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"A Gift of Life"
Chapter 4
The manner of Gillian's husband's death had only been brought up once before and that had been over six months ago now. Kate and Caroline had gone their separate ways after falling out on what turned out to be a disastrous weekend away for Kate's birthday. Then several months later, after spending a drunken, confession-filled night at Gillian's farm, Caroline had turned up on Kate's doorstep the following afternoon, ostensibly to thank her for taking care of Lawrence when John had gone missing in action, but also wanting to ask Kate to give her one more chance. Time without Kate…the catching glimpses of her almost every day, hearing her voice as she spoke and laughed with others but not with her, feeling her presence but not acknowledging each other except in the most formal of manners, not having her close to confide in and to love…had brought Caroline to a much fuller appreciation of what a truly precious gift their relationship had been and she was determined to try harder.
As she worked up the courage to ask for another opportunity, Caroline had explained that she had just spent a weird night with Gillian at the farm and that after they had both drunk far too much alcohol Gillian had told her things…things that she had never been able to talk about before.
"Mmmm….I do remember you saying that he had done things to her….humiliating things," Kate recalled solemnly, "that he had raped her…and yes, I do remember you mentioning that he had committed suicide."
"He killed himself with a log splitter…Gillian was the one who walked into the barn and found him…he'd bled to death."
After wrangling with her conscience for some considerable time, Caroline had decided that despite not wanting to keep any secrets from her wife and perhaps lightening her own load somewhat by confiding in Kate, there was too much at stake. If Gillian ever blurted out the truth to Robbie the consequences would be dire and far-reaching. Caroline, herself, often wished she didn't know what she knew so she could not inflict that same fate on Kate too. None of us ever know what is around the next corner, Caroline thought, and that is particularly relevant where Gillian is concerned, so she selflessly kept the awful truth to herself.
Kate looked at her horrified. "A log splitter? That's a nasty way to go….but what has that got to do with her marrying Robbie?"
"Eddie was Robbie's older brother," Caroline explained, "and when this all happened he was convinced that Gillian had murdered Eddie."
"Murdered her own husband? Gillian?"
"Gillian and Alan were hauled in for questioning a number of times…for years Robbie kept on about it, sharing his theory with anyone who would listen."
"I can't say that I'd blame her if the things she said he did were true."
"She showed me a mark on the back of her neck where he once put out a cigarette ….and he knocked out three of her back teeth," Caroline added to perhaps quell any doubts.
"Shit," Kate muttered, although Caroline noticed she had become slightly distracted from their conversation and her eyes had taken on a different quality….more liquid…more intense.
"I can't believe he has buried all of that and now reckons to love her and wants to marry her."
…Dark fingers lightly brushed aside several strands of blonde hair that veiled her wife's amazing blue eyes…..Tender lips pressed to Caroline's forehead for a brief moment smoothing out the creases of concern…
"It's all going to end in tears….I just know it will," Caroline continued unaware that Kate had stopped listening…no, she was listening but she had stopped deciphering. Instead, she was attuned to the gentle lilt and timbre of her partner's voice. It reminded Kate of a fine red wine with its varied and subtle nuances and she loved to drink it in unadorned by the clutter of words.
"I think I'll take a drive up to Halifax on Sunday and have a chat….make sure sh.…"
…A sharp intake of breath…
Caroline's sentence was cut short as Kate's hand, which had been leisurely caressing her breasts, now passed lightly over each nipple, the sensation catching Caroline off-guard and causing her to gasp. Through the thin fabric of Caroline's pyjama top Kate could feel each bud become firm against her palm.
"You won't change her mind," Kate replied re-joining the conversation, all the while her molten eyes taking in with amusement Caroline's struggle to remain focussed as her lithe hand now strayed beneath the top. "You know what she's like when she's made up her mind about something…"
"I just want to make sure she's thought this thing through properly and it's probably best I do it in p…Oh God!"
… Feather-light kisses, hot like steam, had been plied to each bare breast and now Kate took a swollen bud in her mouth and worked it with her velvety-soft tongue….stroking, swirling…..
"In person," Caroline finished as Kate released one nipple only to find the other and tease it until Caroline's back arched sharply pushing her breast deeper into Kate's mouth, begging her to stroke harder, swirl faster….but Kate released them entirely….she was in no rush. Instead, Caroline felt her wife's warm mouth move up against her collar bone, delve into the nape of her neck, caress her cheek…until their lips met in a kiss that demanded her full attention and to which Caroline surrendered completely.
All extraneous thoughts and talk of Gillian and Robbie had now dissipated as Kate's hand floated purposefully over Caroline's breast….her stomach…her thighs….enthralled by the sensual curves and silky skin. Caroline then let her legs be eased apart. Kate's hand rested there between them, keeping still, agonisingly still, until she felt Caroline start to stir against it. She slipped first one then another slender finger into the slickness elicited by Caroline's arousal and revelled in the response of her lover's quickening pulse and breathy sighs as she set up a rhythm which Caroline's hips, almost at once, began to match….slow and hypnotic to start with but soon she felt Caroline working hard against her hand, the motion ever quickening. Kate dipped her two fingers inside while her thumb circled, with growing pressure and speed, the firm, fleshy pearl of her lover's centre. Her hips bucked and Kate felt Caroline's teeth graze her lips and her hot tongue flash in her mouth, the rapture rising until it became a delicious blur of touch, movement, pressure and insistence. As Caroline began to tense and strain Kate increased her rhythm further until she collected the full force of her partner's final, climactic shudder in her hand and captured her stifled cries in a kiss.
With her own pleasure sated, Caroline moved almost immediately to return the favour as she rolled onto her side, at the same time motioning Kate onto her back, and playing a hand under her shirt and along the dark skin of Kate's bare torso towards her breasts. Almost to the brink already, Kate gripped Caroline's wrist and led her hand to between her legs, guiding her fingers into the ample wetness.
"See what you do to me?" she said in a low, ragged whisper.
Before Caroline could reply a loud, woeful howl erupted from the nursery. Reluctantly, Caroline went to remove her hand so she could tend to her daughter's needs but Kate's own hand quickly clamped over the top holding it firmly in place.
"Let's give her a moment…..she might go back to sleep," Kate suggested hopefully.
However, it wasn't to be and as each mother listened anxiously to their daughter's cries the moment of passion steadily waned.
"I'll go see to her," Caroline offered, "you can stay and…um…you know…. 'finish off business'."
"You're not going to get out of it that easily, Caroline McKenzie-Dawson," Kate laughed, "you owe me. I'll go see to her….. You've got work tomorrow…. Get some sleep."
With that, Kate slipped from between the sheets, composed herself, attempting to shake off the lust and went to see to her daughter.
"Sorry," Caroline smiled apologetically on Flora's behalf as she watched Kate pad off towards the next room.
A quick nappy change later, Kate returned to the bedroom carrying a more content Flora in her arms. She plumped up her pillows and sat propped up on the bed nursing her, admiring yet again the life she had miraculously managed to bring into the world. Caroline, who hadn't quite drifted off, snuggled in closer to her wife and child and gently rested an arm across Kate's hips. Eyelids soon became heavy until eventually both Caroline and Flora were fast asleep.
oooOooo
Caroline gave one final call out to Lawrence to get a move on unless he planned to walk to school that morning as she tossed her £800 'Mulberry' leather satchel and a small stack of files that she had intended to read and action but hadn't quite got to…a beautiful wife and daughter can be so distracting at times…onto the untidy backseat of the Vauxhall that was littered with automobile magazines, a couple of spanners, wrenches and a rubber mallet, several 'dead' spark plugs, a random sock and what looked like a rancid orange. With only one more day until she had her Jeep back Caroline had fought the compulsion to clean it out. Both she and Kate had overslept as had their usual tiny, human alarm and now she would be late for work if she didn't hurry.
As Lawrence hurtled out the door, down the steps and towards the car, still struggling to get an arm into his jacket and keep hold of his schoolbag, Caroline turned the key in the ignition. Lawrence momentarily disappeared in the billow of oily smoke that belched from the Vauxhall's exhaust as the engine kicked into life.
Once her son was in the car and the smoke cloud had cleared, Caroline reversed, none too carefully, down the driveway and out onto the street.
While she concentrated on the road ahead, Lawrence turned his attention to experimenting with the various knobs on the radio as he searched for a suitable radio station, something he knew jarred his mother's already frayed nerves but he couldn't help himself. Suddenly a sonic boom exploded from the rear speakers possibly splitting every atom in their respective bodies as Lawrence inadvertently turned the volume knob to 'FULL'. Startled by the sudden blast of sound, Caroline veered off the bitumen, narrowly avoiding putting the car into a roadside ditch and just managing to avert the collection of an advisory 'Drive Carefully' sign as she righted the vehicle.
Hurriedly, Lawrence found the volume knob and switched the disturbance off altogether although the ringing in their ears continued well after the noise had ceased. The glare Caroline gave her son could have been used to peel paint from walls. Other than a mouthed 'sorry' from Lawrence, there was absolute silence for the remainder of the drive.
Caroline had only been in her office long enough to turn on her computer and enter her password when there was a cursory rap on the door immediately followed by the entrance of her assistant, Beverley, who seemed unusually excited.
"Morning, Beverley."
After her habitual, 'Good morning,' Beverley took a second to refer to Caroline's diary that she organised for her and got straight down to business.
"You've got a meeting with the architects today at ten and a phone conference with the directors at 11:30am. Then there's a meeting with the student council at second break and Giles would like you to get back to him sometime today about the invitation to be keynote speaker at this year's Educators' Conference….oh, and this is interesting…. I contacted the security company like you asked and they've just phoned to say that they checked Monday's footage from the CCTV and have emailed you some images you might be interested in."
"Right…Good…As soon as I take care of a couple of other jobs I'll take a look."
Beverley barely disguised her disappointment that Caroline wasn't more curious about discovering who the perpetrators were and wasn't going to look into it immediately.
Deciding therefore that there was no point hanging around, Beverley asked, "A cup of tea then?"
"Yes, please…..Oh and thank you for getting onto that security matter so swiftly, Beverley," she added as her slightly miffed assistant turned to leave.
Caroline wasn't sure she really wanted to know which one of the students at Sulgrave Heath thought it was appropriate…funny even….to vandalise her car with such derogatory remarks and try to humiliate her and she was even less sure as to how to effectively deal with such ignorance and bigotry. How did one undo what was probably a firmly-instilled attitude? Generally she was good at dealing with problems that arose with the students but perhaps this one was just a bit too close to home and too deeply etched in society for her to right. After all, even she had had to deal with a certain amount of personal homophobia as she came to terms with the depth and nature of her feelings for Kate so rife was the prejudice and so great the pressure for acceptance. Nonetheless, she would deal with the matter but she needed time to think about a suitable course of action.
There was one decision concerning the matter that she had made, however. She was going to look into professional development courses on offer for her staff so that they would feel confident in dealing with homophobia and bullying effectively as and when it arose. Caroline was determined that nobody but nobody at her school, either staff or student, would be victim of such mindless behaviour.
It wasn't until after her phone conference with the members of the Board of Directors that Caroline finally made the time to open the email with the incriminating images attached. There were at least a dozen photos grabbed from the recorded video. Some were grainy and unfocussed or the angle wasn't good but others were clear and they left no doubt in her mind as to who was responsible.
Caroline picked up the phone to the outer office.
"Beverley, can you ring the parents of Sebastian Dickson and Angus McIvoy please and have them come in to see me at their earliest convenience. Tell them that the matter is quite urgent."
oooOooo
Happy to put her rather torrid first week back at work behind her with its issues and demands, not least of which was today's conversation with the parents of both Seb Dickson and Lawrence's best friend, Angus, Caroline drove to the panel shop to collect her car.
After a close inspection of the work that had been done, she more than cheerfully exchanged the keys to the Vauxhall for the ones to her Jeep Cherokee and headed home. She was looking forward to the freedom of the weekend although it too wasn't without its demands on her time and emotions. John was coming over the next morning to collect Lawrence which she wasn't thrilled about nor was she entirely convinced she had made the right decision letting her son live with his scatty father but she could see no other way. Only time would tell she supposed. There were also the other matters she had promised she would address with her ex-husband including the fact that he was now, well and truly, exactly that, an ex-husband and that he was no longer welcome to drop in at the house at his whim and fancy. However, Caroline put these notions aside in favour of the far more pleasant thought of spending time with Kate and Flora. They hadn't made any particular plans but time together was always special and precious.
Possibly because he was feeling some guilt at abandoning his mother in preference for living with his dad or maybe he was just in a generous mood…Who can tell with teenagers?... after dinner Lawrence volunteered to clear away the dishes and stack the dishwasher. Once Caroline overcame her initial shock she was more than happy to take him up on the offer so while he buzzed between the kitchen and dining room with the used cutlery and crockery, the two women took their respective glasses of red wine and their daughter into the living room. Flora was content to lie on her blanket on the floor with a plush toy to amuse her while Kate and Caroline lounged out along the length of the sofa tucked in close as they often did at this time of the evening.
"How did your meeting with Seb Dickson's and Angus' parents go today?" Kate asked, curious to know how Caroline had eventually handled the situation.
"Seb's parents were quite mortified by their son's homophobic behaviour…..turns out that Seb's uncle…his mum's brother, Graham…is gay and she is very close to him but they'd never discussed it with Seb. They gave Seb quite a dressing down on the issue right there in my office and made it very clear that they did not approve of what he had done."
"That must have been a relief for you," Kate replied, "sometimes you don't know how much support you're going to get from parents on these issues."
"It was a relief but I've still given him a five day suspension and during that time he's to research and write a three thousand word report on the contribution of gay men and women to The Arts in the UK…..that should keep him focussed and out of trouble and who knows, he may learn some appreciation. His parents also offered to pay for the damage but I told them that it was covered by insurance and suggested they donate some money to an LGBT cause instead."
Kate reached up for her wife's lips and gave her a brief but tender kiss. "What a wonderful suggestion. What about Angus' parents?"
"Because Angus wasn't involved in causing any of the damage….he was more of a curious onlooker as you can see in a number of the photos where he's simply standing off in the background watching, I haven't suspended him but I made it very clear to him that by not telling anyone and letting Seb's actions go unreported he was in a sense condoning what Seb had done and nothing in the world would ever change for the better if people watched on in silence and did nothing. I think he understood but most of all I think he and his parents were relieved that he wasn't suspended."
"Does Lawrence know about Angus?" Kate asked.
"I didn't tell him and I don't know if Angus has….if so, he hasn't mentioned it to me."
At that moment Lawrence popped his head around the doorway.
"I'm finished the dishes….I'm off upstairs to finish packing."
"Thank you, Lawrence," Caroline replied quietly and then added more lightly as she was determined to be brave about it all, "Don't forget to pack in some clothes and underwear and not just your comics and football magazines."
As Lawrence dashed up the stairs Caroline made to get up.
Looking puzzled Kate asked, "Where are you going?"
"To restack the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen," Caroline answered.
"No, you're not. Leave it."
"He'll have made an awful mess and the dishes will be stacked in the wrong place."
Kate knew the argument to keep Caroline there on the sofa while her kitchen was anything other than pristine and orderly was a lost battle so she conceded defeat.
"Alright….while you do that I'm going to bath Flora and put her to bed. I'll see you upstairs….Don't be too long….you owe me, remember."
She left Caroline with a sultry look that ensured that her wife wouldn't dally in the kitchen any longer than absolutely necessary.
oooOooo
Saturday morning Caroline woke early to the steady pattering of rain. An overcast sky kept the room dark and cozy. Beside her lay her wife still soundly sleeping, the calm, peaceful expression on her beautiful face was enough to melt Caroline's heart and once again remind her how fortunate she was to have this woman in her life.
Despite the weather being perfect for it Caroline was unable to sleep anymore so she decided to sneak into the nursery and tend to Flora before their daughter started making her demands heard thus allowing Kate a well-deserved lie in. However, just as she crept from the bed a series of almighty thuds followed by an emphatic "Bugger!" and, a few seconds later, loud baby cries, put pay to that idea as the peace was now shattered and Kate awoke with a start.
"What's all the noise?" she asked sleepily but there was no one to answer as Caroline had already dashed from the room to check out the disturbance and to comfort their daughter.
Caroline collected Flora from her cot and carried her with her as she went to investigate the ruckus. She found Lawrence at the top of the staircase beside his room looking down forlornly to where his suitcase lay sprawled open at the bottom of the stairs with its contents scattered far and wide.
"What happened?" she asked.
"The suitcase was too heavy to carry so I thought if I slid it down…..but it kind of went out of control," Lawrence explained obviously disappointed that his plan had failed and now he would have to repack everything.
"You don't have to take all of your things right away, you know," Caroline said quietly as she tried to disguise the hurt she was feeling as Lawrence seemed to want to move out of her life entirely and a little too quickly. "I do expect you to come and visit….and stay….from time to time. Why don't you take some things now and if it works out with your dad you can come back and get the rest?"
Seemingly oblivious to his mother's pain, Lawrence replied, "No….Best to get it all done in one trip I think…and besides, it will be fine living with dad….stop worrying."
Kate had come out of the bedroom to check what all the commotion was about and where everyone was. On seeing Caroline talking to Lawrence on the landing outside his room, she had held back and listened. Even though Caroline had done her best to hide it, Kate knew how upset she was about her son leaving and her heart ached to hear Lawrence being so insensitive to his mother about the whole matter. Maybe if Caroline was honest with Lawrence and told him how she felt he might be a little more caring, Kate thought, but that just wasn't the 'Caroline' way…one always needs to put on a brave face no matter if, on the inside, your heart is breaking. Kate couldn't help feeling some personal guilt also for, in spite of copious reassurances from her wife, she couldn't rid herself completely of the sense that perhaps Lawrence wanted to leave so badly because of her and Flora. She desperately hoped that this wouldn't eventually work as a wedge prying their relationship apart.
Grey, gloomy clouds continued to loom over Harrogate for the entire morning and the constant fall of rain maintained a steady beat on the window panes and roof. Like the weather, the mood inside was subdued. In an effort to distract herself, Caroline sat in her study attempting to concentrate on some work she wanted to get out of the way. Kate was in the living room. She had been attending to Flora who was now asleep so she had taken the opportunity to catch up on her reading. Only Lawrence paced about restlessly, checking the driveway every ten minutes or so for any sign of his father.
By midday, when John hadn't shown up despite several unanswered text messages from his son, Caroline phoned him.
Just as she too was about to give up, John finally answered with a cheery and ever hopeful, "Hello Caroline."
"John….Have you forgotten something?" she asked tersely, dampening his jovial spirits.
"No…I don't think so….Have I?" he replied with sudden uncertainty.
Caroline looked over at Kate and gave a dramatic eye roll. John never failed to disappoint her.
"Think harder, John."
There was a moment of studious silence as John racked his brain as to what he could have possibly forgotten. Suddenly it struck him.
"Oh! Lawrence!" he realised out loud. "Yes…right….I didn't forget as such…"
"Right," Caroline answered, her tone telegraphing her scepticism.
"I've been busy….caught up with things…I'm actually on my way over now…"
Caroline could hear the rattle of his car keys as he took them from his pocket.
Before she had to listen to anymore of his rubbish Caroline finished with, "We'll expect to see you soon then," and ended the call.
Seeing his mother on the phone, Lawrence asked, "Was that dad? Is he coming?"
"He's been held up," Caroline replied, struggling to keep the annoyance out of her voice, "but he's on his way now."
Caroline wasn't sure why she hadn't told Lawrence the truth that his father had forgotten him. Come to think of it, she had been lying or covering for John for as long as she could remember when it came to the boys. Maybe she didn't want them to be as disappointed in him as she was or perhaps she blamed herself for marrying and having children to a man she hadn't ever really loved.
Although William had seen through it all and knew his father for who he really was, Lawrence had remained oblivious to all of John's failings and faults, however, Caroline thought, he was about to find out for himself.
It was almost another half an hour before John pulled into 46 Conway Drive. Lawrence, who had been on constant watch since the phone call, opened the door as his dad made a dash through the rain and into the hallway where he stood dripping and bedraggled.
"Hi, Lawrence…Sorry I'm late….I was caught up….Is this all your stuff?" John asked as he noticed the two suitcases and the several boxes stuffed with possessions that surrounded him.
"Yep," Lawrence answered simply not noticing the look of near panic on his father's face.
"Do you need all of this?"
On hearing John's voice, Caroline made her way into the hallway too.
"Can I have a word with you, please?" she asked in a tone that made the question sound more like the instruction it was. "Lawrence, put your things in the car while I talk to your father."
She then led the way towards her study with John in tow.
"What?" he asked tentatively.
"Just a couple of matters I need to address with you," Caroline began in her frighteningly calm but firm manner which immediately had John breaking out into a cold sweat. "First of all, I want to make it very clear in your mind that I am no longer your wife….I am your ex-wife…..I am Kate's wife and always will be….Do you fully and completely understand that?"
"Of course," John replied, daring to give her a nervous smile which only served to up Caroline's ire.
"John, I am a lesbian….I like sleeping with women….I always did….it wouldn't matter if you were the last living creature on Earth….I would not touch you let alone sleep with you…so you need to stop calling me your 'wife' especially in front of Kate who I actually am married to. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Alright but I …."
"And secondly, this is not your house….Kate and I bought you out. Remember? So there will be no more unannounced visits. If you need to come here for any reason other than to pick up or drop off Lawrence, you call first….even then, you call first. Now is there anything I need to repeat more slowly?"
"Right….Whatever…. Is that all? Can I go now, Miss?" John asked sarcastically playing the part of the naughty schoolboy being dressed down by the Head Teacher.
"Actually, no, it's not," Caroline continued, ignoring his childish antics, "You are to take care of Lawrence. Try and be responsible for once in your life because he's back here if you're not."
Those final words said, Caroline marched out of the study and back into the hallway to see how Lawrence was progressing.
The suitcases were jammed in the boot and the last box had been put in the back seat. With a final hug, a kiss to each damp cheek and a promise extracted to call and visit regularly, Caroline let her son go. She managed to hold back the flood of tears that had been threatening to fall for days until the car was reversing out the drive and the closed door was between them.
oooOooo
The plan had been to set off quite early Sunday morning for Halifax, talk to Gillian and be home by lunch time but, as usual, when small children are involved, things didn't quite run to schedule and it was nearly ten o'clock before Caroline turned onto the track that led up to the farm.
To her great dismay, Caroline parked her Jeep beside John's car.
"What the hell was he doing here?" she wondered, although she strongly suspected that she already knew the answer.
As Caroline made her way up to the house a very disgruntled John… head down and hands thrust deep in his pockets… marched out of the door and in the direction of his car. Caroline acknowledged him with a friendly "Morning, John" as he passed her. His response was an irritated sneer.
"Where's Lawrence?" she inquired.
"Angus'," he replied reluctantly as he got in the car and slammed the door.
Caroline joined Gillian on the steps where they both watched in amusement as John drove off in a huff.
"What's he doing here?" she asked.
"I'm not entirely sure to be honest….He turned up out of the blue earlier this morning blithering on about something…."
"You and he didn't….you know….?"
"No…no…God no….Shit….I told him he had to stop dropping in like this and that since me and Robbie are getting married he couldn't just keep turning up here."
A small grin played on Caroline's lips. "He's not having much luck at the moment."
Gillian led the way inside to the kitchen where she proceeded to make them each a cup of tea.
"What do you mean?" Gillian asked as she reached for some mugs.
"Well, he's been turning up randomly at my house asking for me for no particular reason that anyone can gather….Kate became fed up the last time and gave him short shrift."
"But you're a lesb….you're married…why would he even bother?"
Caroline pulled out a chair and sat down while the Gillian poured the tea.
"He doesn't get it….he thinks it's a phase or something and that he's still in with a chance…I don't know….and then when he has no luck with me he comes running to you."
"Oh fine….send me your sloppy seconds." Gillian joked as she placed a mug of her strong brew in front of Caroline.
"The man's incorrigible," Caroline said with an exasperated sigh.
oooOooo
A sharp tap on the glass alerted Kate to Celia standing by the window signalling to be let in. She finished securing Flora into her swing seat and then opened the door.
"Morning, Celia. Would you like a cup of tea?" Kate offered.
"That would be wonderful, love," Celia replied as she wandered into the living room in search of her grand-daughter. "I didn't see the Jeep out front so I take it Caroline's off gallivanting across the countryside," Celia mentioned in passing as Kate joined her, a mug of sweet tea in each hand.
"She's gone to visit Gillian….something to do with Gillian and Robbie getting married…"
Kate suddenly stopped there as she realised that maybe she was talking out of turn.
"Gillian and Robbie? First I've heard of it," Celia replied with surprise.
"I'm not sure if I've got the story right," Kate said as she desperately tried to back pedal, "Gillian rang quite late last night and spoke to Caroline….it was all very Secret Squirrel." Thinking that a change of topic might be the best manoeuvre, Kate then asked, "Where's Alan?"
Celia gave a huge sigh and a shake of her head. "He's gone to another one of those blasted football matches….He couldn't get out of it. Gary insisted he went. I told him there was no way I was going…Do you mind if we set up the Scrabble?...Do you have time?"
"Sure," Kate agreed, "Flora seems content for now and Caroline won't be home for another hour or so."
Celia retrieved the tattered box from the shelf under the coffee table. The game had been given to Caroline as a Christmas present when she was twelve and like most things Caroline loved, it had been cherished and well-cared for and although the box had seen better days, the rest of the game was in immaculate condition.
Both women made themselves comfortable as Celia cleared a spot on the coffee table for the board and picked out her tiles from the bag before handing it to Kate.
As they both contemplated possible words from the letters on their rack Celia said casually, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
Kate, who was caught up in thought in an effort to come up with a word with five vowels and a K and a J, replied, "No….go ahead."
Celia hesitated a moment and then asked, "How did you know you were a lesbian?"
Kate looked up in surprise.
"Oh, it's going to be one of those games of Scrabble," she thought to herself.