Homecoming (52 page)

***

They’d had a drink with one of Lizzie’s museum travel friends, a glitteringly gay guy named Nathan, and were now eating sushi out of clamshell plastic containers while people watching in Washington Square Park.

“Nathan really knew what he was talking about,” Jill said as she bit into a piece of spicy tuna.

“Seventeen bucks for everything!” Lizzie said, clearly as happy about the price as the flavor. “Nathan rocks. That’s why he’s so great to travel with. He’s not above splurging, but he can also track down the best quality bargains anywhere. He’s the guy I went to Amsterdam with.”

“I liked him. You should invite him up to visit.”

Lizzie laughed. “He’s not the type who’d enjoy Burlington. He hates the outdoors, and he gets bored in two seconds flat. But I guess I could invite some of my other friends up. I haven’t had the room since I was with Jon, and I always hated that I couldn’t have my Boston friends up.”

“Any time you want,” Jill offered. “I really enjoy having house guests.”

“You’re just about perfect,” Lizzie said. She leaned back and took a good, long look at Jill, as if she were seeing her for the first time. “Yeah, I can’t think of a thing I’d change about you.”

“Just one thing I’d change about you,” Jill said thoughtfully. “I’d like for you to eat faster so we can go back to the hotel and make love.” She leaned close and spoke into Lizzie’s ear. “I’ve been fantasizing about you all day. I want to see if we can break your orgasm record. What is it now?”

Lizzie held up four fingers and wiggled them, while she used her other hand to shove three pieces of sashimi into her mouth at the same time. Then she stood and gathered up all of their trash, took Jill’s hand and headed for the subway. She was the perfect girlfriend. Exquisitely responsive to every suggestion.

***

The next evening, Jill got back to their hotel room late. Lizzie and Kristen were nowhere to be found. Four shopping bags stuffed with clothing and shoes had Jill wondering where they’d put it all on the train ride home. She picked up the note Lizzie had left. “We’re in the bar. Come on down!”

She’d already had wine with dinner and had a brandy practically forced on her. But she felt obliged to spend some time with Kristen, so she picked up her room key and went back down.

The bar was packed, mostly with people from her conference, identified by their purple lanyards that held their name badges. She’d taken hers off, hating to walk around looking like a kid on her first day of kindergarten. In the corner of the room, the Davis sisters had procured a small table and two low chairs. Jill walked over and found herself being pulled down for a kiss. They were obviously not going to give Kristen time to adjust to their being intimate.

“Sit right here,” Lizzie said, tugging her down so she sat on the arm of the chair.

“Hi, Kristen,” Jill said, not sure if she should offer a hug or not. Kristen didn’t get up, so she let it go.

“Good to see you, Jill,” she said, her smile very relaxed and open.

“Did you have a good day?” Lizzie asked.

“Sure. Some of the presentations were boring, but a couple kept me awake. How about you two? Did you do anything fun?”

“Kristen’s train didn’t get in until two-fifteen, so we didn’t have much time. We hightailed it down to a resale shop that had so much good stuff!” She was bubbling with excitement. “I got two dresses, a plaid jacket, three blouses and a hand-knit sweater. Guess how much?”

“Gosh, I can’t begin to—”

“Two hundred bucks! I had to bargain my ass off, but I’m so stoked!”

“Did you find anything for me?”

“No, but we’ve got another day. MOMA in the morning, shopping in the afternoon.”

“Thanks for letting me crash with you, Jill,” Kristen said. “This is my first solo vacation since I’ve been married.”

“No problem, Kristen. I’m glad you guys are getting to hang out.”

“I am too,” she said, her speech not very crisp. “We need time to talk.” She narrowed her eyes as she gave Jill a long look. “I like you,” she said thoughtfully. “But I can’t imagine stopping liking men for you. Does that make any sense?”

Jill’s eyes widened. How in the hell was she supposed to answer that?

Lizzie’s hand was on her leg, and she beamed a grin up at Jill. “I would have jumped years ago if I’d met her earlier,” she said. “I just didn’t have a chance until this year.”

“So you can just be going along, living your life, loving men. Then you run into Jill and you’re…poof! A lesbian?”

“Yep,” Lizzie agreed. “Good thing I saw her before you did, or you’d be getting divorced right about now.”

“Lizzie,” Jill said, a warning tone in her voice. “I think your sister’s really trying to figure this out. Give her a break.”

The remnants of Beth the Brat were all showing in the devilish grin Lizzie gave her. But then she faced her sister and said, “Do you remember my friend Elena? From high school?”

“Elena? The chiropractor’s kid?”

“Uh-huh.” Lizzie leaned forward. “We were more than friends.”

“Shut up!” Kristen yipped. “Are you serious?”

“Uh-huh. Jill’s the first woman I’ve ever loved, but she’s not the first woman I’ve ever—you know.”

“
Now
this is starting to make sense!” Kristen looked up at Jill. “Not that you’re not a really nice person, but…”

“I understand,” Jill said. “You two keep talking. Do you need another drink?”

Lizzie looked at her empty glass. “Maybe just one more. We’ve had a couple,” she added, unnecessarily. Handing Jill her empty glass, she said, “Bourbon and Pepsi for both of us.”

“Be right back.” Wrinkling her nose in distaste at the sound of that combination, Jill went to the far end of the bar, and flagged down a bartender.

“Two Pepsis and a shot of bourbon, please.”

He nodded, poured the sodas, then set a shot glass down and filled it. “That’ll be twenty-five.”

Jill gulped as she handed him thirty, then portioned the shot between the glasses. She hated to supervise, but she knew Lizzie. If she had to get by with less than eight hours of sleep, she couldn’t add a hangover to the mix and have a good day. “Hey, are those two women running a tab?” She pointed at the Davis sisters and he turned to spot them. “If so, I’d like to pay it.”

“Hold on,” the bartender said. He looked through a stack, then handed it over. “They’re charging it to their room.”

“Can I pay separately?” She whipped out her credit card. “I’m in the same room. I just don’t want the drinks on the bill because I have to submit it for reimbursement.”

He shrugged. “Sure. I wouldn’t normally do this, but I understand how it is to work for a place that keeps tabs on you.”

The bill wasn’t too horrible. Just ninety bucks. Jill laughed to herself, thinking of how hard it was to pry a hundred from Lizzie’s wallet. But she was really invested in repairing her relationship with Kristen, and if she wanted to use alcohol to ease her way back into her good graces, it seemed like a small price to pay.

Jill moved back across the room to deliver the drinks. She kissed Lizzie on the top of the head and said, “I’m going to bed. I’ve got a session at nine that I can’t miss.”

“We’ll be up soon,” Lizzie said. “Well, soonish,” she added, smiling impishly.

Jill leaned over and quietly said, “I paid your bar tab. I didn’t want a bunch of drinks on the receipt I have to turn in.”

“I’ll pay you back,” she said forcefully. “I will.”

“I know, sweetheart. I just didn’t want you to be confused when you tried to settle up.”

“I love you,” Lizzie whispered, her breath hot and moist against Jill’s ear. Nice. That was probably the only intimacy they’d share, but they’d filled their tanks up very well the night before. She didn’t have a thing to complain about.

***

Jill woke in the middle of the night, slightly disoriented. Even though she had the blackout curtains drawn, a sliver of white light filtered through the space where the drapes met. She should have brought an eye mask rather than ear plugs. As she turned away from the wall, another stripe of light shone from under the closed bathroom door. She shut her eyes, and waited for Lizzie to come back to bed. The next thing she knew, her alarm was ringing. She reached to shut it off, then rolled over to cuddle for a few minutes. But the other side of the bed was cold. Jill sat up, and blinked to clear her eyes as she gazed at her lover, sharing a bed with her sister.

Slightly grouchy, Jill got up and went into the bathroom to take her shower. Her dreams of a romantic getaway were not turning out quite like she’d hoped. Luckily, Lizzie only had two sisters, and Jill was certain they’d never have to share a room with her brothers. You had to draw the line somewhere.

***

Lizzie ran hot, as she liked to say, and they’d taken to leaving the window open a crack. Jill could tolerate it, but she had to wear a shirt to bed to keep her shoulders warm. She’d started with a T-shirt, and had recently switched to a thermal shirt, the kind she wore skiing.

On a Saturday morning in November, Jill woke to that shirt being firmly tugged. Still half-asleep, she followed the pull and wrapped herself around Lizzie’s body. The bare butt that she pressed into was ice cold, not unusual since Lizzie often threw the comforter off during the night. But Jill didn’t mind trading a few seconds of icy skin for that full-body hug.

Weekend mornings had become her favorite time of the week. Lizzie was very disciplined about getting up for work, sliding out of bed so stealthily that Jill rarely noticed her absence. But on the weekends, they both loved to spoon. One would wake, chase the other one down, cuddle until they were too warm, separate, then repeat. The cycle could go on for an hour or even two, but sleeping away the early morning seemed like a perfectly reasonable way to blow a chilly, overcast day.

They were sound asleep when Lizzie’s phone rang and she grumbled, “Sorry, boo,” before grabbing it and answering. “Hey, Mom.”

Jill sat up and rubbed her eyes, getting a look at the clock. The boys came running into the room and leapt onto the bed, both of them complaining that their humans were taking too long to feed them.

“Can I put you on speaker?” Lizzie asked. “I hate to have to repeat everything you’ve told me.”

She hit the button and Janet’s voice came through the small speaker. “Hi, Jill. Did I wake you?”

“Just a little. But the cats agree we should get up, so it’s all good.”

“I was just telling Lizzie that I’ve got the final number for Thanksgiving. You can bring a side dish or bread. Your choice.”

“Bread,” Lizzie said before Jill could speak. “There’s a bakery here that I love. I’m addicted to their dinner rolls. For seventeen, right?”

“Right. Adam and Donna won’t be with us.”

“Or Mark,” Lizzie added quietly.

“No, but I’m confident he’s making progress. I’ve been going by the shop when I know it’s slow. That way he can’t avoid me,” she said. “He’s talking more than he has in years. I think therapy is helping him learn how to speak for himself again.”

“But he still doesn’t want to be with the family,” Lizzie said, a sour look on her face.

“That’s not true. Well, it might be, but I didn’t give him the option.”

“What?”

“I didn’t,” Janet said. “There’s no point in pushing him, Lizzie. Besides, I thought it would be too tense with them here, and I don’t want that.”

“But this is my favorite holiday,” she said, an uncharacteristic whine coloring her voice. “I love having the whole family together.”

“Oh, we never have that and you know it. My parents always go to your Aunt Eileen’s house, and one of the boys always has to go to his in-law’s. This year, it’s Mark.”

“But he’s never gone before,” Lizzie reminded her. “Thanksgiving was always with us.”

“And it can be again. Speaking of in-laws, are you going to spend time with your parents, Jill?”

“I doubt it. I called my mom the other day to check on her, and she said I had to come by and pick up anything I want from the house by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. She didn’t mention cooking.”

“Then we’ll have you all to ourselves,” Janet said, amping up her enthusiasm.

“It’s okay if we stay with you?” Lizzie asked.

“Okay?” A few seconds passed in silence. “Are you seriously asking if we want you to stay?”

“Well, Kristen’s going to be there and I’m not sure what she’s told her kids… I should ask, but I’ve been chicken.”

“That’s Kristen’s issue, isn’t it. All of my kids are welcome to stay—if they can find a spot. That will never change.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Lizzie said, giving Jill a watery smile. “I’m really looking forward to being with you guys. Is Dad okay?”

“He’s fine, honey. He’s still having very good luck with his new inhaler. Actually, he went over to Bellows Falls with Scooter this morning. They go over to the diner, drink coffee and gab for hours, like a couple of old hens.”

“Don’t complain. At least he’s out of your hair for a few hours.”

“Hey,” Jill teased. “Is that how you feel about me when I go out?”

“Isn’t she cute?” Lizzie asked. “Like I could ever tire of that sweet face.”

“You’re both cute,” Janet said. “And we’re looking forward to having you stay for a few days. Don’t even think of leaving before Sunday.”

“We won’t,” Lizzie said.

“Okay, honey. Talk to you later. Love you both.”

“Thanks, Janet,” Jill said. She was still a little skittish about declaring her love for the Davises. She knew it was illogical, but doing so felt disloyal to her own parents. Or maybe it was an even less logical instinct telling her that her mother would know. Either way, she was going to get over that hurdle. She loved Janet and Mike and needed to express that often.

***

On the day before Thanksgiving, Jill drove to Hollyhock Hills to pick up Lizzie. She found her on the big stone porch of the main house, chatting with a couple of guys who were dressed for outdoor work. Jill honked and Lizzie came dashing down the stairs, a big grin on her sunny face.