Part Three:
I brought the salad bowl over to the table and sat down. I dished out
two portions and watched as Amanda poked at her plate.
“You still upset about the game?”
Sighing, she put down her fork. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it was so
close. If I had hit it a little more to the center, he never would have
caught it and we could have actually won it.” She shook her head and
took a sip of her iced tea.
Swallowing the bite of salad I had just taken, I put my fork down and
reached across the table to take her hand in mine. “Amanda, look. You
also could have missed the ball completely and been struck out. So the
guy’s a good catch. So what? Next game, I’m sure you cream ‘em.”
She chuckled and squeezed my hand. “I suppose I’m overreacting, aren’t
I?”
I smiled and pulled my hand back, picking up my fork again. “Yeah, you
are. I just didn’t want to say anything. You were already in a funk and
I didn’t want to make it worse. After all, we’re supposed to be having
a good time.”
She smiled and shook her head. “You’re right. I don’t know why I was
letting it bother me so much. It’s just a game.” She picked up her fork
and dug in. “Although,” she added around a mouthful of lettuce, “you’re
right about something else.” I raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Her smile
turned malicious. “We will cream them next game.”
We both laughed and started eating again.
After dinner, we washed up the dishes and went outside to the back porch
with our iced tea. The night was still warm from the heat of the day.
We sat in silence and stared at the night sky. After a few minutes I
felt Amanda shift and glanced over to see that she had reclined against
the arm of the bench swing and she gestured for me to lean back. I put
my glass on the table next to hers and turned around, leaning back into
her embrace. She crossed her arms over my chest and we both settled in,
not saying anything. Just listening to all the sounds of the night
around us. She sighed, and I felt the rise and fall of her breasts
beneath me. I closed my eyes, letting myself go to sensation. I swear,
I could feel everything. The gentle breeze that blew across my exposed
skin. The rustle of our clothes as we rocked gently back and forth.
Amanda’s hair as it tickled my neck. Her heartbeat, in time with my own
beneath me. Her hardened nipples pressing into my back. Her fingertips
as they glided gently, barely touching, across my neck and collarbone.
I shivered and tilted my head to the side to grant her better access.
When her hands drifted down to cup my breasts, I whimpered. Amanda
moaned in response. I arched my back, pushing my breasts into her
hands. She took her hands away and pushed at my back, telling me to sit
up. Confused, I did as she asked and turned to face her. She sat up and
took my face between her hands. I felt their warmth seep into my skin
and closed my eyes, nuzzling like a kitten into her palm. She leaned
toward me, with a slowness that was almost agonizing. As she came
closer I closed my eyes, my lips drifting apart. When her lips touched
mine, it was almost as if an electric current ran between the two of
us. I gasped and she took advantage of my open mouth to push her tongue
past my lips. She explored my mouth with her tongue, caressing my lips
with hers, kissing me in a way I’ve never been kissed before. It was
almost as though she was leaving her mark on me, claiming me as hers
with her kiss. And she did. With the first touch of her lips I knew
that, no matter what happened tomorrow, for tonight at least, I was
hers.
The loud trill of the phone jolted us and we jumped apart like we’d been
scalded. We looked at eachother and laughed shakily. I got up and
noticed that I was a little unsteady. I carefully made my way through
the house and picked up the phone on the little table in the hall.
“Magnolia House.” I smiled when I felt Amanda move behind me and began
playing with my hair.
“Hello dear.”
“Oh, uh, hi mom.” This was the last person I expected to hear from
tonight. And considering the circumstances, it wasn’t exactly a welcome
call. I rolled my eyes at Amanda and settled in for the long haul. It
wasn’t exactly like I could hang up. She was my mother and even though
we didn’t get along, I didn’t try to go out of my way to hurt her. We
talked for a little while, stilted conversation between two people to
tried to care for eachother, but couldn’t exactly make it fly. The
conversation lasted a little over ten minutes, catching eachother up on
what was happening. It turned out my mother had met a very nice man and
they were planning on getting married next month. A small ceremony at
her house in Nantucket. Basically their immediate families and close
friends.
“So, dear, do you think you can make it? I -- I would like it if you
could.”
I had been planning to refuse politely, using my work as an excuse, but
after hearing that little break in her voice, I knew I couldn’t.
“Of course I can make it, mom. I think I can close the inn for the
weekend without too much trouble. I’ll only be able to stay for the day
though.”
“Oh, dear, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad. I’ve told Richard all about
you and he can’t wait to meet you.” Hearing the excitement in her
voice, I had to smile.
“All about me, huh? Did you tell him the most important part?”
“Actually, yes I did. He and I have talked a lot about it. He’s made me
realize that I was wrong to condemn you for your choice. It’s part of
who you are. I can’t say that I am completely at ease with it or that I
understand it all, but if I want you as my daughter, I have to at least
accept it as a part of you.”
“Wow, mom.” I was flabbergasted. “I never expected to hear you say
that.”
“I know,” she chuckled. “Neither did I. I suppose I’ve finally grown up,
huh?”
We finalized all the plans and said our good-byes. The last thing she
said to me before we hung up truly amazed me though. She told me that
if I wanted to bring a guest, that was alright by her. Holy cow. A
little dazed, I hung up the phone. I wandered into the kitchen and
poured myself a glass of wine from the fridge.
“I didn’t know you had any wine in the house.”
I turned to find that Amanda had followed me silently into the kitchen.
I grabbed a second glass and poured one for her as well. I set both our
glass on the counter and hopped up myself. I told her all about my
phone call and what my mother had told me. When I was finished, she
took a sip of her wine and whistled softly.
“Wow. I can see now why you’re a little frazzled. Are you going to go?”
she looked at me inquiringly.
“I have to. This is important to her, so it’s important to me too. For a
lot of reasons,” I added under my breath.
“You know, you don’t have to go there alone.” She took another sip of
her wine.
My head whipped up in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I could go with you if you want me to. Moral support.” She looked
at me expectantly. I felt as if we were having an entirely different
conversation, asking and waiting for answers much more important than
the ones spoken. I realized I wanted her to go with me to Nantucket. I
wanted her to be with me, and I knew that if I asked her to go with me,
I would be asking a much larger question. When I thought about all that
it implied, I realized that I wanted it. I looked into her eyes and I
saw that I was right, that she was hoping for the same thing.
“I’d like that very much.” Amanda smiled at me then. An intimate smile,
full of promise. I smiled back. “Very much.”
For a few minutes neither of us said anything, just looked at eachother.
“Well,” she said softly. “It seems to me that we were in the middle of
something when your mother called. She held her hand out to me. “Would
you care to finish it with me?”
I put my hand in hers and allowed her to pull me off the counter and
into her arms. We stood there for a minute, just holding eachother. I
felt her fingertips graze my jaw and tilted my head back, my eyes
drifting shut in anticipation. Her lips touched mine softly, caressing,
rubbing back and forth. Oh, wow. I was hearing bells.
Amanda groaned against my lips before tearing her mouth from mine.
“Hell,” she muttered. She pulled her beeper from her belt and hit a
couple of buttons. I giggled. Well, there’s the bells I thought I was
hearing. Grumbling under her breath, she grabbed the phone from the
wall and dialed a number. I leaned back against the counter, content to
watch her. After a brief conversation, she hung up and turned to me,
shaking her head.
“So, what’s up?” I asked.
“I don’t believe this,” she said. “That was my work. I have to go. One
of the guys called in sick and they need me to cover for him. I’m
sorry.”
I sighed in frustration. And resignation. “It’s okay. Can I have a rain
check?” I waggled my eyebrows at her lasciviously, making her laugh.
She grabbed my by the waist and kissed me roughly.
“You’d better believe it.”
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