The Secret of You and Me - Melissa Lenhardt Page 0,72
continued, “I know you don’t like Jamie, but she’ll take it out on Sophie, you know.”
“How?”
“She’s been sleeping with Charlie for a year.”
I dropped some ice into a rocks glass, unscrewed the nearest whiskey bottle and splashed some in, while Kim started the margaritas. I watched Sophie work in the kitchen and threw back the whiskey. The feel of Sophie’s lips lingered on mine, her hands cupping my face, the scent in the hollow behind her ear that ignited me as nothing else did. My thumb teasing her nipple, wiping the smudged lipstick from her mouth. She didn’t love Charlie, didn’t want him, that was obvious. “Sophie couldn’t care less.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, though it’s disappointing.” Kim upended the tequila and Grand Marnier for about three seconds longer than I would have.
“Why?” She pressed down on a lime with each hand and rolled them back and forth. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Loosening the juice and pulp. You don’t make margaritas, do you?”
“I use store-bought mix.”
“That’s disgusting, Nora. Only real limes.”
I rolled and Kim cut and squeezed the limes into the pitcher. “Why are you disappointed?” I asked.
“Oh. I’ve always wanted them to succeed, you know? I mean, she lost her best friend because of it, she might as well have a happy marriage.”
“You don’t think they’ve ever been happy?”
“Who’s to say? I do know the last few years have been difficult, with Sophie’s alcoholism. But, Charlie stood by her. It’s pretty obvious who loves who more in the relationship.”
I poured another drink and asked Kim if she wanted one. She refused.
“I...um...need to talk to you about something,” Kim said.
Brenda Russell sat on a couch between the bar and the kitchen. She stared at me unblinkingly. I winked at her and turned my attention to Kim.
“About what?”
Kim fidgeted, apparently unable to say the words. “You’re...gay.” She whispered the last word, but it wasn’t a question.
“Are you fishing for gossip to share with those two?” I jerked my head in Jamie and Tiffany’s direction.
“God, no.”
“Y’all seem pretty tight, still.”
“Our relationship is like always. Three’s a crowd, you know.”
“I’m not gay,” I said. Now it was my turn to look around to see if we were being eavesdropped on. “I’m bisexual.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders dropped, and she sighed.
“Why did you ask me that, anyway?”
Kim wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I saw you and Sophie once, hugging.”
“Friends hug all the time.”
“Not like this.” She looked at me. “I’ve known all these years and I’ve never told a soul. You owe me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you threatening me?”
“After what I just saw? Fuck, no. Anyway, I’m not like them,” she waved and smiled big at Jamie and Tiffany across the room. “Or you, for that matter. I would never threaten someone. I’m a squishy little Peep.”
“Peep?”
“You know, like the little Easter Peeps.”
“They’re marshmallows.”
“Fine, I’m a marshmallow. The point is, I’m not threatening you. I need a favor.”
“You want me to kill Jamie with my bare hands?”
“No, though sometimes I’ve thought of wringing her neck myself. This is a favor for my daughter.”
“I’m listening.”
Kim looked around to make sure we were alone, caught sight of Brenda staring daggers at me, and turned to block me from Brenda’s view. “My daughter, Erin, she came out to me a couple of months ago.”
“How did that go over?”
“Oh, well, I mean it was a shock, you know? And, then it wasn’t. I’ve always known, you just don’t ever want to admit it. I mean, you know what it’s like around here. If you’re not hearing it from the pulpit, you’re hearing it down at the bakery about gay people this or that.”
“Does Joe know?”
“Not yet, and he’s said some things he’s probably going to regret when he finds out. At least I hope he does.” She inhaled deeply and put on a smile. “But, Joe isn’t who I want you to talk to. Erin is.”
“I don’t know, Kim.”
“You grew up here and I thought you might be able to tell her it gets better.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of LGBT websites that she can go to—”
Kim sighed. “Look, Nora. No one knows about Erin, okay? I’m it. I think you can rest assured I’m not going to let anything slip to Jamie and Tiffany about you two after all these years. It would open up a world of questions I don’t want to answer. I couldn’t care less who you sleep with. I want to help my little girl. That’s it. She is struggling, so much, and I know