I Love You Again (9 page)

“I’m sorry. Fifty?” Dale exclaimed. She then searched Kit’s face as if it were the first time she’d seen her.

“You needn’t look at me as if I were an alien.”

“Fifty? You don’t look fifty.”

“Thank you.” Kit could see Dale doing the math in her head. It was then she realized she had no idea how old Dale was. She waited for a moment while Dale looked deep in thought, then she used her finger on the tablecloth to figure the math. “Oh, for god’s sake, Dale…”

Dale held up her hand until she finished. Her incredulous look was priceless.

Kit raised an eyebrow and sat back. “What’s the verdict?” she asked dryly.

“Eighteen years difference?” Dale’s voice came out in a squeak.

Kit blinked several times; the room started feeling very small. “You…You’re only thirty-two?”

“You did that fast. Yes.” Dale laughed then. “You could be my mother.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I didn’t mean it to be.” Dale sat back, shaking her head. “Wow.”

“Wow?”

Dale blushed to her roots, and if it were another time or another dimension, Kit would have found it endearing.

“Do you still want to go skydiving?”

“Why? Don’t you think I’d survive now, knowing my age?”

“No…Well, yeah, I guess.”

Suddenly, Kit found the entire conversation amusing. She started to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Dale nervously looked around the dining room; all eyes were on their table. “Are you okay?”

Kit laughed and waved her off. She glanced at her mother, who was smiling and shaking her head. “I’m fine. It’s just so ridiculous.” She continued to laugh, and now so did Dale.

“It is
kinda
wild,” Dale said, picking up her beer; she then hesitated. “No talking…”

This had Kit laughing even harder. She slapped the table as Dale laughed along. “Go ahead,” Kit said, drying her eyes. “Drink up. I think I’ll join you.”

She looked at the bar to find Roz frowning deeply as she watched them. Fathead, Kit thought. She smiled and raised her wineglass. She could see the smoke practically billow out of Roz’s ears.

Dale leaned in. “Are you still in love with her?”

Well, hell, that sobered her up. “No.” She knew she said this much too quickly. If Dale realized it, she showed no signs.

“Good. Then we’re still on for tomorrow?”

After giving a glance toward Roz, Kit nodded. “Sure.”

“I think you’ll love skydiving. I hope you love it as much as I do.”

Kit smiled nervously as she reached over and patted her hand. “Let’s just take one thing at a time.”

Dale raised an eyebrow as she drank her beer. “So I take it we’re not gonna have hot monkey sex this weekend?”

Kit froze for a moment, then slowly retracted her hand. “Hot monkey sex?”

“It’s an expression,” Dale said with a laugh.

“Expression of what?” It took a moment for Kit to try to conjure up a good mental picture; she could not. “Well, so much for romance,” she mumbled. “I’m not trying to be a prude. I love sex as much as the next person, hot monkey or otherwise, but I don’t think you and I are on the same page or planet.” She stopped and regarded Dale as if for the first time. “Is this what you do?”

Dale seemed to be caught off-guard. She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“When was the last time you wooed a woman?”

“Wooed?” Dale laughed outright. “C’mon, Kit. You’re sounding like your mother. What do you mean, like flowers and candy?”

“Not necessarily, but it would depend on the woman, and that means you’d have to actually know the woman.” Kit toyed with her wineglass and smiled when Dale looked decidedly uncomfortable.

“It’s only sex.”

Now Kit was stunned. “Only?”

“Well, I don’t mean to sound so—”

“Superficial?”

“Okay, hold on. We’re getting off the track here. I just wanted to have a nice weekend, that’s all.”

“And hopefully have sex.”

“Well, yeah. Is that so wrong? It’s been almost three weeks.”

“No. It’s not wrong. But you’re completely missing my point.”

“What is the point? I should have told you I made the reservations. I get it,” Dale said, leaning in.

Kit leaned in, as well. “No, Einstein. There’s been no discussion of anything like this between us. No talking. Are you on some timetable with women? What is it? Two, three weeks, and there should be sex? Not that I would mind at all, given my hormonal state, but a little communication about it would be nice.”

“What’s wrong with your hormones?”

Kit stared blankly at the confused face across the table. “I’m going through menopause.”

Dale swallowed. “Really? But old,
er
, older women go through that.”

“Did you just fall out of a tree?”

“Hey…”

“I’m sorry. Really, that was rude. Let’s get off this topic and go back to whatever it was we were talking about.”

“Okay. Well, usually things progress fast with me, I guess. I don’t know.” Dale sounded irritated. She took a drink as they sat in silence. “Look. I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m not used to dating anyone older than me.”

“What does that have to do with it?” Kit asked.

Dale held up her hands. “Hold on. I’m just saying I’m used to dating on the fly. You know. We go out, we have fun. We have sex. No harm, no foul. That’s how I live my life. But I see your point.”

Kit sighed. “I understand your motivations, and I’m flattered, I think. And I understand how you feel. I’m just not there.”

Dale nodded. “I just figured now knowing you’re older…” She went on quickly when Kit groaned again. “I mean, hell, you’re experienced and alone…”

Kit felt the anger bubbling up; she hoped it wasn’t a hot flash. “Alone?” she asked calmly. “And what? Now that you know I’m old and decrepit, you come along and save me?”

Dale realized her blunder. “Now that’s not what I said.”

Kit nodded. “I think this discussion should end.”

“I agree,” Dale said much too quickly. She reached over and held on to Kit’s hand. “I’m sorry. Really. Tomorrow’s your birthday. Let’s just have some fun and celebrate.”

“Good idea.” She glanced at her mother’s table and narrowed her eyes. “Though with the fear of what my mother has in store—everything is fine until you look up and see the Sword of Damocles dangling over your head.”

“Sword of what?”

“Not what, who…” Kit laughed then. “Never mind. One word of caution. Do not trust my mother.”

“Okay.” Dale scratched her head. “Can we have dessert now?”

Chapter 8

As she mixed the drinks for Helen and Stan, Roz watched Kit. They seemed in a very intense conversation for a few minutes, and now they were laughing and eating dessert.

“Got the drinks, Roz?” Mark asked.

“What? Oh, yeah.” Roz helped him put the drinks on the tray. When she heard Kit’s laughter, she knocked over the glass of wine. “Damn it.” She quickly wiped up the mess.

“Why is Miss Adams having dinner with that guy? She doesn’t even know him. I don’t trust him. He smiles too much.” Mark was full of gloom as Roz glared at him.

“Just take the iced tea to Mr. Hutchins,” she pleaded as she wiped the bar. “I’ll take these to Stan.”

“Fine,” he said as he took off with a glass of iced tea.

She glanced at Helen, who was laughing with Stan as she set the drinks in front of them. She looked at Bess, who seemed to be having a good time with Nate Hutchins.

“What’s the matter?” Helen asked sweetly.

“Nothing,” Roz said and walked back to the bar. “Everyone is having such a good fucking time,” she whispered.

“What in the hell is the matter with you?”

Roz looked over to see Stella standing in the kitchen doorway. “What?”

“Someone tall put the coffee out of my reach.”

 
“You’re just a midget,” Roz said, scooting by her.

“Thank you,” Stella said, oozing sarcasm as she followed her into the kitchen.

Roz pulled the can of coffee out of the top cabinet and set it on the counter. “Man, it smells good in here.”

“Have you eaten?” Stella asked over her shoulder. “The dinners are all out, and everyone seems to love the blueberry cobbler. I’m glad I made a big batch.”

“I’m not hungry.” Roz realized how childish that sounded.

“Sit down. I’ll throw a steak on for you. There’s some garlic potatoes left.” She then set the bottle of wine next to Roz. It was half filled. She saw Roz’s inquisitive glance. “I had to make sure I wasn’t going to poison anyone with bad wine.”

“Very perspicacious.”

“I thought so. And I taught you that word.”

“Are you reverting back to your English teaching days?”

“God no. As much as I loved to teach, those little hellions found that proverbial last nerve of mine. So before that nerve snapped and I became headlines on CNN, I realized it was time for me to fly.” She pulled a steak out of the refrigerator and tossed it unceremoniously on the hot grill. She stepped back as the flames shot up. “
Opa
!” Stella called out. “I learned that when I was in Greece.”

“And where you learned to cook?”

“Oh, yes,
indeedy
. What a marvelous summer. And what a fling I had.”

Roz laughed. “You did? You never told me.”

“I’m not one to kiss and tell.”

“Why don’t I believe that?”

Stella laughed and poured two glasses of wine. “His name was
Theos
.”

“And he was handsome.”

“God no.” Stella laughed. “He was short and balding. But he had a marvelous sense of humor and was a master in the kitchen. Oh, the sunsets and the wine we shared.” She flipped the steak, then turned to Roz. “I think I was a slut.”

Roz threw her head back and laughed. “But you had fun.”

“I had a blast. He taught me the art of food. It’s not just to fuel the body, he used to say. It’s a celebration of life.” She plated the steak and potatoes and set them in front of Roz. “That’s when I knew I wanted to retire and become a chef. That was five years ago.”

“And then I had to go and find you and ruin your life,” Roz said, laughing.

“Nope.” Stella held up her wineglass. “You started it all over again for me.”

Roz gently touched her glass with Stella’s. “Thank you, Stella. I’m glad I found you.” She took a drink and looked around the spacious kitchen. “This will work.”

“Of course it will. It’s coming around. Any business takes a few years until it gets traction and takes off. I remember this place when Hal and Judy owned it. It was great for a time. Then I think they got tired of it, and it showed in how they took care of it.” She sat next to Roz on the tall barstool. “And then along comes this crazy dyke…”

Roz nearly choked on her steak. Stella laughed and continued, “She had this crazy idea of renovating the lodge. When I heard of it, I thought, what numbskull would want to take care of all this. But when I met you, I saw the love in your eyes for this place. I knew it would work.”

“And having a great chef taking care of all this is a blessing for me.”

“Well, you pay me well.”

“You’re worth every penny. It’s such a load off my mind not to have to worry about this part of running the lodge.”

“I know. You have more fun out on your smelly tractor and mower. You’re
kinda
butch that way.”

Roz smiled sadly. “That’s what Kit used to tell me. But then she’d try and run the mower.” She laughed then.

“Okay, tell me what happened.” Stella rested her elbows on the counter, waiting for a good story.

“We had an argument over it one Sunday morning. And if I were honest…”

“Which you probably were not.”

Roz ignored her. “I would have admitted I didn’t need such a powerful sit-down mower for our small yard.”

“Hmm. Your
butchness
.”

Roz laughed and agreed.

“What was the argument about?”

“I said it was too powerful for Kit to handle, which sent her off like a rocket.”

“I see that gleam in your eye. You love to piss her off, don’t you?”

Roz shrugged, then giggled. “She would get so mad, she’d start sputtering, and her arms would start waving…”

“And you love her,” Stella said softly.

When Roz did not answer, Stella sighed. “Go on, what happened?”

“She got on the mower and would not let me tell her how to do anything. She examined all the gears and took off. I could not catch up with her. She plowed right through the picket fence and out onto the street, screaming and yelling all the time. I was yelling at her to hit the brake, but she couldn’t hear me.”

Stella laughed as she listened. Roz had to stop before she choked. “Then she went down the street. My neighbors came out of their houses and tried to help. Don, who lived across the street, was in his boxers and slippers and chased her down the street. He finally caught up to her but not before she hit the curb and a kid’s bike.” She shook her head as she ate. “What a day that was. She was so pissed at me…”

“But not for long,” Stella said with a raised eyebrow. “Makeup sex?”

“Was the best,” Roz had to admit. “Sometimes I think we just made each other mad so we could make up.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, Roz, what caused you two to break up?”

Roz finished her dinner and gently pushed the plate away. “It was my fault.”

Stella regarded Roz with a slight smile. “I was married, though only for five years, but it’s my opinion that it’s never the fault of one person. When we have a partner, we’re partners in all things, good and bad.”

“I know. But I should have paid more attention to Kit. She’s always had a thing about age and growing old. I don’t know why, but she does. She’s younger than me by eight years.”

“Though you don’t look older than Kit. You’ve had an active life, and you have a different outlook on it, as well. That makes a difference. And deep inside, that probably bothered her, too.”

“Probably. Well, anyway, she disagreed with my idea to buy a bed-and-breakfast. We mulled it over for a year or two. It was during that time when we started growing apart, I think. She saw it as an old couple buying some place to go and die. I said I wanted to retire and relax, not die, but she didn’t believe it. I really think that’s what she was afraid of.”

“I can see that. When I was married, I was so afraid that I would become old and stodgy like my parents. Bruce, my husband, was a good man, but he lacked spirit, I suppose is an appropriate word. I married a little later in life, around forty. I was scared. Scared that I would become an old schoolmarm type with no life but teaching. And while I loved my profession, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, and I didn’t want to just sit and wait to die. I can see Kit’s point. Though buying into something like this is no small undertaking, and…”

“She should have trusted me,” Roz blurted out. “I knew what I was doing, what was right for us.”

Stella raised an eyebrow at the outburst. “But did you ask her or tell her?”

Roz opened her mouth, then shut it. “I told her.” She angrily tossed the napkin on the plate. “And I know that was wrong of me.”

“Were you usually the one to make the decisions?”

“Not really. We were good at making important decisions together.”

“And you took care of her?”

“We took care of each other.”

“So why was this different?”

“I think, for the first time, we really disagreed with each other. And we obviously couldn’t get past it.” Roz angrily shifted in the chair.

“And you left.”

“She let me,” Roz blurted out.

“And you couldn’t go back. Not without turning in your butch card.” Stella patted her on the back after setting the plate
 
of blueberry cobbler down. “Now eat. I need to clean up. And I think you need to have a conversation with a certain birthday girl.”

“No,” Roz said, suddenly feeling terrified. “No, I don’t.”

Saved from any further conversation, Roz turned when Helen’s smiling face appeared.

“I just wanted to say what a delightful dinner, Stella. Roz is very lucky to have you.” She walked into the kitchen and spied the blueberry cobbler.

Roz picked up a fork. “Care to join me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Helen said in a huff. “I have to watch my waistline.”

“Why? What’s it going to do?”

Helen playfully glared. “Impudent as ever.”

Stella laughed as she dried her hands on a towel. “Well, thank you, Helen. And speaking of luck, I was just telling Roz how idiotic she’s been.”

Helen beamed then. “Excellent! It’s good to know I’m not the only one.”

“I told her a conversation was in order.”

“I agree.”

“And soon…”

Roz tapped her fork on the marble counter several times. “The idiot can hear you.”

Helen laughed and pulled at Roz’s shoulder. “Come with me. You still have guests in the dining room.”

Roz groaned childishly, but before she allowed Helen to use her cane as a cattle prod, she took a mouthful of heavenly blueberry cobbler.

She and Helen laughed as they walked into the dining room to see Stan standing by Kit’s table. Bess and Nate were still at their table in lighthearted conversation. Roz raised an eyebrow when Bess laughed, just a little too loud, at something Nate said.

Roz thought it better to stop at Bess’s table first. “Well, how was dinner?”

“Wonderful,” Bess said.

“Very good. You have a great chef,” Nate said. “Where did you find her?”

“Stella dropped right out of heaven and into my lap,” Roz said, laughing along with them. She glanced at Kit’s table. Helen was now standing alongside them. “Seriously, Stella is a retired English teacher and learned her skill while vacationing in Greece a few years ago.”

“What a great story,” Nate said. “Well, she’s certainly honed her culinary skills well. It was delicious.”

“I’ll let her know.” Roz tried to concentrate on their conversation but all the while glanced at Kit’s nearby table. She had to smile when she heard Kit’s very loud groan when she saw her mother make her way to the table.

“Well, children, how was dinner?” Helen asked with a grin.

“I’m so full I could bust,” Dale said. “I usually don’t eat that much. But man, that was good.”

“It was. Stella is a great chef,” Bess called out from her table. “Where is the old gal?”

Stella came through the swinging door with a glass of wine in her hand. “Did I hear my name?”

“You did,” Dale said. “Dinner was great.”

“I agree,” Nate called out.

Stella bowed, then raised her glass. “I’m so glad you enjoyed it.” She looked at the bar to see Mark standing in the corner, wiping a glass and scowling as he watched Nate. She rolled her eyes but said nothing.

“Mother, how about you?” Kit asked.

“As wonderful as my dinner companion, who has abandoned me. Where did he run off to?” Helen looked around to see Stan talking to Roz at Bess’s table. “Just like a man…” She turned her attention back to Kit. “So what’s on the agenda for the evening? I’ve heard that heavenly chair by the fire screaming my name for an hour.”

Dale looked at her watch. “It’s only nine o’clock, Mrs. W., the night is young.”

“And so are you, dear,” Helen said, glancing at Kit. “Well, you two enjoy the rest of the evening.” She kissed Kit on the head. “Good night, darling.”