Tangled Hearts

by Laurie Ames

  Helen headed back to her flower shop after lunch with Rita, finding herself wondering if she could indeed find that special companion—maybe her soulmate is waiting to meet her on the Golden Date site. Miracles do happen, so she figured the only way to find out is to get off the sidelines and into the game—beginning with setting up her profile on Sunday. There was a little bit of warm excitement in the pit of her stomach as she began looking forward to trying her luck on Golden Date—after-all it found someone for Rita—she certainly seems to have an extra spring in her step! This was not Rita's first date; she had dated numerous men since she joined the site three years earlier. She was enjoying meeting new and different men. Rita was just looking to have some fun and sexual excitement in her life. She was happy that the site had opened a whole new social scene for her. But Helen wondered if she would fare as well with the dating site as Rita.

  “Hi Miss Patton, how are things going today? So, you have five deliveries for me to do today?” asked Kyle, who was Helen's delivery boy for her flower shop. He was a long-haired, happy go lucky seventeen-year-old that she employed part-time after school. But now Kyle was off school for the summer break, so he was available to come into the shop earlier to pick up the deliveries.

  “I can't complain, my day so far is going pretty good. Here are the addresses for the deliveries, and I have them ready to go in the back-storage room.”

  Kyle picked up the note with the addresses and headed into the back. “Is Forest going to be coming home to help you with the flower shop this summer?” He replied as he strolled into the back-storage room.

  “She is going camping with a group of girlfriends at a beach in California for a week, then she is going to stay with her dad and Dana. They are taking her to Hawaii for a week, she can't wait to go there. She has booked her flight home for August 2nd. It will be so nice to have Forest home again,” replied Helen.

  “Wow—lucky Forest, I would love to go to Hawaii and check out surfing—but no worries Miss Patton, she will be back before you know it. I had better get these deliveries out—bye Miss Patton,” shouted Kyle as he stepped out the backdoor of the shop to load his blue rust-coated Jeep Cherokee.

  Helen began to think of how nice it would be to see her daughter again in person and be able to hug her and make her favorite meals, and just enjoy some time together. Forest loves going to stay in Manhattan, she finds the big city so exciting and exhilarating, on a much faster pace compared to here, in Woodstock, Vermont. This year she would to have to wait a little longer before she would have Forest back home with her. Helen was glad that Forest got along well with Dana, Helen did too for that matter—she had no ill feelings where John and Dana were concerned. Strange as it may sound, they all got along quite well.

  John and Dana live in Manhattan, New York, not far from central park. John still works as a copywriter and Dana as a yoga instructor. They have shared custody of Dana's ten-year-old daughter Verity.

  Helen watched Kyle's truck drive off down the back alley, as she shut the backdoor, the front doorbell rang alerting her that someone had entered the shop. She shouted out “I’ll be right there,” as she finished locking up the backdoor. She walked into the front of the shop to find Toni, who owned and operated the ‘Green Living Health Food Store’ over on Church St. It was where Helen bought her herbal teas as well as other natural health related products. They saw each other at least once a week, as Toni would come in and purchase some daisies and sunflowers to display in her shop. But today Toni was not here for daisies for her shop. She was picking up flowers for a blind date that was set up for her by a friend.

  “I’m wondering what your favorite flowers are? What would you choose out of all the flowers in the shop?” asked Toni.

  “If it was me, I would go for an assortment of lilacs in white, purple, and pink because I’m crazy for the smell of them!

  “Fine, then can you give me a dozen of those please?” asked Toni.

  After some more pleasantries, Toni headed out the door with the bouquet of lilacs for her mysterious friend. Helen was not a nosy type and would not think of prying into someone else's affairs. But she knew that Toni was a single lesbian woman, she too was in her golden years—she wondered if Toni was also a member of Golden Dates, Helen grinning at the thought.

  Chapter 2. Lilacs on the Porch

  _________________________

  As Helen walked home from her flower shop, a light summer rain started coming down, cooling her warm skin. As she turned into the driveway, she saw sitting on her front porch a big bouquet of beautiful mixed lilacs. With a look of curiosity, she walked onto the porch, leaned over and picked the flowers up. Underneath the bouquet was a small card that read:

  My date cancelled, didn't want to waste the flowers, had an inside tip these are your favorites—please enjoy! Signed Toni :)

  Helen grinned and walked into her house, then pulled out a big blue vase to hold the lilacs. She breathed in the intoxicating scent, enjoying a bit of aromatherapy as she placed the big vase in the middle of the kitchen island. Helen thought back, trying to remember the last time she had been given flowers. When you own a flower shop, they are the last thing people think you want, but if the truth be told, she always loved getting a beautiful bouquet. The flowers were such a kind gesture from Toni. She always thought Toni had the most amazing green eyes and Helen is drawn into people with nice eyes, after all they are the ‘windows to the soul.’ Helen decided she would take a Starbucks coffee over to Toni's Health store tomorrow and invite her to the girl’s luncheon on Sunday, as a special thank you for the flowers.

  As Helen sat at her kitchen island eating tuna casserole and sipping white wine, she stared at the lilacs. They started to trigger memories from her past. Back to a time when she was a student at the California College of Arts in San Francisco, where she met Erin Varner, a fellow student. Helen had developed a very close relationship with Erin. They had shared a small apartment together on the top story of a house in San Francisco, located a ten-minute bike ride from the College. Erin and Helen were much more than just roommates, they were intimate lesbian lovers. Helen began to drift further back into these long-ago memories. These were precious reminiscences that she has not shared with anyone in her present life except for her dear friend Lily. Lilly was also a lesbian, but not one to shout it from the roof tops. About three years ago Helen had gone to Lily's bed and breakfast at the Early Bird Inn to have dinner with her. They ended up having a great night filled with wine and laughs, during which Helen found herself revealing her past life to Lily, almost like a confession of sorts.

  They exchanged stories, sometimes crying out loud but mostly laughing together all night long. Helen had gotten quite tipsy and had not been that drunk in many years. She had begged Lily to keep her revelations of her past life between the two of them. Just before Helen passed out on Lily's couch, Lily promised that her secret would always be safe with her. Lily tucked her in with a comfy warm blanket, before making her own way to bed with a slightly wobbly step. The two of them never again discussed the secret Helen had revealed to Lily that night. Helen felt it was another time and another life that she wanted to keep in the past. If the truth be told, she knew deep in her heart that she had never felt as much love and passion as she did with Erin. They kept their relationship secret and being two young women, they did not want to draw attention from unwanted sources. They were two young women, both spreading their wings and learning how to fly solo in the big world beyond the comforts of home. Their friendship had soon blossomed far beyond just friends. Both Helen and Erin had hopes of one day becoming artists and making their mark in the world of art. They enjoyed fanciful dreams of owning an art studio together some day, teaching art classes, selling their art, and living happily ever after together. But this was not meant to be, Erin moved back to Toronto, Canada, where she was from, once school had ended.

  And the long-distance relationship was not in the cards for them—they chose different paths down the
road of life. Helen cherished the precious memories that she had of making passionate sweaty love with Erin, wrapped up together in sheer bliss, feelings of harmony oozing from their limbs, and the incredible orgasms, oh it felt so right at the time. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she last heard Erin's bubbly laugh resonating through their apartment. It used to fill their home with a light warm feeling of love and joy. Hearing that laugh always filled Helen with comfort and a sense of bliss, she felt she was where she was meant to be—with Erin and nothing in her life ever felt that right again—until the birth of her daughter, Forest.

  Helen began to try convincing herself that what she had with Erin was nothing more than a young woman sexually experimenting. It was nothing more—or was it? Helen knew deep within her soul that she had buried her sexual feeling towards women a long time ago, trying to deny that they existed, tuning them out. She had chosen to live the life of a straight woman, getting married, having a child and doing all the so called ‘right things.’ But now, here she sits alone with her memories and her lilacs. Suddenly the phone rang—drawing Helen from her walk down memory lane and back to the present.

  “Hi Lily,” answered Helen.

  “I hope I am not calling at a bad time,” replied Lily.

  “No, not at all, I was just sitting here sipping on a glass of wine, finishing off my leftover tuna casserole, nothing exciting.”

  “I got your message for the girl’s luncheon on Sunday, I am just calling to say I am in, and I was going to make my Caesar salad with the homemade dressing you like—what do you think?” asked Lily.

  “You know I can't turn down your Caesar salad, that would be perfect.”

  “Okay now that I have bribed you with my salad offering, I was wondering if I could bring along a woman that is staying here, she is a photographer taking pictures of the area, for the travel magazine—Small Towns of America—have you heard of it?

  “Yes, I have. And you are more than welcome to bring your photographer, as your date,” replied Helen.

  “Thanks, I think you will like her—Molly Garth, she is so sweet, we really connect with each other. We actually started chatting on guess where—Golden Dates—believe it or not. I would like to introduce her to my best buddies, you know, introduce her to a couple of my favorite women, that live in the small towns of America.

  “I am happy to hear that you have found a companion and I look forward to meeting her on Sunday. Well it sounds like the sooner I get myself up and running on that Golden Dates the better.”

  They both shared a little laugh. “Have you spoken to Val yet?” asked Lily.

  “No, I haven't, but thanks for reminding me. I will give her a call tonight. I am also going to invite Toni—the woman that owns Green Living Health Foods. She came into the shop today and bought a bouquet of lilacs for her date, but that date apparently was cancelled. When I came home, I found the bouquet on a chair on my front porch. She didn't want them to go to waste, so she left them for me. So, I am going to go over to her shop tomorrow and invite her over on Sunday as a thank you for the flowers” replied Helen. “Well it sounds like I am not the only one that is going to have a date on Sunday,” replied Lily with a chuckle.

  “Ha! You are too funny,” remarked Helen. “All right, I am going to let you go now. I have to make sure my cook (Ted) isn't burning the dinner for the guests, I will see you on Sunday, bye for now.” Helen exchanged good-byes with Lily and hung up her phone.

  Chapter 3. The Girl's Luncheon

  _________________________

  “So, Molly how long have you been working as a photographer for the magazine?” asked Rita as she took a sip of her red wine.

  “My business partner and I have been publishing the magazine for five years now, James Deckler, is his name, he is a journalist by trade, we run out of Barre city, Vermont,” replied Molly with a smile across the large patio table towards Rita.

  “You are the owner of the magazine and paper?” replied Rita with a smile.

  “Yes, my business partner and I have been good friends for many years, since James and I were both young, working at the Chicago Tribune together. I remained at the Chicago Tribune, as a photographer, while James moved out to Barre years ago with his new bride at the time. Barre is the hometown of James’ wife, Ruth. They met in Chicago when he was doing a piece on the Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, where Ruth worked as a tour guide part-time while she was attending college. He found more than his story at the museum that day. So looking for a partner to start the magazine and paper with, he contacted me with his proposal, and the next thing I knew I was leaving Chicago and heading to a new city, Barre, Vermont, to begin a new life.

  I first went there for a weekend visit, staying with James and his family while we toured a building that he was interested in buying along with a partner. From that place, we would start a travel magazine “Small American towns,” and a small local paper, “The Barre City Herald.” I fell in love with the state of Vermont on that visit, especially Barre city. So, I went back to Chicago and called James a few days later to say I was in. And well that's how I ended up in this neck of the woods,” said Molly as she smiled around the table at everyone.

  “Well, I for one am certainly glad that you took James up on his offer. I say cheers to that business deal,” replied Lily as she rose her glass in a toast and glasses began clanging around the table.

  “Thank you all for making me feel welcome at this delightful girl's luncheon, replied Molly with a slight blush on her cheeks.

  “Molly has invited me to join her at “Wapanachee cottage” on Lake Morey for a week this summer,” announced Lily. “She has shown me pictures on her laptop. The setting is lovely, and the cottage is huge, with four bedrooms. There is also a little guest cottage, and even a hot tub on the back deck facing the lake. Molly got use of it through her friend, Eve, who is a real estate agent in Barre. In return for using the cottage for a week, Molly will do a photo shoot of real estate properties around Barre, including the Wapanachee cottage as Eve is going to be eventually selling it as well. I am so looking forward to getting a break and having a change of scenery and spending some quality time with Molly.”

  “I have a great idea,” said Molly as she looked at Lily. “Wouldn’t it would be a great idea to do a girl's weekend at Lake Morey? There is certainly plenty of room for everyone.”

  Lily nodded, “Yes, why not! The more the merrier, what a nice offer you are making. I would love to have all my besties there. Why don’t you gals give it some thought. Hopefully you can all make it.”

  “Okay, it’s a plan,” said Molly. “I will send the details of where and when to Lily once I get it all set up. My friend Eve said it will probably be in late August when we will get use of the cottage. I would love for all of you to come and spend the weekend with us. Just bring yourselves—that includes you too Toni—take a couple of days away from your shop,” replied Molly smiling over at Toni.

  “Thanks so much for the invite, I really appreciate it,” answered Toni softly as she took a sip of her Corona. It turned out that Molly and Toni were old friends, when Toni used to work at ‘Gavin's Health Food Store’ in Barre city, before she moved to Woodstock and opened her own store. They both spent a good amount of time laughing and sharing stories of their past—enjoying reminiscing with one another.

  All the ladies were thrilled about the idea of getting together and spending a fun filled weekend in each other’s company. Everyone seemed like they were looking forward to the weekend at Morey Lake—except one—Val. She was still being quiet; as if her mind was elsewhere. No one wanted to push the issue in trying to get Val to spill the beans about what was on her mind—her close friends knew she would talk when she was good and ready. Val knew that her three best friends would be there if she needed them at a moment's notice. But for now, Val was keeping quiet. The other women thought maybe she was suffering from having an empty nest now that her sons were off at college. To make things worse, her husband Brian
was often away for a week or more at a time because he was a long-haul truck driver. In the past her husband was caught picking up more than just the cargo for his truck—other women to be precise. But for some reason Val would always forgive him or simply turn the other cheek in denial.

  The women enjoyed dining on grilled chicken breast, grilled yams, Lily's Caesar salad, and Val's angel food cake with berries and whipped cream on top, along with an assortment of cold refreshments to wash it all down. Rita supplied them with some wine coolers, along with bottles of corona that she knew the host was partial to. Toni had brought Helen a lovely gift basket that was made up of a great assortment of Herbal teas, including a couple of boxes of Helen's personal favorite, Bengal Tiger Spice Tea. As Helen began to clear away the dishes, Toni got up and gave her a hand in the kitchen.

  “There are those lovely lilacs you left for me, they make a great centerpiece on my kitchen island, but I'm sorry your date was cancelled,” said Helen as she started to rinse plates and place them into the dishwasher. “But it was a very thoughtful gesture to leave the flowers for me. You are a dear friend.”

  “Oh no worries, my blind date decided to give it another try with her ex-girlfriend,” replied Toni smiling over at Helen as she leaned against the kitchen island. “And by the way, you are very dear to me as well.” She reached out and gave Helen a big hug. “Is there anything else I can do, to help you out?”

  “Could you please go and ask the girls who wants another drink?” Replied Helen.

  “Sure, I will be right back, I am going to borrow your tray here—I am sure the girls must be getting thirsty,” replied Toni as she headed towards the sliding doors to the deck.

  “Hi ladies, I am taking orders for drinks—let me start with you Val—what can I get for you?”