It was just another long, hot Atlanta afternoon. The days work had flown by and since the kids were going to be with Ted for the weekend- Mary Jo was looking forward to a nice quiet weekend at home.
She was rushing to clean up her desk and put away her sketches when Julia came down the staircase.
"My, Is it beautiful out there or what?" Julia said as she walked over to her desk and sat down.
"It is lovely and it feels great!" Mary Jo agreed with a smile.
"It is supposed to be like this the entire weekend. I do hope it isn't too hot. I plan to get a bit of work done in my garden. I have not been able to devote as much time to it- what with work and all. What about you? What do you have planned this weekend?" Julia asked.
"Well, the kids are at Ted's all weekend so I planned on having a nice quiet weekend at home, mostly loafing around in my pajamas watching television. I also have to flea dip my dog. But that's about it." Mary Jo answered, deadpan.
"I see. Say, since you don't have anything particular planned this afternoon, what would you say to a stroll in the park? Its so pretty out and I really wouldn't want to go alone." Julia explained with a smile that highlighted her perfect cheekbones.
"You know that really does sound like fun. Let me just run to the house and change then I will come back and pick you up." Mary Jo offered as she strode purposely out the door.
The summer breeze made the trees flow this way and that. The birds whistled merrily and the squirrels ran about, gathering acorns for their dinner. The two women walked beside each other, laughing and pointing out the sights. They soon came towards a covered wharf near one of the many fishing ramps and took refuge from the harsh Atlanta heat.
"I cant believe it is already the middle of the summer!" Julia said with astonishment. Sometimes she swore that time just flew right on past her. She could remember like it was yesterday the long summer days spent with Payne as a child. She remembered quiet afternoons with Hayden sitting on the porch swing while she snuggled in close to him. Happier times. Now it seemed that each summer only got shorter and shorter with no one around to make any new memories with.
"I know before I know it the kids will be back in school. I cant believe the Claudia will be a freshman in college and that Quint, my baby boy, will be in middle school. I am so proud of them." Mary Jo said with a gleaming smile of motherly pride.
"You have every right to be proud. Those kids couldn't of had a better mother. They really do grow so fast. Sometimes I just cant wrap my head around the fact that MY baby boy is a married man…who incidentally doesn't call his old mother anymore." Julia noted with biting humor and a touch of sadness.
"Ah, C'mon, Julia. You know that Payne is busy working. He called you just last week and told you how much he missed you. Your over exaggerating and anyway I don't see anything old about you." Mary Jo teased.
"Even still it is hard to accept that my baby is a man. You just wait when Quinton becomes a great big college man then you will understand. As for that- you must be blind because every morning I look in the mirror and see old written all over my face." Julia said entirely deadpan.
"You are the most gorgeous woman in Atlanta, Julia Nadine Sugarbaker, and you know it. Its all in the way you do that cocky little walk of yours." Mary Jo laughed as she nudged Julia with her elbow.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about the way I walk. I don't see anything remotely unique about it whatsoever. You all need to stop putting me on a pedestal. All I am is the nerdy, frigid sister of the former Miss Georgia world. I am no more than anybody else is." Julia argued cynically.
"You really don't see it do you? You are beautiful, Julia and you are far from any of those things you just said. You turn more heads then all four of us put together- from both men and women, might I add. Heck, on occasion, you have even deterred me a little bit from my 'straight and narrow path'." Mary Jo jested with a wink.
"Mary Jo!" Julia chastised, her cheeks slightly flushing pink and her eyes downcast, following an ant as it crawled along the beam beneath their feet.
"Julia, don't be such a fuddy duddy. We are best friends after all and we are both mature adults. So I don't see anything wrong with the fact that I'm admitting that sometimes you may have caused me to stare at you a little bit longer. Why if the tables were turned and you were telling me that you on occasion found me attractive, I would be brimming with pride." Mary Jo admitted with a laugh as she scooted a little closer to her counterpart.
Julia smiled at her friends confession. She would be a fool to not admit to herself that on occasion she had enjoyed the looks, the offers, hell, even the catcalls from both sexes as it were. She could not think of any one woman who would not enjoy being paid almost reverent attention to. It also gave her a bit of a confidence boost. No one would think that that was something that she, Julia "the terminator" Sugarbaker, would ever need, but then again no one really knew the real her- the vulnerable, self doubting woman beneath the hard exterior.
Since Hayden had died, she had tried in vain to put her softer, womanly ways at bay in pursuit of her career. She dressed conservatively and acted as such because she yearned to be treated justly in a mans business world. That, in fact, had paid off tremendously, putting her little design firm on the map. Still, that fact, great as it was, did nothing to keep her warm at night. Sometimes she longed for arms to hold her close and rock her strong in them. She knew that she didn't need anyone to make her feel adequate but that didn't keep her from wanting.
The fact that her lovely colleague had just all but told her that sometimes she has maybe checks her out both startled and excited her. She had always wondered what it would be like to be with a woman. Her upbringing however had taught her that such a thing was forbidden and immoral. That however didn't stop her from thinking about it. The thought had entered her mind one day when she caught Payne looking at one of his daddies old girly magazines. She had berated him and seized what she had deemed as 'tawdry trash'. She had gone into her bedroom and out of sheer curiosity, began to flip through it. Every single page was covered in soft, female flesh; some spread eagled and some bent over. Julia had flushed when she came to a picture of two very well endowed females, spread open, one with her head buried between the other ones legs, her tongue licking her womanhood in an obscene manner.
She had been more than shocked when she felt the splash of wetness seep between her tightly shut thighs.
She shut the magazine abruptly and threw in the waste basket.
She didn't know what it was about it but she guessed in a way that the allure of a woman had always aroused her; the softness and strength all in one. The thought that Mary Jo may have desired her gave Julia an elicit thrill.
"Well, Mary Jo, your compliments are very much appreciated. Shall we continue walking before the sun goes down on us?" Julia said as she stretched her long muscles.
Mary smiled as Julia stretched her lean body before walking towards the end of the wharf and back onto the track they had been following. She really was something else. She could not for the life of her understand how Julia could think of herself as anything less than beautiful. She was that and than some. Her legs were long and lean. Her hips held a little thickness and her waist was trim. Her stomach was flat and her breasts were perky still. Her best feature though was her bright brown doe eyes. They held so much depth and emotion. Her eyes alone could bring Mary Jo to her knees.
Julia had looked at her with a startled look in her eyes when she told her that she had caught herself looking on occasion. If only she knew that Mary Jo had noticed Julia, in that way, almost since day one. She was just divorcing Ted when she had begun working at Sugarbakers. It had been so long since she had felt that pull of attraction. She hadn't really noticed women since she married Ted. Sure, she had experimented in college but back then she was still in search of herself. When she first laid eyes on the older woman, she had been on her morning walk. Mary Jo turned down Sycamore Street and the first sight she saw was Julia, sashaying over to the mail box. She was swathed in a cream cashmere business suit and stilettos encased her feet. She walked gracefully down the sidewalk and into the house. From then on. Mary Jo knew she had to see this woman again and sure enough it happened the next day when she went with her friend, Charlene to interview at the Sugarbakers Design firm.
Mary Jo shook herself out of her thoughts as she followed Julia along the track.
"It sure was a nice day." Mary Jo countered as she walked Julia up to her front porch.
"It was lovely. I love the park in the summertime-everything is so nice and in bloom." Julia said with a dazzling smile.
"Yes. Everything was beautiful, including yourself." Mary Jo said with a slight blush to her cheeks.
"Really, Mary Jo. Your gon make me get a big head." Julia said with mock dismay.
"Good. You are entitled. Your effortless beauty disserves every bit of reverence it can get." Mary Jo assured as she pushed a stray curl away from the sage's face.
"You are too much you know that, don't ya? Nevertheless, you sure know how to make an old lady feel young again." Julia smiled as she pressed her house key into the lock.
Mary Jo shook her head and in an act of courage, pulled Julia's hands into her own. Julia looked at Mary Jo, curiosity painting her perfect features. Pulling Julia closer, Mary Jo's eyes locked on the other woman's full yet thin lips then looked deep into Julia's eyes. Julia's eyes widened and she gulped as she realized Mary Jo's intentions. Every nerve in her body screamed for her to pull away, but she couldn't move a muscle. Her tongue darted out , on instinct, to moisten her dry lips. Mary Jo inched her head closer to Julia's, her breath coming out in a rush to tickle against the sages lips.
Time froze for both women as Mary Jo easily closed the distance between them. Her lips slanted across Julia's in the sweetest of kisses. Julia's lips were smooth and soft like rose petals. They tasted like fresh picked strawberries. Mary Jo was in heaven as she coaxed the older woman's lips to relax beneath her own. Julia could not move; she just let herself be carried away by Mary Jo's sweet kisses. Her lips were persistent and aggressive in their pursuit.
Mary Jo pulled Julia's body flush against her own body, wrapping her arms tightly around Julia's petite waist. Julia relaxed into the kiss, letting Mary Jo turn everything inside of her into something young and alive and simply wonderful. Julia softly answered Mary Jo's seductive kisses with soft kisses of her own. Mary Jo moaned as trembling lips tentatively touched her own. The thought that Julia was actually kissing her back sent her over the moon. Mary Jo angled her head and deepened the kiss. Gently, she pulled Julia's tongue into her mouth. As her tongue tenderly massaged Julia's, it was the older woman's turn to moan.
Julia was slowly becoming undone under Mary Jo's skilled mouth. The kiss had her completely shell shocked. She was glad that Mary Jo was holding her because her legs felt like they were made of rubber. She hadn't felt like this in years; she felt young and reckless and sexy. She knew if they didn't stop soon, that she would easily lead Mary Jo on up to her bedroom and beg the woman to ravish her until the cows came home. That thought both scared and excited her.
Mary Jo, feeling the need for air, slowly released Julia's lips. Breathless, she rested her forehead against Julia's while she continued to hold her close to her body. Julia opened her eyes to hazily gaze into Mary Jo's. The desire that colored them made her shiver. Mary Jo pulled Julia's body even tighter against her own thin frame.
"Well…" Julia huskily sighed, biting her upper lip.
"How do you feel?" Mary Jo asked softly.
"I feel unbelievably younger." Julia laughed softly, a bright smile cascading across her face.
"Then my job here is done." Mary Jo teased with a smirk.