Patting him on the arm, she shook her head and said, "Yeah, right, Conor. Just because it’s my birthday doesn’t mean you have to stretch the truth quite that far!"
He watched her cross the room and then descend the stairs, his eyes lingering on the slow sway of her hips as she did so. He was gazing so intently that Ryan almost threw her heavy coffee mug at him, but when he sat down, he looked more puzzled than lustful.
Looking at his sister with a bemused expression, he said, "Women don’t get how cute they look with that ‘just got out of bed’ thing going on do they?"
"Jamie sure doesn’t," Ryan said, scratching her head as she tried to understand how her partner could fail to acknowledge her obvious morning beauty.
Ryan came out of the shower as her partner was taking a big bite of her pancake. "Save some for me," she said, eying the plate.
"Oh, I’m not hungry," Jamie said. She picked up the bottle of Canadian maple syrup and added, "I only wanted an excuse to bring this downstairs."
Ryan jumped the few remaining feet, making the bed groan so loudly that both women were sure it would break. Eyes wide, Ryan said, "It didn’t used to do that."
"It didn’t used to be 30 years old, and you didn’t used to weigh so much," Jamie teased.
"I thought you wanted me to gain weight."
"I do, but the bed frame isn’t quite as enthusiastic about it as I am."
"Well, to be honest, it’s about time to retire both the frame and the mattress."
Jamie privately thought that event should have occurred while Carter was President, but she never would have admitted that to Ryan. "I think it’s just fine for occasional use, but it won’t hold up to the kind of workout you give it."
"Mmm … well, I didn’t buy you a birthday present – as instructed. Would you like a new bed?"
"Do you know what I’d really like?"
"Nope. But if it’s in my power – it’s yours."
"Oh, it’s in your power. But, you might not think it is."
"40 questions time, huh?" Ryan asked, her eyes twinkling.
"No … not really. I don’t think you’ll want to do this – so I’ve been putting off asking you."
"You seem like you’re up for it today – so give it a go, babe."
"Okay." Jamie put a bite of pancake in her mouth, then placed another in Ryan’s. Chewing thoughtfully, she finally nodded, and said, "I’d like a house."
Ryan nearly spat the bite across the room. "A what!"
"That’s the reaction I was expecting," Jamie said, giving her partner a smile. "You never fail to disappoint."
"Jamie! We’ve got a wonderful house in Berkeley, and there’s not a thing wrong with this house, either."
"I agree that there isn’t a thing wrong with either place, honey. But neither of them suits us at this point in our lives. Why live in Berkeley if we’re not in school there?"
"Well, we might be in school there," Ryan reminded her. "We just won’t know that for another year."
"Do you want to live there after we graduate? Or would you rather live here in Noe?"
"Well … if I had my choice, we’d live here. But doesn’t it make sense to hold onto the Berkeley house until we decide what our grad school plans are?"
Jamie shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure, we could do that. But the real estate market is so outrageously high right now, it seems like a good time to sell. If one of us went to school in Berkeley, we could rent a nice apartment – rather than having the upkeep of the big house."
"Hmm … I guess that’s true," Ryan said, nodding thoughtfully. "Okay, let’s say that we do sell – are you saying that you’re not happy living here?"
Knowing that she had to tread very, very carefully, Jamie said, "I love living here, Ryan. And while we’re in school, this is a perfect living arrangement. But when we graduate I think we need to have our own space."
"Why?" Ryan asked, her dark head cocking, a completely perplexed expression on her face.
"Baby, it’s a lot of fun to live with the boys, but it’s more like a dorm than a home. There’s someone coming or going at all hours of the day and night – and even though it’s nice to have your parents make breakfast for us on the weekends, I want to cook for us. I want to have my routine, and I can’t do that with a house full of people."
Looking hurt, Ryan shifted her eyes away from Jamie and said, "I thought you liked it here."
Taking her by the chin, Jamie turned her head, staring directly into those big, baby blues. "I do. I’ve enjoyed it very much – but I don’t want to live with Mia, or Jordan, or Conor, or Rory or Kevin for the rest of my life. I want to live with you – only you. I want to cook for you, and eat when we want. I want to sit at the kitchen table and listen to the radio and read my newspapers in the morning. I love your family, honey, but I need my own routine."
Ryan nodded, looking unconvinced, yet resigned. "Okay. Where do you want to live?"
"Noe Valley, of course. I’d like to live on this street if we could find a place. Honey, I don’t want to move away, but I do want our own place. I won’t even lock the door until we go to bed at night – people can drop in whenever they want. I just want to be able to have privacy when we need it."
"All right." Ryan still looked wounded, and Jamie tried another tactic.
"Do you know why I want privacy?"
"Huh-uh."
"’Cause I want to be able to come home and find you in the kitchen, and start undressing you without worrying that someone will come home and find us. I want to be able to make love on the kitchen counters and the sofa in the living room. I want to have a TV in our bedroom, so we can watch all of your dirty little movies – without having Conor lying between us."
Ryan had to laugh at that one. "He would, too."
"I know it! I’m not kidding about that one!"
"Are you sure you haven’t been unhappy here?" Ryan asked.
"I’m completely sure," Jamie said. "It’s been a lot of fun – for college students. But for adults – we need space – and a lock."
Eyes darkening with desire, Ryan asked, "Why don’t you show me what you need space – and a lock – for?"
"Well," Jamie said, eying her lover’s pert nipples. "I’d like to get the syrup out and make you my big, sexy pancake." She lifted the bottle, then made two golden circles around Ryan’s puckering nipples. "I’d like to be able to do this right at the kitchen table, for a nice little after breakfast treat." She leaned forwards and sucked each nipple into her mouth, lovingly whisking away the sticky syrup. Looking up at Ryan’s half-closed eyes, she asked, "Wouldn’t you like that, too?"
"I don’t remember the question, but the answer is yes!"
After another shower, the girls headed off to Mass. When they returned, many of the relatives had arrived, Catherine included. She was in the living room, holding Caitlin, as usual, when Jamie and Ryan went to greet her. Conor came bounding down the stairs and he detoured towards the blondes, making over each of them in turn. Holding Caitlin in his arms, he gave Catherine an admiring glance as he said, "I have never seen you look anything less than marvelous, but today you’re reaching new heights."
She smiled at him and gave him a tiny little headshake, her embarrassment evident. "You’re as generous as your sister is with compliments, Conor. Not that I don’t appreciate them, of course."
"Ryan, wouldn’t you say that Catherine looks as good as you’ve ever seen her?"
The dark woman scratched her head, seemingly giving the matter her utmost consideration. Catherine was wearing a butter-yellow leather jacket – collarless and without buttons – the jacket ticking the waistband of the matching slim-cut pants. A black ribbed turtleneck peeked out from beneath the jacket, the very snug silk knit hugging her body. The pants flared a bit at the hems, and shiny black boots revealed themselves, the heel low enough to allow for long periods of standing and playing with Caitlin. "I don’t know, Con, that’s a tough one. Catherine always looks wonderful, so it’s hard
to decide. I do agree that she looks particularly wonderful today, though. The only thing that’s hard to believe is that she could be the mother of a twenty-two year old woman."
"I still don’t believe it," Conor said, matching his sister’s pose and her look of doubt. "I’ve never seen a picture of Catherine when she was pregnant, you know."
"I have," Ryan said, surprising Catherine a little. "Down in Pebble Beach, Jamie and I spent a very enjoyable morning looking at old family photos. Catherine was definitely pregnant, Con, but I’ll admit that she did look like she could have been the spokes-model for some campaign to eradicate teen pregnancy."
"I was still a teenager," she said in recollection. "If you’d followed my path, you’d have a four-year-old today, Ryan."
The blue eyes grew wide as she said, "That’s a scary thought! I am a four-year-old."
"I disagree," Catherine insisted. "I think you’d be a fine parent right now. One thing is certain – you’d do a much better job than I did."
"You’re doing great now," Ryan reminded her. "And no matter how much you denigrate your contribution, I still don’t believe that you didn’t play a vital role in forming Jamie’s character."
Everyone stopped and turned his or her attention to the door at the forceful knock that sounded just as Catherine was going to reply. They all recognized it was someone from outside of the family, since every relative knew the door was always unlocked during a party. Jamie ran down the stairs to open the door and let in a tentative looking Jim, accompanied by Kayla, her confident posture a sharp contrast to Jim’s wary look. "Daddy!" Jamie said enthusiastically, throwing her arms around his neck. He relaxed into the hug, enormously glad that not only did she answer the door, she seemed very glad to see him. Releasing her father, Jamie stepped back and extended a hand to Kayla. "I’m glad you could come, she said with a warm smile on her face.
"Thank you for having me, Jamie," the redhead said. "Happy birthday."
Ryan hustled over to greet the pair, and dutifully took their coats while Jamie led them over to her mother – deciding to immediately cut the tension that had settled in the room. Jim nodded to his former wife and approached her awkwardly, leaning in for a quick, stiff hug. "Hello, Catherine," he said. "I’d like to introduce you to Kayla Horwitz."
No one made mention of the fact that they had spoken and had been in each other’s presence before, but that proper introductions had not been possible. Catherine took in the young woman as she politely extended her hand. The confident, relaxed woman standing in front of her bore almost no similarity to the startled, frightened girl that had been nestled in Jim’s arms that night at his apartment. If not for the distinctive hair coloring, Catherine would have sworn it was another woman, but it was clearly her, and Catherine followed through on the pledge she had made to herself to be not only polite, but welcoming to the young woman. "I’m glad you were both able to come," she said. "What can I get you to drink?"
"What type of wine do you have?" Kayla asked.
Catherine chuckled mildly at herself and said, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have framed the question that way. We have regular beer, light beer, Pepsi and sparkling water. Would any of those be acceptable?"
Kayla’s forehead twitched into a small frown and she said, "I suppose I’ll have a light beer."
"That’s good for me too, Catherine," Jim supplied.
Now that the family was certain there would be no bloodshed, everyone made their way over to Jim, small knots of people greeting him cordially and then departing as soon as polite. Conor gave the pair a warmer welcome. "Good to see you, Jim," he said, shaking his hand firmly.
"Conor, this is Kayla Horwitz. Kayla, this is Conor, Ryan’s older brother."
"Nice to meet you," he said, showing even, white teeth.
He tried to convince himself that he was imagining it, but Jim swore he saw an ever so slight widening of Kayla’s eyes as the good looking man loomed over her. Don’t even think about it! he growled internally.
Since Mia now considered herself an honorary member of the family, she knew that knocking wasn’t required. She and Jennie stepped into the crowded room, and they both spotted Jamie immediately. Threading their way through the bodies, they both managed to give her a hug. "Happy birthday, James!" Mia said, while Jennie waited her turn.
"Thanks, guys," her friend said. "You’re a little late. What’s up with that?"
"Mmm … it took me a while to get going."
The look she shared with Jamie was one of deep sadness, and Jamie picked up on it immediately. "Jen, let’s go find Ryan. She’ll want to know you’re here."
As soon as she caught her partner’s attention and sent Jennie over to greet her, Jamie led Mia downstairs. Reaching up to touch her cheek, she asked, "You okay? You don’t look quite yourself."
Her head tossed, curls bouncing around her head. "I’m fine."
"You can’t pull that one on me, hon. You don’t have to tell me what’s bothering you, but something obviously is."
"I might only have PMS," she groused, "but I’m so damned sad, that I almost didn’t come." A few hot tears spilled out of her eyes, and Jamie got up to fetch a box of tissues for her. "If I hadn’t agreed to pick Jennie up, I might have stayed in bed."
"Tell me what’s up, Mia? Why are you sad?" The empathy and warm concern in Jamie’s eyes broke the dam that had been building in Mia for days, and she let some of her feelings out while Jamie held her in a loose embrace, stroking her back soothingly. "It’s okay," Jamie said. "Just let it out until you feel like talking."
It took a while, but she finally felt some of the pressure ease and she was able to speak. "I miss Jordan so much, Jamie," she whispered. "Coming here reminds me of being with her at parties with you guys …"
"Oh, that makes perfect sense," Jamie empathized. "That didn’t even occur to me, but I really do understand."
"What do I do?" the brunette sighed. "I love her too much to be this far away from her. I’ve got to make a decision about our future, and I’ve got to make it soon."
"Mia, it’s already February. If you can hold out until May, you can go to Colorado for the summer, at the very least. You don’t have to decide your whole future right now."
"Yeah," Mia nodded. "Then what? Do I continue with school? Do I get a job? Putting off the decision isn’t making things easier. It makes me feel more out of control."
"What does Jordan think?"
Mia shrugged and shook her head glumly. "She doesn’t help at all! She wants me to make up my own mind, but it’s so hard to do with so little input."
"What do your friends …" Jamie started to ask, but caught herself short.
"Yeah, right. I can’t talk to my parents, I can’t talk to my brother, I can’t talk to any of my other friends. God, this sucks!"
Jamie nodded sympathetically, now having a better idea of why this was so hard for Mia. Even though she complained about them, Mia was very close to her family. Her brother, Peter, in particular, had been a constant source of advice, and had always been a calming influence between their very volatile mother and the sometimes volatile Mia.
"You haven’t been seeing your other friends, have you?" Jamie asked gently. Mia had cultivated a widely diverse groups of friends during their time at Cal, but Jamie hadn’t seen any of them around the house lately, and Mia was usually at home in the evenings, a rarity before Jordan.
"No." She shook her head roughly and said, "I don’t have the strength to put up a front. Jordy’s all I think about, and if I can’t talk about her, why bother?"
"But, Mia," Jamie reminded her, "your friends have always been important to you. Heck, some of your guy friends are gay … can’t you at least talk to them?"
She pursed her lips, shaking her head sadly. "I don’t know who to trust, Jamie. I’m so damned confused!" Looking completely forlorn, she announced, "I got accepted to Stanford for next year."
"Stanford? Stanford what?"
"Stanford law," Mia related, the look
on her face one of supreme regret.
"What? I had no idea that you’d even applied!"
"Yeah." Mia nodded her head slowly, finally admitting, "I didn’t want to tell anyone, ‘cause I assumed I’d get dinged. Surprised the shit out of me, to tell you the truth."
"Mia, that’s great!" Jamie enthused, throwing her arms around her friend. "That’s a huge accomplishment!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know; but now I feel like I need to accept," she moaned pathetically. "When my dad finds out, he’ll kill me if I walk away from this opportunity."
Jamie nodded, understanding that Mia’s fear was probably justified. "Do you want to be a lawyer? I had no idea …"
"I don’t know, James. I applied mostly on a whim, and because Peter talked me into it. I mean, I killed on the LSATs, so I figured I might as well give it a try. Who knows?" She shrugged her shoulders and added, "I figured if nothing else, it would give me three years to delay having to get a job."
"I guess you have to tell your dad, huh?" Jamie ventured.
"If I don’t, someone else will. He’s got lots of contacts at the school – I’m sure that didn’t hurt my chances, either."
Jamie sighed and wrapped her friend in a hug. "I think you need to see Jordan face-to-face to help you make a decision. Can you afford to go?"
"Yeah. I have the tickets that Ryan bought for me, but Jordan’s traveling this weekend. She’s gonna be at a tournament in Boston, and she won’t be back until Monday. We might as well wait until we go to Las Vegas."
"Okay," Jamie soothed, "I understand that you don’t have the ability to go see Jordan right now, but I hate to see you cutting yourself off from all of your friends, and your family. That’s got to make this worse for you."
"It does," she said. With a heavy sigh, she got up and dried her eyes one last time. "I’m sorry I’m such a grump on your birthday."
"It’s okay, Mia. I’d be more than grumpy if Ryan were that far away. Think about what I said and consider talking about this with some of your other friends. Don’t shut yourself off so much."
Monogamy Page 14
