Burn the Brightest (4 page)

Edith's stomach got her out of bed before Jo woke up. She was in the kitchen, putting together an omelet, when she heard the bedroom door open, and then another door close—the bathroom, probably.

A few moments later, Jo padded into the kitchen, back in her jeans and t-shirt. Edith, concentrating on slicing peppers, thought for a moment that Jo hadn't seen her message.

Then, Jo came up behind her, wrapped her arms around Edith's waist and kissed the back of her neck, same way she had earlier.

"I have to," she said, so quiet that Edith could pretend she hadn't heard it.

"I know," she said instead.

They said goodbye at Jo's apartment, but Edith still went to the base to see the unit off, telling herself it was moral support for Tara, who was brilliant at being upbeat through the farewells, right up until the departing sailors couldn't see her any more, at which point she invariably burst into tears and wasn't fit to drive herself home.

Jo hugged her, at the last moment, the others already beginning to drift toward the ship.

"Wait for me," she whispered in Edith's ear. "I promise I'll come home in one piece."

"Be safe," Edith said, instead of what she wanted to say:
I don't believe you.

Emily Moreton started writing when she was a young girl, mostly stories featuring her and her sister bravely taking on the world and winning (well, the back garden, anyway). Fortunately, her writing diversified as she got older, though it does still include the occasional bit of saving the world (not by her, though). Emily has had several short stories published, including in a charity anthology to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, which was nominated for the Push Cart awards.

She now mostly writes gay and lesbian erotic romance (with very little saving the world) and is hoping to start work on a novel just as soon as that mythical thing known as free-time manifests itself.

Emily lives in Bristol, England, where she currently works four jobs in various community settings, and lives in a rooftop flat by a railway line. Aside from writing, she spends most of her time volunteering at a local theatre, and trying not to break anything important while on ice skates.