Rising Above

by Genevieve Fortin

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer enjoying your bath alone? I mean, without me on the other side of the door?”

  “No, please stay. I won’t be long. So how was dad? Excited to meet up with his buddies?”

  “I guess so, but not as much as I expected him to be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not sure. He kept telling me the boys had insisted for him to come out, as if he was going out of obligation more than anything else.”

  “He was probably acting that way because he didn’t want you to think he was looking forward to it. He cares about your opinion of him, you know.”

  “You think? Maybe. But at the same time I think he knows I wouldn’t judge him.” She felt dumb talking to a door and even dumber fighting the urge to peek inside.

  “You can come in,” Melodie said in a small, seductive yet hesitant voice, as if she’d heard her thoughts. “I’m covered in bubbles. It’s safe,” she added, her voice trembling now.

  Ana went into the small, candlelit bathroom. She stood still at the sight of Melodie covered in bubbles and the pink robe on the floor. Her bare knee peeked through the white foam and she smiled invitingly. “What are you doing, Melodie? Are you trying to torture me?”

  “Maybe a little,” she admitted with a coy grin. “I’m getting desperate, here,” she added playfully.

  “Desperate, huh?” Ana prompted as she approached the bathtub.

  “Yeah. I mean, what does a girl have to do to get a second kiss from you?”

  “This may do the trick,” she answered with a low chuckle as she knelt on the floor by the tub.

  She pressed her lips to Melodie’s and immediately felt Melodie’s wet fingers slip through the hair at the back of her head. Melodie seemed fascinated with her hair and Ana enjoyed the way she pulled her against her mouth, as if she couldn’t get close enough. Ana used her lips and her tongue to explore and taste Melodie. Ana’s movements were slower and more methodic than they’d been during their first kiss yet there was nothing calculated about this kiss either. She simply wanted to take the time to savor what the frenzy of their first kiss had barely allowed her to taste. The urgent hunger of that kiss had been replaced with a languorous gluttony that was even more pleasurable. She took Melodie’s lower lip between hers and lightly sucked on it as her tongue slowly travelled over its plumpness. Melodie moaned her appreciation and captured her tongue with her growing hunger. There was nothing polite about the way their mouths came together and for once in her life Ana welcomed the complete lack of inhibition. They grunted and moaned together until they were forced to break their kiss to catch their breath. They kept their mouths brushing against each other as they panted heavily.

  “Do you think you could share my bathwater with me in it?” Melodie whispered as she began grasping at Ana’s sweater.

  Ana opened her eyes and noticed a slim rim of icy blue iris around enlarged pupils, dark with need. Her eyelids were heavy, her mouth open and reaching for her. “I’d much rather have you in it, actually,” she answered in a raspy voice that betrayed the longing growing inside her own body. She jumped to her feet and stripped out of her clothes as fast as she could, without giving a second thought about exposing herself to Melodie.

  Once she got in the water and felt her skin slide against Melodie’s, she realized exactly what was going on and what was about to happen. She held her breath, panicked, but it was too late to turn back. She didn’t want to turn back. She wanted Melodie against her and the way they threaded their legs together to get closer to one another, eager to resume their kiss. Water spilled out of the tub as they scooted their bottoms across the porcelain. They laughed at the mess they were making. They finally met in the middle and instantly stopped laughing, staring at each other as their breasts and stomachs pressed together. They didn’t move, and Ana wondered if Melodie felt the electricity the contact sent though her body. She had to. They kept staring, their breathing becoming erratic. Ana’s gaze went from Melodie’s eyes to her mouth, half open and trembling, until she couldn’t resist anymore and kissed her.

  The kiss started strong and deep—they were way beyond tentative explorations. Ana felt Melodie’s hands moving frantically from her hair to her shoulders, pulling her closer. She took a hold of Melodie’s thighs, spread open and wrapped around her hips. She caressed her smooth skin under her thighs until she reached her buttocks, and in one quick movement she pulled her pelvis to hers. Melodie gasped at the contact of their centers. “Oh my god, yes. I want you so much,” she whimpered as Ana kissed her neck.

  Melodie broke their upper body contact to push her sex harder against hers, and as she leaned backward and rocked against her, Ana feasted on the sight of her breasts bouncing up and down with every movement. She caressed them with one hand as she provided support on Melodie’s lower back with the other. She couldn’t remember ever being this turned on, and although Melodie’s sex crushing against hers didn’t quite create the kind of friction she usually needed to climax, she didn’t want it to stop.

  “I need your hands,” Melodie announced as she pulled herself back up to face her and put her arms around her shoulders, her mouth only an inch from hers, her eyes demanding as she added, “Inside.” The plea aroused a need for her own core to be filled, and she inhaled sharply before she slipped a hand between them and through Melodie’s folds. She easily identified the thicker, slippery wetness that coated the two fingers she pushed inside her. Melodie moaned against her mouth and kissed her. Ana barely moved, letting her dictate the rhythm with a subtle rocking of her hips, slow at first then faster before she slowed down again. Ana kissed her, caressed her back and her sides with her free hand. They fit perfectly. She placed her thumb against Melodie’s clitoris, and she moaned again before she rocked faster. Her breathing became louder and heavier, and Ana knew there would be no slowing down this time. She slid a third finger inside her and used her thumb to rub her hard bundle of nerves faster.

  Ana took pleasure in knowing she was about to give Melodie an orgasm but she was shocked when Melodie’s hand slipped between them and easily found her own wetness. She knew she was ready but didn’t expect to be so responsive to her touch, soft yet assertive—and so exactly what she needed. She quickly caught up to Melodie’s momentum and they came together in loud and free grunts, moans, and whimpers. Melodie let her head fall onto Ana’s shoulder, and they wrapped their arms around each other. They stayed in their afterglow embrace until Ana noticed goose bumps on her arms. “I’m getting cold. Are you?”

  “Freezing.” They laughed before Melodie added, “Let’s get to bed.”

  They got out of the bathtub and didn’t take the time to dry their bodies with a towel or pick up their clothes from the floor. Instead, they rushed to the warm sheets of the bed where they made love again. They explored each other with their eyes, their hands, and their mouths. They shared several orgasms before they finally rested side by side, facing each other. Melodie playfully twisted a lock of Ana’s hair around her finger and she enjoyed the gentle touch as she used her own fingers to lazily trace circles on Melodie’s hip. The desire in Melodie’s eyes had been replaced with satisfaction at first, but now there was a hint of sadness in them too. “Are you okay?” she asked, scared of the answer.

  “I’m more than okay,” she said before she kissed her softly. “Just a little worried.”

  “About what?”

  Melodie sighed and turned to lay on her back. “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it now. Tonight has been perfect so far and I want it to stay this way.”

  Ana rolled to her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows so she could look into her eyes. “Tell me what you’re worried about and then we can go back to being perfect.”

  Melodie giggled nervously. “No, I’m going to sound needy and it’s way too early for that.”

  “Too early? Is there a time to sound needy? Do we have to wait until midnight? Should I set up an alarm or something?”


  She swatted her arm. “Stop it. Too early into our relationship I mean. If that’s what this is.” She grunted with frustration. “Damn shit! I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Well, we’re talking about it now so we might as well get it over with,” Ana replied playfully, acting as if she didn’t know what Melodie was worried about. She was worried about the exact same thing, so of course she knew. “What is it you want to say that’s going to make you sound needy?”

  “All right. I’ll tell you. I’m terrified what we started tonight won’t go any further because you’ll go back to Ithaca and forget about me.” She cringed. “See how needy that sounds? I mean, we just had sex, right?”

  “Is that all it was?” Melodie met her gaze and Ana hoped she could see what they’d done was well beyond sex to her.

  “No. Not to me,” she admitted before she bit her lower lip and swallowed nervously.

  “Not to me either. Don’t get me wrong. It was great, mind-blowing sex, but it was a lot more than that.”

  “So what does that mean?” Melodie asked as she turned to her side and held her head up with her hand.

  “It means I want more. We both want more. Right?” Ana asked.

  “Right. But how do we get more if you go back to the States?”

  “That’s not going to happen for a while. I still have a lot of people to interview.”

  Melodie clicked her tongue and sighed, annoyed. “That’s still temporary. And that’s what worries me. That you might stay long enough for me to fall head over heels for you and then you leave anyway.”

  “It’s not what I want, Melodie. I’ve thrown in a few lines, I’m testing the waters, but I don’t have any answers yet. I can’t make any promises.”

  “Throwing in a few lines? What do you mean?”

  “I’ve asked around about possible jobs.”

  “You have?” Her eyes lit up and she moved her free hand to Ana’s side. She nodded in reply. “So you think you might like to live here? Like, for good?”

  “Well I might not live in a hotel forever, but in Sainte-Luce-Sur-Mer, yes. Or Rimouski. Close to you.” She barely had time to add this before Melodie shut her up with a kiss that communicated excitement, hope, and gratitude all at once. Her mouth became more insistent as her breathing grew uneven and Ana understood Melodie wanted her again, perhaps as much as she wanted her. They let their minds and bodies hope in a future together until they were satiated.

  Ana drifted to sleep when she heard Melodie’s phone ring. Jerome, she thought. She dreaded having to tear herself away from bed now, get dressed and drive to town to pick him up in the middle of the night. Only then did she notice light seeping through the curtains. It was morning. No wonder she was so tired. She started getting up as Melodie answered her phone but stopped in her track when she heard a panicked “Quoi?” She turned to her and read the same panic in her eyes, her face as white as the sheets. A few more words in French and she finally hung up.

  “What’s going on? Did something happen to your dad?”

  “No. He walked to Mammie’s and spent the night there. They got up early and she cooked breakfast but then she fell down, complaining about chest pains, so he called the ambulance. They’re at the hospital now. They think it was a heart attack.”

  “Let’s go. I’ll drive.” They scrambled to find clothes and hurried to get out of the inn. When they sat in the car, Ana put her hand on Melodie’s thigh and whispered, “She’ll be fine. She’ll be fine.” She hoped Melodie believed her more than she believed herself.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Melodie found her father in the small waiting room of the Coronary Care Unit of the hospital. He stood and opened his arms. She fell into his embrace and held on to him as she felt his body shake against her. He seemed as terrified as she was. “How is she?”

  “They’re doing all kinds of tests now. She might need surgery.”

  “Oh my god.”

  “Good thing you were there,” Ana added. Jerome nodded and squeezed her hands gently before releasing them.

  “Can we see her?” Melodie asked.

  “Not now. They said they’d call us when we can see her again.”

  “What happened, Dad? What did the doctor say?”

  “A heart attack. A big one. That’s all I know, baby.”

  They hugged again and sat side by side, holding hands. Ana stood in front of them. She seemed nervous. She ran her hand through her hair a few times before she finally offered, “Can I get you anything? Coffee?”

  Her father shook his head.

  “No, thank you. Please sit with me,” Melodie answered.

  She did and Melodie immediately grabbed her hand. She thought she might find strength in holding both her father’s and Ana’s hands, and it helped, but she still felt scared. And lost. Her grandmother couldn’t leave her now. They still had years to work together, to watch Thomas grow together. They had plans to move the inn up the hill. They still had time before her Parkinson’s got worse. From the corner of her eye she saw Ana’s leg bounce anxiously. She couldn’t leave when Ana was trying to find a way to stay, when she could watch their friendship grow and see their relationship blossom. She so desperately wanted Mammie to see her happy and in love, to know she didn’t need to worry about her anymore.

  “I was bored,” her father declared out of nowhere, his eyes on the wall facing them.

  “What?” she prompted him to explain.

  “I was bored with the boys at the bar. It smelled like booze and vomit, and they were acting dumb. I wanted to get back to the inn but I didn’t want to bother you. So I walked to the duplex.” She rubbed the top of his hand to encourage him. “She made coffee and we talked. We hadn’t talked like that in years. We talked about the blue saltbox house on the beach. We talked about your grandfather a lot. We talked about you. I told her how sorry I was about not being a good son to her in the past few years.” He started sobbing so quietly she wouldn’t have realized it if his shoulders hadn’t moved up and down.

  “Oh, Dad,” she simply said as she put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to her. He cried against her chest as she patted his back lovingly. She could only imagine how happy her grandmother must have been after that conversation. Surely she wouldn’t leave now that she could resume her relationship with her son.

  Once he stopped crying, her father sat straight in his chair, got a tissue out of his jacket pocket and blew his nose. “She looked tired when she woke up this morning but she also looked happy. She insisted on making crepes the way she used to when I was a kid. And that’s when it happened.” He fell silent then, staring at the wall.

  Melodie turned to Ana, whose leg still bounced up and down uncontrollably. She placed a hand on her thigh to ease her anxiety and Ana turned to her. Her face was blank. Melodie tried to remember the way they’d lain in bed together. She knew it had been less than an hour ago, yet it seemed like a distant memory. Ana smiled weakly, but she wasn’t with her. She was in her own thoughts, stuck with her own fears. She was probably thinking of her mother, who’d died less than a month ago. As bad as their relationship had been, it still had to hurt when she died.

  A woman wearing a white lab coat appeared in the waiting room with a solemn expression and Melodie knew she’d lost her grandmother before she opened her mouth to speak. “Mr. Beaulieu?”

  “Yes,” her father said as he stood up. “What’s going on? You can tell me, doctor. These young ladies are family.”

  “Your mother had another heart attack as we were prepping her for her electrocardiogram. It was a massive attack. Unfortunately we couldn’t save her. I’m so sorry.”

  Ana froze as Melodie and Jerome sobbed, clinging to each other. She wanted to cry too, or at least find the strength to comfort them, but she felt powerless, incapable to control her own thoughts and emotions. She didn’t understand the pain that settled in her chest. She’d known Yvonne for so little time. How could her death affect her to the point whe
re she could no longer function? Jerome had lost his mother. Melodie had lost her grandmother. She’d simply lost a new friend she barely knew. Yet the heaviness in her heart was excruciating, far worse than anything she’d felt before. So much worse than the way she’d felt after her own mother had died. The realization sharpened her pain even more, making it difficult for her to breathe.

  Thoughts of Yvonne and Constance inexplicably mixed together in her brain. Yvonne laughing as they walked together on the beach. Constance smiling at a stupid joke she’d told in an effort to distract her from the physical pain morphine could no longer alleviate in the hours before she passed. Yvonne grabbing her arm as they walked side by side. Constance squeezing her hand weakly before she took her last breath. She hated her mother for intruding on this moment. She wanted to be there to support Melodie, but once again Constance was taking over her life. Once again she was taking all the room in her head and in her heart. How could she still have that much control over her as she lay six feet under ground? She didn’t understand what was happening to her, but thoughts of her mother rushed through her mind and smothered her until she suffocated and had to run from the hospital. She didn’t say a word to Melodie or Jerome, still crying their loss as normal human beings did. She left and didn’t look back. She ran. She needed to get away until she could make sense of it all. She took a cab to the White Sheep Inn, gathered her belongings and left nothing but a simple note on the reception desk. “I’m sorry.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Present

  Melodie put Thomas back in his playpen when the Smiths stopped by the reception desk to chat with her as they had done every day of their weeklong trip. They were in their late seventies, perhaps even early eighties. They were both shorter than she and sported thick grey hair. His was straight and short, always neatly combed. Hers was tightly curled and never seemed to move or flatten, even after several hours of wearing a hat.