Waking Up Gray

by R. E. Bradshaw

  Gray smiled. The darkness dissipated. “Yes, I want you to move down here.”

  “Then we need to talk about it,” Lizbeth said, still leading Gray through the conversation. She was beginning to understand that this was the way it was going to be with Gray. Gray wouldn’t talk about what she wanted unless Lizbeth pulled it out of her.

  Gray took a drink of water, then leaned her elbows on the table and concentrated on Lizbeth’s eyes. “I still don’t understand why you need an attorney.”

  Lizbeth explained, “She’s handling the sale of my house in Durham. I just sold it back to my ex-husband this morning.”

  “You sold your house this morning?”

  “Yes, I’m not going to be living in it and I was planning to sell it anyway, next year, so it worked out for both of us. He wanted it, that’s the only reason I took it in the first place. I don’t need that feeling of vindication anymore.”

  “I know what you mean. I spent five years hating Dana, but then when she came here, I didn’t feel a thing.”

  “Oh, you felt a thing, I saw you,” Lizbeth said before she could stop herself.

  Gray, defensive, said, “Lizbeth, it wasn’t like that. I came back to you, didn’t I?”

  Lizbeth stood up and stepped over to Gray. She leaned down close to her and said, “Yes, you did. I’m sorry. Residual jealousy. Just know that I can’t bear the sight of another woman touching you.” She kissed Gray on the lips lightly and then looked into her eyes. “Gray, I need to know if I should buy this cottage from my cousins. If I do, will you live with me?”

  “Why don’t you move in with me and Fanny?”

  “Because I have to have somewhere for my stuff and a place my daughter can come visit. I just think three women in the same house would be pushing it, don’t you?”

  Gray thought about it. “It would give us more privacy and I know you’d never have sex with me over there.”

  Lizbeth chuckled. “Always thinking about the important things, aren’t you?”

  Gray pulled Lizbeth down on her lap. She was recovering her strength. Lizbeth could feel it in her grip and see it in her sparkling eyes. Gray kissed her and then said, “I think that’s very important. It’s growing more important by the second.” She pulled Lizbeth to her for a long kiss.

  She released a breathless Lizbeth, who tried to continue their conversation, but Gray’s insistent lips kept interrupting. “How’s… Fanny going… to feel… about this?”

  Gray stopped kissing Lizbeth long enough to say, “If I take my meals with her for the most part, she’ll be fine. We can spend time with her and when she’s asleep, I’ll be over here.”

  Before Gray could kiss her again, Lizbeth suggested, “We could put in a wireless com system and she could reach us anytime she needed us.”

  Gray stopped being focused on Lizbeth’s lips. “That would make me feel better,” she said, and then she paused. Lizbeth saw Gray’s brow knit. Whatever she was thinking expressed itself in her solemn eyes. “Lizbeth, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  Lizbeth knew exactly what she was doing. She was following her heart. It didn’t matter that she’d known Gray only two weeks. She knew that coming here had been her second chance. She no longer carried the heavy heart of the scorned woman, sworn never to take that chance again. Lizbeth felt alive and young, with a world of possibilities in front of her. She wanted to face that future with Gray.

  Gray, whom she had found asleep at the wheel, was herself awakening from years of dormant emotions. Lizbeth could be patient as Gray learned to trust her. Even now, she could hear it in Gray’s voice. She was still afraid that Lizbeth would change her mind. Gray hadn’t quite given in, but she was close to believing Lizbeth was really hers to have. All she had to do was take it.

  Lizbeth placed the palm of her hand over Gray’s heart. She could feel the steady thumps against her skin. “I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Is that what you’re asking? Is that what you want, too?”

  Lizbeth saw Gray physically gulp. She was witnessing from the outside the argument between Gray’s brain and her heart. Lizbeth wanted to laugh, but she didn’t. Gray was suffering with a last minute flurry of what ifs. She had the stricken look of a scared groom, just before he said, “I do.” Lizbeth knew Gray was fighting a losing battle. Gray was already in love with her. Lizbeth decided to help Gray with her struggle. She pressed her chest into Gray’s, wrapping her arms around her neck, and kissed Gray’s breath away.

  Gray’s eyes were wide and blinking when Lizbeth released her. A grin crept into the corner of her mouth. “Have you been holding out on me?”

  “No, I was just trying to encourage you to make the right decision.” Lizbeth returned the grin.

  Gray sighed. “You got me, all of me, as you requested. I can’t resist you. I tried, but it’s just no use.”

  “Okay. Then I believe I am following proper lesbian protocol,” Lizbeth said with a sly grin.

  “Oh,” Gray asked, laughing. “And what would that be?”

  “I’m bringing the U-Haul,” Lizbeth said, bursting into laughter at her cleverness.

  Gray laughed at her and rose from her chair, forcing Lizbeth to stand. She took Lizbeth by the hand and led her, limping only slightly now, toward the bedroom. She said, as she skillfully maneuvered Lizbeth into her lair, “And where did you acquire your newfound knowledge of the lesbian lifestyle?”

  Lizbeth, following blissfully along, answered, “Molly. We’ve also discussed the uncanny way all lesbians seemed to be connected.”

  Gray’s eyes were smoldering. There was no sign of the sleepy baby from a few minutes ago. She casually asked, “What’s her theory on that?”

  They were climbing the stairs and Lizbeth thought this probably wasn’t the best time to spring the news on Gray that Molly was now connected to both of them through Dana. She simply said, “We’ll talk about that later.”

  When they reached the bedroom, Gray let go of Lizbeth’s hand and hugged her close to her body. She looked into Lizbeth’s upturned face, while her hands began slowly to undress her. Lizbeth’s body trembled with each touch. Gray led Lizbeth to the bed, sat her down on the edge, and then stood in front of her, shedding her own clothing. Again, the pure awe of Gray warmed Lizbeth with lust, but she didn’t move to touch her. Gray had her paralyzed, bearing down on her with those desire-filled eyes. Lizbeth may have been in control of their earlier conversation, but this nonverbal language was Gray’s specialty, and Lizbeth was content just to listen.

  She listened. Lizbeth listened for several hours while Gray made love to her. This was their commitment ceremony. There was no doubt when they finally collapsed in each other’s arms that, sanctioned by the state or not, the commitment had thoroughly been celebrated.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The remainder of Thursday and into the wee hours of Friday morning, Gray and Lizbeth alternately slept, talked, consumed food, and then each other. They slept in Friday morning, not bothering to tell Fanny they weren’t coming to breakfast. She must have known. Lizbeth had gotten up before Gray and made coffee. Deciding to let Gray sleep some more, she went out on the front porch where Fanny had left a basket containing fresh biscuits and homemade jam.

  Gray joined Lizbeth a half an hour later. They ate the biscuits sitting on the porch. Gray needed to go do her mea culpa to Cora Mae about the boat. Even if it was hers, she still owed Cora Mae an apology for causing her grief. Lizbeth didn’t want to go. She thought the two old friends had things to be said that she shouldn’t be a party to.

  Gray had explained that Cora Mae was ten years older and the original island lesbian. She had taken a young Gray under her wing, but not to bed. She was the person who had recognized the symptoms in the fledgling lesbian and helped Gray get through the difficult coming out process. She had been Gray’s rock for years. Giving Cora Mae the boat to use, because the bank took hers, had been Gray’s way of paying some of the kindness back.

&nb
sp; To Gray’s credit she was taking all the blame for her recent escapade. She didn’t blame Lizbeth or Jane for making her mad. She could fault no one but herself for drinking moonshine, of all things. 198 proof, pure grain alcohol has caused black outs, hallucinations, and in the worse cases death. Luckily, Gray had thrown up or she may not have made that swim, but she did, and she was now facing the consequences head on.

  One of those consequences sauntered up to the front of Gray’s house and knocked on the screen door. Lizbeth could tell by Gray’s body language that she wasn’t happy to see the man at her door. Gray rose out of the rocking chair and called out to him.

  “Billy, over here.”

  Billy had the look of a man who had lived in a bottle. Even though he had to be Gray’s age, he looked much older. The alcohol had dried up his skin. His gaunt face was unshaven. He dressed like Gray, but somehow his attempt to hang onto his youth didn’t wear as well on him as it did his female nemesis. He had the same blond hair as Gray did, but that was where the similarities stopped.

  Billy approached cautiously. Lizbeth thought he looked genuinely frightened. Gray stood, holding the screen door open, staring down at the man she would have towered over anyway. This gave them the appearance of the serf coming to pay respects to the queen. He bobbed his head, in a gesture of greeting, in Lizbeth’s direction. He didn’t know her, but he was raised to acknowledge a lady when present. He didn’t nod at Gray.

  Lizbeth watched the two old enemies square off from her front row seat. Fanny must have heard the knocking, because she came to the door. When she saw what was happening, she sat down in her rocker, the rhythm of the chair reflecting her anticipation of something exciting. Lizbeth figured Fanny had been watching these two go at it since they were in diapers. The grin on her face said she had probably enjoyed most of it.

  Billy kicked at the ground; not looking up, he said, “I’m glad they found you, Gray.”

  Gray chuckled. “You’re just glad I’m alive so I can pay for your truck.”

  “Yeah, about that. What are you going to do?” Billy asked this with trepidation.

  Gray had been leaning with one arm against the screen door and the other stretched across the opening, clasping the door jam with her hand. She straightened suddenly and dropped her hand to her side. This caused Billy to jump back a few steps in anticipation of another pummeling. Gray laughed at him.

  “It’s okay, Billy. I’m not mad anymore. Have it hauled over to Manteo and I’ll put a new engine in it and fix anything else the water damaged. If you can find one for whatever that costs, then I’ll give you that amount in cash, but don’t try to milk this deal, Billy. You just remember I’m a lot smarter than you.”

  Billy whined, “What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

  Not missing a beat, Gray said, “Walk. Consider it my gift to the rest of the island. It’ll keep your drunk ass off the road for awhile.”

  “You shouldn’t a done that to my truck,” Billy said, trying to show a little backbone.

  “And you should learn to keep your hands off other people’s stuff, asshole.”

  Lizbeth giggled. The confrontation was quickly being reduced to eighth grade name-calling.

  “Dammit, Gray. I was going to put it back.” Now, if Billy had stopped there everything would have been fine, but he didn’t. Instead, he added, “How was I to know you were going muff diving in the middle of the night?”

  It was Billy’s good fortune that Gray’s feet were in such bad shape, but it didn’t stop her from trying to tackle him in Lizbeth’s front yard. Due to her injuries, Billy was able to scamper just out of her reach and tear ass down Howard Street.

  Gray looked around for something to throw at him. Not finding anything, she yelled after him, “Oh yeah! Well, at least I can get some, you little piss ant.”

  Fanny and Lizbeth were whipping themselves with convulsive laughter. After a few more rapid breaths and a long stare down Howard Street, Gray became aware of the other two women and the enjoyment they were having at her expense.

  “I’m glad you two are having fun.” She was feigning anger, but it didn’t last long. She joined in the laughter and hobbled back to the porch.

  Fanny hollered across the shady lane, “Did she tell you he was her first boyfriend?”

  Lizbeth lost it. She doubled over and gasped for air. That was just a jewel of information.

  Gray shot back at Fanny, “Yeah, and look at me now. He’s probably the reason I like girls.”

  #

  Gray’s feet did not look as bad as the day before, but they were still tender. The antibiotic ointment had taken the redness away, but the cuts were still painful. She grumbled about having to wear socks and shoes. After Lizbeth convinced her that two pairs of socks would cushion the bottoms of her feet inside the shoes, she finally gave in and was surprised that she could actually walk without much pain. She kissed Lizbeth and headed off down the lane to Cora Mae’s.

  Lizbeth spent the rest of her morning cleaning the cottage and making a list of things she needed from the store. Since she was staying, the list grew longer as the morning progressed. She began to think about all the things in her house in Durham. What would she do with all that furniture? She wasn’t going to leave it to James. He would probably get rid of it anyway. His new trophy wife wouldn’t want Lizbeth’s old things. That was assuming she had a brain. Lizbeth wasn’t sure. After all, she did marry a man that was cheating on his wife with her when they met. Lizbeth thought they deserved each other. It was like that line from a country song. “If she wants a man, who’ll take the ring off of his hand and then turn around and say that he’ll be true, then she deserves you.”

  Now, Lizbeth was faced with cleaning out that huge house and making a home here in this little cottage. Although it was a daunting task, Lizbeth was happy to make it happen. She already felt more for Gray than she ever had for James, now that she thought about it. The prospects of a life with Gray held endless possibilities and Lizbeth was more than happy to divest herself of her old life and begin anew.

  The first thing she had to do was get her car. Although she loved Gray’s old Jeep, the prospects of driving all the way to Durham in it did not appeal to Lizbeth. She didn’t know if Gray even had a top for the thing. Lizbeth needed to call Mazie. Maybe she could help.

  She dialed Mazie at home, because she still had her cell phone. Mazie answered after two rings.

  Mazie started speaking as if they had been in mid-conversation. “I tell you, it’s weird looking down and seeing your own name on caller I.D.”

  “Thank you for letting me use your phone. I need to get a new one.”

  “Already done. You should get the new one any day now. I had it shipped to you down there and I retrieved your SIM card from the pile of phone parts on the table.”

  “God, I love you. Is this the part of life where you start taking care of me, instead of the other way around?”

  “I guess so. I thought you had a few more years before that started, but you do appear to need a bit of help right now. I assume you are calling to tell me you sold the house back to Dad.”

  “Did he call you?” Lizbeth asked.

  Mazie giggled. “Yes, he couldn’t wait to tell me. He was curious as to why you were doing it and thought I might talk. Silly man, he hasn’t learned anything about either of us, has he?”

  “No, I don’t guess he has. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you first. It’s all happening so fast and I’ve been taking care of Gray. Time got away from me.”

  “How is Gray? Did she survive the ordeal intact?”

  Lizbeth couldn’t help the dreamy sound in her voice when she said, “She’s going to be fine. A little sore on her feet from the oyster beds, but other than that she’s feeling herself today.”

  “You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?”

  The question caught Lizbeth off guard. Was Mazie having second thoughts about having a lesbian mother? “Mazie, are you okay with this? I don
’t want to embarrass you or anything.”

  “Mom, I’m not embarrassed. I think it’s great that you’ve found someone, male or female. I’m just worried that you rushed into this and now you’re selling off your life to be with her. I just want you to be sure, that’s all.”

  Lizbeth answered without hesitation, “Mazie, I’ve never been more positive about anything in my life.”

  “Okay then. How can I help?”

  “You need to go through the house and take what you want. If you don’t have room for it now, I’ll pay storage on it till you do.”

  “Oh goodie. It’ll be like antique shopping without having to pay for anything. Anything I should leave for you?”

  “I want my grandmother’s dressing table, that’s it. I’ll pick from what you leave to bring down here and Mazie, I’m adding some of the money from the sale of the house to the trust your grandparents left you.”

  “Does that leave you enough to live off of? You’re only forty,” Mazie said, concerned for her mother, which Lizbeth thought was so sweet.

  “I had enough before I sold the house, so I’m good. You know I never liked running in the old money crowd. This island and this little cottage are more my speed. Besides, Molly hooked me up with a great accountant when I left your father. I’m set.”

  “I can’t wait to tell Dad. He’ll have to do something fantastic to try and out do you on this one.”

  “Your father wouldn’t have a dime to his name if it wasn’t for his family. You better get it while the gettin’s good. I’m sure he’ll blow through it all before the end. He just paid full price for the same house again. How stupid is that?” Lizbeth giggled.

  “I wanted to tell him he got played,” Mazie said, stifling a laugh, “but it’s just too good to let him walk around with his chest poked out, reveling in his victory. He has his house back, whoopee!”

  “He loves that house as much as his dick,” Lizbeth said. “I knew he’d buy it back.”

  “Oh my God, mom, that’s too funny.” Mazie paused, and then asked, “Are you ever going to tell me what all he did that gave you so much power in the divorce?”