Shrugging her shoulders, she admitted defeat. "I want my daughter to come home more often. I’d rather have her here with a man, than there with the same man. We can’t stop her from having sex," she said. "Lord knows we’ve tried!"
"So what will it be?" Adam asked as his entire family sat in the kitchen, digesting their breakfast.
"What are our choices, Dad?" Peter asked.
"We can play golf …"
"No golf!" Anna Lisa declared. "I want all of us to be together."
"Okay," Adam said. "I’ve got the keys to Jim Evans’ boat. How about a day on the bay?"
"That’s my vote," Peter said immediately.
"I’m game," Mia said.
"Let me pack a lunch and we can be off," Anna Lisa said, hopping to her feet to get started.
Following the script that she had worked out with Peter on the ride home the previous evening, Mia waited until they were on the water to make her announcement. "Mom, Dad, I’ve got good news," she said brightly.
"What’s that?" Adam asked.
"Either Stanford has dropped a few hundred notches academically, or there was a terrible screw-up in the Admissions Office, but, either way, I was accepted into the law school." She waited expectantly for the words to register with her father, grinning widely when his face practically exploded with glee.
"Mia!" he cried. "I didn’t even know you had taken the LSATs! I’m astounded! Overjoyed, but astounded," he repeated.
"That’s wonderful, baby," Anna Lisa echoed. "We’re both very proud of you!"
"That’s the good news," she hedged. "Now the news you might not like so much is that I’m not sure I’m going to accept."
Adam looked like he was ready to jump overboard, and he said, "You can’t turn down an opportunity like this! You can’t!"
"Why would you turn it down?" Anna Lisa asked. "You wouldn’t have applied if you didn’t want to go. This has something to do with this boyfriend, doesn’t it?"
"No!" Mia cried, shouting to be heard above the snapping sails. "Well, maybe a little," she said. "We’re having a tough time figuring out where we’ll both be next year."
"He won’t be in San Quentin, will he?" Anna Lisa asked suspiciously.
"Mom, I said nothing was wrong. That includes dating a felon!"
"Mom, Dad," Peter said, "give her a chance here. Committing to three more years of school right away is a tough thing. Wouldn’t you rather she make the decision before she goes, or do you want to waste a year’s worth of tuition if she drops out?"
"Yeah," Mia piped up. "I’m trying to think things through for a change, but I need a little time."
Adam nodded, pleased that his daughter seemed to be taking a mature perspective. "Okay, Mia. You let us know if you need any help in making the decision. Obviously, I’d like for you to go and be successful at Stanford, but I only want it if it’s right for you."
"That’s very generous of you, Dad," she said, wrapping him in a hug. "I know it would mean a lot to you if I went there."
"It would, but no matter what you do I’m very proud of you for even being admitted."
"Thanks, Dad," she said, smiling broadly, wondering why on earth she hadn’t come home weeks earlier.
"I’ve got it!"
Ryan turned her head slowly and gazed at the near-joyous look of satisfaction on her partner’s face. They had been in the air for over an hour, and the taller woman had been nearly asleep for most of that time. Jamie, however, had been busily making notes in her journal, the soft, consistent scratch of her fountain pen lulling Ryan to sleep.
"Care to share?" Ryan said, knowing that it would be impossible to stop her.
"I know how to get Niall out of the doghouse!"
"I know you’re good, but I don’t see how even you can accomplish that," Ryan said. "I’ve spoken with at least six of the lads, and they’re well and truly steamed. I think this is going to have to wear off gradually."
"That’s where you’re wrong!" Jamie said, grinning broadly. "When they hear the plan, they’ll think he’s a hero!"
"Give," Ryan demanded, sitting up a little straighter in her seat.
"Okay." The dark blonde eyebrows twitched vertically a few times, then she turned a few pages in her journal and began. "The main issue is that he made $200,000 – and they all made squat, right?"
"Right," Ryan said.
"But, being hard-headed O’Flahertys, they wouldn’t consider accepting any of the money – even if Niall offered, right?"
"Well, I don’t necessarily agree with the descriptor, but the facts are correct," Ryan said. "And at this point, even if they wanted the money, they wouldn’t take it as a matter of pride."
"Okay – how about this," Jamie said, the excitement flowing from her in waves. "Niall takes the entire chuck of money, and uses it to make a down payment on another fixer-upper, either in Noe or the Mission. We form a collective – and we all contribute to the mortgage and expenses of the new place. All of us work on the house, and when it’s done, we sell it. Niall would get his $200,000 back, and the rest of us would split the excess."
Her wide eyes and happy, expectant grin would have made Ryan say it was a marvelous idea, even if it wasn’t, but as luck would have it, she thought it was just short of brilliant. "How long has this been rolling around in your mind?" she asked.
"Mmm … ever since Conor called to say they were all mad at Niall. I can’t stand to have the boys angry with one another." Her expression was so sincere, so guileless, that Ryan couldn’t help but lean over and give her a gentle, emotion-filled kiss. Jamie returned it, the soft, moist meeting of their lips creating barely enough noise for Jackie to hear and immediately lean over the seat back to give Ryan a rap on the head.
"No funny stuff on public conveyances, O’Flaherty!"
"Everybody’s a critic," Ryan called back over her shoulder.
Touching her nose with a fingertip, Jamie said, "We should behave. I don’t want to make the other women uncomfortable."
"I’m the one who’s uncomfortable," Ryan said, rubbing her head.
"So, given the heat of that kiss, I take it that you approve of my idea?"
"I think it’s absolutely brilliant! And I think the boyos will go for it. Conor told me the other day that he missed working with the fellas on the weekend."
"Now I haven’t worked out the details, but I think we should propose the rough framework to Niall to see if he’s willing. I’ll call him as soon as we get home," Jamie said, her face beaming with pleasure.
Ryan leaned in again, but then remembered where they were. "I owe you one," she promised, blowing a kiss instead of delivering one.
"Niall is in!" Jamie crowed the second she hung up.
Ryan found it completely adorable that Jamie was the one to take the lead and call Niall, and she thanked the heavens once again that her partner was so very comfortable with her extended family. "What now?"
"I think I’ll call Brendan next, and see if he has any ideas for how to structure it. Are you up for having him and Maggie over for dinner to discuss it?"
"Always," Ryan said. "Other than practice, I’m free through Thursday."
Mia came home not long after that. "Hey, you two!" She offered hugs to both women, then went to the table in the entryway and picked up a key. "Something’s waiting for you in the garage," she said. "It’s blue … and hot … and it’s from Germany …"
"My X5!" Ryan snatched the key that Mia teasingly dangled, and in the blink of an eye, the door flew open and the excited woman was running down the front stairs, heading for the garage.
"I think she’s excited," Mia said dryly as she and Jamie set off at a more moderate pace.
"Get in," Ryan ordered when the approached. Chuckling softly, both women did so, "Who delivered it?" Ryan asked when she met Mia’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.
"It was cool. They brought it in on a flatbed truck and pushed it into the garage. It was mighty tempting, but I resisted the urge to take it for a spin."<
br />
"Good thought," Ryan said, not even able to think of a punishment severe enough to fit that crime. "There’s only 1.7 miles on it," she marveled.
"It’s really nice," Jamie said. "Can I play with the buttons?"
"Can I stop you?" Ryan asked.
Jamie stuck her tongue out and started to play, opening and closing the sunroof a few times and discovering the CD player hidden in the glove box.
"I’ve never had a new vehicle," Ryan marveled, her hands running all over the matte black, leather-covered dash. "It’s so sweet."
"Don’t you want to drive it?" Jamie asked.
"Of course. But first, I want to make sure I know where everything is. I don’t want to wreck it my first day out!" She proceeded to figure out how to position the mirrors and her seat, while Jamie and Mia both punched every button they could get their fingers on.
Ryan was finally confident, and turned the key. "Ooo … nice purr, huh?"
"Sounds a little like you when I rub your belly," Jamie joked.
They went on a short spin around the neighborhood, and to Mia’s amazement, Ryan let both her and Jamie do a lap around the block. "Great ride," Mia enthused when they returned. "It could be a real neck-snapper if you gunned it."
"Thanks." Ryan was distracted, but she managed to send a smile Mia’s way. "It’s got a good-sized V-8 in it. That gives it some pep."
"Ready for bed?" Jamie asked.
"Heck no. I’ve got to play."
"Have at it, but I’m going to bed. Kiss me when you get there."
"Uh-huh," Ryan said in her ‘I’m not listening to you so you’d better not be telling me anything important’ tone.
Jamie draped her arm around Mia’s shoulders and said, "I wonder how long it will take her to notice we’re gone?"
"Given the size of the owner’s manual, I’d say about three a.m.," Mia guessed.
"You may be right," Jamie said. "I’ll give you a report tomorrow."
When Jamie saw her roommate the next day she said, "You weren’t off by much last night. Ryan woke me up at two a.m. with this totally puzzled expression on her face. I honestly don’t think she had any idea she’d been alone out there for three hours."
"She’s no slouch in the concentration department," Mia said. "Did she have a good time?"
"You know, I think she enjoyed getting to know her car as much as she enjoyed driving it. She seemed quite blissful today. Tired, but blissful."
On Valentine’s Day afternoon, Ryan stood in her room at her family’s home. "Ready to head out?" she asked brightly. Jamie finished hanging up the dress she planned on wearing that night, and gave her partner a broad grin.
"The event you planned takes place outside?" she asked again.
"Yep. Make sure you dress warmly. We’ll be out until it’s dark."
"Okay," she said, making sure that her warm gloves were in her pockets. "Should I take my little camera?"
"Yeah. I’m pretty sure there’ll be some photo opportunities."
Finally resigned that her cajoling had been to no effect, and that Ryan would not reveal their destination prematurely, Jamie took her partner’s hand as they set off for points unknown.
Ryan was not yet ready to take her new car on its maiden voyage across the Bay Bridge, so they’d come in Jim’s loaner. Since parking was so scarce, they parked the BMW sedan in Niall’s driveway at his house in Sunset. Taking off on foot, they passed a building that nearly filled a block. "This is the Irish Cultural Center," Ryan indicated. "This is where I took ceili dancing lessons when I was a little ankle biter."
Jamie laughed at her choice of terms and said, "Knowing how tall you were, you were a butt biter by the time you were old enough to take dance lessons."
"Ahh … good point," Ryan said. "I guess I was about four when I started. That would definitely put me within butt biting range of most people."
"Wow, I can’t imagine getting a bunch of four-year-olds to concentrate long enough to teach them how to dance. What did you call it again, kay-lee?" she asked, pronouncing it phonetically.
"Yeah, traditional Irish step-dancing."
"Ooo … like Riverdance?"
Ryan sniffed and said, "Hardly. If ceili dancing is like classical ballet, Riverdance would be like interpretive dance based on a ballet. Riverdance takes the elements of ceili and runs wild with it."
"Your tone implies you don’t think much of Riverdance," Jamie said.
"No, it’s not that. It is what it is," Ryan said. "I only hope that kids stay interested in the tightly controlled style of the traditional dance. I think they have to know the elements before they can start riffing on them. I’d bet that most kids get bored when they’re not running around like Michael Flatley after a few weeks."
"Show me a few steps," Jamie begged. "I’ve never seen you dance that way."
Ryan patted her and said, "I’ll show you at home. I’d look like a nut standing out on the street doing a step dance."
Jamie nodded soberly. "Oh, I understand. You never want to look like a nut." She ran all the way to Sloat Street, barely managing to stay one step ahead of her lover’s pinching fingers.
"Wanna take a picture of the pup?" Ryan asked, a big grin splitting her face.
"If this is where we’re having lunch, you’re in more trouble than you can imagine," Jamie scolded as they stood outside of the Carousel Diner on Sloat.
"No, we’re not going to eat here," Ryan said. "I like the dog. I used to come here for a soda after dance lessons while I waited for the bus."
"When you were four!"
"Nah. Conor took lessons with me until he was in high school, and we went together most of the time. I wasn’t allowed to ride the bus alone until I was 7 or 8."
Jamie shook her head as she considered letting their children ride alone on a city bus when they were in second grade. Drawing her attention back to the topic at hand, Ryan pointed up. Jamie’s eyes drifted up the rusted, paint-peeled steel pole, to gaze at the giant dachshund head that rested at the top. The dog wore a chef’s hat, and was clad in a neat bow tie. "It’s very nice," she said with a forced smile.
"You have no sense of history," Ryan chided her gently. "This is the last intact Doggie Diner dog head in the world!"
"Imagine that," Jamie said. "Are the others in museums? Perhaps the Louvre?" She batted her eyes ingenuously, causing a scowl to form on Ryan’s face.
"I really like it," she said, her feelings hurt. "Da brought my Mama here when they were dating." Her mouth was turned down into an adorable pout, and Jamie couldn’t help but kiss the frown from her face.
"The O’Flahertys have always known how to treat their women, haven’t they, tiger?"
"Hey, he was a young guy – no money at all – he took her to the zoo, and Golden Gate, and any other place that was free. Heck, she still had the Irish soil on her shoes. I’m sure she thought it was a lovely spot compared with the chipper in Killala." At Jamie’s raised eyebrow, Ryan explained, "When she was growing up the only restaurant in Mama’s town was a fish and chips takeaway. Now, fifty years later, the only restaurant is a fish and chips takeaway," she added with a grin. "But it’s owned by a different guy. That’s progress for ya."
"I’m sure your mother thought it was the nicest place she’d ever been – so long as your father was with her. That’s how I feel when I’m with you," she added, sparing a warm kiss for Ryan’s chilled lips.
Ryan took her hand to start up again, but Jamie paused to take several pictures, mildly disappointed when she was unable to get Ryan in the shot – since the head was so high above the ground. She grasped Ryan’s offered hand and leaned against her shoulder, "I like the doggie, too," she murmured.
They proceeded up the street, with Jamie still having no idea of where they were headed. "I used to go out with a woman who understood my doggie devotion," Ryan sighed.
"Oh, did you now?"
"Yep. She understood the cult. Heck, she had the dog tattooed on the back of her shoulder!"
> Jamie turned repeatedly to look at the dog head as it shrank in the distance, then back to her partner, finally asking, "Really?"
"Yeah," Ryan insisted. "The dog’s a big deal around these parts, honey."
"Huh." Jamie took her partner’s hand as they continued to walk, finally asking, "Why did you and your fellow doggie worshiper stop seeing each other? It sounds like you shared a belief system." She said this with a face full of studied innocence, making Ryan smirk at her.
"Honest?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"Uhm… I uhm … couldn’t keep up with her," Ryan said, shrugging her broad shoulders. "She was … wow … she was all that," the dark woman sighed, her mouth twitching into a wistful smile. "If I hadn’t been trying to do well in school as well as work a lot of hours, I woulda hung in there. But with my schedule, she almost killed me!"
"Is she still single?" Jamie asked suspiciously.
"Nope. She found a great woman about a year ago. They seem very happy together," Ryan said. Waggling her eyebrows, she added, "Her girlfriend seems very, very satisfied." She waited a beat and added, "Not as satisfied as I am, but that’s understandable." Lifting Jamie’s hand to her mouth, she kissed it gently and said, "No one’s as satisfied as I am."
"Good recovery," Jamie said. "I’ll let you buy me lunch."
"We’re here," Ryan declared a few minutes later as they stood in front of the entrance to the San Francisco Zoo.
"We’re going to the zoo – for Valentine’s Day?" Jamie gazed at her partner, waiting for the punch line.
"Don’t you like animals?" Ryan asked, cocking her head.
"Well, yeah, but …"
"Come on," she insisted, tugging at her hand. "We’re gonna miss the show."
"Show?"
Ryan was moving at such a quick pace that Jamie had a difficult time keeping up with her. They walked past every display and habitat, not slowing until they reached an out-of-the-way spot where a uniformed woman asked for their names. Jamie was too out of breath to even question her partner by this time, and after they were waved into the little grove, Ryan grinned at her and asked, "Isn’t this a nice place for lunch?"
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