Baggage Claim

Turmoil

Chapter Two: Turmoil 

Layla and Kim strolled under the lights of the Champs Elysees, wandering among the droves of excited tourists and exasperated locals. Layla listened attentively as Kim revealed the pent up frustration of being disregarded, and hinted to the sadness that it caused.

Among the boutiques whose darkened windows hinted at the overpriced merchandise inside, and bistros releasing a bouquet of aromas, Layla learned that Kim’s secret had kept her captive for years.

In her small town in Texas you were a proper southern bell or you were the subject of criticism Kim revealed, and for the well to do family she was from, there was no in between. Kim’s mother had ignored the small giveaways but her four prim sisters had not. They had all been stars among the townsfolk and they refused to allow their “defective” sister to jeopardize that for them. Kim explained how they sat her down at the tender age of twelve and explained the rules of family and life, and threatened that if she allowed herself to follow this selfish path that they would be the ones to begin her ruin.

So Kim was dressed and properly packaged every day, and sent into the world to prove that the Peterson sisters were every bit the wonderful façade they pretended to be.

The moment Kim had turned eighteen she scoured ways to escape her gold covered chains; applying to colleges in far off states hoping that the distance between them would allow Kim to put to rest the battle inside of her. Armed with hopes and an acceptance letter from the University of Berkeley, she told her mother she was moving to California. Kim’s mother, who had remained silent through all her years of torture, was the one that finally ripped out her heart.

“You are no longer a concern of ours, you are free to go your own way. You are no longer a part of this family.”

Kim recalled how her mother didn’t even glance back as she walked away. Crushed beyond sane thought, she packed a bag that night and moved to Austin, where she applied for and got the job at Global airlines.

Trained to hide that which lay inside, Kim never shared her secret with her coworkers. She worked hard and earned the respect of upper management, receiving letters of praise as proof. It would be these letters that would seal the company’s fate later on in the lawsuit. She worked and went home to an empty apartment and a thought filled mind, hoping for anything that would define who she really was. As if in answer to her prayers, she received that clarification in the form of Jennifer, a petite brunette college student.

They met at the neighborhood Laundromat one uneventful night, both waiting on dryers. They began friendly conversation to pass the time, never knowing that the other was sizing them up while they talked. It was only after several casual encounters at the Laundromat that Kim noticed that Jennifer was always there when she was, as if she had purposely planned it. She confronted Jennifer one night and Jennifer bashfully revealed her intentions, claiming that she guessed Kim might be interested as well, but did not want to assume.

Kim and Jennifer began a whirlwind romance after that; Kim’s first of that kind and the most endearing of all. So powerful were the new feelings that they changed Kim’s whole persona, drawing the attention of some of her less accepting coworkers. It was a stewardess on her first international flight, one that had harbored resentment for the attention the pretty blond attracted, that had started the chain of events that would lead to the lawsuit. 

The love that had finally put peace to the internal strife Kim had in her heart began a battle for acceptance in her career. Jennifer begged her to relent, but Kim had found strength in finally admitting who she was, and she was unwilling to go back. The courts granted her the win, but she lost everything in the cause; Jennifer left her, the stewardess’s ignored her, and Global’s upper management labeled her a problem child. Her golden chains had indeed fallen off, and were replaced with a society made steel cage.