Before It Stains

by R. E. Bradshaw

  Stephanie leapt up, took the two steps around the table, and hugged her wife. “Thank you,” was all she could manage at the moment.

  Mo returned the hug and then slid the chair beside her out from the table. Stephanie sat down.

  Mo leaned over and took both of Stephanie’s hands in hers. “I thought a lot about what you said, how we were in trouble long before I screwed up. Since you want me to be honest, I have a few requests.”

  Stephanie wanted to hear what Mo thought had caused this. “Please, tell me what I did wrong.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’d just like to change some things, too.”

  “Okay,” Stephanie replied. “Like what?”

  Mo had a list and she started ticking things off. “Can we shut our bedroom door when we go to bed? I don’t like getting up to shut it if we start fooling around, and then we have to open it again when we’re done. He’s not stupid, Steph, and I don’t know, it just makes me feel weird.”

  That was easy enough to fix. Stephanie answered, “I don’t have a problem with that. He’s old enough to handle most everything himself,” she laughed, “but you know that won’t fix his bad timing.”

  Mo chuckled. “Yeah, but it will keep him guessing.”

  Stephanie winked. “Good plan. And, what else?”

  “You take time off from work so we can go away for more than a weekend, and when we go, you have to really be on vacation. None of this, I can’t go with you for a walk, because I have to deal with this little thing at the office.”

  Stephanie sat up straighter, a little defensive. “That one can apply to both of us.”

  Mo nodded. “I know. I’ll do my part. Don’t worry. I am also asking for a date night. Colt’s old enough now that we can go out and not just to the early movie and home.”

  It was Stephanie’s turn to admit she was fallible. “I know I have always put Colt’s needs before ours. I understand now that we’re not just parents, we’re adults in a relationship that needs as much attention as he gets.”

  “Steph, Colt will always come first, but we have to live a little, too.”

  “I stopped believing we could have a life outside of the one we have with Colt. All I kept thinking was soon I would have you all to myself again,” Stephanie explained. “I thought it was just part of being parents that we sacrificed some of our relationship until he was grown.”

  Mo agreed. “I thought that too, but we can make time for us. I will make time for us. Will you?”

  Stephanie nodded. “Yes, I will.” Mo smiled at her and Stephanie added, “Okay then, I want to have dinner parties and go to art museums again, like we used to. Can we do that?”

  “Yeah, we can do that,” Mo answered.

  On a roll, Stephanie continued, “And I want to go dancing. I know you don’t like to, but we can take Randy with us sometimes, just so I can shag once in a while.”

  Mo’s face lit up. “Is that it? Is that all you want?”

  Stephanie thought a moment. She remembered a few more things. “Be on time, but I already told you that. Oh, and no more than two drinks, unless PJ or I are present.”

  Mo stood up, releasing Stephanie’s hands. This sudden move startled Stephanie.

  “Where are you going?”

  Mo grinned. “Well, so far you haven’t asked for anything I’m not willing to do. Well, except for one thing.”

  Now, Stephanie wore the confused puppy expression. Her head tilted to one side. “And what would that be?”

  Mo headed for the back door. “You wait right here. I’ll be back in a minute. Then I’ll answer that question.”

  Mo disappeared into the house. Stephanie drank her water and listened to the bugs sing in the August night air. The conversation she dreaded all week had been relatively painless. Had they had this conversation several years ago, they would not have needed to have it tonight. She and Mo made many assumptions about each other along the way, thinking they knew each other’s thoughts. That had been their mistake. That was where it went wrong. They were two very different people, and no matter how blended they felt, they were individuals with wants and needs of their own. Stephanie invested her own emotions in Mo’s words and actions, perceiving things through a filter for years. She saw Mo clearly now, and she liked what she saw. Lesson learned.

  #

  Mo came back out of the house, grabbed Stephanie’s hand, and said, “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?” Stephanie asked, while being pulled through the door and into the kitchen.

  “You’ll see,” Mo said over her shoulder, leading Stephanie into the garage.

  Stephanie saw Colt sitting at the end of the workbench near the opened rolling garage door, smiling broadly, his crutches leaning nearby. His iPod dock station was in front of him, with Mo’s iPod plugged into it. Stephanie knew it was Mo’s because of the color. Wires ran from the docking station to speakers, sitting just outside the door and pointed down the driveway. Stephanie had no idea what these two were up to, but if she knew them at all, she knew it involved loud music.

  Mo pulled Stephanie out into the driveway. She put her right arm around Stephanie’s waist, presenting her other hand for Stephanie to take. It dawned on Stephanie that Mo was about to attempt to dance with her. This was right up there with cooking, no telling how it would turn out. Stephanie hoped her toes didn’t suffer too much. She smiled over at Mo, who was grinning ear to ear.

  “I planned to do this for your anniversary present this year, but you said no more secrets and I really don’t want to take Randy on our dates. I’ve been taking lessons from him, but I’d rather dance with you.”

  Stephanie was floored. “You’ve been doing what?”

  Mo winked. “Just follow my lead.”

  She nodded at Colt and the first notes of the Temptations hit, “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” began to play. Mo’s hand slid from Stephanie’s waist. She stepped back, finding the four-four-swing rhythm, bending her knees slightly on the second and fourth beat. Dr. Mo Hunt began to do the Carolina Shag with her wife, right there in the driveway. Stephanie laid her head back and cackled. Then she started following Mo’s lead around the driveway, nearly floating on air. Mo had paid attention to Randy’s tutelage and, despite what Stephanie thought all these years, was a very good dancer. Evidently, what Mo lacked was the confidence to dance with Stephanie. Randy taught Mo the nuances of dancing with a woman and Stephanie was in heaven.

  The music was loud and halfway through the song Stephanie noticed the neighbors across the street were out on their lawns watching. Soon more neighbors appeared, some coming up the driveway. Mo did not stop twirling Stephanie around. Colt was smiling from his perch. The older couple from two doors down walked to the edge of the grass. The old man was grinning and keeping the beat with a hand on his thigh. And just like that, Stephanie’s private dance turned into an impromptu cul-de-sac shag party in their driveway. Couples danced in house coats and cotton pajamas, shorts and tee shirts, with and without shoes, but they all danced, because if you grew up with the Carolina Shag it was impossible to stand on the sidelines without joining in.

  The song ended and the neighbors all clapped for them, as Mo took Stephanie into a deep dip. The cheering ended when the horns at the beginning of Curtis Mayfield’s “It’s All Right” blared out of the speakers. The well-known beach music anthem inspired the neighbors for another dance.

  Stephanie pulled Mo to her and whispered in her ear. “Did I tell you I loved you today?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think you meant it.” Mo answered back.

  “Oh, I meant it and I have one more thing to say, if we can get rid of these people.”

  #

  After the third song, Mo ended the night politely and thanked the neighbors for not being upset about the music. Stephanie helped Colt back inside, while Mo put away the speakers and closed up the garage. With Colt once again securely back in the den, Stephanie told Mo to wait downstairs, and she would be back in a few
minutes. Mo raised one eyebrow, but remained in the den with their son.

  Stephanie ran up the stairs. She hustled around the bedroom, throwing the shoes from last night in the closet, and picked up the dress from the chair in the corner. She’d tossed it there this afternoon, after picking it up from the floor where it lay all morning. She put the dress on a hanger, but didn’t put it away. Instead, Stephanie left it displayed on the outside of the closet door. She made up the bed and went into the bathroom to freshen up. She discovered, after arriving home from her shopping trip with Randy, a little something extra he’d thrown in her bag. She thought it was another hint that she needed to go out and have some fun, but she wasn’t sure this is what Randy had in mind. Or was it?

  By the time Stephanie came back downstairs, wearing Mo’s bathrobe because she’d thrown hers away, Colt was already snoring on the couch.

  She walked over to him and ran her fingers through his curls. “He had a big day,” she said, softly.

  Mo, who was sitting on the edge of the easy chair, said, “Yeah, me too.”

  Stephanie moved over to Mo. “Are you ready to go to bed?”

  Mo swallowed hard. Stephanie saw her eyes move over the bathrobe, before she said, nervously, “If you are.”

  “Turn off the lights then and come upstairs.”

  This was more than Mo could have hoped for. She was out of the chair in a flash, switching off lights, and making sure the doors were locked. Stephanie went back up to the bedroom to wait. Mo was only seconds behind her.

  When Mo arrived, she stopped at the door, hesitating, waiting for an invitation. Stephanie stood by the bed. She pointed at the dress.

  “I’m keeping that dress. If you so much as step a toe out of line, it’s coming out of the closet, and you can watch it walk away with me in it.”

  Mo simply nodded in agreement.

  That said, and bridges mended, Stephanie invited Mo to come on over that last one. She dropped the bathrobe, revealing a black bustier with matching lace panties. Mo’s expression of surprise quickly turned to lust.

  Stephanie gave Mo her best seductive smile and said, “Shut the door… and lock it.”

  #

  A few hours later, Stephanie unwound herself from the sleeping Mo. She climbed out of the bed and stood over her, watching Mo’s deep breathing. Stephanie could tell Mo was exhausted. She was probably sleeping deeply for the first time in a week. Stephanie leaned down, smoothing the hair from Mo’s face, and kissed her on the forehead. It was done. The healing had begun. It would be better now that they knew how quickly it could all vanish. Stephanie’s life with Mo was somehow more precious to her than before.

  Stephanie put on Mo’s robe and left the bedroom quietly. She needed to check on Colt. Stephanie found him, game controller in hand, and the TV screen gone to screensaver mode. He must have awakened at some point. She took the controller from his hands and turned off the TV. She took the now warm ice packs from around his cast and covered him with the blanket. Cleaning up his empty water bottles and dishes, Stephanie carried them and the ice packs to the kitchen. The browned eggs, burnt bacon, and toast from this morning were beginning to smell in the garbage. Stephanie opened the back door to put the bin on the deck. She saw the grill and was hit with inspiration.

  Stephanie slipped into the office and pulled the lipstick stained napkin from the safe. She carried it to the deck by one corner, as if it was a soiled diaper. Stephanie opened the lid on the grill, turned on the gas, pushed the start button, and flames burst from the burner. Stephanie looked at the napkin, one more time. This little four by four square had nearly brought down her marriage. She tossed it onto the grate and watched the ends curl up, before the fire erased the stain of that lipstick from their lives forever. When it was no more than an ash, Stephanie closed the lid.

  Forgiveness wasn’t the easy way out of the mess Stephanie found herself in last Sunday afternoon. It would have been simpler to heap the blame on Mo, feed the hurt and anger, until it was too late to salvage their marriage. With the help of her wise mother, to whom she would always be grateful, Stephanie saw the value of setting aside pride in order to save her family. She looked up at the stars and spoke to the universe.

  “I guess Mo got her happy ending, after all. I just wanted to say, I am supremely thankful for the gift of forgiveness. I’m going to let this pain go now, but may I always remember I took so much for granted. I’ll be paying closer attention from here on out, trust me. Thank you for reminding me how blessed we are.” Stephanie started to turn away, but looked up one more time. “If you need to tell me anything else, I’d prefer a gentle nudge and not a major crisis.”

  The back door opened and Mo stepped on the deck, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, wearing only a tee shirt and underwear. “What are you doing out here? Have you been burning something?”

  Stephanie went to Mo and wrapped her arms around her. “I was just getting rid of a bad memory.”

  Mo squinted at her, still half asleep. “Are we okay?”

  Stephanie kissed Mo gently on the lips. “Yes, we’re good.”

  “Can we go back to bed then?” Mo asked, yawning.

  Stephanie smiled, “Wore you out, huh?”

  Mo woke up a bit more at the mention of their recent activities. She grinned and said, “I’m never too tired for you.”

  “Good,” Stephanie said, and took Mo’s hand, leading her back into the house. She looked back over her shoulder and winked. “Did I mention that I didn’t throw out the Dirty Santa box?”

  About the author…

  R. E. “Decky” Bradshaw, a native of North Carolina and a proud Tar Heel, now makes her home in Oklahoma with her wife of 24 years. Holding a Master of Performing Arts degree, Bradshaw worked in professional theatre and taught University and High School classes, until leaving both professions to write full-time in 2010. She continues to be one of the best selling lesbian fiction authors on Amazon.com.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13