by Melissa Good
Hibiscus? Kerry blinked. “You mean Kiwanis?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Do you do a good job?” Kerry asked.
“I guess. The customers like me. I get stuff done, and I’m always on time and all that stuff.”
“Well, he could be coming down on you, but there’s another possibility,” Kerry said. “He might be trying to nudge you into a more responsible position in the restaurant.”
Barbara blinked at her, obviously never having even considered that prospect. “Huh?”
“If I were a fast food manager,” Kerry speculated, “and I had a position I needed to fill—say, an assistant manager or a shift leader—I’d find someone who was trustworthy, who was prompt and neat and got the job done, and give them a little more responsibility every day to see how they handled it.”
“You would?” Casey cocked her head, which was covered in an explosion of dark curls.
“Sure.” Kerry smiled. “Asking Barbara to do the ordering projections and supervising the cleaning of the bathrooms seems to me to be an indication that the man trusts her, and maybe wants to see if she’s ready to be promoted.” Her eyes twinkled at Barbara, who was staring open mouthed at her. “Tell you what.
Think of it that way for a week, and try to look at everything he does positively instead of negatively. See what happens.”
Barbara pushed a lock of hair behind an ear. “Wow…okay, yeah, I guess I could do that. Maybe I could, like, iron my shirts and stuff. See if he notices.” She smiled and her face lit up.
“Thanks, Kerry. You’re so cool.”
Kerry stood up and circled her chair. She leaned on the back and gazed at them. “Sometimes, it’s easy to get into the mode where you think everyone’s against you, or that your sexual preference automatically makes you a victim. It’s not true.” She paused and considered. “Not that it doesn’t happen. Of course it does. We all watch the news, or have had stuff happen, so you know it does.” A brief smile touched her lips. “But not always.”
“You’re pretty out at work, aren’t you?” Casey asked curiously.
Thicker Than Water 9
Kerry nodded.
“Do you get shit for that?”
The girls watched her closely, intensely interested in her answer. Kerry tended to turn talk away from her life to theirs, and they were always digging for little nuggets about her personal side. They knew she worked for a big company and that she was gay, and not a whole lot more. Most of them hadn’t even met Dar, since the current group had formed after the last picnic her lover had attended.
“Sometimes, there are people who find out and they don’t like it,” Kerry said. “But mostly, I just do my job and they don’t really care.”
“Your boss doesn’t care?”
She couldn’t suppress a smile. “No. Definitely not.”
“Cool.” Casey nodded. “Maybe I’ll get me a job there, then.
They sound all right.”
Kerry reviewed the stocky young woman, whose dark hair was dyed in three shades of purple to match the six different kinds of earring stones and to contrast with the tattoos dancing across her neck. “Give me your resume and I’ll give it to Person-nel.”
“All right.” Casey grinned. “You’re pretty cool, for an old lady.”
Kerry’s eyebrows lifted. “Just how ancient do you think I am?” She put her hands on her hips in mild outrage. “I only have three gray hairs, you know.”
Casey grinned, then bashfully dropped her eyes. “I know, I was just ragging you. It must be so cool–to have it all so together like you do.”
Hm. Yeah, as a matter of fact, it is pretty darn cool. “I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had good opportunities given to me and I’ve managed to find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with.
I thank God for that every day, believe me, Casey.” She circled the chair and sat down.
“Okay, so next subject.” Kerry pulled her legs into a cross legged position and leaned on the arm of her chair as she regarded her small group of teens. “Did you have a good Thanksgiving?”
Five sets of eyes rolled. “I hate holidays.” Lena groaned. “We had the whole family–my grandparents, the cousins, everyone, at our house. I had to dress up. It sucked.” The tiny, blond girl made a face.
Kerry chuckled. “Oh yeah, I remember those days. Thanksgiving was always big at my parents’ house. We had thirty or forty people there sometimes.”
10 Melissa Good
“Did you like it?” Lena asked, sounding doubtful.
Kerry thought about that. “Sometimes. When I was really young, I did, because all my cousins would come over. We were too little for anything really formal, so they’d let us loose in the solarium with a couple of the nannies and we’d have a ball.”
“Oo, nannies.” Erisa pushed a lock of dark hair back off her forehead. “You were, like, super rich, huh?”
“My parents are well off, yes,” Kerry replied.
“So, what did you do this Thanksgiving?” Lena asked. “Did you cook that turkey you got?”
How did we end up talking about me again? Kerry wondered.
“Yes and no. I did get to cook it, but it was a few days late. I was out of town for the holiday.”
Casey sat up. “You took off? What’d your SO think of that?”
Everyone’s ears perked up, and they watched Kerry with visible interest.
“Mm. Well, Dar knows my job entails a lot of traveling, so she understood.” Sort of. “But as it turned out, she was traveling too, and we both ended up in Chicago together. So, it worked out.”
Time to change the subject.
“I dunno.” Lena sighed. “For two days I had to listen to my folks tell me how I should get a boyfriend. They’re so clueless, I mean, like, hello. Those are not pictures of Leonardo Dumbasa-Fishio on my wall, okay?” She twisted her limbs into a position that made Kerry wonder if she had bones or plastic rods in her body. “You think they’d know, you know? Do I have to paint, like, my whole room in friggin’ rainbow stripes?”
“They’d probably think you were just doing that retro seven-ties thing.” Casey snorted. “My freaking father finally caught a clue when I dumped a box of friggin’ condoms he’d left in my room into his cereal bowl and told him I wasn’t in’erested in letting anything that fit in them fit in me.”
Kerry bit back a snort of laughter. “What did he say?”
Casey shrugged, then laughed without humor. “He said, thank fucking God, at least I wouldn’t go out and get stupid and pregnant, and make him pay for it.”
“Yo, he’d rather you be gay than a slut, right?” Lena remarked. “My folks would rather I be dead than gay.”
Kerry sobered. “You don’t know that.”
“Sure I do.” Lena looked directly at her. “My mom told me that right to my face, after she watched some fucking Oprah shit about gay kids.” She snorted. “She said if she ever found out I was gay, she’d shut me up in my room and gas me.”
Holy crap. Kerry took a breath to steady herself. “I don’t think she meant that. Parents say things like that to scare their kids, Thicker Than Water 11
sometimes.”
Lena shrugged. “Yeah, maybe, but I know why so many gay kids pretend they ain’t. You get so sick of people thinking you’re just so fucked up.”
“Yeah.” Elina nodded. “I was thinking the other day, is it even worth it?”
Kerry sat up and put both feet on the ground. She clasped her hands between her knees as she leaned forward. “Listen.” She spoke slowly and quietly. “My parents don’t like me being gay either, and that hurts, because I love my family very much.” She sorted through her feelings. “I hated having to make a choice between them and the truth about myself.”
“They just don’t get it,” Elina remarked softly. “It’s like they don’t understand it, so they have to hate it.”
Kerry nodded. “That’s true, and believe me, I was scared when I realized I was going to
have to face that. I didn’t want them to hate me.” She paused and collected her thoughts. “You know, I never knew what it would be like to fall in love. So when I fell in love with Dar, it was all so much of a surprise to me—how good it felt and what an amazingly powerful emotion love is.”
They all looked at each other, then back at her.
“It’s worth it,” Kerry said simply. “I wouldn’t give Dar up for all the money, or the approval of my parents, or anything else in the world.”
There was utter silence, and Kerry glanced from face to face as they stared. “C’mon, it wasn’t that profound.” She chuckled, then realized they weren’t staring at her, they were staring past her. She turned her head to find Dar leaning in the doorway, her arms folded and a quiet, pleased smile on her face. “Ah, it’s you.”
“Yes, it is,” Dar said.
Kerry was aware she was blushing. “C’mon in. Guys, this is Dar.”
Dar entered, rounded Kerry’s chair, and perched on an arm of it as she regarded the circle of young faces. “Hi,” she said, then turned her attention to Kerry. “You’re late.”
Kerry gave Dar a bewildered look. “I am? For what?”
“You have an appointment with me, some of my stone crab friends, and a tall bottle.” Dar watched the startled delight creep into Kerry’s features. “With lots of bubbles in it.” She turned her head and peered at the girls. “You’ll excuse her, right?”
Five heads nodded.
“Good.” Dar turned her attention back to Kerry. “Well?” She lifted an eyebrow and held out a hand, palm up. Kerry clasped Dar’s hand, their fingers curling warmly around each other’s. Dar stood and tugged, and waited for Kerry to stand up.
12 Melissa Good
“Um.” Kerry faced her group, who were now smiling and giggling at her. “I guess I’ll see you guys next week, huh?” She flashed them a rueful grin. “See? She’s definitely a keeper.”
Still clasping hands, they walked out of the meeting room and through the church, respecting the peaceful silence until they pushed through the large outer door and went from the slightly close air into a cool fall night and a gusty breeze tinged heavily with salt. “Wow.” Kerry regarded Dar’s profile outlined in stars.
“That was a surprise.”
Dar nodded. “I know. I had a tough day and ended up getting through it by planning the night with you. C’mon. Let’s go count stars.”
Kerry smiled and turned her face to the wind as they walked to a nearby small, seaside restaurant, its table candles fluttering in the breeze. Her hand felt warm in Dar’s and the concrete sidewalk seemed to turn into a cloud.
Chapter
Two
“ANGIE?” CYNTHIA STUART looked up as she heard footsteps in the hall. “We’re ready to sit down for dinner. Is Richard back?”
“Not yet.” Angela entered the solarium, took a seat, and straightened her skirt as she tucked her feet under the chair. “He said his meeting might run late. I just put Andrew to bed.” She fiddled with her hair—a dark brown, very unlike her older sister Kerry’s. She was also taller than her sibling, with a thin build that made her seem almost gaunt.
“Well, all right. It can wait a few minutes,” Cynthia replied.
“Your father’s still in conference, at any rate. But I think they are wrapping up shortly. He rang the bell about five minutes ago.”
Angie nodded and they were silent for a few moments.
“Have you spoken to your sister recently?” Cynthia asked.
Angie shook her head. “No. I tried calling there a few times, but I didn’t get an answer. I guess they’re busy.” She looked at her mother. “You know.”
“Mm.” Cynthia nodded once. “They do seem active.” She sighed. “I do wish—”
“Mother, don’t start,” Angie said. “Kerry’s happy, isn’t that enough? Just leave her alone.”
The study door opened and Roger Stuart emerged. Spotting them on his way to the dining room, he changed direction and entered the solarium. “What’s going on here? Are we not sitting down to dinner tonight? I expected to have soup on the table already.”
“We were waiting for you, Roger,” Cynthia responded mildly. “And Richard isn’t back yet. But we can go sit down now.
I’m sure he’ll join us shortly.” She got up and motioned for Angie to join her. “Was your meeting successful?”
“Tsh.” Roger shook his head. “Jackasses, all of them.” He stood back to let Cynthia and Angie precede him into the dining room. As they walked across the corridor the youngest Stuart sib-14 Melissa Good ling, brother Michael, joined them. “Ah. Come to mooch dinner again? They out of Happy Meals down the street?”
Michael colored, but didn’t answer. They all filed into the dining room and took seats. The dining room staff came in silently and placed platters of an orange, creamy looking soup on the table.
“What’s this?” Roger asked, poking the soup with a spoon.
“Is it that damn tomato I told you never to give me again?”
“No, sir,” the head server replied respectfully. “It’s cream of carrot.”
“Mmph.” Roger tasted it, then made a face. “Barely edible.
Does anyone in this house like carrots?”
“Kerry does,” Michael remarked, and sipped a spoonful of the soup. “I bet she’d like this.” He jerked slightly as Angie kicked him under the table.
Angie sighed. “She probably would, if it were being served anywhere but here.”
Her mother frowned. “Angela.”
Roger looked up and gave his children a dour stare. “I’m sure she would. But it’ll be a cold day in Hell before you ever find out, hmm? So keep your mouths shut until you have something intelligent to say.” He gave each of them a pointed look. “Should be a quiet meal.”
There was a long moment of tense silence, then Cynthia sighed again. “Well, so, how was your day, Michael? Did you meet any new clients?”
“Um…no.”
Roger laughed again, this time with a disgusted edge to the sound. Then he looked up abruptly. “Damned ironic that the one person in this family who could handle an intelligent discussion won’t ever be here for it.”
Silence settled in against the soft clanking of spoons.
DAR ENTERED HER office, tossed the report folder down on her desk, and watched it slide across the polished surface as she walked around behind it. She neatly caught the packet as it slid off the desk, and threw it into her outbox with a little noise of disgust.
Mondays. I hate them. Dar took a seat, nudged her trackball, and watched the screen come up. It was full of dark messages, some with red exclamation points. She rubbed her eyes and started to read them, cursing under her breath. “No.” She clicked delete. “No.” She clicked delete again. “Kiss my ass.” She selected three and deleted them. “Son of a bitch, what is wrong with these Thicker Than Water 15
people today?” Her phone rang and she hit the button. “Yes?”
“Dar, I have Mr. Alastair on numero uno,” Maria replied.
Jesus. “Okay, thanks.” Dar punched the line open. “Hi.”
“Morning, Dar.” Alastair sounded relatively relaxed. “Anything new going on there?”
Dar stared at the phone. “Were you expecting there to be?”
“Nah,” Alastair answered. “Just felt like touching base with you. How’s the shoulder?”
“Fine, Uncle Al. How’s your bursitis?” Dar replied, half amused and half aggravated. “You hear from Gerry?”
“Nope, not a word,” Alastair answered. “But I figure that as far as that goes, no news is one less thing I have to have chewing my shorts up, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” Dar said. “To answer your original question, it’s quiet here for a change. Just a lot of annoying crap in my mailbox I’m trying to catch up on.”
“Good to hear,” Alastair said. “Kerry doing okay? I got the feeling she was a little shook up with all that activity, eh? Sh
e settle down?”
Dar frowned at the phone. “Alastair?”
“Eh?”
“What the hell’s going on?”
Alastair sighed. “I’m trying to work on my subtlety, Dar.
You’re not helping.”
Blue eyes blinked a few times. “And it’s supposed to work on me?”
“Not really, no,” he said. “Fact is, I got wind that a relative of hers could be behind all this mish-mosh of questioning our contracts with the military.” His tone was serious. “So, I was wondering if she’d been in conflict with him again, maybe stirred him up.”
Dar snorted. “If that’s all it takes to stir him up, he’s not worth the six dollars per square yard of linen my tax dollars pay to clothe him.”
“Mm.”
“No,” she went on. “Kerry hasn’t spoken to her folks for a while. Nothing’s going on. He’s probably just being an asshole because he is one…and because of me.”
“Ah.”
Dar drummed her fingers on the desk. “This just start?”
“Nah,” Alastair answered. “Apparently he instigated it right after we first signed the deal. It’s just now bubbling to the top.”
Not because of what I gave him, then. “Well, I can’t help it. I can’t change what’s pissing him off. You think it’s real trouble?”
Alastair sighed again. “I think it might be. I know you can’t 16 Melissa Good fix it, Dar; I was just curious. I’ll take care of it on my end. Don’t fret over it.”
Dar suspected they both knew that bit of advice wasn’t going anywhere. “You think he’s coming after us? God damn it, Alastair, I saved the bastard’s life. What more does he want from me?”
“I know.” Alastair’s voice modified to a gentler tone. “Dar, it’s not you, it’s him. Let me handle it. I just wanted to know if there was anything going on with him and Kerry before I start hitting below the belt. Understand—I don’t give a damn if he’s her father. If he scotches this contract, we’re in big trouble, lady. I can’t make those dollars up at this late date in the fiscal year.”
No kidding. Dar chewed on the inside of her lip. The contract had been a huge plus for them when they’d announced it. “Do you know what it would mean if we had to go back on that now?”
