Finding Home
Page 7
Olivia grabbed her bag and headed for the bar. She hoped Frankie would show up but wasn’t counting on it. Veronica and Alice would have plenty of new stories to entertain them. If Frankie didn’t show up Olivia, hadn’t planned to stay long, especially without Sofia.
She walked into the bar and looked around, not seeing Veronica anywhere. Their usual table was full. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Stacy waving her over to a different table.
“Hi, where is everyone?” Olivia asked, sitting across from Stacy where she could still see the door.
“I’m not sure. Veronica said she couldn’t be here tonight and I thought I saw Alice in the parking lot with her girlfriend so she may not be coming either. Looks like it’s just you and me,” said Stacy.
This is just great thought Olivia. She really didn’t want to be with Stacy alone; afraid it would give her the wrong idea.
“Let me get you a beer, I’ll be right back,” Stacy said, hopping up before Olivia could object.
She thought about texting Sofia but then stopped herself. You’re a grown woman, have a beer then leave, she thought. If things get uncomfortable, she’d let Stacy down easy.
Stacy brought her a beer and sat down beside her. “How was your week?”
“Not bad, yours?”
“I always look forward to our class. It’s the best way to wind down.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Hey, since it’s just us, would you like to get something to eat or go somewhere else?”
“No, I’m supposed to meet someone here.” Olivia didn’t know why she said that. She wasn’t sure Frankie was coming and she should have told Stacy she wasn’t interested.
“Oh. Well, I’ll wait with you. I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“That’s sweet, but I’ll be fine.” Olivia felt very uncomfortable now. She excused herself and went to the restroom.
***
Frankie quickly picked up the weight area and went to the office to grab her backpack.
“Where are you running off to in such a hurry,” asked Stella.
“My strength group meets at the bar on the corner after class and they’ve invited me several times so I thought I might stop by tonight.”
“Olivia King wouldn’t happen to be there, would she?” asked Desi with a hand on her hip.
“Maybe.” Frankie said looking from one to the other.
“I thought you didn’t feel comfortable asking her out since you’re her instructor?” Stella said, her eyebrows raised.
“I know I said that it’s not a good idea for us to ask our clients out. But what if a client asks us out?”
“Look Frankie, you’re the one that has it in your head about asking clients out. It’s not policy. Did someone ask you out?” asked Stella, her voice rising with excitement.
“I told Olivia about Laura and the wedding. She knows it’s next Saturday and wanted to take me out to get my mind off it.”
“That’s so nice. You said yes, didn’t you?” Stella said, nodding her head.
“Yeah and I’m looking forward to it.”
“I heard her remind you about the meet up yesterday,” said Desi.
“So why are you still here? Go!” Stella said, pushing her out the door.
***
Olivia walked out of the restroom just as Frankie walked into the bar. She’d never been so happy to see someone in her life. She put her arm through Frankie’s and pulled her out of Stacy’s line of sight.
“Well, hi,” Frankie said startled.
“Hi, I need your help,” Olivia said looking at Frankie, her eyes pleading. “I might have told a white lie and said someone was meeting me here tonight.”
“That’s not a lie. I came here because you invited me if you’ll remember.”
Olivia let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and gave Frankie her best smile. She led them over to where Stacy was sitting.
“Hi Frankie, did you finally decide to meet us?”
“Actually, I was here to meet Olivia,” Frankie said, reading the situation..
“Oh, that’s who you were waiting on,” Stacy said to Olivia.
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure she was going to come by.”
“No problem, I’ll leave you to it, have a nice weekend,” Stacy said and left.
Olivia turned to Frankie and said, “Thank you. Stacy has been hitting on me nearly every time we come here, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings. I didn’t know we were going to be the only two tonight or I wouldn’t have stayed.”
“Why did you?”
“Because I was hoping you’d come by tonight,” Olivia said, locking eyes with Frankie.
Frankie smiled and gestured for Olivia to sit, “Then, may I buy you a drink?”
Olivia returned Frankie’s smile, “Shouldn’t I buy since you rescued me?”
Frankie sat and waved the waitress over. They stayed for both drinks and the conversation never waned. Olivia walked Frankie to her Jeep thanking her again and smiled to herself as she got in her car. Training for this triathlon just became much more fun.
Chapter 8
Olivia rode her bike into the Your Way parking lot and saw Frankie waiting. Moments from the other night kept running through her mind. She remembered how Frankie’s eyes crinkled when she laughed, and that laugh, it was sexy and it woke something inside Olivia she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She was looking forward to this ride and especially spending time with Frankie.
“Hey you, are you waiting on someone?” she said playfully.
Frankie chuckled, “I met this beautiful woman in a bar and convinced her to go for a bike ride around the lake today.”
“Hmm, you must be a sweet talker, isn’t that ride kind of long?”
Frankie laughed, “I thought we could stop for a treat along the way. Have you ever ridden around the lake on a bike?”
“Nope.”
“Good. It looks totally different on two wheels. Ready?”
“Oh, you mean I’m the beautiful woman you’re waiting for,” Olivia teased, placing her hand to her chest for added drama.
Frankie’s eyes locked onto Olivia’s, thinking she might be the woman she’s been waiting for her whole life. “You’re the one.”
They set off and rode side by side when they could, enjoying easy conversation. The day was beautiful with little wind and the traffic was light around the lake. Frankie was right, the sun reflected off the water’s shimmering waves, lazily coming to shore and it was a beautiful sight. Frankie turned off on a little dirt road that ended at the water. Olivia pulled up next to her.
“Ready for a little rest and a snack.”
“Sure,” Olivia said, taking off her helmet.
“I brought an extra water bottle if you need it,” Frankie said while sitting down near the water and stretching her legs out in front of her.
“I’m good,” Olivia said, sitting next to her.
“I have trail mix and bananas, help yourself,” Frankie said, opening the container of trail mix and setting it between them.
“Thanks. This is a nice little hideaway you have.”
“Yeah, I used to come here a lot when I was younger.”
“This might be a good place to sneak off with a girlfriend,” Olivia said playfully.
Frankie chuckled, “You might be right.”
“I hear a story in those words. Come on, spill.”
Frankie sat up and faced Olivia, “When I was in high school, I knew I was attracted to girls but that was all, I had never had a girlfriend or anything, until one summer I met a girl that was visiting her grandmother. She was older and in college. We became friends and I was crazy about her.”
Olivia smiled urging Frankie to continue.
“The first time she kissed me I thought I was going to die. Needless to say, I fell head over heels in love. We spent a lot of time together until the summer ended and she went back to school. My family and friends had no idea, they just thought
we were friends.”
“What happened?”
“We stayed in contact and one day she mailed me a card. She would do that sometimes, but this card was full of feelings and how much she missed me. My mother opened it before I got home from school. I still don’t know why she did that because she’d never opened my mail before,” Frankie said looking off as if reliving it all over again. She took a deep breath and continued.
“When I got home from school my parents were waiting for me. They wanted me to see a counselor and they didn’t want me to see her again. I was crushed and confused.”
“I’m sure you were,” Olivia said compassionately. “What happened?”
“I refused to see a counselor, but I remember feeling like I’d done something wrong.”
“What happened with the girl?”
“Occasionally we’d sneak around and see one another when she’d visit her grandmother. I’d get a text when she’d come to town but, other than that we didn’t communicate. I was broken hearted, confused, and sixteen years old. That threw me right into the closet until I went to college.”
“That’s terrible, Frankie! I’m so sorry that happened to you. How is your relationship with your parents now?”
“Now, it’s good. I think they came to realize that it wasn’t a bad thing to have a lesbian daughter. I got past the anger and hurt, because I knew in their minds that they thought they were doing what was best for me, you know?”
“Yes, but that’s still hard. I’m glad you get along with them now. What happened to the girl?”
“I would hear from her occasionally, but I haven’t in a long time. Last I heard she was married to a woman and had a bunch of kids.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Olivia reached out and took Frankie’s hand as they both looked out over the water.
“To this day, sometimes, when I meet someone new, I feel apprehensive if they don’t know I’m gay. And that’s crazy! I’m not ashamed of who I am, but those wounds run deep and that fear of disappointment will bubble to the surface.”
“Disappointment?”
“I have always been close to my parents and never wanted to disappoint them. I went back and forth about whether it’s wrong to be gay and what people will think and I never wanted to bring them shame or embarrassment.”
Olivia nodded her head and stroked the back of Frankie’s hand with her thumb.
Frankie turned to Olivia with a sad smile, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you down.”
“You didn’t. Thanks for sharing that with me.”
“I’m surprised I did.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t told many people about that or talked about it in a long time.”
“I’m glad you felt like you could share it with me.”
“Me too. Please tell me your coming out was better than mine.”
Olivia smiled, “It was. It’s just my mom and me and she knew before I did, or she claims she did.”
“Well, I’m glad. Coming out is hard no matter how old you are or when you figure it out.”
“Wait until you meet my mom, you’ll see why that part wasn’t so bad. She’s easy to talk to and simply a nice person.”
“Well, I’d love to meet her and I’d say her daughter is just like her.”
Olivia blushed and looked away. “What is it with you, Miss Fitness Instructor? I thought we were supposed to be training?” Olivia said teasing.
“It’s you! I seem to forget we’re training and not simply enjoying the day. But don’t tell Desi and Stella, they’ll think I’m losing my tough trainer image.”
They both laughed and Olivia said, “Come on, we’d better head back. I have a little work to do when I get home.”
“How is the project going?”
“It’s progressing, the lots are selling. That’s always a good thing.”
“I’ll have to ride out there this week.”
Olivia had a pained look on her face.
“What?”
“It’s just that I was going to surprise you Saturday and give you the real tour.”
“You were!” Frankie said, obviously excited.
“Yeah, I thought if anything could take your mind off of that evening it’d be those houses.”
“You’d be right. Sorry I ruined your surprise.”
“You didn’t ruin it. I may have a few other surprises tucked away.”
Frankie’s smile grew, “I can’t wait.”
***
Olivia walked through the door to the pool area and saw Stella sliding off her cover-up. She smiled as Olivia approached.
“Good morning.”
“Hi Stella, how was your weekend?”
“My weekend was uneventful, just as I planned.”
Olivia chuckled, “Well, good for you.”
“How about yours?”
“It was good,” Olivia said smiling and thinking back to drinks with Frankie on Friday and their bike ride yesterday. They were getting to know one another better and Olivia found she was looking for ways to see Frankie on days she didn’t have class.
“Hmm, that smile wouldn’t have to do with anyone I might know, would it?”
Olivia didn’t even realize she was smiling. She thought about making something up but it was pointless, Stella knew why she was smiling. “It could be. Do you know… oh, who am I kidding,” she said laughing. “Yes, Frankie is why I’m smiling.”
“Well, it looks lovely on you. So are you going to tell me about your weekend?”
“Frankie helped me out of a situation Friday night at the bar with another woman. So we stayed and had a couple of drinks and talked.”
“A situation?”
Olivia recounted to Stella what happened.
“You know, Stacy isn’t the only one I’ve seen at the gym noticing you, Olivia.”
“What?”
“You haven’t noticed, I take it.”
“Not at all.”
“Oh come on, surely you’ve seen the smiles when you walk by. I have.”
Olivia didn’t know what to say. She really hadn’t noticed anything different. People were friendly when she walked by and she had conversations with some of the people in her class. But this made her wonder, “Stella, do you think these people are noticing me now because I’ve lost weight?”
Stella studied Olivia for a moment before replying, “What are you really trying to ask me, Olivia?”
“I guess what I mean is, body image and mental health are big issues right now with emphasis on loving your body no matter the size. But isn’t the same thing still happening if these people didn’t notice me before I lost weight.”
Stella took Olivia’s hand and led her to a bench by the pool and they both sat. “I can’t speak for the people in the gym, but I can tell you what I see. Yes, you’ve lost weight. We wouldn’t be very good at our jobs if you hadn’t since that was your goal when you came to us.” Stella paused and found Olivia’s eyes and continued, “But what I see when you open that door is a happy face with a confident stride. You look friendly, approachable and beautiful. That has nothing to do with your weight.”
Olivia thought about what Stella said for a moment. “I didn’t feel like a confident beautiful woman when I first came to the gym. But I do now and is that because I’ve lost weight?”
Stella narrowed her eyes, “Do you really think it’s because you’ve lost weight?”
“Here’s what I know, I like coming to class and not because I’m lifting weights. I look forward to seeing you and Frankie and Desi and the people in my class or people I have met while doing other activities. So the change in me isn’t because I’ve lost weight necessarily, but because you’ve all become my friends.”
“But in your mind you still get stuck on body image, don’t you?”
“Kind of. I used to think that no one wanted to go out with me because I was overweight, but I’m beginning to see that wasn’t necessarily true. I’m sure the vibes I gave off weren’t
always positive and that’s not inviting.”
“And the vibes you’re giving off now?”
“Well, they’re better but …,” Olivia contemplated talking to Stella about Frankie. She still had conflicting thoughts and emotions flying around her head.
Stella quirked an eyebrow, “But?”
“Aren’t we supposed to be swimming?”
“Missing a swim isn’t going to kill us.”
Olivia made up her mind, “When I first came to the gym, Frankie showed me around and I felt something between us. That unnamed tug that drew me to her and I think she felt it too. And I realized how idiotic that was, because look at Frankie, she could have anyone she wanted. She surely wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.”
“Oh Olivia!”
Olivia put her hand up, stopping Stella, “And then, I signed up for her class and she invited me to ride bikes with her and we’ve become friends. I know now that was a horrible thing to think about her because she’s not like that at all but, that’s where I was then.”
“And that tug that drew you to her, is it still there?”
A slow smile came to Olivia’s face, “Even more so.”
“Let me tell you a little secret, in case you weren’t sure, Frankie feels it too.”
Olivia’s smile grew, “We’ve been riding bikes a couple of times a week since I signed up for the triathlon and getting to know each other better. We’re kind of going on a date Saturday.”
“Kind of?”
“Yeah, she told me about her ex, Laura. She’s getting married Saturday and I told her we’d do something to keep her mind off it.”
“That’s really nice, Olivia.”
“I know that has to hurt even though she says she’s past her feelings for Laura. And, I didn’t want her to have to go through that day alone.”
“You’re a good friend. And I’m so glad you’ve come into our lives,” she said, pulling Olivia into a hug.
“I am, too,” she said hugging Stella back. “We didn’t get much swimming done?”
“I think we gave your heart and head muscle a good workout, don’t you,” Stella said laughing.
“We sure did. But I’d best get changed, I do still have to go to work.”