Rough Drafts (11 page)

“No
more doubts. No more questions,” Jameson said. Candace smiled and cupped
Jameson’s face in her hands. “You are everything to me.”

“I
know,” Candace confessed. “You are everything to me, Jameson.”

Jameson
kissed Candace sweetly. “I am part of your everything,” Jameson said assuredly.
She watched as Candace’s lips curled into protest and promptly silenced her
wife with another kiss. “Stop,” Jameson said. “I don’t want you to be anyone
else. I don’t want you to be anything other than Candace. That’s who I fell in
love with.”

Candace
closed her eyes for a moment. Often, she found herself in awe of Jameson.
“Jameson, I want you to have everything that you can in life.”

“I
will,” Jameson smiled. “I already do,” she promised as she collapsed beside
Candace and resumed her position in Candace’s arms. Contented silence
surrounded them. Jameson breathed in Candace and sighed. She rolled off of
Candace and reached over to grab something on the
bedside
table.

“What
are you doing?” Candace asked.

“You
had three fortune cookies. All came
true
,”
Jameson smirked. Candace chuckled. “I want to see what this one says for me,” she
told her wife. Jameson sat against the headboard and cracked open the cookie.

“Well?”
Candace asked.

Jameson’s
nose crinkled as she read it. “
You will
welcome an unexpected visitor
.”

“I
certainly hope you don’t add in bed to that one,” Candace lifted her brow.

Jameson
popped the cookie in her mouth and shrugged. “Why? Not into sharing?”

“The
only living thing sharing this bed with us is Jinx—ever,” Candace said flatly.
Jameson’s eyes danced playfully at the comment even as she choked slightly on
the cookie in her mouth. “Is that funny?” Candace asked.

“No,”
Jameson replied. “I was just thinking it’s interesting how willing you are to
let another
puss
…” Jameson’s comment was
stopped abruptly by a whack from Candace. “What?”

“Lunatic,”
Candace giggled. She held out her arms and invited Jameson into them.

“You
said it, not me,” Jameson reminded her. “Besides, you are the Head Loon of this
asylum.”

Candace
chuckled softly. “It’s a position of distinction,” Candace said.

“I
may be a lunatic, but I love you,” Jameson said seriously. “Don’t forget that,
okay?” Jameson yawned and tightened her hold on Candace’s waist.

Candace
looked down at Jameson in her arms and felt a tear unexpectedly roll down her
cheek. “I won’t,” she promised. Jameson was already asleep. She closed her eyes
and held Jameson close. “I love you,
too.
”

***

Jameson
was sitting at a long table in a conference room reviewing some drawings when
she heard the door open.

“Hey,
J.D. Sorry, I am a little late.
My flight
was delayed by almost an hour,” Melanie explained.

“No
worries,” Jameson said without removing her eyes from the plans in front of
her.

“Hope
you don’t mind that I tagged along,” a familiar voice broke through Jameson’s
concentration. Jameson’s eyes trailed slowly to
Michelle,
who was entering the room with a sheepish grin. Jameson pulled out her chair
and stood. She folded her arms across her chest as she regarded Michelle
silently. “If it’s a problem,” Michelle began.

“Are
you in any trouble?” Jameson asked. Michelle was
dumbfounded
. She shook her head no. “You aren’t pregnant, are you?”
Jameson asked.

“What?”
Melanie responded for her girlfriend.

“Michelle?”
Jameson looked at her stepdaughter.

Michelle
rolled her eyes. “No, I am not pregnant, J.D.”

“Good,”
Jameson replied. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” she inquired.

“Yeah…I
took the day off,” Michelle explained.

“Uh-huh.”

“I
know you have work to do. I was hoping that we could all have dinner so I could
talk to you and Mom,” Michelle said.

“Just
so we are clear,” Jameson said. “You are sure you have not been arrested, are
pregnant, or are getting married,” Jameson said. Michelle looked at
Melanie,
who shrugged. Jameson’s gaze traveled
to Melanie and then back to Michelle. “No way! Shell? Are you? Are you two
getting married?”

Michelle
giggled uncomfortably. “Not that I am aware of,” she said.

Jameson’s
eyes tracked back to
Melanie,
who was
looking at the floor. “Uh-huh,” Jameson said. It was clear that something was
going on between her youngest architect and Michelle, something more than the
ordinary sickening, lovey-dovey displays they engaged in. “So, then…This is
about the offer your mom made to work on her campaign,” Jameson assumed.

“Yeah,”
Michelle replied.

Jameson
nodded. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you,” Jameson said. She turned to
Melanie. “Bridges is waiting for us,” she said. Melanie nodded. “Why don’t you
head down to his office? Tell him I will be along in a minute.”

Melanie
nodded again as Jameson rolled up the plans and handed them to her. Melanie
stopped and placed a chaste kiss on Michelle’s cheek. “Good luck,” she
whispered before making her way out of the conference room and closing the
door.

“So?”
Jameson asked. “What’s up, Shell?”

“J.D.,
I want to do it.”

“I
figured as much,” Jameson said. “But? There is always a but.”

“What
happens after? If I leave my teaching job, what do I do after the campaign? Win
or lose, I am out of a job,” Michelle said.

“I
don’t think I can answer that one,” Jameson admitted. “I guess it will depend
on what you want to do. Why worry about that when you have no idea what is
going to happen?”

“Because,
J.D., I have responsibilities too,” Michelle said.

Jameson
smiled. “Shell, if you are worried about the rent…”

“No.
Well, yes, of
course,
I am
worried
about the rent! And, don’t even say it.
I told you a long time ago that I was not freeloading off my mother’s
girlfriend. I’m not freeloading off of her wife either.”

Jameson
groaned. “Shell, it’s not a big deal,” she said. Jameson knew that Shell would
never accept a freebie. That just was not her nature. Help—yes, a freebie? No.
“Okay. What does Mel think?”

Michelle
sighed and shook her head. “She thinks it will work out. Basically, she said
she would support me until I figured it out.” Jameson
grinned
knowingly. “No way, J.D.! I am not
freeloading
off my girlfriend either.”

“You
are your mother’s daughter,” Jameson laughed. “I doubt Mel sees that as
freeloading.”

“Like
you would ever live off of Mom,” Michelle pointed out.

“Okay,
point taken. Not permanently, no. If we needed to make changes, we would do
what we had to,” Jameson said confidently. “That’s part of a marriage. At
least, I think it is,” Jameson smirked.

“I’m
not married,” Michelle said flatly.

“Yet.”

“Ever,”
Michelle replied sharply.

Jameson
took a deep breath and sighed. “This is not really about the job, is it?”
Michelle closed her eyes. “Shell?”

“I
don’t know, J.D. It is about the job. I just…I’ve always been independent.”

“Yeah.
So?”

“So?!
So, I don’t want to be anyone’s dependent!” Michelle blared. “What if I fuck
up?”

“The
job or the marriage you will never have?” Jameson quipped.

“Both!
Either! I don’t know!”

Jameson
tried not to laugh. Michelle had become one of her closest friends. They had
more than a few things in common, not the least of which was an abiding
devotion to Candace. Michelle, much like Jameson prided herself on
self-reliance. She often used humor as a means to disguise her vulnerability.
And, as much as Jameson hated to admit that she possessed this particular quality,
sometimes Michelle needed to beaten over the head to see what was staring her
in the face.

“Shell,”
Jameson softened the tone of the conversation. “Look, if you want to take the
job with your mom—
take
it. Dana will help
you along, and you know as well as I do that they are not going to let you hang
out to dry when the year ends,” Jameson said. She watched as Michelle shook her
head. “As for the other thing,” Jameson said. Michelle’s expression of complete
fear
made
Jameson chuckle aloud. “As for
that, you need to decide what you want from Mel.”

“I
have what I want.”

“Uh-huh,”
Jameson chuckled.

“What?
Just say it, J.D. You’ve never held back before.”

“Do
you love her?”

“Of
course, I love her! Does that mean I have to marry her?”

Jameson
grinned. “No, not necessarily. Maybe not now, maybe not ever. That’s between
you two.”

“So,
then? What’s your point, because I know you have one,” Michelle said.

“Hey,
you came to me, remember?” Jameson said.

Michelle
sighed. “I’m sorry. Everything is just so complicated.”

“At
least you aren’t about to have a baby with Lawson Klein’s kid,” Jameson said as
a matter of fact. Michelle’s eyes almost popped out of her head. Jameson
cringed. “Shit.”

“No
way,” Michelle said. “Jonah knocked up Lawson Klein’s daughter?” she asked in
disbelief. Jameson’s cheesy grin mixed with her grimace of remorse as an
acknowledgment
. “No way!” Michelle repeated.

“Shell…”

“Oh,
man! Did Mom flip? Oh my, God…Mom must be so pissed!”

“Shell…”

“Oh,
man. Lawson Klein?” Michelle started laughing. “I am so taking this job now.”

“Shell…”

“Oh,
that is too good,” Michelle continued.

“Shell!”

“What?!
I hate that guy! I would pay Mom just to let me take him down a peg.”

“Shell…”

“J.D.!
Do you know the shit he has said about Mom?” Michelle asked pointedly. “Gollum
could never have handled him.”

“Shell,
listen…”

Michelle’s
eyes sparkled. “The Emperor is about to meet my Jedi powers!”

Jameson
burst out laughing. “Are you done yet?” she asked Michelle.

“Nope.
I am just getting started.”

“God
help
us all,” Jameson laughed some more.
“Seems we have remedied the job situation,” Jameson noted. Michelle wiggled her
eyebrows. “You might want to remember that your brother happens to be in love
with The Emperor’s daughter.”

Michelle
sighed. “Okay, I get it. Dial back a bit. Fine.”

Jameson
rolled her eyes. “What about the other thing?” she asked Michelle.

“I
don’t know, J.D. Honestly?”

“That
would be nice, yes.”

“I
love Melanie. I just…There is so much happening. How can I even think about
making a commitment in all this chaos? Changing jobs, Jonah’s life is a mess,
Mom is in the
thick
of all of it. I
mean—it’s nuts! It was nice and quiet and all of a sudden…”

“Hey,
you are preaching to the choir that is singing your tune already,” Jameson held
up her hands.

“Yeah,
but you are already committed,” Michelle said.

“Uh-huh.
And, you aren’t?” Jameson asked. Michelle shook her head. “I’m not telling you
to marry her, Shell. Not unless that is really what you want. Don’t run so hard
from that possibility that you lose her just because it freaks you out.”

“It
doesn’t freak me out.”

“Sure
it doesn’t,” Jameson laughed. “You are going to have to learn to let her lead
once in a while,” Jameson told Michelle. “And, before you say another word, I
know how hard that can be. Trust me on this one. If you love her as much as I
think you do, then it will be worth it.”

“Speaking
from experience?”

“As
a matter of fact, I am,” Jameson said.

“It’s
amazing how quickly people give over once they find God,” Michelle teased
Jameson.

Jameson
poked her cheek with her tongue. “Laugh it up, Shell. I’ve no doubt you’ve
prayed at the altar plenty the last few months.” Michelle’s jaw dropped. “I’m
late,” Jameson
grinned
evilly. “Call your
Mom,” she said. Jameson took a few steps through the door and turned back
around. “Oh, and Shell?” she called back. Shell looked at her curiously.
“Before you take out any more billboards about my Bible Study, you might want
to remember that passage about honoring thy mother.”

Michelle’s
expression morphed into a sarcastic grin. “Seems to me, you mastered that one
without my help.”

Jameson
rolled her eyes. “Impossible!” she grumbled as she walked away.