Small Town Love

by M. M. Shapiro

  “Shit, you have me worried. I thought you had a heart attack or something.” She laughed nervously.

  Aneko yawned. “Okay, sorry, I have to get some sleep. Talk later. Bye.” She hung up.

  * * * *

  Friday night, Gabrielle went to a birthday party for a friend, Joy Boston, who she went to high school with. She came out to Gabrielle last summer, making her vow to keep it a secret. She just couldn’t put up with the small-town crap for being ‘not normal.’

  Gabrielle’s birthday present was a German chocolate cake that she made, Joy’s favorite. It was in a large pan so there’d be plenty for her to pig out on. She gave it to Joy when she got there, and they hugged.

  “Gabby, so good to see you. Thanks for coming, and for the cake. You are so sweet. You’re an angel on Earth. How are you?”

  There were only a small number of people there, but Gabrielle didn’t want to monopolize Joy’s time. “I’m fine.”

  The party was good for Gabrielle. It took her mind off of Ray and Aneko, and she danced with a bunch of others, all people she knew one way or another. She never was one for drinking and only had a few beers the entire night, but Joy had a lot more.

  At one point, Gabrielle said, “Babe, I think you should cool the booze. You’re gonna have a huge handover in the morning.”

  Joy pulled her close and sucked air in with her nose in Gabrielle’s hair. “Thanks, you’re always looking out for others. You’re right. I’m nervous.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m coming out tonight.” Joy whistled like a man to get everyone’s attention. “Hey, everyone, thanks so much for being at my party that I’m throwing for myself. I have an announcement to make, and I’m not sure how to do it, if there’s a protocol, or if any of you will hate me, but I’m coming out. I’m a lesbian. I’ve been afraid, but no more. I’m full of liquid courage, and I want you all to know, since you’re all friends of mine, that I’m a lesbian. I told Gabrielle here last summer, and she now goes by Gabrielle and no longer is Gabby. I sort of hoped she’d out me, but she’s so marvelous, she kept my secret. So—” She held her hands up and plopped onto the couch.

  Gabrielle hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud of you.” She brought Joy a large glass of orange juice and then a bunch of water and made her drink.

  Everyone at the party came up to her and hugged or kissed her and said they were friends and her being a lesbian didn’t matter.

  Cooper hugged Joy, and said, “To tell the truth, I’m a lesbian, too.” He was a perpetual wise-ass and kept a straight face. Then he turned to Gabrielle. “I heard what you did at the fire the other day. You’re an angel for caring for the Stones. They’re friends of my parents. They’re devastated at the fire, but so grateful for the care you gave them.”

  “Thanks, Cooper. I really appreciate that.”

  He hugged Gabrielle and whispered, “Since I came out as a lesbian, will you marry me?”

  “Oh, sure, Coop. When shall we have the wedding?” She slapped her face. “Wait, you’re married.” She looked around. “Where’s Sierra?”

  Cooper’s face fell flat. “She’s not here. We’re divorcing. She found someone else. Chas Bilton, the rich realtor. I guess I didn’t make enough money for her.” He shook his head and wiped a tear. “I still love her, but she said she doesn’t love me anymore and isn’t sure she ever did. Oh, Gabby, what am I going to do?”

  She took him outside and held him as he cried himself out. “Cooper, are you two still living together?”

  “No, she’s living with Bilton already. I’m alone at our apartment.”

  “That’s bad. You need to be with someone. Can you stay with a friend or relative? You need company.”

  He blew his nose and sucked air in. “Yeah. You’re right. I have a number of friends I can call.”

  “Will you do that tonight? I don’t want you alone with yourself. You’re a good man. I’m sorry the marriage didn’t work out. If I were straight, I’d date you. You have a good sole, Cooper, and I love your wise-ass.”

  They hugged. “Thank you, Gabby. You always know just what to say and do. I know you’ve heard it before, but you are an angel on Earth.”

  “Okay, thanks. I need to hear it time to time. So, start calling, okay?”

  He nodded and took out his phone.

  Gabrielle went back inside. As usually happens at parties, one by one and two by two, people left, leaving just Gabrielle, who began to clean. Joy joined in, and they cleaned without chatter, but Joy kept glancing at Gabrielle. When most of the stuff was thrown out or put away, Joy approached Gabrielle and hugged her.

  With her face buried in Gabrielle’s shoulder, she asked, “Why didn’t you ever hit on me after I told you last year I was a lessie?”

  Gabrielle pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Nothing really to do with you, but I’ve had my share of virgins, and I had a few girlfriends. None of them lasted, but I think you know I never date more than one person at a time, plus I prefer women of color, first Japanese, then Asian, then black, and after that Latina. You’re white.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, we’ve been friends for a long time. I won’t lie to you, hell, I won’t lie to anyone. I got in trouble as a kid for telling the truth. Got me a few spankings, too, when I was younger, because if my parents asked if I did something bad, I just admitted it.” She kissed Joy’s cheek, but Joy added a lip kiss and ran her fingers through Gabrielle’s hair. Gabrielle liked it, and it made her think of Aneko.

  “Gabrielle, will you go to bed with me now? I’m sorry I’m still a virgin, but I want you. I’ve wanted you for such a long time.”

  Aside from being horny, she felt sorry for Joy. “Sure.”

  With a shy grip and walk, Joy led Gabrielle to her bedroom. “What are we supposed to do now?”

  “There’s no supposed to involved. We do what we want. I personally like to be undressed and to undress the other woman. I like to take my time doing that and to explore as I expose skin. Or, if we’re really horny, we grab and grope and almost rip clothes off. Or we get in bed and kiss and piece by piece undress ourselves or the other person.”

  “I’m really horny.”

  Gabrielle was quick to make Joy naked, and Gabrielle scented Joy’s womanly smell wafting up. She thought of Aneka but wanted to do this for her friend. She undressed herself, and they stood naked before the other.

  Joy shivered. “I like this.” She stood there biting her lip.

  Gabrielle pulled her into a deep hug and guided her to the bed. They kissed and touched and licked and rolled. Joy got on top of Gabrielle and humped her leg harder and harder. She moaned and squirmed.

  Joy asked, “May I go down on you?”

  Gabrielle nodded. Joy attacked with a stiff tongue and going rough, too rough.

  “Go easier and slower.”

  She did. Gabrielle kept thinking about Aneka and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to excuse herself.

  Joy’s cell phone rang, but she ignored it. It rang a second and third time.

  Gabrielle said, “Maybe it’s important.”

  Joy answered. “Hello? Yeah, hi. You’re welcome. Thanks for coming to my party. What? No, you can say anything to me, Michelle, we’re friends.” There was apparently silence, and Joy hunched. Then she held up her hand. “Yeah, I’m still here.” Her face flattened and eyes opened. “No, really? You did? What did he say? Oh, my! Yeah, I’m home. Oh, I don’t know, Gabrielle is still here. We’re cleaning. Oh, okay then, I’ll see you in fifteen. Thanks, bye.”

  Joy ended the call and looked at Gabrielle, who started dressing. “It was Michelle. She said she’s a lessie, too. She and her husband got home and because I came out, so did she. She told him she’s a lesbian and only married him to go along with the world. She was too afraid to come out. She said he said he sort of knew because he’d snooped on her laptop and saw some stuff there, but he was too afraid to mention it. She wants to talk about things, and she h
inted she wants me sexually. I’m sorry, Gabrielle.”

  “No, don’t be. I’m dating someone now anyway. This sounds like a great opportunity. I’m so proud of you for coming out. I don’t think we’d be good as lovers, but I still want you as a friend. You can call me anytime for any reason. There’s always a ton of questions and issues. Call anytime.”

  “I already have a ton of questions. Can we do lunch during the week?”

  “Sure.”

  They kissed, hugged, and Gabrielle left. She never liked dating two women at one time. Just old fashioned that way.

  * * * *

  Gabrielle drove home to her trailer but stopped to use her fire department bright flashlight to walk the construction area. Joseph, the contractor, was moving quickly. He had the foundation poured with eight-inch outside walls and a nice crawlspace. He had four walls and roof trusses put in. She felt happy at the speed of it all. She’d better get back to milling more planks for shelving in the garage.

  She crawled into bed and read a lesbian fiction story and had a hand at her lower region as she read a sex scene. She shivered.

  Then her fire department pager went off. The dispatcher spoke over it. It would go out to the entire volunteer department.

  All members, report of a structure fire in Bandon on 11th Street east of Harvard. Woman calling that’s she out but two kids are inside. All units respond. Ambulance en route.

  She jumped free of bed and noted the time: 11:58 P.M. She headed for her pickup and, almost diving into her turn-out gear, dressed in record time and sped down the gravel road with her four-way flashers going and the revolving blue light on her dash. The volunteers didn’t get sirens, but almost everyone yielded to the blue light. She used the radio in the truck to call in to say she’s on the way and close.

  Karl and the fire chief were about the same distance away. The chief had a rig with five hundred gallons of water, enough to start extinguishing a fire. Since the fire was in the city, no tankers would respond because fire hydrants were close. She squealed around the last corner and parked two houses down. She threw her breathing apparatus on. Karl pulled up behind her, doing the same, and thirty seconds later, the chief parked right in front of the house afire. He started the engine on his rig and began a water flow.

  Gabrielle yelled to Karl, “Let’s go around back. The front is fully involved.”

  He nodded. She knew that because one side was full of flames that didn’t mean another side couldn’t allow entry. She knew there were two girls inside. She ran to the distraught woman in front held by a couple.

  The woman screamed, “My two twin girls are inside. Their bedroom is in back. I couldn’t get back there. I yelled for them to go out the window.”

  Speech was always garbled when wearing the breathing gear. Gabrielle and Karl nodded and raced around back. Sure enough, the back wasn’t involved. Both rear windows were open. Gabrielle yanked the screen off and jumped inside. She tried to help Karl, who was closing in on his seventieth birthday, but he favored his shoulder and said it hurt. She told him to wait there. Gabrielle checked the room, but no girls were there and they weren’t outside. She opened the door to the hall and was met with flame, so she closed it, climbed out through the window, and went in the window of the next bedroom. She called out. There was significant smoke in the room except the last two feet above the floor. She saw a glow above. The fire was in the attic. She had little time to search and get out.

  She called and then yanked her mask off and yelled again. “Girls, where are you? This is the fire department. You need to get out. Where are you?”

  She thought she heard a noise and checked the closet and bed. Another noise, and she shined her super bright light that cut through the smoke under the bed. She saw two scared faces. She had no time for pleasantries. With her mask still off, she grabbed one and then the other and took them to the window. Each cried and couldn’t walk. She carried them. Maybe they were four years old? Her mask dangled. She lifted the girls, one at a time to Karl. She was glad for her strength that came from working at the feed store but also from the fitness center.

  She put her mask on and wished Karl was inside with her. Always best to go in as a couple. No firefighter should enter a burning building alone. That was standard practice for years, but Karl really couldn’t do fire work anymore. He was just too old. She put a hand on the windowsill to climb out when the ceiled creaked and fell on her. The weight overwhelmed her and shoved her to the floor. Good thing she had her mask back on.

  She yelled, “Karl, help, help me, the ceiling fell in.”

  She heard him say, “I can’t get in. Wait, hold on.” He yelled for others.

  She heard sirens and knew other units arrived. She tried to move but could do little more than squirm. She wondered if today was when she’d die. She felt the heat of flames. Aneko came to her mind, and she smiled and said her name. “Aneko, I love you.”

  With all her might, she was able to move a bit and toss off some of the ceiling, but the heat was intense. She struggled more and grunted. Again, she was glad for her strength. She moved and got to her knees. The heat worsened, and breathing was harder despite the air tank. Then the bell went off, she only had two minutes left of air. Damn.

  She shook her head and fought. Then a stream of water rushed through the open window. Thank God, the others had a line back there now.

  “Gabby, Gabby, where are you?”

  “Right below the window. I’m trapped.”

  Did they hear her? She fought and was able to begin freeing herself from the rubble as she spied a boot and then another. Someone lifted the ceiling off and grabbed her and helped her stand.

  “I’ve got you. Let’s get you out. You shouldn’t be in here alone.”

  She recognized Rob, a bear of a man. How the hell did he get his massive frame through the window? He lifted her with his hands, and she scurried out the window as the water kept flowing in. Rob escaped. He and another firefighter carried her to the front.

  “I can walk, let me go.”

  They ignored her and got her mask, helmet, and tank off of her.

  The chief was kneeling next to her. “How are you and don’t say you’re okay.”

  “My neck and back hurt a little, but I’m sure I’m basically okay. Let me stand.”

  “No way, you’re going to the hospital.”

  And the two-person ambulance crew walked up with a stretcher. They put a cervical collar on her and lifted her onto it, on a backboard.

  “No, really, I don’t need to—”

  The chief scolded her, “You’re going, just to be sure. Don’t argue.” He placed a caring hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Gabby.”

  She sucked a breath in and settled back.

  They drove her to the local hospital, and as they unloaded her, Gabrielle was met by a night nurse, David. Karl walked up and watched.

  David said, “Gabby, what happened?”

  She grinned. “I go by Gabrielle now. I was in a fire, and the ceiled collapsed on me and temporarily trapped me. My neck and back are sore, but I don’t think it’s serious.”

  David smiled. “Gabrielle, eh? That’s a sexy name. Sexier than Gabby. Are you going straight? Will you go out with me now?”

  Karl held her hand as they rolled her inside to a treatment bay and transferred her to a bed.

  “David, David, David, what will I do with you? No, I’m not going straight. I’m still lesbian, but nice try.”

  He grinned. “Can we at least have sex?”

  “I love girls of color. Since you’re black and handsome, how about you have a sex change operation? Then I’ll date you, okay?”

  “My insurance won’t cover that.”

  “Then too bad, my friend.”

  They shared a laugh, and David checked her vital signs. All was within proper ranges. Karl stood by with a worried look on his face.

  “Gabby, I should have been in there with you.”

  “Karl, if we were both in
side, we both would have been trapped. You went to get the hose team and that helped save me, and Rob pulled me out.”

  A doctor came in. Cops and firefighters always got special care in hospitals, and she appreciated it. She didn’t know him. He was obviously new. He said, “Hi, I’m Doctor Wilson. David told me what happened. Were you knocked unconscious?” She shook her head. “I want to do X-rays to ensure nothing is broken, especially in your neck.”

  “Okay.”

  Someone rolled her out and into the X-ray unit. When she was taken back to the ER, Karl was gone. She asked David.

  “He said he had to get back to the fire scene. He seemed upset that you were hurt.”

  She was in and out in less than two hours. They called the local police officer who drove her back to her pickup. She knew someone would take charge of her air tank. The chief walked up. The fire was out, and they were cleaning.

  A woman was with the chief. She held Gabrielle’s hand. “They say you’re the one who saved my girls. I owe you so much, and thank you just doesn’t cut it.” She wiped tears and broke into a full out sob session.

  “It’s my job. I was glad I live close and got here in time. Another few minutes, and it would be too late.”

  The woman hugged Gabrielle, and it made her feel good. She saved two lives. It was worth getting trapped. She wondered what the girls would grow up to be, and she smiled.

  The chief checked in with her, returned her tank to her, and told her to go to the station tomorrow and refill the tank with oxygen. “I’m proud of you, Gabrielle. You saved two lives, and that’s what this job is all about. You went in alone, against regulations of course, you saved two lives. Again, I’m proud of you. No man or non-homosexual could do it better. Will you marry me?” He smirked.

  She grinned. “Of course, I’ll marry you. Just get your wife to okay it.” They hugged.

  “Get some rest. I’m glad you’re not seriously injured.”

  It was almost three A.M. She drove home dog-tired. She had to be at work in a few hours. She sighed, happy she saved the two girls. She checked her phone and had a text from Aneko saying good night.