Family Ties

by Lydia Rose

  At the end of the day, they found themselves alone again. Jenna swallowed hard and walked over to Christina. “Would you like to go for a bite to eat?”

  Christina smiled. “Sure. Do you want to go feed Blondie first?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “How about I pick you up?” Christina asked with a smile.

  Jenna hesitated.

  Christina laughed. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on ordering us any tequila shots.”

  Jenna smiled. “Okay.” They walked out together.

  Jenna was in the kitchen putting food in the cat bowl and giving Blondie fresh water. Christina was in the living room showing her cat love and affection. Jenna could hear the one sided conversation.

  “You are just too cute for words. Do you know that Blondie?” The cat meowed. “Oh, you do know that.” Christina kissed the cat’s head and held her against her chest.

  Jenna now watched them from the hallway. You are so lucky, Blondie. You can let anybody love on you without repercussion.

  Christina looked up when Jenna walked into the room. A smile greeted her. “I guess your dinner is ready, Blondie.” Christina put the cat down. “Go on now. Go have dinner so your mommy and I can go have ours.”

  Jenna put her coat back on. “Where do you want to go?”

  “You choose this time,” Christina said following Jenna out the door. They got into Jenna’s car and drove off.

  “Mary told me you are looking to hire a couple of new hairdressers. Have you had any luck yet?”

  “The applicants that have applied don’t have a following. So, no.” Jenna pulled into the parking lot of her favorite Italian restaurant. She didn’t think any of her employees would catch them eating together here or her mother.

  “Would you like me to talk to a few of the women I worked with?” Christina asked as she left the car.

  “Your ex?”

  Christina frowned. “No way. Two women I worked with have a great following and they aren’t crazy about the owner they’re working for.”

  As they walked toward the hostess stand, Jenna saw her.

  “Jenna. It’s nice to see you.”

  “You too, Lee. It’s been awhile,” Jenna said with a smile.

  Lee looked at Christina and stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lee.”

  Jenna turned blushing. “I’m sorry. Lee this is Christina.”

  Christina shook Lee’s hand and smiled.

  Lee’s eyes narrowed. “Did your mother pass away?” She asked quietly.

  Jenna shook her head. “She’s alive and well thanks.”

  The hostess handed Lee her take out bag. “Getting brave in your old age,” Lee said with a chuckle. She picked up the bag of food. “It was nice to meet you Christina. Jenna give me a call sometime.”

  “Good bye, Lee.”

  Christina had watched the short dark haired woman eye her with suspicion. Lee was rather plain looking and Christina wondered what Jenna had seen in her.

  The hostess led them to a booth in the back. No sooner did they sit down before the waitress appeared.

  “Would you like to start out with something to drink?”

  “A glass of house red,” Jenna said.

  “I’ll have the same.” Christina added. “Well?”

  “Oh.” Jenna grinned forgetting Christina had asked a question before they ran into Lee. “These women have a following as you do?”

  “Yes.” Christina answered.

  “Then please call them.”

  “I’ll call them tomorrow morning and have Terry and Ellen call your cell if they’re interested.”

  “Thank you,” Jenna said softly.

  “So what can you recommend here?” Christina asked picking up the menu.

  “The veal is very good, but everything on the menu is wonderful.”

  “I guess you eat here a lot?”

  “Well, it’s usually take-out. I hate to eat out alone.”

  “So who is Lee?” Christina asked no longer able to hide her curiosity.

  Jenna picked up the menu. “Lee is a friend.”

  Christina also pretended to be interested in her menu. “She looked like she was more than that.”

  Jenna lowered her menu and looked at Christina. “If you’re asking me if she was my girlfriend,” Jenna sighed. “We never went out on a date.”

  What does that mean? “So she was just a platonic friend?”

  Why the hell does she want to know? Why should she care? Jenna picked up her menu again. “Why do you want to know?”

  “You’re right, Jenna. I’m sorry. I keep asking questions you aren’t comfortable answering. It’s none of my business.”

  The waitress interrupted their conversation and took their order.

  Jenna was happy that Christina let it drop. There was no way she could tell her that she and Lee were nothing more than fuck buddies. There had been several women over the years. Jenna had no idea that there were so many women out there like her who didn’t want anyone to know they were gay. They hid in the straight world usually because of family or work. So rendezvous were set up for just sex. Then each woman went back to their own world. Meeting Lee tonight was the first time that she had seen any one of these women outside the hotel room.

  Jenna’s cellphone began to ring and she recognized the ring tone. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.” She answered the call. “Hold on a second.” Jenna left the table.

  “Where are you?” Agnes asked hearing the noise in the background.

  “Picking up dinner. What do you need, mother?” Jenna asked trying to end the phone call quickly.

  “Have you hired anyone new yet?”

  “No, but I have a couple of leads. I’ll let you know in the next couple of days.”

  “Who are they?”

  “Mother, please I want to get home.”

  “You don’t have to be nasty about it.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you when I know. Good night.”

  Her mother hung up without another word.

  Jenna walked back to the table. “Sorry about that.”

  Christina was buttering a roll as she sat down in the booth and didn’t look up. She’s waiting for me to tell her who I was talking to. Jenna watched as Christina took a bite of her bread.

  “Is everything okay, Christina?” Jenna finally asked.

  “Was that your boyfriend or girlfriend calling?” Christina asked motioning with her roll.

  Jenna grinned. “No. It was my mother asking if I hired anyone yet.”

  “You didn’t have to leave the table to take the call.”

  “Yes, I did. It’s rude to be on the phone with people dining.” Which was the way Jenna felt, but she couldn’t have lied in front of Christina as to what she was doing.

  “You are so sweet, Jenna. I can’t figure out why someone hasn’t snatched you up yet,” Christina said with a wink.

  “Maybe I don’t want to be snatched,” Jenna said leaning forward.

  “Or is it because you like to play the field?”

  “I never had a friend ask so many questions.” Not like she had many friends, Jenna thought.

  “That’s what friends do. If you don’t ask questions, how are we going to get to know each other?” Christina looked at Jenna. “You don’t ask any questions,” she said as if she were talking to herself. “That must mean you don’t really care to know me.”

  Jenna laughed. “What do you want me to ask you?”

  Christina giggled. “No, silly. You are supposed to come up with your own questions.”

  Jenna put her finger to her chin. “Well, I know you have recently split with your girlfriend.” Jenna raised her eyebrows. “Were you in love with her?”

  “I thought so, but we never moved in together.” Christina giggled again. “So how committed were we?” Her shoulders came up in a shrug.

  “Do you have a good relationship with your parents?” Jenna asked softly.

  “That’s a strange ques
tion, but yes. We’re very close and I’m close to my sister also.”

  “Do they live near here?”

  “About a half hour from my house.”

  Jenna paused trying to come up with additional questions. “Are you seeing anyone new?”

  Christina grinned. “I’m working on it, but she’s resisting my charms,” she said batting her eyelashes.

  Jenna laughed. “How could anyone resist your charms, Christina?”

  “I wish I knew.” Her laugh made Jenna smile.

  Questions were forgotten as the waitress brought their food over to the table.

  “This is so good, Jenna. I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”

  “I guess you like that place you took me to the first night better?” Jenna asked not looking at Christina.

  “It depends on my mood. That’s a good place for a drink, but this place is better for the food.”

  Jenna nodded. “So tell me about these friends of yours that might jump ship.”

  “Terry is my age and very nice. She loves to laugh, but works hard. She’s a single mother with two kids about your age.” Christina took a bite of food before she continued. “Ellen is single and a lesbian too. She’s twenty five with lots of piercings and tattoos.” She looked at Jenna. “And no we never dated.”

  “I didn’t ask you,” Jenna said touching her chest.

  “No, but you thought it,” Christina said with a laugh.

  “Oh, so you can read minds?” Jenna laughed with her.

  “Sometimes,” Christina said finishing the food on her plate.

  When they got back to Jenna’s apartment, the two women got out of the car.

  “I had a nice time, friend.” Christina leaned toward Jenna.

  Jenna stepped back quickly thinking Christina was going to kiss her.

  Christina shook her head. “I wasn’t going to kiss you. I was just going to give you a hug.” She looked at Jenna’s face. “You don’t like people in your personal space?”

  “No.” Jenna answered.

  “Duly noted,” Christina said with a mock salute. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jenna.”

  “Good night, Christina.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jenna heard from Terry early the following morning. “Thanks for calling, Terry,” Jenna said as she went into the back to take the call. She went through the split and anything else Terry wanted to know.

  “Christina speaks very highly of you and said you run a nice shop. If you’re interested in hiring me, I’ll have to give notice.”

  “I would love you to come work for us.”

  “Great. I’ll call you and let you know how long they want me to stay. Thank you, Jenna.”

  “No, thank you, Terry. You are doing us a great favor.”

  Later that morning, Jenna spoke with Ellen and ended up hiring her too. Jenna smiled at Christina when she left the back room indicating good news. Neither woman said anything out loud so Margaret and Amy wouldn’t hear.

  Once Margaret and Amy finished for the day, Jenna told Mary and Tammy about the new hires.

  “That’s great, Jenna,” Mary said clasping her hands. “When are you going to tell the old crows?”

  “The day before Terry and Ellen start.”

  “Are you afraid of them?” Christina asked with a chuckle.

  “No. I just don’t want them to jeopardize those two women coming to work for me.”

  “Good plan,” Christina said.

  “You must be happy, Christina. I mean to have your friends working here,” Mary said.

  “Yeah, it will be great having some more friendly faces around here. Margaret and Amy haven’t said three words to me except to say I did something they didn’t like.”

  “I’m sorry, Christina. If they give you a hard time about anything. All of you. Just come to me.”

  “Thanks, Boss,” Mary said packing up her things for the night.

  *

  The next day, Terry and Ellen called to say that the owner said they could leave immediately.

  “Helen doesn’t know that both Terry and I have our client’s phone numbers and we will be calling them today. Can we come in today to set up appointments?”

  “Of course. Is the shop too far for any of your clients?” Jenna asked.

  “Not at all. We are both certain all our customers will follow us.” Terry assured Jenna.

  “Okay, come in whenever you want to.” Jenna got off the phone and now had to face Margaret and Amy. “Can I see you both for a minute in the back?”

  The two women followed grumbling.

  “I’ve hired two more hairdressers. Terry and Ellen will be in later calling their clients setting up appointments.”

  “Does your mother know?” Margaret asked with a snarl.

  “Yes, she does.”

  Margaret and Amy shared a look.

  “Fine,” Margaret said and they went back to their clients.

  Christina was looking at Jenna as she walked out of the back. Jenna shook her head and rolled her eyes. She watched Christina chuckle and covered her mouth with her hand.

  A few hours later, Terry and Ellen walked into the shop. Christina walked over to them to make the introductions.

  “Chris,” Ellen said taking Christina into her arms. “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “Hey, Ellen. Hi, Terry,” Christina said hugging her friend too. “Let me introduce you to everyone. “Mary, this is Ellen and Terry.”

  “I’m happy to meet you both,” Mary said shaking their hands.

  Christina walked them over to Jenna. “Jenna, this is Ellen and Terry.”

  “Thank you both for joining the team. I hope you both will be very happy here.”

  “I’m sure we will.” Ellen offered with her hand. “Chris speaks very highly of you.”

  Agnes Walton showed up within the hour of the new arrivals. No doubt Margaret or Amy had called her.

  “Mother, come meet our new employees.” Jenna led her over to Terry. “Terry, this is my mother Agnes Walton.”

  Agnes looked the woman up and down and put her hand out. “Welcome.”

  Ellen was next. This time her mother’s eyes narrowed. Ellen had short cropped bleached blond hair which was shaved on one side. Jenna didn’t miss the look on her mother’s face.

  “Mother, this is Ellen.”

  “I’m happy to meet you Mrs. Walton. Terry and I are thrilled to be working here.” Christina had told both women about Agnes. She said she wasn’t friendly, but the women would be working for Jenna and not Agnes.

  Agnes walked away from the new employees and went over to Margaret and Amy.

  Jenna and Christina shared a glance and went back to work. Terry and Ellen started making their phone calls setting up their appointments for the next week.

  Agnes walked over to Christina when her last client left her chair. “Take me to dinner tonight,” she said as more of a command then an invitation.

  “I’m sorry, mother, but I have plans tonight.”

  Agnes narrowed her eyes and glared around the room. “Plans with who?”

  “Tom Higgins. He’s back in town and I’m going to dinner with him.”

  “Tom Higgins?” Agnes tried to recall if she knew him.

  “You’ve met him before.” Jenna smirked at her mother’s frustration.

  “Is he that tall good looking attorney?” Agnes asked finally remembering.

  “Yes, mother,” Jenna said with a shake of her head.

  Christina watched the interaction between mother and daughter. So she is straight or bi. Now I’m really confused.

  “Okay,” Agnes said collecting her things. “Call me next week.” The door opened and she was gone.

  Ellen leaned over to Christina. “I never would have agreed to come work here if she was in charge. What’s her problem?”

  “Overbearing, domineering, stubborn, homophobic. You name it and she is.” Christina looked at Jenna.

  “You like her,” Ellen s
aid softly nodding toward Jenna.

  Christina turned. “We’re friends.”

  “Yeah, but you’d like it to be more.”

  “She’s straight.”

  “No she’s not.” Ellen insisted. “My gaydar is never wrong and I knew it the moment I met her.”

  “She has a date tonight with a guy.” Christina whined.

  “He’s probably gay too. Chris, even if Jenna is gay.” Ellen turned her back so no one could hear her. “Chris, she seems so far in the closet, she’ll never come out.”

  Christina glanced at Jenna while speaking with Terry. “You’re probably right.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Jenna was in the kitchen making breakfast Sunday morning when Tom walked in. “How are you feeling?”

  Tom’s hand went to his head. “Why did you let me drink so much?”

  “I tried to stop you,” Jenna said laughing. “All you talked about was Brian and each time you mentioned his name,” she shrugged. “You had another drink.”

  Jenna’s phone began to vibrate and Tom answered the call to Jenna’s disbelief. “Hello,” he said trying to sound like he wasn’t hung over.

  “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”

  “Are you looking for Jenna?” Tom asked.

  “Yes, a, but that’s okay. I can speak with her another time.”

  “Don’t be silly. Here she is?” Tom held the phone out.

  “Who is it?” Jenna asked Tom.

  “Christina,” he said having seen her name come up on the screen before he answered.

  Jenna grabbed the phone out of his hand. “Go take a shower and I’ll finish breakfast shortly.”

  “Okay, okay. I can take the hint.” Tom left the room.

  “Christina?” Jenna asked softly.

  “Hi,” Christina said awkwardly. “I didn’t realize that your date would still be going on. I’ll let you go.”

  “Christina, you’re on the phone now. What did you need?” Jenna asked not letting her hang up.

  “I thought maybe you would want to do something today, but I can tell you are already doing something. I’ll see you on Tuesday.” Christina disconnected the call.

  Christina had spoken so fast, Jenna couldn’t get a word in before she disconnected the call. Jenna went back to making breakfast. When Tom came back into the room, he sat at the snack bar again.