by KG MacGregor
"Yeah…she was a cheerleader." And she was one of the uppity girls from Sara McCurry’s clique.
"She recognized me, and came over to where we were sitting and started talking to us.
She went on about how glad she was to see me again. The girl never said six words to me for twelve years of school."
"Sounds like the other day when I ran into Sara McCurry. You’d have thought we were best friends."
"That’s what it was like. And then I introduced her to Daniel, and I thought, what the hell, so I said he was my partner. She didn’t bat an eye, and the next thing I know, she’s asking him all about the coffee shop."
Daniel nodded to confirm his partner’s story. "And now she comes in every morning at six o’clock on her way to work, and she always asks how Rich and his dad are doing."
Carly shrugged. "I guess people can change."
"Daniel said you knew somebody in town who had some trouble."
"Yeah, but she has a couple of teenagers, and I guess the rumors got around the high school and they gave her kids a hard time about it. And she lost her job. Now, she’s just pulled back. She’s afraid to even have a life."
Rich shook his head. "You can’t let people do that to you…because if you give them that kind of power, they’ll use it. But if you just go ahead and live your life like it’s no big deal, guess what? It’s no big deal. It’s not like we’re the only gay people in town."
"True." Justine said there was group of lesbians that played in the sports leagues around town, but that wasn’t her thing. "But if people were more visible, there would be more opposition, don’t you think?"
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"Nobody’s saying your friend has to stage a one-woman parade down Main Street. But she ought to be able to have a life. It’s not like she’s going to be stoned to death," Rich argued.
"He’s right. They probably whisper about the two sissy boys who live on Hinkle, but we can deal with that."
"So you guys are going to drag Leland into the Age of Enlightenment, eh?"
Rich cast a sidelong look at his partner. "I don’t know that we’re going to be the ones doing that, but I think it can be done. Let me put it this way…I don’t think Leland, Kentucky is the armpit I used to think it was. I can see why people like my parents liked living here all these years."
Carly would have given anything to have Justine with her tonight so she could hear from Rich how the people in town had changed. Maybe things weren’t really as bad as Justine thought they were. Sure, there were a lot of guys like Perry who weren’t ever really going to understand gays and lesbians, and they probably wouldn’t accept them. But people like Rich and Daniel weren’t asking to be deacons at church or to sit on the school board–all they wanted was to make a living and be able to come home at the end of the day to someone they loved.
If they could have that, Justine could have it too.
***********
"Again?" Nadine couldn’t help but eavesdrop when she and her daughter were cooped up in the office together.
"What can I say? I’m a popular dinner companion." Carly snorted as she hung up the phone. "You know, I bet I’ve gone out to dinner more times in the last week than I did in all my high school years combined."
"What’s turned you into such a social butterfly?"
"Mostly Justine. That was her just now. She fixed a pork roast in the crock pot and offered to share."
"When are you going to ask her over to have dinner with us?"
"Oh right, I can see it now. Instead of knives and forks, I’d set the table with hammers and chainsaws."
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"Lord help us… but I’ll do the cooking if you want to ask her over sometime."
"Okay, I’ll run it by her and see what she says." Carly looked at the wall clock anxiously, then back at her mother.
"I guess you’re about ready to close up and go home then."
"I need to take a shower."
"And put on something pretty with a little makeup."
Carly blushed. It was humiliating to be forty-two years old and have your mother teasing you about going out on a date. "She makes me wanna do crazy things, Mama."
"Then do crazy things, Carly." Fall in love good and hard, and stay here in Leland with us.
**********
"I’m falling in love with you, Carly. It’s like you touch parts of me that no one’s ever touched before. I know you have to leave soon, but I want to be with you and share this for as long as we can." Justine pulled the red sweater up over her head and tossed it onto the bed. "My whole body comes alive just from being in the same room with you, and I feel like I’ll just die if I can’t touch you."
She folded the sweater and placed it back inside the drawer, selecting the black v-neck instead. For a moment, she was tempted to lose the bra, but she knew better than to underestimate the power of black lace.
"I’m falling in love with you, Carly," she started again. "I know I said I couldn’t do something that might come between me and my kids, but I can’t stand the thought of you coming through my life again like this and me not grabbing onto the best chance I’ll ever have to be happy and whole."
She groaned aloud. "That’s pretty dramatic, Justine. Why don’t you just get a chain and a padlock and wrap it around her when she walks in the door?"
Justine was growing frustrated at her inability to move forward with Carly. There were moments when they talked on Tuesday night at dinner that she thought the other woman might feel the same way. But every time Carly got close to revealing herself, she would make a joke or abruptly change the subject.
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All of that was going to change tonight. They’d have a casual, quiet dinner, after which they’d relax in front of the fire. They’d sit close…and Justine would reach out, pushing back a lock of hair or trailing her fingers across Carly’s cheek. Something would spark and they would kiss. There would be no need for words…her lips on Carly’s would say it all….
The sudden sound of the doorbell brought her back from her dreamy state, and she hurried to greet the object of her imagination, checking her look in the hall mirror one last time as she went by. As always, the first sight of Carly Griffin made her heart jump.
"Hi." Carly presented a covered plate.
"Hi yourself. What’s this?"
"It’s half of an apple pie. Mama says it’s to thank you for feeding me so much, but I think she also wanted it out of the house so she wouldn’t be tempted by it. It’s very good."
"I bet it’s wonderful. But she doesn’t have to thank me for feeding you. Heck, you hardly eat enough to keep a bird alive." She handed the pie back to her friend as she hung up her jacket.
"You know how moms are. If your kids were always going to somebody else’s house to eat, what would you do?"
Justine nodded in understanding. "Send food."
"Dinner smells great."
"I hope you’re hungry. I’ve got–"
Rrrrrrnnnngggg!
"Excuse me just a second." Carly followed her through the house with the pie as Justine took the call in the kitchen. "Hello…You mean now?" It has to be a cosmic conspiracy!
"I have company. Carly’s here for dinner…Yes, honey, I’m sure she’d do that." She looked pleadingly at her guest. "Okay, see you in a few minutes."
"Was that Emmy?"
"Yeah, she was calling from the car. Her brother’s going to drop her off on his way over to his friend’s house."
"You don’t sound very happy about that."
"It’s not that." But she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice. "I was just looking forward to being with you tonight…so we could talk. Instead, you get to help entertain my daughter again."
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"I don’t mind. I like Emmy. I’m just worried that it might be a problem for you…you know, for me to
be here again. I can just eat and run if you want. Heck, I can even tell her I have a date or something."
"No! It’s bad enough that I can’t just talk to them about everything and have it be okay.
I’m not going to ask you to lie too. Besides, she was glad you were going to be here because she wants to ask you some questions about China for a report she’s doing."
"Okay, but I’ll do whatever you want. I know you don’t want your kids to get the wrong impression, so I’ll play it however you think is best."
If there had been any doubt before about whether or not Justine was falling in love with Carly, it was answered now for sure. There didn’t seem to be a selfish bone in this woman’s body. Carly always put her own needs aside, at least where Justine was concerned. That realization made the redhead reach out for a hug, which her friend stepped into eagerly.
"You are so sweet." Justine inhaled deeply to draw in Carly’s fresh fragrance. "Hey!" She leaned back and looked at the blonde woman in surprise.
"What?"
"You don’t…." She sniffed again. "You don’t smell like smoke. Usually, I can pick up a trace of cigarettes, but not today."
"You’re just now noticing that? I’ll have you know I haven’t had a cigarette since Saturday afternoon."
"You’re quitting?"
"I’m trying," the blonde said with trepidation. "You said you didn’t want me to, and my mother’s been after me to quit too." The vow to start running too hadn’t taken shape as planned, but Carly rationalized her lack of resolve to not having the proper shoes. Not smoking was the least she could do, and her mom said it was the best Christmas present she could have received.
Oh, yeah…I’m definitely in love. "Carly, I am so proud of you. You deserve a special treat. Whatever you want, just name it!"
The very thought of how Justine might reward her caused Carly to blush, a reaction that didn’t go unnoticed by the hostess. A horn in the driveway bought Carly the reprieve she needed to gather her wits before she said exactly what she wanted from her beautiful friend.
"That’s Emmy." Justine hurried to the front door, stepping onto the porch in time to shout a reminder to her son. "Don’t forget, we have to be at the nursing home at three o’clock 164
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tomorrow to decorate." He waved from the driver’s seat and backed out of the driveway just as Emmy pushed into the house.
"He’s impossible, Mom!"
"What? What’s he done?"
"He wouldn’t even give me a half a minute to call you from the house to see if it was okay to come over. He just said, ‘If you’re coming with me, you better get in the car, or I’m leaving without you.’ He’s such a brat!"
"It’s okay. I told you that this is your house too. You can come over anytime you want."
"I know, but why does he have to act like that? He’s just so full of himself. I bet he didn’t tell you that he and Dickie Underwood got in trouble for smarting off to Miss Berkley."
"No, he didn’t tell me, but I’m sure I would have heard about it eventually. You shouldn’t be telling on him, though." Miss Berkley taught physics, where Trey was on a par to get a D this semester.
"I know. But it’s all over school ’cause Dickie said she couldn’t get laid for free."
"That’s awful! What did Trey do?" Justine knew she shouldn’t be pumping her daughter for information about her son, but she couldn’t resist.
"He didn’t say anything, but he was laughing, and he high-fived Dickie. Trey’s got detention for a whole week after we get back from vacation. Dickie got suspended."
Justine’s blood was boiling. "Does your father know about this?"
"No, Dad was in Frankfort all day. This just happened fifth period."
The mother sighed and shook her head. "They should have called me." The two walked into the kitchen.
"Hi, Carly." The teen went right to the cabinet and took down three plates. "This must be your lucky day. You get to have dinner with me again."
"Oh yes, thank you Lord Jesus for answering my prayers."
A lively dinner followed, and once again, the teasing repartee between Carly and Emmy kept Justine entertained. When the kitchen was clean, all three settled in the den to talk.
As promised, Carly told them all about Shanghai, providing as many details of her daily life and the local culture as she could remember, while Emmy took notes for her report.
"Can I stay again tonight, Mom?"
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"Don’t you have school tomorrow?"
"Just for half a day. I already have clothes here, and I brought my book bag."
"It’s okay with me, but you need to call your dad again. Was Trey supposed to pick you up?"
"Not unless I called him."
Carly stood up to take her leave, looking out the window to the back yard. "Look, it’s snowing."
"I heard we’re supposed to get three to five inches tonight," Justine said.
"Maybe there won’t be any school tomorrow!" Emmy shouted from the kitchen.
The hostess walked her guest to the front door and helped her into her leather jacket. "Are you working at the coffee house tomorrow?"
"Just a little while in the morning. You doing anything tomorrow night?" She hadn’t even left, and already, Carly couldn’t wait to see Justine again. This was nuts.
"I promised Wendell Kruenke I’d help with the Christmas party out at the nursing home.
The kids’ll be there too."
"I think Perry’s planning to go to that. His grandmother’s a resident out there."
"I’ll be sure to say hello. Emmy’s playing the piano and we’re going to sing Christmas carols."
"That sounds nice." Carly wanted a hug, but the teenager emerged from the kitchen to say goodnight, and the opportunity was lost. "Maybe I’ll see you over the weekend."
"Goodnight, Carly," Emmy offered. "Don’t bust your…tail…on that hill."
"Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? I bet you’d laugh your…tail…off."
Justine couldn’t resist jumping into the wordplay, but she made a show of covering her daughter’s ears. "You two are behaving like a couple of…asses."
Carly laughed and stepped off the porch into the powdery snow. "Thanks again for dinner."
"Tell your mom thanks for the pie." Justine watched from the doorway as her friend carefully picked her way up the hill. When Carly disappeared over the ridge, she went in search of her daughter. "Emmy?"
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The light was on in the girl’s upstairs room. Justine called her again and she appeared on the landing.
"Are you going to tell me what’s going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean is there a reason you don’t want to be at your father’s house?"
"You said I could stay…that this was my home too."
"It is, and you know I love it when you stay here. What I want to know is if you’re staying here because you want to be with me, or if you’re staying here because you don’t want to be there." Justine knew that her daughter was especially sensitive to other people’s stress, and she had a feeling something was amiss at home.
Emmy started to speak and then stopped, a sure sign to her mother that she was trying to think of a way out of this conversation.
"Come down here, please."
"Mom!"
"Never mind, I’ll come up." By the time she reached the top of the stairs, Emmy was near tears, her shoulders slumped in defeat. "What is it, honey?"
"I shouldn’t say anything," the teenager mumbled, her bottom lip quivering.
Justine wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulder and steered her into the bedroom, where they sat side by side on the bed.
"Dad and J2 are fighting."
Now the mother understood why her child was reluctant to speak. Not carrying tales between the two households was an unwritten rule.
&nb
sp; "Honey, married couples do that. It’s part of all relationships. Some people even say it’s healthy to fight every now and then."
"She’s hardly talking to Dad, and even when she does, you can tell that she’s mad at him for something."
"Whatever it is, I’m sure they’ll work it out. They love each other…and they both love you." Justine didn’t want to be in the middle of this, but she needed to be sure that whatever they were fighting about didn’t involve Emmy or Trey. "Do you know what the problem is?"
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Emmy shook her head. "They don’t talk about it in front of us, but I can hear them arguing at night."
"Have you talked about it with Trey?"
"Yeah, but he doesn’t know what it is either. He never hears anything because he’s always wearing those stupid headphones."
Justine was relieved to hear that Trey didn’t know anything about it. That meant that it probably wasn’t about him, even though his recent behavior certainly warranted some concern.
Alex! What if they’re fighting because of my suggestion to have Alex come over with Emmy sometime? JT said she probably wouldn’t want to do that. God, I hope I didn’t cause all this trouble.
"Honey…do you think this has anything to do with your little sister?"
"I doubt it. Dad usually goes along with whatever J2 says when it comes to Alex." But as she considered the possibility, she became alarmed. "Oh no! You don’t think they’re fighting because of me, do you?"
"No!" Justine went on to explain that she offered to have them both come over to give JT
and J2 a break, and that she hoped J2 hadn’t gotten upset with her for butting in.
"I don’t think she’d get upset, Mom. I just…think she’d call every ten minutes to see if Alex was okay. They’ve lined up a helper to come over a couple times a week starting in January."
