me over to my office." He was grinning from ear to ear, proud of the deal that he had struck up with the beautiful blonde. "We’ll get all the paper work out of the way."


A half-hour later, the women were walking out of the dealership headed for Danni’s Geo Metro. They were brimming with enthusiasm over the deal that had just been made for the new vehicles but knew that they had to wait to discuss what had just happened until they were in the car.


Garrett was getting good at folding herself into the small car of her friend. She waited for the younger woman to settle herself into the driver's seat before asking, "So, Danni, what car did you purchase? If you don’t mind me asking." She gave her friend a sidelong glance.


"A gold Chevy Malibu," she stated. "Sorry, but it will be bigger than you’re used to in this one." She let out a laugh, her eyes quickly taking in the accordion like form of her tall companion.


The surgeon started to chuckle and nodded her head carefully as it abutted the interior of the roof. "I think I could get used to that."


"What do you say we celebrate our good fortune. Milkshakes?" she asked.


The older woman suddenly turned very serious. "Danni, can I ask you something?" She looked at her friend and asked, "You didn’t agree to go out with him or anything, did you?" There was a look of real concern on her face as she awaited her friend’s answer.


The small blonde shot a glance over to her passenger; her eyes registered her friends concern. "No, maybe Rosie would do something like that, but not me. I just let him flirt with me. While his mind was preoccupied with his thoughts I just out haggled him. Honest."


"Mom told me that you were good at bargaining, but I never thought…" the surgeon trailed off. She looked over at her friend, "Thanks for doing that for me, Danni." A lop sided grin showing on her face.


"You’re welcome, Garrett. I’m just glad that I could help." The nurse pulled into the parking lot of the ice cream shop, "Now, are we going to celebrate or what?"