September Canvas

by Gun Brooke

  “Uh-oh.” Pammie looked at Deanna with sympathy. “Think some groveling is in order.”

  “Think so?” Deanna sighed, but nodded. “I can grovel. Haven’t done it in a while. Can’t remember when, actually. Still, if groveling is what it takes, grovel I will.”

  “Oh, please.” Faythe had to smile despite everything.

  “Hilarious.”

  “Honestly. I don’t want you to think I meant any of what I said.” Deanna took Faythe’s hand and rubbed her thumb over her knuckles.

  “I see.” Faythe’s fingers tingled at the touch, and Deanna held on when she tried to let go. “Now, it’s getting late, ladies, and I for one am very hungry.” She glanced out the window. “Looks like it’s raining pretty badly. I thought I’d call for takeout tonight. Why don’t you two girls stay? Driving back to Grantville in this weather is hardly ideal when you’re upset.”

  “You’re asking us to stay?” Savannah looked baffled.

  “Sure. We still have lots to talk about. It would be nice to just chat away about everyday stuff. Just to relax some.”

  “This sure hasn’t been relaxing,” Pammie said. “I’d love to pig out on Chinese food, though.”

  “Oh, me too,” Deanna said, surprisingly. “Something about fried rice just—”

  “Comfort food,” Savannah added shyly. “I never had that type of food when I lived at home, but after I moved out, I happen to live just one block from a terrific hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant. They deliver too.”

  “So you recommend them?” Faythe grabbed her cell phone.

  “I do. I even know their number by heart.” Savannah recited the phone number to Faythe. “You can order their special for four people so we’ll get to sample all of their stuff. I guarantee we’ll be full and then some.”

  “Sounds good.” Faythe called and placed their order. “Thirty to forty-five minutes. That’s not bad when you consider how many dishes we get to try.”

  “Oh, look at that!” Savannah pointed out the window where rain had begun to fall, and the wind seemed set on ripping the last orange and red leaves from the maple trees. “That doesn’t look good.”

  “Thinking of our food or about getting home?” Deanna asked.

  “Both. When it starts like that, like out of nowhere, it’s usually bad news.” Savannah peered up at the sky.

  “I have plenty of guest rooms, so don’t worry about a thing. Anyone need to call anybody?” Faythe wiggled the cell phone at the two girls.

  Savannah shook her head and pulled her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “Nobody’s expecting me until lunchtime tomorrow, at work.”

  “I’m fine too. I’m driving back to college tomorrow, but I can wait until Sunday,” Pammie said. “Anything we can help you with? What about garden stuff that might blow into the water or something?”

  “You’re an angel.” Faythe slapped her forehead. “The swing and the patio furniture I dragged down to the shore.”

  “We’ll get it.” Savannah looked relieved to have something to focus on. She dragged Pammie with her to the hallway.

  “You can stick the stuff in the garage.” Faythe gave them a set of keys before they headed out the door.

  “They’ll get soaked.” Faythe looked worriedly out the window.

  “If they hurt themselves trying to keep a few garden chairs safe—”

  “They’ll be fine. Look. There they are already.” Deanna pointed out the window. They had linked arms and were doubling over against the wind as they staggered toward the house. Faythe met them at the door and at first thought Savannah was crying. Doubled over, she hung off Pammie’s left arm.

  “I knew it.” Faythe rushed to help them. “What happened? Savannah?”

  Savannah looked up, and now Faythe saw she was wiping away tears from laughter. “I’m sorry, Faythe. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

  “What? What happened?” Faythe asked as she helped them get rid of their wet jackets.

  “Pammie. She got tangled in the string. I mean the rope. And she was cursing, worse than I ever heard her do before.”

  “What string?” Deanna had joined them.

  “She tried to save the hammock.” Savannah started to laugh again.

  “She managed to untie it, and when she was rolling it into a ball, the wind turned. The hammock would be a good sail, by the way. It nearly blew off onto the lake with Pammie.”

  “She’s exaggerating.” Pammie looked amused.

  “Am not.” Savannah blew at an errant piece of hair that hung over her eyes.

  Faythe had forgotten about the hammock and could envision Pammie’s struggle to keep it under control. “Well, thanks for taking care of the furniture. I appreciate it.” She walked over to where she’d written down the ETA of the Chinese food. “Twenty minutes until the food gets here. Enough time for us all to get a shower and clean up our act.” “Good idea, except we didn’t bring a change of clothing.”

  “Other guests have left some clothes over the years. They’re in the guest room dressers, and you’re welcome to anything of mine,” Faythe said.

  “Or mine,” Deanna added. “Pammie’s probably more my size.”

  “Could be.” Pammie sized Deanna up. “We’re the same height, give or take an inch.”

  “I believe so. I’ll show you the guest rooms.” Faythe was grateful not having to walk around on her sore foot any more than necessary. When Deanna returned, Faythe tried to mask her limp as she crossed the living room to her bedroom.

  “You’re in pain again.” It was obviously hard to fool Deanna.

  “Just a bit. No big deal.” Her bruised heart ached worse than her foot. “A hot shower or, better, a bath, would do you a world of good.”

  “Way ahead of you. On my way to the shower.”

  “May I join you?” Deanna spoke carefully, enunciating every syllable, but she obviously thought Faythe would reject her instantly.

  “All right.” Faythe didn’t know where she found the courage not to recoil. “I could use someone to scrub my back.”

  “I volunteer.” Deanna cupped Faythe’s chin. “Am I forgiven?”

  “Do you believe me? Do you believe in me?” Faythe countered with questions of her own. She doubted Deanna really understood how profoundly she’d hurt Faythe with her words.

  “Yes. If I hadn’t been so upset, I never would’ve reacted the way I did.”

  “And the next time you’re upset?”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever doubt you again. If I even hint at anything in that direction, please slap me over the head and remind me of today.”

  Faythe laced her fingers through Deanna’s hair. “I’d never slap you. Anywhere. But I’d smack you verbally and make you listen to me. No matter what.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And before we hit the shower, I have one more question.”

  “Shoot.” Deanna leaned down and brushed her lips across the tip of Faythe’s nose.

  “Are you ever going to tell me the whole truth about what’s been going on here these last two years?”

  Deanna didn’t answer right away. “Yes. Not right away. One day.”

  “All right.” Faythe took Deanna by the hand and led her to the master bathroom. “Now, how about some mutual back scrubbing?”

  “Oh, Faythe,” Deanna said, her voice trembling. She undressed both of them in record time and pulled Faythe into the shower stall, where warm water engulfed them. “Sweetheart, I’ll scrub anything you want.”

  “Mmm. Good to know. Very good to know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "I can’t believe you tricked me into this. What are we? Fourteen?” Deanna scowled at Faythe.

  “Think of it as therapeutic,” Faythe said blithely. “And quite elaborate. Spin the bottle is one thing, truth or dare another, but a mix between the two—that’s a game for big girls. And besides, we have no electricity, which means no TV, nothing, nada.”

  “T
hat may be, but I refuse to stand on one leg and drink raw eggs or anything.”

  “Ew.” Savannah made a disgusted face. “Is that what they did way back when?”

  “What do you mean, way back when?” Deanna stopped scowling and looked offended instead. “I’m thirty-four. Not a fossil from the Jurassic period.”

  “Sorry.” Savannah appeared anything but contrite. Instead her broad smile hinted at the fun-loving young woman she might become if she could sort out the issues of her life. Mainly her mother.

  “And yes, it happened to me a few times,” Deanna said. “Especially if the shy boys there didn’t dare kiss any of the girls. Plenty of times I preferred to drink raw eggs, especially if the ‘God’s gift to girls’ boys were present.”

  “Yeah, I remember being so relieved once,” Faythe said, “when I was supposed to kiss the super-nerd instead of the guy who had girls swooning and falling over themselves. So the stud set me up, thinking I despised the nerd as much as he did, and said I should kiss him for two minutes straight.”

  “Two minutes. Wow.” Pammie rested her chin in her palm where she sat on the floor next to the coffee table. “So, how did it work out?”

  “Maybe I should save that answer for when you nail me with a ‘truth’ question?”

  “Aw, come on.” Pammie winked. “Don’t hold out on us.”

  “Yeah, tell us,” Deanna chimed in. “What happened to the poor nerd?”

  “He and I ended up going to the prom together. We stayed in touch until a few years ago when he and his male partner moved to Mexico City.”

  “His partner. Oh, so the nerd’s gay?” Pammie said. “You never said what kissing him was like, though.”

  “I never kiss and tell,” Faythe said primly, winking at Deanna.

  “So it was bad, huh?” Pammie didn’t let up.

  “I didn’t say that. Hopefully, neither of you will ever meet him. He was sweet.”

  “Sweet?” Savannah and Pammie exclaimed in unison.

  “Yes. It was a sweet kiss. He showed more sensitivity than any of the other guys ever would’ve.”

  “Okay, okay, we believe you. Now it’s time to get this show on the road.” Pammie rubbed her hands together, then took the empty wine bottle. She placed it on a circular tray they’d found in the kitchen and wiggled it back and forth while she assumed a contemplative expression. “Let’s see if I still have my magic touch.” She spun the bottle on the tray, and after a few wild revolutions, its neck pointed at Faythe. Deanna had to laugh at her dismayed look. Faythe obviously had pictured Deanna being on the hot seat.

  “All right. Truth or dare, Faythe?” Pammie asked.

  “Truth.”

  “When did you realize you’re a lesbian?” Pammie wasn’t taking any prisoners.

  “College, my first year. Not only because of my spin-the-bottle experiences,” Faythe said, “but because I had zero interest in discussing the opposite sex with my friends. I just couldn’t appreciate what they found so attractive about boys and men. So, I’d say, at nineteen.”

  “Wow. That was almost too easy.” Pammie looked a bit disappointed.

  “My turn.” Faythe grabbed the bottle and spun it. It stopped, pointing at Pammie. “Aha. Payback.” Faythe had a devilish gleam in her eyes. “Truth or dare?”

  “Hmm. Truth.”

  “When did you realize that you had feelings for Savannah?”

  “Wha—oh.” Pammie looked completely taken by surprise.

  “Well?” Faythe prodded.

  “Um. Well…” Pammie looked everywhere but directly at Savannah. “I haven’t told her in so many words, you know. I mean, I’ve told her many times that I love her, but I haven’t…I haven’t said I’m in love with her.” She looked shyly at Savannah. “Guess you know, though.”

  “I do.” Savannah’s voice was soft and came off as just as shy.

  “It was three years ago,” Pammie said, “six weeks after summer break. Savannah was sauntering down the hallway with her entourage, and the September sun filtered through the windows above the main doors. It was as if she was being bathed in gold.” Pammie blushed.

  “She didn’t even look my way, but one of her cronies gave me the evil eye. I gave her the finger.”

  Deanna guffawed. She could imagine that such an action shocked and appalled the girls that used to hang with Savannah.

  “I didn’t know. I never had any idea.” Savannah looked suddenly sad. “Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have—”

  “Shh.” Pammie squeezed Savannah’s hand. “It’s okay. Besides, I had a crush on you, was possibly already in love then, even, but I didn’t like you very much.”

  “Nothing much to like.” Savannah said ironically. “I was a self-centered bitch riding on her parents’ positions.”

  “Didn’t I just hush you?” Pammie shook her head in mock dismay. “Now, where was I? Oh, right. I think I answered your question, Faythe. Three years ago, almost to the day, since she was standing in the sunlight. There’s something magical about the light in Vermont this time of year.”

  “I totally agree,” Faythe said, and glanced at Deanna. Something convoluted flickered over her face and Deanna tried to decipher it. It combined wonder and alarm, and Deanna wanted to wrap her arms around her, reassure her, even if she had no idea what might cause such feelings.

  “So, my turn again. Here goes.” Pammie forcefully spun the bottle, nearly sending it flying off the tray. “Whoops.” The bottle eventually stopped, pointing at Deanna.

  Deanna had already decided on her answer. “Dare.”

  “Of course.” Pammie nodded enigmatically. “Let me see. Oh, I know. Show how you give your best neck rub.”

  “Neck rub.” Deanna wanted to groan, but anything was better than the ongoing inquisition. “All right. Turn around, Faythe.”

  “I hoped you’d pick me.” Pammie winked. “My shoulders are super sore.”

  “Take the hint, Savannah,” Deanna said, deciding to stop being so uptight and take this silly game in stride. “Watch and learn.” She moved in behind Faythe while rubbing her hands together to make sure they weren’t cold. In fact, the prospect of touching Faythe made her instantly hot. Savannah rubbed her hands the same way, while scooting in behind Pammie. She frowned as she focused, clearly set on mimicking Deanna’s movements.

  “That’s right. Do exactly what I do. Feel good, Faythe?”

  “Mmm.” Faythe sat with her eyes closed, her head lolling a bit as Deanna kneaded tense neck muscles. Is she that stressed, despite being on leave? Guess that’s because of me. Deanna wanted to make up for everything she’d dragged Faythe into and tried to give her the best massage available in Grantville. Another moan, this time from Pammie, made Deanna chuckle.

  Savannah was glancing repeatedly at her out of the corner of her eyes. Deanna would never have guessed Savannah had this sweet, caring side in her that could make someone as strong and honorable as Pammie fall in love—and stay in love—with her. Deanna tried to envision the almost neurotic girl who’d latched on to her, smothered her with attention, unable to take no for an answer, but it was impossible.

  Instead she saw this broken young woman, trying to make up for her actions by denying herself her own future, professionally and personally. Deanna slid her hands up and down Faythe’s upper arms, applying enough pressure to smooth out the small knots in her biceps.

  Twin blissful moans and a quick glance at Savannah showed that she’d copied that move as well.

  Feeling small horns sprout on her forehead, Deanna slid her fingers up to Faythe’s collarbones, where she massaged just above and beneath them. She moved her fingertips in slow circles, making sure Savannah didn’t miss the soft way she touched Faythe, who looked up at Deanna with a puzzled expression. Deanna motioned toward the young women with her chin, and Faythe blinked twice before she obviously caught on.

  Her smile showed her approval and she settled back against Deanna.

  “Mmm.”

  Deanna ca
ressed, rather than massaged, her way down to Faythe’s breasts. She wasn’t about to touch her lover intimately in the presence of someone else, but Savannah and Pammie didn’t know that. She brushed the sides of Faythe’s breasts with her thumbs, over and over.

  Feeling Faythe tremble, Deanna’s heart melted. Just how far had she fallen for Faythe? Far enough to feel mortally wounded only hours ago when she thought Faythe had betrayed her.

  “Oh.” Pammie sounded breathless and her cheeks had bright red spots.“There. That’s my best technique,” Deanna said, relenting with an innocent look on her face. “What do you think, Pammie? Savannah followed my instructions to a T.”

  “I bet she did,” Pammie said in a mock growl. “And you’re pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”

  “No idea what you’re talking about.” Deanna pushed away from Faythe and noticed that she seemed to have problems breathing. “Inhale, exhale, darling,” she whispered, and noticed her choice of endearment only when Faythe became still. Not about to acknowledge her slip, Deanna acted casual as she extended a hand to Faythe, stroking her back. “I’m breathing,” Faythe said, giving Deanna a stern look. “No thanks to you.”

  “Huh.” Deanna couldn’t stop a wide grin. “I take that as a compliment.”

  “You would.” Faythe returned the smile.

  “It’s your turn, then,” Savannah said. She looked slightly flustered as she handed the bottle to Deanna.

  “Okay.” Deanna spun the bottle and it pointed at Faythe, who groaned loudly.

  “Truth or dare, Faythe?” Deanna waited expectantly. She was enjoying this silly game more than she’d thought possible.

  “Eh…truth. No more pseudo-erotic displays, thank you very much.”

  Deanna laughed. “You might just regret that statement.”

  “Hardly.”

  “Let’s see.” Deanna meant to ask a silly question, but suddenly she thought of the last hours when they’d shared so much and formed something between a truce and friendship. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”