The Outsider

by K'Anne Meinel

  “You are building this village for my mom?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Initially…” she nodded. “There is no cure, but maybe we can give her and others the quality of life that every senior should have. When Don asked about us incorporating this as a senior center or if their husbands or wives could live there, I thought, why not?” She hesitated for a second, “I think people like G-Ma and others would like a place that was not a nursing home, but a village where their lives could be lived out with dignity,” her voice cracked a little at this, the tears welled up in her eyes. “I would like to think that my parents would have approved of a place where quality of life is important, where they might have wanted to live had they lived that long. I hope The Village is the first of many that we can build with my money.”

  “But you are spending so much with The Towns you are building, won’t you use that up?” she asked, concerned.

  Joy shook her head, “I will get back what I’m spending as others take our plans and incorporate them in their designs, as other cities and communities copy what we do.”

  “How? You gave away the plans for The Town for free…” she frowned as she wondered at her girlfriend’s generosity.

  “Yes,” she nodded. “I also gave them a list of companies and suppliers where they can purchase the products we used in The Town too. That way they can duplicate everything we did.

  “Here, let’s sit down and I will explain,” Joy led her to the comfortable settee in the living room. “Each company I contacted to help build my dreams…if they could do it within the timeframe and with the specifications I wanted, they were hired. You remember the many faithful men and women I hired, who in turn hired and trained the homeless,” she reminded Robyn who nodded. It had also been part of the news when she gave the reporters a tour. One of the headlines had read, ‘Milwaukee woman intends to wipe out homelessness in the city.’ “Some did not have the resources to do what I wanted, so I invested in their companies, helped them grow. For instance, the hydroponics company I hired out of Central Ohio. They were a small firm that had exactly what we were looking for. One of the contractors had used them once, but complained they were too small, too specialized, and wished they had the resources to do what we wanted on a larger scale. I made it so they could. I’m a majority shareholder in their company now and they aren’t just supplying me on my projects. I insisted they get a marketing company to expand their potential to others.”

  Robyn blinked, not even aware what of all this must have entailed.

  Joy smiled. “Do you think I just waited around as things were being built? I did a lot of research as I waited on others to get parts of the project done. Coming across that video for Medicine Hat, I was inspired. Bringing the teams on board with the ideas, adding the hydroponics, the solar, even the wind power, I am a stockholder in many of those companies now. I will make money as we grow The Town, whether it’s Site One, Two, Three, or Four…or beyond. I plan to start something down in San Antonio, Dallas, and even Austin, if I can manage it,” she explained. “I do not sit around and wait for each project to start, I start them and I start looking for something I can do in the meantime while those that are qualified get each project going or finished.”

  “That’s a helluva lot of managing of projects…” Robyn began, bewildered at the range and scope of what she was being told.

  Joy nodded in agreement. “I like to multitask,” she teased. “I’m also providing jobs and opportunity on so many levels. It’s why there are department heads and other people I can trust in the top positions, to make sure the micro-organizing is done by the professionals. I may start the ball rolling, but it’s their task to keep it going or answer to me. Now that Site One is almost complete, I will find someone to keep that ball rolling and to help oversee Site Two.” She went on to explain how she planned to have the senior center at Site Two incorporate a version of The Village for more than just dementia patients.

  “I don’t know, Joy. That’s kind of a seedy part of town,” Robyn said with trepidation, imagining her mother living there.

  Just then Pierre asked in English, “Vould you like to eat in zee dining room or here in zee living room?”

  “Let’s dine at the table, thank you, Pierre,” Joy answered, her voice taking on the well-modulated tones she had been taught at the Château Mont-Choisi.

  “Of course,” he answered deferentially and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Yes, that is the seedier part of Milwaukee, but what better way to improve it than with a new center, a new set of homes for the homeless, places for children to play, and a place where retirees can go without leaving their familiar neighborhood. It will make everyone there happier, I hope,” she added with a grin.

  “That’s a great experiment,” she marveled.

  Joy nodded. “The scope of this is huge and as we expand into other cities it will get more complicated, but I hope you will stick around and see what we can accomplish.”

  “Stick around?” she asked, surprised at the way that had been put into the conversation.

  “I hope to have a future with you, Robyn, a permanent one. I’m showing you how I have lived,” her hands took in the very nice apartment they were in, her arms spread out to encompass it all, almost in a hug. “I want you around in my future because I love you. I could shower you with gifts, but I do not think that would make you happy. Instead, I’m asking you to share my life, my future, and I’m hoping you will accept.”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?” Robyn asked, almost breathless at what she was hearing. Suddenly she was worried that that was NOT what Joy was offering.

  “Dinner is served,” Pierre called from the doorway.

  Joy got up off the settee, her hand gently lifted Robyn at the elbow. “Since same-sex marriage is not legal in most countries, I would say no to that; however, I do want you as my spouse, my partner, and my lover for the rest of my life.” She took Robyn in her arms, holding her to her body as she teared up. “I would marry you in any country that allows same-sex marriage, if you would have me,” she said quietly. “Yes, in a way I’m asking you to marry me. Would you have me forever?”

  “Oh, God, yes,” Robyn answered, astounded at the turn the entire enlightening conversation had taken. As Robyn leaned up, Joy leaned down and kissed her.

  “Do you want a formal ceremony? One with a party or a band or…?” she asked as she pulled back after their celebratory kiss.

  “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” she confessed as Joy began to gently lead her to the dining room table, sat her to the right of her chair, and then sat at the head of the table.

  Joy looked up at Pierre and said formally, “You may serve us now.” He nodded, almost bowed, and disappeared into the kitchen to bring out their dinner.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” Robyn admitted as she looked at the expensive plates, the three forks, the knives, spoons, and formal glasses.

  “Work from the outside in,” Joy told her with delight. “It is not so much formal, as it is Pierre showing off. I do not give him or his talents enough of a workout and he wants to impress.”

  Robyn was impressed and a little overwhelmed. Of course, she’d known that Joy had money, but as she saw the results of it: the private plane, the limousine, the incredible apartment in Paris, she had to wonder if she was out of her league. But Robyn also knew that Joy came from a middle-class upbringing. She had lived on the streets. The woman sitting next to her was the same person, she’d just taught herself better. “I don’t know if I’m up to this, up to your…” she began, starting to feel that overwhelming feeling as she worried about spilling something on the tablecloth. Pierre had just poured wine in their glasses after serving their expensive-looking dinner, a plate on top of their plate…all of it matching with gold edging.

  “Robyn,” she stopped her, her hand coming across to hold the brunette’s. “I had to learn all this. If you want, you can too. If you do not want to, then you do n
ot have to. I like me the way I am,” she admitted. “I have the means to be very generous. If it makes you uncomfortable though, I would give it all up,” her hand took in the very fine apartment and Robyn knew she didn’t mean just this. “I wanted you to see my world and maybe enjoy it. I was not showing off. I wanted you to see what my money, what our money, can buy.”

  “Our money?” she was feeling unsure again.

  “Well, I am sure my lawyers will insist on a pre-nup, I hope you do not mind; however, I want you to be able to do what you want with the money available to you. If you want to buy a car, you do not need to ask me, you just buy it because you need it or want it. I have watched you and you are not a wastrel; you do not spend money without putting thought into it. It is how I have been since I won this. I do not want to lose the ability to make people and their lives better as we are with The Town and now with The Village.”

  “I’ll sign any pre-nup you draw up,” she promised fervently. She wouldn’t let the expensive apartment or the style, class, and demeanor of those around Joy intimidate her. She’d learn. Oh, yes, she’d learn to fit in and make the blonde proud.

  “I insist you get a lawyer to look over whatever they come up with.” She put down her fork as her other hand was holding Robyn’s and took that hand in both of hers. “I want to make you happy,” she reiterated. “I want us to be happy.”

  “It was never about the money,” she repeated something she had been thinking for a long time.

  “I know, or you would have taken me up on the offer of a car,” she smiled, squeezing the hand she was holding.

  “Was that a test?” she asked, alarmed.

  Joy shook her blonde head. “No, I would never do that to you. I want you to know that I want to take care of you, but I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. That is why I offered marriage. I want a partnership, not me being your sugar mama, because that would never work for either of us.”

  Robyn was amazed at how much Joy had thought this out. She too wanted forever with this generous and thoughtful woman. She loved her, but she could feel her love deepening with all she had revealed to her. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said and then pulled Robyn’s hand to her lips and kissed the back of it. She saw tears in the blonde’s eyes at her gesture.

  “I love you, Robyn,” she said quietly.

  “I love you too, Joy,” she answered just as fervently.

  “We better eat or Pierre will be upset,” she said to change the subject and get her emotions under control. She reluctantly let go of Robyn’s hand so she could eat.

  “I vill be,” he called from the kitchen where it was obvious he was listening.

  The two women laughed at his audacity.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  After a wonderful evening spent together making love, even drinking champagne in the large bathtub, Robyn was shocked to be woken up so early in the morning.

  “Come on, we have the whole day to see Paris!” Joy told her as she bounced on the bed that had seen a long night of lovemaking.

  “Are you insane?” the brunette asked, trying to hide under the pillow.

  “We are in ‘La Ville Lumière,’” she said with full French inflections. “You cannot come here and not see the ‘City of Light,’” she translated as she pulled the pillow away from Robyn.

  “I need my beauty sleep,” she tried to argue, pulling back on the pillow and ending up in a tug-of-war.

  “Sleep later,” she was advised and was shocked when Joy let the pillow go and stood on the bed and bounced. “Come on, come on, come on,” she singsonged like a child. “I want to go!”

  “Oh, all right, you brat,” she teased as she watched, amused. She winced as she got carefully out of the bed, having used some muscles the previous night that she hadn’t used before, and not in the least bit upset about it.

  They breakfasted on yogurt and fruit, croissants, and black coffee that had quite a bite, but with a chocolate overtone. “Pierre knows I do not really drink coffee,” Joy explained.

  They were picked up in front of their apartment by a minibus. It took them first to the Montmartre and Notre Dame Cathedral, which took hours as they took pictures with their phones. They took photos of each other and then the kindly tour bus driver took photos of them together.

  “I never thought I would see this in my life,” Robyn enthused as she looked up at the arches, the magnificent architecture, and awe-inspiring historical places. They saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, the Palais Garnier, the Latin Quarter, the Musée Orsay, and the Pont Alexandre III.

  Joy smiled as she watched her girlfriend experiencing these places for the first time, some she had begun to take for granted because she had come so many times, both alone and with her friends. It humbled and delighted her.

  “Thank you for this,” Robyn told her as she impulsively hugged her.

  “Lunch,” the driver warned them to keep them and the other two couples on tour with them on schedule. They had lunch on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, able to skip ahead of the line because of their tour. Dining 187 feet off the ground with panoramic views of Paris was divine. They all rode up to see the equally amazing views from the top…Paris laid out at their feet.

  “Oh, my God, I didn’t realize how high up this would be,” Robyn exclaimed as she held onto Joy’s arm.

  “Look out, not down,” Joy advised her, hoping she wouldn’t get sick.

  That proved to be good advice and Robyn soon lost her queasiness, which was a good thing because next on the excursion was a boat trip along the Seine. They boarded the boat right next to the Eiffel Tower. Along the Seine, they saw The Louvre, Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, and so much more. It was breathtaking and something the two of them would always remember.

  “We can go into more of those places tomorrow, if you wish,” Joy promised as they gazed in wonder at the sights.

  “How much time do we have?”

  “As much time as you want.”

  “I thought you had to get back?”

  “I thought you wanted to see Paris?” she countered with a grin, her eyes sparkling as she challenged her.

  Robyn smiled at how well taken care of she felt with Joy. She was enjoying herself enormously as they played tourist to the hilt.

  The tour bus took them right back to the apartment when the tour was over and they collapsed in delight, exhausted from their day. Joy lived up to her promise as they took tours inside some of the most historical monuments, some Robyn had only dreamed of after seeing them in old World War II or Hollywood movies.

  “God, I’m exhausted,” Robyn complained in a happy voice as she put her feet up on the couch.

  “Move over,” Joy teased, pulling up Robyn’s feet, pulling off her shoes and socks, then starting to rub them as she placed them in her lap.

  “Oh, yummmm,” she moaned as the feel of Joy’s strong hands rubbed out some of the pain and fatigue in her poor feet.

  “I vill have a light dinner for you two shortly,” Pierre announced from the doorway.

  “Merci, Pierre,” Joy said automatically.

  “Mercy, Pierre,” Robyn called, butchering the word.

  Joy winced, but looked up to see a laughing Pierre turn back to the kitchen. She looked at her girlfriend. “Do you want to learn French?” she asked. She had done a lot of translating for her as they played tourist.

  “I do not know. Do you think I’m too old?”

  “You are never too old to learn anything. You just have to want it and try,” she assured her as she rubbed.

  “Oh, Gawd, I think I’m going to fall asleep here,” she complained good-naturedly.

  “Then I think it’s time for you to get up. We will eat and then I will bathe you,” Joy said with a look of devilment in her eyes.

  “You will bathe me?” she asked with a gleam in her own eyes.

  “Willingly,” she promised, and then lived up to that promise.

  They did not do much the followin
g day, lazing around the apartment, packing Joy’s clothes in boxes and suitcases along with a few things she had collected over the years that she felt she couldn’t live without. It was a surprisingly small number of things to move someone, but they did it slowly and methodically and Joy shared little stories about the trinkets she had found and why she kept them.

  “I got this one in Munich when we went skiing,” she showed a funny bobblehead man in lederhosen. “It always reminds me of that long weekend with my friends. I was suddenly in the midst of all these people and missing my parents, and he caught my eye and made me laugh.”

  “I bet your parents sent you signs over the years,” Robyn took Joy in her arms to comfort her. “I bet they are with you now.”

  “I bet you are right,” Joy said with a smile, the tears retreating as she kissed her girlfriend.

  They finished early and went out to a nice sidewalk café for an early dinner before walking along and window shopping.

  “We have got to go in here,” Joy said as she steered Robyn into a jewelry store.

  “Why?” she objected, having enjoyed the windows of the high-end stores, knowing they could have gone in and bought anything they wanted, and didn’t need to.

  “You need an engagement ring,” Joy insisted.

  “I do not,” she objected a little more strenuously.

  “Please, for me,” she gentled her words.

  Robyn knew as soon as she said it like that, she was lost and gave up the fight. She tried to see the prices of the rings they began to look at, but the place was too high class for that. Price was not the object of the rich who shopped here, or that was what she thought. “I really don’t need…” she started again as the diamonds were put on display for her. Her eyes lit on the sapphires in one display and Joy, quick as a wink, asked about them in Robyn’s size. “I really don’t need…” she began once more, but was lost as Joy found the only one she couldn’t take her eyes off. It was at least a full carat and she was speechless as it fit perfectly on her left hand.