Entwined - SF5 (27 page)

She extended a hand to Jamie and slid her arms around her when she joined her. "I really think I need to talk to him alone," she whispered. "I think he’ll be unwilling to reveal much if we’re both there. Will you wait for me?"

"Of course, Love. You take as long as you need, Ryan. I’ll be waiting right here."

The minutes ticked by, with Jamie becoming more anxious with the passing of each one. Almost 30 minutes had passed and Jamie was on the verge of going to find her partner when a long frame cast a massive shadow down the center aisle. Jamie was on her feet in a flash. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes darting to Ryan’s pale face. Her hands automatically went to Ryan’s arms, running up and down them slowly.

"Yeah. I’m all right," she muttered. "Sick to my stomach, and a massive headache, but I’m fine."

"Wanna talk about it?" Jamie wasn’t going to rush her. She knew Ryan would tell all when she was ready and that trying to get her to talk before she was ready was a wasted effort.

"Later," she mumbled, needing some time to sort out the jumble of emotions that were causing her head to pound.

Ryan didn’t want to go to her family’s home, even though they were in the neighborhood. She knew that she could not help but show how upset she was, and she was not in the mood for another scene. Instead, they grabbed a quick bite and headed back to Berkeley. Jamie drove since Ryan was too scattered to focus. Placing one hard on the steering wheel and the other on Ryan’s leg, Jamie gave it a gentle rub. "Anytime you want to talk about it, just let me know, Love. No rush."

Ryan smiled over at her, once again pleased beyond measure that her partner respected her boundaries. "I hate growing up," she muttered, lowering her seat as far back as she could, and staring at the roof of the car.

"Pardon?" Jamie couldn’t figure out how this was on point, but she knew Ryan would explain herself.

"It was nice being a kid and believing that adults knew what the hell they were doing. I trusted everyone when I was young, and even though I know you can’t survive like that, I really miss those days sometimes."

Patting her thigh Jamie reminded her of one important benefit of adulthood. "Yeah, but you didn’t get to have sex with the girls on your sleepovers," she teased, deciding that a little levity was a good thing.

As usual, a delighted grin settled on Ryan’s face at the thought of how much fun their current sleepovers were. "I guess I’ll trade being jaded for sex," she agreed, knowing she was getting the better end of the bargain, "but I’m still mighty pissed off."

"Wanna tell me about it?" Jamie asked.

"I’ll spare you the rationalizing and get to the bottom line," Ryan agreed. "Mrs. Andrews talked to him a day after everything went down. But she didn’t talk to him in the confessional. They just had a chat. Because she didn’t tell him to keep it confidential, he doesn’t feel that he was under any obligation to do so."

Jamie’s mouth dropped open, and she cast so many glances at her partner that Ryan finally said, "I don’t want to fall into the Bay, Honey. Keep your eyes on the road."

"Ryan, that’s…that’s…that’s criminal! My grandfather isn’t bound by any vow to keep confidences, but he sure as hell does! You don’t skate by on a technicality!"

"I agree, Honey, but he certainly did."

Jamie was still too flabbergasted to think clearly, but she managed to pull herself together enough to ask, "Did he at least apologize?"

"Nope. He truly doesn’t think he did anything wrong, Jamie. Because he talked to Sister Mary Magdalene before Sara or I confessed, he doesn’t think he violated our trust. As a matter of fact, he seems to think he was protecting me!"

"Get out!"

Blazing green eyes locked on Ryan and, once again, she reminded her partner that she was driving a car. "Focus, Babe," she said, pointing at the roadway.

"How on earth does he justify that?" Jamie was dutifully staring at the road, but her hands were gripping the wheel furiously, her knuckles whitening under the pressure.

A deep sigh came from Ryan’s lungs, and she ran both hands through her hair, settling it against her shoulders. "He said that he knew that word would get out, and he wanted someone in authority to know the truth about what had happened. He claims he went to Mother Superior and told her that he knew both Sara and me, and that we were goods kids who were just having a tough time with this. I don’t have any reason to doubt him on this, since he was so forthcoming about everything else, but he swears that she’s the only one he told."

"And she told the other students??!!"

"Don’t know. Gonna find out," Ryan declared with a fierce glower on her normally placid features.

As soon as Ryan returned from her team run on Wednesday morning she was on the phone with her old school, trying to schedule an appointment with the principal.

"Any luck?" Jamie asked as she hung up.

"Yeah, but not until tomorrow. I hate to drive back across the bridge in morning traffic, but I need to talk to her as soon as possible."

"I’ve got an idea," Jamie said.

"What’s that, Love?"

"I’m going over to help Colm this afternoon, and I figured that as long as I was on that side of the bay, I might ask Mother to dinner. She’s leaving for Rhode Island on Friday, you know."

"Nope. Had no idea." Ryan tossed her feet onto the floor and stood to do some stretching.

Jamie watched her bare body contort for a few minutes, finding that her train of thought had abruptly left the station.

"You were saying?" Ryan prompted, knowing that her partner was a sucker for her stretching routine.

"Oh, right. Umm…" she fumbled, trying to recall what in the heck she had been talking about. "Oh! I got it!" she said proudly. "Mother goes to Rhode Island for the entire month of August to see her extended family. I’m sure I’ve told you that."

"Honey, your mother is always going somewhere. I’m sure I haven’t learned her schedule yet."

"Well, this trip is a given," Jamie declared. "I just thought that it would be nice to have a little sendoff for her. She’s been so extraordinarily nice to us since I came out to her."

"Hey," Ryan said softly, sitting on the bed next to her partner. "I’m happy to go, Babe. Just tell me where and when."

"I’m meeting Colm at two, so why don’t you come over to Niall’s when you’re finished with work. Then we can stay over at your house and be close to your appointment."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan agreed. "I’ll look forward to escorting the lovely Evans women tonight."

They decided on Zuni Cafe since it was close to the freeway and not too far from Ryan’s. After they were settled with a nice bottle of wine and a large bottle of mineral water for Ryan, Catherine thanked them for inviting her, and spent a few minutes praising how lovely each young woman looked.

The older woman seemed to know a lot about food, and she made several comments on the menu while they perused it. Calling the server over, she asked some pointed questions about the origin of the oysters, what type of parmagianno cheese was used on the Caesar salad, and other details that were far over Ryan’s head. When all of her questions had been answered, Catherine asked if they minded if she ordered for them. Ryan was glad for any help, so she readily accepted the offer. Jamie smiled and also assented.

The menu was not overly large, and Ryan noted with surprise that Catherine ordered every appetizer on the menu. "That’s one way to avoid having to make the tough decisions," Ryan laughed.

"I’ve noticed that you seem to have a very healthy appetite, Ryan," Catherine smiled in return. "I want to make sure that you don’t leave hungry."

"That rarely happens, Mother," Jamie informed her. "She invariably steals at least a quarter of my entrée."

"It’s my duty!" Ryan soberly informed her companions. "I’m a charter member of the ‘Clean Plate Club’."

While the younger women devoured their large entrees, Catherine nibbled on a small caviar appetizer that could not have satisfied even Caitlin’s tiny stomach. However, as she seemed perfectly content with her choice, neither woman commented. "Ryan," she said when the entrees were cleared from the table, "are you aware of my annual pilgrimage to Newport to visit my family?"

She nodded briefly, "Yes, Jamie’s told me that you go for a month every year. Is this your mother’s or father’s family, Catherine?"

"Mother’s," she said. "My father’s family has been in California since the Gold Rush."

Mine’s been here since the Summer of Love,
Ryan thought, but she wasn’t sure how Catherine would get her joke, so she kept her thought to herself.

"I know this is sudden," Catherine said, showing a little hesitation, "but this year I wanted to see if Jamie would accompany me for part of the time."

Jamie had never felt quite as trapped as she did at that moment. Her mother was being more connected and more understanding about her situation than she could have ever dreamed possible, and she was being extremely cordial to Ryan. To say no would be callous and disloyal, but she would honestly rather go over Niagara Falls in a barrel than spend a month with her tedious relatives. Her face must have reflected her feelings because Catherine said, "If you’re terribly opposed, don’t give it another moment’s thought, Dear." But even in this short exchange, she could see the disappointment register in the deep brown eyes.

"No, no, it’s not that," she hastened to explain, even though it was. "I just don’t know if we can work it out. School starts early this year and I have my golf tryouts..."

Ryan, always helpful, interjected, "We’ve got most of August free, Honey. School doesn’t start until August 23, remember?"

"Thanks, Hon," she said with a rigid smile. "Well, I guess that settles it then," she added. "When would you like me?"

"Any time you can spare would be wonderful, Dear. Why don’t you two discuss it, and call me in Rhode Island?"

"Okay," Jamie agreed. "But I can only spare a week," she declared. "Even at that I don’t know if it’ll be bearable to be around me." At her mother’s questioning glance she explained, "It’s hard for me to go play golf without her."

As she reached over and grasped her lover’s hand, they shared a terribly tender smile that caused Catherine to say, "It didn’t dawn on me that a short separation would be hard for you both. I don’t want to cause any discomfort, girls. We can do this another time."

"No," Ryan said firmly. "I think it would be good for you two to have some time together. And Jamie and I can see if absence truly does make the heart grow fonder."

Jamie smiled gently at her partner and said, "There are limits to everything, Sweetheart; I could not possibly be any fonder of you."

Ryan didn’t reply verbally, but her love-filled eyes spoke volumes. It was actually a little too intimate for Catherine to witness, so she called the waiter over and asked for the dessert cart. Just as she suspected, once Ryan had a dazzling array of sweets in front of her, she broke the tender exchange and got down to the business of eating.

"Did you realize that your father was home, Jamie?" Catherine asked casually as they sipped their after-dinner coffee.

"Yes, I assumed he was," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on her folded hands.

Catherine placed her hand atop Jamie’s and gazed at her daughter until the green lifted eyes to meet hers. "I understand this is hard for you, Jamie, and I’m not asking you to do anything you aren’t ready to do. I just want to remind you that your father has far too much pride for his own good. You might have to make the first step to re-establish contact."

Jamie nodded, acknowledging that she would have to be the one to approach her father. "I don’t mind that so much, Mother. I mean, it’s what I’m used to."

Catherine felt a great deal of empathy for her daughter, knowing that the young girl had always had to go the extra step to stay in her father’s good graces. It wasn’t that Jim was irrational, in fact, it usually took quite a lot to anger him. But he had a very difficult time saying that he was sorry, and Jamie usually gave in before he did. "I know that’s true, Jamie," she said softly. "I wish it wasn’t always so, but I don’t think he’ll change at this point."

"It’s not that I won’t apologize, Mother," she said. "I was very touchy when we spoke, and I did react badly. I just worry that this will happen again and again. I wish I knew how to get past the entire issue." She looked very frustrated, and Catherine was considering how best to reassure Jamie when Ryan’s hand went to her face and softly stroked her cheek. The gesture was small, almost insignificant, but when Jamie looked up into Ryan’s striking blue eyes, Catherine watched in amazement as her frown disappeared, immediately replaced by a small grin filled with affection.

"I’ll get involved if you wish, Jamie. I hope you know that," Catherine assured her.

"I know, Mother," she said, "and I appreciate it. But I think I have to work this out on my own." She shook her head in frustration and ran her hand through her hair. "I know I have my work cut out for me in order to convince him that I’m an adult, but it just annoys me that he insists on keeping me in the dark!"

"Tell me how you mean that, Dear?"

"He won’t even give me a copy of my trust agreement, Mother," she complained. "He seems to think that I should be satisfied with him making my decisions for me, but I can’t!"

"Jamie," Catherine soothed, "haven’t you learned that confronting your father directly never works? Go around him, Dear," she urged.

"What…?"

"You haven’t been to the bank in years, Dear. Why not drop by to say hello to Tuck and get a copy of your agreement that you have misplaced?"

"But I didn’t mis…" Jamie started to say, but stopped short when she caught the twinkle in her mother’s eyes. "That’s very devious, Mother," she laughed.

"Devious, perhaps," Catherine admitted, "but also efficient. Why go through the wall when you can go around it, Dear?"

I like this woman more and more
, Ryan mused, watching mother and daughter as they shared a laugh.

It wasn’t very late when their server cleared all of the plates from the table, and it quickly became clear that Catherine didn’t want to go home. She had already offered after-dinner drinks, but neither Jamie nor Ryan was in the mood for any more alcohol. Signaling the server, Catherine said, "I’d like another espresso, can I convince either of you to join me?"

Ryan realized that she was merely trying to extend the evening, so she relented. "I’d love to Catherine, but I need a decaf if I’m going to get to sleep."

She nodded and gave the order to the server, and since they were going to be there for a while, Jamie figured it was a good time to bring up the topic that had been in the back of her mind for several weeks. "You know, Mother, one of the reasons that I want the trust agreement is so that I can ascertain how to receive the 25% distribution that I was entitled to upon my 21
^st
birthday."

Catherine paused, her body language revealing nothing of her feelings about this declaration. The server was on his way with the coffee, and she waited until he departed to ask, "Why now, Jamie? I thought you were happy to leave the money in place until you had some definite plan for it."

"I did," she agreed. "But Ryan’s showed me how to look at my statements more carefully, and I’ve found that I’m unhappy with the performance of the fund. I could do as well in a savings account, Mother, and that’s just ridiculous in this market."

"Do you need more money, Jamie? I’m sure we could raise your monthly allowance now that Ryan…"

"No, no," Jamie interrupted. "I have plenty of money. But eventually Ryan and I want to use our money to start a charitable foundation of some sort. The more I can earn, the more we’ll be able to give away."

Catherine smiled at her daughter and said, "I wish I could say that your great-great-grandfather would be proud of you for that, but in truth he would turn over in his grave to think that you were planning on giving his hard-earned money away."

Looking at her mother with careful regard, Jamie asked, "What about you, Mother? Your opinion means more to me than that of a long-dead relative."

Giving her daughter an identical stare, Catherine smiled and replied, "I’m always proud of you, Jamie. I think it’s a fabulous idea if you can distribute some of this money during your life. I guarantee that you won’t get any support from the extended family, but you’ll have my complete approval."

Jamie laughed, her eyes crinkling up in their usual fashion. "Oh, Mother, you and the rest of the family give scads of money away!"

"Oh, we give money to our favorite charities, and to all of the major cultural institutions, but that’s just to keep our way of life intact. As much as I love the opera and the symphony, I never delude myself into thinking that I’m significantly changing anyone’s life by supporting them." She sounded so bitter and self-deprecating that Ryan nearly asked her why she continued to behave this way if she had so little regard for it. But she didn’t yet know Catherine well enough to question her choices, so she held her tongue.

"I think your support of the arts is very important, Mother," Jamie insisted. "Music and dance and art have a very meaningful impact on people. Don’t diminish that."

Fixing her daughter with her velvety brown eyes, Catherine asked, "Is that how you want to distribute your money, Dear?"

Jamie was silent for a moment, staring at her folded hands while she tried to think of a graceful way to answer that question. "No, it’s not, but not because it’s not important. I’d like to do something to help individuals with quality of life issues…things like housing and even medical care for people who don’t qualify for other programs."

Catherine nodded, took a sip of her espresso, and murmured, "That’s what I expected, Jamie. I don’t think you’ll ever spend your days going from one charity luncheon to the next, talking to a group of people who care far more about who is wearing what than actually helping others."