Barbara L. Clanton - 2 - Tools of Ignorance - Lisa's Story

by Barbara L. Clanton

  Lisa murmured, “Same,” and pulled Sam back into another heated kiss. Sam ran a finger lightly over the palm of Lisa’s hand.

  Lisa’s pulse raced. “Oh,” she moaned, “keep that up and we’re going to violate that no bedroom rule.”

  Sam’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, sorry.” She let go and scrambled to the opposite end of the couch. “Better?”

  Lisa laughed. “No, but it’s probably safest.”

  Sam smiled. “In the name of honesty,” she motioned toward her bedroom, “I must now disclose what happened.”

  “Oh, God. Do I want to hear this?”

  Sam shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m going to tell you anyway.”

  “Okay, if it’ll make you feel better.” Lisa took a deep breath.

  “Honesty is our new policy, so I have to.” Sam cleared her throat. “I never had any close friends growing up. I know, I know. Poor little rich girl, but believe me, I thought I did have friends. Little by little I realized that my friends didn’t want me, they wanted Samantha Rose Payton who lived in the mansion with a swimming pool and servants and tennis courts. They wanted Samantha Rose Payton who gave kids presents on her birthday instead of the other way around. After a while I stopped trying to make friends because I didn't know if they wanted to be friends with me or with the money and the stuff.” She looked up and the sheen of tears in her eyes almost broke Lisa’s heart.

  “But then I discovered softball,” Sam continued. “I’d finally found something I was good at and didn’t have to be Samantha Rose to do it. I mean some of the people were still leeches. My teammates’ parents were the worst actually, but that’s a tale for another day.” Sam smiled. “So, anyway, Susie and Christy became my first real friends. They didn’t care who my family was. Well, more Susie actually. Susie didn’t care about the mansion or my convertible. She cared about me. Do you notice that we usually come over in her beat up Toyota?”

  “Yeah, I was wondering about that.”

  “Susie is a really giving person, and I think she knew I needed someone to like me for just me and nothing else.”

  “She sounds like a good friend.”

  “She is. I’m so glad she and Marlee found each other.”

  “Me, too.”

  Sam looked down and scratched at the inside of her knee as if the next part was going to be difficult. “Anyway, last summer Susie and I realized we were both attracted to girls and we, uh…” Her cheeks turned pink. “Well, one time she dropped me off at home after one of our summer league games, and I couldn’t stand being all alone in this big house, so I invited her in. I don’t know where Mom and Dad were that day. Off somewhere as usual, but we went up to my room, and I kissed her for the first time. I don’t think she was expecting it, but she didn’t protest. So, anyway. Susie and I would steal moments away from our friends and family and, you know, we’d get closer. We’d sneak away whenever we could without Christy getting mad. Susie and Christy were so tight then, just friends of course, but tight, you know?”

  Lisa sensed that Sam needed a breather so she asked, “How is Christy these days?”

  “She decided on UCLA.”

  Lisa sat up taller. “In California?”

  “Yeah, she wants to get as far away from home as possible.”

  “Is she gonna play ball?”

  “Yeah. Well, maybe. She’s going to try to walk on the team.”

  “That’s going to be tough.”

  “I know, but even if she doesn’t make the team, I think she’ll make some new friends and be much happier.”

  “I hope so.” Lisa nodded.

  “Well, one day,” Sam blew out a sigh, “Susie and I decided to hang out in there.” She pointed to her bedroom door, but didn’t look at it. “We had just kissed before.” She looked up at Lisa and said, “Okay, I know you don’t want details, so I’ll just say that we were on the bed kind of fumbling around half-dressed when Helene walked in.”

  “Oh, geez.” Lisa cringed.

  “I know. We never even heard her.”

  “You were a little preoccupied, I guess.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Sam pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. “Susie jumped off the bed and hid, but we were totally snagged. Helene turned her back, but stood right there in the doorway. She told us both to get dressed, and for Susie to go home. She said it so calmly and quietly that I thought it was the calm before the storm or something.”

  “You must have been scared to death.”

  “I was. I didn’t know what Helene was going to do. After Susie left, this was in early September by the way, Helene made me sit down right here on this couch, but I couldn’t look at her. I mean, come on, my nanny caught me half-naked with a girl.”

  Lisa shook her head in sympathy.

  “Oh, I know this is weird for me to tell you this, but I keep holding things back and that’s not cool. It’s not fair to you. Okay, so me and Susie, well, we weren’t really right for each other, you know? I broke it off with her soon after that. She wasn’t happy at first, but we both agree now that we make much better friends.”

  A weight lifted off Lisa’s shoulders, one of the weights she’d been carrying since softball camp.

  Sam smiled as if she’d witnessed Lisa’s weight evaporate. “Helene laid down the ground rules. No friends in the bedroom. Ever. The front room is okay if the door stays open. She said under no circumstances were my parents to find out.”

  “Your parents don’t know about you?”

  “Hell no.” Sam shook her head.

  Lisa felt the weight return as she realized something. “So they don’t know who I am.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No. I mean, they know I have a friend named Lisa, but that’s about it.”

  “Does Helene know that we’re more than friends?”

  “Helene?” Sam nodded. “Oh, yeah. Helene knows everything. She’s the one that told me to stop being an idiot and call you back.”

  “She did?”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s rooting for us, and I can tell that she likes you already, but we have to be discrete around here because Samantha Rose Payton has to be the perfect heiress to the fortune.” Sam rolled her eyes and laughed.

  “So are you keeping me hidden?” Lisa asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

  Sam got serious. “No, no way. Even though Helene wants me to keep this part of my life hidden, I have to come out to my parents one of these days. I want them to know that you’re important to me. I don’t want them to miss the fact that I’ve fallen in love for the first time in my life.”

  BRIDGET’S SQUEAL BROUGHT Lisa hurtling back to the present. She bolted upright on the playground bench.

  “What’s the matter, Sweetpea?”

  Bridget pointed. The morning sun glinted off the hood of Sam’s red convertible. One look at Sam behind the wheel was enough to give Lisa the courage to face anything, and that included helping Sam come out to her parents.

  Sam pulled up to the playground and got out of the car. The kids ran over and hugged her tightly. She had her very own private fan club. Once Sam extracted herself from her fans, she pointed to some grocery bags in the backseat. “Guess what I brought, guys.”

  “What?” Lawrence Jr. reached into the backseat and reached for the bags without success.

  Sam smiled. “I heard we’re having pancakes for lunch, so I brought the fixings for Sam’s Supersonic Strawberry Supreme Pancakes.”

  “You did?” Lisa raised an eyebrow. “It looks like it involves a lot of whipped cream.”

  Sam nodded once. “C’mon, everybody, hop in. Let’s drive home and unpack this stuff.” She patted Lynnie on the back. “I forgot to give Lisa some books for you yesterday, but I brought them today. They’re in the trunk. They’re by an author named Anne McCaffrey, and they’re all about dragons and dragonriders.”

  “Really?” Lynnie’s eyes grew wide. “Thanks, Sam.” She hopped in the backseat.

  Lisa’s heart wrapped itself around
Sam when she saw Lynnie’s grin.

  Once they drove home and put Sam’s groceries away, they settled themselves at the kitchen table to play Candy Land.

  “Lynnie,” Lisa said, “can you go get a pen so I can keep track of who wins?”

  “Okay.” Lynnie got up and looked in the usual spots for a pen, but when she couldn’t find one, ended up going to her bedroom for one. She handed Lisa a blue pen.

  Lisa took it without thinking, but then realized it was her favorite blue extra fine gel pen. “Hey, this is—” Lisa cut herself short when Lynnie avoided her glance. “Lynnie, where did you get this pen?” She glared at her sister.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam shoot her a look of concern, but Lisa didn’t take her eyes off her sister. “Lynnie, look at me.”

  Reluctantly, Lynnie looked up. Her cheeks were bright red as if she knew she had been caught red-handed.

  Lisa held up the pen. “Where did you get this?”

  “Sorry.” She lowered her head.

  “Oh, you’ll be sorry when we talk about this tomorrow.” Lisa threw the pen on the table in disgust. Lynnie jumped at the suddenness of it. The pen was proof enough for Lisa that her sister had been reading her journal, but Lynnie’s quick apology sealed the suspicion. Lisa could only imagine how much the nine-year old understood from the things she’d written in there. She hoped Lynnie hadn’t read anything about William or about kissing Sam. Oh, God, she prayed Lynnie didn’t know what ‘getting to second or third base’ meant. She groaned under her breath.

  The Candy Land game finally got underway, with Sam keeping track of the score with the discarded blue pen. After several games, the team of Bridget and Sam were declared the Candy Land champions with full bragging rights until the next Candy Land rematch. After a short trip to the playground, Lisa popped a Transformers DVD into the machine and turned it on. Bridget crawled into Sam’s lap on the couch and started petting Sam’s hair. “Wet’s wash your hair.”

  “What?” Sam looked at Lisa.

  “Oh, my mom has a haircutting studio.” Lisa pointed toward the back of the house. “My dad remodeled the back porch for her.”

  “Let’s do it.” Sam stood up.

  “No, Sam, c’mon. We don’t have to wash your hair.” Lisa laughed.

  “No, c’mon. Let’s go for it.” She took the band off of her ponytail. She looked at Lynnie with a gleam in her eye. “Show me where it is.”

  Lynnie leaped off the floor and headed toward the back. “It’s in here.” She led the way and then sat down in the hair washing chair. “You sit like this and then, oh, we have to get a towel for your neck first, but then you lean back and put your neck on the edge of the sink.” Lynnie demonstrated as if Sam had never been to a hair salon and had never had her hair washed before.

  “Okay, I get it.”

  Lisa wrapped a towel around Sam’s neck. “You’re crazy, you know.”

  “I know, but it’s all in fun.” Sam sat down in the chair. “This is comfortable.”

  Bridget stood next to her and patted her arm. “Okay, wean back and put your hair in the sink.”

  Sam did as instructed, and Lisa turned on the sprayer.

  Lawrence Jr. grabbed for the sprayer. “Me first.”

  Lisa pulled it back. “Hang on, let’s make sure it’s the right temperature. We don’t want to freeze Sam on her first day here, right guys?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Lawrence Jr. put his hand down.

  Once the water was of adequate temperature, Lisa handed the sprayer to her brother. “Don’t get water in her eyes now.” To Sam she said, “You’d better close them.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want to shampoo.” Bridget gestured at the shampoo bottle.

  Lisa pushed a squirt of shampoo into her good hand and then scooped some into Bridget’s. “Be gentle. Work it in, like this.” Lisa massaged the shampoo into Sam’s scalp with one hand. Bridget did the same, but with both hands.

  “Mmm,” Sam said. “That feels nice, Bridget. Like a free massage.”

  Bridget giggled.

  “Do you want to help, Lynnie?” Lisa asked.

  Lynnie shook her head.

  “Tell you what. You can rinse the rest of the soap out once Lawrence Jr. thinks he’s done.” Lisa reached down to wash the long length of Sam’s hair. She had shampooed a lot of her mom’s customers, so she was used to the task.

  Lawrence Jr. checked the temperature before using the sprayer to rinse out the shampoo. “Here Lynnie.” He handed the sprayer to his sister when he was done.

  “Thanks.” Lynnie meticulously rinsed the rest of the soap out properly.

  “Do you want conditioner?” Lisa asked Sam. “This is a full-service salon.”

  “Sure,” Sam said and dared to open one eye.

  Lisa took off her soft cast and flexed her hand. It felt good. She pumped some conditioner into it and began massaging Sam’s head with both hands.

  “Mmm,” Sam said. “That feels good.”

  A tingle ran up Lisa’s spine. It did feel good. Too bad the kids were around, because she needed to kiss Sam. She’d have to wait until they could steal a moment alone.

  The Transformers video they’d left playing in the living room grew louder as the action intensified. Lawrence Jr. bolted out of room toward the television with Bridget scampering right behind him.

  “Oh, shoot,” Lisa said. “Lynnie, can you go watch them while I finish this?”

  “Okay.” Lynnie skipped after her brother and sister.

  “Are they gone?” Sam snuck a peek out of one eye.

  Lisa slowed her massage. “Yup.”

  “Good, I want the full-service in this full-service salon. Kiss me.”

  “Oh, I see how you are.” Lisa looked over her shoulder to make sure none of the kids had come back and straddled Sam on the seat.

  Sam grabbed Lisa’s hips, pulled her down, and held her tight. Lisa braced herself on the edge of the sink with both hands, so she wouldn’t fall, and leaned down to touch her lips to Sam’s. Sam moaned, so Lisa kissed her harder.

  “Why do you always have to be kissing girls?” Lynnie stamped her foot.

  Lisa jumped off of Sam just as Lynnie punched a stack of clean towels to the floor and ran out of the room.

  “Lynnie, wait,” Lisa called after her sister.

  “Here,” Sam said, “rinse me out quick, and I’ll go talk to her, okay?”

  “Okay.” Lisa turned the water back on and rinsed out the conditioner. “Geez, I am in so much trouble. My mom told me specifically not to let the kids see.”

  “It’s not your fault, Lisa.”

  Lisa knew it was, though. “Okay, you’re good.” She handed Sam a clean dry towel.

  Sam wrapped her hair in the towel and dried it as she left the porch. Lisa cleaned up and then headed back to the living room.

  Sam stood just outside of Lynnie’s closed bedroom door. Lisa sat down on the couch with Bridget and Lawrence Jr. who were mesmerized by the Transformers movie.

  “Lynnie, it’s me, Sam.”

  “Go away.” Her voice sounded far away. She was probably on her bed.

  “Oh, c’mon. Don’t do me like that. It’s just me.”

  There was no answer, so Sam persevered. “Listen, Lynnie. I love your sister, and when people love each other, sometimes they kiss.” Sam turned to look at Lisa and shrugged.

  Lisa motioned for her to continue.

  “Sometimes girls like to kiss other girls.”

  “Does that mean I have to kiss girls, too?” Lynnie’s voice sounded closer as if she had moved closer to the bedroom door.

  Sam laughed. “No, honey, it doesn’t mean you have to kiss girls, too, but if you ever wanted to, it would be okay.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Then you don’t have to. Do you want to kiss boys then?”

  “Eww, no way.”

  Sam laughed. “So, you have a few years to figure it out, right?”

  Lynnie open
ed the door and must have nodded because Sam said, “I love your sister, and I think she loves me, too. I hope she does, anyway, so kissing her is no biggie, really. It’s natural.”

  “Okay.” Lynnie took a tentative step out of the room. “I guess.”

  “Hey, your mom and dad kiss each other sometimes, right?”

  Lynnie nodded.

  “See? It’s natural.” Sam smiled and then flashed Lisa a quick grin. She turned back to Lynnie. “Hey, I think it’s time for pancakes. Do you want to help?”

  Lynnie’s face lit up. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, c’mon everybody,” Sam announced. “It’s time to make Sam’s Supersonic Strawberry Supreme Pancakes.”

  A cheer went up in the Brown house, and they raced to the small kitchen.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Weddings

  LISA’S MOTHER ADJUSTED a spray of white baby’s breath in Lisa’s hair. Tendrils of black curls bounced in front of Lisa’s shoulders.

  “C’mon, Mama,” Lisa’s father said. “Stop fussing, so I can take a picture of the girls.”

  “Okay, Papa.” Lisa’s mother stepped back and looked at Lisa and Sam standing on the front stoop under the archway. “You girls look so beautiful.”

  “Mom,” Lisa said, “don’t start crying again, okay? We’re just going to William’s wedding.”

  “I know.” Her mother smiled at them and sniffled.

  Sam chuckled and looked up at Lisa standing by her side.

  Lisa smiled back admiring the smooth lines of Sam’s blue sundress. The color complemented her own strapless silk chiffon bridesmaid’s dress perfectly. She reached up and rubbed her fingers on the new gold necklace that Sam had slipped around her neck when they were getting ready earlier.

  “Smile, you two. This one’s for the family album.” Lisa’s father pointed his digital camera at them.

  Lisa smiled as her father snapped the picture and couldn’t help the smile in her heart. She hadn’t yet spoken to her father about being gay, but she knew that he would be okay with it, at least she hoped so.

  “Okay, little ones,” her father said to Lisa’s sisters and brother, “go ahead and get in the picture, but do not, I repeat, do not get Lisa or Sam dirty.”