Straight from the Heart

by Layce Gardner

  Rosa said, “They’ll make it. Don’t worry.”

  The real reason Susan and Tess weren’t at the party was because they were in charge of decorating the church for the surprise wedding. And Edna was there helping them. Susan’s ruse of being at the hospital was the only way to make her and Tess’s absence at the party credible. They were also meeting with the pastor of the Unitarian church, who would preside over the marriage ceremony.

  Amy breezed in the front door, Rascal on her heels with his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging. Amy was carrying another platter of cookies that Clementine had made. She set them on the table, kissed Parker, and hugged everyone. “Merry Christmas,” she said.

  Rascal made the rounds of the party, greeting each person with a wet nose in their crotches. He was wearing his very own ugly Christmas sweater, showing Snoopy on top of his decorated doghouse with Woodstock wearing a Santa beard and hat.

  “Okay, now we can go to church,” Rosa said too loudly, clapping her hands twice.

  “Church?” Steph asked. “Since when do we go to church?”

  “I’m starting a new tradition,” Rosa stated. Her words sounded stilted, like she had rehearsed the speech until it was memorized. “It’s at the Unitarian Church. They are having a really nice candlelight service tonight. I thought we’d all go and say thank you for getting us through this year.”

  Steph simply stared blankly at Rosa.

  “And all the good stuff that’s happened,” Rosa continued, her speech becoming more like blathering. “Even though there’s been bad things… you know, there’s still good… things.”

  “Don’t question it. We’re going,” Parker said to Steph. “Get your coat.”

  Everyone began to put on their coats. Scarves were wrapped around necks, hats covered bare heads, and gloves slipped over hands. The air crackled with static electricity.

  Amy and Parker lightly kissed. As soon as their lips met, there was a small spark.

  “Ouch,” Amy exclaimed, touching her lips.

  Parker said, “Sweaters and hats confined in a small area increase the likelihood of static electricity.” She kissed Amy again and received another shock. This time Parker and Amy giggled.

  Rosa headed for the front door, using her sticks expertly. Steph ran around her and held open the door. Rosa stopped in the doorway and gasped at what she saw outside.

  It was snowing.

  And this was no light snowfall either. Big, white, fluffy flakes floated to the ground. Unbeknownst to the partiers, it must have been snowing for quite a while; there were already several inches blanketing the ground and covering the treetops. Winter wonderland, indeed.

  Rosa looked up and down the street. Christmas lights glowed softly, music played, and party noises flowed out of the other houses. Cars were parked everywhere—already half buried in snow— the cold air smelled of food, potpourri, joy. Though, Rosa knew, the aroma of joy may have been more in her head than in her nose.

  Looking at the beautiful scene displayed before her, Rosa felt something that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Hope.

  Her life was on the verge of becoming something entirely new. As the snow fell, she could feel her old self peeling away. It was like taking off dirty clothes and slipping into water, knowing you couldn’t help but come out clean. She would be clean soon. She wouldn’t be a cop anymore, but she would be a good wife. She would walk, maybe not like before, but well enough, and she’d be thankful for that. She would find a different career and with Steph as her wife, they’d enter this new stage of their life together, stronger and more committed than ever.

  “Babe, are you going to let the rest of us out? We’re getting kind of hot in here,” Steph said.

  “Oh, right, sorry. I was just looking at the snow,” Rosa said.

  They all emerged from the house. They stood on the porch, amazed and delighted at the change in the outside world.

  Suddenly, Mabel whooped at the top of her voice, ran into the yard, and flung herself down in the snow. She whipped her arms and legs back and forth. “Snow angel! I’m making a snow angel!”

  The others stared at her, eyes wide.

  “What’s wrong with you all?” Mabel asked, sitting up. “It never snows like this in Fenton. Take advantage of it!” She crawled to her feet, ran in a circle around the yard, selected a fresh spot, threw herself down, and began to make another snow angel.

  “Oh, what the hell,” Clara said, high-stepping into the yard. “I haven’t made a snow angel since I was a kid.”

  Parker looked over at Amy. “I’m game. You?”

  Amy nodded. She grabbed Parker’s hand and they waded into the snow.

  Rosa laughed. “Find us a spot,” she said to Steph. “I want an angel of my own.”

  Steph smiled and scooped Rosa into her strong arms. Rosa dropped her sticks. Steph carefully walked out into the yard, selecting the perfect spot. She gently laid Rosa down and sat down beside her.

  They laughed, together, waving their arms and legs up and down like synchronized swimmers. Within five minutes, the yard was filled with an army of snow angels. And some very happy, red-nosed women.

  Rosa looked up at the dark sky, blinking against the wet snowflakes hitting her cold cheeks. She opened her mouth, letting the flakes fall onto her tongue. They tasted pure.

  “I love you,” Steph said.

  Rosa turned her head and looked at the woman she loved lying beside her. “I love you, too. More than ever.”

  “Holy shit!” It was Parker.

  Steph quickly sat up. What she saw caused her to laugh out loud.

  “What? What is it?” Rosa asked.

  Steph pointed. “It’s Mabel. She’s got her foot tangled in Frosty’s cable.”

  Parker yelled, “Mabel! Don’t move! You’ll pull down the entire lighting system! I said, don’t…!”

  But Mabel was in a frenzy. She had somehow managed to get Frosty the Snowman’s electrical cord wrapped around her ankle. Frosty was bigger and taller than Mable. Each time she yanked her leg, the cord tightened, and Frosty bopped her on the head.

  Pull. Bop.

  Pull. Bop.

  Like a dog with a tin can tied to its tail, Mabel yelped and tried to wrestle away from Frosty. When wrestling didn’t work, she ran in circles about the yard, and when Frosty still refused to let go, she galloped down the street, Frosty bouncing along behind. Mabel darted from one side of the street to other, ping ponging off garbage cans and cars.

  Parker gave chase, still shouting, “Mabel! Stop running!”

  The other women sat in the snow and laughed until they cried. They laughed until the tears froze on their faces and then they laughed some more.

  It was the best Christmas party ever.

  ***

  Steph and Rosa drove to the Unitarian Church. It was an old church made of limestone with one large stained-glass window that had a heart surrounded by blue, yellow, and green panes. Each pane had a small, red flower in the center. It was known as the groovy, hippie church in town, frequented by pagans, atheists, humanists, Episcopalians and, of course, gay people.

  The regular churchgoers in town referred to it unkindly as the Island of Misfit Toys—an allusion to the 1964 Christmas classic movie Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. The Unitarians didn’t mind the comparison because Baptists were known to be mean. Clara had been raised Baptist and told them this along with other choice bits of gossip. Apparently, Baptists were also hypocrites. Mabel had tried to convince Clara that they should egg the Baptist church, but instead they decided they would go up in the bell tower and hang the rainbow flag for all the town to see.

  “I can’t wait to see that,” Steph said, referring to the gay flag. She turned the truck, fishtailing into the church’s parking lot.

  “We might have to bond them out of jail, but it’ll be worth it,” Rosa said.

  “I didn’t know you liked church. We’ve never gone before tonight.” Steph parked and turned off the truck’s windshield
wipers.

  “Tonight is special,” Rosa said. “I think after tonight you’ll want to come back from time to time.”

  “Why is that?”

  “To reminisce about tonight.”

  “Okay…I guess I could use a bit of spirituality. It’s not really fair to call on God in times of trouble and not show up and say thank you every now and then.”

  “You forgot about orgasms. We call her name then, too,” Rosa said. The window inside the truck was fogging up.

  “We better go,” Steph said. “Everyone is inside all ready. That coffee stop held us up a few minutes.”

  “Sorry, but I really did need a latte. It’s been such a long night,” Rosa lied. She’d made Steph stop to get her a latte so that everyone else would get to the church first.

  “It’s only seven-thirty,” Steph said.

  “Well…” Rosa said. She couldn’t think of a viable response.

  “Stay put and I’ll come around and help you out. The parking lot looks slick. Who’d have thought we’d get snow tonight?”

  “Evidently, not the weather man,” Rosa said. It was perfect. The ultimate in Christmas surprises, snow and a wedding. It was a real, honest-to-god white wedding.

  Steph helped Rosa out of the truck, got her sticks, and together they carefully traversed the parking lot. “There’s quite a few cars here. Hey, isn’t that Jeb’s car over there?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s go, I’m getting cold,” Rosa said. She had to get her inside before Steph really started figuring stuff out. When they got to the heavy oak church doors, Rosa stopped her.

  “What?” Steph said.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, babe. Now, come on, you said you were cold.”

  “No, I mean… I really love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Rosa said.

  “Does that mean you’ll marry me someday?”

  “That’s exactly what it means.”

  “Yes!” Steph said, fist-pumping air. “I knew this would be the best Christmas ever.” She opened the door.

  Rosa would never forget the look on Steph’s face when she saw the church lit only with candles, all her friends each holding their own white tapers, and the Unitarian pastor up at the altar waiting for them to walk down the aisle. Mabel, Clara, and Bernie stood on one side of the altar and Amy, Tess, and Millie stood on the other. Sam stood in front of Amy holding the rings on a red velvet pillow with gold tassels. He looked serious and proud.

  “Um…when you said you wanted to get married, did you mean right now?” Steph asked softly.

  “I did.”

  “I wish I weren’t wearing this silly Christmas sweater,” Steph said, looking down at her red sweater with a giant teddy bear holding a present on the front.

  “No worries, so is everyone else.”

  Steph looked around at her smiling friends, each wearing their own ugly Christmas sweater. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “Ssshhh… we’re in a church.”

  Edna began to pound the piano’s keys to the tune of “The Wedding March.”

  “You ready?” Rosa asked.

  “I’ve been ready a long time,” Steph said.

  Parker and Susan stepped out of the shadows. Rosa smiled at Susan. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for doing this.”

  “My pleasure, now give me your arm,” Susan said.

  Parker put her arm out for Steph.

  “Really?” Steph said. “Aren’t I supposed to be standing up there waiting for Rosa?”

  “Logistics are unusual at lesbian weddings. Work with me,” Parker said.

  Parker and Steph walked down the aisle. They passed Eric and Ruth who were standing next to each other. Steph smiled at them. Eric gave her a thumbs-up and Ruth winked.

  Rosa stood in front of the church doors and watched as her future wife walked down the aisle on Parker’s arm. Steph walked ramrod straight, and tried to discreetly wipe away tears of joy as she saw her friends holding candles and watching the best moment of her life.

  Her tough and capable wife-to-be was a softie under it all, and that was one of the reasons Rosa loved her. Steph was kind and patient, loving and loyal.

  “I don’t deserve her,” Rosa whispered to Susan as they watched Parker hand Steph off in front of the pastor. Parker took her place next to Amy.

  Susan looked at Rosa. “You’re right. You don’t deserve her. I don’t either. But she waited for us to come around and that makes her special enough to forgive us. So, let’s give her what she really deserves—which is your undying love.”

  “You’re right. We have to go slow, though,” Rosa said. She set her sticks aside, leaning them against a nearby pew.

  “You sure about this?” Susan asked.

  “Very sure,” Rosa said. She looped her arm through Susan’s.

  Rosa walked down the aisle, putting one sure foot in front of the other, bravely walking towards the love of her life and her future.

  The End

  Thank you for reading Straight from the Heart, Book Two of the True Heart Series. If you haven’t read Book One, Heart to Heart, it is available by clicking here.

  Book Three, Change of Heart, is coming soon!

  How would you like to get two FREE books?

  Great! Tell us where to send them by clicking on the link below:

  http://eepurl.com/O-Rcz

  Follow the authors’ blogs at: Laycegardner.com and Saxonbennett.wordpress.com

  About the Authors

  Layce Gardner is a screenwriter, a novelist, and a playwright. Her plays have been performed around the world and she is the recipient of The Los Angeles Drama Logue Award for Best Playwrighting. She has written screenplays for every major television network and her movie Prison of Secrets was Lifetime’s highest rated movie. She is the Goldie award-winning author of the novel, Tats. She is one half of a dynamic comedy writing duo with her wife, Saxon Bennett. Together, they have written over 45 novels and short stories.

  Saxon Bennett is the author of over twenty novels and numerous short stories. She has won two Goldie awards, the Alice B. Reader award for her body of work, and is one half of the best-selling comedic duo Layce Gardner & Saxon Bennett.

  Thank you for being a part of the Square Pegs Ink family. We appreciate you telling your friends about our books!