Page 10 of Learning Curves

Audrey put her snack tray on the counter at the back of the conference room next to the pitcher of water, then sat in the nearest empty seat.

Dr. Thompson was up front preparing for her presentation, looking as stern as ever.

She’d been extra snippy with Audrey on their walk over, which had hurt.

How was it possible that Audrey was on friendly terms with everyone she’d met so far on campus except the one woman she most wanted to be friendly with?

She would love to exchange idle chitchat with Dr. Thompson.

She wanted them to shout silly things to each other across the hall between their offices, and maybe most of all, she wanted to talk to her for hours and hours about women in art.

She wanted to see Dr. Thompson’s face light up the way it had back when she’d taught Audrey.

It must be one of Dr. Thompson’s favorite topics to talk about.

Did she save all her most scintillating conversations these days for her spouse?

Audrey knew she was married, and she’d heard rumors that Dr. Thompson was a lesbian, but she’d never seen or heard confirmation that Dr. Thompson had a wife.

She loved the idea of it, though.

Speaking of Dr. Thompson, that blue pantsuit was really working for her. She wasn’t particularly tall—or short—maybe five foot seven, but the pants were tailored to hug her just right, emphasizing her long legs and the taper of her waist.

“Good evening, everyone,” Dr. Folchuk said, calling the meeting to order.

“As you know, we’re going to start off today with presentations from two of our members about Vermont’s new environmental regulations and how they may affect our university.

Up first is Michelle, who’s going to tell us about the new green-energy initiative. ”

Michelle. Audrey really wanted to call her that. It might help her to start thinking of Dr. Thompson more like a colleague and less like her former professor.

“Thank you, Brad.” Dr. Thompson tapped her laptop’s touch pad, and the screen behind her lit up with a green slide containing bullet points.

“I’m first going to review the new regulations and their potential implications for the university, and then I’ll present a few ideas for how we may adapt and even use these changes to our advantage. ”

As she spoke, Audrey began to see what Mercy meant.

Her delivery was flat, with none of the energy Audrey remembered from when Dr. Thompson had been her professor.

Maybe she just wasn’t passionate about environmental regulations, but it seemed in line with what Audrey knew of the present-day version of her.

Still, Dr. Thompson presented her facts clearly and succinctly, moving at a snappy pace that kept the room engaged and listening. Audrey jotted notes on her phone, both from Dr. Thompson’s points and her own ideas on how the committee might be able to help.

To wrap things up, Dr. Thompson laid out several ideas for actionable items to help the university meet the new environmental requirements. Her suggestions were well thought out and easily implemented, and Audrey saw heads nodding around the room.

Maybe Dr. Thompson wasn’t as passionate as Audrey remembered—okay, she looked like she’d rather be anywhere but at the front of this conference room—but she was still incredibly intelligent and well spoken.

By the end of her presentation, Audrey felt like this committee could make a real difference.

Way to go, Michelle.

Audrey tried out the name in her head, but it didn’t feel right yet, not until she’d been invited to use Dr. Thompson’s given name.

“Thank you,” Dr. Folchuk said. “That was very informative. I’m sure a lot of us have follow-up questions, but let’s hold them until we’ve heard from Dr. Sharma, who’s prepared notes for us on the university’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality, and then we can tackle both topics at once. Whenever you’re ready, Amrik.”

“Thank you, Brad.” Dr. Sharma stepped up to the projector. “We’ll begin by looking at a more in-depth definition of carbon neutrality, or net-zero emissions.”

Dr. Thompson started making her way toward the back of the room, and Audrey realized the only available seat was right next to her a moment before Dr. Thompson claimed it.

Audrey inhaled a light woodsy scent that must’ve been coming from the woman beside her.

She looked over, noticing her slight wince as Dr. Thompson settled in her seat.

What was that about? Hopefully, she wasn’t in pain.

With her friendship offensive in mind, Audrey tried to catch her eye to offer some of the ibuprofen she kept in her satchel, but Dr. Thompson studiously ignored her.

She seemed even grumpier than usual, lips pressed tightly together, posture tense.

Briefly, her knee bounced beneath the table.

Actually, she looked like she had to pee, and oh she was such a liar, telling Audrey she’d only wanted to touch up her lipstick! Why had she lied when Audrey offered to cover for her? She’d tried to help, and Dr. Thompson had shut her out.

Which meant Audrey shouldn’t feel bad for her now, but it had been almost an hour since Dr. Thompson first told Audrey she needed to stop at the ladies’ room, and Audrey hated to see her in discomfort. It sucked having to sit through a long meeting with a full bladder.

Dr. Sharma droned on about carbon emissions, and Audrey felt herself tuning out. She doodled discreetly in her notebook, sketching a design for a new set of mugs she wanted to work on this weekend. She was trying out a pumpkin pattern, perfect for the season.

The clock ticked past six, and Dr. Sharma was still talking.

At this rate, tonight’s meeting would reach the two-hour mark too.

Behind her, someone started pouring water from the pitcher, and its tinkling sound filled the room.

There was a sharp intake of breath beside her, and Audrey glanced over to see Dr. Thompson sitting stiffly, her expression pained.

As Audrey watched, Dr. Thompson tapped her phone to illuminate the time, then left the room in an unmistakable hurry.

Hopefully, maintenance had fixed the problem in the ladies’ room.

But Dr. Thompson was back almost as soon as she’d left.

Surely she hadn’t used the bathroom that quickly.

As she sat beside Audrey, there was no relief on her features.

On the contrary, she looked almost resigned.

Maintenance was probably running late. Dr. Thompson picked up her phone, appearing to tune out from the presentation.

That made two of them as Audrey returned to her doodles.

Eventually, Dr. Sharma finished speaking, and the committee began to discuss possible action steps based on his and Dr. Thompson’s presentations.

“What about purchasing carbon offsets?” someone asked.

“Or an increased focus on sourcing local food?” Audrey suggested. “That would cut down on emissions used in transportation, and everyone likes to support local farms, right?”

“Excellent idea, Audrey,” Dr. Folchuk said, and Audrey beamed.

They kept talking, bouncing ideas around the room.

Dr. Thompson chimed in here and there to answer follow-up questions about her presentation.

She spoke as eloquently as ever, but Audrey sensed a growing restlessness in her.

Dr. Thompson seemed almost fidgety, and she was generally a very still person.

When Audrey glanced at her, Dr. Thompson’s jaw was clenched, and there was something akin to desperation gleaming in her eyes.

She shifted in her seat, and ... now Audrey was staring at her lap, a place she had no business looking.

She yanked her gaze to her notebook. Secondhand embarrassment made Audrey want to squirm, too, but just as quickly it morphed into anger, because if the men’s room were out of order, the meeting probably would have been canceled.

Audrey couldn’t take this. She had to do something. She waited for a lull in the conversation, then held up her phone. “I’m sorry to duck out early, but I just received an email from our department’s secretary saying that Dr. Thompson and I need to attend to an urgent matter back in Holman Hall.”

A few people acknowledged her with nods and sympathetic sounds as if this sort of thing had happened before, which was good, since she was bluffing her ass off right now. Trying to look as official as possible, Audrey gathered her bag and stood, gesturing for Dr. Thompson to follow her out.

Dr. Thompson gave her a quizzical look, no doubt wondering what the hell was going on, since she probably knew as well as Audrey that Heather, the department secretary, had gone home hours ago.

Once the door to the meeting room was closed behind them, she turned to Audrey.

“I didn’t receive an email from Heather. What urgent matter?”

“Um ...” How to say this delicately? She gestured toward the restroom, which was still out of order. “I was getting you out of there so you can go find a working bathroom.”

Dr. Thompson went very still, so still and quiet that Audrey watched in real time as a red flush spread up Dr. Thompson’s neck to her cheeks. Then she crossed her arms over her chest. Her jaw clenched. She looked so intensely embarrassed that Audrey wanted to turn around and flee the building.

“That was not your call to make,” Dr. Thompson said, her voice low and maybe a little bit angry.

“I’m sorry,” Audrey whispered, feeling her own cheeks heat up. Why was she continually screwing up with this woman? Ugh.

They faced each other for several moments of uncomfortable silence, and then Dr. Thompson turned and strode down the hall and out the door without a backward glance, leaving Audrey standing awkwardly alone outside the conference room.