Blessings In Disguise (lesbian)

(1) I Wouldn't Trust Myself With A Cactus

December 18th 2005

They were almost at the security checkpoint when she abruptly stopped walking within the busy terminal. Her partner took another dozen steps before she realized that the tall redhead wasn’t beside or right behind her. Turning around with the handle of her suitcase within her grasp, she looked at the other woman curiously. Why was she frowning? Had she left something at home? They had made a ‘do not forget’ list days in advance of this trip and that morning had successfully checked off all items, so what could she have possibly left behind?

"Honey, come on," Layne called, taking a few steps toward her. "Is something wrong? Did we forget something?"

"We should talk."

"Okay." Layne offered her a smile as she used her thumb to point over her shoulder toward the growing checkpoint. "Can it wait until we find our seats on the plane though? There’s a window seat with your name on it."

Shoulder length curly red hair shook from side to side. "No. I rather discuss this now." Picking up her luggage, she headed toward a row of empty seats, choosing one toward the middle. She watched as Layne followed, sitting beside her. "This is so hard for me." Too nervous to keep her eyes on her partner, she stared ahead observing as a little girl asked her mother if they would get to go visit Santa when their plane arrived in grandma’s state. "Layne, I…you can’t get on that plane."

It was Layne’s turn to frown. "What? I don’t understand. Why can’t I get on the plane? Promise I won’t freak out and attempt to squeeze all of the blood out of your hand if there’s some turbulence," she joked, hoping to gain a smile from the redhead. Unfortunately, her hopes went unanswered since Kirsten’s expression didn’t alter. Trying not to look as anxious as she felt, Layne fingered the identification tag attached to her black Samsonite upright. "What’s going on here, Kirsten?"

She opened and closed her mouth several times before the words she needed to say would start tumbling forth. "I was on the Internet one night four months ago and discovered an email from an old flame who I hadn’t spoken with since college. We started corresponding by email and then Yahoo Instant Messenger and then decided to meet about a month after the first email sent to me." Sighing, she chanced a look into Layne’s now expressionless face. "You have to understand Layne that none of this was planned. It just happened. But even on the few times that we’ve met, I never was unfaithful to you. We kissed a handful of times--I admit that but that’s all.

"But that’s not all we want. As much as this pains me to tell you, we want to be together. I’ve been trying to gather the courage to tell you for two weeks. He still lives in Albany near my parents so I’ll see him while I’m there and we’ll tell our parents that we’re getting back together. My parents will be so happy--they’ve always loved Darren. Not that they haven’t adored you."

"What?" It wasn’t necessary for Kirsten to look at her face in order to decipher the shock. No longer wishing to sit next to her partner, Layne scooted one seat down putting a chair length between them. "You’ve been cheating on me for months--"

"No, no." She wagged an index finger at Layne, which the woman currently getting her heart broken had delusions of snapping off. "I never cheated. I wouldn’t allow our relationship to go that far out of the respect that I hold for you."

Gray eyes narrowing, Layne’s tight fist broke the thin rope connecting her identification tag to her suitcase. "Gee thanks for being so considerate of me that you refrained from sexing up your…boyfriend! Boyfriend! Not only did you cheat on me emotionally, you did it with a man? You’re not a lesbian anymore?" Not that it truly mattered, but it irritated Layne even more that Kirsten had a mister instead of a mistress.