"So what happened?" Jamie looked like she was about to cry, and Ryan regretted answering her original question in so much detail, but she was in too far to drop it now.
"His guilt, and probably his fear, over the incident overwhelmed him. He found a tiny apartment in Bernal Heights and lived apart from his family. They saw him often, but he refused to attend family functions. As his health failed, Maeve tried to convince him to return to the home, but he steadfastly refused, insisting that he had lost the right to live in his own home."
"Well, at least he had the good sense to stay away," Jamie mused.
"I guess," Ryan said slowly. "But I think it was a way to get extra attention too. Poor Aunt Maeve had to drag herself over to his apartment two and three times a day to take care of him during his last years. It would have been far preferable for her to have him back home, but you could never tell Charlie Driscoll a thing."
"When did he die?" Jamie asked, assuming it was long ago.
"Just two years ago," Ryan revealed. "Liver failure."
"Wow." Jamie lay back on the bed, considering the enormous amount of pain Maeve had experienced through the years. "She sure deserves some happiness now," she agreed. "And if her O’Flaherty is anything like mine, she’s in for a boatload."
Jamie couldn’t stop ruminating about the situation, and a few minutes later she was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Hey, Honey?" she asked absently.
"Yeshhh?" Ryan replied with a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Would it be totally out of the question for me to buy a house over here and let your father and Maeve live in it until we came back?"
Ryan ducked back into the bath and rinsed her mouth. She strolled out of the room with a contemplative look. "I can't imagine that they would agree to that. Even though it's terribly thoughtful of you," she said as she climbed up onto the bed. They were both in their normal bedtime attire of nothing at all, with Jamie resting on top of the comforter, lying on her side with her head supported by her open palm. Ryan imitated her posture as she settled down just inches away. "I know he would want to pay the mortgage if they lived in the house. And there is just no way he could afford that. I'm not sure how much he makes, but I think it's around $70,000. Maeve lives on Uncle Charlie's social security and his pension. I'm guessing she gets by on about $30,000. That's clearly not enough for an eight or nine hundred thousand dollar home."
"Is that what houses around here cost?" Jamie was astounded at the estimate. She knew that real estate prices were outrageous, but some of the homes in the neighborhood looked like they were less than 1,500 square feet.
"That's what a house smaller than this on a marginal street costs. And the prices are going up so fast that it’s ridiculous. What we really need is at least one large house with a big living room or a yard for all of our parties. When we all start having kids, it's going to be impossible. And being together is one of the things that keeps us close."
"We’ve got to put our heads together and help them find a way to be together, Ryan. They’ve been so supportive of us, we owe them that."
"We will, Baby," she agreed.
Jamie lifted her hand and began to play with Ryan’s hair, moving up until she was scratching her scalp. "I didn’t have a chance to tell you who I played golf with this afternoon," she said.
"Who?" Ryan’s lazy, low voice betrayed her desire to get to sleep, and Jamie smiled at her half-closed eyes.
"Mia and her father," she said.
The blue eyes opened fully. "Really? Was she just home for the weekend?"
"Yep. The little devil surprised me. That’s her favorite thing to do, you know."
Ryan smiled and asked, "Why do you think everyone in your life tries to tease you?"
"Mmmm…maybe because I’m such a sucker?" she posited, a fond smile on her face.
"Just checking," Ryan murmured, rolling onto her back to provide a different surface for the head-rub. "I want to make sure you’re self-aware."
The pinch she delivered caused Ryan’s eyes to pop wide open. "Yow! That was a sharp one!"
"You’ve heard of the sucker punch?…Well, that was the sucker pinch, and there’s plenty more where that came from, Tiger."
"Duly noted," Ryan smiled, rubbing her side dramatically. "Did you have a good time today?"
"Yeah…" Jamie hesitated, still mulling over Mia’s advice. "I gave her a ride to the airport, and we caught up on everything that’s happened since I saw her in Santa Monica."
Ryan grabbed a pillow and placed it over her face, moaning loudly into the surface. "Does she know absolutely everything about our sex life now?"
Jamie pulled the pillow away from Ryan’s face and asked with sincerity, "I didn’t tell her any details today, Babe, and if I bothers you promise that I never will."
Ryan shook her head and shared a small story. "I got my first computer not long after I came out. AOL was just getting popular, and I found some chat rooms for lesbians. I was on that darned thing every night! That’s actually part of the reason my grades were so bad that first semester. I was so taken with everything that was happening to me and the overpowering feelings that came with coming out, I just had to talk to people. It doesn’t bother or surprise me that you need to talk about the things that are going on, Honey. Have at it."
Jamie took the pillow from Ryan and placed it under her own head. "You know, I think part of the reason I want to tell her things is because I’ve never really had anything to tell."
"Huh?"
"Mia’s always been really frank when she tells me about her life, but I’ve never had much to tell. I’m kinda proud of myself for finally being able to tell her things that surprise her," she admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"We’ve just begun to explore each other," Ryan murmured, tracing Jamie’s features with the tip of her finger. "You two will be exchanging naughty little stories for years to come."
Jamie laughed at her teasing tone. "I guess that alone is reason enough to keep making love to you." She saucily stuck her tongue out, just barely managing to pull it back into her mouth before it was grabbed by Ryan’s lightning quick hands.
"You sounded a little unsure when I asked if you had a good time, Babe. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," she said lazily, stretching languidly as she spoke. "I told her I was going to tell my parents about us, and she really thinks I should wait."
"Uh-huh," Ryan said, trying to keep her voice neutral.
"Come on, Ryan, I know you have an opinion. What do you think I should do?"
"Well," she mused, "neither your grandfather nor Mia seems to think you should do it just yet. They both know your parents and you pretty well. So I’d have to defer to their opinion." Ryan personally thought that it was far too early for Jamie to break the news, but she didn’t want to bear the responsibility for encouraging her to wait.
"I just hate to hide, Baby!" She was obviously frustrated, and Ryan understood the reasons for her frustration, but she still thought it best to wait.
"Why don’t you do this in a few steps, Babe. Tell them I’ve moved in with you. You’ve told me yourself that you think they’ll like me if they get to know me as your friend first. We could have them over for dinner, or go down to their house a few times this summer. You could spend some time making sure you have a plan and getting feedback from your therapist, and when you’re really comfortable you can tell them."
"I guess that would work," she said glumly. "I’m just afraid that Daddy will expect you to start paying rent if I tell him that you’re taking Cassie’s place as my roommate."
"I want to pay rent," Ryan said in a soft but serious voice. "I talked to Da about it, and he made me see it’s best for all of us if we do this aboveboard."
"Honey, you can’t afford to pay Cassie’s share! If you don’t work this year, you’ll be broke in no time."
Now Ryan looked uncertain of her decision. "Um…how much did she pay?"
"A thousand a month," Jamie said, r
olling her eyes a bit.
"A thou…thou…thousand a month?" Ryan’s mouth gaped open as she pictured her savings flying from her account. "Did that cover food too?"
Jamie shook her head. "Just rent, Baby. With her share of the utilities, Maria Los and some food, she usually paid about $1,500 a month."
"Wow." Ryan stared up at the ceiling, mulling over this unsettling development. "I could handle that, but then I wouldn’t have enough to pay for grad school," she admitted. "I’ve got about $30,000 total, and $1,500 a month would knock that down to $12,000 by next June." Her sense of humor returned as she suggested, "Could I pay less if I kept my stuff in the garage and we took showers together?"
Jamie patted her cheek and insisted, "I don’t want you to pay anything, Babe. My father doesn’t need your money—you do."
"Cassie paid him? I assumed she would pay you."
"No, she paid him for the rent, and she paid me for the incidentals." She was deep in thought for a few minutes, finally coming up with an idea that seemed like it might work. "How about this? You want to do the grocery shopping and things like that. I’ll make a deposit into your account, and you can handle our household expenses. I can make it out to cash so your name isn’t even on it. That way you can pay my father every month out of your own account. He won’t be the wiser, and it will look like everything is going along the same way it did when Cassie was here."
Ryan pursed her lips and tried to think of a reason to decline the offer. After a few minutes of contemplation she had to agree that it was the only way to convince Jim she was a roommate without depleting her savings. She was not happy with the arrangement, and she knew it was the absolute moral equivalent of a lie, but she nodded her agreement. "Only one problem, Sparky," she smirked. "I don’t have a checking account."
Jamie’s eyes opened wide and she actually had to struggle to contain her shock. She had opened her first checking account the same day she got her driver’s license and it amazed her that Ryan could have made it to nearly 24 without one. She patted her lover’s cheek and promised, "That will change tomorrow, Tiger."
Part 10
"Mmmm, that feels nice," Jamie murmured as Ryan slid back into bed behind her. "Hey!" she said as she shot straight up, "are you home already? It seems like you just left."
Ryan gave her a gentle smile as she checked her watch. "I’ve been gone for over three hours, Sweetness."
"How did it go?" she asked excitedly. "Were the other girls nice to you?"
Ryan’s mouth quirked into a grin as she related, "I didn’t actually meet everyone. Six a.m. isn’t the best time to get to know people. But Coach introduced me and I’m sure I can meet everyone by the end of the week. I ran by myself today but I think I’ll try to be a little more social the rest of the week."
"So what did you think of your teammates?"
"They all seemed to be able to run five miles," she said as she gave a little shoulder shrug. "You know how I am when I run, Baby. I just focus on my breathing. It’s going to be hard for me to pay attention to my teammates, but I think I need to do it just to feel part of the team."
Jamie’s mouth turned into a pout as she admitted, "I thought you’d be able to describe everyone and tell me what you thought. I’m disappointed. Did you at least meet Jordan?"
Ryan gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I met her all right. Then I spent almost ten miles staring at her back. She’s fast!"
"Oooh…faster than you, huh, Tiger?"
"I wasn’t prepared," Ryan scoffed. "I was just trying to get comfortable." Jamie loved the fact that Ryan could not admit that another athlete could beat her at anything. It was part of the confidence that she found particularly sexy.
Turning the conversation away from any possible weakness she might have, Ryan started to nuzzle her partner’s neck. Turning quickly she sneezed violently after her nose was tickled by the flyaway strands of Jamie’s hair.
"I need a haircut," Jamie needlessly admitted as she ruffled the long bangs that hung loosely in her eyes.
"It is getting a little long," Ryan agreed as she leaned back in to nuzzle again. "I have to push it out of the way to kiss my favorite place."
"Oh, now that's your favorite place?" she teased with a wide smile as she turned around and slid her arms around her lover's waist. "Last night it was the small of my back. If I’m not mistaken, the back of my knees was the winner on Saturday. Come to think of it, I seem to remember that you were very fond of my earlobes on Friday…"
Ryan opened her blue eyes very wide as her face broke into a big grin. She shrugged her broad shoulders and said, "I have lots of favorite spots. But the back of your neck is my favorite of all the backs of necks I've ever tasted."
"I think I understand," she said as she hugged her tightly. "I couldn't pick one place on you that I love the most, either. Hey, If I can get an appointment do you want to go with me? I know I said you couldn't cut yours, but out of humanitarian concerns I have reconsidered."
"Really? Why is that?"
"After seeing how hot you got when you were working out for the various teams, I decided that it was inhumane to keep your hair that long. I think you could take off four or five inches and still have it look the same."
"So, is that your biggest concern? You want it to look the same?"
"Partly, but I still think my biggest requirement is that I can grab it and run my fingers through it when we make love. There's nothing I like better than to have you moving over me with that sexy hair tickling my breasts."
"You, my dear, are sounding more like a lesbian every day," she said as she tweaked her nose.
"Nope. I’m still not ready to jump into the pool. I think I'm a Ryanian, or a Rynaholic, or a Ryanaphile."
"I kinda like Ryanaphile. It's got a nice ring to it."
"I don't believe you answered my question, My Sweet," Jamie reminded her as she nuzzled her neck. "Do you want to go if we can get appointments?"
"Sure. I just need to be at work by noon. Can we manage that?"
"I’ll do my best," she promised as she crawled out of bed in search of her cell phone.
An hour later they were entering the cozy confines of Giancarlo. Jamie had originally found the shop when she decided to cut her long hair during her freshman year. Giancarlo was the owner and he was a genuine delight. Terribly gay and rather authoritarian, he was also playful, impetuous and generous to a fault, and Jamie adored him. He was about 35 or so, and Ryan immediately noticed his stylish dress. A black silk T-shirt and elegantly cut pleated black pants draped tastefully over his muscular body. He was very attractive, with thick jet-black hair that had just a hint of curl to it brushing his collar in the back. His dark brown eyes were framed by long black eyelashes, and his eyes conveyed every emotion that he felt. When they walked in, he looked up from the head he was cutting and called out, "Cara Mia! I've missed you!"
Jamie smiled and waved and took Ryan over to have a seat while they waited. She decided that Ryan should go first in case it took a long time, then went to the receptionist to check on the schedule. "When is Carlo's next appointment?"
"You're his last two until after lunch. It's slow in June with most of the students gone for the summer."
"Great. We might take extra long today."
When he was finished, he waved Jamie over with a flourish. They kissed dramatically on both cheeks and chatted away in Italian for several minutes. Ryan stood openmouthed as she took in this new piece of information about her lover. Jamie noticed her shock and said something to Giancarlo that made him howl. As he was doubling over with laughter, Jamie turned to her lover and just winked. She pushed Ryan down into the chair and continued her conversation in Italian. After a moment, Ryan had had enough. "Hey, don't I even get introduced?"
"Of course, Sweetheart," she said as she bent down to kiss Ryan on the cheek. "I was just updating Carlo on my lifestyle change. He's very impressed, aren't you, Carlo?"
"Yes, yes," he said in a nearly incomprehensibly ac
cented voice. "I always knew that Jamie had romance in her soul. I think you help her bring that out, no?"
Ryan blushed furiously as her companions laughed at her embarrassment. Jamie stood behind the chair and spoke in English for Ryan's benefit. "You can’t take too much off, Carlo, but she's very active and her head gets terribly hot. What do you suggest?"
He walked around Ryan, deep in thought. He lifted her chin with his fingers and brushed the hair off her forehead, staring intently at her face the entire time. Then he grabbed it into a ponytail and pulled it away from her face and studied her facial structure without interference from her hair, commenting to Jamie in Italian throughout the entire inspection. Occasionally she would agree with some point and would touch Ryan's face or her neck. Sporadic bouts of laughter made Ryan feel that she was the butt of some joke, but she knew that even if the humor might concern her, it wasn't be malicious.
After Giancarlo made one suggestion, Jamie looked at him in horror. "No, No, No!" she cried. She looked down at Ryan and explained. "He has one client who has hair as long as yours. She hates to be hot, so he shaves her head from just above her ears on down. When she leaves it down it looks perfectly normal. But when she pulls it up in a ponytail, she's nice and cool."
"Hmmm," Ryan said. "That sounds like it might work."
Jamie leaned down and put her face right in front of Ryan's. "No, Baby. That's not going to happen."
Giancarlo laughed at this interchange and continued to debate, in Italian, with Jamie, their discussion getting more and more heated. Finally, he stormed off to get a bottle of Pellegrino while Jamie explained the problem. "He says that your face is too beautiful to hide behind all of this hair. He insists I must allow your chiseled features to receive the acclaim they deserve. He says it's like putting a coat on the Venus de Milo," she said, shaking her head with a laugh.
Ryan surveyed her face in the mirror. "I think he has a point," she mused as she swiveled in her seat.
Jamie shot her a disbelieving glance and was reassured when Ryan broke into a smile. "Can't he just take a few inches off? I could go to Supercuts and be done in three minutes."
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