Fare Game

by Cade Haddock Strong

  “I’m back here.”

  Riley dropped her bag and made her way back toward the kitchen. A wave of emotion swept over her when she laid eyes on Kay. She had already changed out of her work clothes and she was wearing an apron. She looked up from the cookbook propped up on the counter in front of her and gave Riley a crooked grin. “This is a nice surprise. You left work early… Oh, have you been crying? Is everything okay?”

  Riley didn’t say a word. She walked around the counter and threw her arms around Kay’s broad shoulders. “I love you so much,” she said and immediately started to cry again. She felt Kay’s arms circle her waist and pull them together. They stood that way for a long while until Kay pulled back slightly and looked her in the eyes. “What’s the matter, baby? You look like hell.”

  Riley stepped back and dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse. “I went out to Buckhead this afternoon.”

  Kay gave her a curious look. “You went to see your parents?”

  “My mother, specifically. My dad was at work.”

  “What made you…I don’t—”

  “I told her about you, about us,” Riley said quickly. “I came out to her.”

  Kay set down the small whisk she was holding. “Oh, my God, really?” Kay pulled Riley into another tight hug but released her seconds later. A look of concern crossed her face. “How’d she take the news?”

  Riley pulled one of the stools out from under the counter and sat down. “Hmm. I certainly wouldn’t describe her reaction as happy, but she didn’t pitch a fit or kick me out of the house.”

  “Well, that’s good, I guess.”

  “I think she was more shocked than anything. Oh, and she’s worried about how her friends will react.”

  “Oh, God, really?”

  “Uh-huh. She said she needed time to process it, the fact that I’m gay.”

  “Well, I’m proud of you.”

  “I’m kinda proud of me too,” Riley said. “I still can’t believe I did it.”

  Kay rested her hands on the counter and her brow furrowed. “I hope I didn’t push you too hard… I hope you told her because you were ready.”

  Riley reached across the counter, clasped Kay’s hand and gazed into her dark eyes. “You’re extremely important to me and I don’t want to keep you a secret from my family anymore.”

  “You’re incredibly important to me too,” Kay said softly.

  Riley settled back onto her stool and burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  Riley pointed toward the counter. It was littered with an array of spices and various other ingredients, multiple mixing bowls, a stack of measuring cups and a handful of other kitchen gadgets. “You, Kay Corbett, queen of takeout, are cooking? God, I can’t believe I didn’t notice all this when I first walked in.”

  Kay chuckled. “Yeah, I know, it’s a miracle, huh? I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from the doctor, and I don’t know, for some reason I got inspired.”

  “How did everything go with your appointment? It was just a routine exam, right?”

  “Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “Well, that’s good news.” Riley gestured to the mess on the countertop. “So what is it you’re making exactly?”

  “Scallops with an orange ginger sauce.”

  “Wow, that sounds pretty advanced. Need a hand?”

  “Nah, I’m good. You could pour us each a glass of wine, and if you don’t mind, maybe set the table.”

  Riley kicked off her heels and padded toward the wine fridge. “I’m on it.”

  The following day, Riley met Stephanie for lunch.

  “So, what’s new?” Riley asked once they’d placed their orders.

  Stephanie shrugged. “Not much, same old, same old. I like my job in concept, but so much of what I do is repetitive brainless shit.”

  As she listened to Stephanie talk, Riley fidgeted with her silverware. As far as she knew, Stephanie knew nothing about the price fixing and tricky accounting taking place at Logan. Riley had told her nothing. Nothing about Fred Archie and nothing about the complaint they’d submitted to the SEC. She desperately wanted to but knew she couldn’t or at least shouldn’t say anything about it. It felt strange, dishonest almost, to keep something like that from her best friend, especially because it was constantly on her mind and had virtually consumed her life as of late.

  “…But enough about me. How are things with you and Kay?”

  Riley smiled and tried to push thoughts of Concordia and Fred Archie out of her head. “They’re pretty fantastic. More than fantastic, actually.”

  “I’m so happy for you two.” Stephanie reached over and squeezed Riley’s hand. “You’re downright glowing, Rye.”

  Riley blushed. “Thanks Steph. I’m pretty happy for us too. I’ve gone ahead and fallen head over heels in love with her.”

  Stephanie squealed with delight. “You think she’s the one.”

  “I do.”

  “See, I told you that special someone was out there waiting for you.”

  “You did, my wise friend.” Riley jolted upright. “Oh, and you are so not going to believe this…”

  Stephanie scooted forward in her chair. “Believe what?”

  Riley paused briefly for effect. “I told my mother. About Kay.”

  Stephanie’s jaw dropped open. “I’m sorry, I must be at the wrong table. I’m supposed to be having lunch with my friend Riley, Southern belle extraordinaire.”

  “Ha ha. You are so not funny.”

  “I am in fact, hilarious,” Stephanie protested. “But, in all seriousness, that’s huge. I’m super proud of you. Did she totally flip?”

  After giving Stephanie a quick play-by-play of the conversation with her mother, she said, “I may be delusional, but I’m hoping she’ll come around and realize having a gay daughter is not the end of the world.” As if on cue, Riley’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and gave Stephanie a mock look of terror. “It’s my mother… Do you mind if I take it? Something’s got to be up. She never calls me during the workday.”

  “Not at all.”

  Riley stood and hurried outside, answering the call with a tentative, “Hello.”

  “Hello, Riley. It’s your mother.”

  “Yeah, I saw the caller—”

  “I’m sorry to bother you at work. Do you have a moment?”

  She paced on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. “Yeah, sure, Mom. Is something wrong.”

  Her mother cleared her throat. “I had a talk with your father…”

  Oh, Lord. “Okay.”

  “I told him about you and your friend, Kay.”

  Girlfriend. Riley fought off the urge to correct her mother. “And?”

  Her mother’s voice dropped to a whisper. “We both just want you to be happy, Riley, and if Kay makes you happy…”

  “She does. Very happy.”

  “Anyway, I was calling to see if… Would you two, you and Kay, like to come to dinner next Sunday? I’d invite you this Sunday, but we’ve got the club championship all weekend and—”

  “Next Sunday would be great Mom.” Riley smiled into the phone.

  “Okay honey, we’ll see you then and I…I look forward to meeting Kay.”

  Riley was too stunned to speak. That last statement, coming from her mother. Maybe she’d underestimated her. She croaked a goodbye, ended the call and scurried back inside the restaurant.

  “Well?” Stephanie said when she sat down.

  “Did you see that pig fly by the restaurant?” Riley asked with a laugh. “My mother just invited me and Kay to Sunday dinner.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “Well, here we are,” Riley said as they approached a big white mailbox, the name BAUER stamped on the side in big block letters. She crept up the long circular drive and came to a stop in front of the house. She peered over at Kay in the passenger seat. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

 
“All right. Here goes. God, I’m a nervous wreck. I mean, I know they’ll love you but I’m just…”

  Kay squeezed her hand. “I know, baby. It’ll be fine.”

  Perfectly manicured boxwoods lined the path to the heavy oak front door. Riley took a deep breath, reached for the handle and stepped inside. Fresh flowers adorned the table in the foyer and the scent of Pledge assaulted her nostrils. She could hear a baseball game on in the family room. “Hello, anybody home?” Her voice echoed in the large, two-story foyer.

  An instant later, her mother came bustling out of the kitchen, tugging off her apron. Riley glanced at her watch. They were a few minutes early.

  After giving Kay a not so subtle up and down, her mother stuck out her hand. “You must be Kay.”

  Kay smiled broadly and shook the outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Bauer.”

  Her mother craned her neck toward the family room. “William,” she hollered. “The girls are here. Come say hello.”

  She heard her father get up off the couch and shuffle toward the foyer. “Well, hello there, gals,” he bellowed. He embraced Riley warmly and turned toward Kay. “Welcome.” Riley smiled to herself. Her father had always been a man of few words.

  After her father retreated back to the family room, Riley and Kay followed her mother into the kitchen. “What can we do to help?” Riley asked.

  Her mother slipped the apron back on. “Nothing at all. I’m in good shape. You girls just sit and relax,” she said pointing toward the kitchen stools. “We’ll sit for cocktails as soon as your brother gets here. You know, ever since the baby, they’re always running late.”

  “Bobby’s coming?”

  “Oh, yes, didn’t I tell you?”

  Riley bit her lip. This was so typical. She forced a smile. “No, you didn’t mention it.” Bobby and Lynn’s appearance at Sunday dinner had become less and less frequent lately, and she couldn’t help but wonder if they were coming because they were curious to meet Kay or whether her mother had called them in for moral support.

  While they waited for Bobby, they carried on pleasant but forced small talk. Riley’s tension eased somewhat as she watched her mother flutter around the kitchen, occasionally dropping a mixing spoon here or a measuring cup there. Her mother, normally Mrs. Confidence, was also a bundle of nerves.

  When Bobby and Lynn showed up, Carly, their baby girl, took to Kay immediately, and during cocktails, she fussed if anyone else tried to hold her.

  While she passed hors d’oeuvres, Riley leaned over and whispered in Kay’s ear. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. She’s adorable,” Kay replied as she bounced the baby on her knee.

  She sat back down and watched Carly and Kay while she sipped her wine. The baby obviously wasn’t aware of it, but she was doing a splendid job of breaking the ice between her family and Kay.

  During dinner Kay had her dad and Bobby in stitches with some story she was telling. If someone were to peek in the dining room window, they might assume the group gathered around the table had been having Sunday dinner together for years, a thought that made Riley tear up.

  Once they were done eating, her mom stood and began clearing the table. She gestured toward Riley. “Sweetheart, will you give me a hand?”

  Kay moved to help but her mother gently touched her arm. “No, dear. You’re the guest. We’ve got this.”

  For the umpteenth time, Riley mused that it wouldn’t kill her brother to lend a hand, but she bit her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do was ruffle feathers during Kay’s inaugural Bauer family dinner.

  Riley stacked the last of the dishes in the sink and went in search of the dessert plates while her mother started the coffeepot. When she walked back into the kitchen, her mother was pulling a large tray out of the extra fridge in the pantry. It was covered with small glass dessert dishes full of fruit. Using her head, her mother gestured toward the freezer in the kitchen. “Grab the ice cream, would you, honey.”

  While Riley added a scoop of vanilla to each mound of fruit, her mother busied herself arranging coffee cups on a platter. They worked in silence until her mother said, “Kay seems very nice…not at all what I expected.”

  Riley didn’t even want to hazard a guess to what her mother expected. God knows what ill-informed notion she had of what a lesbian should or could look like. Still, she appreciated the fact that her mother was trying. “I’m glad you like her. Thanks for having us over.”

  Dessert was a relatively uneventful affair except for the few borderline inappropriate questions her brother asked Kay about lesbians. Riley rolled her eyes and tried to brush them off. As usual, he’d had a few too many.

  After dinner, Riley led Kay upstairs to her childhood bedroom. As controlling as she could be, Riley’s mother had pretty much let her decorate it the way she’d wanted, and it still looked almost like it did the day she left for college, although the pink and green flowered wallpaper was slightly more faded than it had been back then. A large poster of Mia Hamm, the soccer icon, hung over the neatly organized desk, and the shelves next to her bed overflowed with books, photos and trophies.

  A look of surprise crossed Kay’s face as she scanned the shelves. “You were a cheerleader? You never told me that.”

  Riley looked at her sheepishly. “Yep, but only for one year. I didn’t like it as much as other sports, if you can even call cheerleading a sport.”

  “I think you can. I mean it involves coordination and they do all those pyramids and stuff.”

  “I guess.”

  Kay eyed the trophies. “Ah, and based on all of these, I’d guess you were a pretty good tennis player.”

  “Yeah, I did okay. I don’t play much anymore though.”

  “That’s one game I’ve never really mastered.”

  “Sweet. Maybe there’s at least one sport I can beat you at.”

  “You know better than to challenge me,” Kay said with a smile.

  “Good point.” Riley pulled Kay into her arms and kissed her softly on the lips. “Thanks for having dinner with my family.”

  “They’re actually kind of nice,” Kay said.

  “Sorry about my brother. He can be sort of an ass sometimes.”

  Kay waved it off. “It’s okay. I’m just happy to be here.”

  Chapter Forty

  When Kay’s thirty-fifth birthday rolled around in mid-May, Riley surprised her with a trip to a golf resort in South Carolina. She’d rented a small condo and if they squinted, they could just make out the ocean from its balcony. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it rained practically nonstop the entire time they were there. They managed to get in nine holes of golf before the worst of the rain blew in, but otherwise, they spent most of the weekend in bed.

  “Sorry about this weather,” Riley said. “I thought it was supposed to be ‘April showers, bring May flowers.’”

  Kay snuggled up next to her. “I’ve got no complaints.”

  “Yeah, at least we’ve gotten a lot of, um exercise.” Riley said with a laugh. They were lying naked together in bed after having made love for the third time that day.

  “Mmm-hmm. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.” Kay rolled over on her back. “But, shit, I’m starving. How about you?”

  Riley tickled Kay’s stomach. “No surprise you’ve worked up quite an appetite. Want me to warm up some of the leftover chicken parm from last night’s dinner?”

  “Yum. Yes, please.”

  Riley rolled out of bed, pulled on a robe and padded into the kitchen. When the food was ready, she carried it back to the bedroom and called out, “Room service.” She set both plates full of steaming food down on the night table next to Kay and handed her a set of silverware and a napkin.

  Kay sat up in bed. “Rye?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I was just thinking… When’s your lease up?”

  Riley sat down on the bed next to her. “End of July. Why?”

  “Well, I was wondering if may
be you wanted to move in with me.”

  Riley’s eyes about popped out of her head. “You mean live together?”

  Kay nodded. “Yeah, unless you think it’s too soon.”

  Riley shook her head. “No. No, I don’t think it’s too soon…I’m…it’s just… We’ve never talked about it.”

  Kay tugged at a loose thread on the bed. “Well, what do you think about it?”

  Riley gripped Kay’s face with both hands and gave her a slow deep kiss before she replied. “Nothing would make me happier.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Okay, great. How about tomorrow?”

  “Ha ha, very funny.”

  “Okay, then, how about the day after tomorrow?”

  “I pretty much live at your house anyway,” Riley replied. It was true. She spent five or six nights a week at Kay’s. “But it would be wonderful to make it official and actually live there with you, hang my clothes next to yours in the closet, stack my books on the night table…” A wicked grin crossed Riley’s face. “Fill your bathroom drawers with my makeup, scatter my shoes across your bedroom floor…”

  Kay punched her arm softly. “Hmm, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better. I have almost zero furniture. Most of the stuff at my house belongs to my landlord. I’ll ask him if I can get out of my lease a little early, but even if he says no, I don’t see any reason to wait until my lease is up. I could move in sooner if you want.”

  Kay nuzzled her head in Riley’s neck, uttering a muffled, “Yes, I want.”

  Riley draped an arm over Kay’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “Maybe we can start bringing some of my stuff over next weekend?”

  Kay lifted her head. “Perfect. In the meantime, I’ll work on making some room in the dresser and closet so my beautiful girlfriend can move in with me.” She paused. “I love you. This feels right.”

  Riley smiled. “It feels more than right.”

  * * *

  When they got back to Atlanta, Riley went back to her house like she did almost every Sunday night. It was her one night to do all the stuff she didn’t get done during the week when she was at Kay’s—things like cleaning the house, doing laundry, paying bills, calling her mother and other exciting stuff.