Hearts of Emerald Bay

by D G Barnes

  “Joseph!” Cait scolded.

  Mac shot Dana an apologetic look. She liked the idea of calling Dana her girlfriend, but they hadn’t discussed it, and she wasn’t sure how Dana would feel about it.

  Dana chuckled. “I’m sure Mac would have introduced us sometime soon.” She gave Mac a questioning glance.

  Mac swallowed. “Yes, of course.” She felt the blush growing on her face. “So, you invited Dana over and put her to work then?” she said, changing the subject.

  “Nonsense.” Cait placed a lid on the pot and turned down the burner. “Dana was kind enough to offer, and I was happy to have the help. We’ve had a wonderful time talking.”

  “All true,” Dana said, giving Mac a wink.

  Mac gave her mother a kiss. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “No, thanks, we have it all under control,” Cait said.

  “You could come say hello to your father, lass, and bring me a beer while you’re at it,” Joe called.

  They all laughed, and Mac grabbed two beers from the fridge and strolled into the living room. She twisted the cap off one and set it on a coaster in front of her father. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa looking at the playing cards in his hand. The coffee table, which served as a card table, had a large pile of jelly beans sitting in the middle of it. Ellie glanced up at Mac and gave her a little wave.

  “Hey, El, how was your day?” Mac asked.

  “Busy.” She laid the cards in her hand face up on the table. “Straight flush.”

  Joe laid down his cards. Three sevens.

  Mac leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Dad, you shouldn’t be teaching your granddaughter how to gamble.”

  “Aye, I’m beginning to regret that decision,” he said as Ellie scooped up the pile of jelly beans.

  “Don’t be a sore loser, Papa. It’s your fault. You taught me everything I know.” Ellie gave him an affectionate tap on his hand.

  “Aye, it’s true.” Joe took a swig of his beer and set it down. “Lass, go see if you can give your grandmother a hand, please. I want to talk to Mac for a minute.”

  “Sure, Papa.” Ellie got up from her spot on the floor and skipped into the kitchen, a Ziploc bag holding her winnings in her hand.

  Mac opened her bottle and sat on the sofa next to her father. She took a swallow of the cold beer and placed it on a coaster.

  “What prompted this visit from Elenore?” he asked, keeping his voice down.

  “Take a guess,” she said with a huff.

  “Doris?”

  “Who else?”

  “Elenore told you that?”

  “She didn’t have to. The wording of the complaint narrowed it down to Doris running into Ellie and Dana on the street a few days ago.”

  “Anything going to come of this?” Joe asked with concern.

  “Not according to Elenore. She basically said it was a non-issue.”

  “Good. But I don’t think Doris will let it go that easily. She’s up to something.”

  Mac nodded, taking another swig of her beer. “I have no doubt.”

  “Try not to let it bother you, lass. She’s more bark than she is bite.” He gave her a reassuring pat on the knee.

  “Not to worry, Dad. I’m not too concerned, just pissed off that she has to be such a pain in the ass.”

  They sat in silence for a moment or two enjoying their beer. Mac looked up when Dana appeared in the doorway.

  “Okay, you two. Supper is ready,” she said.

  They gathered at the dining room table: Joe at the head, Cait at the foot, and Mac and Dana sat side-by-side with Ellie across from them. A large platter with carved chicken meat lay on the table along with bowls of mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and turnip. Freshly baked rolls, gravy, and cranberry sauce completed the spread.

  Mac’s stomach growled from breathing in the aroma of her favorite meal. She had many fond memories of family dinners like this back when she and Jack were young. Then Melissa joined them and little Ellie not long after. The growing family made the gatherings more memorable.

  She glanced at Dana, happy she was here to share this experience with her. If a simple family dinner with her felt this special, she wondered what it would be like if she were here for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Cait always put an extra special effort into those holiday meals, complete with turkey, homemade pies, cookies, and squares. The house smelled wonderful, and during the Christmas season, it became a sight to behold with a big tree and decorations all around.

  Smiling to herself, she quietly breathed a contented sigh, and when Joe held out his hands, she took one and Ellie the other. Cait took Ellie’s free hand and reached for Dana’s. Understanding, Dana took Cait’s hand with her right and hers with her left. Giving Dana a wink, she and the others bowed her heads and listened to Joe say grace.

  They ate, talked, and enjoyed the meal as well as each other’s company. When dessert and coffee were a thing of the past, Joe and Ellie disappeared into the living room to watch the news and try to outdo each other during Jeopardy. Dana volunteered her and Mac’s services for kitchen duty. Cait protested, but the younger women won out, and she settled into a kitchen chair, carrying on with their conversation.

  “Joe told me about Elenore’s visit to the store,” Cait said, sipping her tea. “What did she have to say when you spoke with her today?”

  “Elenore?” Dana asked as she put a pot in the sudsy water.

  “She’s from child services.” Mac recounted the discussed that had taken place in her office that afternoon.

  “Your father and I have been nothing but nice to Doris any time we’ve run into her. I don’t know why she has to have such a dislike for you.” Cait’s cup thumped hard against the table as she set it down.

  Mac saw the flash of anger behind her eyes. “She’s a homophobe, Mom, as well as an all-around bitch.”

  Cait huffed and lowered her voice. “She’s going to be in for one hell of a surprise when Ellie comes out then.”

  The room went still. Mac’s mouth fell open, and she stared at her mother as if she had sprouted a second head. “She’s not gay.” She looked at Dana, who had stopped washing the pot in her hand. The expression on her face said the statement had left her dumbfounded as well. Looking back at her mother she asked, “Is she?”

  “Of course, she is,” Cait said as if Mac should have known better. “Ellie may not know it yet herself, but she is. I can tell.” She stood and freshened her tea from the teapot on the stove, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder as she passed. “I knew you were gay long before you came out to your father and me, and I see the same things in Ellie. I’ll eat my hat if I’m wrong.”

  Astonished, Mac glanced at Dana who gave her a helpless shrug and went back to her washing. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Ellie did like lesbian romance novels sure, but that didn’t mean she was gay. Were there other signs she hadn’t picked up on? She shook her head as she took the last pot from Dana to dry. “Wow. Should I talk to her about it?”

  “No!” Cait said. “She needs to figure it out for herself. When she is ready to talk, just be there for her, as I know you will.”

  “You’re right as usual, Mom,” Mac said. Dana moved beside her and snaked an arm around her waist.

  “I’ve been around the block, sweetheart. Even dabbled once myself.” Cait winked at the two younger women.

  “Dabbled?” Mac raised an eyebrow.

  “With a woman, Mac,” Dana said understanding immediately.

  “What! No. Mom!” Mac covered her mouth with her hand. “When? Who?... No, wait. I don’t want to know.”

  “I do,” Dana said. “Please, Cait. Do tell.”

  Mac groaned, not sure she wanted to hear about her mother’s sexual exploits.

  Cait laughed at her daughter’s embarrassment and continued. “I was 19 when my mother passed away. My father, the wonderful person he was, sent me to Paris to live with my aunt.”

  “Yes, I remember y
ou telling me this,” Mac said.

  Cait nodded and sipped her tea. “I did. I also told you I lived with her in her apartment above the cafe she owned and operated, and that she took me on as an apprentice, which is where I learned to bake.”

  “Right.” Mac nodded, remembering the story from her youth.

  “What I didn’t tell you about was Dominique.” Cait’s eyes sparkled when she spoke the woman’s name.

  “Sexy name.” Dana cooed.

  “And a very sexy woman too,” Cait said. “Tall, thin. Long black hair. Big brown eyes that could steal your soul. And as cliché as it sounds, she was an artist.”

  “How did you meet?” Mac asked, finding herself drawn into the story.

  Cait raised an eyebrow at her. “I thought you didn’t want to know?”

  “Yeah, well. Answer the question, Mom.” Mac felt her cheeks warm.

  Cait and Dana laughed. “Dominique would stop by our cafe almost every morning for a croissant and coffee. She always spoke to me, not just idle chat, but an actual conversation. She really seemed interested in me.” She paused for a moment. “I was captivated by her the moment I laid eyes on her, but in hindsight, she was flirting. She knew what she wanted, and I was it.”

  “What happened?” Dana asked.

  “Well, it wasn’t long before Dominique asked me to accompany her to a play. For us, it was a date, but I had to convince my aunt that she was a new friend and we wanted to hang out. Dominique was almost seven years older than me, and my aunt wasn’t convinced she was the best type of person for me to be making friends with. In the end, I went, and we had a good time. We started seeing each other more and more often, and sometimes I would sneak out of the apartment at night just to see her.”

  “Sneaky,” Dana said.

  “I got in trouble when I snuck out in the middle of the night.” Mac huffed.

  Cait gave her an eye. “I was an adult. You were only twelve. Of course, you got into trouble.”

  “There’s that I guess. So, Dominique. What happened?”

  “We carried on like that for another week or so before Dominique finally took me to her bed, and it was some of the best sex I ever had.”

  “God, Mom! I didn’t need to hear that.” Mac felt Dana give her a squeeze.

  “The next year and a half flew by,” Cait said. “I thought I was in love. Dominique, however, didn’t. One afternoon I stopped by her place to surprise her and met Sophie, who was sitting on Dominique’s lap, naked. Her tongue half way down Dominique’s throat. I was crushed, to say the least. They moved to Rome that same month, and I never saw Dominique again.” She sighed, pausing for a moment. “My aunt died of a stroke shortly after that, and I moved back to Edinburgh.”

  “Oh, Cait. I’m so sorry,” Dana said.

  “I’m not. I met Joe when I moved back, and we fell in love. We’ve been together all these years, and I don’t regret a minute of it.” She wagged a finger at Dana. “You should be happy that Dominique and I didn’t work out.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Think about it, my dear. If we had become a couple, you wouldn’t be standing in my kitchen with your arm around my daughter.”

  Mac smiled and Dana blushed. She kissed her on the temple. “I for one am delighted you two didn’t work out.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Ellie! For the hundredth time, hurry up!” Mac called from the living room. She dropped three bottles of water into her shoulder bag before slipping on her sunglasses. Standing by the front door, she tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Ellie to finish dressing. It was the first day of the 43rd Annual Lobster Days Festival, and Mac was looking forward to spending the day with Ellie and Dana. It had been the better part of a week since she had dinner with Dana and her folks, and the thought of seeing her today had her excited and champing at the bit to get their day started.

  “All right! I coming!” Ellie emerged from her room moments later.

  “Whoa! No!” Mac said. “You are not going out dressed like that.” She pointed up and down the length of the teen’s body, shaking her head at her choice of a pair of faded denim short shorts and a pink bikini top.

  Ellie’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped. “But, Mac!”

  “No! We’ll be in the sun most of the day.” She pointed down the hall. “Sensible shorts and a shirt. I have sunscreen you can put on when we get there. Now go!”

  Ellie hmphed and stalked back to her room.

  “And be quick about it. Dana is waiting.”

  “Whatever.”

  Her phone hummed from inside her bag, and after a brief search, she found it under the bottles, lotion, and spare ball caps. Thumbing the phone, she opened a new text from Ricky who was working the bar today.

  Jason Lawson, Dana’s brother, called.

  Wants to talk to you without Dana knowing. Says it’s nothing serious.

  I said I would pass on the message. Here’s his number.

  Mac stared at the screen, reading the text a second time. Dana’s brother? Why would he want to talk in secret? She was about to dial the number when Ellie reemerged from her room. She stopped a meter away, stretched her arms to the side, and did a slow turn.

  “Better?” She frowned at Mac.

  “Much,” Mac replied, happy with the longer, thigh-length cotton shorts and the light shirt she wore over her bikini top. “The last thing I need is for you getting burnt. Then I will have to listen to you whine for the next week about the pain, itching, and peeling.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  Mac snorted “Ha! Have you forgotten about last summer already?” She dropped the phone back into her bag. The call to Jason would have to wait. She held the door for Ellie as she slipped into her sandals, then ushered her outside.

  “I don’t remember, so it couldn’t’ve happened.” Ellie hurried down the stairs.

  When they arrived at Dana’s place, Mac climbed out of the Jeep as Ellie unbuckled and crawled into the back. Mac retrieved the bottle of sunscreen and handed it to Ellie. “Here, put this on. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  Mac opened the screen door to the beach house and entered. The door squeaked and thumped closed as she moved deeper inside. The house was quiet and still. A shiver chased across her skin despite the 25-degree temperature. She found herself stepping softly as if she shouldn’t be here. Deciding to make her presence known, she called out. “Dana?”

  “In the bathroom.”

  Mac let out a breath, surprised she was holding it. She moved down the hall and stopped at the bathroom door. A smile crossed her face seeing Dana standing at the sink, looking in the mirror and applying lip gloss. Her eyes followed the applicator as it moved over her lips, and Mac licked her own in response as tingles of excitement crawled up her spine.

  She moved behind Dana, wrapped her arms around her waist and nuzzled neck. Breathing in her intoxicating scent, she swept Dana’s hair back and kissed her neck softly, making a pleasant humming sound against her skin that caused Dana’s breath to hitch. Her hands found her hips as she pushed herself against Dana. Kissing up the column of her neck, she stopped at her ear and traced the edge with her tongue. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. Dana shuddered and turned to face her. Their eyes locked, and for a long moment, they didn’t move.

  “Not as much as I’ve missed you.” Dana was the first to respond, capturing Mac’s mouth with hers. Pulling her closer with a hand on her neck and the other on her hip, Mac shifted and felt Dana’s thigh press against her center. A warmth washed through her, and she moved to give Dana the same.

  She captured Dana’s moan with her mouth as they kissed with a fevered pace. Their tongues danced, and Mac sucked on Dana’s lower lip, dragging her teeth over the swollen flesh. They continued to move against each other, their bodies acting on instinct fueled by desire.

  Mac was on fire. The taste of Dana’s cherry lip gloss, the closeness of her body, and the movement of their thighs pushed her closer to the e
dge. Common sense was telling her this was a bad idea, but that didn’t seem to matter right now. Feeling Dana’s hand between them, cupping her breast, was enough for her to abandon all reason. Mac’s hands moved to Dana’s jeans and fumbled with the button.

  “Hey, you guys! Are you coming or what?” The young voice called from somewhere inside the house.

  They froze, staring at each other with horrified looks. “We’ll be right there,” Mac managed between ragged breaths, then reached out with a foot and pushed the bathroom door shut. They stood in silence for a moment looking at each other, silly grins on their faces, then broke into a fit of giggles like a pair of schoolgirls.

  “Are we coming?” Dana repeated Ellie’s question, laughing at the double entendre.

  Mac laughed and gave her a sly grin. “Any longer and it would have been a distinct possibility!”

  After a quick kiss on Dana’s lips, Mac pulled away. They straightened their clothes and checked their faces before heading out for the day, a confused Ellie in tow.

  They arrived at the fairgrounds early enough to secure parking only a short distance away. Mac and Dana walked, fingers laced together, as Ellie dashed ahead. Lobster Days had grown in popularity over the years and drew large crowds of locals and tourists alike. During the three-day celebration, the town’s population increased two-fold, if not more, filling the campgrounds and motels of Emerald Bay and the neighboring towns to capacity.

  Nearing the boardwalk, they felt the air buzz with excitement. Musicians played at the bandstand, and street vendors’ carts dotted the length of the boardwalk, the aroma of hot dogs, pretzels, and popcorn tantalized the senses. Clowns performed on unicycles and made balloon animals for the little kids who stared in awe or clapped with glee.

  In the distance, a large Ferris wheel stood tall, and Mac caught the muffled sounds of a calliope playing amidst the carnival rides. Nudging her shoulder against Dana’s, she pointed up at the Ferris wheel. “We’ll have to try that out before we leave.”

  Dana raised her eyebrows in question. “Really? The Ferris wheel? I haven’t been to a carnival since I was a kid.”

  “Even more reason then,” Mac said. “It’ll be fun; I promise.” She brought the hand she was holding to her face and kissed it.