Excellent A chance meeting Short Stories : Gossip by Begin Again The meeting of a lifetime contest entry

Six months ago, Traci and Amy, co-workers at Trayton Tax Service and best friends, eagerly signed up for a three day seminar in New York. Expecting short meetings and great after hours parties, their anticipation had skyrocketed. With all expenses paid, the girls considered it a well earned vacation. Much to their chagrin, they soon learned, upon arrival, the schedule called for back to back speakers throughout the day and discussion periods at night. Having endured two days of boredom, the girls were teetering on the edge of exhaustion. "Psst ... Amy." Her friend's head hung lopsided against her chest. At the sound of Traci's voice, she sat straight up in the chair, eyes wide open. "What? ... What?" Aware she'd been dozing, Amy giggled, "Can't you see I'm deeply involved in this guy's speech?" "Yeah, right. He's putting me to sleep." Traci yawned to emphasize her thoughts. "Yeah, let's go to the powder room. Maybe sneak a look around." Sitting in the last row, the girls quietly slipped from the room, hoping no one took note of their exit. Once in the hallway, they both breathed a sigh of relief. "Some place, isn't it? Can't believe the company let us hang out here for free. They must have known the seminar would be totally boring." Amy twirled around, tilting her head toward the ceiling. "It's so romantic. Too bad we're not here for a party or something. At least they could have had a small cocktail party for everyone." "I heard there's a big wedding taking place in the other wing. Suppose to be a big hush-hush thing. Someone real important." Traci's smug expression made her friend laugh. "Who told you that? You read it in one of your gossip magazines? How many times do I have to tell you that none of that stuff is ever true." "Is too! A lot you know about it ... last month's copy even had pictures of Jennifer with Brad. So there ... no way they could fake those." "Traci ... girl friend, you are too much. Believing everything those people print." "Well, Roberto said -" "Roberto?" "Yeah, the room service guy." "Room service? Did I miss something, because I know we shared a pizza in the ma and pa pizzeria last night. Did you have something after I fell asleep? Because if you did, I'll never speak to you again." "Don't get your panties all in a wad, silly. You were asleep and I was bored so I just took a little walk." "Walk! Are you nuts? This is New York." Amy screeched at her friend. "You trying to get yourself killed?" "Will you calm down? I wasn't outside. I took the elevator to the top floor." "Traci, you didn't!" A bit of envy crept into Amy's voice, realizing she might have missed something. "I did! Waited until someone used their key to get off at the top floor and just walked off like I had every right to be there." The broad grin on her face said she was proud of her accomplishment. She waited before continuing, knowing Amy was dying to know what happened. She relished the moment. "Well, what did you see? And what'd Roberto say to you?" "Awww ... nothing really." Traci strolled a few feet away, stopping to admire a large Greek statue. Amy chased after her, grabbing Traci's arm and spinning her around. "I'm going to knock your block off if you don't quit with your games. Tell all, girlfriend, or is this just one of your jokes? That's it, huh? You didn't go anywhere last night except to bed." "Did too! Put on my red cocktail dress and just sashayed my little tush off the elevator like I owned the place. Caught Roberto's eye right away. He was quick to say hello and ask if I needed any assistance." Pausing for a moment, Amy's clenched fist quickly encouraged her to continue the story. "I told him it was my first time in New York and so far it had been nothing but boring. Of course, being a good hotel employee, he immediately told me that a beautiful girl like myself should be having the time of my life, not attending some stuffy seminar. He even offered to show me around." "He didn't! Traci, what about Todd? How quickly he's forgotten." Amy chuckled at the thought of Traci's well-at-least-he's-a-date friend back home. She knew her friend liked him, but it would never ever go any further than a quick goodnight kiss. Traci dreamt of romantic walks under the stars, not Friday Night Fish Fry with the parents at the local diner. Todd believed in keeping things plain and simple. "Stop it! You know Todd and I are just friends. Besides, a girl can talk to other guys, can't she?" Offended, she moved a few steps away, her lower lip extended in an over-the-top pout. Amy slipped her arm around her friend's waist, knowing Traci was a bit thin-skinned. "Come on, let's explore this place. Forget that ole seminar." Tugging on Traci's arm, she guided her down one of the opulent corridors. "Now tell me about Roberto. Did he try to kiss you?" A red blush crept up Traci's neck and spread across her ivory cheeks. "Of course not! Well, not at first. He did lean a little too close once. I could feel his breath on my face and whatever he was wearing was heavenly, but his professionalism reared its head and that's as far as it went." As they neared the end of the long hallway, loud, upbeat music drifted toward them. Both girls instantly quickened their steps, moving in the direction of the Latin rhythmic sounds. Rounding the corner, they looked out into a huge courtyard. Speechless, they gawked at the enormous sprays of flowers, the linen draped chairs and tables covered with platters of food and sparkling crystal. Women in designer dresses and dripping with diamonds clung to the arms of elegantly dressed men, sipping white wine and smiling demurely as others waved and continued milling about the room. Men, too numerous to count, stood guard at the entrance, obviously protecting the occupants inside. "See, I told you there was a wedding. By the looks of those black-suited zombies, it must be someone important." The girls moved closer for a better look, hiding behind a huge planter. Look over there. That looks like -" "Oh my God, Traci, it can't be, but it sure looks like him." Another man and woman walked by, blocking their vision. The girls were instantly distracted. Simultaneously, their mouths dropped open and their eyes were glued to the couples activity. Unaware or merely unconcerned of anyone watching, the gentleman let his hand roam freely across the woman's small, tight derriere. She giggled and playfully slapped him. Rounding the corner, they disappeared from sight. "Oo-la-la, wonder where those two are headed. Maybe a quickie in the laundry room." Amy slammed her elbow into Traci's side. "Ouch, what'd you do that for? Don't you think that's what they had on their minds?" "Classy people don't use laundry rooms." Amy rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, amazed at her friend's lack of knowledge. "Get real, Amy. When the urge moves you, it doesn't matter how much money you got, you just do it. All the movies have them doing it everywhere and liking it, too." "That's movies, not real life. There you go believing everything you see or read again." "You're the one who doesn't know anything about real life. Bet you haven't even let Ray kiss you yet and he's been chasing after you for months." "Oh shut-up!" Traci's remark had hit a little below the belt. Amy's voice raised a few octaves when she spoke, "Just because you think you know-" Before she could finish her sentence, she found herself being tugged violently across the floor and into a powder room. "What's wrong with you?" Yanking her arm out of Traci's clutches, Amy scowled at her friend. "Didn't you see that amazon bearing down on us? I think we were about to be rudely evicted from the premises." "Great! He'll probably be waiting outside with his task force." "Now who's being dramatic. He was probably just going to suggest we move along." "I gotta pee as long as we're here." Amy slipped into one of the stalls and shut the door. "Hey, this is the weekend Chelsea was getting married. Do you think that was really Bill?" "Sure looked like him. Can you imagine telling our friends back home we were at Chelsea's wedding?" "We weren't at her wedding, Traci." "Well, we were probably as close as some of those journalists get and they think they're at the weddings." "Whatever -" "I gotta go!" Traci's voice escalated an octave or two. Having suddenly realized she'd lost her grandmother's bracelet, she rushed out of the bathroom, leaving Amy alone. In her haste and panic, she barely noticed the other woman entering. Hearing the stall door next to her close, Amy assumed her friend was there. "You don't need to get that excited about it. We all feel the urge to pee." "Excu-," the woman's voice started to reply. "Wow, you sounded almost as excited as that guy groping that woman's designer ass." "Umm-" The woman tried to interrupt Amy without luck. "Man, if that was Bill we saw, I bet he's getting an eye full with all those half-naked women. Bet Hilary's keeping a close eye on the guy." "Are you-" Once again, the soft voice attempted to break Amy's continue chain of babble. "You know, I really like the guy and I bet he turned over a new leaf after getting caught with his pants down." A burst of laughter erupted in Amy's stall. "That's a funny, huh?" "Not real-" A bit of annoyance tinged the woman's voice, but Amy was totally unaware, having moved into her own zone for the moment. "Those pictures of the three together ... they look happy. Announcing their daughter's wedding, they were smiling from ear to ear. Can people fake that kind of happiness?" "No-" "I think Bill and Hillary really love each other regardless of the bad times and want the best for their daughter. They're just like everyone else when it comes to their children, I think." "You're right about that-" The rest of her sentence was drowned by the flushing of the commodes. As the two women exited the stalls, Traci returned to the bathroom. Dangling her bracelet, she spoke excitedly, "I found it." "You found-" Realizing her best friend couldn't have been in the stall next to her, Amy spun around to face the woman. A brilliant red flushed her face as she stood face to face with The United States Secretary of State and Mother of the Bride. Her mouth sagged open as she attempted to speak, but words refused to come. Hilary graciously extended her hand toward Amy. "Hello." "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't-" "Amy, Amy, do you know who that is?" Traci was giddy with excitement. Amy shot a glare at her friend while she clamored to regain her composure. She'd just been caught gossiping about theformer first lady and her family by none other than the woman herself. Hilary smiled and draped her arm around the young woman's shoulders. "I learned a long time ago that diplomacy was a necessary key to achieve success." "I was blabbering about-" "Forget it. At least it wasn't my husband groping someone's ass." A chuckle escaped her lips. "Amy, what's going on? You didn't insult-" "Of course she didn't, honey. We were just having a nice chat. Let's forget it and go enjoy my daughter's wedding." Reaching the door, she stopped as both girls stood dumbfounded, staring at her. "Well, don't you want to attend the wedding?" Traci's eyes met Amy's in disbelief, but Amy recovered faster. "Oh, we wouldn't miss it for the world." They quickly followed Hillary out of the bathroom. "No one's ever going to believe this, Amy." "It's a chance of a lifetime, girlfriend. Maybe one of those journalists you are always talking about will get our picture and we'll be plastered across the headlines. I can see it now, 'Gate Crashers at Clinton wedding." Laughing hysterically, the girls walked into the courtyard with Hilary at their side. As Bill approached, each girl swallowed hard and accepted his firm handshake. It was going to be a seminar to remember, after all. Recognized Author Notes Thank you Sweet Linda for the use of your wonderful picture..The girls looks so young and spirited. Their happy smiles were perfect.

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