by Ali Vali
"That my dear is my job, back then and now. Only now you get to whack me in the head with a wooden spoon if you aren’t happy. Mona told me those were the rules, so I think it’s best if you just nod and go along with her," teased Harry.
The end of the movie played without an audience as the two women slept. Their dreams that afternoon revolved around the life they were building together and the newest member that would join them soon. Miles away at the edge of the swamp four men waited for the opportunity to continue their journey home. They slept fitfully in the mud and dreamed of all the things they missed the most since being locked up in a cage for their crimes. Closer, a woman prepared to meet the children she had left so long ago, and prayed that they would understand her reasoning for leaving.
Before Harry’s eyes had closed to join Desi in sleep, she laughed thinking that the pattern they represented on the Fates loom must have been quite colorful in the particular section they took up. All these new threads and intricate knots may have been fun for the weaver, but for those it represented it made for interesting theater. Only they were not actors on a stage, and it was their lives they twisted. One thing the tall surgeon promised her sleeping companion was that they would have the happy ending no matter the cost.
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All It Took Was You
by
Ali Vali
Part 4
"Hi, welcome to the Basantes residence," said Mona when she opened the door. Their visitor was again dressed in a striking outfit that complimented her still slim figure and blonde hair. Mona couldn’t help but think this would be what Desi would look like as she approached middle age. They’ll still be the best looking couple on the block once they hit the peak of the hill if this one and Dr. Raul are any indication, thought Mona.
"Thank you, my name is June."
"I’m Mona, I work for the girls." From the look on the woman’s face, Mona could tell she had seen Harry carrying Desi down the stairs to the sunroom. Just like when Desi had come to them with a broken leg, the elevator attached to the staircase was not necessary when Harry was home. For all of Desi’s protests, the old woman knew that in Harry’s arms was her preferred method of transportation.
"Nonsense, Mona is our in-house grandmother and tamer of tall good looking surgeons," said Desi. It was the one time that Harry had picked her up to carry her downstairs that Desi had been grateful her partner loved holding her like this. Desi would need Harry to get through this meeting without losing her composure. She looked at the woman who proclaimed to be her mother and smiled. "Welcome to our home. This is Harry Basantes, my spouse."
"Thank you for having me," said June as she followed Mona to the back of the house. Mona continued with their friendly talk as her way of putting them all at ease, especially Desi, whom she feared did not need this stress now.
"Anybody could do that Desiree, all you need is a wooden spoon with the bonehead’s name on it. Please June come this way, I have y’all set up in the back room. Rachel and Serena are already back there. Harry, Sherry is coming over with my grandbabies to help me get dinner together. What you feel like eating?" Mona led June to the back room that attached to the kitchen. Sherry was Mona’s youngest daughter and the mother of three of her own children. The ten, eight and three year olds loved coming to Dr. Harry and Desi’s home to visit their grandmother since Harry indulged their every whim.
"I feel like…," started Harry as she looked down to Desi’s beautiful face before completing her request. "Fried chicken," whispered Desi with a smile that was soon answered by one of Harry’s. "Fried chicken Mona," finished Harry. Harry was glad that the woman in her arms was relaxed enough to kid around, it would make the upcoming talk that much easier.
They sat on the sofa near the bank of windows and sat pressed up against one another. Rachel and Serena were seated on the loveseat in the room and were sipping the ice tea Mona had brought in earlier. June had taken a seat on the chair Mona had pointed out to her and looked nervous about what was to come. "Would you like something to drink?" asked Harry.
"No thank you, maybe later," answered June as she wrung her hands in her lap. The problem with wanting something for as long as she had was now that she had it in front of her, June didn’t know where to begin.
"Sometimes I have found that just jumping into the deep end of the pool lets you get over the shock of the cold water. You said your name was June Fontaine and you are our mother," said Desi from the circle of Harry’s arms.
"As hard as that is to comprehend, it’s the truth. I am your mother, and you have to believe above all else that I love you both. I can’t begin to ask you both for your forgiveness for what I did, but I can ask you for your understanding as to why I did it. I married Clyde when I was a young woman because I didn’t have much say in the matter. My father wanted me out of the house and somewhere he didn’t have to take care of me. Clyde was the best choice at the time so I took it, and hoped for the best. Almost nine months to the day of our short and plain ceremony, you came along Desi and it was as if someone had given my life meaning when they put you in my arms. Your father worked and I stayed home and took care of you," started June. She paused as she looked at the beautiful blonde plastered to the tall woman’s side. Harry was someone who loved her daughter, June could tell from the way they were sitting. June remembered that Desi was just learning to walk and say mama when she left.
"I loved you so much and about four months later I found out I was expecting again. Your father wasn’t thrilled but got another job to make ends meet. That took him out of the house for most of the day and that was all right with me. It wasn’t that Clyde was a cruel hearted man; he just wasn’t someone who showed much emotion or affection. Before I really started to show with Rachel, we got a new neighbor a few doors down. I saw her unloading the back of a van as I was sitting outside feeding you Desi. She waved to us when she heard you cooing from your highchair and the smile she gave us made me want to go over and introduce myself. A few weeks later I did finally get to meet her when I saw her walking up the street from the bus stop.
Bobbie was a New Yorker down here for a year to work at the hospital for her residency. She came from a long line of doctors and for a change of pace she had come down south to practice before heading home. It didn’t matter to her that I was uneducated and just a mother, Bobbie stopped by every day after that when she came home in the early afternoon. Unlike your father she played with you and showed an interest in my wants and me. For the first time in my life I looked forward to seeing someone, finding myself putting on lipstick to make myself look better. To make a long story short, I fell in love with her. Your father found out just after your birth Rachel when he walked into the hospital room and found us kissing." June stopped for a moment and dabbed away the tears that were streaming down her face from the painful memories. Her children had obviously thrived without her, seeing them there with the people that cared most about them.
"It’s ok, I think I know the end of your story and believe me it doesn’t vary too much from my own. Daddy forced your hand didn’t he?" asked Desi. The woman looked so distraught that Rachel had moved to comfort her. Desi would have gone if getting up from her seat hadn’t been such an ordeal.
"He demanded a divorce right on the spot and said if I came home to see you he would have me shot on sight. He was so angry that I believed him. Before our court date, Clyde threatened to turn me into child welfare and tell them that I had been doing nasty sexual things to you Desi, which would have resulted in jail time for me if I didn’t go along with what he said. I gave up my parental rights to the two of you and promised to never see you again. Clyde told me he was just going to say that I had died so that you two would never ask about me. With nowhere else to turn Bobbie took me in. Despite the pain of losing you two, she loved me and gave me a life in New York.
There hasn’t been a day that has passed by though that I haven’t thought about you, and I get the papers sent to me u
p there so that I could check the obituary page. I found Clyde’s name finally and set out to find you both to see if there was a chance to rebuild a relationship. Only by that time, the house had been sold and there was no trace of the two of you. For years it seemed like you both had dropped off the face of the city. It wasn’t until we hired a private investigator that we finally found someone in the neighborhood that remembered you Desi and told him your married name. From there we found about your accident and that you had moved in with your doctor."
No one spoke for the longest time, the only noise in the house coming from the kitchen as Mona and her daughter caught up on their week and prepared dinner. It was in that precise moment that the sisters figured out how much Clyde had stolen from them, and where his hatred had been born from when it came to their chosen lifestyle.
"I think that I can speak for Rachel when I say that I’m glad you came here and talked to us. It’s kind of a shock to find you have a mother after dreaming about one since I was a little girl, but it’s a good shock. Harry baby help me up," requested Desi. When she was on her feet she walked to June and gave her as good a hug as her girth would allow. It was a nice feeling to have family more than Rachel and Harry.
"Thank you," was all that June whispered as she opened her arms to Rachel as well. The three shared tears of happiness and sadness at the hand life had dealt them.
"Where is Bobbie now?" asked Rachel wanting to know more about this woman.
"She’s at the hotel waiting for my call actually. I know that there is a part of her heart that bleeds with the blame of what happened. We never had children after the two of you, but we always felt that the both of you were ours. Maybe now we can enjoy our grandchildren." June placed her hands on Desi’s midsection and felt the life within moving around. June choked out tears when she thought that her presence the night before might have put their little one in danger.
"June she’s all right believe me," said Harry guessing what the problem might be. June’s slight shoulders shook as she cried out the tears of pain for the separation and pain that Clyde had caused them. She was sorry for the man’s death but not for the second chance she and her children would get because of it.
"I’m so sorry for all that I’ve done to you, but mostly for leaving you with Clyde. I just know that there was more that I could have done to save us all from this," said June. Harry moved out of the way so that Rachel could join her sister and mother on the sofa. Desi gave her a look that told Harry she was all right so Harry stepped into the kitchen to join Mona and her daughter. The small blonde smiled through her tears when she heard the squeals of the children when they spotted Harry. From her peripheral vision, Desi saw that Serena got up and joined Harry in the kitchen.
For the next forty minutes the small family got to know each other again as the laughter continued to filter out of the kitchen. It came as a surprise to all three women when the doorbell rang; there was only Raul and Maria missing and they wouldn’t be using the bell. A few moments later Harry walked in followed by a tall slender woman with salt and pepper hair. The newcomer stood and looked at the two young women sitting with June and instantly her eyes filled with tears.
"Thank God that you didn’t turn her away," was all that Bobbie said before she stepped into the room. She had experienced her own shock when the phone to their hotel room had rung and it wasn’t June but Harry. Bobbie had heard of Harry from some of her colleges who had referred some difficult cases to the brilliant surgeon. To know that one of June’s daughters had ended up living with her was such a coincidence.
"I hope that you all worked up an appetite in here because Mona and Sherri cooked up quite the feast in there. Dr. Margolis what would you like to drink?" asked Harry. Desi had held up her hand to get Harry moving back to where she was sitting. Leave it to her partner to invite the only person missing from their little reunion. With Harry’s hand firmly ensconced in hers, Desi looked over her mother’s companion. While they waited for Bobbie’s response, three-year-old Benjamin ran in and threw himself at Harry’s legs.
"Please call me Bobbie, Dr. Basantes, and since I’m on vacation I’ll have a beer. Who’s this little guy?"
"Don’t call her Dr. Basantes, it might swell her head, and this little guy is Benjamin. I’m Desi and this is my sister Rachel. It’s a pleasure to meet you; June has told us so much about you since she got here. Have a seat." Harry let her hand go for a minute to pick up the little boy. The thought of what a wonderful parent Harry was going to make went through Desi’s head again.
"Believe me when I tell you that June and I have had many conversations about you two for over the past thirty years, so I feel like you are my own. We weren’t physically here for all the things parents should be here for but we were in spirit. Thank you for inviting us into your home." Bobbie relaxed a bit as she sat next to June. In all of their scenarios it was much more difficult to get the two sisters to understand what happened. For Desi it was her own history with Harry that had allowed her to forgive so easily. They had been apart so long already, she had no intention adding to that with regret.
Mona came in and announced dinner and was properly introduced to June and Bobbie. Both women took an instant liking to the woman who had in many ways become Desi’s mother since her time in the house with Harry. Mona, with the help of her daughter and Harry brought in plates of food for everyone so that Desi could stay seated comfortably on the couch. As they ate and talked about how they had all come to this place Bobbie mentioned Harry’s medical nickname and wanted to know if she was indeed the ‘goddess of the bones’ she had heard so much about.
"That is the rumor that goes around, but the name was not my idea. I do my job and I enjoy it that’s all." The mischievous look in Desi’s eyes told Harry she was in for it.
"Harry is definitely the ‘goddess of the bones’ as well as many more things as far as I’m concerned. And she got the nickname because she is that good," complemented Desi. The squeeze to her fingers told her that Harry had appreciated the kind words in her behalf. Desi was proud of the accomplishments Harry had achieved and loved to brag when the opportunity presented itself.
"I don’t doubt it Desi, I have heard nothing but praise from my associates who refer patients down here. Had I known you two were together, June and I would have made it to some of the symposiums that the hospital here hosts with Harry as the main speaker.
"Are you a surgeon?" asked Rachel.
"No I’m a pediatrician actually. One surgeon in the family is enough I think. Mona that was wonderful," said Bobbie. They finished dinner and Mona and her daughter had coffee and desert waiting for them.
June looked around at the room they were sitting in now that the hard part of their visit was over and things were going so well. The house Desi and Harry shared was so different than the penthouse apartment she and Bobbie shared in New York. Not having known her girls except for the very first moments of their lives June wondered whose taste the house represented. Desi watched her from Harry’s side and tried to guess what her mother was thinking about. That’s one word I never imagined myself using in this lifetime — mother, thought Desi.
"Would you like a tour?" asked Desi.
"Goodness no, I know you must be tired dear. I was just admiring your beautiful home," answered June.
"I bought it for her," said Harry without any prompting. The desire to buy the house had been more of a whim than any real wanting of it. It had only taken one walk through the gardens and then through the house to convince her that Desi would have been happy there. It had been only a fleeting wish, but Harry still thanked God for every day for making it come true. Harry still remembered Desi’s first months in the house changing it only subtly to make it more of a home for them.
"My little girl is a lucky woman then," said June. Bobbie brought June’s hand to her lips at her partner’s sentiment. The fact that the two young women had retained some of the love they had taught them at such an early age was heartwarming.
"And you Serena, do you enjoy your job?" asked Bobbie. Up to that point the blonde sitting next to Rachel holding her hand had been somewhat silent.
"Yes Dr. Margolis, I do. It gives me a huge amount of satisfaction to put away the assholes who like to beat up on their wives. I can’t ever imagine professing to love someone then beating them," said Serena tightening her hold on Rachel’s hand.
"And may you never know that Serena," said June. Serena just stayed quiet on that, not wanting to drag the evening down with stories of her marriage and the hell it had been on her body whenever her husband had had a bad day at work.
"I hate to cut this short but I know that Desi needs her rest and we don’t want to impose any more tonight," said Bobbie. Desi had turned her face into Harry’s chest whenever she had to yawn trying to hide but obviously the two older women had noticed it. The expectant mother had wanted this day for so long that she didn’t want it to end, but she was tired. Above her Harry could feel the disappointment in her wife’s body when June and Bobbie got up to leave.
"Why don’t the two of you let me and Serena go back to the hotel, check you out, and collect your things and you stay here with us? We have the room and I’m sure that Desi and Rachel would like having you so close by to catch up on old times. After all you haven’t heard about the disastrous perms they gave each other in my senior year. If you are here in the morning, you’ll even get to meet your first grandchild Butch. He is out on the town with my parents tonight, but I know he would love to meet the two of you," offered Harry.
"A grandchild?" asked June.