by Lynn Ames
“Off fetching some bigwig from another base, I think. She should be back any minute.”
“Good. It’ll be great to see her.”
“How long are you staying for?”
“The Widowmaker they want me to fly back won’t be ready until tomorrow, so I’m stuck here for the night. I was sort of hoping y’all would be able to help me out with a place to sack out.”
“Sure,” Jessie said. In her mind, she frantically reviewed the state of the bungalow. Were there any obvious signs that she and Claudia were sharing the same bed? “I’ll even cook you dinner.”
“How very domestic of you. Don’t you girls hit the town at night?”
“Nah.” Jessie tried to come up with a convincing reason why she and Claudia never went out. “By the end of the day, we’re beat. Plus, it saves money to stay home.”
“I might have figured you for a homebody but not our girl Claudia. Maybe she was more serious about that boy Matt than I thought.”
The sound of his name set Jessie’s teeth on edge. She shrugged. It was easier than giving an answer that would invite further questions.
Jessie looked at the clock on the wall. “If you’re coming, we’d better head to the bus stop. Claudia will be there any minute.”
When they arrived, Claudia already was sitting on the bench. “Shirley?” Claudia jumped up and gave Shirley a warm hug. It was the most animated Jessie had seen her since leaving Sweetwater. “What are doing here?”
“Like I told Jessie, they needed someone to ferry an AT-10 over here. I knew y’all were stationed here, and, since I hadn’t heard from either of you, I accepted the assignment so I could check on y’all.”
“I’m glad.”
“Shirley’s looking to bunk with us tonight,” Jessie said. “I figured I could give her my room and I could sleep in with you, since it’s only for a night.”
“I don’t want to put you out of your bed, Jessie.”
“It’s no big deal. I don’t mind sharing,” Claudia said, quickly. “And wait until you taste Jessie’s cooking. She’s really good.”
“Hey, Shirl, you could come shopping with me and pick out the ingredients while Claudia goes home and gets my room ready for you. Right, Claude?”
“Yep, sounds good to me.”
Shirley looked from one of them to the other. “You two are so domesticated it’s frightening. Don’t y’all have any fun around here? We could hit one of those casinos and make some money.”
“More likely lose some money,” Claudia said. “They’re not in the business of letting you take their profits, you know.”
“Yeah, but imagine all the gorgeous flyboys I could meet while I was losing my dough.”
Claudia laughed and shook her head. “Some things never change, Shirl.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When they arrived home from the store, Claudia was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine. She looked for all the world as if she’d been there for hours, but Jessie knew better. She could see that “her” room had been readied—her clothes hung on hangars in the door-less closet, and some of her personal things sat on the dresser.
“Why don’t you relax with Claudia while I get dinner ready?”
Half an hour later, they were sitting at the table.
I’ll be dipped in honey,” Shirley said, licking her fingers. “You really can cook.”
“I told you she was good.” Claudia’s voice was full of affection, and Jessie hoped that Shirley didn’t notice.
“Have y’all heard the scuttlebutt from Sweetwater?” Shirley asked over coffee and dessert.
“We don’t hear much over here,” Jessie said.
“What’s the news?” Claudia asked.
“Seems like Hutchins went on the war path last week. Accused two women of being in a relationship together. You know,” Shirley said, leaning forward conspiratorially, “lesbians.” She paused for effect. “The witch kicked those poor girls out of the program without so much as a by-your-leave.”
“You’re kidding?” Claudia glanced quickly at her, and Jessie knew Claudia was concerned that her expression would give them away.
“Anyone want more coffee?” Jessie took her cup over to the coffee pot so that her back would be to Shirley. She really didn’t want any more to drink, but it gave her an excuse to be out of Shirley’s line of sight.
“No, thanks. I’m stuffed,” Shirley said. “Anyway, rumor has it the girls got caught in a lip lock behind one of the hangars. Can you imagine?”
“Geez. Who saw them?” Claudia asked.
“One of the mechanics heard a noise and went to investigate. Boy, did he get an eyeful!”
“I guess.”
“I mean, I never really thought much about it. I imagine there must’ve been some girls like that while we were there, but I never saw any.”
Jessie nearly dropped her coffee cup on the way back to the table. “What’s your assignment like?” she asked, desperate to change the topic.
“Not too bad. I don’t see much of Janie, since we’re both in the air most of the time, shuttling from base to base. Lots of overnights away.”
“That must get tiring.”
“Actually, I like it. I get to see different parts of the country. How else would I do that?”
“I suppose,” Jessie said, glad beyond measure not to have drawn an assignment like that. Being away from Claudia so much would be torture. It was bad enough that they saw so little of each other during the day.
“What are your living arrangements like?” Claudia asked.
“Nothing as sweet as your set up, I can tell you that.” Shirley made a show of looking around. “There are five of us WASPs stationed there, so we have one of the barracks to ourselves.”
“What’s this Jessie said about our Janie getting married?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? I never thought she’d be the first. Frankly,” Shirley looked directly at Claudia, “I would’ve thought you might snag that hunky flyboy of yours long before Janie got her hooks into someone.”
“I’ll be right back,” Claudia said, pushing her chair back.
“What’s with her?” Shirley asked, after she’d gone.
Jessie shrugged. “Nothing, as far as I know.”
“Well, maybe she’s just worried about him being in the line of fire and all that. Maybe she’s afraid he won’t come back.”
Jessie picked up her dish and carried it to the sink. “Could be,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. Come on, Claude, bail me out here.
“Sorry about that. Must be something wrong with my bladder. I swear, I go to the bathroom three times more often than I used to.”
“Maybe you have a bladder infection. You ought to be careful about that,” Shirley warned. “I hear that can kill you.”
“I don’t think having to pee every half hour is fatal.” Claudia laughed. “But I’ll watch out for it.” She sat back down. “So tell us all about Janie’s fella.”
For the next half hour, Shirley prattled on about the flight instructor who swept Janie off her feet. Then she talked about the wedding preparations, the reaction of Janie’s parents, the search for the perfect wedding dress…
Jessie yawned. She looked across the table at Claudia, who looked even more tired than she felt.
“Oh, my goodness. Look at the time.” Jessie picked up Shirley’s dish and cup. “We’ve got an early call in the morning.”
“Yeah, my bird will be ready at 0650,” Shirley said. “I guess I’d better get some shuteye.” She stood up. “Can I help you with the dishes?” she asked Claudia, who was at the sink washing the dinner plates.
“Nope. I’ve got it. You’ve got dibs on the bathroom.”
“That’s a first,” Shirley said. “I better get in there before y’all change your minds.”
Jessie waited until she could hear the water running before saying, “Did you hear what she said about those girls?”
“Of course. I’m not deaf, you know.�
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“That could’ve been us.”
“But it wasn’t, sugar. Not only that, but Shirley, one of the nosiest of our bunch, never suspected a thing.”
“Still… You think we’re okay here?”
“I’m positive. Heck, we never hardly see each other except at the beginning and the end of the day.”
“Yes, but we never socialize, either. Do you think we should make more of an effort to get out?”
The hand holding the sponge paused in mid-air. Claudia leaned heavily against the sink. Without turning around to face Jessie, she said, “Let me see if I’ve got this right. You, Jessie Keaton, one of the least social people I know, and the woman who never wanted us to meet boys, is suggesting that we deliberately put ourselves in a situation where boys might think we were available to date.”
“When you put it that way… I don’t know, Claude. I just worry about being found out, that’s all.”
“Well, stop worrying, sugar. We’re fine.” Claudia brushed an errant strand of hair out of her face with her arm and set the last dish to dry. “You can have the bathroom next.” She walked through the living room and into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Jessie remained where she was, looking after Claudia and wondering what just happened.
They bid Shirley goodbye on the tarmac with hugs and promises to be better about keeping in touch, and life returned to normal.
Except that to Jessie it didn’t feel the same. Claudia seemed unusually moody; the slightest thing set her off. Not only that, but her internal thermostat was going haywire. She was hot, then she was cold, then she was hot again. Jessie didn’t know whether to keep the covers on them or off them. And she was going to the bathroom more often than ever.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the infirmary and get checked out?” Jessie asked one morning, after Claudia had sweat through the sheets at the same time Jessie was chilly.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Because you’re usually freezing, not hot as an oven, and because you pee every five seconds.”
“Do not. Why must you pick apart everything I do?”
Jessie held her hands up in surrender. “I won’t even mention that your moods change on a dime. I’m afraid to say anything about anything these days for fear you’ll take my head off.”
“I’m sorry,” Claudia said. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.” Claudia pushed her pelvis against Jessie and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Forgive me?” She took Jessie’s lower lip in her mouth and sucked on it.
All the blood rushed to Jessie’s center. “W-what was I forgiving you for, again?”
“Mmm. Mission accomplished.”
“That was tricky.”
“I’m like that. Now we’d better get going or we’ll be late.”
Jessie groaned.
“Don’t worry, sugar. There’s more where that came from…later.”
That was another thing—Claudia was insatiable. Her sex drive had always been strong, but now… Jessie fanned herself. She hoped the day wasn’t too taxing; she was going to need her energy for later.
They were on their way home after a long day. Claudia, who usually was talkative on the bus ride, was curiously silent. Jessie bumped her with her shoulder.
“You okay?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Fine.” Claudia went back to staring out the window.
“You don’t seem fine. How was your day?”
“What? Oh, my day? The usual.” Claudia twisted her hands in her lap, something she normally didn’t do.
“Yeah? You seem kinda nervous.”
Claudia turned her head to look at Jessie, then looked away again. “You’re imagining things.”
Jessie shrugged. It was clear she wasn’t getting anywhere this way. “If you say so.”
“I say so.”
“Okay.”
When they got home, Jessie changed her clothes and began the dinner preparations. Claudia disappeared into the bedroom and didn’t re-emerge until Jessie called her to the table.
“I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving lately.”
Claudia ignored the comment and heaped more mashed potatoes on her plate.
In another departure from the norm, there was no dinnertime conversation. Jessie searched her mind for a topic that would get Claudia talking, but nothing came to mind. Finally, desperate to hear the sound of her lover’s voice, she said, “I think the potatoes might be a little lumpier than normal. What do you think?”
“They taste fine to me.” Claudia went back to eating.
“All right. This is too weird. Since when am I the one to start the conversation?” That earned Jessie a shrug, and she watched in awe as Claudia continued to shovel food in her mouth. “Where are you putting all that?”
Finally, Claudia put down her fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I was hungry, and the food was good, as it always is when you cook it.” Claudia rose, took her dish to the sink, and began washing the pots and pans.
Jessie had no idea what to think, so she cleared the rest of the table without further comment. “Want me to dry the dishes tonight?”
“I’ve got it.”
Jessie wrapped her arms around Claudia’s waist from behind and kissed her on the side of the neck. “I love you, Claude.”
The pot Claudia was scrubbing clattered into the sink as she whipped around and devoured Jessie’s mouth. Her hands were everywhere at once, unbuttoning Jessie’s blouse and pants, unclasping her bra, unbuckling her belt.
Although Claudia’s boldness caught her off-guard, Jessie’s body responded with a wild abandon. She struggled to relieve Claudia of her clothes. “Bedroom. Now,” she panted.
“Right here. Now,” Claudia countered. She spun them around and shoved Jessie against the kitchen counter, sucking a nipple into her mouth. Her fingers stroked Jessie until she lost all track of who and where she was. She cried out her climax, and fought to catch her breath, but before she could, Claudia knelt and kissed her center. Jessie moaned, and Claudia ran her tongue the length of Jessie’s clit.
“Oh, Claude.” There was nothing to do but urge her on, so Jessie cupped the back of Claudia’s head and applied subtle pressure.
Claudia responded, ravishing her with a fierceness Jessie didn’t know she possessed. Finally, Jessie collapsed to the floor, taking Claudia with her.
They lay in a heap as Jessie recovered. She kissed the top of Claudia’s head. “My God, Claude. Where did that come from?”
In answer, Claudia pushed herself up off the ground and offered her hand to Jessie. When Jessie was upright, Claudia tugged her toward the bedroom. Without a word, she pulled Jessie down onto the bed and made love to her again.
“Claude.” Jessie guided Claudia up until she was lying on top of her. She saw that Claudia was crying. “Hey. No tears, love. This is no time for tears.”
“Make love to me, sugar. Make love to me like you’ve never made love to me before, and like you might never again.”
There was something indefinable in Claudia’s voice—something Jessie had never heard before. Was it urgency? Was it intensity? Was it desperation? Did it matter? Not to Jessie. Not at that moment. The only thing she wanted was to give Claudia every ounce of love she felt, just as Claudia had done for her. That she, Jessie Keaton, could be so loved—she never would’ve believed it possible. So it was with tears in her own eyes that Jessie made love to Claudia. She poured all of her feelings, all the things she wanted to say but couldn’t find the words for, into each kiss, each touch, each taste. The night was magic, and Jessie wished it would never end.
When neither one of them could move anymore, they fell asleep tangled in each other. If morning never came, it would be all right with Jessie.
Shortly before dawn, Jessie felt, rather than heard, Claudia get up and go to the bathroom. Several minutes later, when she still hadn’t returned to the bed, Jessie sat up.
Claud
ia was across the room, curled up in a chair, watching the sun peek over the horizon. Her chin was resting on her knees. She looked incredibly sad.
“What’s wrong?”
Claudia shook her head, but didn’t turn to look at Jessie.
“Come back to bed, love.”
Again, Claudia shook her head.
Jessie was perplexed.
“I went to the infirmary.”
The words were said so softly Jessie had to strain to understand them. She sat up straighter.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now.” Claudia’s voice was hollow.
“O-okay.”
Claudia was quiet for a long time.
“You’re scaring me, Claude. What did they say?”
Finally, Claudia made eye contact. “I…” She ran shaky fingers over her belly. “I’m pregnant.”
“Wha…” Jessie was certain she’d heard wrong. “What did you say?”
“They ran some tests. Apparently, I’m two months pregnant.”
Jessie blinked several times before the words sank in. Every fiber of her being turned to ice. Her whole body tingled and she was sure she would stop breathing any second.
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
Jessie got out of bed slowly and went to the bathroom. When she was safely behind the closed door, she slid to the floor and covered her face with her hands. Her mind refused to function, refused to process the information she’d been given. So she sat for a long time, thinking of nothing.
Gradually, reality set in. The scent of their lovemaking penetrated Jessie’s nostrils, the sound of Claudia sobbing in the bedroom seeped underneath her skin, the echo of Claudia’s words sliced through her heart. Pregnant. Claudia was pregnant. With Matt’s baby. There had to be an explanation for it. Claudia—her Claudia—couldn’t have wanted this.
Images formed in Jessie’s mind—Claudia returning alone from her walk with Matt. She’d looked disheveled and out of sorts. Jessie replayed bits of the conversation. “Did he do something out there? Did he hurt you?”