Vetted

by K'Anne Meinel

  After a day of sweating and dealing with dirt and dust she went to the mobile home to take a shower and make something to eat. Fiona hadn’t called, but that wasn’t unusual. Sometimes she was out of range or not near a landline and the CB hadn’t crackled as it did when she tried to reach her that way. The small shower made her dream of the house they might someday build; she wasn’t counting on the check they were supposed to get from Fiona’s father and stepmother. She wondered what they would be like and would find out tomorrow. As she washed her hair she decided it was time to get it cut. It had been months and she hadn’t really thought about it. No more would fifty-dollar haircuts be the norm; they simply couldn’t afford to indulge in such things. As she stepped out of the shower in the towel she had wrapped around her, she nearly had a heart attack as someone moved in the mobile home living room.

  “Oh, my God, Fiona!” she said, her hand going to her chest as she gasped in surprise. “You might have let me know you were here.”

  “I’m sorry, darling,” she said, laughing at her wife’s exclamation and admiring the towel she was wearing. “I actually called out, but I don’t think you heard me.”

  “You’re pretty late. Everything okay?” she asked as she reached for her nightshirt on the bed. She pulled it over the towel before allowing it to drop.

  “I got a flat tire that frustrated the hell out of me. The last person to work on the truck probably used an air wrench to tighten those lug nuts.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Do we need to schedule some maintenance?”

  “Yeah, probably,” she sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. “Did you eat?”

  “I was just going to make something. You want me to make you something too?” she offered helpfully.

  “I’ll take a shower if you would,” she agreed with a smile. “Oh wait, all my clothes are up at the cabin,” she sighed.

  “I can go get some, or you can wear…” she held up the damp towel and smiled.

  “I could go nude,” she said, advancing on her wife, aware that she had nothing on beneath the knee-length nightshirt and enjoying the idea.

  “You are hot and sweaty, and you need to wash up,” she pointed out.

  “You haven’t minded before,” she pointed out in return.

  “You didn’t smell like cow shit before.”

  “Good point,” she laughed and glanced down. She’d left her boots outside. Still, her clothing probably did smell. She started taking her clothes off while telling Allyssa about her day until she was stripped and unselfconsciously stepped into the small shower stall and sat to wash her body free of all the sweat.

  Quickly, Allyssa made some macaroni and cheese while her wife cleaned herself and then gathered up her dirty clothes to leave them neatly laid out by the door, so they could go into the wash bag they kept in the back of the truck. It was Allyssa’s turn to take the clothes in and she had planned to do so the following morning, well before her in-laws were due in the afternoon. Fiona had taught her how to wash her own clothes, separating out the different colors and fabrics.

  “Got a towel?” Fiona called from the small cubicle, a hand waving up and down through the crack in the door.

  “Right here,” she said, holding it out of reach, repeatedly teasing Fiona’s fingertips with it until her head appeared, looking at her and smiling at her wife’s teasing.

  “Gimme that,” she said, lunging and getting it. A tug of war ensued, and the dog barked as he wanted in on the fun. Finally, Allyssa let her win, but only because the noodles needed straining on the stove.

  “Why does this cheese taste different?” Fiona asked as she ate her share.

  “I tried a cheaper brand, but I don’t think I will again.”

  “How many boxes?”

  “Six. They were on sale.”

  “Note to self, only name brand with macaroni and cheese,” she teased as she sat there in a towel. Still, Allyssa’s culinary skills had improved since their first meals of cold cereal. “What were you doing today that you worked so late?’

  “How do you know I worked late?” she wondered. Had she stopped by the cabin already and ruined the surprise? She hoped not. She’d be disappointed. She wanted to see Fiona’s face when she saw the cabinets for the first time.

  “You only make things like this when you work late and want something easy.”

  “Know me that well, do you?”

  “Yep,” she answered, licking the fork clean despite the bad cheese.

  She smiled mysteriously, taking her wife’s plate and silverware to soak in the sink for a moment.

  “Hey, you cooked, I should do the dishes,” she protested half-heartedly. She was in no mood to do the dishes and would have left them if she could. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to going to bed … but with her in just a towel and Allyssa in just a nightshirt, maybe not right away.

  “Sit, I already have the pot soaked,” she said as she quickly washed it and the strainer, making sure the holes on the strainer were clean. Then she washed the plates and forks, and with that she was done. She left them to air dry, not bothering to pull out a towel to dry them. She couldn’t wait anymore and wanted to show her wife the cabin and her surprise.

  “Come on, let’s get up to the cabin,” she said as she slipped into her own boots sans socks for the walk back.

  “Could you shake out my boots, hun? I left them outside,” she asked and watched her wife not only shake them, but tap them against the wall of the mobile home. If anything had crawled inside it would have fallen out in her attempts to dislodge it. She had never had told her what might crawl inside.

  “Don’t we look the fine pair,” Fiona said as she carried her dirty clothes in the towel that Allyssa had used so they wouldn’t touch her clean skin wrapped in her own towel. They were both wearing boots on their bare feet and clumped up the small incline to the cabin preceded by a dog whose tail wagged his happiness.

  There were two cats at the door, waiting to be let in to sleep inside. The kittens had grown quickly.

  “Dammit, I keep meaning to fix them and that damn surgery is still not done,” Fiona said as she saw them and put her boots on the mat outside the door, prying them off with the toes of her other boot. The cats started investigating the smells on the well-used boots.

  “Well, maybe you can next week? I’ll remind you. We really can’t wait anymore,” Allyssa reminded her, not wanting her to feel bad, but she had seen the male mounting his sister. They didn’t need or want any more kittens.

  “Yeah, put it on the list,” she sneered and then laughed at their age-old standing joke.

  Allyssa was nearly dancing she was so excited, but clumped inside with her own clothes in a bundle and then turned to watch Fiona come in after she got off her boots. Rex quickly hurried inside under the pretense of chasing the younger cats. As she looked around the room, frowning at first at the absence of boxes, she became aware of the shelving units along one wall and partly into another, skipping the area where the desk and steps were and the fireplace. The placement had worried Allyssa, but they looked so homey and even better in the warmth of their lamps shining on the glass.

  “Allyssa,” she gasped, dropping the clothes in a pile by the door as she took halting steps into the room, realizing what her wife had done. “Where in the world did you get these?” She turned to look at the blonde, her mouth open. “How can we afford these?” her hands encompassed the cases around the room and her towel nearly slipped from her lack of attention, her hands quickly grabbing it to avoid flashing her wife, who wouldn’t have minded.

  Allyssa was smiling broadly, seeing the look on her brunette lover’s face. She was tearing up. Hell, so was Allyssa. “I found someone selling them for a decent price and I used the last of the money I had from Denver. Do you like them?” She didn’t have to ask; the look on Fiona’s face told her.

  “Like them?” she asked wonderingly. “I love them. Babe, they are beautiful and exactly what I wanted,” she started to cr
y, first from the joy of the surprise and then from her fatigue as she went to hug her wife.

  Allyssa dumped her own clothes by the door and returned the hug whole-heartedly. “I’m so glad. I wanted them badly, but the ones like this online are enormously expensive.”

  “How did you find them?” she asked as she began to examine what was behind the glass and saw that they were in the same order as the white sterile cabinets back in Denver. They locked too! Although, if someone was determined to get into them they could break the glass. But it looked so lovely.

  Allyssa watched her as she removed her own boots and left them by the door. Padding on bare feet, Fiona examined the contents, stopping to admire her own veterinary books in the two cases. “Some group online and he had pictures up, so I hooked up the trailer and went and got them today. He was an odd sort and his wife kinda feral,” she explained her impressions as Fiona’s fingers lovingly touched the wood and glass, those fingers that gave such pleasure to her. She was fascinated watching her.

  “Please don’t do something like that again,” she cautioned. “I never thought about it, but there are a few strange people living out here.”

  “You do it all the time,” she protested, not wanting to be isolated.

  “I know, but I have a pistol in the truck and–” she began, but Allyssa interrupted.

  “You have a pistol? Since when?”

  “I’ve always had one in the truck, even when I’d go on calls in Denver. I carry narcotics and other drugs people would kill for, and while I’d give them up gladly, they might not be that patient.”

  “You know how to use it?” she asked, incredulous that she hadn’t known all this time and not sure if she was comfortable with the idea.

  “Of course, I know how to use a gun. I grew up out here,” her hands spread to encompass the ranch and its surrounding hills, nearly losing her towel again.

  “You never thought to mention it to me?” She felt hurt by the lack of disclosure.

  “To be honest, I never thought of telling you,” she admitted.

  They had reached an impasse and the joy of the bookcases had lost its appeal to Allyssa. She headed for the small closet bathroom to brush her teeth and Fiona watched her go, perplexed as to why she was upset. She looked around the cozy cabin, noticing the couch had been moved as well and ordered Rex off it.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as Allyssa left the small closet.

  “You have a gun with us all the time and you never thought to tell me or maybe teach me how to use it?” she accused. “I’m out here all alone with what, a dog to guard me? Or should I throw a cat at them?”

  “Who is them? Nobody comes out here,” she pointed out, still confused.

  “Nobody? How do you think I got these cabinets into the cabin and up those steps?”

  Fiona hadn’t thought of that. “You let that guy you bought them from come here?”

  “No, there was a different guy waiting here for us. He wants to talk to us about using our land for grazing his cattle.”

  “What guy?”

  For a second Allyssa couldn’t remember his name. “Um, damn, I forgot his name. He seemed to know your grandparents,” she offered lamely.

  “And he was here, just waiting to help you unload these cabinets?”

  “Actually he offered as a gesture of goodwill, hoping I’d put in a good word for him with you.”

  “And you couldn’t help taking him up on his offer?” she asked jealously, feeling suddenly territorial.

  “Now, what are you getting at? I can’t be trusted here on my own, much less with a man who offered to help make my job easier?” she gestured at the beautiful cabinets.

  “Who was he?” she asked, feeling irrational, but she was very tired.

  Putting her hands over her face, she sighed, trying to remember how he had introduced himself. “Toby or Tony or something,” she murmured aloud, trying again. It had been a long day.

  “So, you drank lemonade with him,” she indicated the pitcher with leftover drink on the desk.

  “Yes, it was only polite. It was a hot day and he helped me do a dirty and tiring job.”

  “What else did you two do?” she suddenly asked and immediately regretted it.

  “What are you accusing me of?” she asked, horrified at the mere suggestion.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized almost automatically. “I didn’t mean that.”

  “You better not have meant it. I would never cheat on you…never.” She thought back to when she had seen her father putting the make on Juanita and felt clammy all over again.

  Sighing gustily, she tried again. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the tall blonde and sincerely said again, “I’m sorry. I did not mean to imply anything. I’ve had a long day and it’s not fair to take it out on you. I shouldn’t imply anything like that.”

  Allyssa wasn’t sure she should forgive so easily, but this had been a major fight. They didn’t fight like this ever. It had been laughter and friendship for the most part. She just looked at Fiona with all the hurt and anger she was feeling.

  “I also need to thank you. These are beautiful cabinets and I love them,” she said in the familiar voice they were both used to. “I really do love them,” she said gently.

  “Toby!” she said suddenly, definitively remembering his first name. “Colbert, I think he said.”

  “Toby Colbert asked to run cattle on our land?” she clarified.

  Allyssa nodded, still wary of being accused of something she wouldn’t consider doing. “Do you know him?”

  “The name rings a bell. I’ll ask around and see what people say about him.”

  “He seemed nice, and he did help me bring all these in from the trailer.”

  “Must have been quite a load,” she looked around at the cases and smiled at them. They were perfect.

  “Yeah, it was heavy, but the guy I bought them from was an odd duck,” she repeated. “I definitely got the creeps from him.”

  “I think that’s what set me off, but you are right, you don’t need me to tell you where you can go and what you can do. Just be careful,” she warned, but she still felt like holding her close and keeping her from the things that could have gone wrong.

  “Yeah, I can see how something could happen. I thought of that too. I should have at least left a note, so you would know where I had gone just in case,” she gestured to the desk where a note pad was kept at all times.

  “Let’s go to bed. I’m so tired I think I’m irrational and irritable. Maybe I’m getting my period.”

  “If you are getting yours, I’m getting mine too,” she mournfully stated. “This weekend should be fun,” she said mischievously. She knew Fiona wasn’t looking forward to the visit.

  “Yeah, and burning those things is gross,” she admitted. It was a common practice for ranches out this far to burn their garbage, but menstrual pads particularly grossed her out despite being a doctor. They did however burn fast and furious.

  Locking the door, they turned out the lights and headed up to the loft where Fiona hung up her towel and slipped into bed naked, one last night of freedom before her cycle caught up with her. She also hoped to entice her bristly wife. “I am sorry,” she repeated for a third time, indicating their earlier fight as she turned on her side to talk to her.

  “I want you to teach me to shoot and get me a gun.”

  “You want a gun?” she asked, surprised.

  “I want a rifle so I can get those damn rabbits that are decimating my garden. Rex raced through it the other day chasing one of the varmints,” she made it sound like Elmer Fudd from those old Looney Tunes cartoons, “and tore up all the lettuce I planted,” she sighed, annoyed as she explained to her wife.

  Fiona smiled. At least they were talking civilly to each other.

  “I’ll find you a nice .22 rifle and teach you to shoot it.”

  “What’s a .22?” she asked, not knowing the different calibers.

  “It’s a si
mple gun,” she answered. “Also, the bullets are interchangeable with my pistol, so we don’t need to buy a lot of ammo.”

  “That makes sense. I want to shoot your pistol too, so I’m familiar with both.”

  “Maybe you should keep a pistol in the cabin,” she mentioned, realizing if that Toby guy had been a drifter, today could have ended much differently. They had had to replace the mattress in the mobile home when they got there after some drifter had destroyed it.

  They didn’t make love that night because of their earlier fight, but at least they were talking again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “It’s weird having you home for the whole day,” Allyssa said after a cold breakfast and a run into Sweetwater to do the laundry and get the mail. Now they were back in the cabin with the door open, welcoming in the summer breeze. Rex had come inside twice to check on them since they weren’t going anywhere. He also found it odd.

  “Tell me about it,” Fiona stated from where she was laying on the couch, her legs over the arm, doing absolutely nothing. “I feel like I should get up and go finish building something.” She was staring at the various cabinets, admiring how they looked and really loving them.

  “Well, since we don’t know when they’ll get here, why don’t you go for a ride?”

  Craning her neck to look at her wife from the odd position she found herself in, she considered for a moment. “ATV or horse?” she asked.

  Shrugging, she was glad Fiona got pleasure from the ATVs she had managed to fix after studying them on the internet and learning by trial and error, but one of them still didn’t work quite right. “Your choice.”

  “Come with me?” she enticed, not wishing to see things without her. It was fun showing her around the ranch and they had still not seen it all.