Another Reason to Love

chapter 7

"Hello?" the voice on the other end of the line called out. The voice was harsh and it made both Camila and Lauren wince. They were sitting on their bed the morning after they had their discussion about Julie. Together they had made the decision that Camila would call Julie and put an end to all of this.

"Hi Julie, it's Camila. Lauren is here too. We've got you on speaker phone," she explained as she ruffled the bedding nervously. Lauren noticed her wife's anxious behavior and placed a hand on top of Camila's for support.

"Of course," Julie huffed, seemingly annoyed by the situation already. "I think you know why I called. I got a call from the principal at your school and he told me that they weren't going to be able to go through with my interview. Do you know anything about this?"

Lauren squeezed Camila's hand knowingly as she felt her wife tense up. "I told him that I didn't think it was a good idea that we work together. We've just been through too much and I don't want to put anyone through that again," she said.

There was a pause on Julie's end as she figured out how to respond. "Do you know how hard it is to find a job around here?" she finally said, her voice shaking.

"I do and I'm very sorry. I just think that it would be better for everyone if we didn't see each other every day." Camila was getting more and more uncomfortable as the conversation went on. "Look, Julie. I'm sorry but I said what I said because I just can't do it. I am not going to put a strain on my marriage and I needed to do it for my own sanity. I know you're mad at me, but please understand that." Lauren rubbed Camila's back slowly to calm her down.

"Whatever," Julie said, obviously still mad. "That was a pretty selfish thing for you to do, you know? I thought you were better than that, Camila."

The words stung and Camila audibly gasped as they pierced her. Lauren could no longer hold her tongue. "No, you know what's selfish? You kissing someone else's wife." Camila closed her eyes and silently pleaded for the conversation to end quickly.

"You can't always fight Camila's battles for her, Lauren," Julie fought back.

"We're married. Her battles are my battles. In this case, I think this one belongs to the both of us anyway. She did what she needed to do and that's the end of this. Good luck on the job search, Julie." Lauren pressed the end button to close out the call and looked at Camila, whose mouth was hanging open in awe.

"Whoa. You can be kind of scary when you want to be," Camila teased as she crawled into Lauren's lap. Putting her arms around her wife's neck, she pulled her close enough for a kiss.

Lauren laughed against Camila's soft lips. "I get a little possessive sometimes, I guess." Her hands fell and rested on her wife's lower back. She played with the hem of Camila's shirt, dipping her fingers inside to brush the soft skin underneath.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, babe," Camila affirmed. "It was only scary for Julie. For me it was kinda hot."

"Oh really?" Lauren teased, leaning back in to give Camila another quick peck on the lips.

*****

"Mama, you aren't sick. Why are you going to the doctor?" Camila finished tying Brooklyn's shoelaces and shifted her eyes up to meet her daughter's.

Camila and Lauren had decided not to let Brooklyn know that they were going to try to have a baby until it was actually happening. They were well aware at how quickly the little one got attached and didn't want her to be upset if for some reason it didn't happen. "Remember when we took you to the doctor the first time? It wasn't because you were sick, we just wanted the doctor to check on you and make sure you were okay. That's what I'm going to do today," she explained.