by Joy Argento
Hope got out of the car and had to walk a little quicker than normal to catch up with Derrick and Erin before they reached the front door. Derrick rang the doorbell, balancing the pies in one hand.
“Derrick!” William Carver said after he opened the door, “I swear you get taller every time I see you.” He patted Derrick on the back as Derrick passed by him going into the house. “Hello, welcome,” he said to Erin.
“Hi, Dad. How are you?” Hope said as she hugged her father. She noticed more gray hair around his temples, but he was still a handsome man. “This is Erin, Derrick’s girlfriend.”
“Very nice to meet you,” Erin said.
“You too. Well, come on in everyone. Derrick, hand me those pies and why don’t you take all your coats and put them on the bed in the spare bedroom at the end of the hall.”
“Your mother’s in the kitchen,” William said to his daughter as he took the pies from Derrick. “Follow me and I’ll get you both something to drink.” Derrick disappeared down the hallway.
“Hi, Mom,” Hope said as they entered the kitchen. Her mother turned around, turkey baster in her hand.
“Hello, Hope,” her mother said, looking her daughter up and down. “Your hair’s a little too long don’t you think? I like it much better shorter.” She put the baster down on the counter and smoothed down the Thanksgiving themed apron that she was wearing over a stylish turquoise pants suit. Every silver hair on her head was in its proper place and tightly held with a generous layer of hair spray. Her cheeks were rosy red from a combination of heat in the kitchen and a fair amount of blush. “Hello,” she said looking at Erin.
“Mom, this is Erin, Derrick’s girlfriend. Erin, this is my mother, Mrs. Carver,” Hope said, ignoring the comment about her hair.
Erin stepped forward with her hand out. “Hello,” Erin said as she shook Martha Carver’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Martha looked at Hope. “She’s cute,” she said as if Erin weren’t there.
“Thanks,” Derrick said as he joined them in the kitchen. “She is pretty darn cute.” He put his arm around his girlfriend and smiled at her. He brought his attention to his grandmother. “Hi, Grandma.”
She put her arms out. “Come and give me a hug, Derrick.” He was much taller than her and had to reach down to embrace her.
“What would you like to drink?” William asked the guests. “We have root beer, ginger ale and Pepsi. We also have wine, but you kids are too young for that.”
“I’ll take a beer if you have it,” Derrick said with a grin on his face.
“You are such a wise guy, just like your mother,” William said to his grandson. “You’ll take soda pop or water, young man.”
“Pepsi, Grandpa, please,” he said.
“And you, young lady?” he asked Erin.
“The same please.”
William poured the drinks and handed them out. As usual, Martha insisted that she didn’t need any help and the guests were shuttled out of the kitchen and into the living room. Several minutes later Marcy arrived with her family in tow. Marcy and her husband went into the kitchen.
The twins made a beeline for their cousin Derrick. He scooped them both up in his arms and had them giggling as he gently tossed them around.
“Hey, guys,” Derrick said.
Marcy called them her miracle babies. After years of trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, she and her husband had finally turned to doctors and fertility drugs. The two seven-year-old boys were the happy results.
“Hey,” he told them. “If you guys don’t go say hi to grandma in the kitchen, she is gonna beat your butts.”
“Okay,” they giggled in unison.
“Come back when you’re done,” Derrick called after them as they ran to the kitchen. They came running back after a few minutes, each carrying half a cookie.
Hope made conversation with her sister and brother-in-law while the dinner was being prepared in the kitchen. When it was ready, the group moved to the dining room table.
Over all, Hope had a good time visiting with her family. Derrick seemed to enjoy himself too despite Hope’s worry about this being the first major holiday without his father. The fact that Erin was with him helped, Hope was sure.
Hope enjoyed the wonderful meal her mother prepared and over indulged in too much dessert. But through the friendly conversation and bites of food, her thoughts kept returning to Carrie. She missed her, plain and simple.
After her last bite of dessert she excused herself and went into the spare bedroom and punched in Carrie’s number on her cell phone.
She felt a rush go through her when she heard Carrie’s voice.
“I miss you,” Hope started the conversation. “I’m not calling at a bad time, am I?”
“There is never a bad time to talk to you. What are you doing?” Carrie asked.
“At the moment I’m sitting on a bed full of coats.”
“Is that a family tradition?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact it is. Every Thanksgiving, one person in our family gets to sit in here with the coats. This year I’m the lucky one that gets to do it. What are you doing?”
“Nothing nearly that exciting,” Carrie said. Hope could hear her smile through the phone line. “My Mom made a turkey breast in the good old Nesco roaster. We finished eating a little while ago.”
“Where’s your mom now?”
“She’s putting the leftovers away. I was banished to the living room. She likes to clean up alone.”
“That’s how my mom likes to cook, but she makes us all help her clean up. I think they are all cleaning up now.”
“So that means you’re not helping?”
“I have something much more important to do.”
“And what would that be?”
“I have to tell my girlfriend that I love her,”
“You’ve never called me that before…your girlfriend.”
“Well, it’s either that or my lesbian lover. Which do you prefer?” Hope said her voice barely above a whisper.
“Hmm, I like being both. I love you, too, by the way. And I miss you, too.”
Hope heard a knock on the door and turned as Derrick stuck his head in the room. “Grandma’s starting to wonder where you are. I didn’t know what to say so I told her you were looking for something in your coat pocket.”
Hope moved the phone away from her mouth a little as she spoke to her son. “Thanks, Derrick. I’ll be out in a minute.”
He nodded his head and pulled the door closed. A moment later he opened it again and whispered. “Tell Carrie I said hi.” His smile was genuine as he closed the door again.
“I have to go, honey…and Derrick said to tell you ‘hi’,” Hope didn’t hide her surprise.
“He did? I guess that is a good sign. Okay, sweetie. Call me tonight. Have fun with your family. I love you.”
“Bye, Carrie,” Hope said. “I love you, too.”
She hung up her phone and closed her eyes, holding her phone to her chest for several seconds before leaving the room and rejoining her family.
Chapter 21
Carrie had enjoyed her day with her mother, and the visit with her grandmother was fine, but she was glad that Thanksgiving was over and things would be getting back to normal. She missed being with Hope.
She looked at her watch, four o’clock. Derrick and Erin should be on their way back to Buffalo and Hope would be here soon. She went through each room tidying up. When she was done she sat on the couch and looked through the Sunday paper. The ads where full of Christmas items and gift ideas.
She heard Hope’s car pull into the driveway. She got up, opened the door and watched Hope come up the walk.
“Hello, beautiful,” Carrie said as Hope approached. She was barely in the door when Carrie pulled her into a tight hug that ended with a lingering kiss.
“Well, it’s nice to see you, too,” Hope said as they walked to the kitchen, hand in hand. Carrie cut them both a slice of app
le pie. They sat across from each other at the small table to eat it.
“Mmm,” Hope said after swallowing a bite. “This is so much better than the pies I bought for Thanksgiving.”
“That’s because they are made with love. The pies from the bakery are only made with sugar and love beats out sugar every time.”
“This is awfully sweet for not being made with sugar,” Hope said teasing.
“That’s because I’m sweet.”
“Yes, you are.”
“As soon as we finish this pie, I’m going to get you naked,” Carrie told her.
“I know you are. But the problem with that is I’m going to be the only one naked.”
“I can live with that,” Carrie said. “At least for right now.”
When they had finished their pie they went into the art room. Carrie stayed while Hope got undressed. She watched her remove each piece of clothing and lay it over the chair in the corner. Carrie couldn’t help but look at her lover’s body with longing. She knew that in a few minutes she would have to stop looking at it with a lover’s eye and start looking at it with an artist’s eye. She would have to reduce Hope’s body to shapes and values.
As soon as she was undressed, Hope got into her pose. They were working on the last of the two paintings. The first had gone smoothly and without any problems. Hope had seen the rough drawings that Carrie had done of her, but hadn’t seen the final painting. Carrie wanted her to wait until they were all done with both.
Hope was standing sideways, her hands hanging down by her side and her chin tilted down, towards the left. Carrie came up behind her with the pink satin material in her hand. Each painting featured a different color cloth and Carrie began to arrange the material over Hope’s shoulder and let it drape down across one side of Hope’s butt. She carefully moved the material around trying to match the placement and folds of the previous modeling sessions.
When Carrie was sure she had the material just the way she wanted it, she leaned in towards Hope until her mouth was close to Hope’s ear. “Just like that,” she whispered. “Don’t move.”
Carrie let her hands sweep down Hope’s back with the lightest touch, until her hand reached Hope’s buttocks. Her touch here was much more firm as she took hold of Hope’s flesh and gave a gentle squeeze. Hope shivered.
“You need to stop doing that, unless you want a stream of liquid running down my leg to include in your painting. You’re making me very wet.”
“Seeing you like this is making me very wet,” Carrie whispered back.
“Do you talk to all your models like this?” Hope asked, her voice barely audible.
“Yes, I do. Seeing you are my only model.”
Carrie cleared her throat and backed away. “If I don’t start painting soon, I am going to throw you on the floor right here and have my way with you.” She turned on the lights to illuminate her subject and sat down at her easel. She studied her model, trying to get her brain to see the shapes and light instead of the beautiful body that stood before her. She pushed away her feelings of want and began painting.
Chapter 22
Hope put her key in the door and was about to turn it when she realized that the door was already unlocked. She searched her mind to remember for sure if she had locked it on the way out. She was certain she had. Carrie was due to come over but it was much too early for her to be here, and besides, the key she had made for her was still sitting on her desk. She hadn’t given it to her yet. Derrick had returned to school three days ago after Thanksgiving break and wasn’t due back home until December eighteenth. There was no car in the driveway.
She turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open. This might not be a good idea, she realized. What if someone broke in and is still in the house?
She stuck just her head in the open door, prepared to run if necessary. “Hello?” she called out softly. “Hello?” she repeated a little louder.
“Hi, Mom,” Derrick stepped into the room from the kitchen. Startled, Hope dropped her keys on the hardwood floor. Derrick laughed at the look on her face.
She stooped to pick up the keys and continued into the house. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Language, Mom.” Derrick laughed again, but Hope sensed an underlying nervousness about him.
“Never mind my language. What are you doing here? And where’s your car?” Hope deposited her keys on the end table and her coat on the couch. She waited for Derrick to answer. “Is everything all right?” she asked when he didn’t answer the first question.
“Erin has my car, she dropped me off…and I think everything’s all right. I’m not sure you are going to think that.” Derrick swallowed hard and avoided looking his mother in the eye.
“What is that suppose to mean?” Hope asked, the concern showing in her voice.
“I think I need a glass of water,” Derrick said as he went into the kitchen. Hope followed closely behind.
Derrick took a glass from the cupboard and filled it at the sink. He drank it down before turning back around and facing Hope. “Mom, you might want to sit down.”
She put her hands on her hips, her concern was overshadowed by her growing impatience. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m getting married Mom.” The words spilled out of Derrick’s mouth at a rapid rate.
“You’re what? Who are you marrying? Are you marrying Erin?” Hope asked confused. Why would Derrick even think about getting married now? Hope thought. He is far too young and still in school.
“Of course I’m marrying Erin. Who else would you think I would be marrying?” Annoyance was evident in Derrick’s tone.
“All right, let’s back up here. Are you telling me that you are engaged to Erin and you are getting married after you both graduate from college?” Please, she thought to herself, please say that you are waiting until you are out of school.
“No, Mom. I mean we are getting married now. Like in a couple of weeks.”
“No, I don’t think so.” She tried to control her voice but she noticed that the volume had gone up, considerably. “I don’t think that you are getting married now. That would just be stupid.”
“Please, Mom, just hear me out.” Derrick’s voice was calm and even. “Erin…we…Erin and I are going to have a baby. Erin’s pregnant.”
Hope felt a hot flush rush through her body. She closed her eyes against the raising panic she was feeling. She opened her eyes again to find Derrick watching her, waiting for her response. “Oh Derrick, no. You didn’t.”
Hope wasn’t naive enough to think that her son wouldn’t have sex before marriage but she had begun talking to him about the importance of birth control when he was only thirteen. She was careful not to lecture him, but to educate him so that he would never be in the same position that she found herself in when she was a teenager. She made sure he had access to condoms. She made sure that she or his father were always available for questions. She made sure…I guess I didn’t make sure enough. He got his girlfriend pregnant anyway. Oh my God.
“It’s all right Mom. Honest it is. This will all work out,” Derrick told his mother.
“Derrick how could…” she didn’t finish the question. She knew how this thing could happen. She didn’t need to ask.
“Why do you have to get married? You are both so young.”
“We want to get married. We want to be together. You don’t want us to get married?”
“Just for the record I am a huge fan of ‘living in sin’,” Hope said.
“Since when?” Derrick asked. “I thought I raised you better than that, Mom.” Derrick said, trying to be funny.
Hope wasn’t seeing the humor in it. “Since my nineteen year old son announced that he is getting married. Derrick, you are way too young.” She knew she was repeating herself.
“I am older than you were when you got married.”
“Then I know what I’m talking about.” Hope looked at her son. She saw the determination in his eyes.
“You aren’t going to change my mind, Mom. I love Erin. I really love her. I thought if anyone would understand that it would be you. Aren’t you the one that told me that ‘love knows no rules’?” He flashed a smile at her.
“No fair Derrick, using my own words against me.” Hope felt like she was losing this round.
“Mom, I just want you to be happy for me. I know it won’t be easy. I am willing to do whatever I have to do to make sure Erin and the baby have whatever they need. I am going to make this work. We love each other.”
“And what about Erin? How does she feel about all this? Does she want to get married?” Hope couldn’t help but think about herself in the same situation at a young age. She hadn’t wanted to get married, but she did it anyway. She did what she thought everyone expected her to do, what was right for her baby. Her baby was standing here now telling her that he was going to make the same mistake that she had. It was breaking her heart.
“I told Erin that I would stand by her whatever she wanted to do. She told me she loves me, Mom. She wants to get married and raise the baby together. I know we can do it.” Derrick sat at the table and leaned the chair back on two legs. “Sit down, Mom. Let’s talk about this like two adults.”
Hope sat down. She couldn’t help but say, “Adults don’t sit in chairs like that. Now sit right, and we can talk about this.”
Derrick smiled. “Just can’t help but think of me as your little boy, can you?”
“You are my little boy. I know you are growing up and want to make your own decisions, but you are too young to get married.” Hope began to raise her voice, again.
“Mom, you need to calm down and let me explain.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. There is no being calm about this.” Hope knew that calming down was exactly what she should be doing, but the thought just made her more upset. “This is not how I wanted your life to go. This isn’t what we planned for you.”
