When Judy met Jen

“Are you fucking kidding me, Ted?” Jen yelled as loudly as possible, not caring about the startled passerby’s as she walked out of her apartment building to the car.

“Could you keep it down!" Her boyfriend, Ted, followed right at her heel, gesturing her to calm down. "I just forgot, alright?"

"I mentioned it yesterday? How could you possibly have forgotten to tell me?” Jen turned around, leaning against the car. Her face was red from frustration and anger. She really didn't like feeling out of control like this.

"Well... I guess I wasn’t listening.” Ted admitted.

“No shit.” Jen spat out. She locked eyes with Ted, who was way too confident for her taste, especially considering that she could very well break up with him right now. Right here. She wouldn't. But she could.

“Look, I asked a friend of mine from work to drive with you. You’ll survive.” Ted said, clearly expecting the conversation was just over with that.

“I don’t want to move into our apartment with your friend from work. Don’t you want to have a say on where everything goes and stuff?” Jen complained. She couldn't understand why Ted didn't seem to be a part of this journey with her. It was a big step for them. A step she'd want them to be taking together.

“I’ll bring my things in a few months when I'm done with work. I’m sure you can manage on your own til then.” Ted remained calm, which angered Jen even more.

“Of course I can. Not the fucking point.”

“Come on, stop nagging.” Ted whined.

“I’m not fucking nagging. I’m being pretty reasonable here.”

“Judy is great, you’ll like her I’m sure.”

“I doubt it.” Jen said. She didn't like many people really. She was very picky when it came to friends. But eventually she got into the car in defeat. She wouldn't let this go, Ted would be hearing about this for fucking years, but she was tired of repeating herself when he was in this all knowing state.

“Well, she needs to get to New York and I promised that as long as she was willing to split the drive, you’d get her there.”

“At least you are able to communicate these things with someone.”

“Jen. Stop that.”

"Whatever."

"Come on. It really makes no difference who helps you carry some boxes." Ted walked up to the window and gave Jen an unwelcome smirk. "Here's the address. You'll be doing her a favor."

“Fine.” Jen kept up the angry stare-down as the window came down, just so she could rip the piece of paper from Ted's hand and close it without another word.

“Fine.” Ted muttered under his breath.

--------------

“Hi!” Jen heard a chipper voice from the pavement as soon as she parked her car outside Judy´s building. She didn’t even care to get out of the car, still upset with Ted for not joining her on this road trip that was supposed to be theirs. After a moment of silence, Jen glanced over at the woman standing next to the car. Judy didn’t even dare to take a peek at the blonde sitting on the drivers seat.

“You coming in or not?” Jen asked, trying to not sound too annoyed.

“Yeah! Yeah. Of course, I just...” The woman clumsily gestured with her hands as she opened the car door and sat next to Jen. Jen took a few seconds to just look her over. She didn´t really seem like a friend of Ted´s. The woman was dressed in a flowy floral dress and some boots for one. Jen got a bit of a hippie vibe and that was certainly not to her liking. She was quite pretty, and Jen considered whether Ted thought so too.

The brunette was still smiling brightly as she struggled with closing the door of Jen's insanely old piece of shit car, so Jen leaned over, visibly annoyed, and yanked the door closed quickly. Judy was completely frozen and clearly intimidated, so Jen, for the both of them, decided to clear the air.

“Hey. Jen. Not too happy about this arrangement to be honest, but whatever gets me to New York as quick and cheap as humanly possible.” Jen shook Judy´s hand and gave her a tight smile.

“Ted told me." Jen's immediate thought was that if Ted and Judy were so comfortable texting back and forth, how could she know that there wasn't more going on. Judy was after all, quite pretty. "I do hope we can make the best of this trip though.”

Judy´s smile had only gotten brighter since she had gotten into the car, so Jen immediately regretted giving the woman a false sense of security.

“Yeah.” Jen scoffed. “We will see.”

As soon as the car started moving, Judy was talking again.
“Wanna play some car games?”

Ted was a dead man.

-----------------------

The first few hours of the drive weren't as bad as Jen had expected from the initial meeting she had had with Judy. She had split the drive into 6 shifts, 3 hours each. That way they both had breaks evenly. As soon as Jen had asserted her dominance in the car, which wasn't too hard really, since Judy was a wuss, Judy had shut up for most of the drive until that 6 hour mark when Judy went back to the passengers seat again, with this new found confidence that Jen despised with all her being. She had gotten comfortable. This stranger had gotten comfortable in her car. Bad news for Jen.

"So... how long have you and Ted been together?" Judy asked, as if they were going to start a session of girl talk. Judy didn't know Ted very well after all.

"For 4 years." Jen just said, not even attempting to glance over at Judy, who was clearly eager to connect.

"Woah. You must be pretty serious about this then." Judy started to rummage trough her bag as she spoke, and eventually found a bag of nuts, as of she needed a snack for the story she was about to hear. But Jen was very determined to keep her sentences short, and avoid creating any kind of false idea of a friendship.

"We are moving together you know."

"I know, yeah, I know." Judy got quiet for a moment. "Moving in together? Or just moving together, separately?"

"Does it matter?" Jen said a bit more defensively, than she needed to and she was very well aware that it was because she had been asking the same question from Ted a few months back. "I'm moving now, and Ted is following me after he's done with some work project. We will think about the details when it feels more timely." Jen hoped she sounded convincing enough, and not as uncertain as she felt.

"What about you? You got a boyfriend?" Jen changed the subject. She still refused to look at Judy in the eye but the attempt at making conversation was definitely earning her a smile from Judy. That much Jen could catch from the corner of her eye.

"I did. But we broke up a few months ago. It just wasn't working." Jen let her eyes quickly dart over to Judy's face before returning to the road again. She couldn't read into the brunettes expression too much. "I'm fine though! Gonna study the arts and live life to the fullest now. Maybe get into crystals or palm reading."

"Crystals, huh?" Jen raised her eyebrow. Hippie shit.

Judy nodded to herself enthusiastically. Jen was almost amused by the woman’s vigorous expressions.

"You seem pretty passionate about all that."

"Hell yes!" Judy smiled brightly at the blonde. "I mean it's my dream, you know. You've got to have dreams."

"Indeed." Jen just agreed, not really putting much weight into her response.

"What's yours?" Judy asked after a few moments had passed, and Jen had already moved on from their conversation.

"Huh?" She turned to Judy in surprise, to see the other woman staring at her intently.

"Your dream?" Judy clarified.

"I haven't thought about it." Jen admitted. She had had dreams for sure, when she was younger, but they weren't very realistic. She preferred the security of her current life.

"Really? You've never taken a second to think about what you really want from life?"

"I've been kind of busy." Jen snapped at Judy, annoyed by the other woman’s disapproval. "Unlike some it seems. And besides I don't really care as long as me and Ted are together."

"No I didn't mean..." Judy started, clearly panicked at the thought that she may have insulted the other woman in some way. "That's good too! Loving someone with your whole being... I mean that is pretty much the definition fulfilling." Judy agreed with her, speaking so softly and quietly, that Jen found herself regretting the outburst for a moment. Her eyes stayed on the road regardless.

"Yup. That's me and Ted." Jen just quipped, hoping Judy would drop the subject.

"Yeah. And if it's not, there's like a billion people in the world."

"Are you insinuating we aren't going to stay together?" Jen could barely stop herself from putting on the breaks. "You don't even know us." She gave the brunette a nasty look, feeling unnecessarily defensive.

"No no!" Judy continued to stumble over her words, annoying Jen further. What right did this woman have to step into her life against her will and attack her relationship. "I'm just pointing out that there's not just one person out there for everyone." Jen took a deep breath.

"Whatever." She was done with everyone.

"Jen..." Judy tried, and Jen could see her hand from the corner of her eye, reaching out to perhaps touch her shoulder. To comfort her.

"Just leave it."

---------

The two women continued on their journey in silence. Jen felt absolutely fine, but the brunette was clearly upset. Not that she cared too much. Judy was such a fucking nosey pain in her ass. But it did feel tiring to drive late at night in complete silence. The chatter kept her awake.

"Want something to eat? I could use a cup of coffee." Jen nodded over to their right, at a small road stop diner.

"Sure." Judy nodded. Nothing else from Judy. Just sure. Jen certainly didn't mind.

-----------

"I really need to tell you something." Judy said, almost as soon as the two women had sat down in a quiet corner booth.

"What is it?" Jen rolled her eyes, trying to catch a sight of the waiter. Once she formed eye contact with the woman, she waved her over. "You hate my boyfriend... what's next? You going after my family now?"

"No, Jen." Judy stated firmly, not getting defensive, perhaps catching onto Jen's comedic quips by now. She didn't look amused though. "I just..." Judy started, but failed to speak up before the waiter was already at their table, eager to take their order. Judy's posture changed and she flashed the woman a wide smile. Jen felt sick at the sight of the facade of joy.

"I hope you're having a good night!" The waiter started her usual protocol of lines, not expecting the quick response from Judy, matching her eager energy. She recovered quickly from the surprise. "What would you ladies like to order?"

"I'll just have a coffee. Black." The same old.

"Like your soul?" Judy chimed in with a smile, calling out the blondes admittedly gloomy energy. The brunette was most likely trying to connect with Jen over some funny banter, but Jen shot a deadly look her way; humor wasn't Judy's strong suit.

The waiter was clearly confused by the dynamic, but quickly turned to Judy to take down her order.

"I'll have the apple pie. Oh! And a cup of tea. Earl grey?" Judy was going over the menu, making sure she didn't miss something better. She settled on the pie.

As soon as the waiter left, Judy opened her mouth. It took a few moments for the brunette to gather the courage to speak, after being faced with Jen's cold stare, but she made her way to the point.

"Ted's cheating on you." Judy winced visibly once the words were out of her mouth. "I just thought you'd deserve to know."

Jen's face betrayed her in seconds. Her visible surprise was evident, and her first thought was how she hated that Judy was seeing her like this. Confused, uncertain, distressed.

"What? That's not... How do you know?" Jen squinted her eyes, maybe to stop Judy from reading the emotion laid across them.

"He doesn't exactly hide it at work. He and Mindy, his secretary, they..." Judy was gesturing awkwardly, making Jen groan out loud. Why was she hearing this from a person as insufferable as Judy, instead of Ted himself. Because Ted knew better. Jen knew that Ted knew that if Jen would know about this he would not live to see another day.

Judy however, was clearly affected by these news, maybe even more than Jen, which made the blonde reconsider her life choices. Judy looked like she was going to cry. Jen didn't feel a desire to comfort her cheating boyfriend's whiny coworker, so she quickly collected herself.

"Okay! Okay! Fine! Whatever. Whatever." Jen just scoffed at Judy, trying to wave it off. This would be something she would discuss with Ted. Shooting the messenger would do no good right now.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know he was dating someone until he asked me to help you on the move." Judy reached out to touch Jen's hand over the table, but Jen flinched away.

"I thought you were tight. Best buddies." Jen scoffed at her, not quite knowing what to believe anymore.

"No. I barely know him." Judy admitted. "I just wanted to help out with the move."

It was not a huge surprise that Judy would offer to drive a coworkers girlfriend to New York for almost nothing in return. Judy really seemed like the type.

"No shit." Jen retreated into the corner of her seat and crossed her arms defensively.

"If there's anything I can do I..." Judy

"Yeah you can shut the fuck up." Jen said without malice, it was more like she wanted to spare Judy's feelings and offer her advice. She just didn’t know a kinder way to do it.

----------

For the rest of the ride (which was thankfully only a few hours) neither of them spoke a word. Judy didn't even look at Jen, fearing she would somehow manage to insult the other woman by doing so.

Once they finally got to New york, both women were just glad to get to go their separate ways. Hopefully never to see each other again.

"So..." Judy started, as soon as the humming of Jen's car turned down. She made no effort to get up. "Thank you for the drive." Judy said, disgustingly earnestly. Jen avoided her gaze and ended up focusing on her lips instead. She had a pretty smile. "I'm sorry about earlier."

Jen didn't speak, and Judy shifted in her seat, most likely thinking that she wouldn't get another word out of the blonde. But Jen was more concentrated on picking the right words. She wasn't known to be polite.

"It's not your fault." Jen said and let her usual tight smile creep up on her face. "You just told me something I didn't want to hear. A lot of things I didn't want to- or need to hear. And that's fine." Jen shrugged. "We are very different, that's all."

"That much is clear. But I shouldn't have imposed on you like that I..."

"It's fine. All forgotten." Jen made a failed effort to match the bright smile that she had seen flash over Judy's face earlier.

"Alright." Judy nodded, staring to open the car door. Jen reached out over her to open it for her, without paying much thought to the action and the unneccessarity of it. Judy flinched at the other woman's hand covering her own for just a moment. The two shared awkward smiles.

"Have a good life." Jen said earnestly. She was glad to hopefully not have to see this woman again, but also felt she wouldn't exactly mind if Judy would thrive in whatever she was interested in getting herself into.

"Thank you. You too." Judy returned the wave.

And with that, they departed. Not as friends, or enemies. But as some kind of acquaintances.