It was amazing how much the Columbia landscape had changed since the last time Dante Groves had been back to the place she considered home. New strip malls replaced her old familiar haunts. Apartment buildings were in place of the rest, or they were just completely gone. It was disconcerting how much of what she’d remembered had been erased from the area.
I really have been away far too long.
Nothing ever stayed the same, not even in Missouri. Dante turned off her GPS and let her memory of these roads take her to her chosen destination. Her stomach rumbled so forcefully it made her feel queasy. She checked the time on the dashboard clock. No wonder she was starving. She’d driven way past lunchtime and it was now bordering on dinner. Dante decided that appeasing her hunger was way more important than reminiscing over her lost youth. She had consigned that to the past long ago. At least the road she was on now was all too familiar. The Baydale Mall she was heading toward was looming in the distance. Even that looked larger than she remembered it. There’d obviously been a few structural additions since she’d last been there.
She prepared to switch lanes to head toward the mall, but a brand new building captured her attention. A restaurant lay just ahead with a bright orange awning that definitely hadn’t been there before Dante left. Her stomach tightened at the thought of food. She’d had breakfast on the road, a hastily grabbed breakfast burrito from a drive-through, and now she desperately needed something more filling. She also needed to sit somewhere other than in her car. Decision made, Dante pulled off the road and into the parking lot of Takira’s and managed to find the last space to park in. It was a relief for her to finally get out of the car and stretch her legs.
“I’m getting too old for cross-country driving,” she grumbled, checking then double-checking that she’d locked the car securely as it held all her worldly possessions inside. I’m forty-seven years old, and everything I own I can pack into the trunk of my car. How sad is that? Dante smoothed down her shirt and hoped she looked less rumpled than she felt.
Ambient music greeted her, and the air conditioning was a relief after the heat of Missouri’s temperatures beating down on her in the old secondhand car she’d picked up. The car’s AC was hit or miss at best. Dante liked the fact the restaurant’s music wasn’t too loud to distract the customers from their conversations. I sound like my mother. She smiled as a greeter came straight for her and was soon directing her toward a table.
“Oh my God,” someone said as Dante weaved her way through the tables. “Dante?”
Dante stopped in her tracks. She knew that voice. She turned around as someone behind her stood up from their seat. “Trent?” Dante tilted her head back a little to look up at Trent, grinning like a maniac at her. She welcomed the hug that enveloped her and returned it twice as hard.
“For God’s sake, Trent, did you never stop growing?” Dante pulled back and stared at her. “What are you? Seven foot now?”
Trent laughed. “I peaked at six. Anyway, I’m not that tall; you’re just economy sized.”
Dante laughed at that old familiar retort. She’d last heard it from a much younger Trent Williams. She grasped Trent’s arms and looked her over. “You’ve gotten even more handsome if that was possible. Look at you. You must be breaking hearts statewide.”
Trent shook her head. “I gave that up some time ago.” She pulled out a chair at her table for Dante to join her. “Man, it’s so good to see you. How long has it been?”
“You were just a babe when I moved away.” She thought a moment. “I’d just turned thirty-six so…my God, it was eleven years ago.” She grimaced. “That time went fast. Feels even longer looking at how you’ve grown.”
Trent got a faraway look in her eye. “I was twenty-three when you left. I still remember us meeting when I was just eighteen and new to the scene.” Trent smiled at her across the table. “You were my hero and role model all rolled into one, Dante Groves. I hope you know how much you did for me back then.”
Dante shook her head. “You’d have found your way, Trent. You just needed to be away from that damned family of yours to see your own strength and beauty in the world.”
Trent picked up a menu. “You eating?”
Dante nodded. “Yes, I’m starving. I’ve been driving all day. I was heading for the mall but spotted this place first. And look who I find in here.” She smiled. “So, how new is this place because I don’t remember it ever being here before.”
“It was built two years or so ago. We got this restaurant, a sporting goods store, and a comic book store out of it.” Trent grinned. “The comic book store is a personal favorite.” She beckoned over a server. “Can we order some drinks, please?” She looked back at Dante. “I’m waiting on someone before I order food, but if you want to go ahead don’t let me stop you.”
“I’ll look at the menu in a minute but a light beer would be most welcome. I’ve still got to drive.”
Trent put their drink orders in and then settled back in her chair. “So, what brings you back here? Didn’t you move to Texas?”
Dante nodded. How did she even begin to explain what a debacle that had been? She’d thought it would be her happy ever after but instead had turned into her worse nightmare. She was still wondering where to start when her drink appeared before her, along with some appetizers.
Dante broke open one of the small samosas to get a taste of the spicy pea and potato filling crammed inside. She hummed at the burst of heat that tripped over her tongue from the mix of spices. She dipped her next one in the chutney, took a mouthful, and groaned in appreciation. “Wow, that is delicious.” She went back for more. After another mouthful, she finally answered Trent’s question. “Yeah…Texas. Turned out to be way too hot there for this soul. Also, not the smartest move I ever made.”
“Didn’t you move away to be with that nurse?”
“Counselor. Chloe was a counselor. Looking after the mental health of her patients tirelessly.” Dante made a face. “Looking after them a little too much, to be honest. I caught her cheating on me a few years ago. Found out it wasn’t the first time either. So I packed up my things and walked out.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, well, it happens. Wish it hadn’t happened in my bed with me catching her and another woman mid orgasm, but hey, shit happens.” Dante held up her bottle to Trent in a toast. “Here’s to my not being stupid enough to ever get burned again.” They clinked their bottles together.
“You said a few years ago? What’s taken you so long to come back home?”
“I decided to just shake loose and go places I’d never seen before. I’d played the dutiful partner long enough. It got me nowhere but homeless, woman-less, and eventually jobless. So I figured I’d go to all the places I’d always dreamed about but Chloe was too busy at work to have time for.” Dante shrugged.
“Where did you go?”
“Universal Studios first, took myself to Disneyland too and rode every ride three or four times without hearing, ‘Don’t you think you’re too old to be doing that?’ in that disapproving voice Chloe always had when it was something I enjoyed doing. I bought myself a Mushu dragon there that has been my companion on the long journey that’s finally led me back home.”
Trent smiled. “I know Mushu very well. Mulan is a favorite movie in my house.”
Dante took another bite off the plate. “Then where did I go? Oh, Germany, where I attempted to drown my sorrows in their very fine beers. But there’s only so many hangovers you can wake up to before that gets old fast.” Dante smiled as she remembered what came next. “And then I went to England. I stayed in London for about a year, found a job, and while there witnessed the glory of the Second Coming.”
“Really? I think we missed that event over here somehow.”
“I was incredibly lucky to score a ticket to see Kate Bush’s Before the Dawn concert. It was only the second time in her career she performed a series of concerts, and I got to see her. It was the closest thing to a religious experience I have ever witnessed. I ripped up my bucket list there and then. That was the only thing I’d ever wanted to see, and nothing will ever come close to beating it in my lifetime.”
Trent smiled at her. “I remember you’d have her playing in the car when you’d pick me and Elton up to go out with you. Every time I hear her I think of you.” Trent eyed her over her bottle. “So, you played hooky and traveled the world, got to see your idol, and now you’re back in Columbia. Are you here to stay or are you just passing through off onto your next adventure?”
Dante shook her head. “No, I’m hoping to stay put if I can find work. I’ve done a variety of managing jobs on my travels both here and abroad, but I’m looking for something more permanent. And I’m in need of a roof over my head. But I need to eat first and then I can sort out the details of what I have to do next.” She took a long drink from her beer. “But enough about me and my failed love life, what about you, young Williams? How has life been treating you since I last saw you?”
Trent tapped at the badge fastened to her shirt. “I’m an assistant manager at Gamerz Paradise now.”
Dante was proud of her. She remembered Trent starting at the job and how excited she’d been.
“Do they still appreciate your knowledge?”
“They do, and my staff are all gamers too so it’s as good as it gets as a dream job for me.”
“You still have that lanky long-haired guy by your side?” Elton and Trent were hard to forget, both for their heights and their looks.
“The one you use to call the String Bean Wookie? Yes, we’re still BFFs, best friends forever.”
“More like partners in crime,” Dante said dryly.
“We were young and foolish. I forget you knew me way back when.”
“So, my handsome butch, why no breaking young girls’ hearts?” A big smile as gentle as she had ever seen broke out on Trent’s face.
“Things changed, I changed, and life got a million times better.” Her eyes lit up and sparkled.
“Mama!”
Dante startled at the high-pitched voice that sounded from behind her. Someone’s child was obviously excited. What she didn’t expect was to see the smile on Trent’s face grow even brighter as she slipped from her seat to crouch beside the table.
“Mama!”
A little blond girl flung herself into Trent’s arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around Trent’s neck as they exchanged kisses.
“Mama, I missed you!”
“I missed you too, Harley.” Trent stood back up and winked over Harley’s head at someone.
Dante figured whoever it was must have sent the child after Trent. She didn’t turn around to look; she was still reeling from the whole “Mama” business.
“Have you been a good girl for Mommy today?” Trent asked, settling back into her seat with Harley in her arms.
Harley nodded against Trent’s neck. “Mommy said no eat worms. They not spaghetti.”
Trent laughed and kissed Harley’s head. “Good girl. No one wants worm breath.” She nudged Harley gently. “Are you going to say hello to my friend Dante? She’s going to be so happy to meet you.”
Harley turned and smiled in Dante’s direction, flashing a mouthful of little white baby teeth. “Hi,” she said, burying her face back into Trent’s neck shyly.
Dante had to admit this kid was incredibly cute. She had big blue eyes and a mass of blond hair tied up with a brightly colored scrunchie. She was dressed in a Wonder Woman T-shirt and a little pair of denim shorts. Tiny Wonder Woman sneakers adorned her feet. Dante reconsidered; the kid was certifiably adorable with a great taste in heroes.
“Hi, Harley.”
Harley shifted to sit on Trent’s lap and cuddled back against her to play with Trent’s work tie.
“Did I hear right? I mean, I’m edging ever closer to fifty and the hearing isn’t what it used to be.” Dante still couldn’t believe what she was seeing or what she’d heard. She watched as Trent gently rocked Harley back and forth in her arms while Harley swung on her tie.
“Harley, who am I?” Trent asked her.
Harley patted Trent’s chest. “Is my mama!”
Dante’s jaw dropped.
Things had changed.
Dante couldn’t take her eyes off Trent with Harley sitting so peacefully in her arms. “Yeah,” Trent said. “It was a big change for me too. But I wanted it.” She kissed Harley’s head tenderly. “I wanted it so bad. Look what I got blessed with, Dante. I have a daughter and she, like her mother, is everything to me. I got a family, Dante, one of my very own.”
Dante recognized the disbelief that cast shadows across Trent’s eyes for a moment before the sheer joy of being loved replaced it.
“I’m so happy for you,” she said. “How old is Harley?”
Harley answered and held up two fingers and one slightly bent. “Two and a half,” she answered seriously. “I go to school now.”
“It’s a mother and toddler meet-and-greet kind of thing,” Trent said. “I guess it’s to make sure that little kids are comfortable around other kids before they’re thrown into a more structured school regimen. Harley’s used to kids though because she’s got cousins out the ass.”
“Mama! Naughty word!” Harley looked aghast.
Trent grinned at her and kissed her head. “You are your mommy’s daughter. I’ll put a dollar in the jar when we get home.”
Suitably mollified, Harley sat back to be cuddled a little more.
An incredibly pretty blonde navigating her way around the tables with a stroller caught Dante’s attention. She was gorgeous, and Dante sat up straighter.
“What’s just pinged on your radar?” Trent asked. “Or should I say who?”
Dante had forgotten Trent had learned all the right butch cues from her.
“A breathtakingly beautiful blonde is heading in this direction,” Dante said, not taking her eyes off the woman.
“Is that so?” Trent said.
The blonde headed straight toward their table, and Dante stood up as she drew near.
“Well, aren’t you sweet?” The blonde smiled at Dante and leaned down to kiss Trent’s smiling lips. “Now why didn’t you stand for me?”
“I have a lap full of baby,” Trent said, stretching up for another kiss. “Hey, Juliet.”
Dante sat back down as Juliet took the seat beside Trent’s.
“Mommy!” Harley shouted.
Juliet held out a soft plush toy for Harley’s grabby hands. “You left Yoshi in your stroller. He was getting lonely.” She handed him over.
Harley kissed his soft fuzzy head and then walked him across the tabletop. “Yoshi wants ice cream,” she said.
“Well, he’ll have to wait until after you eat your meal and then he can share whatever flavor you pick out tonight,” Juliet said.
Harley nodded and began chatting to Yoshi quietly, probably explaining the delay in dessert for little dinosaurs.
“Juliet, this is a very dear friend of mine. Dante, this is Juliet. My wife.”
Dante tried not to look too stunned over that piece of information. She held out her hand to Juliet. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Juliet.” She cast an eye at Trent. “You truly are the luckiest butch on the whole planet. You know that, right?”
Trent looked smug. “I’m well aware of how lucky I am, believe me. Jule, Dante is the one who taught me how to be the suave and sophisticated butch that swept you off your feet.”
Juliet gave Trent a smoldering look that made Dante almost groan in frustrated arousal. God, Trent had snagged herself a looker. Lucky bastard.
“The Jedi Master to your Padawan, babe?”
Trent laughed. “Minus the lightsabers sadly, but pretty much yes. She got me out of some fixes when I first began negotiating the gay scene.”
Juliet’s full attention switched to Dante and all but seared her where she sat. “So you would be the one to know stories of a young Trent that maybe Elton wouldn’t be a party to or unlikely to divulge?”
Dante shot Trent a less than innocent look. Consider this payback for not warning me the gorgeous blonde I was eyeing was yours. “I just might know a few tales best told out of earshot of your daughter and her mother.”
“Is my mama,” Harley suddenly piped up, patting Trent’s arm. Then she leaned over to pat Juliet. “Is my mommy.”
“You’re a very lucky little girl,” Dante told her. “She’s the spitting image of you, Juliet.” Dante had a feeling Trent loved that more than anything else.
“In looks, yes,” Juliet said. “But she’s her mama’s child in temperament and likes.”
“Mommy, my-pad, my-pad,” Harley demanded as she pushed aside the menus on the table to clear space for her tablet. She took it from Juliet with a cheery “Thank you!” and switched it on.
“We had to get her a tablet of her own. She kept beating my Angry Birds scores.” Trent’s disgruntled face made Dante laugh. “It was demoralizing, and the sticky finger marks were getting harder to clean off. Plus it was prudent to get her one of her own so I didn’t keep finding she’d deleted my games by accident.”
“Naughty birdies, Mama.” Harley pointed at the screen, and both her and Trent’s attention fixated on the game for a moment.
“The gaming gene she definitely gets from Trent,” Juliet said. She picked up the menu and scanned it. “Same as usual for you, babe?”
Trent nodded. “Yes, please.” She looked over at Dante. “Order whatever you want. It’s my treat.”
“Trent—”
“No, Dante. You were there for me when I needed you as a young adult. I’m so glad to have you back here. Paying for your meal is the least I can do.” Trent turned to Juliet. “We need to help her find a job and a place to stay. She’s literally rolling in with just her wheels and nothing in place.”
“What kind of work are you looking for?” Juliet asked.
“Anything that pays the bills. I helped manage a bar for a month or two in Kansas City to get the money together to come back here. I am a trained manager by profession, and that’s come in handy in a lot of places. But I’ll literally do anything as long as it pays.” She wagged a finger at the managerial badge on Trent’s chest. “Something I’m glad Trent didn’t follow in my footsteps with. You stuck with it, just like I knew you would.”
“I’m very dedicated to my job. It probably helps it’s connected to something I’m passionate about.”
“Well, when I get a job and someplace to live, then you can hook me up with a new console. Chloe wouldn’t let me use mine, and I stupidly gave in to her.” Dante shook her head at how gullible she’d been. “She didn’t want me in the house ‘rotting my brain with games.’” Dante air quoted. “Of course, now I know why she wanted me out of the house.”
“When you’re ready just come into the store and I’ll do you a great deal,” Trent said. She looked down at Harley in her lap. “You hungry, Harley Q?”
Harley nodded, her head bent over the pad in her little hands. “And juice please.”
Juliet got up. “Darling, you know what I want. I’ll go send Zenya over for our order. I can see she’s on tonight.” She pressed a quick kiss on Trent’s temple as she slipped behind her. “I’m going to see if Takira is in.” She smiled down at Harley. “Harley, you tell Mama what you want, okay?”
“Cheese,” Harley drew out the word with a multitude of eee’s.
Trent grinned and looked at Dante. “That’s her favorite thing at the moment.”
“And strawberries,” Harley added.
“Just not on the same plate though, eh, baby?”
Harley laughed, muttered, “Silly Mama,” and carried on with her game.
“You’re happy, aren’t you?” Dante asked. “And you’re married. My God, dude, you’re married!”
Trent held out her hand to show off her ring. A simple gold band sat on her finger. “I found me a keeper, and for reasons I will always thank God for, she wants to keep me too.”
“Family life suits you. I’ve never seen you look so content. I just remember you downing shots and singing bad karaoke with Elton. Then I was having to carry you both home, and you still came back to the bar the next night raring to do it all over again.”
“That was just existing. This,” Trent nodded toward Harley, “this is living. Meeting Jule, us having Harley Quinn, it’s everything my life should be.”
Dante’s lips quirked. “You really called your kid that?”
“It’s Juliet’s fault. There’s a family thing where they use Grandma Sullivan’s maiden name as a middle name for all the kids. We just carried that tradition forward, and there was no way in hell I was letting that opportunity pass me by.”
“I’ve missed you, kid,” Dante said.
“I missed you too. Wait until you see Elton.”
“He still trying to grow that damn fool beard he was so desperate for?”
Trent laughed. “He got better at it. It’s more than just peach fuzz now.” She drew Harley’s attention from her game. “Harley, Zenya’s coming. Can you tell her what you want for your dinner, please?”
Harley scrambled up to stand on Trent’s lap, balancing herself by gripping onto Trent’s shirt collar. “Hi, Zenya, I want cheese!”
Zenya, an attractive dark skinned woman with dreadlocks tied back in a ponytail, laughed as she interacted with Harley. “Of course you do. One special order of mac and cheese for Harley Quinn coming right up.” Zenya looked at Trent and Dante next and wrote down their orders.
Trent stopped her before she left. “Put this all on one bill, please. Dante’s family and she’s not spending a dime tonight no matter how much she asks for the bill, okay?”
Zenya nodded and winked at Dante. “Enjoy your meal.”
Dante swallowed at the lump that had risen in her throat. Yes, she’d made the right move. She was back where she belonged. She was home.