“I’ll get you later,” Jamie said, squinting her eyes menacingly.
Ryan winked at her. “That’s the other thing that keeps you up too late.”
When Ryan went up to their bedroom, she wasn’t too surprised to find that Jamie was absent. As expected, Jamie was lying on Mia’s bed, running her fingers through her friend’s curls. Ryan put her hands on her hips. “I want in on this.”
“Come on,” Jamie said, patting her lap. “You can have my other thigh. But I’ll have to alternate my hand from head to head.”
Ryan poked her head into Mia’s bathroom and grabbed some moisture lotion. “I want some Mia.” She sat by the foot of the bed and plopped both of Mia’s feet into her lap. “Can you tell we missed you?”
Mia purred when Ryan put some of the lotion on her hands and warmed it, then started to rub it into the sole of her foot. “I never would have left if you two would’ve done this every night.”
“We couldn’t get to you,” Ryan complained. “Jordan was always wrapped around you.”
“Mmm … right. I guess being with Jordan has a few advantages … although this is awfully nice.”
Her eyes were closed, and Jamie smiled at Ryan when it became clear that Mia was going to be asleep in moments. “While you’re home, we’ll treat you like the princess you are,” Ryan said. “We’ll cook for you, massage you … anything your heart desires.”
“Bring Jordy here to sleep with me,” Mia mumbled, curling up against a pillow and hugging it.
“Almost anything your heart desires,” Ryan amended, sharing a sympathetic look with Jamie.
Ryan was loping across campus when someone called out, “Hey! Ryan!” She stopped and turned, seeing Gabe waving at her.
“Hey! What’s up?”
He trotted over to her. “Did you look at the results from the Putnam?”
“No. Why?”
“I looked at the team scores. If you’d been on the team instead of Serban, we would have come in second. Second! And we would’ve lost to Waterloo by just six points!”
Ryan kicked the ground. “Damn!”
“Damn is right! If Skadden hadn’t insisted on screwing things up, we would’ve rocked!”
“It’s over now,” Ryan said, giving him a collegial slap on the back. “Not much we can do about it.”
“I’m gonna send an e-mail to the department head. Skadden shouldn’t be in charge any more. He’s a dinosaur.”
“I agree,” Ryan said. “But I don’t think that’s a fight I wanna get involved in. Too uphill.”
“Come on,” he said, jumping up and down in front of her like a kid. “You’re the one who was wronged.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I’m too busy to start a fight. Maybe after graduation.”
Gabe shoved his hands into his pockets. “I was countin’ on you.”
“I know. But I can’t do it. I just have other priorities right now.”
“Okay.” He turned, waving goodbye as he walked away.
Ryan watched him walk away. “Good luck, Gabe,” she said quietly. “You’ll need it.”
When Ryan got home from her game, Jamie and Mia were sitting in the living room, drinking beer. “Hey!” Jamie said, lifting her bottle. “Welcome home!”
Ryan smiled and walked over to give her a kiss. “How was your tournament?”
“Good. Well, as good as a tournament can be when you don’t get to play. I just got home about fifteen minutes ago. I would have come over to see you, but I figured you’d be finished. Did ya win?”
“Yep. We played well.”
“Did you play?” Mia asked.
“Nope.” Smiling, Ryan explained, “I usually go in when we don’t play well.”
“And you’re okay with that? Jordan goes nuts when she can’t play.”
“I’d rather play. But I’m enjoying this for what it is—my last time playing college sports. I chip in when the coach thinks he needs me, and if he doesn’t—I’m cool.”
“Wow, you’ve changed,” Mia said, looking at Ryan curiously. “You weren’t like that when you were playing volleyball.”
Ryan sat next to Jamie and put her feet up on the coffee table. “You’re right.” She took Jamie’s beer and took a long gulp. “Mmm … good,” she said, waggling her eyebrows. “I’m trying to be a little more relaxed about things. I’m not always successful, but I’m trying.”
Jamie put her arm around her partner and hugged her. “She’s trying real hard.”
Acknowledging that with a kiss, Ryan said casually, “I did something good today.”
“What’s that?”
“You know Gabe, who scored so high on the Putnam?”
“Oh!” Mia said. “Jamie told me how great you did. That’s so cool!”
“Thanks. Well, the guy who really kicked ass told me that if I’d been on the team instead of the guy Skadden put in my place … we would’ve come in second.”
“No!” Jamie cried.
“Yep. And here’s the good part: he wanted me to help him get Skadden fired as the team leader.”
Jamie blinked at her. “And you said no?”
“Yep.” Ryan smiled placidly. “Sure did.”
“But why? You … and Cal’s team were screwed!”
“I know. But Gabe wasn’t throwing a fit until he saw that the team would have done better with me. If he was so concerned with equality, he would have fought for me back when Skadden decided not to put me on. He’s his golden boy, and Skadden probably would have listened to him if he’d really taken a stand. It’s too late now. And I’m too busy to bang my head against the wall. The department knows Skadden’s a jerk. They know he’s never had a woman on the team. They don’t care. And I don’t wanna whip myself into a frenzy trying to fight the bureaucracy.”
“Damn,” Mia said. “That’s … mature! When did you get to be mature?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not consistent,” Ryan assured her. “Jamie can testify to that.”
“I’m stunned,” Jamie said, and her expression bore her out. “I can’t imagine you letting this go.”
“It does piss me off, and I don’t want other women to get screwed. I might write a letter after graduation; I’m just not into it right now.”
“I’m still stunned,” Jamie said. “Proud of you, but stunned.”
Ryan snagged the beer from her partner. “If you’re gonna sit there with your mouth hanging open, I’m gonna finish this little baby.”
“Go ahead.” Jamie said, “You know everything I have is yours. Oh, Niall called and said the boys want to look at that three-flat this weekend. I hope they can manage it without supervision.”
“Is Brendan going?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“They’ll be fine,” Ryan said before draining the bottle.
On Saturday morning, Ryan was just getting ready to leave for the softball field when Mia came tottering out of her room. She walked right into Ryan and hugged her, holding on for a long time. “It didn’t take me too long to get out of my 5:30 wake-up call habit, did it?”
“When did you get home? I didn’t hear you come in.”
“When do the bars close?” Mia asked with a grimace.
“Two a.m.”
“Then probably 2:15,” she said, giggling. “But I didn’t get drunk. I just hung out and watched my friends get drunk. Man, I hang out with some drinkers!”
Ryan chuckled. “Yeah, you do, but that’s part of the fun of college. If you can’t get wasted every once in a while when you’re in college, when can you?”
“I still like to drink, but I’ve cut way, way back since I’ve been with Jordan.” Mia considered for a moment. “In fact, we never have alcohol in the house.”
Ryan reached down and tickled Mia’s lower back. “Hear that, liver? There’s still a chance you won’t have to be replaced.”
“Funny, O’Flaherty. Where are you off to?”
“Softball game. Wanna come?”
“Gosh, that s
ounds tempting,” Mia said, rolling her eyes. “But I’m gonna go see my parents. I might stay down there and go to Jamie’s match tomorrow. She’s at Stanford, right?”
“Right. I’m not sure what she’s gonna be doing, but she can tell you if you call her here tonight.”
“Okay. If my parents aren’t behaving themselves, I’ll come home.”
“Call us,” Ryan said. “And don’t forget. I promised Jordan I’d take good care of you.”
Mia hugged her tighter. “I wish I had someone to watch over her. All I’ve got is somebody who wants to get into her pants.”
“Knowing how Jordan feels about you, someone would have to sedate her to get her clothes off. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I know,” Mia said. “It still makes me … uncomfortable. Jill’s just so obvious about it. When we left for the airport on Thursday, she made a big deal about how she’d never let Jordan out of her sight. It was … gross,” she said, making a face.
“Jordan’s hooked on you, and that’s all that matters. Now go get some coffee. I bought you a bagel and a muffin and some cereal.”
“What kind?”
“Fruit Loops. Your favorite.”
Mia stood on her tiptoes and pulled Ryan down for a kiss. “You spoil me.” She rubbed the tip of her nose against Ryan’s. “I love that. I might have chosen you if I’d met you before Jamie did.”
“Lucky for me,” Ryan said, laughing. “Neither one of us would have seen thirty!”
Ryan had offered the use of her car, but Mia chose Jamie’s, having driven it many times over the years. She pulled into her parents’ drive around noon, pleased to see both cars in the garage. She rang the bell, and smiled at the stunned look on her father’s face when he opened the door.
“Mia!”
His hug engulfed her and she held onto him tightly, letting the hug soothe a part of her that had been seriously wounded.
“What a great surprise!”
“I should have called,” she said when he released her. “But I like surprises.”
“This one is great!”
Her father looked so happy to see her that she was very glad she’d decided not to go to Russia. Being welcomed by her family was much more gratifying than sitting in an old gym for hours on end.
“I just got home from the course. You have great timing,” he said
“Nah. I just slept late. We usually get up really early. It was nice to be a sloth.”
“Come on in, honey. Your mom’s outside. She’s putting in some plants.”
Mia walked through the living room, feeling comforted and safe among the familiar furniture and knick-knacks. The kitchen smelled like bacon and pancakes, and her stomach grumbled, even though she’d had a huge bowl of Fruit Loops just an hour ago. She opened the back door and her mother looked up—and her face brightened like she’d seen Santa Claus. “Mia!” She jumped to her feet and ripped off her gardening gloves, but didn’t have time to take a step before Mia wrapped her in a hug.
“Hi, Mom. I thought I’d surprise you.”
“Surprise me! I’m stunned! I was expecting a call telling me when you were leaving for Russia!”
“Jordan left yesterday. I decided she’d play better if she didn’t have to worry about me.” She looked into her mother’s eyes. “And I decided I needed to come home for a week. I miss you guys and I miss my friends. Colorado Spring’s nice, but it’s not my home.”
“This is your home,” Anna Lisa said, hugging her for a long time. “This will always be your home.”
Mia didn’t say what she was thinking because she didn’t want her hurt her mother, but she didn’t think of Hillsborough as home any longer. She knew that Jordan would never be truly welcome as a member of the family—even though she was fairly confident her parents would eventually be cordial and perhaps even loving toward Jordan. But she and Jordan lived in Berkeley—in Jamie’s house. That would be their home until they got their own.
“Can I help you plant?” Mia asked. “It’s so nice to be outside.” She looked around the large, well-tended yard. “I miss having any outside space.”
“Sure. I’ll get you some gloves.”
“No thanks. I like the dirt.”
Anna Lisa bumped her with her shoulder. “You were always a little dirt-devil.”
Mia was wearing jeans, and she knelt down next to her mother and started digging holes for the bedding plants. “I’ll dig and you can plant. How deep do you want the holes?”
“About three inches. We’ll be done in no time if we work together.” They put a few plants in and Anna Lisa said, “Could I convince you to take a drive over to Nonna’s?”
“Sure. I don’t have any plans.”
“Great! Adam, would you call my mom and see if she’s home?”
“All right,” he said, heading for the house with a resigned slump to his shoulders.
Anna Lisa giggled. “Twenty-five years and he still hates to call her. Men are such babies.”
“He’s not so bad. You’ve trained him pretty well.”
“It’s not easy!” Anna Lisa worked quietly for a few minutes, then asked, “Everything’s all right, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. I was just worried that maybe you’d had a fight with Jordan. You seemed so sure that you were going with her …”
“I was. Now, I don’t want you to think you have any influence over me,” she said, laughing, “but you do. I thought about what you said and I started to really think about whether or not I wanted to go.”
“Did Jordan want you to go?”
“Yeah … she kinda did. But she wanted me to go if I was gonna have a great time. And it just didn’t seem like fun to sit around and wait for her to finish playing. It also seemed like an awful lot of money for us to be spending almost no time together. And, to be honest, I don’t have much interest in that part of Europe. I like France and Italy.”
“France is a dump,” Anna Lisa sniffed. “But Italy’s wonderful. And I agree—why waste time in Russia if you can be in Italy?”
“If Jordan decides to play professionally, she’d play in Italy.”
“Oh, my God! Is she going to do that?”
“I doubt it. But it’s an option. They have a good professional league there, and some of her teammates go there every winter.”
“Are you sure you know what you’ve gotten yourself into, honey?”
“Nope.” Mia sat back on her haunches. “Do you ever really know what’s gonna happen when you love someone? You just kinda see what happens.”
“But she seems to put this sports thing first in her life!”
Mia shook her head. “She does, Mom. I’ve told you that. This is one of her life goals. She’s not gonna do it her whole life, but being on the Olympic squad is the highest level of competition she’ll ever have. This means the world to her.”
“But what does it mean to you? Are you just along for the ride?”
Staring at her mother for a while, she finally said, “Yes. Jordan has a goal. She’s worked for it her whole life. My job is to help her do as well as she can. When she’s finished, we’ll figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Things will be more equal then.”
“How do you know? If you give in to everything she wants now, won’t she expect that?”
Trying not to roll her eyes, Mia said, “She’s not like that. She’s not bossy or pushy or anything like that. If I asked her to, she’d quit the team right now. But I wouldn’t. I’d never ask her to stop doing something that really means everything to her.”
“Honey, I’m not … I don’t want you to set things up in a way that always puts her first. That’s all.”
It wasn’t easy to keep her cool, but Mia was determined not to fight. “I don’t think you understand, or maybe you don’t believe me when I say I’m in love with her. We’re partners. Right now, she has a goal. Later on, I’ll have one, too. We share. Isn’t that
the point of being in love?”
Anna Lisa sat perfectly still for a minute, then she nodded. “Yes. That’s the point of being in love. I … suppose I’m not really used to the whole thing yet.”
“You’ll get there, if you want to,” Mia said.
“Well, you know this isn’t what I want for you, but you do seem happy, and that’s very important to me.” She leaned over and kissed Mia’s cheek. “Even though you might not believe me, I really want you to be happy.”
“I believe that. I just know that you’d rather I was happy the way you want me to be.” She gave her mother a teasing smile.
“Oh, everyone’s like that. So … what’s your goal?”
“Mmm … I think I’ll go to law school. Maybe not in a year, but as soon as I can. But my real goal is to have kids.”
“Kids?”
“Yeah. You know — small humans.”
“With Jordan?”
“Yep.” Mia didn’t say another word. She just watched the conflicting emotions whirl across her mother’s face. She saw everything pass by in a matter of seconds, but she didn’t try to intervene. She knew this wouldn’t be an easy sell, and she was prepared for a long fight.
“Well. I hope you’re going to wait for a while to do that.” Anna Lisa wasn’t giving away much, but the look on her face was less than enthusiastic.
“Jordan and I haven’t even talked about it seriously, but my life goal is to be a good mother. Everything else is just a job.”
She looked like she was fighting with herself, but Anna Lisa couldn’t help but smile. “You’re always full of surprises, my sweet girl. I can never guess what’s gonna pop out of your mouth next.”
“Stay tuned, Mom. It’s always something.”
After they were finished in the garden, they went upstairs to clean up. Mia had some clothes in her closet that still fit her, and they were a little bit dressier than the jeans she was wearing—always a good thing for a visit to her grandparents. Her mother was ready before her father, and she came downstairs looking edgy. She walked up behind Mia, who was sitting at the kitchen table, and started to play with her hair. “I like your hair this length,” she said. “It’s such a pretty color.”
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