She was considerably shorter than me, so I kissed the top of her head. I leaned my cheek against her head and whispered, “You’re not alone.”
She cried, softly at first, before it turned into full-fledged sobs.
twenty-two
nora
“I have a few minutes if you want to talk, Erin,” Sophie said when the girl stopped crying.
Erin nodded and wiped her cheeks roughly. “Yeah.”
“Does anyone want a Blizzard? I suddenly have a hankering for a Blizzard,” Kim said.
“I wouldn’t turn a Reese’s blizzard down,” I said.
“Double chocolate-covered cherry,” Sophie said. I smiled. Same order from our high school days.
“Just a chocolate malt,” Erin said.
“I’ll, uh, go pick those up. Give y’all time to chat.”
Kim held her purse across her body in a white-knuckle grip. I went to her and edged her toward the door. When we were outside on the porch, I cleared my throat. “So, about what you saw.”
“Nora, you don’t...”
“Listen. You know what Erin’s going through? How concerned you are about her? That’s what Sophie’s going through, too. Sophie has a lot to lose if this gets out.”
Kim nodded. “I know that.”
“I don’t know what Sophie will tell Erin, but we need to know you won’t quiz your daughter about it, and you won’t tell Joe about us. It’s our story to tell, understand?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
I watched her leave, not entirely confident she would be able to keep what she saw to herself. When I saw Sophie’s expression as she sat across the kitchen table from Erin, I knew the same worry was on her mind.
Sophie and Erin were silent, their familiarity getting in the way of honesty. I sat down between them, took Sophie’s hand, and squeezed it. Erin’s eyes went straight to our enjoined hands and stayed there.
“Erin, I’m Nora. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I cleared my throat. “Your mom wanted me to talk to you, but uh, I’ve never done this, so I don’t know what I’m doing. Or what to say. I’m bisexual, so my experience might not be like yours.”
“You like guys, too?”
“Yes, I’m attracted to men, too.”
“Are you, too?” She looked at Sophie, who stared at the table for a long time. Finally, with a squeeze of my hand, Sophie shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Sophie inhaled and met Erin’s shocked gaze with a smile that I knew took a lot of courage. “I’ve known since eighth grade. What about you?”
“Fourth.” Erin picked at the edge of the table. “I didn’t really understand until a year ago. There was a girl, at space camp, last summer.”
“Have y’all kept in touch?” I asked.
“Yeah. She lives in East Texas, and is in pretty much the same boat I am.”
Sophie nodded. “You haven’t told any of your friends?”
“God, no. Just my mom.”
“You’re lucky you have a mom who was understanding. I didn’t,” Sophie said. “Still don’t.”
“What about Mr. Wyatt? And Logan?” Erin asked.
“No one knows, Erin. I’m not ready to tell, and I’m trusting you and your mother to keep my secret, even from your father. Like I’ll keep yours.”
“Yeah. Okay. But, you two are a couple, right?”
“No, Erin. We’re not,” I said. “Sophie is married, and I live a thousand miles away.” Sophie pulled her hand from mine and placed it in her lap. “We’ve just reconnected, and we’re trying to figure out what’s next.”
“So, you’re just hooking up.”
“No,” Sophie said, a little too forcefully. “We fell in... I fell in love with Nora in high school. Senior year.”
“We fell in love is right. We kept it a secret, of course.”
“You dated my dad,” Erin said.
Sophie grimaced. “I did.”
“He was your beard.”
“Yes, I suppose he was.”
“Like Mr. Wyatt is now.”
“Erin...” Sophie stood, and started pacing the room. She put her head in her hand and murmured, “Christ.” She dropped her hand an inhaled deeply again. “No matter how bad you think Lynchfield is now about gay people, it was much, much worse twenty years ago. My choices were all awful, and they were limited. Things are different now. At least for you.” Sophie said the last bit in a soft voice and turned away.
“I’m tired of not being me, you know?” Erin said. “Going along when everyone talks about how hot guys are. If I never have a conversation again about Chris Bird’s ass, it will be too soon.”
“I’ll just assume he’s the big man on campus,” I said.
“Yeah,” Sophie and Erin said in unison.
I waited for Sophie to say something, but she kept