Part 25 (1/2)

Beth softly smiled. ”Hmm* I just thought I saw something between you two when you came over last week. I must have been wrong.” Then, tilting her head trying to see into Chris's eyes, she asked, ”Was I wrong?”

Chris's face turned red. She was not ready to discuss this topic. She was certainly not ready to admit anything.

Getting no response, Beth continued along the line of questioning. ”So, I guess I don't understand, are you upset because you think that she lied to you, or because of her feelings for you, or because she thought you had feelings for her?”

Chris shrugged in response.

”Okay, let's take one thing at a time. Do you think that she's a different person than she led you to believe?”

”Well, not really a different person*”

”Tell me what you know about her, and I'll tell you if she's different than she led you to believe.”

Chris thought a minute. ”No, you tell me about what she's really like, then I'll know that you're not just agreeing with me.”

”Okay,” Beth nodded. ”She has her good points, she's kind, caring, always willing to help someone out, sensitive to people's needs.”

Chris nodded in agreement.

Beth continued, ”But she has her bad points, she's stubborn and headstrong, she has a bad temper* which we all saw tonight. She's extremely intelligent, athletic, she has a really great a.s.s*”

Chris looked at her in contusion. ”That's a bad thing?”

Beth blushed. ”It is when you're already married!” she said, elbowing Chris in the side. ”Have you ever noticed how defined her thigh muscles are? Sometimes, I ask her to get me something just so I can watch her walk across the room!” Beth exclaimed.

”Yeah, and her arms are so strong, when they're around you, you feel so safe and warm* and then she looks at you, and you just get lost in her eyes*” Chris stopped, realizing what she had said.

Beth softly smiled and continued the conversation, ”And those lips, I bet they're soft, huh?”

”I don't know, I never could*” Chris answered, lost in thought.

”But you wanted to?” Beth questioned in a soft voice.

Chris lowered her eyes, slowly shook her head, and whispered so only Beth could hear, ”That would make me a lesbian.”

Beth put her arm around Chris's shoulder and pulled her close. ”Well, it sounds to me like you have feelings for Lynn. I think that's what you need to concentrate on, not on the fact that you have feelings for a woman.”

Chris smiled through her tears. As she pulled out of the embrace she looked Beth straight in the eye. ”You don't really have a thing for Lynn, do you?”

Beth smiled and shook her head. ”Sam's the only woman for me.” Then she added teasingly, ”But if anything ever happened to Sam, Lynn just might be my second choice.”

The three sat down to enjoy the dinner Beth had prepared.

”I'm glad you decided to stay. I made enough enchiladas for an army!” Beth said.

”I can never pa.s.s up Mexican food,” Chris explained as she helped herself to a heaping portion.

Sam was still in her own thoughts as she quietly helped herself. Beth had tried to get her to lighten up earlier but was unsuccessful. The three ate in silence.

Chris was going over the conversation she had had with Beth in her mind. She couldn't help but concentrate on the fact that she had feelings for a woman, and she still wasn't sure it was love.

”So, were you lesbians when you met each other?” she asked her dining companions.

Sam almost choked when posed the question. ”Didn't Lynn tell you how we met?”

Chris shook her head as she took another bite.

Beth spoke first. ”Sam is my former sister-in-law,”

It was Chris's turn to choke. ”Really? This sounds like a good story!”

Sam smiled as she began. ”Well, my brother and I never quite got along. He could never accept the fact that his sister was a d.y.k.e, so he basically pretended I didn't exist.”

”She wasn't even invited to the wedding!” Beth added.

Sam nodded and continued, ”My parents were furious with him. As a gesture of good faith, he accepted an invitation to Christmas dinner, even though he knew I would be there.”

”So the first time you met was at Christmas? How long had it been since the wedding?” Chris asked curiously.

”Almost a year,” Sam answered and proceeded with the story. ”So here it was Christmas*”

”Wait, wait, you have to fill her in on what had happened that year,” Beth interrupted and then explained, ”During that time, I had a miscarriage. Robert, her brother, was really upset. Blamed the whole incident on me. Said I had worked too much during the pregnancy. Anyway, I'm ashamed to admit it but the whole situation drove me to drink. I had just started going to AA meetings when Christinas rolled around.” Turning to Sam she said, ”Okay, honey, go on*”

”So here it was Christmas,” Sam continued the story, ”Beth and Robert arrived, we were introduced, and then he pulls out this bottle of wine and proceeds to uncork it. Well, I had heard about Beth being a recovering alcoholic, and told him that I thought it was really insensitive of him to drink in front of her. That didn't go over too well with him, but I guess it made quite an impression on Beth.”

”It was like we instantly connected. We spent the rest of the day laughing and joking. This made Robert really angry, but I didn't really care. We were having serious problems at the time, so I basically ignored him,” Beth explained.

”So anyway, six months go by and I don't hear a word. Then all of a sudden one day, I get this phone call,” Sam exclaimed.

Beth continued the story, ”I had gone by to tell Sam's parents that I had filed for divorce. I thought that it was going to be a really awful situation, but they weren't really surprised at all. In fact, when I told them that I was moving out the next day, they suggested that I call Sam for help. Can you believe it? Her parents actually pus.h.i.+ng us together like that?”

Sam smiled and reached for Beth's hand. ”So she calls me and asks if I can come help her move some of her things. We spent the day moving her stuff to an apartment and then she asks me if I would go out and help her celebrate. Not just the divorce, but six months of sobriety.”

Beth laughed. ”Then she had to tell me that she owned a bar. That went over real big with me, but we worked it out. Three months later, I broke my lease and moved in with Sam.”

Chris shook her head in disbelief. ”So your family is cool with the whole thing?”

Sam looked at Beth and they both laughed. ”My parents are fine with it. But boy is Robert p.i.s.sed!”

”Yeah, especially since I kept his last name. Now Sam and I are like a real married couple. The same last name and everything!”

Sam got up from the table to get another soda. Chris leaned over and quietly asked, ”So if you weren't a lesbian when you met Sam, how did you make the decision to become one?”

Beth put her fork down, looked into s.p.a.ce, and smiled. ”I fell in love.” Turning to Chris she added, ”I had never really been in love before I met Sam. Whatever I felt for Robert, at the time I thought it was love, but it wasn't. I made a connection with Sam* I still can't explain it* I just felt it.”