"Hey, don't forget about me," Rory piped up. "I'm not a bad teacher either."
"Would you be willing to help, Rory?" Ryan asked.
"I'd love to," he said enthusiastically. "I've got a lot of time on my hands when we're not touring. Ryan's more skilled with the clarinet, but I taught my little sister to read music, so I think I could manage that part of the lesson plan."
"Really? Will you really?" Jennie asked hopefully, with her eyes terribly wide.
"Absolutely," Rory replied. "What's your schedule like?"
"I don't have anything after school," she said. "I'm home by three."
"How about Wednesdays?" Ryan suggested. "I rarely have a game on Wednesday, and it's not usually a travel day."
Rory considered the logistics and suggested, "How about if I work with Jennie from five to seven at your house. When you get home we can eat dinner together, then you can give her a short lesson and some practice exercises for the week."
"That's a great idea," Ryan agreed. "How about it, Jen?"
"I'm in!" she gushed as she slapped Ryan's outstretched palm.
When Ryan came out of Rory's room, she spotted Jordan leaning over the railing of the second floor. She had a wistful look on her face as she gazed down at the boisterous party that raged just below, and she was so deep in her reverie that she didn't notice Ryan come up next to her. "Hey, buddy," Ryan said softly, so as to not jar her friend.
"Hi, Boom," she replied as she slipped her arm around her friend and rested her head on her shoulder.
"What's got you down?" Ryan asked, deciding to bring up the obvious.
"Oh, I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like I'll always be outside looking in," she said softly. "I look down on all of your relatives and see how happy and connected to each other they seem, and it feels like I'll never have that."
"I know you'll never have it from your family of origin, Jordan, but you can create your own family to sustain you."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, one way is to let someone in enough to really love you," she said softly. "When you allow yourself to really be loved, it's not that hard to extend your love to bring in others. Like Jamie," she said as she nodded her head at her partner down below. "It's hard to believe now, but she felt very distant from her family when I first met her. She was so starved for connection that she just jumped in with us like she'd been an O'Flaherty all her life. She's chosen to be in my family, Jordan, and she's added so much to the group in a very short time. Now her mom is one of us, too. It can just grow and build, if you're willing to take the leap."
"So I have to start flying my lesbian flag to get the ball rolling, huh?" she asked with a smirk.
"No. That's not required. I choose you as my sister," she said as she wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"I couldn't pick a better one," came Jordan's mumbled reply as she nuzzled her head against Ryan's neck.
It was almost noon, and both barbequed turkeys were just about done. Ryan checked her watch for the tenth time as she wondered where Sara and Ally were. Both of the women were chronically punctual, making her think that they were going to be no-shows. She had been up and down the stairs to the backyard so many times that she was a little overheated, so she decided to sit out on the deck for a few minutes to cool off before she began her feeding frenzy. To her surprise, Sara and Ally were sitting on facing chairs, both looking very comfortable.
Ryan stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips, giving her friends a scowl. "Were you two going to come in, or what?"
Sara blushed a little as she got up and made a vague gesture between Ally and herself. "We got here at the same time, and for some reason we both confessed to being nervous about going in," she revealed. "We sat down to chat, and we must have gotten carried away." She glanced at her watch and said, "My God! We've been out here an hour and a half!"
Ryan smiled at the pair and said, "You're actually here at the perfect time. We're going to eat soon."
Ally got up and wrapped Ryan in her powerful embrace, giving her a gentle but full kiss on the lips. Sara came up next to Ryan and, as Ally released her, gave her an awkward-looking hug. Their mouths nearly collided as Ryan went to kiss Sara's lips, but was offered a cheek. She pulled back quickly, and Sara tried for a mid-flight correction, but now Ryan was aiming for her cheek, managing only to hit her nose. They finally gave up, both looking a little sheepish.
"What can I do to make you guys feel more comfortable?" Ryan asked. "Sara, you know nearly everyone, so you don't need introductions, but Ally only knows Jamie." She turned to her larger friend and asked, "Do you want to meet everyone, or would you like to fly under the radar for a while?"
"If you don't mind, Ryan, I'd be grateful if I could just stay in the background," Ally said in her soft Southern drawl. "I hate to meet large groups of people."
"Stick with me," Sara offered. "I can point out all of the relatives for you and introduce you to anyone you'd like to meet."
"Now that's the best idea I've heard all day," Ally said, her eyes flashing with interest.
Where's the girlfriend? Ryan wondered somewhat peevishly. I thought you were going to get serious about her? Instead of voicing her pique, Ryan pasted on a smile and led the women inside, pleased when not many eyes turned their way.
Jamie, of course, spotted them right away, and she came over immediately and offered a warm hug to each woman. "Would you like me to introduce you to everyone?" she asked brightly.
"Already taken care of," Ryan informed her. Looking around the room she looked to Sara and said, "The lovely woman in that corner is Jamie's mom, Catherine, and I think you know everyone else on the first floor."
"I do," she agreed, "but some of them are a lot bigger than the last time I saw them."
Ryan smiled and said, "Testosterone does a body good. Those critical early 20's gave some of the boys new bodies."
"That's rather obvious, Ryan. Boy, you should have asked some of your straight friends over."
"Are you non-straight, Sara?" Ally asked, her eyes becoming hooded.
The brunette flushed, still very uncomfortable at revealing her sexual orientation. "I'm uh…I'm a lesbian, Ally."
Something about her tone and her obvious discomfort let Ally know this was new territory for the woman. She smiled rakishly and said, "Welcome to the club! Let me know if you need a tour guide."
Oh please! She'll never fall for that line! Ryan screamed internally. But to her displeasure, Sara smiled broadly at the larger woman and nodded her head slowly. "I could use a good tour, Ally. I've just officially joined."
"Well, I've been a member for years and years," Ally assured her. "I'll clue you in on all the attractions."
If you even think of taking her to Good Vibrations, I'll kill you with my bare hands!
Martin saw Sara come in, and after fighting through the crowd he gave her a warm hug and said, "My goodness, you've become a beautiful young woman!"
"Thanks, Mr. O'Flaherty," she blushed. "I really appreciate the invitation today."
"You're required to call me Martin now," he insisted. Maeve came up beside him and captured Sara in a hug also.
"We're so glad you came, Sara. I hope we'll see you again often," she added.
"I'd like that Mrs. Drisc…O'Flaherty," she finished weakly.
"It's Maeve, dear."
"Okay, Maeve it is," she smiled. "Do both of you know Ryan's friend Ally?"
"No, we've not had the pleasure," Martin said, his eyes lighting up in surprise. "I've heard Siobhan speak of you for years, Ally, but somehow we've never met."
The large woman looked a little puzzled, but graciously greeted her hosts. Ryan was standing across the room, and she was pleased that Sara was introducing Ally to a few important people. Conor came up beside her and asked, "Who's with Sara? She looks like one of the women from the World Wrestling Federation."
"Nice," Ryan said, her face expressing her disapproval of her brother's description. "That's an old friend o
f mine."
"Old friend," Conor said slowly. "You don't have any old friends that you didn't…" He looked from Ally to his sister and finally said, "You hit that?"
"Pardon me?" she said with exaggerated slowness.
"Did you hook up with her?" he asked, trying another expression when Ryan didn't reply.
"Did you have an operation to remove all of your tact, or did it just seep out through the hole in your head?" She was obviously perturbed, but he honestly couldn't figure out why.
"I asked a simple question, Sis. She doesn't look anything like your type, and I just wanted to know if you bumped boots with her. No biggie."
"Yes, Conor," she said through clenched teeth. "I bumped her boots and everything else. That's my friend Ally."
"That's Ally!?" He said this loudly enough to be heard across the room, but luckily the crowd noise was far too loud for his voice to carry above it.
"Yes, that's Ally. And I'd prefer that you didn't stare at her!"
"You…you…you had sex with her for years!" he gasped. "She's…she's so butch! That can't work, Ryan," he insisted. "You're butch!"
"Well, at least somebody thinks so," she muttered aloud as she wandered off.
Ryan decided that her friends needed to meet Jennie, and she dragged them upstairs with her. Rory was playing a lively tune on his accordion for his appreciative audience. Jordan was sitting on the floor watching in rapt fascination, Jennie was sitting right next to her. Jordan had her arm casually draped around the young woman's shoulders, and Ryan briefly thought, That's always the way to make yourself feel better. Reach out to someone less fortunate.
Rory quickly concluded his little tune and placed his instrument on the bed as he rose to shake hands with first Sara and then Ally. His sunny demeanor gave no indication of past ill feelings, and as Jordan and Jennie struggled to get up, Ryan urged them to remain seated. "These are my good friends Sara Andrews and Ally Webster," she said. "This is Jordan Ericsson and Jennie Willis."
"Good to meet you both," Sara said as she squatted a bit to shake their extended hands. "I saw your last game, Jordan," she added. "Quite a performance."
"Thanks," she said as she shot her a dazzling smile. "Having Ryan on the team made this season a lot easier."
"You don't have to tell me," she laughed. "She turned our soccer team around in one year."
"We'll feed you guys even without the bull," Ryan smirked. "Hey, you two have something in common."
"What's that?" Jordan asked.
"You're both waiting for some life-changing news."
"I'm waiting for bar results," Sara volunteered. "What about you, Jordan?"
"I should find out by Monday if I'm invited to try out for the national volleyball team," she said shyly.
"That's so cool!" Jennie piped up, but after a second she added, "What's that mean?"
Jordan gave her a little squeeze as she laughed and said, "That's the kind of reaction I like! You think it's cool even when you don't know the significance." She rubbed Jennie's head affectionately as she told her, "They have a team that spends the next year getting ready to participate in the summer Olympics. You have to get invited to try out, and they might ask me."
"Wow!" she said with open-mouthed amazement. "That's awesome!"
"Well, I'm not sure I'll get invited…"
"You'll make it," Ryan assured her. "You had a fantastic year."
"What about you, Ryan?" Sara asked.
"No, I don't think so. They like to see a real commitment to the game. My checkered career doesn't show the focus that they want."
"I don't know, Boomer," Jordan opined. "You might be surprised."
"Boomer?" Sara said with a delighted grin. "Did you say Boomer?"
Jordan got to her feet and lightly touched both Sara and Ally on their shoulders. "Let's go snag some snacks, and I'll tell you all of her many nicknames."
Great, now the whole world will have ammunition, Ryan grumbled to herself.
Ryan left Jennie in Rory's capable hands and went to search for her partner. I haven't seen that little scamp all day, she mused as she was stopped repeatedly by her various relatives for a few words or well wishes on her upcoming road trip.
She finally found Catherine carrying Caitlin around. "Ryan, have you been photographed yet?" the older woman asked.
"Nooo, I don't know what you mean."
"Didn't Jamie tell you what she was going to do?"
"Nooo, not that I'm surprised, of course," she smirked.
"Well, let's go outside," Catherine urged. Ryan threaded through the throng and stood on the small open porch off the second floor overlooking the little photo studio in front of the stately crape myrtle in the far corner of the small yard.
"Where did she…?" Ryan started to ask.
"I have no idea where she got the idea, but she's been snapping away for over an hour."
They walked down the stairs and observed Malachy, Peggy, Padraig, Liam, Declan, and Dermot posing for their family portrait. Two large bounce umbrellas were arranged, along with studio quality lights and a very large square format camera on a sturdy tripod. They waited patiently while Jamie finished with the family, but as soon as they broke the pose Ryan came up right behind Jamie and leaned over severely. Their faces were nearly touching and she was rewarded with a gentle kiss. "Like my setup?" Jamie asked lightly.
"How…?"
"I wanted to have some family portraits taken. I called around, but it was just ridiculous how much portrait photographers wanted to spend a couple of hours here. So I decided to rent a whole setup. I took a lot of photography classes when I was in high school, and it all came back to me when I went to the camera store to rent this stuff. Cool, huh?"
"You are very, very cool," Ryan said with appreciation. "You're positively frosty."
"Well, it's about your turn, gorgeous," she informed her. "I want some with you and the baby, some with you and my mom, and some with your immediate family. Oh, and you and Jennie, and you and Jordan, and you and Sara, and you and Ally."
"How about you and me?" Ryan asked, her brow furrowed.
"Hmm, I guess that would be okay," Jamie mused thoughtfully, hiding her grin.
"Catherine, would you do the honors?" Ryan asked as Jamie showed her how to snap the shutter.
They posed for a few cute pictures with the baby, but when Jordan, Sara, and Ally came down, Caitlin spotted them and immediately changed her allegiance. "Do you mind babysitting for a few minutes?" Ryan asked.
"Only at your own risk, Ryan," Sara said as she swooped the baby into her arms. "No guarantees on when you'll get her back!"
They posed for a few more pictures, and Catherine was very pleased with the result. She gave them one bit of direction, suggesting that they lean their heads against each other. "You do that so often, it just looks very natural," she said.
"Kiss shot, kiss shot!" Jordan urged.
Ryan rolled her eyes, but Jordan reminded her, "It's the only way I see you two most of the time!"
One of her props was a small step stool, so Jamie climbed onto the lowest step to equalize their heights. Ryan stood very close and gazed at her with such love in her eyes that Catherine had to capture the moment. "We're not ready," Jamie complained.
"Ryan was," she said as she shrugged her shoulders. They leaned in towards each other for a gentle kiss, and just before the shutter closed Jamie placed her hand lightly on Ryan's cheek to recreate the sensation that the dark woman loved. That caused Ryan's mouth to curl into a sweet smile that was captured perfectly as Catherine caught them just millimeters before their lips actually touched. "Perfect!" she cried as they broke apart.
"Okay, Jordan, hop in with Boomer," Jamie instructed.
The two friends smiled up at the camera with their arms casually draped around each other's shoulders, looking very much like the athletes they were. Next Jamie turned to Sara and said, "You're up."
Sara blinked a few times, but wordlessly handed the baby to Jordan as she stood
a little tentatively next to Ryan. Ryan obviously felt very comfortable, because she snaked an arm around Sara's waist and pulled her close. She grinned up at Jamie, and just for an instant Jamie saw a flash of the innocent, guileless face that graced the high school pictures she so loved of her partner. In that moment, she was terribly glad that Sara was back in Ryan's life. If she can bring some of that childlike sparkle back into those baby blues, I'm glad she's back, she thought decisively.
A cute shot of Ryan with Ally was next, and Jamie smirked to herself as she saw Ryan's whole demeanor change when the large woman put her arm around her. Ryan's gonna spit when she sees these photos, Jamie decided. I'm certain that she has no idea she looks like a blushing schoolgirl when Ally puts her arms around her.
Next came a few adorable shots with Ryan and Catherine. They held the baby between them, and Jamie had to laugh when Caitlin looked directly into the camera, just like Ryan did. Another model, she said to herself.
Jordan then took a few with Jamie added to the portrait, and while Catherine went to grab the boys and Martin and Maeve, Ryan insisted on several shots with her and Duffy. Martin came down the stairs grumbling loudly, "Dinner's 20 minutes from being ready, girls! Do we have to do this now?"
"Yes, Da," she reassured him. "We'll all have our pants unbuttoned after dinner!"
Even though he complained, Ryan knew he was pleased to have this opportunity. He was clearly a photo nut--as evidenced by the plethora of shots that filled every room in the house--but very few of the shots were professionally done. He had always wanted some formal shots of the whole family, but they had just never gotten around to it.
It took a few minutes to get all of the boys organized, and they were ready to go when Maeve slid into the group and smiled so brightly that Catherine got a tear in her eye just looking at the scene. Martin gazed down at her with a look of pure devotion, and she snapped the shutter immediately without them even noticing. Several posed shots later, Martin and Maeve agreed to a few alone, and when they were finished they nearly ran back into the house to finish dinner.
Jamie got a few shots of Ryan and Jennie together, then she called a halt to her duties until dinner was finished.
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