by Becky Harmon
Touching a straight woman shouldn’t bring this reaction, she warned herself. She knew she should pull away, but she didn’t want to. She stood and let Stephanie lead her through the living room into a large shared foyer.
* * *
Steph knocked on the door directly across the foyer, giving Jemini’s hand a squeeze. She wasn’t sure why she had offered her hand to her except that she had looked so vulnerable when presented with the idea of facing Agnes, a tenant in the house she was trying to sell.
“Is this my stalker?” Agnes asked as she pulled open the door.
Steph laughed but stopped suddenly after she glanced at Jemini. Jemini’s face looked shocked and her breathing had slowed. Guiding Jemini to a chair in the foyer, she pushed her onto it. She knelt beside her, still holding tight to her hand.
“I remember you,” Jemini said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “You gave us candy.”
Steph laughed. “Every time she cut our hair, we could pick a piece of candy from the bowl on the counter. Everyone thought I liked short hair, but really I was after the candy.”
Jemini smiled weakly and rubbed her face before glancing at Agnes again. Agnes still stood in the doorway holding the door open. Steph wasn’t sure if they were going to be asked to leave and she frowned at Agnes.
“So, this is my stalker?” Agnes repeated.
Steph looked at the confusion on Jemini’s face and explained. “You came by the house yesterday but didn’t get out of the car?”
“Oh, yes.” Jemini’s dark skin developed a pink hue as she realized what Agnes meant. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see the house. To see if it still looked the same.”
“And does it?” Agnes demanded.
Over Jemini’s shoulder, Steph glared at Agnes again. It was Agnes’s idea to convince Jemini to stay in Riverview and now she was being so unfriendly Steph wasn’t sure she even wanted to stay in the room with her.
“Yes,” Jemini answered. “It does look the same.”
“So, why did you come back to Riverview?”
“I came for the reading of the will.”
“To see what Dorothy had left for you?” Agnes continued her barrage.
“Agnes,” Steph said, hoping her tone would caution Agnes on her harshness.
Jemini ignored their interaction. Her eyes focused on Agnes. “No. No, I don’t want anything from her.”
“And yet you’re here taking what she left.”
“I’m not keeping it.” Jemini seemed shocked by Agnes’s words.
“I want to sit outside,” Agnes announced.
Jemini stood. “I should go. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to make it to dinner. Thank you for the offer.”
Steph looked back and forth between them. Her hopes that Agnes would charm Jemini into staying were destroyed. In all her years, she had never seen Agnes act like she just had. She watched Jemini step back into the other half of the house before she exploded on Agnes.
“What the hell!”
“I was shaking her up. Making her think.”
“You made her think all right. She’s thinking now that she won’t stay a minute longer than she has to.”
Agnes smiled. “I want to sit on the porch. Sit with me.”
Since it was more a statement than a question, she followed. She was so confused by Agnes’s actions. They had all talked about how Jemini needed to be convinced to stay or at least not to sell the house and Agnes had been almost cruel with her. “I don’t understand you.”
“She’s too caught up in her world. She needs to remember. Help her remember.”
Steph dropped onto the porch steps as memories of her childhood flooded in. She and Jemini sitting in this spot eating homemade ice cream cones. Her dad in his wide-brimmed hat, riding the mower across the yard. Her mom and Dorothy on the porch, listening patiently to each wild tale Jemini could make up. Steph had never been good at lying and she still wasn’t. Being a cop came naturally to her. Everything was either black or white; there was no gray in her world.
She stood. “I’m going to talk to Jemini.”
“Good idea.” Agnes’s chair rocked back and forth.
* * *
Jemini pushed the door closed and collapsed against it. She wasn’t sure what she had expected from the seventy-year-old woman next door, but she was sure she hadn’t gotten it. What she had gotten instead was a slap in the face. Why was she stressing over selling the house? She should just sell it and get out of this town forever.
She pulled a bag of dark chocolate caramels from the counter and unwrapped one. Washing it down with Dr. Pepper, she opened the bag of Cherry Sours. She tossed several in her mouth as she walked around the room, looking at the pictures on the wall and on the mantel. She stopped in front of the last picture on the mantel and stared into her father’s face, trying to see a piece of herself within him. He looked happy enough as he leaned against his Ford convertible, holding little Jemini in his arms, his red, sunburned face pressed tightly against her curly black hair. There were pictures of her and her mother too, but she couldn’t find any with the three of them together.
She didn’t think about her father much. In truth, Dorothy’s only son hadn’t been much of a father. He was a truck driver, against his mother’s wishes, and on the road a lot more than he was home. She couldn’t remember spending a Christmas with him or receiving any presents from him. She could remember Dorothy’s tears at his funeral, though. She had been too young to grieve for something she hadn’t really had. Her father hadn’t been home and now he wasn’t ever coming home—it seemed like the same thing to her at age thirteen.
Living with Grandma Dorothy was all she had ever known. She didn’t know why Dorothy had invited Jake and his new wife to live with her. Maybe because Jake was gone so much and Aries was so young. Or maybe simply because she wanted to. Aries’s parents had been elderly when they adopted her as a baby and had passed away before her marriage to Jake. Aries had grown up moving from hippie camp to hippie camp and was eager to call a single place home. Whatever the reason, Dorothy’s house became the only true home Aries and Jemini ever knew.
Staring into her father’s eyes, Jemini remembered that he had given her something after all. Not only his last name but the J from his first name as well. Aries’s parents’ final statement in rebelling against societal norms and anything conventional had been to name their child after the first sign in the Zodiac. In remembrance of them, Aries insisted her child carry a Zodiac name as well. She and Jake had compromised by changing Gemini to Jemini.
Even now the thought of her father’s passing didn’t evoke any painful feelings for her. Being ripped from the house after thirteen years had been much more painful. It was time to close that chapter, move on. She popped a few more Cherry Sours into her mouth. She felt at peace with her decision to sell the house now. Despite the hostility that she’d just received from Agnes, she would, however, try to make sure whoever bought it was willing to keep the tenants.
With that weight lifted off her shoulders, she found herself curious about the life she had left so long ago. She didn’t want to snoop through Dorothy’s personal stuff—she would leave that for Stephanie or Agnes. But maybe she could find some pictures of her childhood to take with her. She pulled open a closet door beside the bathroom, expecting to find sheets or towels, but instead found coats and shoes with a few shoe boxes across the top. She pulled down the first one and found a pair of shoes that appeared to never have been worn. The second box was harder to reach, but it contained shoes too. The third box balanced on the small shelf, and she stretched, pulling it slowly toward her. It wasn’t as heavy as the others and it slid easily, gaining momentum as she stumbled backward, bracing for an inevitable fall.
“Jemini, what are you…?”
Jemini felt strong arms wrap around her waist. She leaned into Stephanie, allowing her to steady her movement with the box above her head. Her heart raced at the contact of their bodies and she dropped the box on a
nearby chair. She waited a brief second for Stephanie to step back and when she didn’t Jemini boldly turned in her arms.
A fluttering erupted in her stomach at the look of desire on Stephanie’s face. Their lips inches apart, Jemini leaned slowly against her, sliding her hands up Stephanie’s arms. Grasping the tie that held Stephanie’s hair, Jemini released it and ran her fingers through the strands. With a slight touch on the back of Stephanie’s head, she closed the distance between them, her body humming with pleasure as their lips met. She moaned, opening her mouth to Stephanie’s tongue and deepening the kiss.
She gave no thought to the fact that she was kissing a straight woman or what the consequences of that might be. The way they were kissing didn’t feel wrong. Jemini’s head screamed for her to stop, but her body resisted the command. As if Stephanie could hear the internal exchange, she stepped back and broke off the kiss. They each stared at the other until finally Stephanie broke the silence.
“What the hell are you eating?”
Jemini frowned and then began laughing as she crossed to the kitchen counter, holding up the bag of Cherry Sours candy.
Stephanie took the bag from her and wrinkled her nose. “These are disgusting. Balls of cherry-flavored sugar.”
“You seemed to like them a moment ago.”
“No, I liked you until I tasted your tongue.”
Her heart stopped again. Stephanie liked tasting her. Could she be wrong? Was the attraction she felt for her possibly real? Stephanie couldn’t be a lesbian, could she? Pushing the contradicting thoughts from her mind, she laughed again and waved a Gummy Worm at her. “Want to get rid of the taste?”
“What are you doing here? Having a junk food festival? The only thing missing is a Twinkie.”
“Make that deep fried and I’ll take it.”
“Oh, man.” Stephanie ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back out of her eyes. “I saw you running this morning and I thought you cared about your health. You’re killing your body.”
“Are we avoiding talking about what just happened?”
“I’m not avoiding anything but a sugar coma. You, on the other hand, are lucky to be alive.”
She placed her hand on Stephanie’s arm to stop the banter. “What just happened between us?”
Stephanie dropped the bag of Cherry Sours on the counter and took a step back. Watching her retreat brought back all Jemini’s doubts from moments ago. Maybe Stephanie really wasn’t a lesbian and didn’t feel what she had.
Her eyes still locked with Jemini’s, Stephanie shrugged. “I’m not sure. Are you still selling the house?”
“It keeps coming back to this.”
“I’m afraid so. I don’t fool around for fun. I’m looking for something more permanent.”
Stephanie was out the door before Jemini could respond. She was too stunned to speak. What did she mean by that? Something “more permanent?” With her?
She couldn’t believe that Stephanie had walked out in the middle of a conversation again, but the truth was she was partially relieved. She wanted something more permanent too, she realized, and in a few more seconds she might have uttered those words out loud. In front of Stephanie. She leaned against the counter and stared at the bag of Cherry Sours candy. She did want something more permanent. Just not in Riverview. Or with a straight woman.
A knock on the door brought her back from her thoughts. Stephanie? She hoped it was, but what if it was Agnes? She crossed to the window and pulled back the curtain. Richard Greene stood on the porch with his briefcase in his hands. She opened the door but didn’t invite him in.
“Hello, Richard.”
“Ms. Rivers, I have some really good news. I found a buyer. I have all the paperwork for you to sign right here. You’ll have to return the day of the closing, but otherwise you’re finished here and can head home.”
She was stunned. It was what she had thought she had wanted, but that was before she heard about the tenants.
“Will they let the tenants remain?”
“Well,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “Probably not. I believe they plan to develop the property. It would be really good for Riverview. New houses, stores, and restaurants.”
Jemini felt sick. He didn’t say the words tear down the house, but she heard them anyway. “What about Stephanie’s house? That property belongs to her.”
“The developer will make her a really good offer too. I can’t imagine she’ll be able to say no. Everything’s going to be great.”
She thought about Kim and Brandon, who she hadn’t met yet, and wondered if they would feel the same way. Or Agnes. Even after their tense meeting earlier, she couldn’t let this happen.
“I’m not sure about this, Richard. Let me think about it, okay?”
“Okay, but don’t wait too long. This developer is looking at a lot of different properties and we don’t want to miss out on his offer.”
As she watched the real estate agent climb into his car, she was relieved to see that Agnes was no longer sitting on the porch. Richard’s news made her nauseous, but having Agnes hear what he said wouldn’t have been good. She crossed to the steps and sat down. Why didn’t she just tell Richard no? She knew she couldn’t sell to someone who was planning to tear down the house. She couldn’t even consider an offer like that.
“Hello.”
She looked up to see a small, black-haired little boy in cargo shorts and a tank top standing in front of her. The dark olive color of his face was richer than the sun would have produced this early in the year but lighter than her own skin color. His thick black eyebrows shaded his dark eyes, but she could see a ready smile waiting hesitantly on his round face. His knees were dirty, and there were muddy streaks on the cargo shorts where he had wiped his hands.
“Hello.” She smiled at him.
“Are you Ms. Jemini?”
“I am. Are you Brandon?”
“Yes.” He flopped onto the steps beside her.
“Mom says you’re not coming to dinner. You don’t like us?”
Surprised at his honesty, she searched for the words a little boy would understand. “I like you just fine. I’m not sure Ms. Agnes would be too happy with me being there.”
“Yeah, we heard. Ms. Steph said she was rude. I’m not sure what that means, but Mom tells me I’m rude when I burp out loud. Did Ms. Agnes do that when you met her?”
She held in her laughter but couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across her face. “No, she didn’t do that.”
“Oh.”
“She just wasn’t very friendly when I met her earlier.”
Brandon wrinkled his face in thought. “I think maybe she’s scared.”
“Scared?”
“Well, she’s old and all. I think she’s scared you’ll make her go away. I’m not scared. Mom says I’m young and I can go anywhere.”
She thought about Brandon’s words. Maybe Agnes was scared. She wished she could tell them all that everything would be okay, but she wasn’t sure she could make that promise. What if the developer’s was the only offer she received? Would she have to go with it? How long was she willing to wait? She wasn’t sure, but she knew it would be wrong to say something she wasn’t completely sure of. She would do her best, but eventually she would have to take whatever she was offered. “You might be right, Brandon. You’re pretty smart.”
“Mom says it’s because I’m an only child.”
“Will you ask your mom if I can come for dinner another day?”
Brandon jumped to his feet with a huge smile on his face and she heard him call as he disappeared. “She’ll say yes.”
She wasn’t sure if he was coming back or not, but she’d had all she could take for one day. The emotional ups and downs of meeting Agnes and the haunting memory of Stephanie’s kiss wouldn’t go away easy. She locked Dorothy’s front door and climbed into her car, glancing over at Stephanie’s house. She could walk over there now and demand that she explain her actions, but she couldn�
�t blame everything that happened on Stephanie. She had wanted to feel Stephanie’s arms around her. Wanted to feel the softness of her lips. And at this moment, hearing the truth didn’t sound like it would be very enjoyable. Stephanie wasn’t a lesbian. She couldn’t be.
It wasn’t fair. She had finally found a woman who stirred her interest and it wasn’t a woman she could have.
Chapter Seven
Steph had seen Richard leaving. The spring in his step made her uneasy, but she didn’t believe Jemini would sell them out so quickly. She didn’t want to anyway. She knew she should have stayed and talked things out with her. Kissing her without an invitation was probably not the best way to convince her to stay in Riverview, but she had lost all ability to think when Jemini had turned in her arms. She was still reeling from the kiss. Jemini was a captivating woman; the more she was around her the more she wanted. She tried to think about work as she put on her uniform, but it was everything she could do not to find Jemini and continue what they had started.
She wasn’t surprised that Jemini’s car was gone when she left for work. After the way Agnes had treated her and then the kiss, Jemini was probably scrambling to get out of town. She resisted the urge to drive to Lake View and see if she was still there. She wondered what Dorothy would think of her feelings for Jemini. She didn’t have to wonder really. She could hear Dorothy’s voice telling her she was crazy, that she had known Jemini for only two days and it had taken just one kiss to knock her off her feet.
Dispatch radioed that they had a landline call for her and she accepted. They patched the call through to her cell phone.
“Deputy Williams?”
“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“I filed a report with you a couple of weeks ago about my garage being broken in to. You said to call if I noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
“I remember. You live on Wymer Street, right?”