by TJ Thomas
Rhonda shook her head. “I don’t know. She was so angry and nasty. I’ve never seen her like that.”
“She needs time. This is a lot to handle. But she loves you, and once she has time to think it through, I think that’s what will be most important to her. How can it not? You raised your kids to be open-minded and kind. Julie was taken by surprise. I think with a little time she will change her mind.”
Rhonda dropped her head to Jo’s shoulder. “I sure hope you’re right. This is so hard.”
Jo hated seeing Rhonda in so much pain. She might have to pay Julie a visit. She would have to think about it some more. She didn’t want to make the situation any worse. “Rhonda?”
“Hmm?”
“Should we stop?” Jo’s gut threatened to revolt at the thought but she needed to give Rhonda a chance to back away.
“What do you mean?”
“Should we, I don’t know, push pause on our exploration?”
“Is that what you want to do?”
Jo studied Rhonda for several moments and spoke from the heart. “Not even one little bit but I wanted to give you the opportunity to call it quits if that’s what you need to do for you.”
“Definitely not. Julie’s upset, but I’m not going to let her stop us from being together. Nobody has that right.”
“I just want you to be sure.”
“Thank you, but I am.”
“Okay. You might want to give yourself a day or two before you talk with Mike.”
“No, I need to be the one to tell him. He should hear it from me. I’m meeting him for a drink after work tomorrow.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“Thanks for the offer, to be honest I’d really like you there, but it’s something I need to do alone.”
“You don’t have to do any of this alone.”
Rhonda laid her hand on Jo’s shoulder. “That’s not what I meant. I know you’re here and I appreciate you want to protect me, but I want to do this, just Mike and me.”
“I respect that. I’ll be here when you finish.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Jo kissed Rhonda’s cheek. “Now, why don’t you go take a nice long hot bath and I’ll make dinner.”
Jo made sure Rhonda was settled upstairs then returned to the kitchen. She gathered the cleaning supplies still lying in the middle of the room and took them to the laundry room where she poured the soapy water down the sink. With that done, she pulled out her phone.
When Christie picked up, she was obviously upset. “Jo, thank God. Are you with Mom? Is she all right? I’ve been trying to call her.”
“Hey, Christie, she’s okay. She’s upset and hurting but calm for the moment. I take it you’ve talked to Julie.”
“Yes, she called ranting and raving after Mom left her place. She wasn’t happy when she found out I’m supporting you and Mom.”
“I bet. Thanks, Christie. I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
“I’m just glad Mom has you there.”
“Listen, Christie, you and the family are still coming over on Friday for dinner, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be there. I’m going to try to talk to Julie again after she’s had some time to process everything. Maybe it will help.”
“Okay, that would be good.”
They finished their call and Jo turned her attention to dinner.
When Jo peeked into the bathroom, Rhonda was still in the tub, her head resting on a rolled up towel, her hair pinned up to keep it dry. She appeared peaceful and relaxed. Jo stood still for a moment enjoying the stunning sight of Rhonda in the bathtub. Then she moved farther into the room.
Rhonda didn’t look at her but must have heard her approach. “Hmmm. Hi, is dinner ready?”
Jo smiled at the dreamy tone. “Not yet, but I thought you might like a drink first.”
Rhonda looked at her then. Jo sat on the rim of the tub. “I would love one.” She lifted her hand, and Jo handed her one of the glasses. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Not just for the wine. Thank you for being here and for taking care of me when you came home. I’m not used to having someone take care of me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Rhonda set her glass on the edge of the tub. “Would you hand me a towel?”
Jo set her glass beside Rhonda’s and stood to reach for the towel. She held it open for Rhonda to step into and wrapped it around her arms. Jo pulled Rhonda to her and kissed her lightly, pulling out the pins in Rhonda hair so she could run her fingers through the blond, silky waves. Rhonda wrapped her arms around Jo’s shoulders and let the towel drop. She leapt into Jo’s arms and wrapped her legs around Jo’s hips. Jo instinctively cupped Rhonda’s bottom to support her. Rhonda crushed Jo’s mouth to her own for a hot, urgent kiss. “I need to feel you. I need you now.”
The words had Jo’s blood pumping, and Rhonda’s deep kisses had her head swimming, but somehow she managed to get them into the bedroom and over to the bed. She set Rhonda on the bed and remained standing. She raised one of Rhonda’s legs to her shoulder.
This was not the sweet, slow, tender lovemaking of the day before. This was urgent, hot, and frantic. Jo devoured Rhonda, not letting her catch her breath. She found her hot and ready. Her restraint gone, she was thrilled when Rhonda matched her stroke for stroke, pumping her hips to keep up with Jo’s fingers thrusting over and over into her center. The first climax was fast and shattering. Jo didn’t stop. She drove Rhonda up and crashing down over and over and over again. When Jo finally slowed her hand, Rhonda still quaked from the aftershocks. Jo lay on the bed and settled Rhonda next to her so Rhonda was lying along the length of her with her head on Jo’s shoulder. She stroked Rhonda’s back from the nape of her neck to her hips.
Wow, was all Rhonda could think as she laid curled into Jo. She had never been so deliciously taken. Gradually, her breathing returned to normal, and she dared to open her eyes. Amused by what she saw, she leaned her head back so she could look at Jo. “Your clothes are all wet.”
“Yes, well, I had a sexy, wet, and naked woman jump into my arms. I’m not complaining.”
Rhonda rolled onto Jo. She laid her hands on Jo’s chest and laid her chin on top of them. “How did I get so lucky you came back into my life?”
“I’m the lucky one.” She kissed Rhonda tenderly.
Rhonda looked slyly at Jo. “Didn’t you say something about dinner?”
“Yes, I did. I got a little distracted so it will take a little more time. But it’s only going to happen at all if you put on some clothes so I don’t get distracted again.”
“Well then, I better put something on but only because I’m famished. You should know I plan on distracting you again later.”
“I look forward to it.”
*
“It smells amazing in here!”
Jo glanced over as Rhonda came into the room. “I hope you like it.”
Rhonda poured them more wine. “Can I do anything to help?”
“I’m almost done here. Why don’t you pull the bowl from the refrigerator and we can start with salads?”
While Rhonda dished up the salad, Jo moved everything else to the table.
“How are you?” Jo asked.
“I’m okay. It’s hard, but I know you’re right. Julie needs time to adjust.”
“I spoke with Christie earlier. She was worried about you.”
“I should call her.”
“It can wait until tomorrow. She felt better knowing I was here. She said she tried to talk to Julie.”
“Okay.”
“Now I want you to try this steak.” Jo cut off a bite and fed it to Rhonda.
“Hmmm, that’s delicious.”
After dinner, Jo carried their wine into the living room and sat on one end of the sofa. Rhonda sat in the middle with her legs under her.
“Dinner was amazing. Where did you learn to cook like that?”
“Oh, her
e and there. Amy wanted to be a chef, even back in college, and I picked up a few things from her. I don’t cook a lot, but someone once told me you should always have a few meals you can do well in case you want to cook for the person you’re dating.”
Rhonda stared at Jo, her mouth agape. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“I try to remember good advice.”
*
Rhonda sat in her car a couple of blocks down from the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Mike. She tried to take deep, cleansing breaths to calm her nerves. It didn’t help even a tiny bit. You can do this. You have to do this. He should hear it from you. Okay, here goes nothing. She pushed open the car door and stepped out into the chilly afternoon air.
Mike stood as he saw her enter the restaurant and waved her over. He kissed her on the cheek and helped her out of her coat. “Hi, Mom, I ordered you white wine. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine. Thanks.”
As Rhonda sat, their drinks arrived. Mike took a sip of his beer and studied her. “Is everything okay?”
Rhonda took a deep, steadying breath that didn’t ease any of the concern in Mike’s face. “Well, honey, there’s something I want to talk to you about, and I think it’s wonderful, but it might come as a surprise to you.”
“Okay.” Mike continued to study her over his beer when she didn’t say any more and stared into her wine. “So is it something you want to say fast like ripping off a Band-Aid or do you want me to order an appetizer and we can talk about unimportant things first?”
Rhonda laughed; she couldn’t help it. One of the things she liked most about Mike was his ability to put people at ease. “Well, I would like to catch up with you, but I probably should say what I came here to say and get the elephant out of the room.”
“Fair enough. You have the floor.”
Rhonda took a sip of wine before starting her story.
“Jo and I have started dating. We discovered a mutual attraction. So, we are going to see where things go. And I would like very much for you to be happy for me because I’m the happiest I’ve been in a very long time.”
There. Everything was out now. Now what? Now she would see his reaction. Mike had always been an excellent poker player, and he held all his cards close to the vest on this one.
“Joe who?”
“Jo Adams.”
“But she’s a woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
Confusion was etched across Mike’s face. “Okay, wow. So what, are you a lesbian now?”
“I haven’t put a label on it yet. What I know is that I’m attracted to Jo and she’s agreed to explore that.”
Mike studied her for several minutes.
Rhonda reached for her drink. “Say something.”
“Give me a minute. I’m trying to process all this.”
Rhonda sipped her wine, trying to be patient.
Finally, Mike started to speak. “First, I have a question.”
“Okay.”
“Have you told Christie and Julie?”
“Christie came over the other night and we talked with her about it. She seems fine with everything.”
“And Julie?”
Rhonda looked down at the table and then back at Mike. She forced a smile that was more pain than anything. “I have. That conversation did not go very well. Julie is struggling with it and is very angry right now.”
“I can understand that.” Mike leaned forward and put his hand over hers. “Mom, I love you, but I’m going to need some time with this. I don’t know what to do with it. Everything is just spinning around my head and I can’t make sense of it.”
“That’s fair. It’s a lot to digest. But I hope you’ll realize how happy I am and support me eventually. Are there any questions I can answer for you?”
“No, not right now, I just need to process.”
“Okay, if you don’t have a date on Friday, we’d love for you to come for dinner. Christie and her family will be there and Barbara. Christie is trying to talk Julie into coming, but I don’t know if it’ll work.”
“I’ll think about it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Christie hadn’t heard back from Julie by Wednesday, she decided to take matters into her own hands. After the kids were in bed for the night and Peter was home to keep an eye on them, she headed to Julie’s. When Ben opened the front door, he grabbed Christie and pulled her into the house. “Thank God you’re here,” he said, desperation in his voice.
“Still bad, huh?”
“We’ve been rehashing the same stuff for two days. She can’t tell me why she’s so angry. Maybe she’ll open up to you.”
Christie held up the bottle of tequila she’d brought with her. “Hopefully, this will help. Where is she?”
“In the kitchen. I don’t even know what she’s doing. She’s just sitting at the table.”
“You’ve got the kids covered, so she has no excuses.”
“Absolutely. Good luck.”
Christie walked into the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” Julie asked with disdain. She might have even snarled a little, but maybe that was Christie’s imagination.
Christie simply held up the bottle. She opened the tequila and took down two glasses and poured healthy amounts of the gold liquid. She set one in front of Julie and sat across from her at the table. “Let’s talk.”
“Why? You’re on her side anyway.”
“Julie, I don’t know why you feel like there need to be sides. You’re upset. I get that. I care about you, and I want to understand what’s going on.”
Julie looked at her warily. “This whole thing is just wrong. I don’t understand how you can support them.”
Christie raised her glass. Julie reluctantly did the same. Then, in unison, they threw their heads back and downed a shot. The tequila burned Christie’s tongue as it went down. “Okay, then let’s talk specifics. Do you have an issue with Mom being with a woman or with her being with one our age? Or something else entirely?”
“All of it. I don’t know. It’s just weird.”
“Julie, when was the last time you saw Mom truly happy?”
Julie brushed off the question. “Mom’s always happy.”
“I know she seems that way, but didn’t you ever get the feeling something was missing? That part of her was sad or lonely?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought about it much. I mean she seemed different after Dad left, but she never seemed unhappy. So, I guess I always thought she was content with her life.”
Christie nodded, glad she had started to think things through. “Me too. It’s like this spark died when Dad left and she was never the same.”
“Right, because she missed Dad so much.”
Christie shook her head. “I don’t think so. If that was the case, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have stayed friends. She wouldn’t have been able to go to Dad and Sharon’s wedding. She didn’t seem especially sad that day. But something has been missing. I think that may be what she has found with Jo.”
“How can you say that?”
Christie sighed. “Honestly, Julie, I don’t think I would have before the other day. But when I saw them together, they are so comfortable. Mom looked alive for the first time in a long time, like she’s whole again. I’m not even sure she’s aware of it yet. None of the men she’s dated since Dad seemed to inspire the spark that’s in her whole demeanor these days.”
“It’s just all wrong. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” Julie sounded sad more than angry now.
“What’s all wrong?”
“Everything.” Julie finally picked up her glass and drank.
Christie shook her head and sighed. She poured another shot for each of them. Then she held up her glass and grinned at Julie. “Remember the first time we had tequila?”
Despite her anger, the corners of Julie’s mouth lifted into a reluctant smile. “How could I forget? Mom and Dad had gone out of town and Mike was staying at a frie
nd’s. The three of us had the house to ourselves for the entire weekend.”
Christie looked at her. “Do you remember how scared Jo was to drink that first time because she didn’t want to hurt us?”
“I remember,” Julie said, studying the glass in front of her.
“You know she still doesn’t, right?” Christie asked softly. Julie looked into the gold liquid and was silent for a long time.
Once Christie saw Julie start to think things through, she left. Her parting thought to Julie, “You should call Mom. She’s hurting too. Come to family dinner Friday, I think it will help if you see them together.”
*
After reading the display and glancing toward the bathroom where Jo was showering, Rhonda answered the phone with trepidation. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, Julie, how are you?”
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure all of this out.”
“Of course you are. It’s a lot, I know.”
“Look, the reason I called is Christie told me about family dinner on Friday. I wanted to let you know Ben and I won’t be able to make it. I’m trying, but I can’t support this relationship.”
Tears burned Rhonda’s eyes, but she had to see this through. She had to stand up for herself. “I’m sorry you feel that way, and I hope you’ll reconsider. I love you. I hope you’ll think about it.”
“I will think about it, but no promises.”
“I can’t ask for more than that.”
Jo came into the room drying her hair. “Did I hear the phone?”
Rhonda nodded, her lips shut tight, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Julie called.”
Jo sat beside Rhonda. “Oh, are you okay?”
Rhonda breathed forcefully, releasing the tension that had crept into her body during the call. “I think I am. She’s still not happy, but at least she doesn’t seem quite so angry anymore. She said she would think about coming to dinner on Friday.”
“It’s a start. It’s progress.”
“Yes, it is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
After dinner on Thursday, Jo changed into shorts and a T-shirt and went downstairs to work out. Rhonda followed a few minutes later and watched Jo from the doorway. With the stereo on Jo hadn’t heard her yet. The ripple of Jo’s muscles under her shirt made Rhonda want to touch her. She moved into the room. “Wow, Jo, this is quite the setup.”