In Medias Res

by Yolanda Wallace

  “Neither do I,” I’d said, admiring the new addition to our family while Jennifer babysat my nephews and our parents visited with a game but tired Kristin, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out together.”

  A loud splash off to my right brought me back to the present. Jennifer, as graceful as a dolphin and about as playful as one, swam toward me. “It’s going to be another hour before lunch,” she said, knuckling saltwater out of her eyes.

  I looked over at The Painted Lady. Anchored twenty feet away, her deck was empty except for Ali, the boxer Jennifer bought me for my birthday last year. (We haven’t gotten around to picking out the cats yet. One step at a time.) Seeing me, thirteen-month-old Ali barked and wagged her stubby little tail as if to say, “What are you doing bobbing around out there when you could be playing with me?” I waved to her to acknowledge her greeting.

  “What’s the hold up?” I asked Jennifer.

  “Our gracious hostesses got a little distracted while they were making the empanadas.”

  Marcy and Ana had gotten back together after I left Key West. Leaving without saying good-bye and “I’m sorry” wasn’t my proudest moment. Marcy deserved better. Despite all that, I like to think that I had a hand in her and Ana’s happiness.

  Jennifer and I visited them a couple of weeks a year, recharging our batteries while we renewed our friendships.

  The first time she had met Marcy, Jennifer had turned to me and said in a voice so low only I could hear it, “You were right. She does have great legs.”

  “It’s okay,” I had said. “Yours are the only ones I want wrapped around me.”

  “They’d better be.”

  Ana and Jennifer had bonded right away, erasing my fears that there would be tension between them because of the potential love triangle (square?) I had nearly placed us in when I was finding my way back to myself. As for me and Marcy, we had picked up right where we had left off—minus the whole wanting to get into each other’s pants thing. We reserved those feelings exclusively for Jennifer and Ana.

  “If the boat’s rocking, don’t bother knocking,” Jennifer said.

  “Sounds like a great idea, don’t you think?”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “What do you think?” I swam over to her and wrapped my legs around her waist. Our relationship was incredible. I couldn’t get enough of her. In and out of bed. Thankfully, she felt the same way. I licked the side of her neck. “What do you say? Are you up for a little afternoon delight?”

  Under the water, Jennifer cupped her hands under my hips. “Make me an offer.”

  I suggested a race back to the boat.

  “If I win, you have to put on that sexy little teddy you didn’t think I saw you slip in your suitcase when we packed to come down here.”

  “And if I win?”

  I sucked her left earlobe into my mouth and felt her shudder. “If you win, I won’t wear anything at all.”

  “You’re on.”

  We moved into starting position.

  “We go on three,” I said. “One. Two.”

  Jennifer began to head for the boat on two-and-a-half. Her kicking calves stirred up nearly as much white water as an outboard motor.

  “Cheater!” I called out. Ali’s high-pitched bark seconded my motion.

  “You look much better in your birthday suit than I do in my teddy,” Jennifer yelled over her shoulder as she extended her lead.

  I couldn’t wait to compare the two.

  I dug through the water, chasing after the woman I loved in the place I had learned the most important lesson in my life: sometimes you have to forget who you were to remember who you are.

  About the Author

  Yolanda Wallace is not a professional writer, but she plays one in her spare time. She has written dozens of short stories, which have appeared in multiple anthologies including UniformSex, Body Check, Bedroom Eyes, Best Lesbian Love Stories: New York City, and Best Lesbian Love Stories: Summer Flings. In Medias Res is Yolanda’s first published novel. She and her partner of eight years live in beautiful coastal Georgia. They are parents to four children of the four-legged variety—a fouryear- old boxer and three cats ranging in age from five to eight. A writer since childhood, Yolanda has also become an avid photographer. She can often be found wandering the world trying to capture on film the elusive images she sees in her head.

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