Lesbian Stepmother (5 page)

“Me, too.”

“Hey,” Lonna said.

Abbie looked at her. “What?”

“No, never mind.”

“What?”

“No. It was stupid.”

Abigail grabbed her hand. “Tell me!”

“Well…” She shook her head. “I’m
supposed to be a positive influence on you. I shouldn’t even
be thinking this.”

Now Abbie was smiling. “C’mon. Out with
it!”

Lonna took a deep breath, a mischievous little grin on
her face. “You’ve been going to school now for months,
and I don’t recall you taking a single day off.”

“I haven’t.”

“Well. I was just thinking…what if you
took today off?”

Abbie smiled. “Are you giving me permission?”

“I shouldn’t be.”

“It would give me time to set up my new computer.
I really do need it for school, you know.”

“I believe you. And it
is
your birthday.”

“It sounds great. But I’d probably get
kind of bored after awhile, sitting around the house by myself all
day.”

Lonna was still smiling. “I thought maybe I
could take a sick day, too.”

Abbie was beaming. “You really want to?”

“You have no idea how much I want to.”

“Let’s do it, Lonna!”

“You think we should?”

“Yes!” Abbie hugged her again, hopping up
and down. “It’ll be like girl’s night out, only
we’ll stay home all day.”

“We wouldn’t even have to get dressed.”

“God! This is going to be the best birthday
ever!”

Chapter 7

After making a quick phone call and washing the dishes,
Lonna and Abigail were back on the couch, each with a mug of coffee
and still wearing their nightgowns. Abbie set her coffee down on the
table and picked up her gift, finally opening the box and removing
the iPad. As she slid it out of the packaging and turned it over in
her lap to examine the back, she gasped.

“
Lonna!”

Lonna set her own coffee down, suddenly concerned. “Oh,
no. Don’t tell me I got the wrong one.”

“
I think you did! This is 64 gigs!”

“
Is that bad?”

Abbie laughed. “No. It’s great. But this
is the most expensive one they make. You can’t give me this.”

Lonna ran her hand through her hair, relieved. “I
already did.”

“
We can take it back. Turn it in for the cheaper
one.”

“
I don’t want the cheaper one. The man at
the store said this is the best one.”

“
It is.”

“
Well, then, there you go. Happy birthday!”
Lonna leaned over and kissed Abbie high on the cheek, her heart
fluttering in her chest.

Abbie smiled, staring at her new tablet. “I want
to pay you back for this. This is too much.”

“
I already told you, Abbie. I bought this for you
because I wanted to.”

“
These things go for like seven hundred dollars!”

“
You’re worth it. Every penny.”

Abbie looked at her. “Not everyone thinks so.”

“
Well, I do.”

Suddenly Abigail looked very sad. She set the computer
aside again and leaned over, wrapping her arms around Lonna and
laying her head on her breast, bringing her legs up onto the couch.
Lonna, surprised, wrapped her arms around Abbie and held her,
stroking her hair. They sat that way for several minutes, breathing
softly and relaxing peacefully, taking pleasure in each other’s
embrace. Lonna was feeling very happy she’d thought of calling
in sick. There was nowhere else on earth she would have preferred to
be at that moment.

She bent over and kissed Abbie on the head, squeezing
her. “You falling asleep on me?”

Abbie twisted in her arms, looking up. “I’m
sorry. I’m just so comfortable here.”

“
That’s fine. I am, too. You just relax.”
She kissed her head again and sat back on the couch, settling deep
into the cushions.

Abbie sat up. “No. I don’t want to waste
our day off together.”

“
You’re not wasting it. This is what it’s
for.”

“
I know, but we should do something fun.”

“
Fun sounds good to me. What did you have in
mind?”

Abbie repositioned herself on the couch and picked up
her mug, taking a long drink of coffee. She set it back down and
shrugged. “I don’t know. What about a movie?”

“
Is there one you’ve been wanting to see?”

“
Not really. You have that account, don’t
you?”

Lonna had signed up for a Netflix account when she first
moved in. She watched a lot of television and found the additional
choices convenient. “Sure.” She picked up the remote
and switched on the TV. She quickly set up the menu and showed Abbie
how to navigate through it. “You’ve never seen this
before?”

“
No. There sure are a lot of choices.”

“
It looks that way at first. After a few weeks
you realize it’s mostly junk.”

Abbie spent a few minutes searching the movies and
finally settled on an old horror film. “This looks scary.”

“
You want scary?”

“
I think it would be fun to watch it, sitting here
with you next to me.”

“
I know I’d like it.”

“
The movie?”

“
No, silly! Sitting next to you while it’s
on.”

Abbie started the movie and leaned into her, getting
comfortable again. They sat and watched the opening credits and the
first scene, trying to become interested in the story. It was
shaping up to be slightly boring and not the least bit scary. The
acting was terrible.

Lonna looked at Abbie. “Can I get you something,
birthday girl? Maybe make you some popcorn?”

Abbie shook her head. “I’m still full from
breakfast.”

“
Let me know if I can get you anything. I want to
make today as nice as possible for you.”

“
You already did.”

Lonna laughed happily and leaned further into Abbie.
“You deserve it.”

Abbie looked at her. “Hey! I know what I want!”

Lonna sat up, ready to please. She was bored with the
movie already. “What?”

Suddenly Abigail sank back into the cushions, frowning.
“Never mind. You’d never go for it.”

Lonna smiled. “Try me.”

Abbie pursed her lips, considering. “Well. I was
just thinking. Since it’s my birthday and all.”

“
Yeah?”

“
I know I’m only nineteen, but…”

“
But?”

“
Well…” She looked at Lonna. “Do
you think I could have a little drink? To celebrate?”

“
You mean booze?”

“
No. Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“
I didn’t say no.”

Abbie sighed. “It’s just…when I see
you watching movies, you usually have a drink. I just thought it
might be fun to try it.”

“
I think it would be fine for you to have a drink
on your birthday, honey.”

“
Really?”

“
Don’t tell me you’ve never had one
before.”

“
I have. But only a couple of times. It’s
been awhile. I never really got into it.”

“
Well, I would have no problem with you having a
drink. As long as you don’t make a habit of it. And, of
course, don’t tell your father.”

“
I’m not telling that asshole anything.”

“
Then it sounds like a birthday drink is coming
your way.”

“
You don’t think it’s too early?”

“
Well, we probably can’t do it tonight.
Thanks to you-know-who.”

“
Good point.”

Lonna stood up, grinning. When was the last time she
had a drink with a friend right there in the house? She didn’t
think it had ever happened. Rick never touched the stuff, and she
had very few friends, none of them good ones. Becoming close to
Abbie was the best thing that had happened to her in a very long
time. “How would you like it? Mixed? Straight? On the
rocks?”

Abbie paused the movie and got up off the couch. “Let
me see how you make yours. I want mine the same.”

She followed Lonna into the kitchen and watched as the
older woman got two glasses down from the cabinet. Lonna then took
the ice cube tray from the freezer, twisting it and dropping several
cubes into each glass.

“
I like ice in mine,” Lonna said.

“
Then I want ice in mine, too.”

Lonna picked up the bottle of vodka and removed the cap.
“I don’t think I ever made a drink this early. And
still in my nightgown!”

“
We don’t have to, if you don’t want.”

“
I
do
want. It’s kind of exciting.” She poured two or three
ounces into each glass, the ice cubes popping loudly. She then
screwed the cap back on and returned the bottle to the back of the
counter.

“
What do you mix with it?” Abbie asked.

“
I like cranberry juice, but we also have orange.
Your choice. Oh, we also have your father’s soda.”

“
I want mine to be exactly the same as yours.”

The comment gave Lonna an emotional lift, and she was
already feeling pretty high. She almost danced to the refrigerator,
removing the bottle of cranberry juice and shaking it up. She
returned to the counter with it, twisting off the cap. “It’s
nice and tart, not too sweet,” she commented.

“
You’re sweet enough already.”

Lonna almost dropped the bottle. She gripped it tighter
and poured, filling each glass to just below the rim. She glanced at
Abbie, who was watching her, looking very happy. “You’re
becoming pretty sweet yourself.”

“
I’m trying.”

Lonna quickly stirred the drinks with a teaspoon and put
the juice back in the fridge. “Don’t try too hard. I
might start getting used to it.”

“
You’d better get used to it.” Abbie
slapped her on the ass as she passed by, making them both laugh.

“
Jeez, Abbie! If I had known you were this much
fun, I would have suggested we do this a long time ago.”

“
You couldn’t. I was a bitch, remember?”

“
You were never a bitch.”

“
I was. But not anymore. Not to you, anyway.”

“
Well, it certainly is nice to be on your good
side.”

Abbie smiled. “It
is
fun. And we live together. We can do stuff like this all the time!”
She stepped up to Lonna and wrapped her arms around her again.

Lonna squeezed and lifted her, bringing Abbie’s
feet up off the floor and spinning her around. She spun her around
twice, both of them giggling, and then set her back down, hugging her
and kissing the top of her head. “We can, can’t we?”

“
You bet.” Abbie slapped her ass again and
grabbed her drink, dashing away into the other room.

Lonna laughed, picking up her own drink and rushing
after her. When they were back on the couch they each took a sip of
their cocktails, their eyes locked over the rims of the glasses.
Lonna smacked her lips, sighing. “Hits the spot.”

Abbie nodded. “It’s good. Strong.”

“
Too strong?”

“
I can handle it.”

“
You’re not a kid anymore.”

“
No. In lots of countries, I’d be allowed
to drink.”

“
You’re allowed to drink in this one, as
long as you’re at home and with a parent.” She smiled.
“Or me.”

Abbie smiled back, taking another sip. “Thanks,
Lonna.”

“
You’re welcome.”

“
This is really good.”

“
It’s good with orange juice, too.”

“
Maybe we can try that next.”

Lonna sipped her drink, crossing her legs. “I
don’t know about that. You don’t want to go getting
drunk at eight o’clock in the morning.”

“
Who doesn’t?”

Lonna laughed. “We should probably keep it to
just one. I did make them a little strong.”

“
You made them perfect.”

“
Now who’s being nice?”

“
I like being nice to you. I wish I had tried it
sooner.”

Lonna didn’t know what to say. She felt very
good. She took another sip of her drink and set the glass down on
the coffee table. “What about the movie? Did we give up on
it?”

“
Oh!” Abbie took another, longer drink from
her glass and then got the movie going again. “If you want to
change over to something else, feel free.”

“
I want to watch something you picked out.”