"I’ll try. Peter’s going to be home next weekend, and being around him always perks me up."
"Good," Jamie said. "Will you spend the weekend with your parents?"
"Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll feel better after a little infusion of family."
"It always works for me," Jamie said. She wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing her tight.
When Jamie came back upstairs, she decided to take Kayla outdoors to meet the O’Flaherty uncles and the cousins who were supervising the barbeque. Jim chose not to accompany her, having had quite enough of the stilted small talk that no one in the family was very good at. He spied Conor at the edge of a small group and went up to him at an angle, cutting him from the herd. "How are things going, Conor? I haven’t had a chance to speak with you in a while."
"Not much to report," the younger man said. "Now that things have settled down, and the press isn’t outside our door all the time, things have gone back to their normal state of boredom. How about you? I’d guess your life has gotten more exciting since you’ve been in Washington."
"No, not really. It’s just more meetings, more cocktail parties, and more formal dinners.
"Don’t you normally drink wine?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I do, but …"
"Let’s go for a walk and buy some. There’s a nice wine shop not too far down on 24th Street."
"You don’t need to do that, Conor."
"You and Kayla are guests, Jim. I know you’re not a beer drinker, and Kayla doesn’t look like one, either."
Jim nodded and clapped the younger man on the back. "I’ll take you up on your offer, but I’ll buy the wine, Conor."
"Deal," he said, smiling. As they walked along on the late winter afternoon, Conor looked at his friend and asked, "How are things going, Jim? I know this is a tough time for both you and Catherine."
"It’s been hard for me," Jim said. "I honestly don’t know how Catherine’s doing, but since she’s the one who made the decision, I guess it’s easier for her." Conor gave him a speculative look which Jim caught. "She didn’t tell you that?"
"Nope," the younger man said. "She’s never said a word about what happened or why you decided to divorce. She’s not the type to do that, Jim."
"Well, it certainly wasn’t my decision, Conor. I’d be back there in a moment if she’d give me another chance."
Looking at his friend with a skeptical glance, Conor said, "I can’t see Catherine booting you out on a whim. I’d guess she had her reasons."
Jim nodded reluctantly, deciding to confide in his young friend. "You’ve probably guessed this, but I wasn’t always faithful, Conor. I wasn’t ready to be tied down as early as I was."
"Mmm … not uncommon," Conor said. "So Catherine found out about your friend Kayla and called it quits?"
"Well, not exactly," he mumbled. "I mean, yes, that was the last straw, but Kayla wasn’t the first."
"Catherine knew about this?" Conor asked, his eyes wide.
"Yes, she knew about some of them. I thought we had an understanding," he said, still feeling wronged by his ex-wife’s changing of the rules. "I guess we didn’t."
Chuckling wryly, Conor asked, "What was the understanding? ‘Let’s be married while I sleep around?’ If that were possible, I’d be married!"
Jim nodded, even though he hated the way it sounded when Conor put it that way. "She didn’t seem to care that much after the first one or two."
"Wow." Conor shook his head slowly. "I’ve never met a woman who would put up with that. Especially not when she’s the one with the money!" Jim gave him a sharp look, but Conor explained, "If you were the one with the big bucks, I could see her giving up love to keep the dough. I can’t see why she’d share the dough after you cheated on her. That doesn’t sound like the Catherine I know."
"She’s changed," Jim said. "A year ago, none of this would have bothered her."
"I don’t know, Jim," the younger man said. "I can’t imagine where you’ve been fishing that you’d throw a woman like Catherine back into the sea. The women you’ve been seeing must be all-world!"
"Some were," he said. "Some were opportunists who wanted me for what I could do for them."
"Which one is Kayla?"
Jim gave him a wry smile and admitted, "She’s both."
They walked along 24th Street in silence, finally coming to the wine shop. Conor let Jim go in, since he had nothing to offer concerning the selection. As they walked back to the house, Conor commented, "You said something earlier that’s been bugging me."
"What’s that?"
"You said that you’d go back to Catherine if she’d take you."
"I would! I swear I would!"
"You’ve probably had more experience with women than I have, Jim, but I know one thing – just because a woman tells you that it’s over, doesn’t mean it is. Sometimes she wants you to prove that you’re sincere … that you really will give up everyone else for her." He chuckled mildly and added, "She wants you to show you’re suffering."
"What’s your point?" the senator asked.
"Well, you claim that you want to get back with her. Yet, not a month after this went down, you’re at a family party with the woman she caught you with. If you were serious about getting back with her … if you were broken up about this … why would you do that?"
There was not a trace of censure, or rebuke in the clear blue eyes, and that fact alone led Jim to answer honestly. "I uhm … guess it doesn’t look like I’m broken up about this, does it?"
Conor’s dark head shook.
"I am, Conor, I really am. I’m not the kind of guy who can go without companionship for months at a time. I believed Catherine … I did. And if she was never going to take me back, why should I wait around?"
The younger man patted his friend on the back and said, "That’s a good point, Jim." As they walked along, he thought to himself, If you really loved her, you wouldn’t even be able to get it up, doofus! Your heart would be so broken that being with another woman would be the last thing on your mind. Catherine’s in a lot more pain than you are, buddy, but you’ll never hear that from me!
Ryan was standing near the front door holding Caitlin when she heard a light knock and then felt a rush of cool air as the door opened. She turned and saw Sara and Ally, and she made eye contact and waved them in. "Hi, guys, how’s it going?"
"Good," Sara replied, leaning in for a slightly tentative, one-armed hug. Ally smiled and did the same, but her hug was generous and warm, and she kissed Ryan with her usual ease. Caitlin leaned towards Sara, and the brunette gladly accepted her, smiling broadly as the child vocalized loudly.
"She’s got a lot to say, doesn’t she?" she asked.
"Yeah. She’s got mama and dada and goggie down pat." Ryan smiled as she reached over and wiped a string of drool from the baby’s chin with her fingertips. "I don’t know what it says about us that she mastered ‘dog’ before any of our names, but she’ll get there eventually."
"Hey, she’s almost got my name mastered," Jamie said as she came up from behind and caught the end of the conversation. "Hi, Sara, Ally," she said as she gave them each a hug.
"Let’s hear you say Jamie," Sara urged, bringing the baby up in her arms until they were nose to nose. "Say Jamie."
"May me," Caitlin dutifully mimicked, her face scrunched up in concentration as she stared at Sara’s lips.
"Very good! Now say Ryan," Sara instructed, giving her old friend a wink.
"May me," Caitlin offered, looking a little tentative, but nonetheless pleased with her efforts.
"Oh … close," Sara said. "Very, very close, Caitlin."
Chuckling at the pair, Jamie asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I’ll go," Ally said. She placed her large hand on the small of Sara’s back and asked, "What would you like?"
"A soda or water," Sara replied, smiling warmly at her friend. "Thanks."
Ryan fought down the tendril of jeal
ousy that was winding its way around her gut, and tried to make small talk. "So, how’s everything going?"
"Good," Sara said. "Really good," she added, wiggling her eyebrows a little. "It’s funny going out with someone who doesn’t drink and is mostly vegetarian. I’ve never gone out with someone who encouraged me to have better habits." She looked at her friends and said, "I’ve already got friends at work who have to have a couple of drinks to be able to relax enough to get to sleep at night. Almost every night, a group of people stops off at a bar before they head home. Being with Ally is really good for me at this point in my life," she said. "I don’t need to drink to relax when I’m with her, no matter how hard I’ve worked that day."
No, I bet you don’t, Ryan scoffed internally. Ally has a sure-fire remedy for stress!
"That’s great to hear," Jamie enthused, when it became clear that Ryan wasn’t going to say a word. "So, things are going well between you?"
"Yeah," Sara said, sneaking a glance at Ryan to gauge her reaction. "Things are going very well. I mean, it’s hard, since this is something neither of us has done before, but we’re working through things as they come up."
Deciding to summon her adult self, Ryan leaned over and placed a light kiss on her friend’s cheek. "I’m glad you’re giving this a chance, Sara. I think you can be great for each other."
"Thanks, Ryan," she said, smiling up at her. Her attention was diverted as Ally broke through the crowd; and Ryan couldn’t help but notice that Sara’s smile grew wider and more intense when she caught sight of her.
Seeing that Caitlin was commandeering both of her friend’s arms, Ally held the bottle of water up to Sara’s lips and asked, "Sip?"
"You’re a doll," the brunette said, and took a quick drink. Ally’s arm slid around her, and Caitlin cuddled up between them and began to play with the buttons on Ally’s shirt.
Feeling like she’d had quite enough evidence of her friends’ growing bond, Ryan said, "I need to go check on the barbeque. Be back soon."
"Waitin’ for that fence to fall?" Jamie asked, finding her partner standing alone, staring blankly at the fence in the backyard.
Ryan whirled around, startled that Jamie had approached without her noticing. "Oh!" She colored a bit, and considered how truthful to be. Deciding to reveal all, she said, "I’m giving myself a pep talk."
Jamie patted her side and said, "It’s no easier for you to see Sara and Ally together, is it?"
The dark head shook slowly, a pensive look on her face. "I don’t know why it’s still an issue. I think that bothers me as much as they bother me – know what I mean?"
"Mmm … I guess I do," she said. "Do you mean that you’re mostly troubled by your inability to get over it?"
"Yeah. I know why it bothers me … I know why I’m a little jealous … I know that it will get better over time – but it hasn’t gotten much better. That’s what concerns me. I’m worried that I won’t be able to be friends with them – and that sucks."
"Honey, this is the first time we’ve seen them since they started dating. That’s not giving it nearly enough time. Now, come on, don’t be such a pessimist. That’s not like you."
Ryan smiled a little as she admitted, "No, it’s not, is it?" She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Okay, I’ll try to relax and see how things go. I mean, it makes sense it’ll take a while. It’s not only having to see one ex-lover move on. This is a double whammy!"
"Very true," Jamie acknowledged. "I know you’ll be fine with this eventually, Ryan, it’ll just take a while." She moved to face her partner, then locked her arms around her neck. "You can talk to me when it bothers you, you know. I’m a very good listener."
"You’re the best," Ryan said, bending to kiss her. They kept their embrace chaste, but they were still the recipients of a few catcalls from the assorted cousins gathered in the yard. From behind her back, Ryan shot the men a playful, but rude gesture as she pulled away from Jamie’s soft lips. "Heathens," she grumbled, her eyes dancing merrily.
"You love every one of them," Jamie said as she gave her a pat on the belly.
When they went back inside, the pair sought Catherine out. "Hey, Mom, could we talk to you for a few minutes?"
"Of course." Shifting her eyes from one young woman to the other, Catherine asked, "Is everything all right?"
"Oh, sure. We wanted to ask you for a favor," Jamie said. "Let’s go downstairs so we can talk in private."
Catherine took the loveseat, while Ryan lay down across the bed with Jamie propped up against her legs. "We think we might be ready to start looking for a house here in San Francisco. Would you be willing to help us look?"
"Like you could stop me?" Catherine asked with her brown eyes comically wide. "Tell me what you’re thinking of."
"Well, we definitely want to live between Noe and Castro."
"All right," Catherine nodded. "I don’t know the boundaries of those neighborhoods, but I assume they’re close by."
"Yes," Ryan said. "They’re within walking distance. That’s the bottom line, Catherine. I don’t want our kids to have to get into a car to see their grandparents." Catherine blinked slowly and Ryan hastened to add, "I’d prefer that was true for both sets of grandparents, by the way."
She smiled gently, and reached over to pat Ryan’s hand. "I appreciate the thought, Ryan, but I’m very fond of my yard and my garden. I don’t see myself giving them up any time soon."
"The kids will think they’re going to Disneyland when they come to your house," Ryan said. "That pool, the great garden. I’d hate for you to give that up."
"I think Ryan likes the house more than our kids ever would," Jamie teased gently. "She loves that pool."
"I freely admit to that," Ryan said. "And since we won’t be able to have much land, it’ll be nice to be able to come down to Hillsborough and run around and feel the grass under our feet."
"I love that you enjoy coming to my home, Ryan. Now let’s talk about your home. In a perfect world, what kind of home would you like?"
"Well, to be honest, we could use a home like yours," she said with a laugh. "We obviously don’t need that much space, but we need some place to gather as a family. The problem, as you’ve seen, is that homes in Noe Valley are all narrow and tall. I don’t know how to provide for enough space for us and a couple of kids, and have room for family parties."
"Ryan, I don’t know how that’s possible," Catherine said thoughtfully. "When your cousins start having children, you’ll need a house bigger than mine!"
"This is true," Ryan said, "but we’d like to have as much space as possible. I know it’s a tall order, Catherine, but if you could help us, we’d appreciate it."
"I’m up to the task, girls," she said confidently. "If such a home can be found – I’ll find it!"
"Before you set off, we should give you a thorough tour of our geographic boundaries," Ryan suggested. "Maybe we can talk Conor into taking us on a tour of the house he’s working on. It’s an apartment building now, but it was a big Victorian before it was chopped up."
"Sounds great," Catherine said. "I saw him leave with Jim, but as soon as they come back, we’ll snare him."
Without too much prodding, Conor agreed to take them to the renovation, but he refused to allow Ryan to bring the baby. "Too many things she could get hurt by," he decreed. The four of them set off in Conor’s big truck, with the siblings giving Catherine a tour of Noe Valley on the way to Castro. "The hilly area where we live is called Upper Noe," Conor said. "The flatter areas down by 24th Street – where Tommy and Annie live – have smaller, newer homes and that area costs a lot less ... well, that’s relatively speaking, of course. All of our other uncles and aunts live in Upper Noe, by us, but it’s going to be very tough for our generation to stay in our neighborhood."
"Has the neighborhood changed, or have prices gone up dramatically?" Catherine asked.
"Both. When our families moved to the valley in the 60’s, it was filled with middle income, blue-collar
Irish and Germans. None of my aunts ever had to work outside the home to make ends meet. But now, most of the families moving in are two income professionals, like doctors and lawyers, and the ubiquitous dot com millionaires. You need a $200,000 income to afford a home here now, and none of the O’Flaherty cousins will ever make that kind of money."
"Everyone is in a construction trade, aren’t they, Conor?"
"Yes. Everyone except Brendan, Rory and Tommy and Annie." He turned to his sister and said, "I guess we’ve got another couple of holdouts in the back seat."
"Count me in," Jamie said. "I’d last about a week!"
"Ryan could be a good carpenter," Conor mused, "but I think she’s gonna make a living with her head, rather than her hands."
"You never know, Conor," Jamie said. "I think she’d like to be a part-time carpenter/part-time mathematician."
"Ooh … that would be ideal," Ryan said wistfully. "But that’s a hard gig to find."
They arrived at the building a few minutes later. It was a terrific mess from the outside, and there was construction debris piled up on the tiny front lawn; but even with that, one could tell that this place had potential. "You say this area is Castro?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah. This neighborhood was very similar to ours 40 years ago. Very middle class, lots of Irish. But, it became a gay Mecca in the 60’s, and prices shot up dramatically. A lot of the middle class moved out because of the poor quality of the schools, so as they left, more and more gay people moved in. It’s even more expensive than our neighborhood now … and it’s a lot more congested, too."
They climbed up the stone stairs to the ornately carved wooden doors. Conor, of course, had the key, and he let them in with the admonition, "Watch your step carefully. I try to clean up at night, but there could be nails on the floor."
After a thorough inspection of the first floor, Conor let them take a peek at the second and third floors, which were basically untouched, giving them a flavor for how bad the place was before work had begun.
"How long has the place been an apartment building, Conor?" Catherine asked, as she found the third kitchen in the building.
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