Lucy's Letters

She loved my playfulness, and that made me happy. As I've said, I wasn't one of those girls who knew from an early age that she preferred women. Lesbian sex was new for me, so any compliment from my lover was a gift to be cherished.

Despite being a novice, I was quickly figuring out that sex with Stephanie excited me much more than it ever did when I was with a man. Yes, even my husband. I'm no expert, but I suspected my ease and comfort had a little to do with our bodies being similarly wired. The smoothness of her body, the gentleness of her touch and the way we read each other, aligned with my sensibilities. I never felt the need to have to perform, or prove myself to her. The way we pleasured each other seemed more in sync than it had been with my previous lovers.

And as always, she made me come. That night it was with her fingers. I couldn't get over how good she was in bed. I wasn't naive. I didn't blindly assume sex with every woman would automatically be this good. I knew that much depends on how comfortable one is with their lover. I guess I just got lucky.

Our relationship was in its infancy, and our sex was fresh as a spring morning. We were still getting to know each other. Perhaps down the road we might do some experimenting, but for now, getting to know her was my primary focus.

"Maybe we could put up some ceiling mirrors?" I suggested, after she had used her fingers on me.

She looked at my, dryly. "You want to hear about the mirror that fell off the ceiling?"

"No, I don't."

Mending a broken circle

"I really want to tell this story," I insisted, as we sat out in her backyard late one afternoon

"Which story? Lucy's? Or ours?" Stephanie asked me.

"Everything. All of it. My grandma's death, the finding of her letters, Lucy's secret relationship with Gabrielle and her marriage to Robert. Then flying down to meet you and our time together in the desert, and our falling in love...There's really just the one piece still missing."

"Gabrielle," Stephanie noted, nodding her head.

"We need to return these letters to your grandmother and find out from her what the real story is. What really happened and why. And maybe we'll finally get to meet this elusive Gabrielle. Your grandmother has all the answers, Steph. We should go see her before she's no longer with us."

The possibility of her dying was a real concern of mine. I'd already lost one grandmother.

"You'll come with me?" It was clear Stephanie didn't want to make the trip alone. And I was glad, because I had no intention of letting her go without me. I needed to be there, as a witness.

"Of course, I'm coming with you. I'm the one telling the story, remember?"

Initially, Stephanie was hesitant to follow through. But I could see her better angels hard at work, convincing her of the wisdom of our visit.

"When you lack meaningful answers to difficult questions, you go to the source," I told her.

And so, we began adjusting our schedules so we could make the trip together. First, Stephanie called Lucy and asked if she and a friend could come for a visit. Lucy was overjoyed that Stephanie wanted to see her.

Meanwhile, I flew back to Seattle with plans to meet Stephanie in San Francisco. Back home, I followed through on a couple of assignment leads, while Stephanie focused on a commission she had managed to secure.

During my time in Seattle, I mentioned to Mom that I'd met a very special woman, and that it was looking serious. She was surprised by this news, though happy for me. As always, her support was important to me. And so, feeling freshly energized, I left for San Francisco buoyed by the knowledge that I would finally get to meet my grandmother's childhood friend.

As it turned out, I arrived in San Francisco the day before Stephanie. I picked up our rental car, stayed the night in a hotel, and drove out to the airport the next day to meet her. When she arrived, I was waiting for her at baggage claim. Upon catching sight of me, she gave a loud squeal as she ran over and wrapped me in her arms. She kissed me hard and long right there in front of everyone, and there was little I could do but join in.

"Oh, I've missed you so much," she sighed, kissing me a few more times.

"I've missed you too," I answered between kisses, marveling at how openly affectionate she was, and how lovely it was to be missed by her.

I had been missing her terribly over the past two weeks, and though we talked over the phone practically every evening, it was a long time to be apart and I was ready to be with her again. We collected her bags, loaded them into the rental, and made straight for her grandmother's house.

"How you feeling?" I asked as we sped along the interstate.

"Kind of anxious, but relieved to be doing this with you. I mean, it's hard to know what to expect." I had to agree. We had talked through some strategies, but they were pretty basic. In the end, we decided to let Lucy's letters be our guide.

The house was a two-story, brick colonial, just north of San Rafael. I could feel my heart thumping as we made our way up the stairs to the porch and rang the bell. Stephanie's damp hand was gripping mine so tightly it actually hurt.

The door eventually opened to reveal an elderly woman in her seventies. Her grey hair was pulled back and pinned with a clip. Yet even at her age, and despite the wrinkles, I could see that her skin was clear and her eyes twinkling with life. She was wearing a long floral print dress.

"Oh, my dear Stephanie!" Lucy cried happily as she embraced her granddaughter. "It's been far too long. How good it is to see you. And who is this you've brought with you?" she asked turning to me.

"This is my partner, Adina," Stephanie replied. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, to make sure her grandmother understood that we were more than just friends.

I watched Lucy's eyebrows raise. "Now this is news. Welcome, Adina. Come on in, you two. Bring your bags. I was hoping you and your friend wouldn't mind sharing a bed. I now see that I needn't have worried," she noted with a savvy twinkle in her eye. "I have a cozy guest room all made up for you," she announced, opening the door to our bedroom.

After we got settled, we came out to join her in what seemed to be a parlor room. "Stephanie. Your mother has never once mentioned to me that you were..."

"...'that way'?" Stephanie finished, borrowing the very phrase Lucy had used in an early letter to my grandmother.

"Yes, well put," Lucy nodded primly. "How long have you known?"

"Well, I always knew I liked women. But it wasn't until college that I began to consider them as partners."

'Just like you, Lucy,' I silently thought to myself as Stephanie continued with her answer.

"My mom now knows that I'm gay, as do some of my friends. But speaking of being 'that way', it seems awfully inconsiderate that no one ever bothered to tell me that you were in a long-term, committed relationship."

This caused Lucy to perk up. "Ah! So, you know about me and Gabrielle, then. Good. Well, it's about time, my dear! Your mother finally came to her senses, did she?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Actually, no, she didn't. I learned about it from Adina. You see, she has some letters of yours that you sent to her grandmother. They made for some very interesting reading."

I could see that Stephanie's grandmother was quite befuddled. This was my cue. Reaching into my bag, I extracted the packet of letters.

"Lucy...may I call you Lucy?"

"Yes, you may, dear."

"My grandma was Audrey Ellison. Well, Audrey Callaghan back in college when you and her were friends. I'm not sure if you know, but she passed away earlier this year. She had cancer."

Lucy gasped and brought her hand to her heart. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Adina. Yes, I knew she had cancer, for she'd called me a while back to tell me of her diagnosis. Last we spoke, she was undergoing treatment. Oh, this is just so sad to hear." Lucy was visibly upset at the loss of her life-long friend.

Stephanie ran over to fetch a box of tissues from a nearby side table. "Adina, your grandmother was a dear, dear friend to me. Our friendship goes all the way back to our days in college," she said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"Yes, I know. It's all here in your letters," I said holding them up. "After Grandma Audrey died, I found them in a box she had stored under her bed. She had kept them with her all these years. She even wrote your initials on the lid of the box. And no, she didn't burn them as you asked her to."

Lucy looked confused. "I asked her to burn them?"

I held them out to her. "There are only eight, but I think you should have them. You are, after all, their rightful owner." Lucy took them from me and began studying them.

"Why didn't you or Mom tell me that you were in a relationship with Gabrielle, and that your marriage to Robert was just for show?" Stephanie asked, kindly as she could. She had moved over to sit next to her grandmother on the sofa.

Lucy seemed flummoxed and frustrated. "Believe me, child, for years, I have wanted to tell you. In the early days, the secrecy was necessary to shield it from my parents. We feared all sorts of legal problems if my father found out. And when your mother was young, she found our arrangement confusing. She was embarrassed and didn't want her school friends finding out. Gabrielle and Robert understood this. And so, we did all we could to keep my relationship with Gabrielle out of the spotlight. We wanted Doreen to feel that she had a father and a mother like the other kids."

As Lucy explained, I recalled her writing to my Grandma that '...her precious Doreen had come to accept the true nature of their merry threesome..." which turns out wasn't completely true.

"When you were born," Lucy explained to Stephanie, "your mother wished to protect you from that confusion as well. She thought it would be the same for you as it was for her. Gabrielle and I fought her on this. But she insisted on waiting until she felt it was appropriate to tell you. We honored her wish, though she kept dragging her feet. Needless to say, it's been painful for Gabrielle not to be recognized as family."

"When Grandpa Robert died, Mom told me that Gabrielle would be looking after you. She said that she was a friend of yours, and would be your caretaker," Stephanie revealed.

"That is so like your mother," Lucy chuckled ruefully. "Though in a way, I suppose Gabby has been my caretaker all these years. And I hers," Lucy reflected rather wistfully.

Suddenly, we heard noises coming from the front of the house. "Ah! I think that's her now," Lucy happily exclaimed, as the front door opened.

"Hey Luce, whose car is that in the driveway?" a voice boomed out from the hall.

"Come into the den, Gabby. There's someone in here I want you to meet."

The woman who stepped into the den was slightly heavy set, and a bit shorter than Lucy. She had a ruddy complexion and curly reddish-brown hair that didn't have that much gray in it, and I wondered if she rinsed it with color.

The moment Gabrielle laid eyes on Stephanie her eyes lit right up. She recognized her in an instant. "Oh, my goodness! What have we here? Come and give aunt Gabrielle a hug!"

What followed was a reunion as happy as you could wish for, and in spite of the years being denied each other's company, Gabrielle and Stephanie were gabbing away like siblings, busily apologizing and rationalizing and doing their best to catch up.

Of course, I was welcomed into their circle, and proud to be there as Stephanie's partner. But mostly I chose to sit back and take it all in, making mental notes on how I would describe the scene.

What I remember next was Stephanie and me sitting across from Gabrielle and Lucy as they read through the letters. Lucy would read the letter first before passing it to Gabrielle. It was really quite sweet to watch.

"You never told me you kissed Audrey Callaghan," Gabrielle gasped. "Oh, you are in so much trouble," she warned Lucy, though the trouble she was suggesting seemed of a rather pleasant sort.

As they read the next letter, I had to ask. "What's with Grandma Audrey and the biology book?"

For a minute or so, the two women became animated as they tried to remember exactly what had happened. Eventually, Lucy relayed the event as best as she could remember.

"Gabrielle and I lived in the same boarding house. After we fell in love, she would often sneak into my room so we could be together. But you had to be careful, for Mrs. Rawson would occasionally conduct impromptu curfew checks..."

"...to make sure we weren't hiding any men in our rooms," Gabrielle added, with a sly look to her partner.

"Well, I never did that," Lucy proudly proclaimed.

"Anyway, one evening, Audrey, your grandmother, had stopped by to visit. Gabrielle was also in the room, and planning to stay with me that evening. After Audrey left, Gabrielle and I started to enjoy each other's company. We were so bad, weren't we Gabby?"

"I'm afraid we were," she agreed, without the slightest shred of shame or guilt.

"But as soon as Audrey stepped out onto the street, she saw Mrs. Rawson enter the building..."

"...hoping to spring one of her curfew checks on us!" came Gabrielle's disapproving color commentary.

"Audrey knew Gabrielle was in danger of being discovered. So, she ran back into the building and raced right past Mrs. Rawson. 'Hold on there, girl,' Mrs. Rawson hollered at her. 'Where do you think you're going?' 'I forgot my biology book,' Audrey yelled back at her, while racing up to my room."

Gabrielle jumped in again. "I'll never forget Audrey bursting into our room and hissing 'Mrs. Rawson's here! Mrs. Rawson's here!' Well, believe you, me, I was through that door and down the hall as fast as my legs could carry me," she laughed.

"But before Audrey left my room," Lucy continued, "she took a book from off my desk, I've no idea which one it was, and I thought, what are you doing? But without missing a beat, she looked at me and said, 'I forgot my biology book.' Then she raced back downstairs, holding that book up high for Mrs. Rawson to see."

Both women were now tittering and laughing like school children. I have to admit, their telling of it was quite entertaining.

"Did you ever get that book back?" Stephanie asked, thoroughly engrossed by the story.

"I'm not sure that I did," Lucy replied, shaking her head in bewilderment.

It was such a treat to hear the full story of how my grandmother came to Lucy and Gabrielle's rescue. I couldn't have been any prouder of her.

"Oh, I definitely told Audrey to burn this one," Lucy noted to nobody as she passed the next letter to Gabrielle to read. Gabby began to read quietly, when..."What's this...? Oh, for the love of—You didn't!"

She looked at her partner and quoted from the letter. "'I've forgotten the French expression for it'...? Oh, that is rich!" She started chuckling so hard that her face went quite red, and I feared she might have an attack.

"Well, I was trying to be subtle," Lucy defended herself.

Gabrielle looked at Stephanie and me. "This woman couldn't be subtle if her life depended on it," she proclaimed, wiping more tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Look who's calling the kettle black," Lucy countered.

"The French expression for it..." Gabrielle repeated, her body jiggling with amusement. "Ménage à trois, my dear Luce, ménage à trois..."

And so, Gabby and Luce made their way through the letters, reliving Lucy's account of her marriage to Robert and their happy threesome, the arrival of Doreen, and finally Robert's death, and some praiseworthy comments about Stephanie.

At some point, I retrieved my camera from my bag. "Alright, time for some photos. Gabrielle and Lucy, get in there nice and close. Heads together...that's perfect."

I took a few more of them, both looking positively joyful. "Now, let me take some with Stephanie." Stephanie joined the two elderly women. "And if you'd be so kind as to take one of Stephanie and me..." The photos taken I stuffed the camera back into my bag with promises to send copies to all.

All of a sudden, I stopped and stared at Gabrielle. "Gabrielle?" I said, looking at her cozily snuggled up against Lucy.

"Yes, Adina," she replied, gazing up at me with the sweetest of smiles.

"After having spent all this time reading about you in Lucy's letters and then getting to finally meet you in person, there's still one thing I've yet to learn."

"What's that, dear?"

"Your full name! I presume you have a surname. Or does everyone simply call you Gabrielle?"

"Or Gabby," Lucy added, with an elbow poke.

Gabrielle giggled, and Lucy quietly smiled as she took it all in. It was pretty funny, in a way. Stephanie and I looked to each other and shrugged. Neither of us had a clue.

"My last name is Moreau," she stated proudly. "Gabrielle Moreau."

"And Allen, Robert's partner?" I then asked.

"That would be Allen Durant" Lucy added with a nod. "A dear man. I believe he's down in San Diego now."

Hallelujah! Now I felt I could properly tell this story.

Later, Lucy and Gabrielle took us out to one of their favorite haunts for dinner, and that night, as Lucy showed us to our bedroom, she pulled me in for a long, firm hug. When she pulled back, her eyes were brimming with emotion. "Your grandmother was the kindest woman that ever lived. I've a feeling you're cut from the same cloth. You be good to my Stephanie."

"I will, I promise," I assured her. And I meant every word.

That night, as Stephanie and I slipped nude under the soft bedding, I wondered if I'd ever want to wear anything when in bed with her. Though I suspected there were some pretty cold winter nights in Arizona.

We cuddled for a bit, stroking each other's hair and basking in the glow of what had turned out to be an incredible day. Then Stephanie asked about the photos. "Think there's one of us that we could frame?"

"Sure," I replied, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "But what do you say we choose one to put in our lockets? That way can finally wear them."

Stephanie gave me the sweetest look, just before she rolled over onto me and kissed me hard. Her lips sealed to my mine as her tongue pushed deep into my mouth. We kissed and rubbed our bodies together until our thighs were slick. And with perfect timing, my new lover started to kiss her way down my body, her soft lips and talented tongue making me squirm with need. After lingering for a little at my breasts, and teasing my teats until they were aching and stiff, she eased herself down between my legs and began to make love to my pussy. The woman's tongue was astonishingly flexible. I swear, I could feel it swabbing my vaginal walls.

I had no idea how long she was down there, but I was inching ever closer, and began tightening my muscles in an effort to get there, when she stopped. Thinking something wrong, I stared down my body to see her smiling at me.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked her, disappointed, but also curious.

"I don't know. It just feels wrong having sex in my grandmother's house. You think maybe we should stop?" She'd crawled up alongside me, looking dead serious.

I gave her this incredulous look, my body now yearning for contact. "I think your grandmother would be very disappointed if we didn't have sex in her house," I pleaded my case. "And I doubt there will be any curfew checks."

"Good point," she nodded, smiling wickedly at me. And I realized she was winding me up. "Oh, you!" I growled, as I squirmed on the bed.

Suddenly, she swung her leg over me so that she was facing down my body, her legs to either side of my chest. She scooted back so that her ass was poised directly over my head, and her pussy tantalizingly within reach of my tongue.