Lesbian Stepmother (21 page)

Her face lit up when she saw me, and it warmed my
heart. There was no way someone could smile like that if they
weren’t legitimately glad to see you. I was glad to see her,
too, with her gorgeous blonde hair blowing in the wind, and her
adorable face and her bright blue eyes. She had on her white faux
fur coat again, and was carrying another bundle of dishes. “Amy!
Hi!”

“Hi Susan.” I held the door open for her,
and she climbed in.

My father put his papers down for a moment and rushed
over to take the dishes out of her hands. He also gave her a little
kiss, but it’s barely worth mentioning. He gave her half a
smile and said, “Nice to see you.”

Susan kissed him back and made a joke about not seeing
him for over two hours. He nodded politely and carried the food into
the kitchen.

I shut the door and stepped closer to her as she was
removing her coat. I couldn’t wait to see what she was
wearing. She was really here! My heart was racing as if she were
mine. The exotic, subtle scent of her perfume filled the room,
making me almost swoon. “May I take your coat?”

She smiled at me and handed it over. “Thank you
very much.”

“You’re very welcome.” I folded the
coat very carefully, trying not to let her see that I was kind of
hugging it to me and inhaling her scent from it. As I set it gently
on the rocking chair, I gazed at her, taking in her outfit. She was
dressed very casually, with faded jeans and a light green silk shirt.
She had on her snow boots again, and they looked so cute on her I
wanted to cry.

“I feel bad you had to cook again. Next time
you’ve got to let me take a turn.”

“Maybe,” she said. She rolled up her
sleeves partway and then did something that completely amazed me: she
held her arms out as if in preparation for a hug. My mouth opening,
I immediately took a step toward her. I must have looked confused,
because she gave me a shy little grin and said, “A little hug?”

Oh my god! It was almost too good to be true. I went
right to her and threw my arms around her. I hugged her fiercely,
causing her to giggle. Her body felt so wonderful in my arms, and
when her arms encircled me I almost gasped with pleasure. I buried
my face in her soft, clean hair and breathed deeply, holding her
tight. For just a moment everything in the world was perfect. We
fit together so well that it was like we were meant to be. Then
suddenly she let go of me and pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” I said, straightening
up. “Did I squeeze you too hard?”

“No! Not at all!” She looked very happy.
“You sure do make me feel welcome.”

I felt dizzy. “You
are
welcome.”

“I forgot how sweet you are.”

“You should come by more often.”

The look on her face when I said that was heartrending.
It was as if no one had ever said anything so kind to her, and she
wasn’t sure how to respond. “I’d like to,”
she finally said. “I really would.”

I motioned to the couch and stepped over, taking a
seat. “Why don’t you?”

Susan sat down, but far on the opposite end. We were
in the same position we’d been in the previous week. “I
would have. I just wasn’t sure...” She took a deep
breath. “I don’t want to push myself on anyone. Jeffrey
invited me a couple days ago, but I thought I ought to wait. I don’t
want the two of you getting sick of me, or dreading my visits.”

“Are you kidding? I wish you were here all the
time.” It was a stupid thing to say. I said it without
thinking, and the surprise was clear on her face.

“Really?”

“I’m sorry.” For some reason, I
didn’t want her thinking I was infatuated with her, even though
I was. “I just mean, it gets really boring around here. No
one ever comes over. Having you here last week was really nice.”

She settled back, sinking into the cushions. When she
looked at me, her eyes were very solemn. “You know, Jeffrey
and I talked at length about the possibility of us... maybe at some
point living together. But he made it sound as though you wouldn’t
approve.”

“He said that?”

“No. But he implied it. He said that he thought
you might... resent me. As if I were trying to take the place of
your... mom.”

“Are you kidding?” I wasn’t
surprised he’d say something like that because it had come up
before, many years ago, when I’d asked him why he never dated
anyone. “I lost my mom when I was practically a child. I’m
going to be eighteen this summer.”

“I know. But he made me feel as though... we
should wait. For your sake.”

“That’s ridiculous. I would never accuse
you of anything so silly. Just the idea of it...”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you
this. It seems ridiculous to me, too.” She smiled warmly. “I
almost get the feeling that you’d like me around as much as he
would.”

It frightened me a little that it was that obvious, but
there was no way I was going to disagree with her. “I do want
you around. I like you.” It made me wonder what, exactly, her
living situation was. “Do you rent an apartment?”

“Yes. Month to month. It’s alright, for
now.”

“Well, if he really thinks --”

Just then my father stuck his head in the door.
“Dinner’s ready.”

We nodded and stood up.

“Maybe we could discuss this over dinner,”
Susan said.

* * *

Dinner this time around was an oriental-style chicken
and rice stir-fry, with lots of vegetables, even those little mini
corn cobs and lots of water chestnuts, which I loved. There were
even egg rolls, and it was all homemade. We dug in and lost
ourselves in the delectable meal, hardly able to speak until we were
at least partially full.

“I could really get used to eating like this,”
my father commented.

I could tell Susan appreciated the comment. I was
going to counter with a remark about my own cooking skills, which
were not at all bad, but decided not to. Instead I nodded and told
her it was delicious.

“Thank you. It wasn’t really difficult.”

“I’ll bet the egg rolls were kind of
tricky,” I said, helping myself to another one.

She smiled. “I’ve got a good cook book.”

“I could buy the same one,” my father said.
“And there’s no way I’d be able to cook like
this.”

Susan giggled politely. She seemed very happy at our
table, with us showering her with praise. I really liked her there,
and hoped she’d end up moving in with us.

We finished dinner, and then another dish was unveiled,
this one containing dessert. It was a beautiful little chocolate
hazelnut cake, with little crushed hazelnuts all around the edges.
My father jumped up and cleared our plates away, replacing them with
little dessert plates and clean forks.

“It looks too good to eat,” he said,
hovering over it with a knife.

“Oh, just cut it. I could always make another
one next week.”

“Or sooner,” I blurted.

They both looked at me, and then at each other.

“Sorry,” I said. “I just thought it
might be nice if Susan was here more often.”

They both nodded, my father looking a little nervous
all of a sudden. “It would be nice,” he agreed. He
began cutting the cake, placing a piece on each of the three little
plates.

When we each had a plate in front of us and were all
seated again, Susan looked over at my father. “Amy and I were
talking about the same thing you and I were discussing these past few
weeks.” She cut off a piece of her cake and slipped it into
her mouth.

My father also took a bite. “Oh?”

“You know, about my living situation.”

He nodded. “This is fantastic. You really made
this?”

Susan smiled. “It wasn’t difficult. Same
cook book.”

“That’s a hell of a book you’ve got.”

She laughed, cutting off another piece with her fork.
“It is a nice one.”

I tried a piece of the cake myself. I was much more
interested in the discussion which was taking shape than in the cake,
but the cake was indeed terrific. “My god,” I said.
“This is better than the bakery.”

“It really is,” my father agreed, gobbling
up some more.

“I’m glad you both like it. I’ll
have to make it again sometime.”

We ate in silence for a moment and then my father
cleared his throat. “So... what precisely did the two of you
decide?”

“We didn’t decide anything,” Susan
said. “We were just talking it over.” She looked at me.
“But Amy seems to be fine with the idea.”

He looked at me, his fork dangling in front of his
mouth. “You’d really be okay with it?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t want you to feel like you don’t
have some say in this, because you do. This is your house, too, and
I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here.”

“It’s fine, dad. I like Susan. If the two
of you are going to be together, it would only make sense.”

He ate another piece of his cake, looking at Susan.
“You want to do this? For real?”

She nodded. “I don’t want to force myself
on anyone. But if the two of you genuinely want me to move in, I’d
love to. I like both of you so much, and I think it would make
things easier for us all. I’d be able to make nice dinners
like this every night.”

“I’ll be fat by summer,” my father
complained.

Susan laughed. “That’s your problem. I’ll
still love you.”

He blushed at this, and quickly glanced at me, as if
gauging my reaction to her words. I did my best to keep my
expression neutral. “I’ll just have to cut back my
portion sizes. And maybe exercise a little more.”

“That’s a fine idea. I can cook light,
too. And only make desserts once a week.”

“You don’t have to sell me on anything.
It’s really up to Amy.” He looked at me again. “Why
don’t you think it over? There’s no rush.”

“I don’t know what I need to think about,”
I said. “I’m fine with the idea. I think it would be
fun having Susan here.”

Susan was obviously pleased by this. She smiled at me
again and set her fork down. “You know, I didn’t pay my
rent yet for February. Technically, I could just let them keep my
security deposit and leave there by the end of this month.”

My father’s eyes widened at this bit of news.
“So soon?”

She looked suddenly crestfallen. “No. I’m
sorry. We can wait --”

“No, no, I didn’t meant it like that.”
He put his fork down and wiped his mouth. His face was turning red.
“I just... wasn’t sure when we were talking about. The
end of the month is fine.”

“You can start moving your stuff in right away,”
I said. “So you don’t have so much work to do all at
once.”

That brightened her expression again, and it made me
feel glad to be the cause of it. She looked at my father. “I
don’t know. If it’s really too soon...”

“No. I’m sorry I said that. It just took
me by surprise, that’s all.”

“You could start coming over every day,” I
offered. “Bringing a suitcase or two, instead of dinner. You
can let me cook for the next couple of weeks, and before you know it
you’ll be all moved in.”

She nodded. “That sounds like a really good
idea. But now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t wait a little
longer. Maybe a couple more months, to give you two some time...”

“No,” my father said again. “I
really didn’t mean anything. I want you to move in. We’ve
already discussed it, and if Amy likes the idea, there’s no
reason to wait.”

“I could help you this weekend,” I told
her. “I’ve got no plans. We could load up your car and
make a bunch of trips.”

She smiled at me again. I could tell I was making her
happy with my enthusiasm, and that was my intention. “You’re
so
thoughtful.
”

I nodded. “I’d really like for you to move
in. I feel like I’d have a new friend.”

“You would!” she said happily. “So
would I.”

“Well, it’s settled, then,” my father
said, picking up his fork. “Just start moving in whenever you
feel like it. Me and Amy will make a few changes here to better
accommodate your stuff.”

Everyone felt a lot better after that. We finished our
cake and Susan began to quiz me about colleges again. It was her
opinion that I ought to get started right away with the application
process. I readily agreed to her suggestion and began to feel very
excited about everything. It was like she breathed life into me
again. Everything seemed suddenly perfect.

* * *

When we were done in the kitchen, the three of us
decided we’d watch a movie together. There was one coming on
cable at just that time that my father and Susan both wanted to see,
and so we moved into the living room, taking our drinks with us.