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PART THREE
CHAPTER NINE – A MISUNDERSTANDING ( Thursday, December 8 )
Sarah's alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning, and she looked out the window on a drab, gray day with overhanging, dense clouds.
Yep, those are snow clouds for sure, she thought. I wonder if it's a wise move to go to Cheyenne today. Maybe I should call Lindsey and say I can't go. We might not be able to make it to Cheyenne and get stuck in a blizzard on the way. I can always get the material copied here in town.
Yet snow had never held her up when she lived in Denver. She hoped Lindsey was right about her truck being in top mechanical condition. The other night when Lindsey brought her home, it sounded like it was going to fall apart. She tossed aside all negative thoughts and focused on riding to Cheyenne with Lindsey. It was better than going alone, and Lindsey surely would be able to point out different sights for her to see along the way.
After a quick shower and breakfast before the kids got up for school, she was ready to go before 7:30. She put on a fresh pot of coffee, which was the least she could do for her always-running-late-in-the-morning sister. A few minutes later, the kids and Sylvia were up and getting in one another's way while they got ready for school and work. Sarah wondered how they ever got themselves together in time to get where they were supposed to be for the day.
Sylvia always dropped the kids off at school on her way to work. They rode the bus home. Sarah asked her why the kids didn't take the bus to school, as well. Sylvia said they would have to get up a whole hour earlier, as the bus came early. That was just too hard for her to manage. She needed a good night's sleep after working all day.
Sarah decided to stay out of the way of family members trying to eat breakfast and fix lunches in their hurry to get going. Knowing Lindsey wouldn't be by for another half hour, she buried herself in a book in the family room while she waited.
Her phone jingled right at eight o'clock. She nervously pulled it out of her pants pocket.
"Hi, Sarah. This is Lindsey. Just wanted you to know I'm running a little late. I won't be able to pick you up till 8:30. Are you all right with that?"
"I guess so. Is there a problem? Do we need to cancel?"
"No, no. There's not really a problem. Actually, I overslept—didn't hear my alarm and woke up about fifteen minutes ago. We had our mid-week service at church last night, and afterwards I was at Scully's and didn't get home till after two this morning. So I need to jump in the shower. I'll be right over after that."
"That's okay, Lindsey. I'll be here."
"Okay. See you in a bit."
Sarah snapped her phone shut and wandered back to the kitchen. Sylvia and the kids were putting on their coats ready to head out.
"Sylvia, do you know anything about Scully's ?" she asked offhandedly.
" Scully's ? Oh, that's a bar downtown," Sylvia said. Then she lowered her voice so the kids wouldn't hear. "It's a lesbian bar. Why do you want to know?"
"Oh, I just heard it somewhere," Sarah said, nonchalantly.
"Now, that's one place you need to stay away from," Sylvia warned. "I've heard some stories about that place."
"What do you mean?" Sarah said.
"I can't talk about it now. I'm in a hurry. See you later, kiddo. Hope you make it to Cheyenne all right. Call me if you get caught in the storm and can't get back. Okay?"
With those few words, she ushered the kids out to the car. Sarah heard Sylvia leave and went back to reading her book after getting another cup of coffee.
The doorbell rang twice before she could get to it. She opened it to a smiling Lindsey and invited her in. Lindsey wasn't wearing makeup this morning, and Sarah thought she looked beautiful without it. She supposed she only wore makeup when she went to church.
"I need to get my coat up in my room," she said. "Would you like to see where I work? Sylvia and the kids have already left."
Lindsey couldn't believe her ears! This was an open invitation! She followed her into the kitchen and up the stairs after her. Sarah explained how the deck had been built especially for her and how they had turned the room that was formerly storage space into a bedroom and built on a bathroom. She showed off her computer equipment to an amazed Lindsey and showed her what she needed to get in Cheyenne.
"Oh," she said. "I guess I better write down the model number and such, to make sure I get the right parts."
She scribbled down some letters and numbers on a piece of paper and stuck it into her jeans pocket. "Wait here," she said, looking intently at Lindsey. "I'll be right back."
Lindsey had no intention of waiting there! The look in Sarah's eyes was unmistakable. She had seen that look many times in a woman's eyes.
Sarah opened the door to her bedroom and walked over to the closet to get her coat. She opened the closet door, pulled out her heavy winter coat and slipped it on before closing it. Then she turned around to go back out of the room and bumped into Lindsey, who had come up behind her.
Lindsey wrapped her arms around her before she realized what was happening. Sarah tensed her body. "Lindsey, I—" she started to say, and Lindsey silenced her with her mouth. Sarah felt herself struggle a bit more and then relaxed and slumped into Lindsey as her mouth came open and welcomed Lindsey's tongue with her own. She melted comfortably into Lindsey's arms and started kissing her passionately. Lindsey returned the kiss—hungry, persistent, possessive. Her hand reached inside Sarah's coat and started to go under her sweater.
Suddenly, Sarah stiffened again and pulled away. "I'm not ready for this, Lindsey," she said, turning her head aside, breathing heavily.
"Yes, you are," Lindsey responded huskily. "I know ready when I see it." She wrapped her arm tightly around Sarah again—taking control as she always did with a woman—and with her other hand she held the back of Sarah's head and neck while she bent her head down to her again. She was sure Sarah was going to melt into her a second time.
But Sarah reacted in a way that caught her off guard. Before Lindsey's lips could meet hers again, Sarah roughly pushed her away, saying, emphatically and angrily, "No! I'm not!" Then she turned around and stomped out of the bedroom, leaving Lindsey standing there with a dumbfounded expression on her face. That had never happened to her before. How could she have misread the look in Sarah's eyes?
"Are you coming?" Sarah said from the top of the stairs. "I can't drive your truck myself. Close the bedroom door behind you, would you, please?"
Lindsey dutifully closed the door, swallowed her rebuff and followed Sarah down the stairs and out the front door. She paused only long enough for Sarah to lock up the house and then led the way to her truck. She opened the passenger door for Sarah and helped her up into the passenger seat by giving her a shove on her rear. After making sure the truck door was closed securely, she went around and climbed into the driver's seat.
"I'm sorry," Lindsey said, starting up the engine. "It won't happen again."
"I'm sorry, too," Sarah said. But I hope it will happen again, she thought. I really wasn't ready, though. Lindsey caught me unawares. Whatever gave her the impression that she could take advantage of me like that? She remembered being filled with desire when Lindsey followed her up the stairs to her bedroom. Maybe I shouldn't have looked at her like I did. Was that it? God, what is wrong with me? I don't even know this woman! And I don't intend to get caught up in any kind of relationship while I'm up here working. But I did want to kiss her. And it was exciting. I hope I didn't turn her off completely.
Lindsey turned the truck down the main road out of town and noted the skies were perceptibly darkening. She knew they were in for a full-blown blizzard. Sarah focused her eyes straight ahead. All sightseeing was forgotten. Even the warmth of the heater failed to slice through the icy silence that remained with them almost all the way to Cheyenne.
CHAPTER TEN – HELLO, WINTER! ( Friday, December 9 )
Lindsey unbuttoned her khaki shorts and let them fall to the floor, pooling around her ankles. As she slid her panties off her hips, TWANG—like an arrow unleashed from its notch—the big blue dildo popped straight out in front, no longer hindered by the confines of her clothing. Her panties continued to fall to the floor around her ankles as well.
Lindsey leaned against the metal wall of the toilet stall, desire nearly causing her legs to buckle, while one hand gently stroked the life-like eight inches of pure sexual joy sticking out from its firm position in her dildo strap. She opened the stall door, stepped out of her clothes on the floor, and walked over to the naked woman at one of the sinks. Her arousal grew as she viewed the woman's large breasts and long, shapely legs.
"Bend over and spread 'em wide," she said confidently.
She came up behind the naked woman, who had done exactly what Lindsey told her to, and reached one hand between her thighs and cupped her cunt. Spreading her lips wide with her fingers, noting that she was already dripping with cum, she wrapped her other hand around the natural-feeling dildo and started inserting it into the woman's vagina, an inch at a time. The woman moaned with delight.
When the dildo, slightly tipped at the end, was in up to the hilt, Lindsey grabbed the woman's hips to hang on to and started thrusting and pumping back and forth while the woman gripped the sink and groaned with pleasure as the dildo pushed her body into the sink—unnh...unnh... unnh...unnh. With each thrust of the dildo, Lindsey could feel the back end of it press against her clit, as it was designed to do. She felt herself dropping off the cliff headed toward a climax.
* * * * * *
CRACK! BOOM! Lightning split open the sky and thunder shook the house, waking Lindsey up from the most delicious erotic dream she'd had in a long time. For a moment, she forgot where she was. She shook her head to clear away the cobwebs and remembered she was in her own bed. Damn , she thought, noting her hips were still slightly in thrusting mode from the dream. Almost had an orgasm in my sleep! Haven't done that in a while.
Thunder crashed again—louder. Lindsey threw back the covers and walked over to the window, parted the curtains and looked out. Thunder snow. That phenomenon happened occasionally. She saw the snow was really piling up—a strong winter storm a couple of weeks before Christmas. Since her bedroom was on the second floor, it was difficult to gauge just how much snow had fallen, but it was still coming down heavily. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. Six o'clock. Much too early to get up, she decided.
She climbed back into bed, hugging the covers up to her chin, wondering if she could get back into her dream. Today is another day , she thought. I hope it's better than yesterday.
* * * * * *
Yesterday had been a disaster! A monkey wrench had been thrown into Lindsey's plans of having a good time, first in the form of the rejection she'd received from Sarah. That was something totally unexpected!
Sarah lightened up finally and was friendly enough once they were close to Cheyenne, but they talked only about trivial things and avoided all reference to what had happened. By making a pass at Sarah so soon after meeting her, Lindsey knew she had just plain blown her chances of ever getting close to her now.
Lindsey had hoped after Sarah had accepted her invitation to ride with her to Cheyenne that they would become stranded overnight because of the storm and wouldn't be able to get back to Laramie. It would have given her an opportunity to get to know Sarah better and see if her gut feelings were correct. But after what happened in Sarah's bedroom, Sarah would probably have elected to go to separate motels if they couldn't make it back to Laramie! So Lindsey called herself a few choice names as she drove to Cheyenne— doofus, idiot, stupid, lamebrain— hitting herself mentally over the head until she began to get a headache.
They made their purchases before lunch—Sarah's feed rollers and Lindsey's music folders—and ate lunch at a small diner that served delicious buffalo burgers. Lindsey introduced Sarah to her old friend Marge, who owned the diner. Marge immediately chastised Lindsey for moving away from Cheyenne and said she missed Lindsey's regular lunchtime visits.
Sarah looked at Lindsey strangely, but didn't say anything. She never knew Lindsey had lived in Cheyenne, but it was none of her business why she had moved to Laramie.
Then Marge good-naturedly got on Lindsey's case for driving to Cheyenne when a storm was brewing instead of waiting for a clear day. Sarah laughed, and said she would have driven, too, if Lindsey had not asked her to ride along, because she wanted to pick up some printer parts in Cheyenne and see some sights along the way.
Sarah was having such a good time over lunch that Lindsey was going to suggest a movie before they headed back, hoping to salvage a little bit of fun out of the trip. Right after they ate, however, Sarah said she had to get back to Laramie before the snow started so she could fix her printer and get some hard copy off to her boss.
Lindsey was disappointed, because even the late-arriving storm seemed to be hitting her over the head. There was no chance of them being stranded in Cheyenne now. The storm decided to hold off dumping its load of snow until they were back in Laramie. That was a second unexpected surprise, because she was sure the snow would have been coming down hard by now.
Snow flurries were barely starting to fall when Lindsey dropped Sarah off at her house, a short time before Sylvia's kids got home from school. Sarah politely said good-bye and that she had a good time. Lindsey said she'd pick her up on Saturday for practice. Sarah nodded her head as she climbed out of the truck.
As Lindsey drove away, she kicked herself repeatedly for taking the initiative so soon. But hey, when a woman invites me upstairs and tells me that she's the only one in the house....How was I to know Sarah meant for me to see her workspace and computer equipment literally —and nothing else? I was sure there was more behind the invitation—
* * * * * *
As Lindsey snuggled under the covers, trying to go back to sleep, she thought of how differently she was acting around Sarah—quite unlike how she usually was with women. She never apologized to anyone . She had apologized twice now to Sarah—once for keeping her overlong at the Christmas practice and then again for making a pass at her yesterday. That was definitely not her style.
She had gone to work as the bartender at Scully's Tavern and Grill last night and literally worn herself out. The bar was packed with customers who were getting tanked up before the big storm got in full gear. Many women she hadn't seen for a while lined the bar, and she got into some interesting conversations, happy to be drawn into their circle for a few hours.
In addition, people were dropping in whom she had never seen before. Interstate 80 from Laramie to Rock Springs was closed at eight o'clock last night because of blizzard conditions—strong winds were causing whiteouts and heavy drifting. Many westbound drivers were stranded in Laramie now. Scully's Tavern and Grill was close to the Interstate, so these people—truckers mainly, men—welcomed any port in a storm. They figured they'd be in Laramie for at least a couple of days before they could continue on west, so they staked out the first local watering hole they could find. They never knew it was a lesbian bar, but could have cared less! Stevie, the cook, put out a decent feed, too—keeping the kitchen open until midnight instead of closing at their usual 8 o'clock. Lindsey felt confident that the truckers would be back tonight.
When she got home after two this morning, she waded through more than a foot of snow to her front door. After she undressed in her room, she collapsed on the bed and didn't wake up until thunder shook the house—interrupting her dream. Now she couldn't go back to sleep. She finally gave it up as a lost cause, got up and dressed and fixed breakfast for herself. Thoughts of Sarah were running through her head.
CHAPTER ELEVEN – IT'S A DATE!
Sarah awoke to the sounds of yelling and fighting. The boys were at it again. They fought all the time. Why didn't Sylvia say something to them? Why didn't her sister discipline them?
She looked at her clock and wondered why the kids weren't in school yet. It was already 8:30. She remember vaguely waking earlier to the sound of thunder, but she'd been so sleepy that she went back to sleep.
She got up, wandered over to the bedroom window and looked out on the back lawn. Heavy snow was still falling, and she estimated it to be close to two feet deep. She padded quietly down the stairs into the kitchen and stood at the bottom of the stairs. She noticed Sylvia sitting in front of the small TV on the counter by the microwave, watching intently.
"Interstate 80 continues to be closed from Laramie to Rock Springs as an early winter storm hits the area, leaving many people stranded and looking for anyone who will take them in for the night. Hotel and motel rooms in Laramie are booked to capacity. If you have a place where someone can stay, give us a call here at the station, and we'll pass the word on....And now I've just been handed a notice that Interstate 80 is also closed between Laramie and Cheyenne. Folks, we are literally cut off from the outside in all directions now. So stay home, stay dry and stay warm. Laramie schools are closed today, and unless you absolutely have to be out and about, I repeat, folks, just stay home. Additionally, most businesses are closed today. Food and drink establishments, however—especially those along the Interstate—will try to stay open, if at all possible, to accommodate those who have had their trips interrupted. The storm is likely to stick around for another day before it moves off to the east and—"
Sarah quit listening at that point and absent-mindedly watched the weatherman do his thing with the weather map. She walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee, exchanged 'good mornings' with Sylvia and sat down at the kitchen table. Her mind then wandered to contemplate on the events of yesterday.
* * * * * *
On the way back to Laramie, she'd held herself back from talking to Lindsey about what she figured was on both their minds. They listened to country/western music on the radio all the way, neither of them talking much. Again, sightseeing was not on the agenda. Sarah thought that would probably be the end of any kind of a relationship before it even started. Not that she wanted a relationship. But damn—she was really attracted to Lindsey.
She was glad she got home when she did. It gave her enough time to repair her printer and print out copies of what she needed to send to her boss and get to the Post Office before it closed at 6 p.m.—and before the storm moved in with a vengeance.
When the kids got home from school, she gave them a snack and got them to settle down with something entertaining while she got Deb's stuff ready to mail. The kids were engrossed in the TV by the time she was ready to go to the Post Office. Sylvia should have been home from work by then, but she wasn't, so she had no choice but to leave the kids alone for a few minutes. She sent the package Overnight Express, which was costly, but she knew it would get to Minneapolis in time.
She was worried last night because she hadn't seen Sylvia since yesterday morning when she left to drop the kids off at school and go on to work. By the time Sylvia got home last night, Sarah had already shuffled the kids off to bed. She followed right after that and heard her sister come in late, but was too tired to get up and say hello. She was worn out from the trip to Cheyenne and back, and after several hours alone with the kids, she was exhausted. She was glad her sister was home now—and safe from the storm.
* * * * * *
Sarah took another sip of coffee, wondering if the storm was headed in the direction of Minneapolis and what effect it would have on her boss's trip. Then she looked at Sylvia, knowing she needed to approach her about last night without starting a fight. Be gentle , she told herself.
"It's a good thing we were able to get back to Laramie yesterday before the storm hit," Sarah said. "I noticed you got in kind of late, Sylvia. If I had been stranded in Cheyenne and couldn't make it back, do you think it would have been a good idea to leave the kids alone all evening?"
Sylvia's eyes stayed glued to the TV. "The boys know how to reach me on my cell phone if something comes up, so I wasn't worried," she answered offhandedly, dismissing the question.
"Where were you, Sylvia?"
"I had to work late, Sarah," Sylvia said peevishly. "And then I went to eat afterwards—with a friend."
"Hmmm," Sarah said. "Didn't you think to call home and leave a message?"
"Why?" Sylvia asked, turning to look at her sister. "The kids are all right to leave alone once in a while. Robert and Roger take care of the girls."
"Do you do this often?" Sarah prodded, wondering where her sister's mind was. She reminded herself that she had questioned why the kids couldn't stay by themselves for the short time after school until their mother came home. That was only for a half hour, not hours and hours! She, also, had left the kids for a few minutes last night.
"Do what?"
"Not come home till late."
"Once in a while, kiddo. Once in a while. Don't worry about it."
"But I do worry," Sarah said back. "What if something had happened to you?"
Sylvia got up and rewarmed her coffee, muttering under her breath, "Stupid storm—" She'd had to call her employees early this morning and tell them the store was closed. She wasn't looking forward to staying home today, of all days, because in addition to loving her work—
She interrupted her own thoughts and turned back to Sarah, "Well, nothing happened, and I'm home now." Then she effectively silenced Sarah's questioning by changing the subject. "What do you want for breakfast? We've got all day to eat breakfast now."
"I'm not hungry right now," Sarah said. "I want to take a shower first. I'll eat something later."
She walked into the family room where Roger and Robert were fighting fiercely over the TV remote. The twin girls were amicably discussing which doll clothes fit what doll.
"Hey, you guys!" she yelled at the boys. "Knock it off!" She was surprised when they actually did quiet down! That's a first , she thought. I wonder how long it'll last.
She went back into the kitchen and headed upstairs. Her footsteps quickened as she heard her cell phone gaily playing the song she had programmed into it.
"Hi, Sarah. This is Lindsey."
"Well, hello," Sarah replied, genuinely surprised. "I didn't expect to hear from you before Saturday. Don't tell me you're planning a Christmas choir practice tonight? Do you think everyone will be able to make it?" She couldn't think of any other reason Lindsey would be calling.
"Actually, I called to see if you wanted to have lunch with me," Lindsey said.
"Lunch? In this weather?" She couldn't hide the continued surprise in her voice.
"I know it looks pretty bad out, but I've got a good truck that can plow through the snow. I need to go in to Scully's and look at some paperwork, and I thought today would be a good time to do that, as most people are staying home. We could eat lunch there and you can see where I work. Why don't I pick you up?" The excitement in her voice led Sarah to believe Lindsey really wanted to see her.
Sarah thought for a moment. Should she or shouldn't she? She almost said no, because she wasn't sure how she would react if Lindsey made another pass at her. But when the boys started arguing loudly again, she decided she didn't want to hang around and listen to that all day. Sylvia was home and she could handle her own kids.
"Okay. That sounds good to me. What time will you be by?"
"Say at noon straight up?"
"Okay. See you then. Bye." She hung up abruptly, scarcely able to hide the growing pleasure rising up from her mid-section and then working its way to her chest and back down to between her thighs. What would she do if Lindsey came on to her again?
Sarah continued on to her room and went straight into her bathroom after grabbing a towel in the closet. She closed the door, stripped down to her bare skin and looked at herself admiringly in the full-length mirror on the door facing into the bathroom. She thought she looked pretty good for her age—a ripe old 35 now. She assumed Lindsey was probably around the same age. Her C-cup breasts were still full and firm and not sagging in the least, her throat was smooth with no wrinkles, her hips had no saddlebags, and her legs showed no signs of cellulite.
She thought she looked very curvaceous, so unlike her sister. Sylvia was slim and angular, with square shoulders and hardly any hips at all. Sarah wondered how Sylvia had ever had two sets of twins! She reminded her of a raw-boned horse, and she chuckled when she pictured her sister in that way.
When she stepped into the shower, the luxurious lavender soap suds washed away the last of any distasteful thoughts that ran through her mind.
"When are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?" Sylvia said when Sarah came back downstairs.
She had gotten dressed while Sarah was in the shower and was pouring dry oatmeal into a pan of boiling water. They both wore sweatshirts and sweatpants—the typical warm attire that many people wore indoors in the winter in Wyoming.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked back, dropping two slices of bread into the toaster.
"What did you two do all day while you were in Cheyenne?"
Two can play at this game, Sarah decided. "I got the feed rollers for my printer, and Lindsey got music folders for the Christmas program."
"What else, Sarah? You're not fooling me one bit."
"Oh, yeah. We ate lunch at a little diner Lindsey used to go to when she lived there. I had a delicious buffalo burger. Have you ever had one?" She looked at her sister sideways.
"And that's all that happened?" Sylvia asked.
"Why?" Sarah asked back. "What was supposed to happen?"
Sarah knew Sylvia was trying to goad her into an argument, but she wasn't in the mood. She was having a little fun seeing Sylvia squirm a bit. She wasn't about to tell her what happened in her bedroom before she and Lindsey left for Cheyenne.
"You mean to stand there and tell me that Lindsey Hobbs didn't make a pass at you?" Sylvia said, unbelievingly.
"Why would she make a pass at me?" Sarah asked innocently. She could hardly keep from cracking up.
"Oh, God, Sarah, never mind. Forget it. You're about as naïve as they come." She continued fixing her breakfast, stirring raisins into the oatmeal she had now poured into a bowl and then setting half a grapefruit in another bowl on the table.
Sarah laughed silently as she lifted her pieces of toast out of the toaster and slathered them with peanut butter. She wondered what Sylvia would say if she knew she was a lesbian and that she and Lindsey had kissed.
"By the way," Sarah said, "that was Lindsey on the phone just before I took my shower. She's picking me up for lunch today."
Sylvia just stared at her, wide-eyed. She watched as Sarah took her toast and fresh cup of coffee into the family room and sat down on the couch. Sylvia didn't know what to say, as she knew her sister probably wouldn't pay any attention to her, anyway.
The boys had started fighting over the TV remote again. Sarah told them if they would be quiet for just a half hour and quit arguing with each other that she'd play a game with them. They quieted down almost immediately, deciding that would be a good course of action to follow. Their mother never played games with them. They talked peaceably about which program to watch on TV. The girls had already gathered up their dolls and doll clothes and gone back to their bedroom to play. Sarah sat comfortably on the leather sofa and picked up the book she had been reading and turned a few pages while she ate her breakfast. It was 9:30, and it was still a long time before Lindsey would be by to pick her up.
She got up after reading only a couple of chapters, walked back into the kitchen and asked Sylvia if she needed help with anything. Sylvia said no, that since she wasn't able to go into work today, she could handle things like she always did.
"I thought you were going to let me help out more while I'm here," Sarah said.
"That's okay today," Sylvia said. "I don't have anything else to do, anyway."
Sarah shrugged her shoulders and started back into the family room. She heard Sylvia muttering under her breath as she loaded the dishwasher. "Stupid storm. Why couldn't it hold off for a while? I've got things I need to do. And now I won't be able to meet—" Sarah didn't catch the name of who Sylvia was supposed to meet, as the dishwasher closed and started with a jolt. Sylvia didn't say anything else except 'damn' a few times.
Sarah picked up her book again and started reading. She had plenty of time to play a game with the boys and then slip into other clothes that were appropriate for a luncheon date. She put her book back down and wondered what Sylvia had been mumbling to herself about in the kitchen. She was certainly upset about something.
CHAPTER TWELVE – AWKWARD MOMENTS
Lindsey had hesitated calling Sarah and asking her to lunch. She had been seriously deflated yesterday when Sarah flatly refused her advance. She was so sure Sarah had invited her up to her room for a sexual encounter, since no one else was home. She wasn't going to give up after only one refusal. She knew she hadn't misread the look in Sarah's eyes previously—not at the practice last Saturday, nor at church on Sunday when Sarah had so blatantly stared her down again. And she certainly had not misread her eyes yesterday!
So she picked up the phone and called her, and Sarah said yes, with only a slight hesitation. Lindsey told herself to slow down and take it easy. Sarah was not like other women she had known. She was thinking of Sarah already as someone special , but didn't understand why.
She turned on the CD player to listen to some soft country-western music and imagined dancing with Sarah while she stripped down to get in the shower. She took her time showering and getting ready to pick Sarah up for lunch. Her heart sang in tune to the music—since her voice couldn't. Perhaps Scully's would be closed today because of the storm. No one had called her to say they wouldn't be open. Of course, she wasn't working tonight, and they would have no reason to call her. Maybe she would be alone with Sarah there. Her heart raced in anticipation.
* * * * * *
The front doorbell rang. Knowing it was Lindsey, and not wanting to disturb Sarah, who was now involved in a board game with her twin boys, Sylvia rushed over to the door. She opened it and was almost bowled over by the friendly, smiling face that said hello. She said hello back and was embarrassed at what she had been thinking concerning Lindsey's reputation. She asked her in.
"You're Sylvia, right?" Lindsey asked.
When Sylvia nodded her head, Lindsey said, "Pleased to meet you," and held out her hand.
"Can I take your coat?" Sylvia said, releasing Lindsey's hand after her warm and firm handshake.
"Thanks, but I'll keep it on. I can only stay a minute. I came to pick Sarah up for lunch."
"Yes. That's what Sarah told me. She's in the family room, right over there," Sylvia said, pointing.
Sylvia closely scrutinized Lindsey's face, which was slightly flushed from the cold. "But isn't it kind of nasty weather to be out and about?" she asked. "You can barely see ten feet in front of yourself."
"Well, I thought so, too. However, I needed to be out taking care of some business today, and I thought Sarah might like to have lunch with me, being new in town and all. Or maybe I should say have lunch with us . A couple of the other ladies who are in the Christmas program are meeting us at the A lpine Coffeehouse ."
Lindsey didn't want to lie, but she could see Sylvia was fishing, and she didn't like strangers prying into her private life. It was none of their business. "Sarah told you she was singing in the Christmas program, didn't she?"
"Oh...well...yes. But are you sure the Alpine Coffeehouse is open on such a snowy day?"
"That place is always open," Lindsey replied. She's fishing again, she thought. "It's on the main thoroughfare. I heard that we're cut off from the outside today, so they'll undoubtedly have a lot of customers who have been stranded in town. Probably a very busy day for them." She tried not to let Sylvia's prying questions get to her. "Is Sarah ready?"
"Oh," Sylvia said, remembering why Lindsey was here. She led her into the family room and announced, "Your luncheon date is here."
Sarah looked up from the floor in front of the fireplace where she had been playing a game of Monopoly with Roger and Robert. "Oh, hi, Lindsey. Take your coat off and sit down for a minute. I'm just about to beat these boys in Monopoly." She noticed Lindsey was dressed in her western clothes. Lindsey noticed, approvingly, that Sarah was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt.
Lindsey took off her coat and sat down on the leather recliner. She put her coat over her lap, whereupon Puddy saw an opportunity to get comfortable. She jumped onto Lindsey's lap and started purring around her face, digging her claws into Lindsey's shirt.
"Well, what have we here? You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" Lindsey said, petting the cat.
"That's Puddy," said Roger. "She won't hurt you."
"I can see that. Is she always this friendly to strangers?"
"I'm amazed she's taken to you like that," Sylvia said astonishingly. "She usually runs away from strangers right off the bat." She sat down on the couch for a minute to watch Sarah play Monopoly with the boys. She had things to do, so didn't sit very long.
Lindsey stopped petting the cat, who then decided she would snuggle down into the warm coat and take a nap.
"We need to be going soon," she said to Sarah. "Rachel and Cameron will be waiting for us at the Alpine Coffeehouse , wondering where we are."
Sarah looked at her strangely and started to say something, but Lindsey put a finger to her lips in a silent 'shhh', as Sylvia started walking back toward the kitchen. She looked at Sarah with desire, and thought how beautiful her deep brown eyes were with their long lustrous eyelashes. She was so glad Sarah had said yes to lunch.
"Oh, no!" Sarah exclaimed, as Robert placed hotels on most of the property he held in the game. "Well, I might as well concede! You guys are too good for me!"
The boys smiled broadly because they'd won the game—even though it was really Robert who won, with Roger coming in second. Sarah told them to put the game away neatly in the box and promised she would play Monopoly with them another time.
Lindsey got up suddenly to put on her coat, forgetting the cat was on her lap. Puddy went sprawling on the floor, landing on all four feet. She wasn't too happy about being dumped, and sought consolation by purring and rubbing herself around Sarah's legs. That was short-lived, too, as Sarah took off up the stairs to get her coat. Puddy then calmly walked over to the fireplace and jumped into her bed next to it—a roomy basket with a comfy kitty blanket. She'd had enough rejections for one day.
Sarah yelled into the kitchen to her sister as she and Lindsey started out the front door. "I'll be back after a while. Don't worry. Lindsey assures me her truck can travel through anything! "
Lori and Lilly were helping their mother with something in the kitchen. Sarah heard a muffled response from Sylvia in the background over the girls' giggling as she and Lindsey exited the house.
"What was that all about? Rachel and Cameron? The Alpine Coffeehouse ?" Sarah looked questioningly at Lindsey when they were seated in the truck.
"I don't think your sister likes me," Lindsey said, looking over at Sarah for a reaction. "I had to tell her something, and the only thing I knew of to say quickly was that we were meeting another couple of ladies from the Christmas choir at the Alpine Coffeehouse . I'm sure she didn't want you to have lunch with me. Besides, it's none of her business where we go to lunch."
"Oh." Sarah didn't know how to respond, but was not surprised that Lindsey seemed to sense Sylvia's negativity toward her. Sylvia had voiced the same negativity about Lindsey often enough to Sarah.
"Are Rachel and Cameron in the Christmas program?" Sarah said, fastening her seat belt. She didn't know the names of any of the choir members except Leslie and Marlene.
"No. But I didn't think Sylvia would know the names of the woman in the choir, either. Cameron and Rachel come to the Bible Study I have every Saturday night."
"Oh," Sarah said again. "I didn't know you had a Bible Study."
"I've been teaching a Bible Study for about a year. We meet at the Alpine Coffeehouse ."
"Oh," Sarah said once again. "But we're not going there. We're going to Scully's ." Each question was framed as a statement.
"Yes," Lindsey said.
"Oh," Sarah said for the fourth time. "And that's where you work." She knew it probably was, because Lindsey was going to look at some papers there. She didn't expect Lindsey to answer. She was trying to get things straight in her head.
Although Lindsey worked as a bartender at Scully's Tavern and Grill in addition to running The Old West Town , Hiram Hobbs didn't like it. At least she didn't drink. She could hardly believe that her preacher/daddy didn't know Scully's was a lesbian hangout. Yet no one who came there went to her church, so how would he know? And if he did know, she didn't know why he would be keeping it to himself. Of course, Sarah would have no idea it was a lesbian bar, either.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Sarah," Lindsey said as she started the engine. "I'm hoping we can get better acquainted, because I don't know anything about you, either."
"Oh," Sarah said again, sounding like a broken record. She had never met anyone like Lindsey. On some level, she must trust her in some small way, as she was putting her life in Lindsey's hands by going to lunch with her during a raging blizzard in a noisy monster truck with blown-out mufflers.
"We didn't talk much yesterday on the way to Cheyenne and back, you know."
"No, I guess we didn't, did we?" Sarah said. Silence reigned after that, as they chugged their way through the deep snow to Scully's Tavern and Grill.