Twists and Turns
HOLLY
I woke up late the next day trying to decide what I disliked more, the sunlight that begrudgingly filled the room; my head that felt like a large construction crew worked jackhammering at my skull, or my body currently sore in places I had never been sore in. Every movement I attempted no matter how small set off a series of explosions in my brain. The close and abrasive sound of the blender reminded me why my eyes had opened. I slowly sat up attempting to minimize my movements, moving caused pain, and nausea. "Gail!" I groaned, realizing I wasn't in bed; I currently occupied our living room couch. The blender became louder causing the pain in my head to multiply. "Gail!" I yelled my mouth felt dry and my voice scratchy as if I had spent the entire night screaming.
"Dr. Stewart, sorry, I wasn't aware that you were sleeping on the couch." Robin, my lab assistant walked into the living room, with a guilty smile. "Robin, why are you in my house?" I leaned forward, trying my best to not throw up. Never in my history of hangovers had I felt this sick after a night of drinking. "Everyone is home." Gail called before the front door slammed, the slamming caused me to jump and groan, I couldn't figure out why my back hurt and why my right hand felt tender. "Glad your up." Gail sounded oddly animated; I could hear the smile in her voice as she walked into the living room. "How ya feeling there champ?" her hand came to rest on my back once she sat on the couch. "No, no touching, everything hurts." I complained, leaning back to squint at her. "How is it that you look fine!?" I whined, Gail's hair had been brushed down, she didn't appear to have a hangover, she looked fresh faced and energized. "I took the stragglers home, and I also didn't drink as much as you did during your victory rotation." Gail smiled before reaching out for whatever Robin held.
"Drink this, Robin swears by it." Gail handed me a glass filled with a pale gray goop. "Once again why's Robin here?" I asked smelling the concoction that filled the glass, not completely repulsed by the sweet aroma. "What do you remember from last night?" Gail picked up her iPad and placed it face down on her lap before meeting my eyes. "I remember dancing with you to our song, and we ordered drinks, and Chloe came back with shots before making Andy ride the bull." I muttered sipping the smoothie, I could distinguish honey, banana, and almonds, and there were a few other flavors I couldn't place but overall it seemed to be reducing my nausea.
"Let's see." Gail leans back against the couch. "Juliet made a joke about straight girls being better at riding the bull since they robe guys, and you made an offhand gold star lesbian comment about lesbians riding better." Gail shook her head showing me a picture of myself on her iPad; wearing a cowboy hat sitting on top of the mechanical bull. "You beat their time, and on your third victory ride you fell off and landed on the operator." Gail showed me a series of pictures and I cringed. "You will also notice that your hand's bruised this morning." Gail grinned, pointing at my knuckles; that were an angry purple color. "When you joined us back at the bar you took 4 shots, made Duncan drink the 6 shots you couldn't finish, and to top it all off you punched nick in the face for making a Gail could ride better than you joke. Juliet also punched him I didn't find that nearly as amusing as your jealous streak though." Gail showed me a picture of Nick's black eye, shaking with laughter.
"The bar owner gave you a trophy, it's sitting on the counter." Gail swiped to a new picture, I sat on Duncan's shoulders, holding the trophy over my head, Lesbians Ride Better had been written across the top in black sharpie. "You drank maybe 4 beers and called Robin to bring us home claiming Robin owed you a favor and drove the world's biggest minivan. Robin's here because she wins intern of the year and because you got our DD black out drunk." Gail set her iPad on the coffee table, a smug grin plastered on her face. "I hate you." I groaned lying back on the couch, too tired to deal with her joy from my drunken antics. "But to be fair, you should shower. We're supposed to be at my parents' house in 3 hours." Gail gently squeezed my thigh and stood up. "We're supposed to be there at 7." I complained, feeling my stomach settle down. "Yeah, and to be there at seven we need to leave by 6, and it's already 4." Gail laughed high fiving Robin on her way to the kitchen.
"I owe you no other favors Dr. Stewart, I have a video confession from you saying that!" Robin called before I heard the front door close, I could hear her laughing, I wondered what other information she would hold over me from here on out. "Take these, drink the rest of this, and get your butt in the shower." Gail handed me a few pills and refilled my cup with the remaining contents of the blender. "I'll make toast when you come down." Gail helped me off the couch, a smile playing on the corn of her lips. "I'm never drinking with you again." I groaned, slowly making my way up the stairs.
I watched out the window as Gail drove through the large iron gates of the community her parents lived in. I couldn't understand the need for such a large house when the couple lived alone. I thought my apartment had been too large for only Gail and me, but we often had people staying over be it our friends or family. From what Gail and Steve had explained no one visited the Sr. Pecks, they host annual Christmas parties and other diners, but the house never hosted guests for longer than a few hours.
"You ok nerd, you're being quiet?" Gail asked, glancing at me before parking behind Steve's sports car. In front of us stood a two story McMansion; I knew it had six bedrooms, a formal living room and dining room as well as a theater, pool, and five bathrooms. From the outside, nothing distinguished the house from every other house on the block, picture frame windows, manicured lawns, and pristine flower beds. "I'm nervous." I muttered, watching the front door. I had never been nervous meeting parents, generally, parents loved me, but the Pecks terrified me. The stories from not only Gail and Steve but from Dov, Tracie, and Chris had worked me up into a nervous wreck.
"We can leave, we don't have to go in." Gail reached over and took my hand. "We can have them over; or you never have to meet them." Gail's thumb ran along the back of my hand, I turned to watch her, the smiled played on her lips almost begging me to ask her to turn around and head home. Gail hated these monthly dinners, she avoided her mother with an impressive effort. "We're here already, we should head inside." I nodded before moving to climb out of the jeep. Gail followed my lead knocking on the back window of Steve's car before pulling me into her arms. "Glad to see you're upright." Steve smiled, walking over to open the door for Tracie. "I've seen the pictures; don't remind me of last night, please." I cringed leaning into Gail, the smoothie Robin had made significantly dulled my hangover, there were still lingering symptoms though.
"Would you prefer that your dinner be served out here?" A male voice called from the door, the overhead light created a shadow over his face I knew it had to be Bill Peck. "No, sir." Gail took a deep breath and kissed my cheek as the four of us walked towards the large front door of the house. "I love you." Gail breathed against my ear once we had stepped into the front room. "You have been sitting in the driveway long enough." A woman called from farther into the house, the front room stood devoid of family pictures and warmth, the gray paint felt cold and uninviting.
"Sorry mom, we just wanted to all walk in together." Steve led the way towards the kitchen. "Wonderful for you to finally enter." Elaine nodded, wiping her hands on a towel before hugging Steve and Tracie. Elaine Peck's hair was tied back into an immaculate bun, wearing a pressed and starched salmon button up shirt, slacks and heeled boots. "Holly I would like to introduce you to my parents, Superintendent and Inspector Peck." Gail nodded politely towards her mother; I took note that Elaine made no effort to greet Gail, her eyes scanned over her face and clothing, I felt as if she were meeting Gail for the first time. "This is my girlfriend Dr. Holly Stewart."
"Thank you for inviting me to dinner, you have a lovely home." I held my hand out to greet them. "It was time to meet the woman taking up our daughter's time." Elaine nodded; shaking my hand, nothing appeared motherly or friendly, I felt like the unexpected guest rather than the required attendee. Every movement she made appeared to be calculated, after standing in their home for only a few minutes I understood why Gail often called her The Drone. "It is lovely to meet you Holly." Bill smiled politely shaking my hand before motioning towards the bar on the other side of the room.
"Can I fix you a drink?" he motioned for me to follow him as Elaine led them out of the kitchen. Gail nodded quickly before turning the corner, leaving me alone with her father. "Gail tells me you enjoy bourbon?" Bill held a bottle out to me to examine before pulling out five lowball glasses and adding whiskey stones to them. "This looks lovely sir." I nodded, handing the bottle back to him, wondering if my stomach would allow the continued abuse. "Don't let Elaine intimidate you, I assure you she has Gail's best interest in mind, but she has an odd way of showing it, and please call me Bill." He held out two glasses to me, each filled with a generous amount of bourbon. "Thank you Bill." I accepted the glasses and followed him towards the lounge where everyone had migrated.
Bill Peck reminded me of Steve, his cool smile and kind eyes, Gail adored her father and spoke to him often. When I told Gail about the invitation that had shown up at my office she explained that dinner would be extremely uncomfortable and tense. Elaine's intention would be to upset Gail, and that her dad never intervened or prevented her actions. The idea that no one had defended Gail against her mother's attacks made my stomach clench, I could not understand why a mother would deliberately attack her children.
Gail sat on the couch with Steve and Tracie, her eyes trained on the coffee table between her and her mother. The stillness of the room felt as if we had interpreted a private conversation. Gail smiled up at me when I held the glass out to her making my presence known. "Thank you." She accepted the glass and moved to make room for me to sit down; Tracie and Steve sat a foot apart both of them staring out the front window. I wondered what conversation I had just missed. "Gail, you should let me set you up with my hair dresser, you need a haircut and a touch up on your color." Elaine studied Gail's face before peering at me. Her eyes trailed over my face and my clothes, causing every hair on my body stood on end, a physical reaction that only happened when I fleet threatened. "Holly, please tell us about yourself?" Elaine asked, appearing displeased when Gail rested her arm along the back of the couch behind me.
I bit into my cheek to prevent the laugh from escaping my lips, of all questions I had expected I during our meeting, a self-explanation did not top the list. Elaine Peck knew about my life, I assumed she knew more than I knew about myself, I also knew that Elaine had no idea that I had read Gail's File. "I'm the Senior Forensic Pathologist working for 15." I felt Gail's hand on my shoulder simply resting there, she was trying to calm my nerves. "I've lived in Toronto for nearly 10 years, Born in Vancouver, I went to school in the states." I felt Elaine train her gaze on Gail's hand. She sat in a high back armchair flanking a rather large glass side table with Bill sitting on the opposite side of the table in a matching chair.
"Do you enjoy your work?" Bill asked, crossing his legs, Bill's question felt purely inquisitive, they lacked the authoritative tone of Elaine's leading interrogation. "I love my work, the medical field is fascinating." I nodded, feeling Gail's thumb run along the hymn of my collar, her nail gently grazing my skin. "Wonderful, if you love your job you will never work a day in your life." Bill nodded and sipped from his glass, I wondered if Bill had read my background check, if her entire family had been queued in on my family history and life.
"Why did your family leave Vancouver?" Elaine's question caused me to nearly choke on my drink, Gail and Steve had to inherit their interrogation skills from her, she used the same ambush technique that Steve had demonstrated. "Mother." Gail hissed, her posture stiffening, her hand felt heavier on my shoulder. "Gail I didn't ask you, I asked Holly." Elaine's eyes never left my face, her expression remained cold and unforgiving. "My parents moved our family here to be closer to their families." I tried to control my expression. Steve had told me over coffee a few days after my summons appeared that Elaine loved to play her own version of cat and mouse. Tracie tried to warn me of her cold nature, that Tracie dreaded the dinners as much as Gail and Steve, that Elaine used the dinners to display her disappointment in her children. "That must have been important for them considering they left their jobs." Elaine's eyes searched my face, waiting for a sign that she had worked her way under my skin that I would indulge her need to dig into my life.
"Family always comes first Ma'am. Choosing to move across the country and leaving their jobs to be closer to their siblings and parents would have never been considered a sacrifice." I smiled surveying the room, the house appeared to be staged nothing in the room gave off an impression of the people who lived inside. I had never been into a house that had lacked personal touches, family pictures, or items that could be used as conversation pieces. I wondered what Steve and Gail's rooms had been like growing up, if they were allowed to hang up posters or collect books and toys.
"Dinner is ready." Elaine nodded before quickly standing to walk back towards the kitchen effectively ending our conversation. "Dad, can you please make her act human!?" Gail groaned standing up and holding her hand out to me, apparently un-phased by her mother's tone and disappointed scrutiny. "When has she ever listened to me Gail?" Bill's apologetic expression gave away his own discomfort towards his wife's behavior. Steve and Bill led us into the large dining room that housed a large table and china cabinet. "I'm sorry." Gail squeezed my hand pulling my chair out for me. "Its fine babe." I nodded before sitting down to survey the table, gray place mates topped with bone white porcelain plates and what I assumed were silver cutlery.
"We will be having a roast with grilled tomatoes, carrots, and greens." Elaine emerged from the kitchen holding out a large tray. "Gail, your dinner is on the counter." Elaine placed the tray in the middle of the table before sitting in a chair that eerily resembled a thrown. "Thank you mother." Gail bit back before walking into the kitchen to grab her dinner. Even though all of them had explained how this dinner would play out, I still wanted to pull Gail into my arms and protect her.
"How are your cases, Tracie?" Elaine asked finally focusing on a new target, giving me a moment to observe her behavior with everyone else. "We have promising leads on a few cold cases, other than that I don't have much on my plate." Tracie nodded towards Elaine quickly passing a bowl filled with dinner rolls. "Mother, what is this!?" Gail walked back into the dining room, holding a salad out in front of her like a bomb. "A salad Gail, since you refuse to eat tomatoes, you have to make due." Elaine commented still watching Tracie.
"Mother I am allergic to tomatoes why must you ignore that?" Gail eyed the plate before sitting at the table. I glanced over at the salad, it appeared to be the contents of a pre-made salad bag topped with croutons and oil. "Gail, I am having a conversation with Tracie, please calm down." Elaine motioned for Tracie to continue. I wanted to tell her off, that her treatment was uncalled for and cruel. "I'm ok." Gail reached out to squeeze my thigh under the table, she could already read my mood. Gail's attitude and behavior after leaving a Peck family dinner suddenly made sense. Gail always came home defeated and guarded claiming she didn't want to discuss her family. She would pour a bowl of cereal and sit on the couch mindlessly watching TV before heading to bed, never giving me much information. She always woke up the next morning and apologized for shutting me out, turning back into the woman I cared deeply for.
"So Gail, how long will you continue this charade of being a lesbian?" Elaine asked, causing me to drop my fork, I had managed to ignore a majority of the conversation to that point. "Mother." Steve warned his grip on his silverware tightening, Tracie stared at her plate, and Bill shook his head at his wife. "I would like to know when my daughter plans to grow up , I have every right." Elaine commented watching Gail push the salad around her plate. "Mother, I love Holly. I am growing up, I promise you that this is not a phase." Gail retorted refusing to look at her mother, her gaze fixed on the wall behind Steve. "You've said that before, with Chris and with Nick." Elaine commented before standing up and walking back into the kitchen. "We should leave." I muttered low enough for only Gail to hear, aware that Elaine's behavior had been in direct correlation to my presence in her home. "Or I should leave, she doesn't want me here Gail." I sighed, looking at my untouched food, finding it increasingly difficult to eat under such hostile circumstances.
"I'm sorry." Gail shook her head before standing up to look at her dad. "You just let her do it." Gail watched her father who would not meet her gaze. "Let's go." Gail pulled the keys out of her back pocket and shook her head at Bill. "Thank you for dinner." I nodded towards Bill before following Gail out of the house feeling the strong urge to wrap my arms around her and never let her out of my sight again.
"Hey." I tugged on her hand, causing her to stop. "I didn't think she would be that way in front of you." Gail turned and stared past me towards the house. "Want to meet us at the diner we can eat real food and forget this dinner ever happened." Steve called bringing Tracie out of the house with him, both of them watch Gail apologetically. "Where are you headed?" Elaine huffed only a few steps behind Steve. "We're leaving." Steve smiled, stood between Gail and Elaine blocking any interaction. I watched Elaine square her shoulders, prepared to fight with her children.
"Dinner is getting cold, come back inside." Elaine ordered waiting for Steve to move towards the house. "No, we're leaving and I will not be returning until you start treating Gail like your daughter and less like a stranger. You invited Holly here, to finally meet the women that Gail fell in love with and you treated both of them as if they crashed your dinner party. You reached a new low tonight and I'm ashamed that we all had to be here to witness it." Steve crossed his arms, scowling at Elaine, Tracie smiled at Steve before looking back towards Gail and me. Gail's fingers pressed into the back of my hand to an almost painful extent, but I could feel her starting to relax.
"Gail before you continue to make a mockery of this family, Understand that Holly's parents ran the most notorious drug ring in Vancouver." Elaine smiled, satisfied with her personal intrusion and abruptly turned to walk back into the house. I felt Tracie and Steve's gaze shift from Gail to me, I knew that both of them wanted to question the accusation. "Don't listen to her Gail, she's trying to get you to react." Steve reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "Fuck her." Gail shook her head dropping my hand to push her hair back, I could hear the defeated frustration in her voice.
"Can we please go home?" I walked towards my jeep, needing to distance myself from the concerned glances and inevitable inquiries regarding my past. "Yeah." Gail opened the passenger door for me, her eyes searching my face trying to gauge my mood. "I'm sorry Holly." Gail muttered before rounding the car and getting into the driver's seat, and pulling out of the driveway.
"Should I stop for dinner, we didn't eat much?" Gail asked as she merged onto the highway, my own frustration had only intensified with the growing distance from Elaine Peck. "No thank you, I don't have much of an appetite." I breathed, watching out the window, I couldn't turn to Gail I knew that I would lose my resolve and force her to drive back to her parents' house so I could lay into the woman who had taken a sledge hammer to my girlfriend's heart.
The drive back home for the most part remained silent except for the sporadic apology that escaped Gail's lips. I watched the streets pass by through the window wondering what I had been missing. Growing up I never felt the need to dig into my past, I never asked for the police report or read the dozens of newspaper articles that followed the investigation of my birth parent's death. My parents loved me, they cared for me, and raised me as if they had birthed me. I couldn't ask for a better childhood, we had everything we could possible need, and I never felt as if a part of me had been the way Elaine treated Gail first hand made my heart hurt, the women that brought her into this world acted as if Gail only existed to adhere to her agenda.
"I'm going to put the kettle on, would you like some tea?" Gail asked once the front door had been locked behind up, walking towards the kitchen, her shoulders lacked their normal pride and posture. "No thank you, I need to catch up on my work." I nodded before walking into my office and closing the door. I needed a distraction to keep my mind off Elaine's comment that she had dug further into my past than Gail's file had led me to believe.