by Julia Watts
“So the jar of semen Dez brought over that night was —”
“Mine. I don’t believe it, though. I just did it that one time, and Dez did it dozens and dozens —”
“It just takes one sperm, honey.” Lily laughed and threw her arms around Ben, who, for the first time, hugged her back with equal force.
As Lily walked up the path to Granny McGilly’s house, the old woman opened the screen door.
Mimi stood in the doorway, wearing a sunshine-yellow gingham sundress, and her face lit up like sunshine as soon as she saw Lily. “Mama!” she squealed and ran barefoot down the path into Lily’s open arms.
Big Ben and Jeanie had told Lily and Ben they could invite anybody they wanted to the big celebration barbecue, and they had taken the elder McGillys at their word. Ken was there, and he and Ben were pushing Mimi around the pool on the inflatable raft while she lounged like a tiny bikinied goddess.
Jack was helping Ben’s brother Wayne tend the grill, while Honey was helping Jeanie set out the potato salad and baked beans.
“There’s no telling when we’ll see our better halves again,” Jeanie laughed, in reference to the fact that Big Ben had just taken Mick into the house to show her his hunting trophies.
At the redwood picnic table, Granny McGilly sat with Dale and Sue, drinking beer and laughing about times no one else at the party was old enough to remember.
Sheila and Tracee gave the party’s queer guests a wide berth, but they kept their pink-glossed lips buttoned tight. Big Ben had made it clear that any rudeness on their parts would incur his wrath, and he didn’t have to explain that his wrath carried with it dire financial consequences.
“You wanna come for a swim, Lily?” Ken hollered, as he and Ben were taking Mimi on another circuit of the pool.
“Not with that brand-new tattoo on her back, she don’t,” Honey answered for her. “She’s gotta keep it dry twenty-four hours.”
Earlier in the day, Lily had an appointment at Honey’s tattoo shop. On Lily’s left shoulder blade, Honey had engraved the image of a peacock. Its feathers swooped and flowed with the natural curve of her back. It was Lily’s first color tattoo, and it was stunning — rich with emerald greens and bright blues.
The peacock, Lily knew, would remind her of her time in the Peacock Alley region of Georgia, a time that had made its mark on her. But Lily liked the image of the peacock for another reason, too— its pride. Now that she had won Mimi, Lily planned never to hide her true colors again.
“Actually,” Jack said, joining Lily by the pool, “I was just about to ask you if you’d care to take a walk with me.”
“Sure,” Lily said. “Just don’t forget and touch my shoulder. It’s sore as hell.”
Jack smiled. “I promise not to touch ...” She leaned closer and whispered, “your shoulder, anyway.” Jack unlatched the gate, and they walked in the field beyond the McGilly mansion and pool.
“So,” Jack said, “what now?”
“I ... I thought we were going for a walk.”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Lily shrugged. “Well, I guess I’ll take those animal sketches and work on turning them into a book.”
Jack’s grin had an uneasiness behind it. “That’s not really what I meant either.”
Lily smiled. “Well ... Ben and I have been talking. He’s gonna put his condo on the market. He and Ken are gonna try to get a place halfway between here and Atlanta, so Ken can commute to work, but they’ll be close to the city, too. He and I are just gonna go our separate ways without making it official.
We’ve seen all we want of courtrooms lately, believe me.”
Lily knew she still hadn’t answered Jack’s question. “And me, well, I’m not planning on selling off Charlotte’s and my condo yet. I figure Mimi and I will go back to Atlanta, and I’ll work on the book.
But there was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Uh-huh?” Jack’s eyes glimmered with hope.
“About Mordecai. I know Big Ben and Jeanie don’t want him back, and he doesn’t strike me as a condo kinda dog, so I was wondering —”
“Sure, I’ll take him.” Jack’s voice was tinged with disappointment. “There’s always room for one more at the farm.”
Lily stopped walking and took both of Jack’s hands in her own. “The thing is, you know how Mordecai is about me. He’s really gonna miss me.” She let go of Jack’s hands and draped her arms over Jack’s shoulders. “So I guess I’ll have to drive up to the farm and visit him really, really often.”
Jack grinned. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” Lily grinned back. “I’d say I’d need to visit him every other weekend at least. And sometimes Mimi could spend time with her mamaw and papaw while I spend some time alone with ...
Mordecai. If that’s okay with you, of course.”
“I think I could handle that.” Jack leaned down and met Lily for a kiss, resting her hands on the small of Lily’s back. When they parted, Jack said, “I do have a question, though.”
“What’s that?”
“What if in a year or two, I—I mean, Mordecai —what if Mordecai decides that he wants to see you more often than just on the weekends? What if he decides that he wants to be with you every minute that he possibly can?”
Lily looked into the light blue eyes of this woman who was willing to give her not only love but time, who was willing to wait until Lily had healed enough to marry her life with another woman’s.
“Well,” she said, “if he feels that way in a year or so, we may just have to make arrangements such that the two of us can spend more time together.”
“All right!” Jack hugged Lily close, careful to avoid her new tattoo.
“Well,” Jack said. “I reckon they’ll be wondering what happened to us.”
“Let’s go then.” Lily took Jack’s hand and walked across the field toward the fence that enclosed the pool. She was ready to rejoin the party.
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FB2 document info
Document ID: 5437d901-67df-49df-a003-42069500330a
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 11.10.2011
Created using: calibre 0.8.21 software
Document authors :
Julia Watts
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