Olive Oil and White Bread
Page 24
Was it corny?
Yeah, a little bit.
Did Angie believe it?
Yes.
With every fiber of her being, yes.
Her phone beeped. A text from Hope.
Here we go. Fingers crossed.
The senators were voting.
Another beep. This one from her sister, Maria. I can’t watch!
Angie smiled, lost count of the votes, held her breath as goose bumps broke out across her skin. “This is it, babe,” she said quietly, unsure if Jillian heard her.
The final count: 33 for, 29 against.
It had passed.
Angie blinked in disbelief.
It had passed. The Senate erupted in cheers and applause, as did the crowds outside the room. Deputy Governor Bob Duffy grinned widely. The Democratic senators hugged. The people outside the room screamed in joy. The newscasters could barely be heard over the celebration.
“It passed.” Angie stared at the television, and unexpected tears filled her eyes. She said it again, louder. “It passed.” She turned to Jillian, gave her a little shake. “Jill. Holy shit! It fucking passed!”
Jillian’s eyes stayed closed, but her lips curled up in a smile. Tango stood up and looked from one of them to the other. Angie grabbed his furry face and planted kisses all over it, much to his annoyance.
Facebook exploded. Angie’s smartphone began beeping nonstop, but before she responded to any of it, she threw back the covers and jumped off the bed. Tango followed, wondering what fun game they were playing. That got Jillian’s attention enough to make her open her eyes and turn her head on the pillow.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Angie dropped to her knees in her underwear and T-shirt. “Jillian Marie Clark, will you marry me?”
A beat passed. Jillian contemplated the ceiling. “Wow. Hmm. I don’t know. This is all kind of sudden.” Angie hit her in the face with a pillow, and Jillian burst into laughter.
Tango jumped back onto the bed, walked right up and stood on Jillian’s chest. Jillian held his face and looked into his sweet brown eyes. When she spoke, it was a quiet whisper, as if it was just the two of them in the room sharing a secret that Angie couldn’t hear. “Mommy has asked me to marry her. What should I say? What should I say?” Another beat. Jillian turned to Angie and grinned. “Tango thinks I should say yes.”
“Smart dog. And what do you think?” Angie asked, still on her knees.
“I think there’s nobody else in the world I’d rather spend another twenty-two years with. And then more. Yes. I would love to marry you.”
Angie’s heart felt as though it might burst from the emotion. She jumped back onto the bed and scooted next to the dog so they both peered down into Jillian’s face. Angie looked deep into her eyes—which were wet—and they stayed that way. As a tear spilled over and dropped from Angie’s cheek to Jillian’s, she said simply, “I love you.”
Jillian brushed Angie’s hair away from her face, sifted the strands through her fingers. “I love you, too.”
About the Author
Georgia Beers is a Lambda and Goldie award-winning author of lesbian fiction. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, she still lives there with her partner of twenty years, their two dogs and a cat. When not writing, she watches too much TV, reads voraciously, and invents new reasons not to work out. She is currently hard at work on her eleventh book. You can visit her and find out more at www.georgiabeers.com.
Acknowledgments
I’m not ashamed to admit that this was a tough one. Make no mistake, spanning nearly a quarter of a century with the same two characters is an exercise in patience and self-discipline, but I am very proud of the end result, and I couldn’t have produced it without the help of some very important people.
My editors, Kelly, Caroline, and Jess. I have admittedly cursed each of you at one time or another, but ultimately, you had the book’s best interest in mind, and your suggestions were logical and creative at the same time. Thanks for your hard work in making this a better story.
My writing support system, including my writing group at home in Rochester, as well as my writer and non-writer friends who are always a mere keystroke away. Writing is very solitary, and even people like me who enjoy solitude can find themselves in need of a little reassurance from others. When I was frustrated, angry, or all tapped out of creative energy and ready to pitch my computer out the window, I could send a note off to Steff or Rachel or Melissa or Nikki, and they were there for me. You guys kept me going, kept me positive, kept me writing. For that, I am eternally grateful.
My wonderful wife Bonnie. I would never have begun to even think I could write a story about a couple who’s been together for over twenty years without having experienced it myself. 2014 marks our twentieth year together (!), and there is nobody on this earth I can imagine having by my side through the good and the bad, the bumps and the smooth sailing, the gains and the losses. You are my love, and I am incredibly lucky to have you. Heart (aka Boobs with a Hat On).
Lastly, my readers. For several years, I have received e-mails and requests from dozens and dozens of readers asking me when I would write a romance featuring a long-term couple. It was a unique idea, albeit a bit daunting, and I rolled it around for quite some time before an idea struck. You are holding in your hands the result of your wishes. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and support. This one’s for you.
Bywater Books
FINDING THE GRAIN
Wynn Malone
The tornado that ripped through Blue Riley’s family farm tore her teenage life apart, killing her parents in her last month of high school, forcing her to abandon her home in Alabama and face an uncertain future.
But the support of her aunt, the excitement of college, and an unexpected love help her through her grief. Then disaster strikes again.
This time Blue casts herself adrift. For nearly twenty years she moves from town to town, job to job, woman to woman until at last she rediscovers the farming life that shaped her. Working with her hands reveals her true passion and finally Blue finds peace. Until the day her past walks through the door.
Wynn Malone paints a richly textured portrait of the South while Blue’s search for love and meaning amid the ruins of her life reminds us of the hard choices we all have to make.
Print ISBN 978-1-61294-045-8
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61294-046-5
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books
LAST CHANCE AT THE LOST AND FOUND
Marcia Finical
In 1972 Bunny LaRue was young and beautiful. Days in the sun on the beach at Malibu and nights in the bars with the girls. Sex, drugs, and fun were everywhere and Bunny embraced it all.
After a photographer sees her on the beach Bunny finds herself making big money modeling for a lingerie catalog. Then she falls in love and life seems to be giving her everything she has ever wanted—until the day she loses it all.
As they years slip by life doesn’t stay easy and Bunny must find the strength to confront her past and create a new future . . .
Last Chance at the Lost and Found is the compelling story of one woman’s journey through twenty-five yeras of living as a lesbian and her determination to find love and happiness.
Print ISBN 978-1-932859-28-7
Ebook ISBN 978-1-932859-81-2
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books
UNDER THE WITNESS TREE
Marianne K. Martin
Civil War Secrets inspire a present day love story
An aunt she didn’t know existed leaves Dhari Weston with a plantation she knows she doesn’t want.
Dhari’s life is complicated enough without an antebellum albatross around her neck. Complicated enough without the beau
tiful Erin Hughes and her passion for historical houses, without Nessie Tinker, whose family breathed the smoke of General Sherman’s march and who knows the secrets hidden in the ancient walls—secrets that could pull Dhari into their sway and into Erin’s arms.
But Dhari’s complicated life already has a girlfriend she wants to commit to, a family who needs her to calm the chaos of her mother’s turbulent moods and a job that takes the rest of her time.
The last thing she needs are Civil War secrets that won’t lie easy and a woman with secrets of her own . . .
Tangled Roots, the prequel to Under the Witness Tree,
will be available from October 2014.
Print ISBN 978-1-932859-00-3
Ebook ISBN 978-1-932859-94-2
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
At Bywater Books we love good books about lesbians just like you do, and we’re committed to bringing the best of contemporary lesbian writing to our avid readers. Our editorial team is dedicated to finding and developing outstanding writers who create books you won’t want to put down.
We sponsor the Bywater Prize for Fiction to help with this quest. Each prize winner receives $1,000 and publication of their novel. We have already discovered amazing writers like Jill Malone, Sally Bellerose, and Hilary Sloin through the Bywater Prize. Which exciting new writer will we find next?
For more information about Bywater Books and the annual Bywater Prize for Fiction, please visit our website.
www.bywaterbooks.com