I Kissed a Girl Ch. 11

"I—"

Someone suddenly coughed nearby, making me miss Joanie's response.

Shit! I fought the urge to step around the pillar and show Davina just how much of a bitch I could be.

"What does that matter?" Davina's voice didn't sound as crass. "I really want to know."

My exhale came out shaky. It sounded as though she'd not liked Joanie's response. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cool bricks, concentrating on their words.

"She gave me the freedom to choose for myself," Joanie said.

The other woman scoffed again. "I gave you a choice."

"No, Davina, you gave me an ultimatum. Just like my grandfather did about getting an education. My whole life, my family and friends...everyone has made me make hard decisions. But never has the result been for my benefit. What I want."

"I don't—"

"For the first time, I was given the opportunity to choose for myself. Meredith did that for me." Joanie sighed. "I didn't come back to America because she asked me to, Davina. I came back because I wanted to. I needed to."

"So you really love her?"

"Davina, I love her with every fiber of my being. I did almost a year ago...eight months...last week...this morning...right this very moment. And I will continue to love her until the day I die. Nothing will ever change that. Because it's what I choose. For me. I choose to love Meredith Swallow."

"Then this is goodbye, for good?"

"Yes, Davina. Goodbye."

The sound of heels clacking on the tile floor echoed before the spindly woman—who looked like Cruella De Vil tonight in her black-and-white getup—stalked past me. I watched her weave through the crowd in the direction of the front door.

"It's about fucking time you told that bitch off, child," Julian said with a chuckle behind me.

I stepped away from the pillar. Both Joanie and Julian turned towards me slack-jawed, their eyes wide. They were probably wondering how much I'd heard. I glanced at my girlfriend, her friend, and then back to my lover. The words she'd exchanged with her ex continued to ring in my head. What they really meant...to me.

The depth of her love was vast. It had lasted all this time. Would continue to do so. I realized that now.

She wasn't like all the women I'd been with before her. She was the real deal. I'd set her free, and she'd chosen to come back. She'd already proven to me that love-at-first-sight did exist. And now, as I cupped her cheeks and leaned in to kiss her while Julian clapped beside us, I admitted one more truth.

"I was wrong, Joanie Maserati. Fairytales really do come true."

"I know," she whispered and then kissed me back. "I love you."

I smirked. "I know."

###

"Wait, Jenna," I said Tuesday night from where I'd been reclining on the couch with my girl. I put my finger to my lips and turned on the speakerphone. "Run that by me again?"

There was a loud sigh from my older sister, but she repeated what she'd just said.

"Kat got fired from her job at the bank yesterday. Her boss said it was based on her annual review, but that's bullshit. She's the most dedicated and responsible person I know. Why wait a whole year if there are problems? Anyway, it all happened after he found out we were engaged, so it's obvious what it's really about."

"Are you looking for a good lawyer?" I gestured for Joanie to pull up the contacts on her phone. One of her old classmates dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace.

"No, I'm looking for a job for Kat...in Northampton," Jenna laughed. "She doesn't want to sue. I've learned before not to push her to change her mind when she's adamant about something. So I had this crazy idea that we could move out east to be by you."

I cringed. Due to my fear of losing Joanie, I had procrastinated telling my sister about my own relationship. I stuck my tongue out at my girlfriend's amused look and said, "Listen, sis, just because I told you I'm gay doesn't mean I'm into lesbian orgies. I'll leave that kinky shit to you and Kat. Though, I won't deny I'm intrigued by your fiancée's genital piercing."

Joanie flicked her tongue out like she was teasing that little silver ring and ball I'd been told about earlier this year. I swatted her hand, giving her a dirty look while trying not to laugh.

"We're not into orgies, either," Jenna snorted from the other end. "But the kinky shit—"

"Uh...so...I take it you want to move out here?" I rolled my eyes at my lover, who was giving me pouting lips while showing me the note she'd written on her phone that said she wanted more details about the 'kinky shit.' Just because we'd added blindfolds and a set of rope cuffs to the vibrator and strap-on in our toy box didn't mean we were into BDSM. Jenna had explained that much to me; the kinky lifestyle encompassed so much more than a few pieces of light bondage items. Her and Kat were into more of that lifestyle; I was not. I cleared my throat and added, "You're going to need a place to live, Jenna."

"And a job for Kat," she reminded me, as though I'd forgotten.

"What's your pleasure for the first one?" I read off what Joanie had changed her note to. "Loft, two-bedroom apartment, townhouse, duplex, single-family?"

"We've been doing the apartment life for a few years. I'd like something with a yard...a deck we could sit out on. Duplex sounds to be ideal. Private but with dedicated lawn care. I'll shoot you an Email with all the specs we're looking for. Our price point. We're okay with renting if necessary."

Joanie stopped scrolling through the realtor app I had seen her pull up and typed another note. I relayed it to my sister. "You said Kat worked at a bank?"

"Yes. As a personal banker."

"Patty!" Joanie and I both mouthed.

"Of course!" I added aloud. I hid the face of my phone against my chest and started to brainstorm with Joanie in whispers.

"Hello? Mer?" Jenna called out.

"Shit! Sorry, sis." I smacked Joanie's leg when she fell over on the couch laughing then winced at the loud slapping sound.

"Are you okay, Mer?"

"Yeah, sorry. Mosquito. Um, anyway. Patty, the secretary in my office, was just saying at dinner last week how the admission office is still looking to hire someone fulltime to balance out the part-time students. Send me Kat's resume. I know the lady in charge of hiring."

"Thanks, Mer. If it doesn't work out, she can look when we get out there."

Joanie turned the screen of her phone to me again, and I read it out loud. "Do you have a timeframe for when you're thinking about coming?"

"ASAP," Jenna said. "I had to resort to blackmail to get my boss to agree that I could work out of the Amherst office. I'll put in the official transfer request tomorrow at work. I had wanted to check with you before going forward."

Joanie tapped my hand and showed me another note.

"Send that Email as soon as you hang up. I...uh...think I have something for you that will be perfect, but I need to compare your specs."

"Will do. Thanks again, Mer."

"No problem," Joanie mumbled then stood. A second later, she was walking away, dialing someone.

I switched off the speaker phone and finished up the call in private, finding out what else had been going on in my sister's life. I silently thanked God that I hadn't spilled my secret. But it would be out soon enough.

###

On an unusually crisp, autumn Friday, I was standing in my parka on the front lawn of a gray duplex in one of the quainter sections of town. Joanie had really come through with this gem, a rental where the other side was occupied by the owners of the dual residences. It had a fenced-in backyard, a small patio area, and a balcony off the master bedroom upstairs. Everything Jenna had requested, and then some.

Keeping one eye on the two men unloading the moving truck, I told the one standing in front of me holding a box labeled 'office' where to take it based on the clipboard of notes Jenna had sent me. I'd spent the last thirty minutes doing the same thing. Joanie had been gone maybe half that time to get us hot coffee and fresh pastries from our favorite bakery when my sister and future sister-in-law rolled up to their new digs.

Jenna had barely put the car into park before she was running across the sidewalk and throwing her arms around me. "Oh, my God! I've missed you so much!"

I gasped, hugging her back, smiling widely. "It's about fucking time you came to see me for once, big sis."

"I love you, too." Jenna pulled back, her eyes sparkling. "I can't believe this is actually happening. Thank you so much for everything you've done!"

We had just disengaged and I'd caught my breath when I saw a slender woman the same height as my sister approaching. She had auburn hair a few shades darker than my own and was carrying a coat although she was wearing one. Her smile made her eyes look like pools of melted chocolate.

"Kat," I barely breathed. She was beautiful. The pictures my sister had sent me over the past two years had not done her justice. No wonder Jenna had been in love with her for over two decades.

Kat stopped before us and tossed the extra coat at Jenna. "Put this on, or you'll get pneumonia."

Jenna shrugged on the coat and then took her fiancée's left hand. "Mer, this is Kat."

"It's good to finally meet you," Kat said as she reached out her right hand to me.

"None of that bullshit. We're going to be sisters." I gave her a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then I stepped back and smiled broadly. "Congratulations to both of you. We can make chit-chat later. It's freezing, and the guys could use some help now that you're here."

Kat rubbed her hands together. "I could use some coffee. We should have packed the Keurig in our car."

"Not to worry." I dug my phone out of my pocket, dialed Joanie, and said, "They're here, sweetheart. Okay, see you in a few."

Behind me, someone laughed. It was musical. Definitely Kat.

I turned back to the girls. "Reinforcements are on the way with refreshments."

Jenna cleared her throat. "Sweetheart?"

Shit! Shit! Shit!

My cheeks burned even hotter, and I couldn't blame it on the air. "Uh...yeah. Did I forget to tell you about Joanie?"

Jenna had her arms crossed now. "Joanie, as in your intern?"

Kat was still grinning from ear to ear while she jumped up and down, probably to keep warm. "Um, maybe we should continue this inside, girls?"

"Good idea, Kat." I looped my arm through hers and turned her toward her new home. "I'm so glad you decided to move here. I know we're going to be good friends. It'll take a little bit, but you'll adjust. I can take you downtown tomorrow and show you all around. Oh, and I have the paperwork for Smith College. The job is yours, it's just a formality."

###

======= EPILOGUE - 2 YEARS LATER =======

Everything had gone perfectly so far.

The venue. The flowers. The decorations. The weather.

Outside, I knew all of our friends and family were in their seats at Look Park's Garden House. That Julian and Kat were seeing to anything Joanie needed in the other room as her "man of honor" and bridesmaid, respectively. But in here, my matron—Jenna—was finishing my makeup. And my mom was trying to keep her granddaughter and my one-year-old niece, Essie, occupied on the couch without wrinkling her flower girl dress. My bridesmaid, Patty, had gone to find Dad.

I tried not to fidget while Jenna swapped places with Mom who did that thing where she patted your hair or a part of your clothing to make sure everything was in place without actually touching or adjusting anything. Air pats, she called them. Apparently satisfied, she told me to turn to face the floor-length mirror.

My lower lip trembled at seeing my simple tea-length, satin, strapless gown with a crystal-embellished belt in navy. I'd not wanted to go with the old adage of "something old/new/borrowed/blue." But since I had added the little bit of color and bling to my dress, I knew it had pleased my mom when I'd asked to wear her blue-and-crystal jewelry from her own wedding. With everything in place and my hair loosely pulled back and up with crystal combs, I looked like a different woman.

The pieces of the fairytale had continued to fall into place. Time and again, I'd seen that Joanie's love for me was undying. Especially since she had proposed to me on that same veranda of Mulino's four months to the day of our first date.

We'd wanted to wait to make it official until after Kat and Jenna got married. But then my mom fell and broke her hip, Kat got pregnant, and we flew to Italy for Joanie's grandmother's funeral. We'd had a scare with a psycho coworker of Jenna's right before Essie came into our lives. Then our plans were further delayed when we helped Jenna and Kat move into a bigger house.

But now? Now it was my turn to shine.

Us three ladies were playing a lively game of peekaboo with Essie when the Colonel finally knocked on the door to our room.

I barely heard Dad say that everyone was ready for us. I was too in awe of his uniform. He looked so...regal. But very fitting to give away his youngest princess, the nickname he'd always called us girls. I'd just never felt like one until now.

Jenna had insisted he wear it since she'd chosen to not have him give her away at her wedding as Kat's dad wasn't alive to do the honor for her. The grin on my dad's face when he looked down at me at that moment said it all. He was proud of me. And then he'd whispered those words in my ear when he bent to kiss my cheek.

The nerves didn't set in until we were standing at the end of the aisle just out of sight of the guests and the music started. Dad must have felt me shaking because he squeezed my hand. I squeezed back and breathed a sigh of relief that I'd chosen to wear flats today. I didn't need to trip over my own two feet on the way to finally marry my version of Prince Charming.

Ahead of me, Mom carried Essie, who tossed all of the flowers from her basket before they'd reached the third row of chairs. Thankfully, Mom got her to keep blowing kisses until they reached the front.

Kat and Patty started walking down the aisle, followed by Julian and Jenna. Or rather, they all walked and Kat waddled. Eight months pregnant with their son, my sister-in-law still looked beautiful in her blue-and-white print dress. Jenna was equally stunning in her navy pantsuit. They were such an amazing couple. I was so lucky to have them close by.

Patty and Julian had been overly thrilled to join our wedding party. We couldn't have asked for better friends who'd only grown closer over the years. And we couldn't have made this event as beautiful as it was without them.

But the happiest person—besides myself and my fiancée—had to be Lorenzo, Joanie's grandfather. He'd brought the entire Maserati family overseas to celebrate the union of his youngest granddaughter. Last night, I'd teased him and said, if he thought he was taking his hat back with him, he was sorely mistaken. I'd never forget the way his face crinkled around his eyes and mouth at his rich laugh.

Our guests rose suddenly. Turned to us. Dad stiffened his back...his arm beside mine. My feet moved on autopilot, my head somewhere in the clouds.

Everything disappeared except the radiant woman at the end of the white aisle. I couldn't stop smiling at my bride-to-be. Joanie's black tux with a tie in the same color as my belt was striking. Her fedora—adorned with a navy band—was tilted to the side and made her look so damn sexy. Her green eyes never faltered, even when I felt mine rim with tears the closer I got. Then I was standing before her. Loosely gripping her fingers.

As the pastor spoke, the rest of the world trickled back in until I could see that Julian and Kat kept dabbing their eyes from where they stood next to Joanie. Hear Jenna sniffling behind me. Feel Joanie's hands respond in turn when I clenched and released mine. I tried not to laugh with the others at the occasional, gleeful babble from Essie who kept moving from my mom's lap to my dad's then back again.

We said our vows and exchanged our rings without any hiccups or tears. But I realized I was holding my breath when the pastor told us we could kiss. Thankfully, Joanie was more with it. She reached up and stroked the back of one hand across my cheek until I exhaled. Then she cupped my face, slowly leaning in to brush our lips together.

"Oh, shit!" Kat cried.

My sister yelled, "Oh, fuck!"

A collective gasp spread through the guests.

Joanie and I turned to see Kat standing with her mouth agape, her hands cradling her extended belly, and the front of her dress soaked through.

A second later, Julian chuckled. "I think your water broke, child."

---

"This is not how I expected to spend my wedding night," Joanie whispered, her thumb stroking the back of my right hand.

I glanced at the clock over my niece's head while she slept against my left shoulder.

Jenna had insisted on taking Kat to the hospital by herself and leaving Essie with her parents while they stayed behind for the reception. She said that the show must go on, and I get to have the father/daughter dance with my dad...Joanie with her grandfather. We were given progress reports hourly by text, which we relayed to our guests between laughing, eating, and dancing. When the festivities were over, Dad had insisted on staying to help clean up and us women go wait for the latest Swallow to be born.

Kat had been in labor for about six hours. We'd been here for the last one. And the nurse had been saying for thirty minutes that it could be 'anytime now.'

Five minutes later, Dad texted that he was on his way to sit with us. I'd barely put my phone down when Mom popped her head out of the double-doors with a huge grin to tell us Evan James Swallow had just been born. Both he and Kat were doing great, and we could visit them soon.

I smiled at my beautiful wife, still in awe to call her that. "You do realize, by now, what you've signed up for by marrying me, right, sweetheart?"

"I know, baby." Joanie lifted my hand to her lips and kissed it. "And I wouldn't trade this fairytale for the world, Meredith Maserati."

~ H