"Si, Maria Los. Cassie se fue para siempre." Cassie is gone for good. The young woman's smile became nearly radiant, and Jamie wondered again what had transpired between the two women. Maria Los would never reveal the
source of the tension that obviously existed between them, and Cassie's
flippant remarks about the young woman were not revealing either. It was
obvious, however, that Maria Los was jubilant about the change. "Ryan es una mujer muy, pero muy amable. Le garantizo que no tendrá problemas con ella." Ryan is a very, very nice woman. I guarantee she will treat you well.
"Eso es muy bueno para saber, Señorita Jamie. Se ve que es muy amable." That is very good to hear, Miss Jamie. She seems very nice.
Ryan was shifting back and forth, uncomfortable with the glances she kept receiving from the two women. "Ryan, let me introduce you properly," her partner finally said. "This is Maria de Los Angeles Gallegos."
Ryan once again shook hands with the young woman, who now looked much less nervous. "Pleased to meet you," she said, flashing a wide smile.
Jamie didn’t translate these few words, knowing that Maria Los would understand them perfectly. "Maria Los, this is Ryan O’Flaherty."
"I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Ryan," the young woman said in precise, but heavily accented English, rolling the "R" in Ryan’s name.
"You don’t need to call me ‘Miss’," Ryan began, but stopped abruptly when she realized that they were now conversing in English.
Jamie did not realize that this puzzled her partner, and she continued on with her explanation. "Maria Los feels more comfortable using that term, Honey. We’ve discussed this before."
"Okay, no problem," Ryan agreed, not liking the term one bit, but acceding to the young woman’s wishes.
"How about I offer you a ride to work?" Jamie asked her partner.
"I’ll never make it if you don’t," Ryan muttered, checking her watch.
After a much more relaxed goodbye, the twosome hopped into the Boxster for the trip to the gym. "Have you eaten, Baby?"
"Nope. I was gonna get something before I left, but your little friend took up all of my available time."
"It’s only 12:20, why don’t I drop you off at that little falafel place by the gym. I don’t want you to go to work without anything in that tummy."
"Best idea you’ve had all day," Ryan agreed, settling down in the seat for the short drive.
Traffic was slow, as usual, and as they progressed through town Ryan finally broke the silence. "Today sure was full of surprises." She had an unreadable expression on her face, and Jamie had a sneaking suspicion that she was referring to more than Maria Los’ appearance.
"I bet Maria Los is thinking the same thing." Jamie laughed, trying to gauge her partner’s mood.
Ryan just nodded, obviously not willing to share everything that was on her mind. They were nearing the restaurant, and she turned to face Jamie. "I’ve got a few questions about the house and how you manage things, Honey. Can we talk about that tonight?" She certainly didn’t look angry, which reassured Jamie a bit, but there was something behind those blue eyes that was a little disquieting.
"Are we okay, Babe?" Jamie did not want to go to class worrying about whatever her partner wanted to discuss. If there was something seriously wrong, she needed to know now.
"We’re fine." Ryan smiled and leaned over for a kiss. "I just want to figure out what’s going on in the cabeza."
Jamie pulled back and furrowed her brow a bit before a quick laugh burst out. "I think you mean cabaña, Honey. Cabeza means ‘head’.
Ryan shrugged her shoulders amiably. "Your head…your house…I’ll settle for finding out what’s going on in either of them."
Jamie had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to have another go-around on their finances. Even though she didn’t look forward to these discussions, she realized that they were part and parcel of building a partnership, so she tried to swallow her anxiety over the issue. Ryan leaned in for another kiss and Jamie couldn’t help but tease her a little bit. "Bye-bye, my little movie star," she hummed seductively.
"Movie star?" Ryan asked, puzzled at the odd term.
Jamie just laughed as she pulled away from the curb, offering a quick wave over her departing shoulder.
Ryan ran up to the house at around four thirty, stopping short when she spotted a well-used pick-up truck in the driveway. Now what? she grumbled to herself. Is our cook here? The masseuse? Her questions were answered when she got close to the truck and saw the staggering array of rakes, shovels, lengths of PVC pipe, lawnmowers, and leaf blowers neatly arranged inside the battered truck. A pair of young Latinos was just getting into the truck, and each waved and called out, "Buenas tardes, Señorita!" when they spied her heading up the walk.
Ryan pasted a smile on and waved back. "Buenas tardes…Señors," she replied, using up most of her vocabulary.
They drove off, the ancient truck sputtering as several cylinders misfired. A yard the size of a postage stamp, and she hires a gardener! This has got to stop! She strode into the house, determined to set things right before nightfall.
When Jamie returned home an hour later, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She thought that Ryan might be a little miffed to learn that she employed a housecleaner, understanding that was not the O’Flaherty way. It actually took a few minutes to find Ryan; there was no sign of her presence anywhere in the house. Poking her head out the back door, Jamie came upon the sight she hoped would greet her every day for the rest of her life. Her lovely mate, sitting on the teak bench that rested under an arbor covered with fragrant white "Lady Banks" climbing roses.
Her breath caught as she took in the beauty of both the setting and the woman who held her heart. Ryan was freshly showered, judging by the still-wet hair slicked back off her face. Her skin glowed pink from what Jamie assumed was a combination of recent exercise and a good scrubbing.
The sun was low in the sky, the garage angling the rays so that they caught only the top of her dark head, creating a riot of highlights of gold and burgundy in the glossy tresses. The afternoon was warm, and only the briefest of khaki shorts covered her upper thighs, her black linen camp shirt draping attractively across her broad shoulders. Her feet were bare, and one long leg was drawn up so that her unshod foot could rest on the bench. A hardbound book rested on the raised knee, the intense blue eyes focused on the passage she was considering. Her eyes lifted, and she stared into space for a few moments, obviously deep in thought. Jamie decided right then that she could happily spend a few dozen hours just watching her beloved think.
The sparkling intelligence that was always apparent, but often slightly veiled, came to the fore when she was deep in thought. Jamie could practically see the synapses firing in her agile brain as her eyes flicked back and forth just a micrometer. Her dark brows knit together just a bit, as her head tilted a few degrees. With a blindingly white smile, the dark head nodded as some nugget of information became clear, and her eyes returned to the book to continue her study.
Unable to resist the lure of those blue eyes, Jamie descended the stairs and walked up to the bench. Ryan heard her coming and closed the book, placing it on a small table she had drawn close. A relaxed, warm smile covered her lovely face as her arms opened to welcome her partner home.
Climbing onto her lap, Jamie tilted her head to bestow a few gentle kisses on tart-tasting lips. "Ummm…you made lemonade," she breathed, allowing her face to stay right where it way.
Ryan’s deep voice burred against her lips. "Somebody bought a dozen lemons. I figured that was a good way to reduce the stockpile."
Jamie pulled back and reached for the sweaty glass of the pale yellow beverage. "Oooh, this is good." She smacked her lips together for a moment, tilting her head as she assessed the drink. "You put orange juice in this, too," she decided.
"Yep. One orange really makes a difference," Ryan informed her. "Adds sweetness without adding as much sugar."
; "It’s divine," she decided. "Just like you." A few more kisses followed, with Ryan finally pulling away, to Jamie’s regret.
"We need to talk, little one, and I’m not going to have you make me lose my rational mind again tonight." Startled green eyes looked down at her and Ryan quickly amended her statement. "Yet, that is. You can knock me senseless later, of course."
Now placated, Jamie slid off her lap and sat next to her on the bench. "So…what happened today, Honey?"
"Are you hungry?" Ryan asked, off topic.
"Yeah, but I want to address this, since it’s obviously something that concerns you."
"Let’s sit at the table and munch on a few tidbits, okay?"
Jamie turned her head and caught sight of the attractive presentation that her partner had created upon the glass-topped dining table. Most of the items from the basket Martin and the boys had given them were arranged on small plates, all of them covered by wire mesh domes to keep the insects away. An ice bucket held the chilled bottle of champagne, and a pair of crystal flutes waited to be filled. "You’ve certainly familiarized yourself with the kitchen, haven’t you, Tiger?" Jamie was delighted that her partner had taken the time to prepare such a nice repast, and she expressed her gratitude with a few more kisses.
They walked the short distance, hand in hand, and Jamie smiled sweetly when Ryan pulled out one of the heavy chairs for her. Ryan sat down, drawing her chair close enough so that their knees touched. "Would you open the wine, Babe? I’m not very skilled in the champagne arena."
"Let’s do it together," Jamie suggested. She indicated that Ryan should hold the cork while she gently turned the bottle. After half of a turn the cork popped quietly, nary a drop of wine spilling. "Teamwork, buddy," she said confidently.
Ryan poured the wine and clinked her glass against her partner’s. "To the life we’ll build in our house." She used the term they had decided on for the Berkeley dwelling, acknowledging that the O’Flaherty home was now both of theirs.
"Mi casa es su casa," Jamie agreed, drawing the conversation back to the issue she thought was bothering her partner.
Ryan smiled, knowing that her lover was allowing her an opening. She took a sip of the wine and said, "A few things caught me by surprise today, Honey. The grocery delivery, the cleaning woman and the gardener. What order do you want to take them in?"
Jamie started to reply, but a truck pulled into the drive just as she was opening her mouth. A slight grimace covered her face as she said, "You’d better put the car detailing service on the list as long as you’re at it."
After conversing with the young men who had arrived to clean her car, Jamie came back to the table and took her seat. Once again, Ryan’s gaze was unreadable, so rather than try to figure it out she took the bull by the horns. "Okay, here’s the whole story. We’ve had someone clean the place since we moved in. Neither Cassie nor Mia would do a damn thing around here, and I was not going to clean up after those two."
Ryan offered a small smile at the vehemence in her partner’s tone. Jamie took a breath and continued. "We decided to hire someone to come in three days a week…" She paused as Ryan’s eyes grew very wide. "And since there were three of us, we each paid for one day. It’s worked out well, and I see no need to change it at this point."
Ryan’s brow furrowed and she interrupted. "Can I jump in?"
"Sure, Babe. Anytime."
"Okay." Ryan drew in a breath and held it for a moment, in a move Jamie had come to realize meant she was trying to remain calm. "I don’t mean to judge you, Jamie, but it’s a pretty sad state of affairs when three able-bodied women can’t keep a house clean. It’s just not that hard!"
Jamie bit back the sharp remark that threatened to burst forth and calmly muttered, "Thanks for not judging me, Honey."
Ryan’s heavy sigh showed she was having a tough time staying cool, so Jamie jumped in with more facts. "Let me finish the whole story, Babe, and then we can discuss it, okay?" Ryan gave her a curt nod and she continued. "I wasn’t happy with the first woman we hired, and over the next two years we ran through three more housecleaners. Most of them couldn’t stand Cassie’s demands, but some of them just didn’t seem reliable enough for me to give them a key."
There she goes with the keys again! Ryan silently fumed. What is it with the Evans clan and giving out keys? I’ve got to have an inventory of the key holders before I can sleep soundly in this motel!
Jamie did her best to ignore the frown on Ryan’s face as she continued with her explanation. "I know I’ve told you about Marta, our housekeeper and cook." Ryan nodded, recalling Jamie’s fond recollections of the woman, and the important role she served during Jamie’s childhood. "For as long as I can remember, she’s worked at her church, teaching English to Spanish speaking immigrants. Last year her church started a program where they provide seed money to members of the parish who are trying to become self-employed. I know Marta would never give her time to something that wasn’t worthwhile, so I’ve been supporting the program financially."
Ryan cocked her head at this news, having never heard Jamie speak about where she made her charitable donations.
"A few months ago, Marta asked me if I would consider hiring some of the people from the program to do some tasks around here. That’s how I met Maria Los, and Zaragoza and Esteban and Raimundo."
"So all of these people are just starting out?" Ryan asked, now both interested and somewhat excited.
"Yes. Maria Los is just 19. She emigrated from El Salvador just after Christmas this year. She’s a darling woman, and I think she’s sweet on Zaragoza, the car detailer. She lives with two other women from the program in East Palo Alto."
"Does she work for other people too?"
"No. She’s in class or studying the other two days. I pay her well and she can afford to only work three days a week until she’s more skilled in English."
"She’s been here how long?" Ryan asked.
"Since January," Jamie replied.
"Um…I hate to break it to you, Babe, but she doesn’t know a bit of English."
Jamie slapped her on the thigh, seeing the gentle tease behind the impish grin. "She does just fine, smarty pants. You just shocked the English right out of her with that scrumptious body!"
"Well I don’t know about that, but she does seem like a nice woman. You said that Esteban and Raimundo are the gardeners?"
"Yep. They don’t know that I know it, but they’re lovers," Jamie said quietly, in case Zaragoza could hear them speaking.
"Really?" Ryan wasn’t sure why this surprised her, but the thought of the two sturdy young men being gay was startling. "Are they in business together?"
"Uh–huh. They’re together all day. They work together and they live together. Two of Raimundo’s cousins live with them too, and I think they’re gay also."
"That’s cool that they’re there to support each other," Ryan said thoughtfully. "I assume it’s not okay to be gay where they are from?"
"Yeah. Marta tells me they were basically banished from their town near Puebla in Mexico. Their families don’t speak to them at all."
Ryan shook her head for a full minute, ruminating about the cruelty of families. "So…the bottom line is, by having all of these people work here we’re actually helping them build their own lives in the U.S."
"Yep." Jamie’s smile was nearly radiant, and Ryan knew that she was trapped without an argument for letting any of them go.
"Hey…" Her brow contracted as she came upon the flaw in the logic. "Which one of these recent immigrants owns ‘Web Van.Com’?"
Jamie blushed as she admitted the truth. "Umm…that one is just because I’m lazy."
Satisfied that she had won at least a tiny bit of turf, Ryan decreed, "From now on I’m in charge of grocery shopping. ‘Web Van.Com’ can serve every other yuppie in Berkeley, but they’ll never darken our door again!"
Zaragoza finished up by seven, and as Ryan observed her partner converse with the young man she reminded he
rself, You never asked how she learned to speak Spanish so well!
When they were once again alone, Ryan tugged her partner into her lap and asked, "Did you take Spanish in school?"
"Yeah, a little in grammar school," Jamie informed her. "But Marta taught me most everything. She had a rule—I couldn’t help in the kitchen unless we spoke Spanish."
"Smart woman," Ryan murmured, nuzzling Jamie’s sweet-smelling neck. "Better than my Granny’s method—‘Go to your Irish lesson, Siobhán, or you don’t get to eat dinner!’ " Both women laughed, knowing that food was always a sufficient motivator for Ryan.
"Yeah, I’m really grateful to Marta. I was bilingual by the time I learned to speak, and it’s sure come in handy quite often."
"I’d like our kids to be at least bilingual," Ryan agreed. "By the time they’re adults, the majority of Californians will probably be Spanish speaking."
"It’s a deal," Jamie decided. "I’ll teach ‘em Spanish, and you teach ‘em Irish."
"Great," Ryan muttered. "They can hate me for making them learn a language that almost no one in America speaks!"
"True, but we’ve got to make your Granny happy," Jamie reminded her, green eyes dancing.
"Good point," Ryan nodded, smiling broadly at the thought of her grandmother’s happiness upon having her great-grandchildren speaking the native tongue.
The sun was just a memory as the two reclined on twin chaise lounges, pleasantly buzzed from the champagne and partially sated from the delicacies in the gift basket. They were holding hands and softly sharing their hopes and dreams of the future, while the cooling breeze wafted over their skin. "I feel a lot better about living here," Ryan murmured, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on Jamie’s cheek.
"Why do you think so, Baby?" The pace of her reply was much slower than normal, and Ryan was fairly sure the alcohol was to blame for that.
"Not sure," the darker woman replied lazily, holding the last few sips of her wine up to gaze at the moon through the bubbles. "Maybe because I got settled and spent some time checking the place out. Maybe because it was really convenient to have you get home in ten minutes. It’s really nice not to have to cross the Bay Bridge during rush hour, too," she added as she let the last drops of the slightly warm liquid slide down her throat. "But I guess the number one reason is because I can do this…" In the blink of an eye she was lying upon Jamie’s prone body, her weight pressing heavily into her smaller partner.
Disclosures - SF4 Page 11