"I don't know how she couldn't," she scoffed. "Sometimes it's almost a religious experience when we make love-that doesn't happen with casual sex partners."
"I'd think not," Jamie agreed. "Are you going to tell her that you love her?" she asked gently.
"Don't go off the deep end," Mia warned. "I didn't say that. I said I care for her…that's different."
"Oh…right," she agreed, nodding slowly. "That's different."
"I don't know what I'm going to do. She's like a wounded animal some times, James. It's obvious that there are times when she wants to run and hide, but she generally hangs in there and works things out with me. I don't want to scare her by being too needy, you know?"
"Caring for someone doesn't make you needy," Jamie insisted. "Just the opposite, really, Mia. It makes you stronger."
Mia shook her head and said, "I don't know, James. Maybe that's so, but I don't think we're at a point to have those serious discussions yet. Things are going along fine, and I don't see any reason to screw it up. I think I'll just apologize for being in a bad mood last night, and try to get close to her again. It was only one night, but I missed her," she admitted, a wistful look on her face. "I've really grown used to having her sleep next to me-it was odd to be alone."
"I know the feeling," Jamie empathized, dreading the next away game, which was coming up in just a few days.
"Is it bigger than the dining room table?" Ryan asked, sneaking up behind her partner and whispering the question in her ear.
"No, Ryan, it's not bigger than the dining room table."
"Is it bigger than Jordan?" Ryan followed up, chuckling a little.
"Not comparable to a human," the smaller woman decided. "Try again."
"But it was comparable to the dining room table, eh?"
"Only in some ways," Jamie decided. "You're still way off, honey."
"I'll get there, just you wait," she warned, narrowing her deep blue eyes dangerously.
By the time all of the guests had been fed, all of the cake had been eaten, and Caitlin had fallen in Ryan's arms, the dark woman had ascertained that her gift was not clothing, not books, not related to a sport, and was bigger than Martin's easy chair but smaller than the refrigerator when laid on its side. It wasn't much, but Ryan was still brimming with confidence that she would figure it out.
Rory came up and asked, "Any chance I can move your present out of my room tonight, Ryan? I almost killed myself when I got up in the middle of the night."
Ryan whirled and faced her partner. "It's in Rory's room? Why would you choose Rory's room, hmmm? Maybe Rory helped you with it!" She said this like she had just deciphered the Rosetta Stone, and Jamie just laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, let's say he did. How does that help?"
"Oh, for the love of Mike!" Rory cried. "Is she still trying to guess what it is?"
"I'm getting close," Ryan insisted, waving her brother off.
"No, she's not," Jamie smiled, shaking her head.
"Well, it's gonna be out in the hall when I go to bed, so you'll know one way or the other, Sis," he threatened as he walked off, chuckling to himself.
"Big question, Jamie," Ryan said seriously. "Did Rory help you decide what to buy?"
"Yes."
"You didn't ask Conor, or Brendan, or Da?"
"Nope. Just Rory," she smiled, knowing that Ryan was getting close.
Ryan nodded slyly, a wide smile settling on her face. "I've got it," she declared. "And if I'm right, I'd better give Caitlin to your mom, 'cause she's gonna wake up screaming from the noise!"
When Rory saw his sister taking the stairs two at a time, he followed her up, coming up alongside Jamie, who was lagging behind. "Did she guess?"
"I think so, but she might still be a little surprised," she said.
Indeed, Ryan was surprised. She stood in the doorway, looking at the impressive set-up, a puzzled expression on her face. "Electronic drums?" she asked. "Electronic?"
"Trust me, Sis," Rory insisted. "These babies have come a long way." He took a pair of sticks off his dresser and handed them to her. Leading her over to the stool, he urged her down, then handed her a pair of headphones. He flicked a few switches on a module and said, "Give 'em a rip."
She looked a little doubtful, but started to play, a thoughtful look on her face that quickly turned into a smile. The smile grew as she experienced each element of the set, until she was beaming an iridescent smile at her partner. Removing the headphones so she could hear, she said, "These are absolutely phenomenal, honey! I love them!" Turning to Rory she said, "I had no idea electronic could come this close to acoustic."
"Yeah, Roland has done a great job with these. Most good drummers have acoustic and electronic now, just because these are so much more versatile. I think you'll really love them, Ryan."
"I love them already," she smiled, "but you really shouldn't have been so generous, honey. These must have cost a ton!"
"Yes, they were expensive," she admitted, "but these fall in the 'as much for me as for you' category."
Ryan knew just what that meant, but Rory did not. "Do you play the drums, Jamie?" he asked, innocently.
Ryan gave her lover an impish smile and replied for her. "Nope. She plays the drummer."
On their way home, Mia looked over at Jordan and asked, "My place or yours?"
"Mine," Jordan said, surprising and displeasing Mia. She started to look at the blonde, but Jordan touched her leg lightly. "You've never even seen my apartment, Mia. I think it's time I gave you a proper tour."
"Does the tour include the bedroom?" she asked with a suddenly sunny smile.
"That's where the tour starts," Jordan revealed. "I missed you last night." She shot Mia an adorably shy smile, making the smaller woman's heart clench with emotion.
"I missed you, too, sweetheart," Mia agreed, letting the term of endearment escape before she could pull it back in.
Another shy grin accompanied Jordan's soft response, "No one has ever called me sweetheart before."
"Their loss," Mia smiled, reaching over to grab her lover's hand and press it against her breast.
Catherine and Charlie were among the last to leave, having helped clean up and put everything away. After a fond goodbye from Jamie and Ryan, they got into Catherine's car for the trip to Nob Hill. "I didn't want to bring this up during the party, but I am interested in how things are going for you, Catherine. How have you been?"
She smiled at her father-in-law and said, "I don't think I could get through this time without Jamie and Ryan, but with their support I'm actually faring pretty well. I'm not sure what will happen between Jim and me, but I feel more confident that I can handle whatever comes."
"Do you want to end the marriage, Catherine?" he asked gently.
"No. No, I don't, Charles. We have a lot of problems, but I would prefer to work them through together and try to save our relationship." She gave Charles a look and said, "My therapist said something not long ago that I've been thinking about a lot. She said that you choose your mate for both healthy and unhealthy reasons, and that leaving them when problems occur doesn't insure that you won't have the same issue pop up again with the next partner you choose. If I'm going to have to really investigate the issues that led me to Jim, and that kept me with him through his betrayals, I'd like to have him there while I do it." She spared a look at her father-in-law and asked, "Does that make any sense?"
"Yes, I think it does, Catherine. I know that you make a good point about repeating your mistakes. That's something we humans seem programmed to do."
"I suppose what I mean is that I love Jim deeply, and I don't want to lose him. Yes, he has flaws, but so do I. He clearly has a very difficult time with fidelity, but in other areas I trust him completely. If he agrees to try to work on our problems, I trust him to do his best."
"What do you think the likelihood of that is, Catherine?" he asked, not seeing much evidence of his son's willingness to do so.
"It's hard t
o tell, Charles. He calls me every few days-usually without much reason. He seems lonely in a way I've never seen. It's hard to put a finger on it, but I occasionally see glimpses of the young man I fell in love with, and that gives me hope."
"I can understand that," the older man agreed. "I certainly hope he comes through for you, Catherine. You're the best thing that ever happened to him-if he can only wake up and see it."
Jamie climbed into bed a few minutes after their last guest had departed. She curled up next to Ryan's side and placed a hand on her belly, knowing that she would be asleep in seconds. The bed was rocking just a tiny bit, and she sat up to look at Ryan. "What are you doing?"
"Oh…I didn't think you'd feel that."
"What are you doing?" she asked again.
Ryan cleared her throat and admitted the truth. "Playing my drums."
"Lord, you are an adorable woman," Jamie sighed as she snuggled next to her again. "How are you playing your drums, sweetheart? You don't have your sticks in here, do you?"
"No. I'm playing my thighs," Ryan assured her. "I understand why you did it, but having my new toy upstairs is pretty harsh, baby."
"Yes, I realize that, but even though they don't make much noise, I'm not about to hear that slapping sound all night long. And that's just what you'd be doing, so don't even try to convince me otherwise."
"Point taken," Ryan agreed. "I really, really like 'em," she whispered. "I never had my own set."
Jamie sat up on her elbow and asked, "Never? I thought you played in school."
"I did. The school owned a set, and I stayed there to practice. I always dreamed of someday having my own kit," she said wistfully. "I should have realized that you'd be the one to make my dream come true."
"Rory helped," Jamie advised. "I asked him if you'd like to own drums, and he was very enthusiastic. He was certain you'd love them."
"He knows me well," Ryan agreed. "You know I never would have bought them for myself," she added softly. "They just seem like such a luxury."
"My goal is to one day have you not think of luxury as a dirty word," Jamie teased.
"My goal is to have you holding my hand on my 100th birthday, wishing our guests would leave so that we can make love until daybreak," Ryan whispered.
"Our guests are gone now," Jamie replied, giving Ryan's neck a little nibble. "Wanna put those twitchy hands to use?"
"I'd rather play you than a drum any day, love," Ryan agreed, folding her partner into her warm embrace.
Part Three
When Ryan came home from practice on Monday, she picked up the mail on the way into the kitchen.
"Hi, hon," she said absently, examining the package addressed to her.
"Hey, how about showing me as much interest as you show a box?" Jamie demanded as she stirred the delicious smelling concoction on the stove.
"Sorry." Ryan scampered over to kiss every exposed inch of her lover's neck. "Better?" she whispered into an ear as she caught the tender lobe in her teeth.
A sexy hip grind was her only answer, but it was fairly definitive. "What do you think this is?" Ryan asked as she went back to her package.
"What does it say?" Jamie asked, having a pretty good idea who it was from.
"It's from J. Giovacchini in Palo Alto," she said, shaking the box.
"I hate to belabor the obvious, but you could just open it."
"Where's the fun in that?" Ryan demanded. She sat down at the kitchen table and hefted the box in her hand for a moment. "It's not very heavy, but something moves when I shake it."
"Maybe you broke it," Jamie supplied helpfully.
Ryan shot her a chiding look. "No, not that kind of movement. There's no sound, but there's definite movement. Like it's muffled."
"Well, it is in a box," Jamie suggested.
"Nope. More muffled than that. It's in another container within the box." She shook it gently, and then more forcefully. "Do you know what this is?"
"Umm, no," she said honestly.
"But you do know something," Ryan deduced from her tone.
"Well, I should hope so. I'm due to graduate soon from a prestigious university."
"You're evading the question," Ryan said as she tossed the box from hand to hand. "Since it's from Palo Alto, and since you obviously know something, it must be from your mother."
"Do you want confirmation, or are you in this alone?"
"Confirmation, please."
"Okay. You're dead on correct so far."
"Superb! Now since it's from your mother, and since my birthday was Saturday, I can only assume that it's a present."
"Also correct," her assistant conceded.
"And I assume that this Giovacchini person was the person who sold this to her."
"Bullseye!"
"Hmm, do you know this person?"
"Mmm, too broad," Jamie decreed.
"Okay," Ryan rephrased, "do you know who this person is?"
"Yes."
"Have you met them?"
"No, but I was going to meet them."
"But you didn't."
"Correct."
"Is that important?"
"Not really. It is a clue, but you'd have to really think to get it, and even if you did, it wouldn't let you know what was in the box."
"But I love clues," she said with a gleeful look in her eyes.
"Okay, here's another. Someone else was going with me to meet this person."
"Hmm, can't be your mother because she must know them. Who would…I know--Jack!" she said triumphantly.
"Very good!" Jamie agreed as she took the saucepan from the stove. "Dinner's ready, babe. Do you want to eat or guess?"
"Both!"
The little box didn't leave Ryan's grasp through the entire meal. It was either in her hand, or resting on her leg, or being used as a weight when balanced on her fork. During the meal, she guessed that it was from a jeweler, so the surprise was really over, but she was still reluctant to open it.
After she cleared the dishes, Jamie came over to sit in her lap. "Why don't you want to know what's in it?" she asked.
"Oh, I do. But when I'm done, the surprise is all gone. Before I know what's in it, it can be anything in my imagination, but once I know, the fun is kinda gone."
"But what if you really like the reality?"
"Good point," she said happily as she tore the wrapping without a moment's hesitation. Inside the paper was a rectangular dove-gray velvet-covered jewelry box. It was at least nine inches long and six inches wide, and Ryan stared at it for a long while before she said, "I hope it's not earrings!"
"Open it, silly," Jamie demanded, now tiring of the game.
The box creaked noisily as Ryan opened it to stare wide-eyed at the most gorgeous necklace she had ever seen. The silver-colored piece was very substantial, and looked as though it had been handcrafted. Each oval link was slightly hammered to cause the light to reflect off the delicate hammer marks and make the piece gleam dully in the muted light of the kitchen. The links were quite large, each one almost an inch long, and they were about three-quarters of an inch wide. When Ryan delicately lifted the piece she was forced to murmur, "It's so heavy!"
Jamie slid her hand under the necklace and hefted it in her palm. "Good thing you have such a strong neck," she agreed.
Now Ryan took the piece and examined it with precision. After she had spent a good three minutes in silent contemplation Jamie finally asked, "Do you like it?"
Ryan looked at her like she was stark raving mad. "How could I not? It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"
Jamie had to agree that the piece was not only magnificent; it reminded her exactly of Ryan. It was strong, and sturdy, and substantial, but with so many delicate little facets that it was impossible to take it in completely in one glance. The necklace was starkly modern, but could also have been found in a Sumerian temple, so simple was the design.
Jamie took it from her and unclasped the hook. She started to fasten it, but decided that o
ne little equipment change was needed. "Take off your shirt."
"I would ask why, but I guess I don't really care," Ryan decided, yanking off her T-shirt.
Pausing for a moment, Jamie decided, "Bra too."
Without hesitation, she shed her sports bra, and waited for her partner to place the necklace on her. Jamie clasped the piece around her neck, smirking when Ryan let out a yelp as the cold, heavy metal touched her skin. "You look like the queen of some tribe of Amazons," she murmured as she took in the sight. "I want to take you upstairs and worship you all night long."
"Honey, I have to call your mother to thank her," Ryan protested. "I haven't even read the card!"
"Later," she insisted.
Wearing only her necklace and her jeans, Jamie led her through the parlor. The front door opened as Mia and Jordan came in from dinner.
Mia grabbed her mail, and started to leaf through it as the pair passed her. "Nice necklace," she said idly. "It goes great with that outfit."
It was nearly ten o'clock when Jamie had finished admiring the necklace from every angle. She was moments from sleep when Ryan shot up and said, "I have to call your mom!"
"She won't mind if you wait until tomorrow," Jamie sleepily assured her. "She'll just be glad to know how much we both enjoyed it."
"Uh-uh," Ryan said as she crawled out of the tangled mess of sheets. "I'll be back, hon. Go to sleep."
She slipped into a T-shirt and her discarded boxers and headed back downstairs. Mia was sitting in the living room with Jordan sprawled across the small sofa, her blonde head in Mia's lap. "Let me see that necklace, princess," the curly-haired woman demanded.
Ryan decided that their recent bout of lovemaking precluded her from being too close to the ever-observant Mia, so she reached behind her neck to unclasp the piece. Handing it to her she asked, "Nice, huh?"
"I'll say," Mia agreed wholeheartedly as she accepted the necklace. "Shit, this must have cost a fortune!"
"I'm sure it did. Silver isn't cheap!"
"This isn't silver, silly. It's platinum!"
"Are you sure?" Ryan asked weakly, plopping down on the arm of the sofa.
Journeys - SF10 Page 8