DISCLAIMER: See Part 1
FEEDBACK: Constructive criticism only, please. Have a heart--this is
my first work online! Seriously, though, I'd love to hear from you.
Contact me at cardi38morn@gmail.com
PART SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – THE AGENDA
Lindsey breezed through Chapter Sixteen of Leviticus quickly with her Bible Study group. The women took turns reading verses of the chapter, but had little discussion. There wasn't much to talk about because the chapter concerned only more do's and don'ts which God had lain down about sacrifices and making atonements—a continuation of last week. Her father let her opt out of his instruction this time, as the chapter was pretty much cut and dried—and boring.
Lindsey reached for the lesbian book in her book bag and placed it on the low coffee table beside her Bible Study materials.
"Before we start reading aloud in this cool lesbian book we've been focusing on for a while," she said, "I'd like to take a short break." She stood and faced the fireplace, with one hand on the mantle. Her other hand fell loosely in front of her.
She said softly, "I'm packing a Whopper tonight. Who wants it?" She turned around, put her hand on the bulge inside of her jeans and looked at the five women sitting on the long couch with their Bible Study materials still open in their laps.
With one accord, they all looked up at Lindsey. Oh, my God, that's a 2 by 8! I don't know if I'm that brave, Annette said to herself silently. The women looked at each other. Susan's mouth dropped open.
Annette licked her lips in anticipation, however, then bit her lower lip and got up from the couch. Her Bible Study material fell to the floor as she walked over to Lindsey and reached out a trembling hand. No one else had raised her hand to volunteer. Thank God, she's going through with her once-a-month agenda tonight , Annette thought . I really missed it last week! I almost said something to her at the Christmas practice, but that wasn't the proper place to bring up something like that. She had better do right by me tonight.
Lindsey took Annette gently by the arm and opened the door next to the fireplace. It was conveniently labeled STOREROOM on the outside . The other four women watched—their eyes widening as they saw the door close behind them.
"Come on," said Cameron, scrambling up from the couch. "Let's go listen."
Rachel got up to join her, but Arlene stayed on the couch. She had brought along her knitting materials and pulled the needles out of her bag and started to knit furiously on the sweater she was making for her youngest granddaughter. Susan sat there with her mouth still open, licking her lips and pretending to read the lesbian book she had just opened. Cameron and Rachel walked quietly over to the side of the fireplace and leaned their heads against the wooden door. They could hear rustling sounds inside.
"Get naked, Annette. Then I need you to get up on the bed on your hands and knees, and then lower your front onto your elbows." It was Lindsey, talking softly. They heard a moving sound.
"That's good. Now stick your butt up higher into the air so I can get this thing in. Here, let me see if you're wet enough." Lindsey had removed her pants and panties so she could use the dildo strapped around her.
There was another moving sound and they heard a moan from whom they assumed was Annette. She whispered, "I don't want you to use the Whopper, Lindsey."
"Why not?" Lindsey responded, also whispering. "Isn't that why you came in here?"
"I'm not as brave as I thought I was," Annette said softly.
Lindsey wasn't listening. "It's probably because you're not wet enough. That's why it won't go in yet. Let me give your pussy a few licks, to get your juices coming. Stay where you are, and I'll just slide my head underneath you."
"No, Lindsey!" Annette exclaimed, loudly, and turned over on her back.
"Shhh. Don't be so loud," Lindsey said, still whispering. "What the hell's the matter with you, Annette? Don't you want me to fuck you?"
"Yes, Lindsey...but not with that monstrous thing!" Annette protested. "Why can't you do it the usual way?"
"Well, if that's what you want—" Lindsey said, disappointment showing in her voice. She unstrapped the dildo and dropped it on the bed. She was sure Annette would want the Whopper this time. She didn't figure Annette for a dud.
Lindsey buried her head between Annette's thighs and roamed around soft, warm folds with her tongue before she grasped the engorged clit in her lips. "Oh, God, Lindsey, that feels so good when you eat me," Annette said, moaning with pleasure.
There were more movements, as Lindsey inserted two fingers into Annette's vagina and started thrusting back and forth. Cameron and Rachel heard the bed springs start to squeak, which indicated to them that Lindsey was having her way with Annette and getting the job done without further ado. They didn't know Lindsey was not using the dildo.
"Is that good, baby?" Lindsey said breathlessly. "Am I in far enough?"
Another moan, then a reply, "If you go in any farther, you'll push my cunt up into my belly button!" Annette said. "But that feels so good ...don't stop yet. I'm almost there—"
There was a muffled cry, another moan, and then silence, except for some heavy breathing. "Get dressed. We better get back," Lindsey said quietly, after a minute or so. I'm really disappointed in you, Annette, she thought to herself.
Cameron and Rachel rushed back to the couch. They were sitting with their legs crossed and holding their Bible Study materials in their laps when Lindsey and Annette came out of the storeroom. Not more than fifteen minutes had passed.
Cameron noticed the missing bulge in Lindsey's jeans, and smiled to herself. Annette was certainly brave, she thought . I wouldn't have done that. She knew she was soaking wet between her thighs, though, remembering how aroused she had become from what she had heard behind the closed door. She was sure Rachel was in the same predicament.
Arlene sat there like a bump on a log, looking not the least bit guilty or surprised as she finished a few knit and purls. Then she put her knitting away in her knitting bag.
Only Susan looked surprised, and her mouth was still open.
Cameron wished she had been the first to volunteer. But then, Annette was always ready for Lindsey's once-a-month agenda. She knew Lindsey could count on Annette every time, if no one else volunteered. Sometimes she or Rachel would raise their hand first, though, and beat Annette to the punch. Cameron began to wonder if Annette and Lindsey were really shacked up together. Maybe this once-a-month thing was just a put-on for the benefit of the rest of them. No, she decided , her daddy would know if she were with Annette. Then it would be bye-bye to the Bible Study group...along with any lesbian interaction among all of us.
Cameron thought she'd die of boredom if she didn't have this group to come to every week. She refused to go the bar scene route. She didn't get out much, so didn't know of any other eligible women in town. She knew Terri downstairs was gay, but she was uglier than a horned toad in daylight! The new girl—Susan—appeared much too young and inexperienced. After a meeting was over, Cameron sometimes went home with Rachel, a single gal who lived alone. She would have liked to be more in Lindsey's favor, though, as Rachel was somewhat dull. Lindsey was a more exciting lover, but she'd had sex with her only twice in the last year.
It was with surprise, therefore, when she heard Lindsey say, "Does anyone else want it?" She looked Cameron straight in the eyes. "I mean, wouldn't someone like to have it for real, instead of just listening at the door?"
Cameron started breathing heavily and then got up from the couch. This was a first for Lindsey, as she had never asked anyone else after one person volunteered. She couldn't pass this up. She thought, if Annette can handle that Whopper, so can I ! She reached over to Lindsey and allowed herself to be led away toward the storeroom. Lindsey turned around with her hand on the doorknob. "Why don't you come, too, Rachel?"
Rachel lowered her head in embarrassment. Lindsey said, "Last chance," and continued to look at her, waiting. When Rachel made no move to get up from the couch, she took Cameron into the storeroom and shut the door. Annette whispered to Rachel, "She doesn't know what she's in for, I can guarantee you that!" I wonder if she'll actually let Lindsey use the dildo on her. If she does , she's a lot braver than I am!
Susan whispered, "What's happening?" No one answered.
Cameron didn't know what she was in for. Lindsey pulled her down on the bed and started undressing her, hurriedly, as if she was running out of time. "Rachel told me what you do to her when you go home with her after the meetings," she said.
Cameron opened her eyes wide in disbelief. "What do you mean? You talked to Rachel?"
"Yeah." Lindsey was getting insistent now, and started taking her own clothes off. "I want you to do the same thing to me, Cameron. I want you to eat me out. I want you to suck on me, stick your tongue in me till I'm thoroughly wet, and then use the Whopper on me. Do you think you can do that?"
Lindsey was panting with desire now, and the more she talked, the more confused Cameron became. She came into the room expecting to be fucked by Lindsey, and now Lindsey wanted her to do the fucking. She didn't know if she wanted to do that.
"When you get done, I promise you I'll fuck you, too. But I want you to do it to me first. I have that need right now. Annette is a complete dud when it comes to fucking." That persuaded Cameron! She spread Lindsey's thighs wide and slid her fingers over Lindsey's wet clit, which was swimming in milky cum. She moved her fingers up and down and around. Then she brought her head lower and lower until her mouth reached where her fingers were. There was not the usual foreplay she always went through with Rachel, like fondling her breasts and kissing her. Lindsey wanted her mouth on her, so she buried her face in the milky wetness.
I want you, Lindsey said to herself, closing her eyes. I want you, Sarah. She groaned with pleasure, as Cameron's tongue circled and sucked on her clit while Lindsey fantasized it was Sarah. Cameron's head dissolved into the shape of Sarah's head that moved up and down between her thighs.
Cameron never dreamed Lindsey would be so responding to her caresses. She breathed in the wonderful female scent from Lindsey's wet center as Lindsey kept coming and coming. She tried to lick up all of the cum as it came out of her vagina, but never quite succeeded. Is it ever going to stop coming, she wondered. She hasn't even had an orgasm yet! God, she smells and tastes so good!
Before she climaxed, Lindsey pulled Cameron's head up and told her she was ready for the Whopper.
"Whoa," Cameron said, "I've never done this before, Lindsey."
"You have to, Cameron. I need it really bad tonight," Lindsey responded, her voice shaking. "Let me help you get it started. Take it out of the strap." Cameron still hesitated in disbelief.
"Look, Cameron," Lindsey said determinedly, starting to get upset with Cameron. "If you don't do it, I'm not going to fuck you . That's all there is to it!"
"Well, if you put it that way," Cameron conceded, pouting. She began to poke around with the dildo in the dark. Because it was so long, she wound up with the tip of it on top of Lindsey's dark, curly triangle of hair. She'd never used a dildo. Then she felt Lindsey's hands reach for the Whopper to guide her, and it slipped into her vagina easily.
"Now just move it in and out, slowly but surely, and I'll help you with my hips," Lindsey said.
Cameron did as she was told, and felt herself getting hotter and hotter.
Lindsey was moving her hips back and forth in rhythm with the dildo sliding in and out. Her hands were clutching the blanket and her head was thrown back. She didn't realize she was mumbling to herself. Oh God, Sarah, you're so good for me. Don't stop, don't stop—
Cameron was already wet between her thighs just from listening previously at the door when Lindsey was in the room with Annette. And now her breath was starting to come in pants. She felt her cunt getting wetter and wetter with arousal, until she knew she was about to have an orgasm herself.
She faintly heard Lindsey said, "Harder, harder...faster, faster," and when Cameron complied, it wasn't long until Lindsey tensed and started shuddering with an orgasm, but she kept moving the dildo in and out slowly until Lindsey reached her hands down and eased it out.
They both collapsed on the bed on their backs, catching their breath. After a couple of minutes, Lindsey spread Cameron's thighs wide and began massaging her clit, which was drenched with cum, and then inserted two fingers into Cameron's vagina. Her hole widened with even more arousal. Pulling her fingers out, Lindsey began to insert the Whopper slowly , backing out a bit and then going a little deeper, until she had it all the way in. Cameron was thrashing up and down with ecstasy, and as Lindsey moved the dildo in and out, she put her thumb on Cameron's engorged clit and went round and round. The combined ways of fucking brought Cameron to a climax quickly. She moaned aloud and then put her hand over her mouth and stifled a scream. She felt the warmth and quivering shoot down her stomach to her toes and back up again as she orgasmed.
"Now wasn't that worth it?" Lindsey asked, as she withdrew the dildo and lay down beside Cameron, who was trying to catch her breath. "Let's get dressed and go back to the group."
Cameron was in a daze, wondering what had just happened. And that dildo —she thought. Oh, my God! I can see what Annette meant! She had never felt anything like this with Rachel. Rachel just lay there and let her do the fucking. She would never fuck her back.
She thought, giggling, that maybe Rachel should find someone else to go home with, and they could both lie there side by side, neither one fucking the other. Then she laughed aloud at the thought, and Lindsey joined in her laughter, not knowing why.
They came back out into the main room. Arlene had taken her knitting bag and left, but the three other women were engrossed in reading their lesbian book aloud to each other. Each read a few paragraphs and then passed the reading on to the next one. They looked up and saw how disheveled Cameron and Lindsey appeared. Both heads of hair were tossed awry as if they'd been in a wrestling match.
Lindsey looked at her watch and realized she had been having sex with Cameron for nearly a half hour, far longer than she had taken with Annette. That just about shot the rest of the evening. She didn't want to get home later than she normally did, or her father would question her more than usual. Studying the short Bible lesson for tonight wouldn't have taken up that much time.
"We better call it a night," Lindsey said. "We'll take up with our book next time where you ladies left off tonight."
She was glad that the women had taken it upon themselves to read the lesbian book while she was in the storeroom with Cameron. Her part in reading the book could wait. The sex couldn't! She watched them descend the stairs, one by one. She wondered what they were thinking about tonight's agenda, but she never questioned them. If they weren't happy, she guessed she would hear about it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – REMORSE
Lindsey gathered up her Bible Study materials and her lesbian book and stowed them away in her cloth book bag. As she thought about tonight, she was oblivious to the final "see you next week" when the women left.
She went into the upstairs 'unisex' restroom and brushed her hair before the mirror. She looked like a wild woman who had just walked in out of the desert. She had really been carried away with Cameron. She hoped Cameron wouldn't think that she was going to be that way with her all the time. She didn't want a woman who tried to cling to her—like Annette used to. If Cameron started to come on to her at the next meeting, she'd set her straight about that. It was only sex, nothing more.
As she looked in the mirror, she imagined she saw Sarah standing next to her, smiling, and then showing disappointment on her face. Lindsey all of a sudden was embarrassed, confused and beside herself with regret. Why had she gone ahead with her agenda? She really didn't want to, but couldn't help herself. The desire for sex was so powerful!
Before she left the Alpine Coffeehouse , she picked up the dildo she'd left on the bed in the storeroom and washed it off in the sink in the restroom. Then she sat on the couch for a moment, looking at it, wondering what had happened tonight. Why had she focused on sex so much? She knew the women seemed to want it once a month. Sex had always been just sex to her, nothing more, with no strings attached, no commitments. She didn't particularly care about which woman in the group she fucked. They were all pretty much the same. Except for Arlene.
Lindsey had never been able to coax Arlene into bed with her. She contributed that to her being quite a bit older than the rest of them. She was very vocal about the lesbian books they read, however, and had no qualms about discussing sexual things. Arlene, she soon discovered, was there just because it was a lesbian book group, and liked reading the books aloud with the others. She seemed to get her kicks that way. Some day she hoped to convince Arlene that real-time sex was what she needed.
Lindsey wondered what Susan thought about what happened tonight—and if she even realized what was going on. Surely, she couldn't be that naïve!
But Lindsey had never fucked more than one woman in her group in a single night as she had tonight. She knew her emotions were running away with her, and maybe having more sex was the only way she could express that. Maybe because she couldn't have sex with Sarah, she took her pleasure with Cameron. She knew what Cameron could do! But then, not fully realizing what was going on, Sarah's face came swimmingly before her. Cameron's face should have been there, but she had fantasized it was Sarah making love to her.
Why would she be thinking about Sarah this evening? She was just another woman—albeit a damn pretty one that made her heart skip a beat. That had never happened before. You've got it bad, girl, she thought, unwilling to let this admission cloud her thoughts. She couldn't seem to get Sarah out of her mind.
Lindsey thought back throughout her life, beginning in Junior High, when she had been drawn to females, to the total exclusion of boys. If she could coax them into having sex with her—even those who said they were straight —she enjoyed it immensely. She remembered with fondness the sleepovers she had in Junior High at her father's ranch. Then there were the rolls in the hay barn with her classmates—in which her sister Leslie never took part—and which always eventuated into sex of some sort or another. Even at that tender age, Lindsey wouldn't take no for an answer, and rarely had a female refused her. If someone did say no, she just found someone else. It didn't matter if the classmate on the school bus and later the women after High School were not very attractive. It was just sex that she wanted. There were plenty of opportunities with females who didn't want commitments, either, and just wanted sex. After all, in the dark and under the covers, they were all alike. They all had the same sexual desires and sexual fantasies and the same cunts—though some had larger clits than others. She smiled at the thought of little pearl tips or huge orbs. She could bring any of them to orgasm, while having an orgasm herself! And she had plenty of toys to keep them happy!
At the outset, she began to make the Bible Study meetings more interesting by introducing her special agenda of having sex with those in the group. The women had gone along with it for almost a year. They were always ready when she asked. Who wouldn't want to have sex with her? She thought that was the main reason they came to the Bible Study. Now she was beginning to want more sex, and didn't know if she should approach the group about having her special agenda twice a month instead of only once a month.
What am I doing? she thought. I'm the one who wants the sex! They never ask me —I always ask them ! I started this whole thing. We probably could have had the lesbian book group without the sex. So what's my hang-up? Have I actually inherited my father's predisposition of an insatiable sexual appetite?
It wasn't the first time such a thought had passed through her mind. She had tried to forget the five years she'd lived in Cheyenne before moving to Laramie with her father and sister—telling herself she wasn't going to go that direction again. Her past, however, seemed determined to return and haunt her.
She thought that in getting older—she was now in her mid-thirties—her libido would be on the wane. Surprisingly, it appeared to be going in the opposite direction. None of the women in her Bible Study group appealed to her in the way of a steady girlfriend, one with whom she could have sex anytime she wanted. She didn't find the bar scene especially attractive, either—even though she worked at Scully's . She'd had her share of sex with that type of crowd and didn't want to get involved with them anymore. She'd tried to leave that behind in Cheyenne. But from time to time, before her once-a-month agenda with the Bible Study group began, she would pick up someone at Scully's she didn't know. It would be a woman who was only looking to get laid, and who never came back again. Lindsey could spot a woman like that right away. A quick fuck behind the door marked OFFICE. EMPLOYEES ONLY , and that was it. She was lucky that she hadn't contracted some STD or worse during those times! But she never picked up anybody at Scully's now, and everyone there knew it.
As she left the Alpine Coffeehouse , her mind was still on Sarah, wishing she could have persuaded her to come to the Bible Study tonight after the Christmas choir practice. If she had been there, Lindsey was convinced she would not have gone ahead with her once-a-month agenda. She felt Sarah would have looked on it as distasteful, and it probably would have turned her off. But Lindsey needed to have sex badly. She didn't know how much longer she could have held out. The arousal she felt when she was around Sarah and talked with her was constantly on her mind now. She wanted her desperately, but Sarah was not ready for her. And Lindsey had to quench that sexual urge somehow. God, I'm just like my daddy , she thought. I need sex! With a big capital S – E – X!
Lindsey thought if Sarah had come tonight, she would have cut the meeting short. Then after dropping Sarah off at her house, she would have gone to Scully's and picked up some willing woman at the bar for a couple of hours—like Amy or Dixie, either of whom she knew would always be willing. Even though she had decided she wasn't going to go that route again, her desire for release was so strong! Masturbation was no longer satisfying. But since Sarah didn't come, she went ahead with her agenda.
She knew she couldn't go back to it again after tonight. She felt like she had betrayed Sarah. In the short time Lindsey had known Sarah, the woman had moved lock, stock, and barrel into her heart, and continually occupied her thoughts now. She didn't know what to do.
She pulled up to her house, noticing the light on in the kitchen. Leslie would have gone to bed already, and her father would be waiting up to ask her questions about the Bible Study. It was not yet 9 p.m.
Lindsey suddenly realized she was sick and tired of living her life the way it was. She was sick and tired of Leslie's constant arguments with her about helping out with their father and resenting it when she didn't. She was sick and tired of daddy always asking questions about the Bible Study— and the Christmas program— and her job at the bar— and her work at The Old West Town — and EVERYTHING! She was sick and tired of pretending she was straight , when she wasn't. Why didn't she have the guts to come out to her family that she was a lesbian? Then hear them rant and rave and tell her how she was going to hell, and then disown her. And to top it all off, she wanted Sarah so much!
All of a sudden, her emotions welled up inside her and spilled over to the outside. She did something she thought she would never do, because she was always in control! She couldn't help herself now. She wrapped her arms around the steering wheel of her truck, put her head down, and cried. How in the fucking hell did I ever get to this place in my life? she sobbed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – BURGLARY
Maybe I should have taken Lindsey up on her offer, Sarah thought, as she walked in the front door. I could have spent a little more time with her. I think she wanted to be around me, too. She seemed disappointed when she had to bring me back home after the Christmas practice instead of coming with her to the Bible Study.
Most of the choir members appeared to have their own little cliques. Sarah knew it would be hard to get to know them, because she was the outsider right now. She thought she'd made a new friend, and vaguely remembered her name was Lanette or Janette or maybe Annette. She had missed practice last week. The woman encouraged her to come to the Bible Study. There were only five of them, plus Lindsey, and the woman said—winking at her—that they had some "interesting discussions."
She thought she'd better get home because of Sylvia, though. When she walked into the family room, she saw Sylvia lounging in front of the fireplace. Sarah had half a mind to jump in the SUV and drive over to the Alpine Coffeehouse to join the Bible Study. Then she changed her mind when she saw the haggardness in her sister's face. Maybe Sylvia needed her at home more than the Bible Study needed her.
"I'm going to go up and change into something more comfortable," she told her sister. "Then I'll make us some hot chocolate. Okay?"
The kids were excitedly watching a rerun of Star Wars: Episode III on the big-screen TV. "Chrissy's father came and picked Chrissy up and then the kids and I ate dinner," Sylvia said. "I left a plate of the food in the fridge that you can pop in the microwave."
Then with an uncharacteristic smile, she said gently, "But I think I would like some hot chocolate."
The two sisters suffered through the rest of the Star Wars movie and then Sylvia shooed the kids off to bed and popped an adult movie in the DVD player. It was almost midnight when they went off to bed themselves.
Sarah read for a few minutes, thinking about church in the morning, and about seeing Lindsey again. Maybe Lindsey will let me join the church choir . She finally closed her book and snuggled under the warm covers and fell asleep, listening to the Christmas program music in her head.
* * * * * *
It was the middle of the night. Sarah sat straight up in bed, startled. She didn't know what woke her up, only that it was a loud noise that made her heart jump. She got out of bed slowly, silently walked over to her window and looked out. She saw nothing but a blanket of snow on the back yard lawn. She went to her bedroom door, opened it cautiously and looked out. She could see nothing there, either. She stepped out onto her deck and looked over the railing down into the family room. Nothing was there, but she still felt uneasy.
She proceeded down the stairs into the kitchen. As she stepped down onto the tile floor, the front doorbell rang. "Oh, Jesus!" she muttered. The loud sound made her jump, and she stubbed her little toe on the base of the bannister. She glanced at the kitchen clock in the dim light from the nightlight. It was two o'clock. She hadn't been asleep very long.
She turned on the kitchen light, hobbled to the front door, and looked out the peep hole to see who was there. By that time, Sylvia was up and at the front door, too.
"It's a cop," Sarah whispered to Sylvia. Making sure the porch light was on, she unlocked the door and opened it a crack. "What can we do for you, Officer?"
"Excuse me, ma'am, but we've had a call that there was someone trying to break in one of the houses in this neighborhood. The occupants ran them off, but we think that person, or persons, is still in the neighborhood. We're going door-to-door checking to see if anyone has noted anything unusual tonight."
"No, we haven't," Sylvia said, opening the door wider. "Nothing unusual at all."
"Well, ma'am, if you do notice anything, would you give us a call at the police station?"
"Yes. We'll do that. Thank you, Officer, for warning us." Sylvia closed the door and locked it. Then she turned to her sister.
"A loud noise woke me up just a little bit ago," Sarah said, "and I was coming down the stairs to see if there was something wrong, and the doorbell rang. Scared the bejesus out of me!"
"I felt the same way," Sylvia said. "God, I hope no one is lurking around here. I don't even have a pistol or anything for self-defense."
"Well, maybe we should look through the house, to make sure no one's tried to get in. Don't you think so?"
Sarah threaded her arm around Sylvia's. They carefully walked into the family room, and Sylvia reached out and turned on the overhead light. There was nothing amiss in there. They left the light on.
They cautiously tiptoed down the hall way to the bedrooms. They looked in each one, and into the living room. They looked carefully around the bathroom in the master bedroom and the other one that the kids used. They checked all of the windows and made sure they were locked. Nothing appeared out of place, and all the kids were sleeping soundly.
They both heaved a sigh of relief, then walked back to the kitchen where Sylvia put the teapot on the stove. Sarah pulled two cups out of the cupboard.
Her cell phone started ringing. She had left it on the computer table and raced up the stairs to answer it.
"Hi, Sarah," Lindsey said. "Sorry if I got you out of bed. Is everything all right over at your place?"
"You didn't get me up, Lindsey. I'm already up. So is Sylvia. And yes, everything's fine. Is everything all right at your house? What's going on?"
"I think everything's okay now. Some intruders tried to break into our house, but my father chased them away with a shotgun. He fired a barrel into the air, and they took the hint." She was laughing. "When the cops got here, they tried to track them down—there was more than one person—but lost them. Footprints were everywhere and they didn't know whose was whose. I thought I'd check to see if you were all right, because the police said those would-be burglars were probably still lurking around."
"A cop came to our door and warned us, too," Sarah said. "We've looked all through the house and didn't find any signs of someone trying to break in, so I'm pretty sure we're going to be okay. We made sure everything was locked up tight." It must have been the shotgun blast from Lindsey's house that woke me up .
"Well, I just wanted to call and see if you were all right," Lindsey said.
"Thank you, Lindsey, for your concern," Sarah replied. "See you in church tomorrow."
"Wait! You haven't forgotten about our breakfast date, have you? You got the first strike when we went bowling Friday night. Remember? Bowling?"
"Oh, God! I'm sorry, Lindsey, but with all the commotion, I'd forgotten about it. Of course, I'll meet you for breakfast tomorrow. That is, I guess that's today , isn't it? And it's your treat, isn't it? God, where has my brain gone to? Where did you say to meet you?"
"How about if I just pick you up?" Lindsey said.
"Okay. About eight o'clock then?"
After Lindsey affirmed the time, Sarah folded her phone up, hanging on to Lindsey's last words. She remembered how passionate she felt when she heard Lindsey's husky voice saying, "You are mine," at Scully's Friday night.
"Well, another day in the life of Laramie," Sylvia commented, jolting Sarah out of the romantic thoughts she was having as she reached the bottom of the stairs. After Sarah related Lindsey's story of what happened, Sylvia said, "We have a lot of this kind of thing going on. It's not only big cities that have crime."
Then she said something that surprised Sarah. "I'm glad you're here, kiddo. I don't feel safe in this house by myself. Rich and I both decided I needed to have someone else stay with me while he's gone. Not just for the kids. I'm so glad it's you." She walked over and gave Sarah a big hug. Whatever harsh words had come between them previously seemed to dissipate with this one act of sisterliness .
It was close to 3 a.m. when they finally went back to bed after drinking a cup of herbal tea.
Sarah had a difficult time getting back to sleep. She thought about Lindsey checking on them and then about breakfast with her tomorrow. She was getting closer to Lindsey—more than she really wanted to. She was drawn to her like a moth to a flame and was clueless on how to explain it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – BREAKFAST ( Sunday, December 11 )
Sarah's alarm went off at 7 o'clock. She sleepily turned it off and then snuggled back under the covers. She awoke with a start fifteen minutes later and remembered Lindsey was picking her up for breakfast. After rubbing her eyes open, she staggered to the shower and let the pulsating stream of hot water finish waking her up.
She remembered she would also have to be dressed for church after breakfast. She put on her best brown dress slacks and decided on a beige pullover woolen sweater. She hung a silver chain around her neck, letting it dangle over her sweater. Her eyes looked sunken and very tired. They needed a little help, so she put on just a hint of eye shadow and under-eye liner.
After gathering up her phone and heavy winter coat, stuffing everything else she needed in its deep pockets, she went down the stairs to greet Sylvia. She looked just as tired. She could see that Sylvia wasn't up to much conversation this morning. She went over to the counter and grabbed half a cup of coffee after saying good morning, and joined her at the kitchen table.
"Where are you off to this early in the morning," Sylvia asked, looking at her watch. After wrapping her warm robe a little tighter around herself, she got up from the table, turned the thermostat up and sat down again.
"Lindsey's picking me up for breakfast before church. We had a bet on who would buy breakfast this morning according to who got the first strike in bowling Friday night. I did, so she's buying."
"Oh." Sylvia couldn't think of anything else to say. She had called the bowling alley on Saturday after she got home from work, and they did remember Lindsey and Sarah bowling Friday night. They also had a tournament going on. Still, she didn't like her sister going out with Lindsey, and had made herself clear on that a couple of times. This morning, however, she wasn't up to fighting against what seemed to be the inevitable. She was too tired to bother arguing. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night.
Nevertheless, she asked, "So you'll be coming to church afterwards?"
"Of course. Lindsey is the choir director. Why wouldn't I be there?" Sarah thought that was a strange question for Sylvia to be asking.
The doorbell rang. Lindsey was there—right on time.
Sylvia watched them go down the walk to Lindsey's truck. Lindsey was getting to be a regular visitor, she thought, as she counted how many times the 'choir director' had rung her doorbell in the past four days. She knew Sarah and Lindsey had talked on their phones a few times, too. She felt uneasy about the whole situation. She reluctantly had to admit that her sister was a grown woman and could make up her own mind if she wanted to keep on seeing Lindsey. Well, she has to have her friends, just as I have to have mine. And speaking of friends—
In spite of how she felt, she hurriedly got up and dumped the rest of her coffee down the drain—too tired to even eat breakfast—and went to wake the kids. She was anxious to get to church on time for Sunday School.
"Did you get back to sleep last night?" Lindsey asked as they got in the truck, which she had left idling so it would stay warm. It was freezing outside. The temperature had reached zero last night.
"Not very easily," Sarah responded. "I was kind of uptight after what happened. So I'm kind of sleepy this morning. The cold is waking me up, though."
"I didn't sleep very well, either," Lindsey said. "And I think my father stayed up all night sitting in the living room with his shotgun!" She laughed. "But nothing else happened. Those guys are long gone by now. We'll probably have a short sermon in church this morning." She laughed again. "If my father can keep from nodding off."
Sarah joined in the laughter finally. Lindsey seemed so upbeat this early in the morning that she found her laughter contagious.
"Does this kind of thing happen very often?" Sarah asked. "Break-ins, that is?"
"It's a common-enough occurrence. It's more common in an upscale neighborhood like this because people have so many more things of value to steal than other places in town."
"What in the world were those burglars after at your house?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know. We don't really have any valuables in the house. Daddy is usually loath to spend money, even though he has it to spend. But my daddy puts out some powerful sermons at times, and I'm sure he ruffles a few feathers. Might have been someone who had an axe to grind. He's probably made a few enemies along the way. Who knows? But let's not talk about that now. Let's enjoy breakfast."
She pulled up to an eating establishment called Rita's Home Town Café . It was a large, old house—with a huge front porch—and had been remodeled into a restaurant. A patio constructed in front of the house with a few round metal tables and chairs scattered about provided customers with a place to eat outside in warmer weather. Everything was covered with snow now, of course, so no one was eating outside this morning. The sidewalk had been shoveled, and as Sarah looked down the street, she saw that all the sidewalks she could see in every direction were cleared of snow.
There were quite a few cars parked in front along the street, alluding to how good the food was. As they walked inside, Sarah felt the ambience of the place—a distinct homey atmosphere. The front porch, now enclosed, encased numerous square wooden restaurant tables—which were full of diners—and she noticed several small paintings hanging on what would have been the front outside wall of the house. She looked closer at the paintings, then stepped back when she noticed the signature and said, " You painted these, didn't you, Lindsey?" Lindsey's face turned pink with embarrassment as she nodded her head and then took Sarah by the arm and led her into the main part of the restaurant. Business was bustling, she noted. The large dining area was packed with customers.
"Hey, Lindsey, how's it goin'?" said one of the waitresses. "I saved a table for you right over here. I thought you might be in this morning. I've never known a snowstorm that could keep you away."
Sarah surmised from those remarks that Lindsey frequented this place often. "Coffee?" the waitress asked, talking while she led them to their table. Sarah and Lindsey both nodded.
"Cream and sugar?" They both shook their heads no.
"Comin' right up," the waitress said. "Take your time ordering."
She handed them menus and then was back almost instantly with mugs filled to the brim with steaming hot coffee. She set them down on cardboard coasters on the table, which was covered with the familiar red-and-white checkered tablecloth.
Sarah held up the menu and noticed a large variety of breakfast items. She was so hungry. She had completely forgotten to eat the plateful of dinner last night that Sylvia had saved for her to heat up in the microwave. She'd been content with the hot chocolate. She didn't want Lindsey to know she was starving, so she just ordered the Deluxe Cinnamon Roll. Lindsey decided to have the single Mountain Pancake.
A cinnamon roll and a pancake , Sarah thought. That's not very much .
"I can afford you, Sarah," Lindsey said, talking low. "I'm not broke , you know. It wasn't your fault you made the first strike at bowling. You don't have to pretend you're not hungry on account of me. Order more, if you like."
"That's okay," Sarah said, smiling. "A cinnamon roll is all I want." She tried to keep from looking at Lindsey. "But you're not eating much, either, are you? A single pancake?"
"That's all I want," Lindsey said. "I'm not very hungry, either." She looked around at the other diners and pretended a deep interest in her coffee—deliberately not looking at Sarah for a reason.
The reason became apparent when the waitress brought their breakfast. "I threw in a side of bacon," the waitress said, "just in case this wasn't enough." She set the dishes down in front of them with a flourish.
"Oh, my God," Sarah exclaimed, her eyes widening. "This is big enough for a horse!" She couldn't believe the size of the cinnamon roll in front of her. It was at least four times as big as one large, thick cinnamon roll would be. Then she looked over at Lindsey's plate and saw a pancake as large as a medium-sized pizza! Her eyes grew wider and her mouth dropped open.
"No wonder you only wanted one pancake!" she said. "Why didn't you tell me they served such huge portions?"
"I wanted to see the look on your face," Lindsey said, laughing. She reached out and took a slice of bacon from the heaping plateful, then slid the plate over to Sarah. "You should have seen yourself."
"You were teasing me, weren't you?" Sarah said. "Pretending you weren't hungry."
"Yeah," Lindsey said. "Actually, I'm starving!"
"So am I," Sarah admitted. "But I don't think I can eat all of this, Lindsey." She marveled again at the size of her cinnamon roll. "It's so huge! "
"You can box it up and eat the rest of it when you get home from church," Lindsey said matter-of-factly. "Everybody does it. I often wonder how they make any money at this place. But they must be doing something right, as it's always crowded."
Sarah looked around. "This is a lesbian place, too, isn't it?" she whispered, noting that all of the waitresses and the cooks in the back were women. Still, it looked like many of the customers were men who had brought their wives.
"Yeah," Lindsey responded around a mouthful of pancake. "But it doesn't make any difference to people who eat here. I think the place holds about a hundred people. They come because the food is so good."
Time passed quickly. Lindsey looked at her watch. "We better get going to the church." She asked for the check and paid without hesitation, looking at Sarah for some response. She thought Sarah might have objected to her paying for breakfast, even though that was the bet they had made. Instead, Sarah was looking over at one of the waitresses, nodding to her for a take-away container for the more than half of her cinnamon roll that remained.
"Thank you for breakfast," Sarah said, as they got into the truck. "I hope we can do this again soon."
"You're welcome," Lindsey replied. "I do, too." I hope we can do this many times, she thought .