Her Mom Likes Girls

14

Walking past Jamie in the hallway, my cheeks became flushed immediately. She looked at me with her curious eyes and waved. I walked into my office without looking back.

I'd never been good at hiding my interest in someone, and I've been out of practice. Sam and I have been together for almost twenty years. And I've never been interested in anyone but her. I was always focused on my marriage, my job and my kid. There was never time for me to wonder about anything else.

I locked my door so that no one could get in and I leaned against my desk. Hailey would be back at school in a couple of days, but I still hadn't decided what she'd be doing to completely make up for her bad behavior. I honestly didn't want to punish her more.

But it wasn't her first time being insubordinate, and I doubted it would be her last if I kept making excuses for her. I looked at the time and figured that I could step out for a while.

I found myself at a coffee shop a few blocks away from the school. Sipping on my coffee, I watched strangers absentmindedly as I continued to ponder about my life. That's when I noticed Jamie sitting across from another woman. Jamie was faced away from me but I could recognize her side profile as though I'd memorized her features.

I sighed, wondering why I couldn't seem to get away from her.

The woman with Jamie seemed older, probably around my age. And Jamie was definitely younger by at least ten years. I assumed that she was Jamie's girlfriend. They held hands across the table, and talked intimately.

I observed them for awhile. The girlfriend had short, dark hair and very pale skin. She was attractive. But definitely not as attractive as Jamie.

I listened to their faint chatter, only being able to make out words here and there. When the girlfriend caught my gaze, I immediately redirected my eyes to the closest distraction. I shook my head, finished the remaining of my coffee, and decided to leave.

"I thought that was you." I heard Jamie's voice and almost screeched in horror. I turned to her and plastered the biggest smile on my face.

"Oh, hi, ugh, yeah." Jamie looked awkwardly at me as though she'd been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. And I was sure I looked the same. "Sorry, I noticed you. But didn't want to interrupt," I said.

Jamie smiled. "That's my girlfriend, Audrey." Jamie pointed to the woman. At that point, it felt awkward not to introduce myself to her girlfriend.

I walked over and reached for Audrey's hand. "Audrey, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm—"

"Peyton." Audrey said. "Jamie's mentioned. It's nice to meet you too. Would you like to join us?" Audrey was polite but also didn't seem to care for the interruption.

"No, I don't want to intrude. I was just going to—"

"It's no bother." Jamie said and sat down. She gestured for me to sit on the chair beside her at the table. "Please, sit for a few minutes."

I gave in and sat down. I felt uncomfortable, but I had no reason to be. I said, "do you two usually come here?"

"Sometimes," Jamie said, "on my lunch break, if I give myself one."

"As much as we can." Audrey chimed in. "We don't get to see each other a lot, so we try to find time as much as possible."

"That's nice," I said. "My wife and I would do the same thing. But she works from home now. It's hard to get her out of the house unless it's burning down."

"I hope we never stop," Audrey said.

I looked between the two and smiled politely. "How long have you been together?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I did, or why I was curious. It wasn't any of my business. But I wanted to know.

"How long has it been, Jamie?" Audrey looked at Jamie, "seven months?"

Jamie nodded. "I think so," she said. "You've been with your wife for eighteen years, right?"

"Almost nineteen," I responded.

"Wow." They both mentioned.

"That's a long time." Audrey said. "I hope we last that long, babe."

Jamie half-heartedly nodded. I noticed the hesitation in the eyes. But maybe that's what I wanted to see.

I said, "yeah. It goes by faster than you think. One day you're thinking that you'll wait till you're older to settle down, the next thing you know you've got a seventeen year old daughter and you wake up to the same person next to you for the rest of your life."

I felt sad thinking about Sam. I loved that woman more than anything. And I couldn't imagine my life without her. I didn't want to start over with someone else. I couldn't fathom being with anyone else.

"That sounds like the good ole lesbian u-haul," Audrey chuckled. "Jamie mentioned to me about going out to dinner with you and your wife. Is your decision still up in the air, or?"

I felt as though I was put on the spot. What was I supposed to say? "I'd love to." I said behind gritted teeth. It wasn't that I didn't want to. I was just concerned about what Sam would think. I wasn't trying to stir the pot more before it got a chance to settle.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Jamie said, her shyness peaking out again.

"Of course, I want to." I smiled at her. "This Saturday. My house. I'll make dinner. How does that sound?"

"Great." They both said.

"What's your number, Jamie?" I asked. She looked at me as though she had a lump in her throat. "So that we can communicate about any food allergies you two might have," I clarified.

Jamie looked at Audrey as though she was asking for approval. We exchanged phone numbers and I excused myself. I needed to head back to work. And I also didn't want to sit there any longer.