“This bread is amazing. Where did you get it?” Grace said, helping herself to another slice, glad she had accepted Kristine and Gloria’s invitation to stay for dinner. Gloria had just fed Eliza who had promptly crashed out. The three adults had beers and steaming bowls of soup in front of them.
“Robyn made it,” Caemon piped up.
“The Robyn from the barn?” Grace asked, surprised. Baking bread from scratch didn’t line up with the woman who had seemed so disengaged by the baby details.
Kristine nodded and gestured to the soup with her chin. “Made this too. The potatoes and leeks she grew, and she was very apologetic that the salad fixings weren’t from her own garden.”
Grace took another bite of soup, letting the creamy base baptize her tongue before she chewed the perfectly-cooked potatoes. “Is she married?”
Gloria and Kristine laughed in unison. “You weren’t asking that after seeing her, but her food makes you curious?”
Caught, Grace blushed. “My mother always said you marry a woman who can cook.”
“I can cook,” Caemon said, causing all the women to laugh together.
“That’s true. You’re Mommy’s best helper,” Gloria said.
“She expected you to marry a woman?” Kristine asked Grace.
“She expected you to be good at feeding a man,” Gloria stated, a patronizing look directed at her wife. “Pardon her. She grew up on a farm and was only expected to be good with horses.”
“And Gloria grew up here, so her parents expected her to marry a woman,” Kristine rallied.
“Point taken,” Gloria smiled, taking Kristine’s hand across the table for a brief squeeze before she was pulled back to managing Caemon’s soup which was starting to spread out across his placemat. She returned a square of potato to his spoon and encouraged him to use the utensil instead of his hands.
“I’m sure she’s convinced that my being single is directly related to my failure to understand the basics of cooking.”
“Why are you single?” Kristine asked. “You’re gorgeous and fun. You’ve got a good job.”
“I thought it was being in Houston. That’s why I took the job here. In the city, all I could think about was the competition to get ahead. That’s great for a professional life but not so much for your personal life.” She did not add how she had thought the town’s proximity to Oregon would improve her relationship with her sister. Shaking off the guilt she felt about not having spent more time with her family, she continued. “I was promised a lesbian mecca, but so far, it seems like all the lesbians I’ve met are dating each other, not waiting for me.”
“Don’t look at me,” Gloria said. “I had to import mine.” They shared one of their looks, drinking each other in like they did so often.
“That doesn’t help me, you know?” Grace shot back.
“What about Robyn?” Kristine asked.
“A little rough around the edges, but she has potential,” Grace mused. “I did put your number on my card.”
“That was inspired!” Kristine said.
“Doubtful that anything will come of it, but it doesn’t hurt to put oneself out there,” Grace said, clearing her dishes. “Dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty?”
“Clean, I think,” Kristine said.
Grace inspected a glass and, satisfied that Kristine was right, began opening cupboards and finding where things went.
“You don’t have to do that,” Gloria said without conviction.
“I know, but I want to,” Grace answered. “It makes me feel less guilty for eating your dinner.”
“Have you seen how much food we have left over? We’re happy to have you here to help us, and believe me, I enjoy the adult conversation,” Gloria said.
Grace relaxed into the kitchen cleanup, chatting easily with both Gloria and Kristine until Kristine slipped away to give Caemon his bath.
“Don’t mess with routine,” Gloria commented as Caemon skipped ahead of his mama to the bathroom, trying to pull off his shirt as he went.
Grace scooped the remnants of the salad into a food saver, turning the bowl in her hands. She ran her hands over the smooth surface and studied the signature on its base, a simple circle of milky white Mother of Pearl. “Where did you get this? It’s lovely.”
Gloria shrugged and joined Grace at the sink. “Must have come with supper. I’ve never seen it before.”
“I’ll have to ask Kristine about it,” Grace said, admiring it once more before she rinsed it and dried it carefully.
“Are you in town this weekend?” Gloria asked.
“No. I have tickets to Wicked.”
“I envy you. It’s nice to have friends who will fill me in on stuff that happens on the other side of the Redwood Curtain, but it makes me feel very homebound too.”
“Before you had kids, did you make trips to San Francisco?”
“A few times. A mentor of Kristine’s had a show at a high-end gallery down there, and we went for the opening. I’ve never been to a musical though.”
“Never?”
Gloria shrugged. “I don’t think I could sit still that long—Kristine either.”
Grace sighed and rolled her eyes. “Could you be any better suited for each other?”
“Sorry,” Gloria said.
“No, don’t be. It’s nice to have friends who have a great relationship, but it makes me feel very single too.”
Gloria laughed. “I think you should do more here. Have you seen anything at the campus theater?”
“I’ve seen a few shows. They were okay.”
“For a small-town university.” Gloria’s tone indicated that she understood Grace’s disappointment.
“They just don’t have the facility to do huge productions like Wicked or Mama Mia. Last year, I saw this amazing musical called Big River…”
“The one based on Huck Finn, right?” Grace’s expression betrayed her surprise, earning her a smack on the arm. “We have degrees, missy. We know some stuff. The music in that is amazing. There’s a local bluegrass band that often puts something from Big River in their set. The next time they play, you should get Kristine to take you. They’re something else. You want to meet someone, you’ve got to spend more time here instead of driving off to San Francisco every weekend,” Gloria said pointedly.
“So noted,” Grace said, running a dishtowel over the counter.
Gloria grabbed the towel from her. “No more cleaning. You’re exhausting me. Come say goodnight to Caemon, and I’ll get that gorgeous baby girl you’ve been dying to see. I’m starting to hear some peeps.”
“Now we’re talking!” Grace said, taking the towel back for a few more swipes before she finally relinquished it.