Class Reunion (7 page)

“Just in case,” Jennifer cringed, internalizing the words. She had just had sex with a married woman. She suddenly felt dirty and sick to her stomach at the same time. She squirmed in the chair and stood up.

“I have to go.” She headed for the door, but Sheila quickly stepped in her path.

“Please don’t go, Jenny. We still have time.”

“Until what? Until you have to meet your husband and kids?” She couldn’t help the sarcasm that dipped into her voice. They stood face-to-face, each seething with unspoken words and frustration. “Bobby knows, doesn’t he? I could tell by the way he was leering at me last night.”

“I had to tell him.” Sheila quickly licked her lips. “I broke down,” she began haltingly, “after you moved. When I couldn’t reach you.”

“Is that why you were such a bitch last night?” she asked.

Sheila’s face colored, her nostrils flaring. “Bobby threw a nutty when he found out. I didn’t want to give him any ideas.”

“I guess it’s safe to assume that he doesn’t know anything about the other women.”

Sheila’s face became pinched. “No. Nothing.”

“Why don’t you leave him, if that’s what you want? If you’re still attracted to women.”

Clearly startled at the idea, Sheila looked as though it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “I would never leave Bobby. It’s a good marriage, Jenny.”

Jennifer’s heart sank as she bit back a retort. Instead she nodded, trying to smile. “I’m sure it is,” she managed. “But I do have to go now. My sister’s waiting.”

“You’ll be at the reunion, though, right? Later this afternoon and tonight?”

Jennifer grinned a little, already dreading the rest of the day. “I imagine so.”

“And perhaps you’ll meet me here again? Later?”

Jennifer noted something near desperation in her voice, and she frowned, as confused as ever. She conŹsidered the shorter woman with mixed emotions. She wanted to say no, but she wasn’t sure that she would be able to stay away.

“Perhaps,” she finally sighed, before allowing herŹself the luxury of stepping into Sheila’s arms once more. She breathed deeply, trying to commit to memory the smell of Sheila’s hair and the way the curves of Sheila’s body pressed against her own.

Ten years earlier, Jennifer would have walked back into her sister’s house without ever letting on that something had just happened between her and Sheila. After all, she had done it nearly every day for years. But now was different. She’d developed a conŹscience over the years. She felt guilty. And foolish. And completely duped. Besides, she didn’t really think for a minute that Sally would believe that the wet spot on the thigh of her jeans was from spilled coffee.

Sheepishly, she sneaked back into the house, meetŹing Allison’s reproachful eyes first. “Hey, Allison. What’s up?”

The little girl threw her a wide-eyed look and retreated quickly to the kitchen.

“Great,” Jen mumbled, then took a deep breath and followed her niece to where she knew her sister would be waiting.

“Hi. Did you have fun?” Sally had just finished the breakfast dishes and was wiping her hands on a dish towel.

“Not exactly.”

“Jeffer!” Tommy squealed with delight and left his blue-and-yellow dump truck on the floor in his haste to greet her. Jen scooped him up and gave him a quick hug. His unexpected display of affection threatened the already fragile grip she had on her emotions. She pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table. Tommy lasted all of ten seconds on her knee before squirming to get back to his truck.

“Where’s Jim?”

“He’s at the office.”

“On Saturday?”

“Almost every Saturday.”

Jen noted her sister’s resigned shrug with a pang. Perhaps her sister’s life wasn’t as idyllic as she had thought. Allison had found her mother’s leg, and was peering out at Jen with unblinking eyes.

“Don’t change the subject.” Sally’s lips were pulled down in a frown. “What happened?”

Guilt, heartache, anger, and frustration all battled across Jen’s features, each emotion struggling to dominate. She was cracking, nearly unable to contain herself. She glanced at Tommy, then at Allison, all too aware of the differences between herself and her sister. How could she be honest? And how could she have such a frank discussion in front of the kids?

As if reading her sister’s thoughts, Sally placed a comforting hand on her daughter’s head before sugŹgesting that Allison go get her Barbie dolls. “You can play here on the floor with Tommy while I talk with your aunt.” Allison nodded before bounding from the room.

“So spill it.” Sally settled herself in a chair at the table.

Embarrassed beyond belief, Jennifer let the words slip out quietly. “She seduced me.”

“What?” Clearly, the thought had never even occurred to Sally.

“It’s not like I didn’t know what she wanted.” Angry with herself, she caught the look of shock on her sister’s face and tried to backpedal. “Sheila and I were lovers. For years.”

Allison wandered back into the kitchen, dolls in hand, and began to play on the floor beside them. Sally threw a cursory glance at her children before turning back to her sister.

“When?”

“From when we were about thirteen. Until” — she gauged her sister’s reaction and cringed — “well, until the night before she got married.”

“Holy shit.”

“That’s a bad word, Mommy.” Allison reprimanded her without looking up.

“You’re right, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” she apoloŹgized absently. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? My god, that’s six years.” She stopped and stared at her younger sister, mouth agape. “You were lovers all that time?”

Jennifer nodded. The difficult part was over. She’d said the words. Now she just had to fill in the details. So she started at the beginning, quietly tellŹing the entire story, stopping only to answer one of Sally’s many questions along the way.

“I was a complete fool,” Jen sighed, coming to the end of the story.

“You were a kid,” Sally countered.

“Actually, I was referring to this morning.”

Sally’s eyebrows lifted, and a smile touched her lips. “Well, okay, you might have something there,” she agreed, her tone light as she shrugged her shoulders. “It is a little messy.”

Jennifer appraised her sister. She’d expected someŹthing different. A reprimand, at the least. But Sally was smiling, a faraway look on her face as she returned Jen’s gaze and chuckled softly.

“I know that you’re in a fix right now, but I’m just so glad that you finally told me about you and Sheila. It explains so mueh.”

“What do you mean?”

Sally took a deep breath, her eyes distant again. “I was so jealous of her when we were young. I alŹways felt that she got between us. I know that’s silly. But once she came along, I felt we weren’t as close anymore.”

Jennifer’s heart sank. “Sally, I’m so sorry. I was running around with this huge secret that I didn’t know what to do with.”

“I know. But I didn’t know that.” Her eyes beŹcame wispy. “All I knew was that we weren’t close anymore, and I blamed Sheila.”

“God. I’m so sorry. I was such an idiot.”

‘You were in love. It’s okay. I understand. Thanks for telling me about this.”

Jennifer smiled, a rush of fondness for her sister tugging at her heart. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. It would have made both of our lives a little easier, I think.”

Sally nodded her head in agreement. “There’s a lesson here, my dear.”

‘You’re right. Absolutely. And I won’t forget it.”

“See that you don’t,” Sally teased her briefly before turning the conversation to her sister’s current dilemma. “What are you going to do now? About Sheila, I mean.”

Jen shook her head. “Absolutely nothing. Pretend nothing happened. Play it by ear. I don’t know,” she sighed. “Any ideas?”

Sally laughed. “None at all. What do you want to happen?”

Jennifer’s eyes dropped as she frowned. “I’m not sure. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I don’t know.”

Sally regarded her sister carefully. ‘You can’t still want her after all this time. She was an absolute bitch last night.”

“I know. I know.” Jen’s cheeks grew crimson. “Believe me, I’m not proud about what happened this morning. I wish I could tell you that I don’t feel anything for her. But I’m not sure.”

“Jenny, she’s married.”

“I know.” Jen lifted wounded eyes to her sister. “She has this hold on me,” she shrugged. “I can’t explain it.”

Sally watched her sister carefully, her lips curved in a worried frown. “Whatever you decide to do, it’s bound to be an interesting afternoon. Too bad I won’t be there to see it.”

Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “Why don’t you come? Bring the kids. It’s a family picnic, isn’t it?”

Sally smiled slowly. “Why not? For a couple of hours, maybe. But only if you’re not going to complain about being there the entire time.”

“I promise,” Jen relented, hoping that maybe the afternoon wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Greendale Country Club was spilling over with people long before Jen and Sally arrived. A number of people hovered around a huge barbeque pit, where hot dogs and hamburgers sizzled over an open fire, and others were playing volleyball. Most were content just to socialize. A number of children were playing on swing sets, hanging on the jungle gym, or climbŹing on a variety of playground equipment.

Allison wanted to play in the huge sandbox, and so Sally and Jennifer found a picnic table in a nearŹby shady area and settled down. For the next hour, they filled up on hot dogs and Coke until they all had eaten more than enough. While Allison and Tommy played in the sand, Jennifer found herself chatting easily with many of her classmates that she’d met with the night before.

She spotted Sheila easily. Whether out of embarŹrassment, anger, or frustration, Jen decided to ignore her. She was aware that Bobby was nearby because she heard his loud voice often, but she saw no eviŹdence of their three little boys in attendance.

The two sisters sat companionably, keeping an eye on both children and occasionally chatting with others who stopped by to greet them. Soon they noticed a little girl with dark brown hair standing beside Allison hesitantly, hands clasped behind her back as she smiled shyly.

“My name’s Amy. Can I play with you?”

Jennifer watched as Allison lifted her eyes to consider the other girl.

“I’m building a castle.” Allison spoke easily. “Wanna help?”

Amy grinned and threw a hopeful glance over her shoulder. Heather O’Brien stood some distance away, leaning against a large tree as she observed the little girls.

“Can I, Mommy?” Amy asked.

Jennifer looked from daughter to mother, her mind slowly taking in this new information. Heather was smiling and nodding her approval, and Amy didn’t waste any time joining the other little girl in the pile of sand.

Jennifer’s eyes floated back to Heather’s, and her face blanched in an awkward smile.

“Would you like to join us?” Sally called, already sliding along the pine bench to make room for the other woman.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not.” Jen found her voice, her heart lifting as Heather shyly approached the table and sat down.

“You have a beautiful daughter,” Sally said. “Thank you. Are these your children?” She looked quickly from Sally to Jen. “Or yours?” Jennifer shook her head emphatically. “They’re mine.” Sally smiled.

“They’re sweet. We’ve been watching for some time, and I couldn’t keep Amy away any longer.”

“I’m glad you came over. It’s nice for Allison to have someone her own age to play with.”

They watched the children playing together for a while, and Jennifer took the opportunity to observe Heather more closely. She looked so different from high school. Fine, long blond hair framed the delicate features of her face. A dash of light freckles covered fair skin across the bridge of her nose. Bright blue eyes, unhampered by eyeglasses, turned to Jennifer and smiled, crinkling at their corners.

“What about you. Do you have any kids?”

“No.” Her face colored. “I don’t think I do very well with them.”

“Nonsense,” Sally told her before turning to Heather. “She’s just not used to having them around.”

Sally and Heather began sharing anecdotes about their children, and after some time, Jennifer tuned them out. With one ear on their conversation, she let her eyes wander over the throngs of people milling about. She carefully gauged her own reaction as she spotted Sheila, smiling broadly and laughing with — of all people — Diane Miller. Jennifer’s jealousy leaped from nowhere, coming fully alive.

“Did your husband come with you?”

“I’m divorced,” Heather was saying, her words seeping through Jennifer’s consciousness and causing her head to snap around.

“You’re single?” Too late, Jennifer realized that the enthusiasm in her voice was too eager and terribly inappropriate.

Sally’s eyes narrowed at her younger sister, but Heather seemed not to notice.

“Yes, I’m single.” She smiled as she reached out and touched the ring finger of Jen’s left hand. “What about you?”

“Single. Very single,” she smiled broadly, exposing perfect white teeth. The two women held each other’s gaze a moment longer than necessary while Sally raised one fine eyebrow in amazement. Jennifer felt a faint tickling sensation in the pit of her stomach, and she quietly chided herself and the attraction she was feeling.

“Forgive me,” Sally was saying. “But I don’t know how you do it. I can’t even imagine being a single parent.”

“It’s difficult,” Heather admitted. “But I teach at the grade school that Amy goes to, so that makes it easier. It was much worse before she started school.”

All three tired children joined them. Each girl crawled into her mother’s lap, and Jennifer lifted Tommy in her arms.

“Do you still live in the area?” Sally asked.

“No. We live in Flagstaff now.”

“Flagstaff?” Jennifer interrupted. “Really? I live in Phoenix.”

Heather’s jaw dropped. “No kidding?”

“Just north of Scottsdale, actually. I have a small ranch there.”

“Really? I can’t believe you’re so close.” The blue eyes that held Jennifer’s were suddenly wide and childlike.