Jodie's Story Pt. 03

Jodie has drawn closer to her boss, Kym in the last day or so but with her upcoming date with Elaine just around the corner, Jodie finds herself increasingly wracked with self doubt. Is this a good idea and does Kym have other motivations for helping her? When Kym invites her around for a session with her hair stylist it certainly seems that way and she's not the only experiencing doubt. Elaine is also questioning the logic of her decision and turns to Julie for advice as she gets ready for her date. This is the last story in this series but it's not the last we'll see of the characters. I've plucked a character from this one, Ellen for an upcoming series, so we'll get to check in on the characters soon enough.

Jodie had never had much to do with Julie although that had more to do with her own personal history than fear or jealousy, but these two factors had some bearing because Frankie had been a jealous partner who was certainly captive to her own fears. That history had been very much in the forefront of her mind recently, ever since renewing her friendship with a woman she'd once had a crush on in high school. It felt almost fake just sitting on the sofa with Ilona and Julie.

Did Julie know she'd had a crush on Ilona?

Jodie glanced briefly at Julie when she walked to the front window as a car pulled into the driveway and Julie glanced over her shoulder.

"Does Kym drive a white Commodore?"

"Um, yeah, she does," Jodie leaned forward on her elbows.

"Cool," she let the curtain fall back.

"I'll put the kettle on then," Ilona also stood up, "does she drink coffee or tea?"

"Um, coffee," she replied, "white and two."

Julie walked to the front door and Jodie stared up at the staircase. Imogen was up there with Paula and Keira. Elaine had gone out with her girlfriends for the night, leaving her sister to babysit Keira. She could hear voices upstairs that were coming from the television set and then she heard Keira's voice followed by Paula's giggling. Her phone beeped and she picked it up to look at the screen, it was a post from Elaine, showing her with three other women, she looked tipsy and then she read the message.

Elaine: Drinks with my BFFs, looks like I'm not driving tonight!

She liked the post just as Kym stepped into the room followed by Julie. She had a white dress in a plastic shroud slung over her arm and she nodded at her.

"Long time no see," she looked at the couch, "wow, can I take your couch home?"

"Ha ha, nice try," Julie chuckled, "you'll have to get past two women and a dog," she indicated her Samoyed, Max, "and Max has sharper teeth, especially fond of couch potatoes although he's never met someone who wants to steal the couch."

Julie nodded at the couch.

"Take a seat, my other half is making coffee, it's white and two isn't it?"

"She told you," Kym glanced at Jodie as she stepped over to the couch, Max wagged his tail and then yawned.

"Aren't you a beautiful boy?" Kym sat down on the other side of the dog.

"Yes he is."

"How is he with kids?"

"He's a big soft lump," Julie perched on the edge of the couch, "so this is the dress?"

"Yeah," she glanced down at it, "it did fit me when I walked down the aisle but I've put on weight around my hips so I'm not confident but if you can do something with it then it would be good, it's the only pleasant memory of my wedding," she ran a hand over the shroud.

Julie chuckled at that as Kym elaborated.

"He fell asleep on the hotel bed while I was getting ready in the bathroom and that should have been a warning but I stayed with him for three years before pulling the pin."

"You're not going to pass it onto one of your kids?"

"Not unless my son gets a sex change," she smiled crookedly.

"How old?"

"David is twenty, Jon is fifteen and Debbie is thirteen, David is from my first marriage. He's working in Vietnam at the moment."

"What does he do?" Julie looked up as Ilona stepped into the room.

"He works with an international organisation that finds unexploded ordinance and defuses them."

"Wow," Jodie stared at her, "I had no idea."

"I thought you knew," Kym raised an eyebrow, "mind you, it's not like I talk about it a lot. It's dangerous work, he calls me every Sunday night come rain, hail or sunshine but the organisation is run by ex army engineers."

"What made him decide to do that?" Jodie ran a hand through Max's coat.

"His father is a Vietnam veteran, we weren't together that long. David was only two and a half when the marriage broke up but Harry and I kept in contact, he wasn't a bad guy just messed up from the war and I was his third wife. Harry came over just after his eighteenth birthday with an offer to travel with him to Vietnam for a reunion tour of the old battlefields. David went with him and one thing led to another and he was back nine months later with this group."

"Well that certainly put a sober tone on the conversation," Ilona folded her arms, "we've gone from wedding dresses to bomb defusing."

"There is a certain twisted logic to it," Kym replied as Julie stood up, "this bomb has been hanging in my wardrobe for years, I didn't wear it for my second marriage to Jim and that dress is being kept for Debbie, even though she's only thirteen, assuming she actually wants to get married at some point in the distant future," she smiled.

"I'll be in the room," she nodded at Ilona, "we'll have a look at it while you make coffee."

They left the room and more out of a desire to clear her head, Jodie joined Ilona in the kitchen to make coffee and cut some fruitcake. Her friend seemed almost serene as she spooned coffee into cups.

"She seems nice," she spoke up, "is she?"

"Maybe curious, well, she is curious but it wouldn't happen I don't think."

"It could get complicated for you," Ilona smirked, "although it would be exciting."

Jodie didn't reply for a few moments.

"Can I ask you something?"

"It all depends on what you want to know," their eyes met, "sorry, I had to slip that one in."

Jodie blushed and Ilona smiled.

"Jesus, is it that embarrassing?"

"It's a hangover from my time with Frankie," she felt the colour rising in her cheeks.

"You're asking if Julie gets jealous?"

"How did you know I was going to ask that?"

"It's written all over your face," she replied, "I've known you a lot longer."

"Sorry, I feel strange, like I'm," she stopped.

"Living a lie?" Ilona glanced at her, "don't worry, she knows you had a crush on me but it's not a problem as far as she's concerned. The reason people get jealous has more to do with their own insecurities and fears than any actual infidelity but it's what drives their partners to look elsewhere for intimacy. The more you try to hold onto something the more you find it slips through your fingers, I've got an open relationship with Julie, it's better that way."

She picked up the kettle.

"And it has to be that way, she has clients in there trying on clothes all the time, and I'm not always in the house either. I need trust first, if I haven't got that then what's the point in going on?"

"I know, it kind of started that way with Frankie. She used to talk a lot about trust and how much she trusted me, it was like a broken record."

"Maybe it was a broken record," Ilona replied, "talk is cheap."

"I need to get out more," she confessed a few moments later, "what was I thinking with her?"

"You needed to do what you did," Ilona replied, "I knew you'd sort it out eventually even though I could see you were struggling."

"It's weird looking back," Jodie confessed, "it was only a couple of months ago but it feels as if it was ages ago."

"You're getting better," she reassured her, "I've seen a difference, you smile more often and you seem more relaxed," she turned around and pulled a tray out from a rack on the bench.

"Although you always were quiet."

"I was always nervous," Jodie arranged the slices on a plate.

"Now that I did know," Ilona chuckled.

Almost as if trying to prove her point, the sewing room door was shut when they approached it a few minutes later and Ilona coughed loudly.

"Coffee is served, ma'am," Ilona announced in a fake English accent.

The door opened a second later and Julie stepped back and let them enter. Kym had not undressed but her blouse was untucked and there was a tape measure on the sewing table. She winked at Jodie as Julie returned to the table where two catalogues had been laid out. The dress was beside them and Jodie let her eyes play over it. The dress was made of satin but the underskirts were made of silk. It was an off the shoulder number with generous ruffles around the top of the dress and on the short puffy sleeves.

"What's the verdict?" Jodie asked her.

"I'm still deciding," Kym replied, "she says it's doable if I lose half the skirt, now I have to decide on the style," she glanced at the picture in front of her.

"So the weight problem wasn't as bad as you thought?" Jodie ventured.

"I can cut two strips from the skirt itself," Julie indicated, "and just widen the bodice and waist a little, it's actually quite easy."

"And I'm not as big as I thought," Kym picked up the coffee cup, "why does it always seem so much worse when I measure myself?"

"We're always harder on ourselves," Julie reassured her, "trust me, I'm always adding inches to my waist whenever I measure myself."

"Well, I'll leave you girls alone," Ilona picked up two slices of cake, "come on," she nodded at Jodie, "we'll watch the idiot box."

Some five minutes later they were sitting on the couch although the door wasn't shut this time, it was merely ajar and Max decided to go investigating this new visitor, leaving Jodie alone with her best friend.

"So, are you looking forward to tomorrow night?" Ilona asked her.

"Um, yeah," Jodie glanced at the ceiling, aware that Imogen was up there as well, "it did surprise me though, I thought I'd be having dinner here. She sprung that one on me via," she nodded at the ceiling and Ilona smirked.

"Oh, I see," she sipped her coffee, "it's only a wild guess," she lowered her voice an octave, "but it was probably deliberate."

"What do you mean?"

"They're sisters," she replied, "they look out for each other. Imogen was probably told to pass on the message to you and then report your response to Elaine, it's a protective instinct. Elaine is the more tactile one and Imogen is more intellectual," she eyed her.

"But trust me, Imogen is not curious."

"And Elaine?"

"She didn't strike me as being that way inclined but Julie wasn't surprised when I mentioned it so it might be a case of sensing her curiosity."

"But I'm nervous though," Jodie replied a minute later, "I know I shouldn't be but you know how it is with me. I let a lot out with Kym earlier but even so, it's one thing to talk it out and another to just step out."

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk, you know that and Julie is more knowledgeable about it than me so you're in good hands."

"One thing I have recognised is how much influence Frankie still holds over me. I mean, we have split up and it's permanent. I could never go back but I still find myself living back in the past and just waiting for the next Frankie to turn up."

"It's understandable, give yourself time to heal," she leaned forward to pick up her mug, "and here's me, rebounding from my fiancé to Julie. I should have been almost married by now, it's a case of do as I say not as I do," she smiled crookedly.

Jodie digested this in silence and finally exhaled.

"I really need to just let go of my stupid expectations, fantasy is not reality."

"If it was I'd have a whole stable of unicorns," Ilona winked.

Kym and Julie came through some ten minutes later and Jodie looked up at her.

"Have you decided?"

"Yeah, it's a shorter version of the original dress," she sat down at right angles to her.

"It'll button to the waistband and she's going to elasticise the waist and cut the dress to here," she tapped her knee, "and the sides will have silk strips to widen it and accommodate my bits."

"I really should have you make something for me too," Jodie glanced at Julie.

"No worries," Julie replied, "I might even give you a discount seeing as you're family."

"Thank you," Jodie smiled.

***

Family. It was something Jodie had always valued, especially out here where she just had her mum, her two sisters, Leanne and Tamara, and her auntie Sally along with her two children, James and Kylie. The rest of her extended family were in Britain and Europe, or America. Jodie considered herself more fortunate than many other recent immigrants in that she had some family here, the Australian immigration system was a truly diabolical beast dreamed up by soulless politicians in thrall to a rabid right wing press.

Jodie smoothed out the blouses she'd bought that night and glanced up as she heard her mother coming up the stairs. Imogen had come downstairs later on to spend some time with adults, the two girls were fast asleep and yet despite her affable manner, Jodie felt almost on edge after what Ilona had told her about Imogen and Elaine. What if she said something wrong? Thankfully, Ilona was on hand to lead the conversation and of course Kym and Julie had their own topics. Thus, Jodie felt a bit like a wallflower but without the negative connotations.

Have I got a new family?

Jodie looked at the door as her mother came down the hallway. Deep down, she'd always thought of Ilona as being more like a cousin despite her schoolgirl crush from a few years ago. Once Frankie had come into her life though she'd felt guilty spending time with her friends and inhibited by Frankie's presence at family gatherings.

"I'm off to bed," her mother announced from the doorway, "that's nice," she stared at the clothes on the bed, "where did you get them?"

"Myer," she straightened up, "Kym helped me pick them out."

"Kym?" Margaret frowned, "your vice principal?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't think you were that close," she replied.

"I didn't think so either," Jodie sat down on the end of the bed, "she just took me out to help me choose something for this date tomorrow night."

"Date?" Margaret rubbed her eye, "what date is this?"

"Elaine, she's Imogen's twin sister," she paused, "I'm tutoring Imogen's daughter?"

"Oh, okay," she folded her arms and leaned on the door jamb, "so is it a date kind of date or just a night out?"

"I think it's the first one, I was expecting to just go around to her place for dinner. She lives at Julie's place but then Imogen told me it was a dinner for two and she's babysitting."

"Huh," Margaret frowned, "so, how are you feeling about it?"

"Okay now but it threw me this afternoon. I had a talk to Kym and later on Ilona, it's just felt like I'm rushing things."

"Uh huh," Margaret looked past her for a moment, "it's not like you have to have sex the same night, that rule went out the window years ago."

"Mum," she rolled her eyes, "I'm not sure that's going to happen regardless, her sister will be there as far as I know and she only has the two bedrooms, although there is a sofabed upstairs."

"You'll work it out," her mother inclined her head.

"I'm sure I will," she laid down on her side and propped her head on a palm, "Julie's really nice too, she's offered me a discount for a dress or a top."

"A discount?"

"A family discount," she smiled tiredly, "she just came out with that phrase, I'm best friends with her girlfriend for fuck's sake."

"And that's a bad thing?" Margaret chuckled, "Ilona has always struck me as being one of your more stable friends. I'd have been surprised if she'd kept her distance."

"You know I had a crush on her in high school."

"Yes I did know that," she smiled crookedly, "not that it worried me at the time, I was just happy you'd found a friend. You were the one who worried me the most and I know I shouldn't say it but I'm your mother."

"It's fine, mum, really," she ran a hand over a blouse, "I get it."

"I'm still here if you need me, I know you're an adult and I've always stood by you but every now and then you need a sounding board although my advice might be a bit biased."

"Thanks, mum," she replied.

"Not a problem," she pushed away from the door jamb, "and on that pleasant note I have to catch up on some beauty sleep big time."

She left the room and Jodie stared at the empty doorway. Her mother had been her biggest hero and still was for the most part. She stared at the blouses for a few more minutes as she ruminated over the events of the last few hours but eventually she too got ready for bed.

***

The kookaburra is one of the more unusual Australian birds known for its laughing call, which has given rise to the local name, 'laughing jackass.' Whilst newcomers or tourists might find it funny, the bird is a voracious hunter capable of taking on snakes thanks to its large bill. The laughing call can be annoying if one wakes up with a hangover and for those suffering depression it seems as if nature itself is mocking them. Jodie had been largely ambivalent to the kookaburra ever since she moved here in her late teens but from time to time she flinched when it started laughing suddenly and when one burst into laughter that morning she did wake with a start.

What day is it?

Jodie stared at the ceiling and her hand flopped out to pick up her glasses and phone, a moment later she stared at the screen and let out an audible sigh.

"Thank fuck."

The kookaburra stopped laughing and she stared at the window, wondering if this was an omen. Her big date was tonight and she still hadn't formulated a plan of action. Was this a date kind of date or was it just a night out? She scrolled down to check her updates. There was one from the ABC and she discarded that one, another two text updates from friends and finally a Facebook Friend request from Imogen. She accepted it and stared as the screen populated with icons and a picture of Imogen and her daughter. If not for Paula she could almost have been looking at Elaine, she looked past the phone for a second. Elaine's hair was slightly longer and Imogen's was more sculptured, but if they both had the same hair style it would be hard to tell them apart.

She put the phone down and studied the ceiling, trying to collect her thoughts. She had very little to do today. Ever since moving back home she had a lot more time on her hands, with Frankie it had been a non stop roller coaster ride. Frankie had two speeds, light speed or a dead stop and Jodie had been forced to either hang onto her coattails or step back and just let her go. Now that she was back at home though it felt almost wrong to just lie here and contemplate the meaning of life. It had taken her weeks to get used to just chilling out without feeling as if she had to cater to Frankie's whims.

Am I ready for this again?

Why was she like this, again? It seemed that every time she found a woman who showed a little interest she was all thumbs. Truth be told it had been the same with Frankie a few years ago, it was Frankie who actually made the first move.

Jodie sat up and swung out of bed. The wooden floor felt cold on her feet and she stared at the door for a moment and then her desk as a memory intruded on her. Ilona had stood there a few months ago and not long afterwards Jodie had made an overt sexual advance on her, but what would have happened if Ilona had taken her up on the offer? Would she have gone through with it or would she have found yet another excuse?

That question was still unanswered some thirty minutes later when she came downstairs, having showered and put on some clothes. Her mother looked up from the couch and raised an eyebrow as she perched on the edge of the couch.