Lesbian Stepmother (9 page)

“Maybe. But he won’t know for sure. He’ll
just assume.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Yes. This can be our little sanctuary.”

Abbie hugged her again and began hopping up and down.
“Oh, goodie, goodie! Lonna, this is going to be so fun!”

“I know!”

“You can sneak in here every night!”

“As often as I can. You bet.”

Abbie kissed her again. “So he sent you in to
interrogate me?”

“I wouldn’t say that. He just wants to
know what you want to do about dinner.” Lonna picked up her
glass and took a sip. She then offered it to Abbie, who smiled and
took a sip of her own.

“Can we sit on your bed?”

“Of course!”

The two of them moved over and climbed onto the small
bed, leaning their backs against the wall and taking turns drinking
from the glass.

“Do you think we should go out?” Abbie
asked.

“It’s your birthday. I’ll do
whatever you want.”

“Anything?”

Lonna smiled and put an arm around Abbie. “You
know it.” She took a big sip and handed the glass back.

“You think he’ll smell this on my breath?”

“Who cares? I say we stop worrying so much.”

Grinning, Abbie took a sizable gulp, coughing slightly.
Her eyes were watering. “Wow, you really made this one
powerful!”

Lonna laughed. “I made it for two.” She
took the glass and had another sip. “Happy birthday,”
she said.

“It is, thanks to you.” Abbie kissed her
on the mouth and then rested her head on Lonna’s shoulder.

A sudden knock on the door startled them both. “Hey,”
Rick said from the hall. “Did we make a decision?”

“FUCK OFF!” Abbie yelled.

Lonna giggled, spilling vodka and cranberry juice in
her lap. “Hang on!” she called. “I’m trying
to patch things up in here!”

They could hear Rick muttering through the door. “Son
of a bitch!”

Lonna took a healthy mouthful of booze and handed the
glass to Abbie. “That should hold him for a few minutes at
least. Drink up, my little sweetheart.”

Abbie took the glass. “Are you trying to get me
drunk?”

“Not necessarily. I suppose I’m trying to
fortify you. I know you don’t want to deal with him, and I
don’t either. The drinking helps me cope with that, and, I
guess, I thought it might help you, too.”

“You’re very thoughtful.” Abbie took
another sip.

“I’m trying to keep your birthday a happy
one for you. Nothing else really matters to me right now.”

Abbie reached over with the glass and set it on the
computer desk. She then wrapped her arms around Lonna and eased her
down onto the bed, so that they were lying side by side. “Thank
you so much. For everything.”

Lonna smiled. “Nothing’s too good for my
little princess.”

Abbie smiled back, pulling Lonna closer and kissing
her. They lay there for quite some time, just holding each other and
breathing softly. It was very peaceful, and they were on the verge
of drifting off to sleep again when Rick knocked on the door.

“What the hell?” he shouted. “I’m
getting hungry out here!”

Abbie groaned, sitting up. “Jesus Christ! Go
away!”

“I’d better go deal with him,” Lonna
said. She also sat up, giving Abbie a little hug.

“I don’t want you to go!”

“I don’t want to go, either. But I suppose
we’ve got to do something. Do you want some dinner? We could
order something, and I could bring it in and eat with you in here.”

Abbie smiled. “That might work.”

“He said something about Chinese. What would you
like?”

“Something with shrimp. Something spicy.”

Lonna kissed her. “Will do.”

“And maybe another one of those cocktails. With
orange juice.”

They stood up and hugged in the center of the room.
“I’ll bring you something good. Don’t worry. Hey,
did you ever get your new computer working?”

Abbie dashed over to it. “Yes! Can I show you?”

“Goddamnit!” Rick said through the door.
“I’m ordering dinner in two minutes! If either of you
want anything, you’d better let me know!”

Lonna sighed. “I guess you can show me when
dinner gets here.” She retrieved her glass and took a small
sip, offering it again to Abbie.

Abbie took it and filled her mouth. She handed the
glass back and swallowed, grimacing. “Good stuff,” she
said.

They kissed quickly and Lonna ruffled her hair. “I’ll
see you soon.”

* * *

When Lonna opened the bedroom door, Rick was standing
right there. He tried to look past her shoulder into the room, but
she slipped through quickly and closed the door behind her.

“What the hell’s going on in there?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were in there for twenty minutes.”

“I was talking to Abbie! You asked me to,
remember?”

He shrugged, backing down the hall into the living
room. “I just wanted to know what she wanted to do for dinner.
I didn’t think you’d be in there that long.”

Lonna was getting more disgusted with him. She sipped
from her nearly empty glass. “I’m trying to be civil
with her. We were just starting to get along, after all these
months, and you have to keep pounding on the door barking about
food.”

“It’s getting late. I haven’t eaten
since noon.”

“Well, order something then.” She pushed
past him and took a seat on the couch, feeling sick. She tried to
remember why she had married him and couldn’t.

“So we’re not going out?”

Lonna looked up at him. He looked pale and sweaty with
the sunlight streaming through the windows into his face. “She’s
furious at you. Didn’t you hear her telling you to go away?”

He flapped his arms. “Yeah, but...we gotta eat.”
He studied her. “What were you two talking about for so
long?”

“I told you. We were just starting to get along,
and I was trying to cheer her up. It’s her birthday,
remember?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Well, what do you want for
dinner? We’d better order now, sometimes it takes them an hour
to deliver.”

“Abbie said Chinese would be fine. She wants
something spicy with shrimp.”

Rick spun toward the TV, grabbing a take-out menu from
the little shelf beside it. “Okay. I can do that. What about
you?”

“Chicken. Also spicy. Whatever they call it.”

He was studying the menu now, getting lost in the
details. “Okay. We want a number 22.” He found a pen
on the table and jotted a note on the menu. He continued studying
it. “And a number 31.” A quick scribble with the pen.
“And I’ll have the 16. You want egg rolls?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Okay. I’ll get one for Abbie, too.”
He pulled out his cell phone and wandered into the kitchen.

Lonna sighed, finishing her drink and settling back on
the couch, waiting.

Chapter 12

When Rick came back from the kitchen, Lonna got up off
the couch and stepped past him, intent upon making herself another
drink. He glanced at the empty glass in her hand and decided to keep
his mouth shut. Lonna made the drink slowly, wasting as much time as
possible to avoid sitting with him. There were real concerns now,
issues that hadn’t existed only a single day before, and she
needed time to think them through. Stalling in the kitchen was only
a brief respite. She really needed a day or two alone.

Well, maybe not completely alone. There was no doubt
in her mind that she wanted to pursue her relationship with Abbie.
It was by far the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her,
and she couldn’t imagine feeling more love toward anyone than
she currently felt toward her stepdaughter. The question was what
she was going to do about her marriage.

She stirred her drink and set the spoon on the counter.
For the time being, she would simply have to endure it.

When she returned to the living room, Rick was sitting
on the couch, leaning back and staring up at her. He seemed to have
no inner resources or any interests in doing anything at all, other
than eating, fucking and being a meddlesome pain in the ass. She
wondered again why she had married him.

“Food’s on the way,” he said. He
looked at the drink in her hand. Lonna could tell he had a few good
cracks ready to make about it, but he was holding back as best he
could. With her already annoyed at him, and Abbie not even speaking
to him, he was feeling the pressure to tread lightly.

Lonna took a seat on the opposite side of the couch.
“Oh, good. Did you order Abbie’s spicy shrimp?”

“Sure. I got her a whole quart, the large. Same
for your chicken.”

“Thank you.” She sipped her drink and set
it on the table.

“So what’s the good word around here?”

Lonna briefly toyed with the idea of faking severe
stomach cramps, anything to get out of having to sit and chat with
Rick. He probably didn’t want to chat, either, but likely felt
obligated. It was just another sad reality of their marriage, she
supposed.

“I don’t know.” She thought about
lying to him and saying she was at work all day, but decided lying
wasn’t a good idea. Then she quickly reconsidered and decided
lying would be fine. “I was at work all day.”

“Yeah. How many hours they giving you now?”

“The same. Six a day. Just enough to keep me
from qualifying for health insurance.”

“Well, that’s alright. You’re on
mine, you don’t need their insurance anyway.”

“I suppose.”

“Nothing on the TV?”

“You can put it on. I hadn’t really
thought about it.”

Rick glanced at the three remote controls on the coffee
table. “Nah. Last time I tried, I spent ten minutes trying to
change the channel. When I gave up, I couldn’t even get the TV
to turn off.”

Lonna laughed softly. It was probably true. “Most
people wouldn’t brag about that.”

“I wasn’t bragging. I could probably take
apart everything in this house, including the cars, and put it all
back together again, but these damn remote controls always confuse
the hell out of me.” Rick worked as a mechanic and prided
himself on taking things apart and putting them back together.
“Anyway, if you want to turn it on, it’s fine with me.”

Lonna reached over and picked up a remote, switching on
the TV. She was in no mood to watch it, but it would be a welcome
distraction. They sat there and stared at a documentary about owls
for a little while. Lonna took occasional sips from her glass,
trying to relive the morning in her mind, when it was her and Abigail
on the couch. It had been almost magical. She was sitting in the
exact same spot as when Abbie had leaned over and put an arm around
her, kissing her on the mouth for the first time. She smiled to
herself, remembering that Abbie’s lips had been cold from the
ice cubes. Cold and soft. They had warmed up quickly, though, and
the two of them had stretched out –

“I never cared for owls,” Rick said.
“Fuckin’ spooky-ass birds. More like a big winged-cat or
something.”

Lonna nodded. “Me, too.”

Rick looked at her. “What?”

She looked at him and sighed. “Me, too,”
she repeated.

He nodded. “Okay. If you say so. You feel
alright?”

“No. I feel kind of sick.”

“Maybe you ought to give that vodka a rest.”

Lonna was holding the glass in her hand. She raised it
to her mouth and took a long drink.

“Or not,” Rick said.

“It’s not the vodka. I’ve felt sick
all day. My throat hurts. The drink feels good on it.”

“Oh, shit. You’re probably coming down
with something. I’ll probably have it by tomorrow.”

“Not if we’re careful,” Lonna
suggested. “I’d feel terrible if I got you sick.”

He looked back at the TV. “Shit. I don’t
know why I look forward to the weekend. Now I’ll be looking
forward to Monday. And on Monday, to another weekend. I must be
crazy.”

“Maybe.”

They sat and watched the documentary for a little while
longer. Lonna finished her drink. When she set the empty glass on
the table, Rick reached forward and picked up one of the remotes. He
began pushing buttons, trying to get rid of the documentary. Little
menus kept popping up on the screen but the channel wouldn’t
change.

“Damnit! How the hell do you change it?”

Lonna showed him which buttons to press. “Just
press this one to go up, and this one to go back down. Or enter the
channel number, if you know what one you want.”

“I don’t know which one I want. I just
don’t want to see these damn owls anymore. Who the hell wants
to sit in their living room and watch some filthy looking thing like
that while it flies around chewing up mice?”