Bouncing

by Jaime Maddox

  She was so distracted by her mental vision of the Eiffel Tower that she was startled when someone touched her arm. She turned to see a smiling face she hadn’t seen in months. “Now that you have a job, I expect you to buy my coffee.”

  Brit smiled and spread her arms to embrace the woman who’d been her preceptor during her collegiate days of student teaching. When Brit graduated, Sally Conklin had jokingly told her it wouldn’t be the same at school without her and promptly retired. Brit knew there was more to the story, but she’d received no further explanation and hadn’t probed.

  “Sal!” she said as she hugged the taller woman more closely.

  “So, you got my message?” Brit had phoned with the good news as soon as she returned from Brazil but hadn’t heard a reply.

  “I did. I just got back in the country myself, so I’m not quite caught up on my messages. But how are you? Excited?”

  “I’m a nervous wreck. The closer it gets, the nervouser I get!”

  Sal laughed and pulled back. “They didn’t hire you to teach English, did they?”

  “Fortunately, I’ll be sticking to biology. But I think God himself arranged this meeting, because I really do want to talk to you.”

  “Yeah, sorry about not getting back to you. I was on a cruise. I’ve spent most of my waking hours doing laundry and cleaning my house.”

  “Do you have some time to talk now?” Brit asked.

  “I do.”

  “Then I’ll buy you that coffee, and a crepe, too.” At the coffee shop near campus, it was rumored that Sal spent all of her salary on coffee and pastries for her students. During her four years of college, Brit guessed they must have shared a thousand cups of coffee and an equal number of baked delights.

  As they reached the counter and placed their orders, Sal chose the strawberries and cream, while Brit took bananas with caramel, nuts, and cream. Both took their coffees in large cups. As promised, Brit paid, and they squeezed into the two last seats at a wobbly table under the canopy.

  “So, you were on a cruise? What was that like? Where’d you go?”

  “It started in the British Isles and then went everywhere in the Mediterranean. It was fantastic but exhausting. It’s good to be home.”

  “And is this home for you now? At the beach?”

  “Yes. I bought a house here a long time ago but decided to finally make the move. This is home base now.”

  Brit swallowed a bite of her ham-and-cheese. “I’m surprised. I didn’t realize you were considering retirement. You seemed so happy with your job.”

  Brit realized that she knew very little about Sal’s personal life, which saddened her. From the first day they met, when Brit was a freshman majoring in Education, they had shared so many common interests and insights, and Brit felt a special connection to Sal that was rare in her life. Yet even though they shared so much, Sal kept her personal life private.

  “I was,” Sal said after a moment. “But my partner, Susan, had a heart attack.”

  Sal paused, and Brit sensed Sal was searching for some reaction from her, not to the awful news about Susan but to the confession about her sexuality.

  Brit gave her only encouragement to continue. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Is she okay now?”

  Sal smiled. “It was just a little heart attack, but we heeded the warning. We won’t live forever. So we assessed our finances and decided we could afford to quit working. Now we’re living the good life, having fun and spending all our money so our families can’t fight over it when we’re dead.”

  Brit laughed. “So I’m at the beginning of my career, and you’re at the beginning of your adventure! How exciting.” Brit smiled at Sal, happy for her, and happy that she’d chosen to share such private information.

  Brit suspected that deep inside she might have known that Sal was a lesbian, but they’d never discussed the subject. When she was in college and just beginning to understand the meaning of all the little clues she’d been ignoring over the years, she didn’t feel comfortable talking about it with anyone. She didn’t date. She didn’t join any gay clubs (not that there were any on her Catholic campus). She didn’t seek out women. If not for the first woman she dated, a woman who, much like Sylvia, immediately tuned in to Brit’s sexuality, she’d probably still be waiting for her first kiss. That first date had led to a few more, but even as Brit grew more comfortable with her identity, she still wasn’t comfortable sharing it. Even though Sal had opened the door, Brit was still too scared to walk through.

  “So tell me about this career you’re starting!” Sal’s eyes twinkled with pride.

  “I start the day after Labor Day. Students report on Wednesday.”

  “Did they give you any guidelines about what they expected? Have you reviewed the textbook you’ll be using?”

  “Yes, and yes. I met with the principal and another teacher. I’ll be teaching all of the sophomore classes and some senior ones. They pretty much have the curriculum set up, and they’re using the same textbooks from the past few years. They’re fine. I’ve gone through the books and made an outline of what I want to emphasize and the order I’d like to present things.”

  “So what are you nervous about? It sounds like you’ve already got it ready to go.”

  Brit shrugged and stared into her coffee, allowing a small sigh before answering. “I’m not sure.”

  “You. Will. Be. Great! All your reviews were fabulous, and the students and faculty will love you…just wait and see. It’ll be a piece of cake.”

  Brit gave a reluctant smile, not sure she believed Sal but grateful for the encouragement. “You’re always so supportive. Thank you.”

  “Now where are you going to be teaching? Which school?”

  “That’s what’s so cool. I’ll be at your old school, Endless Mountains.”

  Sal sat back in her chair and began laughing. Her salt-and-pepper hair fell casually across her forehead, and wrinkles gathered at the corners of her half-closed eyes, yet Brit marveled at how lovely she looked.

  “Small world.” She laughed again.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Even smaller these days. Remember the girl I told you about when you were in school? The one who played basketball at EM?”

  Britain nodded. Since basketball was one of their many common interests, she and Sal had talked frequently about the game. Sal often spoke of her greatest former player, one who’d gone on to a stellar college career at a big Division I college. She’d often said she’d like to introduce them, but it’d just never happened. “Alex?”

  Sal nodded. “Yes, she’s been teaching English at EM for the past few years. She’s been the assistant girls’ basketball coach, too, and this year she’ll be taking over as head coach.”

  “No way!” Brit was shocked and thrilled at the same time. If she could make a friend at school it would make this transition so much easier.

  “Yes. How about that?”

  “Oh, wow! I’d love to meet her. If you give me her number I’ll call her as soon as I get home. Maybe we can meet and talk.”

  “I can do even better than that. Why don’t you come over to my place tonight for dinner? I’ll invite her, and the two of you can get to know each other.”

  “She’s here?”

  “Yeah. She spends the summers here, hanging out.”

  Brit pursed her lips. This was the last night of her sister Jordan’s family time at the beach, and it was expected that she would watch Jordan’s sons so she could enjoy some time with her husband. Normally, Brit wouldn’t have given it a second thought. She’d have just stayed home to babysit. But not this time. This was too important.

  “That would be fantastic. What time should I come over?”

  “How about six?”

  “Perfect. What can I bring? Wine? Cheese? Dessert?”

  “Sue and I love to cook, and we have too much wine already, so no more. But you can pick up dessert.”

  “Anything special?”

  “You de
cide.”

  Brit pulled a pen out of her fanny pack and wrote the address on her napkin. “And you really think Alex can come?”

  Sal pulled out her phone. “Let’s call her and find out.”

  Brit waited anxiously for the other woman to answer, hoping this meeting would work out. But the phone rang until it went to voice mail, and both she and Sal were a little disappointed. Brit listened as Sal left Alex a message instructing her to be at her house by six for dinner. Noting Brit’s look of disappointment, she smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. She’ll be there. She’s still afraid of me.”

  They finished their coffees and left the table for others to use, then said their good-byes. With Sal’s home address tucked safely into her pack, Brit strode confidently along Rehoboth Avenue, elation buoying her as she watched the town awaken. Workers opened doors and wiped down benches, pulling goods onto the sidewalk. Marquees were updated with the current day’s offerings. Parents trailed behind scampering children, and teenagers went their own way.

  After taking a seat on a boardwalk bench, Brit closed her eyes and just breathed. Around her the activity continued, but now as she focused on the sounds of the surf and the seagulls as the sun warmed her, she experienced a peace that had been elusive for weeks. Seeing Sal had been good for her. Calming. Reassuring. Comforting. She was going to have a great night, and looked forward to seeing Sal again and to meeting her friend Alex. But first she had to tell her family she wouldn’t be the sitter tonight. She didn’t look forward to that conversation.

  Chapter Six

  Beach Bum

  Alex heard her phone ringing even through the pile of laundry in which it was buried. As she had attempted to answer a call the night before, Anke had plucked it from her hands and tossed it into the laundry basket before throwing Alex onto the bed. Both the phone and its owner were in essentially the same positions nearly twelve hours later.

  “My phone,” Alex asked helplessly, teasing and pleading with her lover.

  “No vay! Zis are my last minutes vis you. I’m not sharink!”

  Even if she wished to challenge her, Alex wouldn’t have been successful. Anke had bound both of Alex’s wrists to the headboard and was having her way with her. Alex watched as Anke slid her hands down her arms, across her nipples, down her abdomen to her hips, where she was perched atop Alex and enjoying her power. “I vant you zoo rememba me, foreffa.”

  Trembling, Alex moaned as Anke’s mouth found her nipple and her teeth gently rubbed across it, back and forth in a steady rhythm. She could never forget this woman. Their sexual connection was phenomenal.

  Since they’d met on Memorial Day weekend, she’d spent many of her nights in this same position. Anke was in the United States on a work visa, spending her university break employed at a restaurant on the boardwalk. Theirs was a perfect summer fling. They shared some free time on the beach because Anke’s job allowed it, and if the weather wasn’t suited for sunbathing, they rode bikes or kayaked. Mostly, though, they stayed in bed in the mornings having fabulous sex. When the summer ended, both of them would have exciting memories of a great summer.

  Although Anke had had similar relationships in the past, Alex never had. A parade of girls had filled her time, but she hadn’t been with anyone consistently until now. She had been a little leery in the beginning, concerned about possible unpleasantries if their experiment failed, but to her surprise, she found it an absolutely wonderful arrangement.

  Knowing she would spend the night with Anke had filled her summer days with a quiet calm. She didn’t have a frantic need to find a girl, just the happy reality that no matter what she did after the beach—whether she played golf or tennis or rode her bike, whether she was alone or with friends, at a bar or on her patio—at the end of the night Anke would be in her bed.

  Now Anke was leaving, returning to her home in the Bavarian Alps, and it seemed to Alex that she had done everything in her power on their last night together to ensure that her wish to be remembered did in fact come true. Shuddering with delight as Anke’s hands and mouth magically licked and caressed her, Alex managed to speak. “I won’t forget you, fräulein.”

  When Anke finished, she slid from the bed and stood, untying the knot that bound Alex’s wrists. Rubbing the sore muscles of her arms, Alex watched Anke dress, admiring the curves of her breasts and her ass, the muscles of her shoulders and back, the beautiful face. Alex’s appreciative glances were rewarded with a smile.

  “You vill email to me sometimes, yes? Maybe in a sevfral monce.”

  This statement, like most of Anke’s communication with Alex, was a command. Alex didn’t mind the assertive role her lover played—she just chose to ignore her when Anke’s wishes didn’t suit her. But in this instance, she agreed. Alex would have been a fool to just let Anke walk away without leaving a window open for a possible reunion if they both summered in Rehoboth again the following year. “Yes.”

  “An if I ever come zoo U.S. again, maybe I vill see you, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “An if you ever come zoo Europe and you don have jealous girlfren vis you, maybe I vill see you, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I say goo-bye, now. Please don call at my home. I have maybe a jealous boyfren who does not like me zoo be vis za girls.”

  Alex stood and pulled on her shorts and a T-shirt, fighting back a laugh as Anke held out her hand to shake. “I go now. Zank you, Alex, for rememberable summer in U.S.”

  Alex accepted the proffered hand, but instead of shaking it, she placed a gentle kiss on the palm. “It was my pleasure, Miss Bavaria.” Anke was the former Miss Bavaria, and Alex loved using the title.

  At the door they shared a small kiss. “Auf Wiedersehen,” Alex whispered as Anke turned and walked to her friend’s waiting car.

  As she watched Anke leave, probably forever, an unfamiliar and not very pleasant feeling came over Alex. Sadness? Regret? She stared after her for a moment, then turned and closed the door. The summer was winding to a close, and she planned to enjoy every minute she had left.

  Fishing her phone out of the laundry basket, she dialed her voice mail, changing into her bathing suit as she listened to her messages. She deleted them all, then dialed Sal’s number as she sat to pull on her sneakers. “Hey, Coach,” she said. “How was the cruise?”

  “Exhausting. I’ll fill you in later if you’re free for dinner? I want to introduce you to someone. A girl I used to mentor just got a job at Endless Mountains, and I think you’ll get along great.”

  “Really? That’s a coincidence. What’s her name?”

  “Britain Dodge.”

  “I don’t think I know her. What does she teach?”

  “Science.”

  “A brainiac, huh? Is she cute?”

  “Alex!”

  “Okay, sorry. You said six, right? Can I bring anything?”

  “Come at five. You can help cook. And all you have to bring is your charming personality. Oh, and if you’d like to bring Miss Munich, she’s welcome, too.”

  “It was Miss Bavaria, Coach, but she just left. She’s heading to the airport as we speak.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Sal asked cautiously.

  Alex smiled, knowing that it was, but she understood that Sal didn’t have a good handle on Anke. No one did. Even though she managed to see Sal and Sue often, Anke had been scarce on those occasions. Her job required her to work nights, and their sex life had kept her busy in the mornings. And this sort of relationship was so atypical of Alex that everyone was scratching their heads.

  “It’s okay, Coach. We knew she’d be leaving. We decided to stay friends. You can never have too many friends.”

  “Truer words were never spoken. So be on your best behavior tonight. I think Brit will be a good friend for you.”

  When they ended the call, Alex began humming as she carefully packed her bag for the beach. A sand sheet and flip-flops went in first, followed by water, an apple, a peanut-butter sandwich
, and a bag of pretzels. She covered everything with a small towel. After tucking her book into one side and her sunscreen in the other, she zipped the bag closed.

  In the bathroom she peed and brushed her teeth, then splashed some water onto the short mop of blond curls atop her head. She ran her fingers through them, then pulled her Phillies cap low over her forehead.

  She retrieved her Trek from the garage along with her beach chair, which had a sling that allowed her to ride with the chair strapped to her back, an incredible invention for beach bums like her. After anchoring the backpack to the handlebars, she closed the door and began pedaling.

  The condo in Oyster Bay was just across Route One from downtown Rehoboth, and Alex took the back way into town, riding under the bridge on Route One to avoid traffic. It was only ten, but already the tourists were heading toward the shopping outlets near the condo, people walked toward the restaurants and the beach, and all of the coffee shops she passed were jammed with patrons.

  It was the end of August, and the season should have been dying down, but the weather was perfect and no one seemed to be leaving. Except Anke, of course. But she’d purchased her ticket well in advance and had important things like university luring her back to Europe. Even if they hadn’t had an agreement, she would have been on that plane today.

  Alex cut across Rehoboth Avenue at the lighthouse and avoided the congestion of downtown, riding along the canal and toward the northern part of town, toward the women’s beach at the state park. This day was going to be a scorcher. She liked to get to the beach early, before the crowd brought a lot of noise and activity and before the sun began baking the sand. She’d settle in and read, and in a few hours when her roommates staggered from their beds, they’d join her. Before the day was through, she’d find her solitude delightfully disturbed by a dozen friends who made their way to the state park.

  Sure enough, the beach was nearly empty when she arrived, and she set up her camp in a favorite spot, where her friends would be sure to find her later. She pulled her book from the bag, but instead of reading, she leaned back into her chair and simply stared at the beauty of the ocean. To her left, the waves crashed into an outcropping of rocks, breaking each solitary wall into a million tiny pebbles of water scattered in every direction. Before her, a family of porpoises swam two hundred yards from the shoreline, and she watched as they playfully jumped through the waves.