Page 53 of Stroked
“Well, you met her briefly. She is beautiful, smart, very driven. And she has never brought one boy home. Even for her siblings’ weddings, she never had a date. She blames work. But even workaholics often find time for relationships. Or at least, dating. Especially at her age. When we talk about things like marriage and grandchildren, she changes the subject. Maybe I am wrong, but I have had my suspicions for several years.” She took a bite and I pondered.
“What if she is?”
“Then she is, I suppose. Her father would probably be disappointed, but not because of that, just the idea of no family for her.”
“Well, I have lots of friends who are in committed same-sex relationships and they have kids. Through various means, but it’s possible.”
“True. And please do not think my husband a bad man. He is very traditional and very devout. But he would never turn his back on our children.”
“And you?”
“Well, I would worry for her. You have been lucky, but like you said, your friends have had struggles. And I would be lying if I said I did not care about her having babies.” She put her hand up before I could remind her of what I just said. “Iknowthere are ways. But if you go through life thinking you know how your child’s future will look, it would take some adjustment to see the new picture. But I would still be her mother and love her as fiercely as I do now. If you ever have a family, you will understand what I mean.”
“May I ask you another question?” Once she nodded, I continued. “If she was, would there be any reason she may have not wanted to tell you? I was sort of a rebellious teen so I didn’t care what my parents would say. I had Lucy and knew I’d have a place to go if needed. If you’re right, maybe she felt like she couldn’t tell you for some reason.”
She looked down at her food for several beats, then sighed. “We have never outwardly shown hatred or anything like that, but we stressed the importance of family and religion from a young age. And until very recently, our church did not…encouragethat.” She locked eyes with me and leaned in. “But like I said, we would never turn our backs on our children. Surely, she would know that?”
I shrugged, knowing she didn’t but unable to say anything. So, I sat quietly and ate. Once we finished, we cleared our table and walked outside.
“Well, Amy, you must go back to work, and I need to get out of this traffic. I thank you for your candid conversation, but would you please keep this between us?”
I grabbed her arm. “Of course. But what do you think you’ll do? Are you going to speak to her?”
She nodded. “She is twenty-six years old. If I am right, I do not know that she can do what you did. I may have to ask if I want to know. I may need a little time to figure out what I would even say. I do not want to upset her.”
“I’m sure it’ll work out the way it’s supposed to.”
“Smart girl. And I will check in again before the show is done. But you have done beautifully. Thanks for having lunch with me, darling. Now, go. Back to work for you!”
Maria kissed my cheek, then pressed the button to cross to the parking deck. Once she was out of sight, I went back inside and immediately went to my phone.
Me: Hey, can I see you tonight?
Chapter 28
Valentina
I wasn’t supposed to see Amy again until Friday, but I guess she couldn’t wait one more day. It excited me that she seemed so desperate to see me. I was feeling the same but didn’t want to seem overly needy. So, when she texted me asking to see me, I immediately said yes.
We had some very intimate moments and our connection seemed strong, but it was all so new. I didn’t want to scare her away. Especially when she had been so understanding of me. Although, jealousy got the best of me, and I broke my own rule. It was brief and within the confines of a space where we weren’t likely to be noticed, though. Lucy seemed to respect whatever Amy said, so I wasn’t worried about her at all. In fact, it was nice to have someone call me a friend. She probably didn’t mean anything big or special when she said it, but it had been so long since I had anyone call me that.
Throwing myself into work and hiding who I was became second nature to me, and I had decided being alone was best. But having Amy open up to me, and allowing myself to open up to her, felt good. It felt right. And being accepted by her friend was an added bonus. Instead of fake niceties and secret one-night stands, I had fun conversations and meaningful sex. At least, it was meaningful to me.
Oh, shit.
What if she wanted to see me because she had grown tired of this? Of me? She was very professional, so of course, she would, at least, have the decency to do that in person.
As thoughts of her breaking it off with me flooded my mind, I struggled to stay focused on the road. Shaky hands gripped the steering wheel as I took deep breaths in through my nose, then out through my mouth. It wasn't helping to keep the nausea at bay, but I had no other ideas.
I managed to get to her complex and park with no issues after fighting traffic up 75. Driving under twenty miles an hour for over an hour when you’re panicked isn’t the best way to spend your late afternoon.
I stayed in the car for several minutes, leaning into the cool air vents, hoping to calm myself. Maybe she wasn’t breaking it off. Maybe she really did just want to see me and couldn’t wait. That made much more sense. Nothing had happened in the last several days to make her suddenly not want me anymore,right? I was being a silly woman.
After finally getting my hands to stop shaking, I knew the nausea would subside once I saw her, so I decided to go inside.
“Hey, come in,” Amy said as she wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me inside.
She wouldn’t have done that if she was breaking it off. I was being completely irrational. And thank God.
