2 Months Later
Kerry rolled over blindly, reaching out for Kim, but opened her eyes when she realized that the opposite side of the bed was empty. Kim's spot was damp with sweat, which Kerry assumed was a result of the incredibly hot temperatures outside and the broken air conditioner inside. She rolled out of bed, grabbed her glasses and checked the time on her alarm clock: seven forty-five. Kerry threw on a loose tee shirt and a pair of shorts then headed downstairs.
Just as she got to the base of the stairs, Kerry heard the front door open and shut. Walking into the front room, Kerry's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw Kim. The 5'9" woman wore Nike running shorts, sneakers, and was drenched in sweat. And, despite looking like she'd been to hell and back, Kim wore a huge, invigorated smile that Kerry knew was from pure adrenaline.
"You honestly went for a run?" Kerry asked as Kim took off her shoes and stripped to only her sports bra and shorts.
Kim nodded, "I couldn't sleep; too hot."
Kerry raised an eyebrow, "But it wasn't too hot to run?" The words came out slowly and skeptically.
Kim laughed, "At least, when you're running, there's a breeze." She said, walking towards the kitchen.
"How far did you go?" Kerry asked, starting a pot of coffee.
Kim shrugged, "I wasn't keeping track…maybe fourteen, fifteen miles?" She said with such ease Kerry thought she was being sarcastic. When she realized Kim wasn't joking, her jaw dropped again.
"Fifteen? Jesus, Kim, what time did you leave?"
"Uh…" Kim checked her watch, "quarter of six, maybe? I really don't remember." She responded, taking a long sip of water. Kim drew the aluminum bottle from her lips, recapped it, and set it in the fridge.
Kerry shook her head. "You're going to run yourself into the ground."
Kim only shrugged. "I'm going to go take a shower…what time do you think we should leave?" she asked, leaning against the counter while she flexed and extended her right knee.
Kerry eyed her motions with curiosity but redirected her attention to the question at hand. "Uh…the service is at nine thirty?" Kim nodded, "So we should probably leave at, what? Quarter of nine?" Kerry asked. She wasn't sure what the proper etiquette was when attending Christenings, but she did know that it was consider improper in any circumstance to be late.
"Sounds good to me," Kim said, releasing the counter and planting both feet on the ground. "I'll be in the shower." She said, pointing up to the ceiling. Kerry nodded and turned back to the counter to pour her coffee. As she added cream, Kerry made a mental note of asking Kim about her knee.
Kerry had a bagel, checked her e-mail, and finished her coffee before she headed back upstairs and into Henry's bedroom. Sitting down on the side of his small bed, she placed a hand on his bare, tanned shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Henry? Sweetie…you've got to get up." She said softly, her blunt nails gently tracing unseen patterns on his skin. He stirred only slightly, prompting another soft wake up call. "Buddy, you have to get up." She said with more volume. In return, Henry rolled over and squinted at his mother. "Good morning, love." Kerry greeted. Henry's hands found his eyes and he rubbed the sleep from them with vigor. The sight made Kerry smile; though her son was cute every hour of every day, he was especially adorable when he was just waking up from a sleep. Henry sat up slowly and went straight for Kerry, nestling his head in her chest and wrapping his arms around her abdomen. Kerry stood up with Henry in her arms, and bounced him gently, waking him up.
Finally, Henry's eyes opened fully, "Hi." He said softly.
Kerry grinned, "Hi buddy."
With Henry still in her arms, Kerry headed downstairs and back into the kitchen. Situating Henry with a bowl of cereal and a homemade muffin, she waited for Kim to come back downstairs so she could go up and get ready as well.
"Ker?" Kim called from top of the stairs. "Can you, uh, grab me a bag of ice?"
Kerry complied, filling a plastic bag with ice cubes from the freezer and bringing it up to Kim.
"Your knee?" Kerry asked, though she really didn't need an answer to know she'd been right. "And I want say I told you so." She added with a soft smile.
Kim turned around, heading back into their bedroom, and nodded. "It's nothing, just a little sore." She said, sitting down on the bed. Out of all the things Kim hated to do, complaining about physical pain or discomfort to Kerry topped her list. Though Kim knew Kerry was a compassionate, sympathetic person and would never compare someone else's pain to that of her own, she just hated the idea of whining to her; it made her feel like a wimp.
Kerry looked at Kim for a long moment, questioning her sincerity. "Alright…" she said slowly, "Do you need anything from downstairs? I'm going to bring Henry up here."
Kim shook her head, "I'm good, thanks." She said, sounding a little snippier than she meant to. As Kerry turned to the door, Kim spoke again, "Thank you, love."
Kerry turned her head and smiled sweetly, "I'll be right back."
An hour later, Kerry, Kim, and Henry climbed out of the car in the parking lot of the church. People- young, old, black, white, and everything in between- filed out of the large building, some stopping to chat and some heading straight for their vehicles. Kerry took Henry's hand in her own as Kim scanned the crowd for her family.
"There they are." Kim said, pointing into the mob of people. Taking Kerry's hand, she headed over to where her family was gathered. Kerry squeezed it tightly, then loosened her grip. Kim looked down at the shorter woman and smiled sincerely, "It'll be ok." She said, just as much for her well-being as for Kerry's.
Kerry took a deep breath and gave Kim a hopeful smile.
"Kim! Hi!" Kim's younger brother, Eric, called out. He let go of his wife, Danielle's, hand and walked over to his eldest sister. Kerry released her grip on Kim's hand, allowing the blonde woman to engulf her brother in a hug.
Henry wrapped his arm around Kerry's leg and pulled on her pants, asking to be picked up. Kerry gladly complied, figuring that, if she had him in her arms, it would shield her from any sort of awkwardness that was sure to come. Neither she nor Henry had ever met Kim's immediate family, though Kerry had briefly met Kim's cousin, Lori, years ago.
When Eric released Kim from their embrace, he turned to Kerry, smiled a vaguely-familiar smile, and held out his hand. "You must be Kerry."
Kerry smiled as well and mirrored the man's movements. "And you're Eric, I'm guessing." The younger man smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too." Eric eyed the toddler in Kerry's arms, "And you must be Henry."
Henry nodded shyly, but smiled a little when Eric held out his hand in the same motion he had when he greeted Kerry and Kim. Copying the motions he had seen, Henry grasped the large hand and moved it up and down.
He grinned warmly, and let go of Henry's hand, ruffled his hair, and motioned for the three to come with him to where everyone else was standing. The four joined the others and Kerry eyed three other children, two girls who were identical and about eight years old who Kerry assumed to be Eric's daughters, Amelia and Olivia, and Jackson, Eric and Danielle's infant son who the christening was for, as well as a brunette woman who she guessed was Danielle, Kim's younger sister Melissa, and Kim's parents, Jean and Kevin. The greetings were awkward, Kerry noticed, especially when it came to Kim saying hello to her mother; no hug, kiss, or even smile was exchanged between the two.
When the priest finally came out, Kerry was thankful- for the first time in her life- to be able to go into the church; the tension could have been cut with a knife
In the church Kerry walked into the pew, the sixth one back from the alter, and sat with Henry while Kim knelt in genuflection. After she made the sign of the cross, Kim straightened back up, grimacing slightly as she did so. Kerry gave Kim a concerned look as the blonde sat next to her, but was distracted by a hand on her shoulder. Kerry turned her head and saw Jean, Kim's mother, smiling sweetly from the other side of the pew.
"You three can move up, if you want." She motioned to the rows in front of them. "You know, family seating."
Before Kerry had a chance to answer, Kim shook her head and spoke, "Eh, that's alright. We're close enough." She said briskly, her tone teetering on the border between annoyed and mad. Kerry just wasn't sure which one she was feeling. And, more importantly, she didn't know why she felt that way.
With hurt eyes, Jean shrugged, "Alright, Kim…we'll see you guys after the service."
Kim ignored her mother and faced straight ahead, silent.
Kerry turned towards the blonde. "What was that about?"
Kim began to shake her head rather than say anything, then stopped herself, deciding she'd might as well tell Kerry. "She insists on calling you 'my friend'." Kerry raised an eyebrow, her lips pursed. Kim continued, "Not my girlfriend, not my partner, not even my significant other. And then she," Kim gestured towards the grey head in front of them, "comes over here and says we can sit in the section reserved for family. I love my brother and his family and my father and sister, but if my own mother can't accept you and me together, then I don't want to subject you or I to that. Eric and Danielle understand."
Kerry was actually surprised smoke wasn't coming out of Kim's ears. She was upset, and Kerry could understand why; when her biological mother, Helen, had learned that Kerry was gay, she'd made it clear that, though she could love her, she would never accept her. Kerry had declined that offer quickly; she'd made it clear that Helen's love was nothing without acceptance. However, what Kerry couldn't completely comprehend, was how Kim could push her parents of thirty six years away for her, a girlfriend of only nine months over five years. Family, Kerry had always thought, came first. Rather than questioning, Kerry only nodded in understanding; she knew Kim would talk when she wanted to.
Thankfully, the ceremony started soon and ended just as quickly and, before Kerry knew it, they were standing in the oversized backyard of Eric and Danielle's house. Henry had made fast friends with Olivia and Amelia, the age difference not a factor, and were playing with the multiple outdoor toys the family had. The rest of the family and guests- Kerry, Kim, Kim's parents, Melissa, and Jodi, Jackson's Godmother- were sitting around the patio, sipping their respective drinks and talking easily.
"And preseason starts when?" Kim asked Melissa, who was bound to leave for the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC for the coming field hockey season.
"The 28th...we're driving down on the 24th." Melissa said, bending her long legs and wedging them underneath herself.
Kim shook her head through a smile, "You're going to have a lot on your hands, girl." Melissa was planning on focusing on political science while she juggled, not only living hundreds of miles away from home, but playing Division 1 NCAA field hockey. Kim knew she could do it, though; Melissa was, in Kim's mind, the perfect mix of all the traits she and Eric had: she was an incredible athlete much like her brother, while she had her own brand of intelligence as Kim did.
Melissa shrugged, smiled, and took a sip of her lemonade. "I can't wait." She said. Melissa scanned her surroundings quickly, as if she was checking to see if anyone was around. Lowering her voice an octave, she leaned closer into Kim. "So…tell me about Kerry."
Kim raised an eyebrow then got up off the chair she was sitting on, "Come with me." She said, heading for the house. Melissa scurried up from her seat and followed on her heels. On her way across the patio, Kim passed Kerry, who was deep in conversation with Jodi, and shot her a smile. Kerry nodded her head quickly, then redirected her attention to the discussion at hand.
In the empty house, Kim went into the kitchen and headed straight for the cupboard above the sink. Taking out a bottle of Advil, she shook out three tablets. "Well? What do you want to know?" She asked, grabbing a glass from the next cupboard over.
Melissa shimmied onto the countertop and shrugged, "This is the lady you met way back? Before you went to California?" Melissa barely remembered. At the time, before her beloved sister left, she had only been thirteen.
Kim nodded while she filled the glass with tap water.
"And then you guys ran into each other again?"
Again, Kim nodded.
"When?"
Kim laughed, "The day after I got back."
Melissa swung her legs back and forth, "Well, that sounds like fate. And Henry? That's her son….with a man…or…?" Melissa asked, her words coming out slowly and questioningly.
Kim shook her head, placing the two tablets in her mouth. "He's her late wife's son. She was a firefighter. Died a few months after he was born." Kim answered, the tablets resting on her tongue.
"Oh, wow." Melissa responded. "He seems to like you."
Kim tilted her head back and chased the tablets down her throat with the water. When she'd swallowed, she straightened back up and nodded, "He asked Ker if he could call me momma the other night." She said, smiling with pride.
"Aw, Kim!" Melissa exclaimed, "Do you want to be his, like, mother?"
Kim nodded, "I love them so much, Lis. So, so much." She placed the empty glass in the sink.
Melissa hopped down from her perch and wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'm happy for you, Kim. And don't worry about Mom…she'll come around."
Kim rolled her eyes. "I've been saying that for twenty-one years." She said, her mind quickly flashing back to the day she'd come out to her family; her father had wrapped a fifteen year old Kim in a warm, loving hug, Eric had been thought it was 'cool', and her mother had locked herself in her bedroom, presumably crying. For the first few years, it was easy to not bring it up at her mother's request, but when she'd started to date in college, things went back downhill. It was a rollercoaster, Kim and her mother's relationship. A battle of twenty-one years.
Melissa shrugged. "She likes Kerry." Together, they walked back through the house. "Do you have a headache?"
Kim arched her left eyebrow, "No. Why do you ask?"
"You just downed three Advil.
Kim slid the glass door open, "Oh, right. No. I don't."
Melissa laughed shortly, "Then why did you need them?"
"I went for a run this morning…a very, very long run." That she had. Kim had told Kerry that she hadn't been able to sleep and, instead, decided to go for a run. That was a lie. At least partly. It hadn't been the intense heat that had kept her up, it was the unnerving voice in the back of her head reminding her she'd have to be in the presence of her mother later that day. So, before the sun was even awake itself, Kim dragged herself out of bed, changed in silence, and headed out the door. Though the run had cleared her mind, she was regretting it; her knee was throbbing. "I guess I didn't stretch as well as I could have."
Melissa nodded and, thankfully, stopped asking questions.
How I spend those rare afternoons that I don't have homework. Enjoy.
