This week in Tuesday Tales, the snippet comes from Woman to Woman. This story is a woman-to-woman romance, so scenes will be of a F/F nature. If this offends you, feel free to move onto to another Tuesday Tales snippet.
In Tuesday Tales, a group of authors write to a word or picture prompt each week. This week we’re writing to the prompt ‘bones.’
“Well, maybe the thought crossed my mind once before. But that was years ago. I was still married, and the boys were little. I realized I had a crush on the librarian where I worked.”
“So, what happened?”
“Absolutely nothing. Oh, my goodness, no. I went to church then. Every Sunday. I even typed the church bulletin every week. When I realized I had feelings that felt like a crush, boy did I push those thoughts away! Pushed them all down, for them never to see the light of day.”
“And you just went on from there and never looked back?”
Paige firmly shook her head, her ponytail swinging with the emphasis. “Nope. Never looked at those thoughts or feelings again. I justified it to myself that I was only attracted to her because of her healthy attitude towards life. I was struggling in an unhappy marriage. I had a precancerous condition. I had two young, active boys. She was a breast cancer survivor. Because of her health issues, she was a vegetarian, a yoga master, and she swam almost every day. She was very fit, not just physically, but in her emotions and her outlook. O talked myself into believing that I was only attracted to her healthiness.”
The intercom interrupted the conversation, but only for a moment.
“That was….hmmmmm….” Paige paused to think before continuing. “That must have been about fourteen years ago. I’ve never thought about a woman since. Until we moved to Arizona and I came to work here.”
“Yep, it’s in the water here,” Ed joked. “There’s a lot of gay people here, myself included. And I like it like that.”
A customer approached where the two stood talking, holding an Ocotillo and a face full of questions. That ended the conversation, but it didn’t still the swirling thoughts and emotions raging through Paige’s troubled mind. Now that Ed had jogged her memory about the one brief episode long ago in her past, she wondered why this had never been an issue in the years since.
Had she suppressed her thoughts so strongly that they ceased to exist?
Had she merely busied herself with raising the boys and being a single mother after the divorce?
Had she rushed into another relationship to avoid digging too deeply into her own inner being?
Had the move here, without the familiarity and routine of her old established life in California loosened up the buoys and parameters of her life?
How had the bones of the past resurfaced to plague her now?
She wished there were someone to talk to. All of her longtime friends were straight. They’d never understand. She didn’t feel this was a situation she could discuss with them. She didn’t know anyone here yet, other than her co-workers. Of course, BJ was gay, but Paige certainly couldn’t approach her with questions. Especially since Ed said how apparent her fascination was.
Enjoy the snippet here, then go check out the other delightful tales you’ll find at Tuesday Tales.
Check out the other delightful tales you’ll find at Tuesday Tales.
Chrys N. Jay 