by Lori L. Lake
“I guessed that from all the blushing you’re doing. So, is she your girlfriend?” She dribbled twice, and then swish.
“Mom, if you keep this up, I’m never going to get a chance to shoot!”
“Are you trying to change the subject, Glory Hunter?” She walked up to me. “Let’s go a short game to eleven. Show me what you learned at camp, and I am talking basketball here.”
“Mom!”
“I’m just happy for you, baby, that’s all.” She put her arm around my shoulder and we walked to the foul line. “Go ahead, you take it out.”
“How much are you spotting me?”
“Are you kidding? You just got out of basketball camp. Now show me your moves. Basketball, that is,” she said again, laughing.
“Mom!” I shouted, embarrassed.
I MADE IT to the table just in time for dinner. “So, what’s this all about?” I asked while I sat at the dining room table.
Everyone passed the mashed potatoes when my father stopped. “Jeanie, Glory, I’m just going to come right out and say this because I know you’re both adults. Your mother’s sick.”
I turned. “Mom?”
“Glory, shhh…let your father talk.” She gave me a small smile.
“Yeah, Glory, shut up!” Jeanie said, “Go ahead, daddy.”
I folded my arms across my chest and slammed back in my chair with a pout on my face.
“Girls, this is very important. Your mother is very sick and will be in the hospital for a while.”
I stared at my mother who was staring down at the dining room table.
“Now I expect you girls to help out around here. We all need to make things easier for your mother.”
I nodded.
“Okay, daddy,” Jeanie said.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Mom, Dad, what’s wrong? Why do you need to go into the hospital, Mom?”
“Glory, you don’t need to worry about that right now,” my father said. “Let’s just finish our dinner.”
I watched my mother put her hand on my father’s forearm. “I found a lump a few days ago. I have to go into the hospital to have it removed.”
“Mom!” I was scared.
“It’s okay, baby. Everything will be all right. They just need to remove it and make sure it’s not cancerous.”
“June!” My father’s head shot up.
“They need to know everything, dear.”
“So, you don’t know for sure?” I asked. “If it’s…”
“No, baby. It quite possibly could be nothing. The odds are in my favor.”
“Mom . . .I’m scared.”
She stood and came to me, putting her arms around my neck. “There’s no need, baby. Everything will be fine.” She pulled my sister into the circle, and with one uncovered eye, I watched my father sitting at the head of the table, playing with his fork.
My eye closed, and I wanted to stay forever in my mother’s safe arms.
I STARTED SCHOOL at the same time my mother started chemotherapy, and nothing was the same. Her cancer was aggressive, and she quickly deteriorated from the energetic woman she once was.
Where dad and Jeanie followed her path, I became the strong one. I took care of her. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I wanted help from no one, especially my father, not that he ever offered.
“Glory, Marcia’s at the door,” Jeanie yelled, from downstairs.
“I’ll be right back, Mom. Okay?” I wiped her mouth gently after helping her with some water.
“Glory, go. Have a good time with Marcia. You never leave my side anymore.”
“Mom, this is where I want to be. Let me get rid of Marcia and I’ll be right back.”
She reached for my hand. “Baby, take the afternoon and have a good time. Please, I promise I’ll sleep while you’re gone.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Jeanie’s home. Now go and tell Marcia I said hello.”
I kissed her forehead. “Okay, but I won’t be long.” I hated leaving her; I felt like I had little time left with her, and I didn’t want to miss a moment.
She smiled at me and I ran down to Marcia. “Hi,” I said, as I reached her side.
“I haven’t seen you in ages,” she said, with concern.
“I know, my mom…”
“That’s okay, I just wanted to stop by for a minute to see you. I’ve missed you.”
“I miss you, too. I have about an hour while my mom takes a nap. Want to go somewhere?”
“Sure!”
We drove around for a while in Marcia’s old Escort, barely talking. I felt guilty leaving my mom. Suddenly she stopped by the lake. “Want to walk?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
We walked around on the beach for a while, then I reached for Marcia’s hand. “This is the best I’ve felt since this all started.”
“How is your mother?”
“Dying.”
“Glory?” She sounded shocked.
“It’s the truth, she knows it and I know it. Jeanie and my dad pretend there’s nothing wrong. Like she has the flu or something.”
“Maybe they can’t handle it.”
“No, they don’t want to handle it. It’s easier that way.”
We stopped. “Come on,” she tugged my hand. “Let’s go somewhere private, I want to hold you.”
“I need that.”
I SAT AT my mother’s side in the hospital. The end was near and she knew it. She asked for me. I gently took her hand in mine and kissed her softly. “I love you, Mom,” I said, holding back the tears.
“I know, baby. Where’s your father and Jeanie?”
Her breaths were short and quick. My heart was breaking, but I wouldn’t break down, not in front of her. “They’re outside in the lobby. Do you want them?”
“No. It’s you I want by my side. I’m going to miss you, baby,” she said, giving a soft smile. “You’re everything I wanted to be when I grew up. You’re tough, and you know what you want out of life. Tell me your dreams, baby.”
“I dream of you being healthy again and being in my life forever.”
“Oh baby, I will be in your life forever. I may not be with you but I’ll always be in your heart.”
“I miss you, Mom.”
“Tell me more. Don’t stop talking to me, Glory.”
“I also dream of spending the rest of my life with Marcia. We plan on going to the same college together.”
“I’m so happy that you found someone to love, baby. Things aren’t going to be easy for you. Being gay is a tough road, but I know you can handle it. Never give in, baby, and never hide who you are. Be proud. I’m proud of you. I will always be proud of you.” She stopped, struggling for air. “Your father isn’t me, though. He’s not that understanding, be tolerant with him, he does love you and he does mean well.”
I looked down. “I know he does. Does he know?”
“I tried to tell him but he walked out on our conversation. He’s old school. He’ll come around, though.”
“Mom, I don’t want this to happen. I know what’s going to happen but I don’t want it to.” I couldn’t hold tough any longer, and tears rolled down my cheeks and off my chin. “Mom…”
“Oh my, Glory,” she said, softly and patted the bed next to her. “Come here, let me hold you.”
I crawled in bed with my mother, and my chin rested on her shoulder with my ear to her chest. I listened to her shallow breathing while she stroked my hair. “Tell me more of your dreams.”
I choked back the tears. “I want to be a doctor. I want to help people, Mom. People shouldn’t have to go through this.”
“I love you, Glory,” she whispered.
I was so content I could have fallen asleep right there, with my mother’s arms around me.
My head rose when I stopped hearing her breaths, and when I couldn’t feel her chest rising up against mine any longer. I sat there, just looking at her. She was beautiful. Still after everything she’d been through, she
was beautiful.
After several minutes, a nurse came in. “Honey, you should go get your father.” She went to my mother’s side, then looked up at me. “Your father should be here.”
I left and found my dad and Jeanie in the lobby. “Dad, you should go in mom’s room.”
“What’s wrong?” He stood, then walked away.
Jeanie came toward me. “Glory?”
“Mom died.”
My sister and I held each other for the first time in years. Mom had brought us together, again.
JEANIE’S EYES OPENED as I sat on the bed next to her the same way I had sat next to my mother so many years ago. “Jeanie, you’re finally awake.”
“Glory,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“So am I. I’m glad you came here, Jeanie. I built this hospice in memory of Mom.”
“Mom always said you would make something of yourself.”
I smiled. “Where’s dad? Is he coming here today?”
“I asked him to but…”
“But he won’t come if I’m here, right?”
“Glory, he was never the same after mom died. He’s still upset over the fact that she wanted to be with you when she died. That’s why he treated you like he did.”
“By calling me a dyke and telling me to leave as soon as I turn eighteen?”
“I never said anything, Glory. I never told dad about you and Marcia.”
“You knew?” I was shocked.
“A long time ago, I saw you kissing her at the carnival. I never said anything, Glory. You were a brat, but I loved you, you’re my sister.”
I traced her cheek with my palm. “I’ve missed you, Jeanie. Why did you stay away?”
“I don’t know, I took care of dad and I guess I just didn’t want to upset him. After that, I don’t know.”
“Yeah, it seems like the years went by so fast.”
“What you’ve done here, this hospice, Glory, it’s amazing. Mom would be so proud.”
“It was all for her, and it means a lot to me that you’re here. Now get some rest I’ll be right back with something for you to drink.”
I looked back at her from the doorway and felt relief. The door closed, and I walked the hallway of the June Hunter Hospice Center and felt pride. It meant a lot when Jeanie said Mom would be proud of me. I hoped she was. I felt her in my heart every day.
After medical school, I raised enough money to build this hospice. I wanted everything to be perfect, and I wanted it to be named after my mother. I had visions of this building all through college. I had a dream, and it came true, and Marcia was by my side the whole time. She still is. It’s been nineteen years, and we’re still in love. I still tingle when I see her.
“Dad!” I stopped short, almost bumping right into him.
“Glory. You look good.”
“Jeanie’s down the hall. I was just getting her something to drink. I can have a nurse take you to her.”
“Why don’t you take me?”
“Um, all right.” I was shocked, not only that he was here, but that he was talking to me civilly. I watched him as we walked, and he looked so old, so worn out.
We walked side by side to Jeanie’s room, saying nothing.
His hand rested on the door. “Your mother would be proud of what a wonderful woman you’ve become,” he said, and then he stepped through the door.
I stopped, stunned.
MY FATHER AND I stood at Jeanie’s gravesite holding hands, listening to the wind in the trees. “In spite of everything that’s happened, I do love you, Glory,” he said.
“I know, Dad.”
Jeanie was buried next to my mother, and I bent down at my mother’s grave to lay a single white lily on her headstone. I felt my father’s hand on my back.
“You were her life, Glory. I was so jealous of what the two of you had.”
I turned to him; twisting around my wrist the bracelet my mother gave me.
“She loved you so much. When she was in the hospital and wanted to see you, the bitterness ate at me, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry for that. It wasn’t your lifestyle, not really. Your mother told me about that long ago. She was proud of you coming out to her. I never understood that, but it was your relationship with her that angered me.”
“How could a daughter’s relationship with her mother anger you?”
“Because I was never close to you that way, or your mother for that matter. The two of you had something so special; you wouldn’t let anyone else in. Even the day she died, she wanted only you by her side.”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
“It was just as much my fault. I could have tried harder.”
We stood quietly for a moment. “I miss her every day,” I said.
“So do I.”
***
CONTRIBUTOR
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Cameron Abbott
To The Edge, romantic suspense, The Haworth Press, Alice Street Editions, 2001
An Inexpressible State of Grace, romantic suspense, The Haworth Press, Alice Street Editions, 2004
Cameron’s website is: [email protected].
Georgia Beers
Turning the Page, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2001
Thy Neighbor’s Wife, romance, Regal Crest Enterprise, Yellow Rose Books, 2003
Too Close To Touch, romance, Bold Strokes Books, 2006
Fresh Tracks, romance, Bold Strokes Books, 2006
Mine, romance, Bold Strokes Books, 2007
Finding Home, romance, Bold Strokes Books, 2008
Outsiders, romantic novella, Brisk Press, 2009
Starting from Scratch, romance, Brisk Press, 2010
96 Hours, romance, Bywater Books, 2011
Georgia’s website is: www.georgiabeers.com.
Meghan Brunner
From the Ashes, urban fantasy/romance, AuthorHouse, 1st Books Library, 2002
Into the Storm, urban fantasy/romance, AuthorHouse, 2004
Towards the Fates, urban fantasy/romance, AuthorHouse, 2009
Meghan's website is: www.faire-folk.com.
Carrie Carr
Destiny’s Crossing, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 1999/2001
Destiny’s Bridge, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2002
Faith’s Crossing, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2002
Hope’s Path, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2001/2003
Love’s Journey, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2001/2006
Strength of the Heart, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2002/2007
The Way Things Should Be, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2004
To Hold Forever, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2008
Something to be Thankful For, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2002
Diving into the Turn, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2006
Piperton, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2009
Trust Our Tomorrows, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2012
Heart’s Resolve, romance, Regal Crest Enterprises, Yellow Rose Books, 2012
Carrie’s website is: www.CarrieLCarr.com.
Caro Clarke
The Wolf Ticket, historical romance, Firebrand Books, 1998
My Home is on the Mountain, historical novel, forthcoming 2012
Caro’s website is: www.caroclarke.com.
Katherine V. Forrest
Curious Wine, romance, Naiad Press, 1983
Daughters Of A Coral Dawn, sci-fi/fantasy, Naiad Press, 1984
An Emergence of Green, fiction/romance, Naiad Press, 1988
Dreams & Swords, short stories, Naiad Press, 1988
Flashpoint, fiction, Naiad Press, 1994
Daughters Of An Amber Moon, sci-fi/fantasy, Alyson Books, 2002
&nb
sp; Daughters Of An Emerald Dusk, sci-fi/fantasy, Alyson Books, 2005
The Kate Delafield Mystery Series
Amateur City, mystery, (originally Naiad Press), Alyson Publications, 1984
Murder At the Nightwood Bar, mystery, (originally Naiad Press), Alyson Publications, 1987
The Beverly Malibu, mystery, (originally Naiad Press), Alyson Publications, 1989
Murder By Tradition, mystery, (originally Naiad Press), Alyson Publications, 1991
Liberty Square, mystery, Berkeley Publishing Group, 1996
Apparition Alley, mystery, Berkeley Publishing Group, 1997
Sleeping Bones, mystery, Prime Crime, 1999
Hancock Park, mystery, Berkeley Publishing Group, 2004
Anthologies Edited
The Erotic Naiad: Love Stories by Naiad Press Authors, anthology, Naiad Press, 1992
The Romantic Naiad, anthology, Naiad Press, 1993
Diving Deep: Erotic Lesbian Love Stories, anthology, Naiad Press, 1993
Diving Deeper: More Erotic Lesbian Love Stories, anthology, Naiad Press, 1994
The Mysterious Naiad: Love Stories by Naiad Press Authors, anthology, Naiad Press, 1994
Deeply Mysterious: Erotic Lesbian Stories, anthology, Naiad Press, 1995
All in the Seasoning: And Other Holiday Stories, anthology, Bywater Books, 2002
Lesbian Pulp Fiction, anthology, Cleis, 2005
Women of Mystery, anthology, Harrington Park Press, 2005
Love, Castro Street: Reflections of San Francisco, Alyson Books, 2007
Katherine’s website is: www.katherinevforrest.com.
Jennifer Fulton/Rose Beecham/Grace Lennox
Writing As Jennifer Fulton
Passion Bay, romance, Naiad Press, 1992
Saving Grace, romance, Naiad Press, 1993
True Love, romance, Naiad Press, 1994
Greener Than Grass, romance, Naiad Press, 1995
