Mending Defects

by Lynn Galli

  She glanced away before fixing her stare back on me. “You’re right. I should have done this years ago.”

  I didn’t comment or nod. She didn’t need me telling her that.

  “I’ve wasted so much of my life in a nowhere marriage.”

  “You don’t know that. You weren’t held back. Andy is a good man. Not the right man for you, but a good man.”

  She took in a deep shuddering breath and let it go. “Can I stay with you for a while? I could stay at the office, but I don’t feel like being alone yet. I definitely don’t want to stay with my parents. I can’t tell them yet. They’re going to be so disappointed.”

  “Stay as long as you like.”

  “You sure? I won’t be crowding you? No visits from Miranda this week?”

  No more visits from her ever. She still hadn’t forgiven me for leaving her place a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t like we’d gotten past kissing that night. I shut it down before she could get all hot and bothered. I’d tried texting her a couple times, hoping we could stay friends, but I guess friends with no benefits wasn’t the type of friendship she was looking for.

  “I think we’re done.”

  “Really?” Mei leaned toward me, happy to concentrate on something other than her own failed marriage. “Did she finally decide to move to Florida and be with the woman she claims to love?”

  I couldn’t hold in my laughter. Separation seems to have made my sweet best friend snippy. “I don’t know what she plans to do, but it wasn’t right for me anymore.”

  “No more Denver sex weekends?”

  We both laughed at that one. “I’ll eventually have to go back if I ever want sex again, but not any time soon, no.”

  “You could always start pursuing Molly. You know she’s had a thing for you for years.”

  “Oh, stop it,” I chided, thinking of the extremely butch backpacking guide employed by one of the outdoor gear shops in town. She was nice enough, but definitely not my type. I wasn’t hers either, but in a small town with limited single lesbians, choosey isn’t an option. She asked me out occasionally, testing to see if I would change my mind. I always encouraged her toward the three single women I knew. Joanna and Brandy, the attractive ski instructors, or Vivian, the gorgeous interior designer, probably wouldn’t agree to a date any more than I would, but only because they tended to get involved with tourists or head to Denver for their liaisons. Molly wasn’t into tourists anymore. She was looking for permanence. Even if her look wasn’t my thing, her intensity would never have meshed with me.

  “Are you upset about this? You and Miranda have been together for a couple years.”

  “Not really. I never really considered us together. I always assumed I’d get a text telling me we couldn’t get together anymore because she’d finally gotten a full commitment from her girlfriend.”

  “I’m sorry it’s over, even if you never considered it on.”

  I squeezed her arm. “Thanks. You hungry? Tamale casserole.”

  She grinned for the first time. “That does sound good. I’ll cook tomorrow night.”

  I shrugged, letting her know we’d do whatever she needed to do to get her through this time. The fact that she hadn’t called Spence yet told me that she was going to play this separation period the best way she could. Running straight to Spence’s arms might not be the best decision she could make in a small town. I was glad to see that she hadn’t lost her common sense.

  Chapter 18

  A week passed before I could enjoy an evening on my porch. Mei was now set up in a house sitting situation. We had a lot of out of town clients who were happy to have a trustworthy guest in their winter homes. She was doing a lot better, admitting that the marriage had been over for years, ready to move on with her life. I was very proud of her for making that decision and equally proud of her that she hadn’t moved into Spencer’s. They probably both wanted to do that, but they were being respectful. This separation was a good time to let Mei finalize things before she jumped head first into the relationship she really wanted.

  “Hey, stranger,” Lena called out as she approached my driveway.

  My heart thumped and my stomach fluttered at the sight of her. I hadn’t realized that I’d missed seeing her over the past week. We’d gone days without seeing each other before, but this time, it felt different.

  “Hi.”

  The dogs reached me first. I patted each one before they took their spots on the porch. They made me grin. Whether Lena planned to stay or not, the dogs were. She looked at them and shook her head before taking her usual seat. I offered her some lemonade and we sat quietly for a while.

  “Is Mei okay?”

  I looked over at her, studying her expression. “You heard?”

  “I didn’t realize how small this town was.”

  Yes, it was, especially when one resident had a big mouth. Andy hadn’t even waited a day to tell his buddies. He also hadn’t stayed home the night Mei had asked for a divorce. He’d gone off to his poker night and apparently suffered diarrhea of the mouth. Mei started getting calls at the office the next day. We’d left early so that Mei could take out her anger at Andy’s insensitivity on the weeds in my yard. Afterwards, we’d gone to her house and packed her up. She made a clean break, and soon, I’d encourage her to file the papers.

  “She’s getting through it.”

  “Give her my best, will you?” She took a sip of lemonade and glanced back out at the trees. “Divorce is no fun.”

  I turned, interested. She sounded like she was speaking from experience. “Were you married?”

  “Once.” At my raised eyebrows, she added, “Not to a man.”

  Her standoffishness started to make sense. It didn’t sound like her marriage was all hearts and fairy tale endings.

  “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

  “I’m not anymore. I hope Mei can get to that realization, too.”

  “I think she will.” I didn’t mention that it was Mei who’d wanted and needed the divorce.

  “You’ve never been married?”

  I grinned at her. I wondered if she realized this was the first really personal question she’d asked me. I had just asked her the same thing, but she almost never brought up topics from our pasts. “Nope.”

  “Not the marrying kind?” she teased.

  “Never really thought about it.”

  “The woman from the bar? She’s not your Ms. Right?”

  I laughed, but her confused expression made me stop. “No. We were friends. I was her diversion.”

  “You’re not anymore?”

  “No. I hope to be her friend again, but the diversion is done.”

  “Didn’t bring her enough baked goods?”

  I shot a sly look at her. “I’ve never baked anything for her.”

  “Save those for special people only?”

  She thought she was teasing, but I answered honestly. “You can tell a lot about a person from her baked goods. She and I were never that close.”

  An involuntary sound left her mouth. She was surprised by it and chose to lean down and pet Fender for the distraction. I smiled, knowing I’d just tossed a flirting lob her way. It was dangerous territory, I knew, but sometimes I liked testing boundaries.

  “Did you find anyone special at Club Di?”

  She snickered softly. “About twenty fourteen-year-olds. God, were we really that young in college?” She glanced at me. “What am I saying? You still are.”

  “Hey, I’m way past my teen drama years, thank you very much.”

  “Not by much,” she muttered and busied herself with Kitty this time.

  “I do have drama queen tendencies,” I said.

  “Ha! You’re the most laid-back person I’ve ever met. If you were any more laid-back you’d be in a coma.”

  “That’s only because you’re so uptight.”

  “I am not!” she screeched, standing in protest.

  I laughed, making a point of sliding my gaze from
her once occupied seat to her now indignant stance. “I think it’s admirable. Honestly. I would love to get wound up about so many things.”

  “Oh, shut up!” She swiped my shoulder before huffing a bit more and dropping back into her seat. A long moment passed before she asked, “Do you know Molly? She works at some outfitter shop?”

  “Yes.” I felt my fingers cross behind my back hoping that Molly wasn’t Lena’s type. Then again, I didn’t have any right to care if she were.

  “Any reason you’d know of that she’d have my number and call to ask me out?”

  My head shook and pulled back. What exactly was she asking me? “Like maybe I told her you were in need of a date? Is that what you’re asking?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe not desperate for a date but perhaps you encouraged her to call the new single lesbian in town?”

  “I’d never do that. Your relationship status is not for me to advertise.”

  “I figured, but I asked Joanna and Brandy and they denied telling her anything.”

  That sounded right. Even if the ski instructors had told Molly, they probably wouldn’t own up to it. They were a bit mischievous and liked starting things. One winter they handed out Vivian’s business number as their own to all the women they’d bedded and now wanted to avoid. That was their idea of a joke, but poor Viv had to take calls from these hurt women for months. If she hadn’t turned two of them into clients for her interior design business, she probably wouldn’t have spoken to J&B again. Thankfully, as Christine’s friend, they never messed with me. Christine could be very intimidating.

  “Are you upset that some people know?”

  “I just don’t like being set up.”

  “No one does, or if they do, they’re nuts.” I thought for a moment, wondering if I should tell her that as soon as she told Terry, she’d told the whole town. I didn’t want to bring up the board meeting that discussed terminating her contract. She didn’t need to know that some people in town had the power to make her life hell.

  “Definitely nuts,” she agreed.

  “Oh, wait,” I said, trying to give Joanna and Brandy the benefit of the doubt. “You didn’t happen to meet Camilla at Club Di, did you?”

  “I met a lot of women that night.”

  “Short woman, long black hair, big mouth, but always smiling?”

  Her eyes lifted to the left, contemplating. “She seems familiar.”

  “Tell her you’re from Aspen?”

  “Living here, yes.”

  “She’s good friends with Molly and always looking out for new blood.”

  “Ah.”

  “One piece of advice?” I waited for her hesitant nod. “If you’re not interested in dating Molly, you need to tell her. Otherwise she’ll just think you’re playing hard to get.”

  “Oh, jeez.” She snuck a glance at me. “You’ve been there?”

  “Her asking me out? Yes. Been with her? No. But she’s a really nice lady. She can also wear you out on a mountain trail and will never get lost.”

  “As opposed to you,” she shot. A second later her hand clamped over her mouth.

  Before she could apologize for giving me a hard time about not being able to keep up on a hiking trail, I said, “I could have let you get lost, you know.”

  She smiled gratefully. “I appreciate that you didn’t.”

  “You might find you have a lot in common with her.”

  “Not sure if dating in this town is a good idea. Joanna warned me against it. Kirsten, too.” Her eyebrows rose in question as if I might give her insight.

  “It is hard not to run into them at the supermarket.”

  Standing, she patted her leg to get the dogs moving. She nodded at me and stepped off the porch. “Guess it would be.”

  I might have been imagining it, but she sounded almost wistful when she agreed that it would be difficult to date someone in town.

  From the Journal of Lena Coleridge:

  Poor Mei. I feel for her. Six people have already asked if I’d heard about her separation. This town. Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a box together. Can’t be helping Mei any. Such a nice lady, too. Smart and funny, always happy to include me in their conversation whenever I find her at Glory’s. She’s lucky to have a friend like that. If anyone can help her through this tough time, upbeat, relaxed Glory is at the top of the list.

  Speaking of which, I swear that woman almost flirted with me tonight. I’m bringing up my failed marriage and asking her about that woman she left with at the club, and suddenly, she comes dangerously close to flirting. If I know her, she’s just trying to rile me up. Easy for her since nothing bugs her. She didn’t even bat an eye when I asked if she’d pimped me out to Molly. Most people would get upset at the accusation, but not her. And Molly, talk about awkward. That phone call was no fun to return. “Yeah, hi, thanks for calling to ask me out sight unseen but just because we’re both lesbians doesn’t mean we’re a match.” Glory was right, though, better to tell her I’m not interested than string her along. Come to think of that, Mei isn’t the only one lucky to have Glory as a friend. With or without the flirting.

  Chapter 19

  For the third time tonight, I felt like I was being stared at. I glanced around the restaurant, recognizing a lot of diners. No one seemed to be focused on me, but it was such a strange feeling.

  “Something wrong?” Lena asked, taking a sip of wine.

  “Must be left over from the tough day. Thanks again for letting me drag you out. I didn’t feel like cooking tonight.”

  “I never feel like cooking.”

  I laughed, enjoying my new friend more and more. She was wonderfully cynical, but the best part was she didn’t actually believe half the cynical stuff she said. It always made for an interesting evening.

  “Am I too late to join you?” Mei asked, weaving toward our table.

  Lena looked up, surprised but smiling. She pulled out the chair next to her. My heart lifted to see Mei out and acting like she used to. She’d done a few things with me, her parents, and Brooke, but otherwise, she stayed in or came over to my house. I couldn’t blame her. People were still whispering whenever we walked by. The assumption was that Andy had dumped her, and most people felt sorry for Mei.

  “Glad you’re here,” I told her and caught the waiter’s attention so Mei could put in an order. “Today sucked for everyone in the office,” I explained to Lena, not that she seemed to mind having a drop-in dinner guest.

  “You were going to tell me about it, I think.”

  “Good luck with that.” Mei nudged her. “She’s not even bound by the courts not to talk about clients, but she’s better at it than I am.”

  “My clients are less…” I searched for the right word.

  “Guilty?” Mei inserted, causing Lena to snort on the sip of wine she took.

  “I didn’t know you did criminal defense work?” Lena asked her.

  “Not usually. My clients get into all the other kind of trouble.”

  We laughed and settled into a nice conversation. Mei quirked her left eyebrow at me, something she’d perfected in high school to look intrigued. Without having to ask, I knew she was thinking how easy it was to chat with Lena. Very much like how she and I got on. So far, she’d managed to refrain from asking if I was developing feelings for Lena, which was a good thing. I wouldn’t be able to answer that question yet. Whatever I felt for Lena couldn’t be labeled yet.

  Our food arrived just as a buzz started in the restaurant. I glanced up and caught Spencer walking up to the bar. No doubt he was grabbing a to-go order and heading home. Several diners called out greetings, forcing his eyes toward the tables. He said hello to some folks then saw us and smiled. He grabbed his to-go carton and came over.

  “Friendly faces, just what I needed today.” He squeezed my shoulder and touched Mei’s before shaking Lena’s hand.

  “Join us,” I offered, only slightly worried that Lena would be upset to have another person at the table. I
f she was going to be a good friend of mine, she’d better get used to it. I was the queen of changing plans to include others at the last minute.

  “I couldn’t,” Spence hesitated.

  “You’re not going back to work,” I insisted.

  He seemed to be gauging whether or not to join us. Since Mei’s separation, they hadn’t been seen in public together. He made up his mind and took the seat next to me. “Maybe for a minute.”

  “Eat your dinner with us,” Mei said, finally sounding like she wasn’t letting her divorce bother her anymore.

  Lena asked the waiter for a plate, apparently getting into the spirit of the community table. As tightly wound as she was, I was surprised that she didn’t throw out some attitude at the change. She might be a little more laid-back than I gave her credit for.

  “Hey, guys.” Cassie greeted, walking up to the table with her sister-in-law, Vivian. They must have been dining on the other side of the giant fireplace out of view.

  “Cass!” Spence smiled and stood to hug her. We’d all been in the same class in high school and remained close when we moved back.

  “Viv, have you met Lena yet?” Cassie asked. She’d met Lena on my porch two weeks ago when she’d stopped by to pick up my contribution for her kids’ soccer team. The ten minute expected visit turned into an hour long discussion on horses and dogs. They’d both walked off my porch that night with a new friend.

  Vivian’s golden brown tresses turned in Lena’s direction, greenish-blue eyes passing over her. Approval glistened in the green-blue, adding another level of attractiveness to an already gorgeous package. And she was kind, too. So unfair. “Nice to meet you, Lena.”

  “And you, Vivian,” Lena responded, taking the offered hand.

  My mind was just processing the unwelcome realization that Vivian was closer to Lena’s age when her eyes flicked to me. I felt my breath catch, recognizing the same look of approval she’d given Lena. Maybe she was just in a really good mood tonight. “Hi, Viv.”

  “Good to see you, Glory.” She bent to buss my cheek then turned to do the same with Spence and Mei. Cassie was always trying to get her to come out with us, but she was often busy with work. We didn’t see her as much as we’d like, but I understood concentrating on work.