The Journey of Grace Ch. 03

This story is dedicated to My loving pet. As we come close to O/our third year together, O/our love and dedication remain strong. This story is not about U/us but she inspires Me in writing it. Thank you for giving yourself to Me, My little slave!

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As she parked in front of the bar, Grace thought about whether or not she wanted to go in to it. It had been over three months since she first started visiting it. With the increasing frequency of her husband's business trips, she had been able to go there about ten times. Not quite enough to be considered a regular, but getting close.

This was, however, her first visit since Marie had forced the issue both had ignored from almost the start. Grace had seen it coming, even as she didn't know how to respond. Marie needed to belong to her Mistress. Being submissive was who she was, not a game that she could put away when it was inconvenient. Grace had seen the need, understood it, and known that is was growing.

When they met for the last time, Marie was almost shaking. In her heart, she wanted nothing more than to belong to Mistress Grace. She was close to falling deeply in love with her. But Mistress wasn't able to give Marie what she needed. She couldn't own her. She was married. Her moments with Marie were stolen away from the normalcy of her life. She lived her life up until those two months ago in one pattern, content but not necessarily happy.

Marie didn't fit into that pattern. She disrupted it. And Grace wasn't ready to break that pattern and choose a different life. She loved her husband, even if it wasn't an all consuming passion, and had never been one. Her relationship with her parents was a strong one but this was so different than anything that they had experienced, she had no idea how they might react.

Despite the tugging of Grace's heart, she didn't want anything to change. She wanted her life and she wanted Marie. She knew deep down she was Domme. But even knowing that was not enough. It was like she kept who she was in a cage, ready to be released when the circumstances were right. And the rest of the time she still lived the life of the Grace everybody thought they knew. Wife, co-worker, boss, friend, daughter. It wasn't perfect, but she had long since come to accept that life wasn't perfect and to be satisfied with what she had because it was good enough.

Except Marie couldn't be satisfied with that. She didn't have that other life to hide behind. Even at her young age, she knew who she was and had accepted it. She didn't want to hide who she was. She had endured pain to arrive at that acceptance.

Telling her parents that she was gay took more courage that she would have believed. Shattering their image of her. Taking away their dreams of her future in a conventional lifestyle. But while she expected that to be hard, the worst was when they ignored her. They treated her like a child who couldn't understand. It was a phase or she was just confused. If she pressed, then they reacted with anger falling back on their religious beliefs. They made Marie feel as if they thought she was evil and destined for Hell unless she changed her "choice." And finally made it clear that if she didn't change her mind about being gay, she wouldn't have a place in their lives.

And for a time, Marie gave in to them. She pretended to be someone else. To keep her family happy she went out with a few boys. One in particular was nice enough and persistent enough to get to take her virginity. But even though it had been pleasant, it was missing something for her. Marie couldn't find a connection with him and he sensed it. He drifted away and she just didn't try to replace him with anyone else. She knew that she couldn't live a false life pretending to be straight. It didn't just hurt her, more importantly it would hurt the guy too.

Instead she accepted loneliness. She couldn't be straight and she couldn't be gay. Her thoughts and desires were kept locked up. Other than dating, she tried to be all the things that her parents wanted her to be. But it was like a hole inside of here. Her parents wouldn't even realize how they made it bigger. There would be little comments about gays when they were watching the news or TV shows. Their comments took away any hope of things changing.

The bigger the hole got, the more Marie felt like it was going to consume her. Her life grew more and more dark. Just getting out of bed in the morning was a shear act of will. The pain she felt seemed without end. Until one night she finally actively contemplated the thought that had been in the back of her mind for a long time. Was it even worth living?

Marie had sat and stared at the razor blade on the desk in front of her. She barely even remembered buying it. It hadn't been a plan. It wasn't like she had thought, "Okay, I am going to kill myself. What do I need?" Somehow it had just ended up in the things she had bought one day. And then she had stuck it away in her desk upon getting home. It had just sat there for some time, ignored like so many other things.

Her mind had been filled with so many thoughts of the pain she was enduring. The thought of removing the pain felt so welcome. She tried to imagine a pain-free life. It seemed so wonderful, so attractive. She had picked up the blade and touched one end of it to her wrist. There was a spark of pain as it nicked her. She lifted it up and looked down at her wrist, seeing the little drop of blood there.

As she stared at it, a little flame flickered inside her that pushed the darkness slightly away. It was anger. Anger at her parents for causing this pain. Anger at the world for making it hard on who she was. Anger at whatever or whoever it was that had made her this way in the first place. And finally anger at herself for accepting the pain. She didn't want to die. The thought, seductive before, just fanned the flame and made it grow.

It had been the pivotal moment in Marie's life. She chose to accept who she was and then the consequences. She moved out and for a time, her parents completely cut off contact with her. It was extremely painful for her because she had always been very close with them. Not having their presence in her life left a void but she couldn't turn away from her path. After a year or so, it became apparent that they too felt the void because first her mother started to contact her, then her father. Over a period of time, a relationship was reestablished between Marie and her parents. It didn't return to the closeness of before but they were part of her life again.

It had changed her though. After all the pain she had been through, she wasn't going to pretend to be something she wasn't. Even as she discovered the world of D/s and the submissive side to herself, she embraced it, never hiding it. But she didn't flaunt it either because it was just who she was.

So Marie had gone to Grace a final time. Even as she couldn't hold back the tears, Marie had not asked Grace to choose. She simply explained what she needed; that she needed to be owned by her Mistress. The feeling of being controlled was not about sex but about being safe and secure. Being owned meant knowing that she was accepted and loved without threat of having that love withdrawn.

And as much as it broke Grace's heart at the same time, she couldn't give Marie what she needed. Grace's journey had been different than Marie's. She was still finding her way and still not certain what path she would tread. The only firm thing in her mind was that she wasn't ready to walk away from the life she had been living. And so with tears they had parted, feelings still there but knowing that they would have to let them go.

And now three weeks later, Grace felt ready to go back to the bar. Before it was too raw. If she saw Marie, Grace would not have known what to do. Now Grace thought she could handle it even if Marie was with someone.

As she got out of the car, Grace looked at herself in the reflection on her window. She brushed a hair into place and straightened her leather jacket. She had treated herself while she was moping over the loss of Marie. Buying a leather jacket and matching leather pants was an indulgence but looking at the effect with her white halter top, Grace was glad she had.

"At least I don't look like I am in mourning," Grace thought as she walked briskly up into the bar. The closer she came to the door, the more she let this new side of her out. By the time she was opening the door, she felt that sense of confidence and of being in control come over her. Stepping in, she looked casually around the room but didn't take the time to really see who all was there.

But Corky was behind the bar, as she was most nights. Grace smiled with pleasure. She maneuvered through the crowd and made her way over there. Seeing her coming, Corky smiled too. She didn't always like her customers but Grace was one of the nice ones. As Grace got there, Corky leaned over the bar and gave her a little hug. Grace smiled as she felt Corky's lips briefly touch her cheek and turned her head enough that she could return it.

Corky reached down to pick out a particular bottle of wine from beneath the bar. "Hey you! It is good to see you. I have something that I have been saving for you. This is a lovely Cab that a friend shared with me the other day. When I tasted it, I thought of you."

Smiling to herself, Grace realized that Corky had truly moved beyond acquaintance to friend. She thanked Corky and reached across to squeeze her hand. Grace watched Corky as she opened up the bottle. She was efficient and graceful as she handled the bottle, swiftly drawing out the cork. Offering it to Grace, Corky grinned as Grace's eyebrows went up as she sniffed it. "If you think that is nice, just wait," Corky laughed.

As Corky poured the glass in front of her, Grace admired the ruby color of it. They shared a love of strong red wines and had yet to find one that they didn't both like. She was delighted when Corky poured a small one for herself. She didn't often drink while working the bar but Corky wanted to enjoy this treat with her friend.

"Salute," they both said as they touched glasses with a smile. Grace brought the glass up to her nose gently swirling it. She caught a whiff which let her know that the promise would be fulfilled. Then breathing in she enjoyed the full bouquet that the wine had. It was rich with hints of fruit but not overwhelming. Closing her eyes in pleasurable concentration, she took her first little sip. Rolling it over her tongue, Grace could taste the fullness of the wine. It was an elegant wine with hints of cassis and maybe even mint. She sighed as she swallowed it.

Grace praised Corky's judgment and taste in wine as the two of them enjoyed it together. She knew that it was the right thing to have come back. Grace felt so comfortable here. But still her mind felt a little twinge remembering that part of what had made it her place was that she had shared it with Marie.

Something of that thought must have been visible on her face because Corky looked at her with a caring air. "I missed seeing you here. I was starting to think that you wouldn't be back. And I wouldn't have liked that."

"Awww, thanks Corky." Grace was touched and raised her glass to Corky.

"Well, hun I know about you and Marie. She told me when she started coming back two weeks ago. She said that she didn't want me to think that she was being disloyal." Corky looked off past Grace. Her eyes focused on where she was looking.

Slowly Grace turned. Looking in the same direction, she could see what Corky wanted her to see. Marie was there, with her back turned to Grace. She was sitting close to another woman who had her hand on the back of Marie's neck, fingers playing in her hair. Grace could see that it wasn't just a casual caress. The woman's hand never lessened her hold on Marie. And her fingers would occasionally tug on Marie's hair. It was clear that she was letting Marie know who was boss.

In Grace's mind, she could hear her voice scream at the other woman. "She is Mine! Get your hands off My girl!" The rage rose until she could taste it. She had known it would be hard when she saw Marie, but Grace hadn't expected quite this. Grace could feel the brittleness of the glass in her hand and knew that she was close to shattering it. Carefully she took a breath and fought down the rage.

"No, she isn't. You wouldn't claim her," Grace thought to herself and took a breath. "You turned her away." Another breath.

"She isn't yours," and the thought echoed in Grace's head. "She isn't yours."

Grace turned back to Corky. Corky was carefully watching her. Smiling a small smile at her, Grace softly said, "I'm okay .... It's okay." With only Corky able to see her face, Corky was the only one who saw how the last deep breath was shaky as it went in. Only Corky saw that the shining of Grace's eyes was unshed tears rather than just the way the lights hit her eyes. And only Corky saw how as Grace let out her breath, she was back under control and when she blinked the shining was gone.

Grace took another small sip of the wine and focused on the taste rather than her thoughts. Looking up finally at Corky, they exchanged smiles of friendship. One said, "oh well" and the other "I'm sorry." Nothing much more needed to be said. Sensing the Grace wasn't ready to talk, Corky slipped away to take an order.

Turning again, Grace leaned back against the bar. This time she didn't look back to where Marie was. Swirling the wine gently in the glass, she took in the room. It was busy but not overly so. Various couples danced on the dance floor. For a while she just enjoyed watching them. Even after having been there as often as she had, she found it surprisingly nice to know that here it was okay for two women to dance together and hold each other in ways that would have raised eyebrows elsewhere. Or if not eyebrows, then drawn unwanted attention from men who found it exciting and thought maybe they wanted someone to join them. At Corky's place, the women could just enjoy being together without that type of stress.

Unable to stop herself, every once in a while, Grace's eyes flicked over to where Marie was sitting. But once she saw Marie, Grace pulled her eyes away almost immediately each time. As time went on, she was doing it less and less.

Hearing Corky come back, Grace turned again. "Could I have another glass of that?" she asked.

As she filled Grace's glass, Corky asked, "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I knew that there was a fairly good chance that she would be here," Grace's head moved just a little to indicate Marie. "But even know that, I still wanted to come here. I missed being here." She smiled at Corky. "Besides you, I had made a number of friends here and I want to keep them!"

Grace's eyes dropped for a second, and then she looked up at Corky. "You know hun, I tried to be good to her." Corky could see the shining in Grace's eyes as she spoke. "And I guess being good to her meant letting her go when I couldn't be what she wanted."

"I know," Corky softly said, "I know. And so does she. You were good to her."

Excusing herself, Corky went to help another customer. Grace realized that she needed to use the restroom. She let Corky know and then headed over to it. She smiled when she lucked out and was able to get in and out without much of a wait. It wasn't like that on the really busy nights. But as she came out, she almost bumped into Marie as she was trying to get in.

Marie almost froze as she realized who she had just about run into. "Oh, ummmmm, I'm sorry Mis..... Ma'am. I didn't see anyone coming out. I, ummmm....."

"It's okay, I should remember how that door swings in like that," Grace answered. Grace could feel her Domme self coming to the fore. Her mind softly whisper "always in control." She smiled with just a bit of reserve at Marie. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, Ma'am. I have been fine," Marie found it hard to look at Grace and for the most part looked down as she spoke.

Suddenly they were interrupted as the woman Marie had been with came up behind her. Grace could see her face now. Grace hadn't spoken much with her before but knew who she was. Alice was another Domme but one that liked to show that she was in control much more than Grace felt necessary. As if to emphasize Grace's thought, Alice's hand appeared again on Marie's neck.

Looking at Grace as she spoke, Alice asked, "Everything okay, baby?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Marie replied. "It is. I just bumped into ..." Her voice trailed off as she couldn't think of how to refer to Grace.

"Hey Grace," Alice said in a way that some almost seemed a challenge to Grace. But Grace didn't want to rise to it. She didn't care for Alice, even before this, but Grace had made her decision and that wasn't going to change.

"Hello Alice. No harm done, she didn't really bump into me. We were just saying hello. Now if you will pardon me." Grace walked past as Alice used her grip on Marie's neck to pull her back and out of the way.

Grace could feel eyes from around the room on her as she came back to the bar. More than one time since she had been frequenting the bar, there had been a fight between past and present lovers. It wasn't that anyone wanted to see a fight, but they were aware of the potential. On every previous visit to the bar, Grace and Marie had been clearly together and just as clearly they were not now. Alice had a reputation too and had been in one of the fights that Grace had witnessed.

"You handled that nicely," Corky said as Grace returned. "That Alice can be a bitch. I don't think my suggestion about treating Marie nice would go that far with her. But she is a customer and she has never done anything to make me throw her out."

"She isn't worth my time. Marie is though," Grace said with fire in her eyes. "I didn't like the way she was grabbing her but that is her style. I have seen it before. And Marie didn't object. But even though we may not be together, I will make Alice regret it if she hurts Marie for real."

"I know you will." Corky agreed. "And you know something, I think that Alice does too. I noticed she didn't really push like she can. I think she stayed well within the lines to avoid pissing you off." She smiled at Grace. "You are a lovely woman and very sweet, but there is something about you that makes people think they wouldn't be very happy to make you mad."

Grace grinned at Corky. "I am Domme. Don't piss Me off or I will whip your ass!" They both laughed.

Looking around the room again, Grace could see that there were a few women who hadn't been watching just to see if there was a fight. They had wanted to see confirmation that Grace had moved on as well as Marie. It didn't surprise her. Even when she had been with Marie in the bar, it hadn't stopped them from eyeing her. Once one had even approached her while Marie was in the bathroom. Grace had been surprised at the possessiveness in Marie's face when she came out and saw the woman there. Luckily she came up just as Grace finished telling the woman that she was with Marie and that she had no desire or need for anyone else.

But in some ways, that had been the beginning of the end. After that, Marie had felt the need grow in her to have the security of knowing that she truly belonged. As long as she wasn't owned, maybe someone would come and take her place. Marie had felt her need grow while Grace had felt it necessary to emphasize they couldn't go further. The split was inevitable but this precipitated it.

And now Grace wasn't with anyone else. She casually looked at the women who were clearly interested in her. By now, Grace was a more known quantity. Rather than making her more approachable, however, they seemed to hang back more than she remembered from that first night. In any case, that suited Grace better. Taking another sip of her wine, she looked at a taller woman with brown hair. She was a bit older than Marie. Grace guessed that she was just about 30 but probably not as old as Grace was. She was pretty in a girl next door way. Her eyes were watching Grace though she didn't look like she was going to come over.