Homecoming (50 page)

Jill stared at her, stunned. Having Janet stand up for her—and Lizzie—in such a defiant way made her feel as good as anything ever had. She mattered. To people she loved.

***

Three hours later, she was safe in her bed, with Lizzie tightly wrapped around her. They’d gotten into bed just a few minutes after Jill had returned, exhausted and emotionally battered.

Lizzie gently stroked her back, calming her jangled nerves. “It will all work out,” she murmured. “And if Mark and Lisa want to separate from the family—that’s their choice.”

“I wish I hadn’t been so oblivious,” Jill said. “If I’d known he had a crush on me, I could have talked to him about it.”

“That’s not your responsibility. He was twenty-two years old, Jill. That’s old enough to think for himself.”

“I guess.” She snuggled up against her, the burdens of the past few days starting to lift under Lizzie’s gentle care. “Hey, my mother said something strange. She kept insisting you had weird hair.”

“Huh?” After a second, she let out a laugh. “She probably hasn’t seen me since college. I did a lot of wacky things back then.”

“How wacky?”

“I’ll show you a photo. I think I have some stuff from college in my apartment.”

“Can’t wait. If it was enough for my mother to recall all these years later, it must’ve been good.”

“Let’s just say I’ll bet you don’t beg me to do it again.”

***

She didn’t call often, but Jill had what she assumed was a valid number for her father’s cell phone. “Dad?” she asked when he answered.

“Hey, hi there, Jill. I was thinking about calling you today.”

He said that every time she called. He never did, but he seemed to think she’d buy the line.

“Well, I saved you the trouble. Have you talked to Mom recently?”

“Yeah. That’s why I was going to call you. Do you think she’s really going to leave?”

“I think so. Why? Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. She thinks she’s going to be welcome out in Scottsdale, but she and her sister hardly ever speak. I can’t see Marilyn rolling out the welcome wagon.”

Jill heard from her aunt so infrequently she’d forgotten that she’d moved to Arizona a few years ago. She wasn’t quite as quirky as her mom, but she wasn’t anyone’s idea of a warm, welcoming presence.

“Yeah, that’ll be interesting. But I think Mom’s going to do it. She’s not the type to make idle threats.”

“No, she’s not.” He let out a sigh. “I guess I’ll get an apartment in Brattleboro or somewhere.”

“How long are you planning on working, Dad?”

“I don’t have much money saved, so I guess I’ll keep going until I drop dead or they fire me.”

This was probably where she was supposed to pipe up and offer to help him out. Even to suggest he move to Burlington and live in her spare bedroom. But she wasn’t going to do that. Of course, she’d help if he had an urgent need. But there was a lot of truth in the saying that you reap what you sow. He’d shown very little interest in her or their relationship. Rich Henry always had a decent job, but had notoriously spent his money buying drinks in local watering holes and luring women to bed. It was a little late to expect her to make up for his poor investments.

“I hope you’re able to work for as long as you want, Dad. Let me know where you wind up.”

“Oh, I will. Everything okay with you?”

Her mother had obviously not shared her news. Just as well.

“Yep. Everything’s just fine.”

On Wednesday evening, they
sat in Lizzie’s apartment, a shoebox filled with photos on Jill’s lap. The one she held in her hand was from college, and was taken at an angle from behind. Lizzie had completely shaved the hair on one side, all the way around to the back of her head. In the photo, it had grown back a little, the super-short fur looking more red than brown. The other side, longer than it was now, was a flat, dull kelly green, with one purple hank, just for variety, Jill guessed. It looked like cotton candy, with all of the shine and body completely stripped from it.

Lizzie sat on the arm of the sofa, gazing down at the photo. “What do you think? Should I bring it back?”

“I don’t know how your poor mother stopped herself from ripping the green part out,” Jill said. “What were you thinking?”

“I just wanted to do something different. I thought it looked kinda cool.”

“This is as uncool as a human can be. Thank god you got this lunacy out of your system while you were still in college. You’re amazingly ordinary now compared to this.”

“I’ve still got a wild side.” She went to her bitchen, reached under her bed, and pulled out a box. When she returned to Jill, she opened it and held it right up to her face.

“No way!” Jill yelped. “You can have all of the sex toys you want, but we’re buying new ones. Brand new! Never been used!”

“Oh, come on. These were expensive.”

“You can use them on yourself, but they’re never coming close to me. She plucked out a leather harness, still fitted with a smallish dildo. “Especially this one,” she said, a look of utter distaste on her face. “I know where this one’s been.”

***

Jill stood on a step-stool, hoisting a few boxes of summer clothes into the storage space over the closet in the guest bedroom. “It kills me to put my shorts away,” she said as she came back down. “It’s like I’m giving in.”

“Ohh,” Lizzie put her arms around her neck and gave her a kiss. “My poor summer-obsessed baby. I can put away…” She closed her eyes briefly as she thought. “A hundred and fifty a month for a beach vacation. That’ll give me six hundred by January. That’s enough, isn’t it? We’ll go to the warmest place we can find and do nothing but play in the ocean.”

Jill ran her fingers through Lizzie’s hair as she looked into her eyes, reflecting on how sweet it was of her to offer. “Uhm…how…uhm…do you really have to budget for everything?”

“Yep.” She moved over to open one of the boxes they’d brought over from her apartment. “After I pay all of my bills, I have seven hundred and fifty bucks left. Out of that, I have to pay for food, transportation, entertainment, clothing, and gifts. I have three or four savings plans going on all the time.”

“What are you saving for now?” Jill asked, finding this all pretty adorable. She sat down on the bed and watched Lizzie go through some of her winter clothing.

“I’ve always got a museum trip account. I’ve got about fifteen hundred in that one. And a wedding gift account.” She rolled her eyes. “Everybody I know is getting married. It’s
killing
me to go to four or five weddings a year.” Holding up a hand, she added, “I swore off being in weddings a couple of years ago. I’m all for people having a great party, but if you think I’m going to pay a thousand bucks to buy a weird dress and go to a bunch of showers and make you the queen of the world because you’ve chosen a regular sex partner, you’re nuts!”

Jill stretched out on her belly and propped her chin up with her hands. She loved nothing more than listening to Lizzie reveal her firmly held, well-thought-out, sometimes kooky beliefs. “What else? Any more slush funds?”

“I had the Red Sox fund for taking my dad to a game. I think I’ll keep that one going so we can go again next year.” She leaned over and kissed Jill, then ruffled her hair. “You promised he’d be well enough to go again.”

“I’m gonna stick to that one. Can I kick in a few bucks to that fund? I’d really like to go,” she said, blinking her eyes coquettishly.

“All right,” Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. “I put in a hundred a month, but I was going to knock it down to fifty. Let’s do seventy five, total. That will let us stay in Boston two nights, go to a game and have a nice dinner or two.”

“Agreed. I’ll have my thirty-seven fifty to you on the first of the month.” She reached over and grasped a wool shirt that Lizzie was putting on a hanger. “Hold on a sec,” she said. “Is this vintage?” She let her fingers brush across the red, yellow and green plaid.

“Yeah,” she said, laughing a little. “Technically, it’s a hand-me-down. This was my inheritance from Gramma Davis.” She opened another box and pulled out a blue and black buffalo plaid Mackinaw, a pair of heavy wool spruce green slacks and a red wool vest with pewter buttons. “I really lucked out. Donna and Kristen both wanted this, but it was all my size.” She laughed. “I felt like Cinderella.”

“And you wear this? I don’t know many people who haven’t switched to down.”

“My gramma bought this stuff in the thirties.” She slipped the shirt/jacket on. “Look for signs of wear. You won’t find one.” Jill ran her fingers along the cuffs and the elbows. The darned thing looked brand new.

“It looks really cute on you,” she admitted. “I’ve got a couple of wool shirts, but I go with down for my coat.”

“Hey, I’m not antagonistic to wearing lightweight clothes. But I’ll never spend money on something new if something old works almost as well. Besides,” she said, turning to look at herself in the mirror over the dresser. “I think I look kinda rugged. This fits my new lesbian personae.”

“Feel free to not look like a lesbian,” Jill teased. “I don’t want more competition.”

“Ha!” She jumped onto the bed, landing across Jill’s hips. Then she collapsed on top of her, effectively holding her in place. Nuzzling her face into Jill’s neck, she murmured, “You’d win my heart if every woman in Grrlington was gunning for me.”

“Just in case, I think I’ll steal you away from Grrlington for a few days. I’ve got a surprise for you. One I’m sure you’ll like.”

“Tell me!” she said, sitting up and thrusting against Jill’s hips impatiently. “I love surprises.”

“Can I roll over?”

“Oh, all right.” She slid off and got to her feet, then helped Jill roll over and sit up. “Spill it,” Lizzie demanded, after draping her arms around Jill’s shoulders.

“I’m going to a conference in New York, and I’d love to have you come with me,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

“New York?” Lizzie asked, her eyes sparkling.

“Uh-huh.”

“In a hotel?”

“A nice one.”

“Going out to dinner?”

“With my meal paid for,” Jill said, particularly happy about that part.

“Can we go to a play?”

“Yep. I might have some evening events with a small group I run, but I’ll make sure I have one night free. Promise.”

“Soon? ’Cause I’m ready!”

“Mid-October. Are you in? You’ll only have to take Friday off.”

Lizzie ran to the hallway and Jill heard a series of thumps. She got up and went to investigate, finding Lizzie doing backflips, then a series of cartwheels, stopping at the door, where she stood, face flushed, eyes wide with excitement.

“Does that mean you want to go?” Jill asked, laughing at her antics.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes!” Her gaze grew sober. “What would you say to my inviting Kristen to come along?”

“Kristen?” Jill asked, trying not to look disappointed.

“Yeah,” she said, putting her hands on Jill’s hips and pulling her close. Lizzie’s voice dropped down a little bit and got softer, with Jill laughing inwardly as she realized this was going to be the way she was talked into things in the future.

“She loves museums, so I’d have someone to hang out with. And she loves to shop, which I know you don’t.”

“I don’t?”

Lizzie smiled at her. “I buy all of my clothes at resale shops. Kristen and I can spend all day trying on stuff and critiquing it. Are you into that?”

“I can’t say no quickly enough,” Jill admitted.

“More than that, having some time alone might let us get our relationship back on track. And that’s important to me.”

Jill thought about it for just a moment. Her dreams of a romantic getaway were fading, but if Lizzie wanted Kristen… “No problem. I’ll be involved in a lot of stuff, so you’ll have plenty of time to kill. Having Kristen along will be nice.” She put her hands around Lizzie’s waist and drew her close. “We’ll go to bed early so we have our alone time.”

“Uhm…” Her smile took on extra warmth, clearly a prelude to asking for something not on the menu. “Would it ruin the weekend if Kristen stayed in our room? She’s as broke as I am.”

“Stay in our room, huh?” She gazed into Lizzie’s eyes, seeing the longing in them. “I can live with that. How about taking Thursday off too? I’d love a day with just you.”

“It’s a deal. Happy?”

“Very.”

Lizzie leaned into her and gave her a long kiss. “I’m particularly happy that you’re not complaining about my bringing my sister. I know that’s not what you had in mind.”

“I like Kristen,” Jill insisted. “This will work out great.”

Lizzie took a look at the clock on the dresser. “Ooo. Time for bed.”

Jill started for the bedroom. Firmly believing they needed plenty of time for pillow talk, Lizzie had insisted their bedtime should be nine No one had ever demanded that kind of idle time before, but Jill found herself looking forward to it. No TV, no electronics, either. Lizzie allowed the use of phones, but only as alarms. Other than that, they just lay together and talked—usually after making love.

When they were both ready for bed, they got in and took their usual positions; with Jill lying on her back, Lizzie resting her head on Jill’s outstretched arm. It had been such a short time to have these little habits already ingrained, but they gave a structure to Jill’s life that she found she loved.

Her hand tangled in Lizzie’s hair and she slid her fingers through the strands as she spoke. “Tell me about your day.”

“Nothing big. I was on the phone all morning, trying to line up some more sponsors for our big Christmas open house. Did I tell you about that yet?”

“Nope.”

“Well, you’ve got to put it on your calendar. It’s December the fourth. That’s a Friday night. It’s a big deal. Formal. You’re my date, of course.”

“Cool. I don’t know if I have anything dressy enough, but you can help me buy something.”

“The suit you had on when I came by your office is dressy enough. You just need the right kind of blouse. Silk or satin would be perfect.”