Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps

by Carla Kincaid

  Rachel stretched her body -- arms above her head, back arched -- like a well-fed cat. The grilled cheese sandwich and soup that Julie prepared had really hit the spot. Now that she was full, and the house was quiet, she could do some more research about the other partners at Brighton and Myers. Rachel had enjoyed her initial conversations with Joseph Brighton but she needed to know a little bit more about the other attorneys she'd be working with before making another career leap.

  Rachel pulled the blanket up to her neck -- leaving her arms free to tap the keys of her computer. She opened the bookmarked page and began to scan the faces of the Brighton & Myers attorneys. Ninety percent of them were men old enough to be her grandfather but that didn't really surprise Rachel. She knew part of the reason the firm was recruiting her so hard was that they were under pressure to hire some younger attorneys and increase their diversity numbers. After all, she was a twofer -- female and gay. The question was, did she really want to work an environment like that?

  Rachel scanned a list of current cases the firm had on the books. Mostly corporate stuff which meant she'd spend the majority of her time representing wealthy clients who were paying her to do everything in her power to maintain their wealth.

  Since passing the bar at 24, Rachel had spent the past six years moving up a strategically designed ladder of career advancement. Sure it meant that Philadelphia was the third city she'd lived in but it also meant she'd gained enough experience to be a serious candidate for the partnership track at a firm like Brighton and Myers. The question was, was that what she wanted at this point in her life? Or was there something else she was really longing for?

  Rachel's eyes lifted from her computer screen and she glanced around the room. She stared at the dresser lined with pictures of Gail, Claire, and Misty at various stages in their family's development. There was a photo of Gail and Claire alone at the beach. Judging by the lusty smiles they both wore the picture was probably taken early in their relationship. Next there was a picture of Gail with her arms wrapped around Claire's extended belly followed by a shot of the couple and Misty as the little girl took her first tentative steps. The two women looked content and happy and the toddler who held their gaze smiled with the grin of a well-loved child.

  Rachel let out a long sigh and let her head fall back on the pillow. Even if she did meet someone patient enough to put up with her strange ways, there was no guarantee that that person would be there forever. Wasn't it better not to risk all that pain and disappointment? Look at her parents. Their marriage barely lasted seven years leaving Rachel's mother devastated and depressed when it ended. No, it was better to go it alone, Rachel thought. Save yourself from the heartache.

  She must have dozed off with those thoughts floating around in her mind because the next thing Rachel knew she was startled awake by something cold brushing against her cheek.

  "What the?" she spoke into the darkness.

  The heavy breathing she heard next almost made Rachel jump out of the bed until her shifting body woke up her sleeping computer screen. The bright blueish light illuminated a pair of large round eyes -- and a long pink tongue panting in Rachel's direction.

  "Simon," she said shaking her head and willing her pulse to return to normal.

  The dog was sitting beside the bed with his feet propped up next to Rachel's pillow. The cold she'd felt on her cheek was undoubtedly Simon's nose touching her skin. Rachel wiped her face with the back of her hand and reminded herself that someone she cared about loved this furry beast so throwing him outside into the cold wasn't an option.

  "What do you want boy?" Rachel asked imitating the tender way she'd heard other pet owners speak to their four-legged children.

  The dog whined and twisted his body from side to side communicating who knows what with the little dance. A moment later Simon wiggled over to the bedroom door and scratched one paw against the wood.

  "Sorry, Simon," Rachel said apologetically. She distinctly remembered Gail telling her to leave the bedroom door cracked open so Simon could come and go from the room as he pleased.

  "We keep his water dish in the laundry room," Gail had explained. "With all that thick fur he sometimes gets thirsty in the middle of the night."

  It wasn't unreasonable, Rachel thought as she swung her feet to the floor. During the winter she usually kept a glass of water next to her bed because the forced air from the heating system made her dehydrated.

  "Come on, Simon," she said opening the bedroom door. "I could use some water too."

  Simon headed down the hall and made a beeline into the laundry room. When Rachel peeked in to see if he was okay, instead of standing at his dish Simon was sitting next to the back door.

  "I guess we are a little off your normal schedule tonight," she said realizing Simon wanted to go out and relieve himself. Rachel flipped the switch on the electric doggie door unlocking the dog-sized exit.

  "Go do your thing, Simon. But after that, we both need to get some sleep."

  Rachel watched Simon slip through the doggie door and then headed into the kitchen to get some water for herself. When she reached the doorway to the kitchen what she saw in front of her made her stop dead in her tracks.

  There -- bent over and illuminated by the refrigerator light -- was Julie doing some kind of wiggly dance. Each twist of her hips gave Rachel an unobstructed view of the lacy pink panties peeking out from under Julie's t-shirt. Rachel's breath caught in her throat -- and blood rushed to some sensitive places -- as she took in the sight.

  "Oh, hi!" Julie said as she stood up and turned around. "I was just looking for a snack. Would you like one?"

  She held out a package with two large chocolate cupcakes inside but that wasn't the sight that held Rachel's attention. Julie's lower half was hidden behind the island counter but the upper part of her body was in plain view. The cool refrigerator air must have made Julie a little chilly because Rachel could see her nipples standing at attention under her t-shirt.

  "What?" Rachel stuttered trying to focus on Julie's words and not her body. "Oh. A cupcake. Yeah. Sure."

  Rachel stepped forward to the counter just as Julie turned around and reached up to the cabinet behind her to retrieve a plate. The move gave Rachel another flash of pink and she could feel a surge of energy bubbling up from the lower part of her body. She quickly grabbed a cupcake from the open container and took a large bite.

  "Mmm," she said sensuously pretending her reaction was to the sweet treat.

  "I guess you're a chocolate lover," Julie said with a laugh.

  Rachel just nodded and closed her eyes replaying the Victoria's Secret scene she'd just witnessed in her mind.

  "So, what happened? You couldn't sleep either?" Julie asked.

  Rachel swallowed the bite of cupcake, opened her eyes and answered. "No. I was actually sound asleep but someone in my room wanted to play kissy-face." Rachel nodded her head toward the floor.

  Julie leaned around the island and burst out laughing when she saw Simon -- who'd come back in from the cold -- laying at Rachel's feet.

  "I think he's claimed you as his," she said jokingly.

  "Well, too bad for him I have to respond the way I do to all males. Sorry, fella. I don't swing that way."

  Julie laughed again and Rachel realized how much she liked hearing that sound. It was light and carefree with just a bit of sexy underneath.

  "I really shouldn't be eating this," Rachel said as she took another bite of the cupcake to mask the broad smile she felt erupting across her face.

  "Well, my philosophy is that calories don't count after midnight." Julie's sexy laugh filled the air again.

  "Do you get all your exercise from dancing?" Rachel asked as her mind wandered back to thoughts of Julie's body wiggling in front of the refrigerator.

  "Pretty much," Julie said with a shrug. "Between teaching dance and the yoga classes I take I'm able to stay in pretty good shape."

  Rachel felt a smile spreading across her face again but ther
e weren't any more cupcakes to hide her reaction. "You're lucky," she said instead. "I practically live at the gym when I'm not in the office. "This," she said holding up the empty cupcake wrapper. "... is going to cost me several extra hours on the treadmill."

  "Well, I'm sure we'll work off a lot of calories here this weekend," Julie said with a wink.

  Suddenly Rachel couldn't help but wonder what Julie had in mind. She began envisioning some fun physical activities that would at least burn a few calories.

  "Following behind a kid is some of the best exercise on earth," Julie said with a laugh.

  Rachel forced a smile and held in a sigh realizing the activities the two of them were thinking of were not the same. "Right. Misty does seem to be a pretty active little girl," Rachel said masking her disappointment.

  "She sure is. Speaking of, we'd better get to bed if we're going to make it through all of this." Julie pointed at the Christmas list pinned to the refrigerator with a snow-woman shaped magnet. "I'm excited about it though. I haven't done some of this stuff since I was a kid." Julie's finger slid down the list. "A sleigh ride. A photo with Santa! Christmas caroling! This is gonna be a lot of fun!"

  Rachel tried to match Julie's beaming smile but even the sight of the woman's perky breasts wiggling under her t-shirt could only make Rachel but so enthusiastic about the unavoidable holiday activities.

  "Yay," she said with fake enthusiasm. "Fun!"

  "Well, see you in the morning!" Julie stepped toward Rachel and for a moment Rachel thought she was going to kiss her. "Goodnight, Simon," Julie said leaning down to pet Simon instead.

  Rachel followed Julie down the hall, stopping in the laundry room to re-lock Simon's doggie door. When she stepped back into the hallway, Julie and her pink panties had already disappeared into her bedroom.

  "Fun," Rachel said again sarcastically, waving a finger in the air. "Woo Hoo."

  Chapter 4

  Gail had warned Julie and Rachel about how early Misty usually woke up but Julie just knew the little girl was going to sleep in given everything that happened the day before. So she was more than a little surprised when she woke up the next morning to find Misty sitting on the edge of her bed playing with one of her dolls. The weight of her forty-pound frame hadn't even moved the mattress enough to wake Julie up.

  At first, Julie was a little surprised that Misty had come into the guest room with Julie instead of her mothers' room with Rachel but the truth was Rachel still gave off a kind of tense vibe when it came to Misty and kids were pretty sensitive about that kind of stuff.

  "Hi there," Julie said.

  "Hi," Misty replied. "This is Tina," she said lifting her doll closer to Julie.

  "Hi, Tina," Julie replied cordially.

  "Tina is hungry. She wants waffles for breakfast."

  "Well, I better hurry up and fix Tina some waffles then, huh?"

  Misty shook her head up and down.

  "Can you help me make them?" Julie asked as she watched Misty twist a rather large scrunchy around the dolls curly locks. It made Tina look a little like a troll doll but Julie figured she should keep that critique to herself.

  "Yes, I can help!" Misty said tossing Tina aside and scrambling off the bed. She bolted down the hall leaving her doll behind to deal with her bad hair day on her own.

  "Alright. First, let's wash our hands," Julie said lifting Misty up to the sink.

  Of course, she had plenty of experience helping little ones maneuver through tasks like hand washing and getting dressed but it felt noticeably different standing in a home instead of at the studio. It was kind of exciting and made Julie wonder what kind of mother she'd be if she was ever lucky enough to find a partner and have a family.

  As Julie held Misty up to the sink, she glanced over at a picture on the side of the refrigerator. In it, Gail, Claire, Misty, and Simon were posing on the front porch of the house. The photo must have been at least two years old because both Misty and Simon were a lot smaller. The little family looked so happy to be together. Julie felt a pang in her heart as she looked down at the little girl in her arms. The thought of Misty being at home without either of her mommies made her feel sorry for Misty. At that moment, Julie vowed to make sure Claire's Christmas list was followed to the letter. She was going to make sure that Misty didn't miss out on anything while her mothers were away.

  "Good morning," croaked a voice behind her.

  "Morning!" Misty replied wiggling out of Julie's arms and dripping water all over herself and the floor.

  She hurried over to where Rachel was standing. Her short frame disappeared behind the island counter but judging from the shocked look on Rachel's face she must have been the recipient of a hearty morning hug.

  "I'm making waffles!" the disembodied voice announced.

  Rachel looked across the island at Julie. "Cupcakes and now waffles? I thought you liked me?" she said with a smile.

  I do! Julie said to herself as she smiled back. If you only knew how much. But that was a secret Julie wasn't ready to share just yet.

  ⛄️⛄️⛄️

  Once everyone was stuffed with waffles, Rachel headed to the hospital with Misty to see Gail and Julie took her truck to go pick up the auction table they had to abandon at Gail's shop after last night's emergency. Gail's assistant helped Julie load the table onto the truck and Julie drove it over to the Empowerment Now office.

  "Oh it's more beautiful than I'd imagined," Lorraine cooed as she and Julie lifted the table out of the truck bed and took it into the building. "Let's just sit it right here." Lorraine nodded toward a spot in the corner. "The silent auction committee will be in tonight to set up all the auction items. I'll let them decide where to put the table."

  "Um, speaking of the gala," Julie began timidly. "I don't think I'm going to be able to help finish with the decorations tonight. You see, Claire is out of town on a family emergency and Rachel and I are going to babysit Misty while Gail is in the hospital."

  "Oh, how sweet of the two of you! Don't you worry about a thing." Lorraine said quickly. "The rest of the committee can handle what's left of the decorating. What you and Rachel are doing is far more important."

  Julie let out a sigh of relief.

  "I do hope to see both of you at the gala though," Lorraine continued. "It would be ashamed to miss it after you both put in so much hard work."

  "We'll be here!" Julie said enthusiastically. Inside she was bubbling with excitement knowing she and Rachel would be coming to the event together. "Sarah and Natalie's babysitter said she'd watch both Misty and the twins so Rachel and I can attend the gala."

  "A couple's night away from the kids!" Lorraine said with a laugh.

  The comment stopped Julie in her tracks but Lorraine kept walking toward her office unaware of the emotional bomb she'd just dropped. "I've got to run," she said over her shoulder. "I've got a To-Do list a mile long!"

  Lorraine darted into her office and Julie headed back outside to her truck. She needed to get back to Gail's house to tackle a To-Do list of her own but before she could start the engine her cell phone sang out in a familiar ringtone. The melody to the theme song for The Golden Girls filled the air.

  "So tell me all about last night!" Sarah said as soon as Julie answered the call.

  Julie had texted her BFF cliff notes from the hospital summarizing the story about what happened to Gail, the request for Julie and Rachel to babysit and the unexpected, but longed for, gala date but she hadn't talked to Sarah yet this morning. From the sound of Sarah's voice, she was bursting with anticipation to hear more details.

  "Did the two of you have a romantic evening?" Sarah asked teasingly.

  Julie laughed and shook her head. "Sure, if you call a romantic evening sitting in a hospital waiting room trying to keep a five-year-old occupied so she didn't worry about her mother."