Intersection

by Healy, Nancy Ann

  The agent took another deep breath and called back, “yeah…I’m coming.” She let out a nervous chuckle at the timeliness of her words amidst her current thoughts. “Shit.” She put her face back in her hands, shaking her head.

  “She’s not gonna’ wait forever,” Rose joked from the hallway.

  “What?” Alex jumped with a quiver in her voice that sounded as if she were a small child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  Rose laughed. “She’s called up here twice already.” Alex let out an audible sigh of amusement and relief. Rose looked at the agent and offered her a motherly glance of understanding. “Alex…” The agent looked at the mother of the woman she loved and pressed her lips together tightly, wondering what Cassidy’s mother might say. “You love Cassidy, don’t you?”

  Alex felt like someone had barreled her over, knocking the wind completely from her lungs. Cassidy’s mom really did just ‘know’ things. “It’s that obvious?” The agent asked a bit sheepishly.

  “To me, yes.” Rose McCollum smiled. “Come on, we’d better get down there before she comes up here and reads us the riot act.” Alex pulled herself up and met the woman in the doorway. As they approached the stairs the agent felt a comforting touch on her back. “She loves you, Alex. I see it in her eyes every time she looks at you. Just be yourself…that’s who she fell in love with.”

  Alex tried to breathe. She looked at the older woman as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Rose McCollum had the same eyes as her daughter. They were a vibrant green that occasionally changed offering a bluish hue that glistened in the most peculiar and intoxicating way. The agent had never worried much about other people’s approval. She had never managed to garner the approval of her own parents and it taught her to be independently confident. But now, what Cassidy’s family thought of her, it mattered. “Rose, I…”

  Rose gently prodded the agent forward toward the kitchen. “Agent Toles,” she said with a lighthearted sarcasm in her voice. “Cassie has never asked for my approval. She never had to. Neither do you.”

  “What took you two so long?” Cassidy asked with mock annoyance as Agent Fallon unpacked cartons of Chinese food on the table behind her.

  “Well,” her mother said, “perhaps if you traveled a bit lighter…”

  Cassidy poked at her cheek with her tongue. “Very funny,” she quipped at her mother. “I am watching you two,” she pointed at them with a kidding sense of caution.

  Alex laughed a bit and headed for the table. Dylan was opening the tops of the containers and peering into each curiously, one by one. “Chicken fingers!” He exclaimed.

  “Good call,” Alex said to her partner.

  “Yeah…I do have three kids, Toles.”

  The group took their seats and enjoyed some lighthearted laughter over their dinner. As the cartons began to empty, Dylan looked at Alex. “Alex, can we go play pool?” The basement rec room had a large pool table in it and it was the most intriguing thing the boy had noticed on his exploration of the house.

  Cassidy noted that Alex was searching for an answer. “Dylan, I think Alex and Mr. Fallon have some things to do.” She glanced at Alex. Alex smiled, looking into the Cassidy’s eyes. She felt as though the world disappeared every time Cassidy looked at her. She really did need to talk to Fallon, but in this moment she made the decision that there was something more important at stake, at least tonight. Dylan had been through a great deal the last two days and so had his mother. She needed to keep them safe and she suddenly understood that meant more than just protecting them from physical harm. Rose caught the expression passing between her daughter and the agent and smiled. The agent turned to Dylan. “Actually, I do have to talk to Agent Fallon.” Dylan looked down at his plate in disappointment. “BUT…Fallon here, he thinks he’s quite the master at pool. I think we should prove him wrong.” Dylan looked up at her with a hopeful glance. “So…why don’t you help your mom and your grandma clean this up, get your pajamas on….and you and me, we’ll teach Fallon here a few things before bed. What do you say?” He nodded with excitement.

  Cassidy looked at Alex, stunned and moved by the gesture. There was no doubt in the teacher’s mind that there had been a greater purpose than dinner to Fallon’s visit; after all he had his own family waiting for him. She didn’t even think as she looked into the agent’s eyes and mouthed the words, “I love you.” Alex forgot anyone was even there as a smile swept across her face; the exchange noticed by all.

  “All right, Dylan,” Rose grabbed her plate. “Let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

  Alex snapped out of her haze and was surprised that the public affection she had just shared with Cassidy did not bother her. She touched Fallon on the arm and the pair headed for the study. “See you in a few, Speed Racer,” she said. The boy nodded and picked up some napkins running for the garbage.

  Cassidy met Rose at the sink. “Oh just say it,” the younger woman looked at her mother. Rose just smiled. “I know you want to say something.”

  “No, Cassie, I just want you to be happy.”

  Cassidy turned to her mother with a tear in her eye. “I am.”

  Rose put her hand on her daughter’s cheek. “Then hold onto her,” she said before returning to the dishes.

  “I will.”

  Alex took the stack of files and opened the top one. “Anything stick out at you?”

  “Not immediately…but it is strange, Toles.”

  “What’s that?” Alex said, peeling her eyes off the paper in front of her and looking upwards at the sound of Dylan’s laughter upstairs. She couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile. She loved the boy as much as she loved his mother.

  Fallon sighed. “We can talk about it tomorrow.”

  “I’m sorry, Fallon,” the agent said. “It’s just…he was so upset last night. He climbed in bed with us.” Fallon’s eyes became as wide as saucers. Seeing his expression, Alex let out an animated guffaw. “I didn’t sleep with her,” the agent continued to laugh.

  The sound of small footsteps trampling the floor caught the attention of both agents. “I think,” Brian Fallon said to his friend, “that I should teach you who the senior agent is on the pool table. We can talk about this in the morning.” Alex was grateful for his understanding and for his friendship. She nodded and the pair began the short trek to meet the rest of the group in the basement.

  “Hold on,” Alex put up a finger and scurried into the kitchen emerging with a small step stool she had noticed during dinner. “He’s gotta’ be able to reach,” she said as the pair headed down the stairs. Brian Fallon shook his head. Alex Toles suddenly had a family. He never thought he’d see that. “All right, Speed Racer!” Alex put the stool down next to the pool table and Dylan hopped up from his position between his mother and grandmother on the large leather sofa a few feet away. Cassidy watched as Alex helped the boy pick out a cue stick, showed him how to use the chalk and stood behind him, instructing him on how to hold the stick that was just as tall as he was. Dylan listened intently to all of the agent’s directions, nodding his understanding and concentrating as hard as his young mind would allow as they stepped to the table.

  “You guys break,” Agent Fallon offered.

  “Okay … that’s us, Speed Racer.”

  Dylan looked at the agent. “Will you help?” He whispered.

  Alex smiled. Dylan melted her heart every bit as much as his mother did. She silently winked and picked him up to put him on the stool. Cassidy and Rose watched as the tall, commanding woman at the billiard table gently placed her hands over the boy’s. She spoke softly to him as she helped him guide the stick back and forth. “Keep your eyes on that pack of balls, okay?” He nodded. “Now, feel the stick as it moves. Take your time.” There was no question that it was Alex’s strength behind the sound that erupted as the balls traveled across the table, leaving Dylan elated.

  The game continued the same way. Fallon would deliberately set up an easy shot for the boy and Alex w
ould help him sink the ball in the pocket. Then her partner would make a couple of shots before missing another deliberately. Rose watched Cassidy nearly as much as she did the game unfolding across the room. She had never seen such lightness about her daughter. There was no doubt in Rose McCollum’s mind as she watched her grandson high five the beautiful dark haired woman he clearly adored, her daughter had finally found what she’d always been missing, a complete family. “Okay…time for BED!” Rose called over to Dylan.

  Fallon shook the boy’s hand and then winked at Toles. “I gotta’ go…Kate’s gonna’ kill me!”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  “Nah… you need to stay here and practice,” he joked. “I expect a rematch.”

  The boy’s mother moved to scoop up Dylan and Rose stopped her with her hand. “I’ve got him,” she said. Cassidy looked at her mother. “I think maybe Dylan will stay in my room tonight.” Rose raised an eyebrow at her daughter. Cassidy was used to her mother’s way, but she felt a bit embarrassed, suddenly realizing her mother’s agenda and her face flushed. “Cassie,” her mother whispered, “I wasn’t born yesterday….. say goodnight to your son and go spend some time with Alex.”

  Cassidy kissed Dylan goodnight. “Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom,” he kissed her back on the cheek.

  His mother watched as he clung to the beautiful woman that she could not keep her eyes off of. “Night, Speed Racer,” Alex said. “Sleep well.”

  He looked up at her and pulled her down to him repeating the affectionate gesture he had shown his mother. “Love you, Alex,” he said to her.

  Alex felt a tear form in her eye. “Love you too, Speed Racer.” Rose followed the boy out of the room and turned back to the two women behind her. She said nothing, just offered them a loving smile.

  Cassidy was suddenly very nervous. She had been thinking about being alone with Alex all day. No one had ever made her feel the way that Alex Toles did. She knew that Alex loved her. She could feel it through her entire being. When they kissed she felt as though the world fell away from them and she longed to be closer to the woman, to feel Alex touch her and know what it was like to be loved completely by her. At the same time she was terrified. Alex was strong and confident. She was also experienced in ways that the small blonde woman was afraid to imagine. How on earth could she possibly measure up? She would have been shocked had she known that across the room, the woman she viewed as the picture of assuredness was quivering inside.

  Alex held her breath for a moment looking at the beautiful woman just a few feet away. She had imagined over the last few days that when all of this was over, she would take Cassidy away somewhere, maybe by the ocean again, a room that looked out over the water. She would open a bottle of wine and spend a quiet evening with the woman who had unexpectedly captured her heart before gently taking her to a new place, someplace Alex longed to travel. That was not going to happen. About the only thing she could take from that scenario now was a good bottle of wine. The two stayed still, waiting for the other to move. Alex lightly rubbed her eyebrow. This was awkward. She did not expect their first time to be so soon and she did not want the first time she made love to Cassidy to be awkward. Everything else in their relationship seemed to flow so naturally. “How about a glass of wine?”

  “Sounds good. How about you teach me to play pool?” Alex was behind the bar opening the wine fridge. She was surprised at the suggestion, but it would be a welcome diversion for a while.

  “You don’t play pool?” Alex asked as she opened a bottle of Chardonnay and poured two glasses.

  “No.” Cassidy took a seat on the other side of the bar and accepted the glass. “I always wanted to learn.” She had tried a few times in college when she and Chris would go out but he liked to tease her and show off so she stopped being a participant and became a spectator.

  Alex took a sip of her wine and moved around the bar. Cassidy took another large sip from her own glass and watched as Alex re-racked the pool balls on the table. The agent’s hands began to tremble as she picked up a pool cue and the teacher made her way over, accepting it with a longing gaze into the agent’s eyes. “First,” Alex began, “you have to learn how to hold the cue.” She stepped behind the smaller woman and positioned the long stick in her hands. Cassidy felt the agent’s body press up against her. Alex leaned into the teacher and whispered her instructions. “Feel the weight of the stick,” she placed her hands over Cassidy’s and Cassidy closed her eyes at the sensation of Alex’s breath on her neck. The agent gently guided the stick back and forth and Cassidy became unsteady by the overwhelming sensations their physical contact brought on. Alex instinctively dropped a hand to Cassidy’s hip in an attempt to steady her, but the smaller woman took her by surprise, dropping the stick and turning in the agent’s embrace. Cassidy looked up at Alex who was instantly entranced by the green eyes searching hers. The agent gently moved to touch the smaller woman’s cheek and silently bent over for their lips to meet.

  Alex felt Cassidy’s fingers press into her side as their kiss deepened and the agent lost her senses. She moved her kiss to the woman’s neck and heard Cassidy sigh her name aloud. It sent a jolt through her body unlike any she had ever felt and she moved to meet the blonde’s lips again. Cassidy’s breath was shallow and Alex was ready to lift her onto the pool table when their eyes met again. The agent closed her eyes and sighed. She was lost in the moment, and had this been any other woman she would have taken Cassidy right there. But, it was Cassidy. Cassidy caught her breath and looked deeply into Alex’s eyes. It reminded the teacher a bit of the night before when Alex had insisted they stop and she was suddenly fearful. “Alex…”

  “Cass… I just want this to be…”

  Cassidy closed her eyes and inhaled. “Alex…”

  “Please, just…let’s just go upstairs…please.” Alex stroked the woman’s long blonde hair. “Just go up to your room…I will be right behind you. I promise.”

  “Alex…I’m so…”

  Alex knew what the teacher wanted to say. She understood that this was not only their first time with one another, it was Cassidy’s in many ways. That was all the more reason that she wanted to be certain the woman in her arms understood that this meant everything to Alex. It did. The agent knew that the stops and starts were difficult for them both. She also knew that within a short time everything would change between them. Feeling Cassidy as she did now, she had no doubt that making love to the woman would mean the complete surrender of her soul. “Cass… not here…just trust me.”

  “It doesn’t have to be perfect, Alex.” Cassidy felt the butterflies in her stomach swarming. She was so self-conscious about the prospect of being intimate with the agent, and at the same time she desired Alex in a way that she had never experienced. She was afraid of disappointing the woman who held her now; afraid that in spite of the fact that Alex loved her; maybe she would not be enough.

  “Cassidy, you are worth far more to me than a lustful spin on a pool table. Not here.” She kissed the woman gently. “I will be right behind you. I want to be where I can wake up beside you.”

  The smaller woman reached up to the agent and caressed her cheek. Those were the words she needed to hear. “Don’t take too long,” she whispered tearing herself reluctantly from the agent’s embrace and moving out of the room.

  Alex sighed and closed her eyes as the woman walked out. “God help me, I love you,” she said as she grabbed the bottle of wine and the glasses.

  “I love you too,” a voice called back. Alex smiled. It might be a long night.

  assidy was thankful to have a few minutes to pull herself together both emotionally and physically. She had no way of knowing when she packed to leave for Washington that this would be happening here and now. She rummaged through her bag on the bathroom floor wishing she had something appropriate for the occasion. She looked in the mirror and laughed at her own silent admission; she felt like a teenager. She wanted to take the agent’s bre
ath away like no one ever had. She shook her head disbelieving that she was actually touching up her makeup and refreshing her perfume. This was an unfamiliar routine and not something she would have imagined in her wildest dreams a few days ago. She smiled and closed her eyes as the memory of Alex standing at her front door passed through her thoughts. Her nervousness was rivaled only by the incredible sense of how much she was in love with Alex Toles. She chuckled softly as the question entered her mind for the first time. “Oh my God; am I a lesbian?” She chuckled again and shrugged in amusement. The lipstick in her hand fluttered when she heard the bedroom door close. True to her word, the agent was close behind her. Her amusement at the situation changed suddenly to palpable anticipation. She continued her tasks wondering what the sounds outside the door were.

  The bedroom was large and it was elegantly decorated. Alex stopped to place the bottle of wine and the two glasses on a bedside table. There was a large four poster bed adorned by a beautiful white and blue quilt. The agent smiled noticing that all of the artwork on the walls depicted the ocean. Perhaps this wasn’t as far from what she had imagined as she initially feared. In the corner was a gas fireplace. The agent crossed the room and started the flame. She turned off the other lights, allowing the glow from the fire to create a soft light that filled the room. There was a large cabinet across from the bed. She opened it and found the flat screen television inside. She clicked the mute button while she searched for the music channels, finally finding one she thought was appropriate and increased the volume to a low but audible hum. The agent took a deep breath and looked at her clothes. She was wearing jeans and a white blouse; her signature attire when she was not at the office but expecting to be away from home. “Shit,” she groaned, wondering how she must look and feeling the need somehow to impress Cassidy. She pulled the elastic from her hair and ran her hands through it, imagining what the woman behind the closed door was doing. She felt her body trembling, picturing the expression on Cassidy’s face just moments ago as they looked into one another’s eyes.