UNEXPECTED TIES

G. L. DARTT

CHAPTER 1

            The air was damp and cold when they exited the taxi, the last of winter stubbornly holding on, while spring had yet to take a really good grip on the Maritimes.  Overhead, dark clouds hid the stars and threatened rain, granting a fuzzy halo to the lights of the Glengarry Hotel. The group to quickened their steps to the front entrance, and as they entered the lobby, Nikki Harris was struck by a sudden sense of impending doom.

“I don’t think this is a good idea at all.” 

            “It’ll be fine,” Kate, her lover of a few months, assured her.  Her steady manner granted Nikki enough courage to steel herself for the actual entrance into the lavish conference room.

            “Besides, what are they going to do? Lynch you?” Susan Carlson tucked her arm neatly into the crook of her husband’s elbow.  Ted glanced over at her, smiling gently at the comment.  Tall, slender, and very quiet, he tended to let his shorter, stouter and very outgoing wife do most of the talking.

            Nikki shot Kate’s best friends a glance of pure trepidation.  The Historical Society Dinner was a formal affair, and she didn’t do well with formal affairs...not that she had ever actually been to one.  Furthermore, these were people that she didn’t know, and would probably never know under normal circumstances, but who probably had preconceived notions about the sort of person she was.  A rope was exactly what Nikki was afraid would happen, and perhaps even a nice little bonfire added into the mix just for good measure.  She still didn’t understand why Kate, who normally kept a low profile, would choose this dinner as her unofficial ‘coming out’ party.

            “Don’t worry,” Kate said softly, apparently sensing Nikki’s disquiet as she squeezed her hand tightly.  “I’ll take care of you.”

            Nikki had to be content with that, though the keen sense of not belonging, of being in a territory that was unfamiliar and uncomfortable to her, remained.   She suspected that her only safety lie in the fact that Kate was one of the Society’s most generous contributor.  It was unlikely the others would dare offend the person whose signature adorned the checks filling the charitable coffers of the Historical Society and so many other organizations in town.

Nikki, on the other hand, was just a poor country girl originating from outside the town limits.  It was possible they would vent their displeasure on her rather than at Kate for this blatant confrontation of their cherished attitudes and perceptions.

            As they walked toward the registration table, Nikki took note of the head table, where the society president and other notables would sit.  Covered with a snowy tablecloth, silverware and china gleaming in the bright illumination, it was positioned in the exact center of the room, a decided place of prominence where everyone had a clear view.  Nikki swallowed hard, acutely aware of the stares and subtle whispers that followed the couple’s passage through the room, her hand slippery in Kate’s gentle grasp.  It was all she could do not to pitch forward on her face in a spectacular display that would grant the interested observers surrounding them a real show.

            Nor did it help that the high heels she was wearing added two inches to her already generous five-foot-eight frame.  Earlier in the week, Nikki had traveled all the way to Halifax; the province’s capital city located forty-five minutes south of Truro via the 102.  There, she met up with Susan and willingly accepted her advice as to how she was supposed to look at a formal dinner, though it had cost her most of a week’s salary.

A crimson silk blouse was set off nicely by the cream-colored jacket and skirt tailored to Nikki’s lanky body, while her hair and makeup were done to perfection after passing most of the afternoon in a beauty salon under Susan’s direct supervision. A diamond heart-shaped pendant, a Valentine’s Day gift from Kate, rested soft against the hollow of Nikki’s throat, matched by small diamond studs that adorned freshly pierced ears.  She even had contacts replacing the granny glasses she normally wore.  The glow of Kate’s gaze when she first saw Nikki offered confirmation that the whole ordeal had somehow been worth it, but privately, Nikki was convinced that she looked like nothing more than a little girl playing dress-up.  It was taking all her discipline and willpower not to run screaming from the room.

            To calm her nerves, she tried to focus on Kate.  Her compact form was displayed to its best effect in a sapphire dress that highlighted bluish-gray eyes and auburn hair that fell softly about the classic cheekbones and rounded jaw. Hints of gold at her neck and ears glinted elegantly in the soft light, and Nikki could detect the delicate perfume Kate favored.  She was stunning, and Nikki felt a sort of inexplicable pride fill her being.  Despite her trepidations, she was here as Kate’s date and no one could take that from her.

            At the reception table, Lillian Salter regarded the approaching couple with barely concealed dismay.  Fortunately, her respect and fear of Kate’s position in town was greater, preventing her from indulging in any open hostility.

            “Mrs. Shannon,” she said, subtly emphasizing Kate’s previous marital state.  Her watery blue eyes scanned Nikki briefly, and then looked away, appalled.  “And guest.  You’re at the head table.”

            “Thank you, Lillian.” Kate’s smile was a display of bared teeth that offered challenge rather than any warmth, making Salter twitch uncertainly.

            When Susan and Ted checked their table assignment, they were surprised to discover they were also located at the head table.  “Apparently, a few of the board members decided not to come tonight,” Salter informed them when Susan raised an inquiring eyebrow.  The hostess almost, but not quite, shot a look at Kate.  “Or requested seating at other tables.”

            Kate didn’t react beyond a tiny smile that touched the corners of her mouth, but Nikki wasn’t at all confused by what Lillian really meant.

            She felt sick.

            “Nikki.”

            Jerking in reaction to the unexpected hail, Nikki turned in time to be greeted by Rick Johnson, one of the town’s constables, and the young woman’s co-worker at the police station.  Tall and broad-shouldered, his First Nation heritage was evident in his high cheekbones and level gaze.  Decked out in a dark suit that struggled to cover his broad, powerful body, he tugged uncomfortably at his necktie with his finger.  The scent of men’s cologne was almost overpowering, and Nikki tried not to inhale deeply as the two drifted away from the group at the reception area.

            “You clean up real good, Nikki.”  His dark eyes looked her over dispassionately.

            “Thanks,” she said shortly, relieved that she had finally received what she considered an objective opinion.  She glanced around.  “Where’s Betty?”

            “Are you kidding?”  He offered a snort at the thought of his current girlfriend attending such an event.  A Junoesque woman from Salmon River, who shared Rick’s love of the outdoors and the more rugged aspects of living, Betty was blunt and robust, a far cry from the many seemingly one-dimensional people that made up the majority of the crowd.  “It’s bad enough I have to come to these things as part of my job.  She wouldn’t show up for this on a dare.”

            Nikki sighed.  “I know how she feels, but I wish she was here.  Then I’d have someone to talk to.”

            “You have me and Susan and Ted,” Kate, joining them at that moment, interjected firmly.  She reached out a hand to her old friend, clasping his fingers briefly.  “Rick, I’m glad you could make it.”

            “Oh, Kate, I’d much rather be on a stakeout in a snowstorm, or having my fingernails removed...something more fun than this.  I’m only here because the chief couldn’t find another sucker to represent the station.”

            “You mean you couldn’t find a good excuse at the ready when he asked?” Ted laughed and reached out to shake the officer’s hand.  “I know the feeling.  How do we let ourselves get talked into these things?”

            The two men quickly fell into a conversation about hunting while Kate and Susan gleefully discussed the various people who were and weren’t present, not always in the most complimentary terms.  Left to her own devices, Nikki scanned the room restlessly.

            Directly across the room, she noticed a small group observing her. The men boasted similar features, as if they were related in some way, stocky in build, though relatively handsome, with blond or silver hair and light colored eyes.  The excessively well-dressed women were gathered around an older woman who was glaring at Nikki as if she were something a dog had done and no one had picked up.  Feeling a shiver go up her back, Nikki turned away from their scrutiny just in time to see a man embrace Kate with undue familiarity.  Disconcerted, Nikki was unprepared when the newcomer immediately turned his attention on her, reaching out his hand that she belatedly accepted.

            “You must be Nikki.”  Of average appearance, with thinning brown hair and dark eyes, his features were completely unremarkable...except when he smiled.  Then warmth and kindness seemed to radiate from him like heat from a hearth, and made him handsome in a way that other men weren’t.   “I’m David Shannon.”

            Nikki blinked. Kate’s ex-husband?

            “This is my wife, Ellen.”

 “Nice to meet you,” Nikki uncertainly accepted the hand offered by the woman standing next to him.  Appraising the couple covertly, she decided that the man had not exactly traded down after Kate.  Ellen was willowy and brunette, an elegant woman with a gentle smile who spoke readily to Kate without hesitation.        

            Nikki remembered Kate telling her that it had been the issue of children that caused her divorce rather than any sense of personal rancor toward her husband.  For the first time, Nikki had a vague sort of understanding how the marriage could have happened.  David was affable in the same way Kate was, and possessed a ready charm and wit.  Though she did experience a mild twinge of jealousy when she saw Kate put her hand briefly on David’s forearm in what seemed an unconscious habit as they laughed and talked, but since Ellen didn’t appear to be concerned, Nikki decided that she shouldn’t be either.

            “I have to tell you, Kate,” David was saying, “You really shook them up tonight.  A lot of people didn’t really believe that you’d show.  Or that if you did, you’d leave your significant other at home.”

            Kate lifted a thin brow.  “I don’t know why they would think that.  I’ve never missed a dinner.”

            He laughed.  “You’re not taking any prisoners tonight, are you?”

            Kate offered a thin-lipped smile.  “Not on your life.”  She glanced at the front of the room, and reached out for Nikki’s hand, taking it firmly in her grasp.  “I think it’s time to be seated.”

            As she accompanied Kate to the head table, Nikki leaned over to her lover.

            “No prisoners?”

            Kate glanced at her, an amused glint in her blue-gray eyes.  “He was joking.”

            Skeptically, Nikki eyed her, suspecting the warrior description was more accurate than perhaps Kate was willing to admit.  The older woman possessed a steely resolve that ran through the core of that refined and gentle exterior, and while it didn’t show itself often, Nikki knew there were very few people who dared defy it.

            So why was she so afraid that someone would do just that tonight?

CHAPTER 2

            As Kate picked at the catered meal provided for the dinner, she glanced affectionately at her lover seated next to her. She knew how uncomfortable Nikki felt, and acknowledged how big a sacrifice this was for her.  Still, Kate didn’t believe that Nikki truly understood why attending this function was so important.  She was determined to show the rest of her social circle in Truro that she was as comfortable in her relationship with Nikki as she had ever been with David.  She believed this public appearance would stifle the speculation, rumors and flat out gossip about them much quicker than if she attempted to hide, or act as if being romantically linked to a woman was somehow shameful or sinful.

            She did acknowledge privately that she could indulge herself in such brash behavior because she had literally nothing to lose if it didn’t work out.  No one could touch her financially, and her social obligations were derived from honest charitable intent, not because she had some burning desire to be part of any certain circle.  While she understood why so many chose to remain in the closet, such secrecy wasn’t an option for her, and the only thing that made her reevaluate her decision about taking a stand at this event was that it had placed Nikki in such an arduous position.

            My darling definitely deserves a gift, she decided fondly.  Perhaps some new earrings to match the necklace now that she has her ears pierced.

            “So, Kate, what do you think about the society’s new project?”

            Tearing her eyes away from Nikki with an effort, Kate turned to her dinner partner on the other side, granting the president of Historical Society her full attention.  Matthew Turner had dealt with the organization’s most generous patron all evening by avoiding any mention of her new romantic relationship, and had actually managed quite well to this point.  She gave him full marks for hiding any distaste he might have felt, which was a sharp contrast to his wife. Celia Elliot-Turner was pointedly ignoring both Kate and Nikki as she concentrated sullenly on her meal.  There was no question that she would rather be sitting with her family across the room, and if Kate liked her at all, she might have felt sorry for her.

            “I think restoring the old post office is a wonderful idea,” Kate said, as if she had been paying attention to the conversation the entire time.  “But there remains the problem of occupancy later.  It’s difficult to fill those old buildings with businesses that will maintain the property to the society’s specifications, while still being able to succeed financially.”

            He nodded soberly.  “Fortunately, there have been inquiries from the Truro Arts Council who would like to use it for their offices upstairs, and turn the bottom floor into a gallery.  There’s also the fact that we’ve lost the town hall and need to replace it soon.”

            As Kate continued to speak with Matthew about the proposition, she slowly became aware of eyes boring into her, and she glanced over to meet the frozen gaze of Hannah Elliot.  A stout woman, with snowy hair, and dark eyes, she was a formidable figure in both appearance and wealth.  Kate had recognized immediately that the Elliots were the ticket holders who had demanded their seats be changed after the fact, affording Susan, Ted, Rick, David and Ellen the unusual privilege of joining Kate at the center of things rather than being scattered throughout the room as they had in previous years.  Though she respected Hannah greatly, Kate didn’t much like the Elliot matriarch, finding her personality to be both imposing and occasionally harsh.  She was glad that one of the side effects of her ‘coming out’ was to lose Hannah’s immediate presence at the head table.

            Kate shrugged mentally, looking away from the offended glare.  She certainly hadn’t insisted anyone move from the head table, and despite Hannah’s close friendship with Kate’s grandmother, Irene Taylor, she certainly wasn’t going to allow her limited and ignorant worldview affect her enjoyment of the evening.

            After coffee and desert had been served, there was a certainly loosening up in the crowd, with people rising from their seats and visiting the other tables, milling and mingling for the social part of the evening.  Kate, who had been talking to David and Ellen about the bookstore, was not pleased when she saw Hannah Elliot bearing down on the central table like the bow of a massive ship parting the waves, but she forced a smile to her lips, and rose to her feet to greet her.  Next to her, Matthew did the same, though he was less able to hide his apparent alarm at her approach.

            “Mother Elliot,” Matthew said, manfully ignoring the fact that she was glaring past him at Kate behind him.

            “I can’t believe your behavior, Kathryn.” Hannah lifted her cane slightly to gesture in the general direction of Nikki.  Nikki had gone very quiet, as if she were dealing with a rattler and determining the best way to go about dispatching it.  “Parading your disgusting lifestyle about as if it were normal.”

            Her jaw firming, Kate glared back, absolutely incensed that the elder woman would cause such a scene.  “Hannah, considering your family’s reputation in this town, I wouldn’t be so hasty to cast stones, if I were you.”

            Hannah’s head jerked back, rocked by the comment and profoundly shocked that anyone would dare speak to her in such a tone.  Kate supposed that it had been so long since anyone had challenged her; Hannah wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

            “Your grandmother would be absolutely appalled,” she finally sputtered.

            Kate stared her down scornfully. “My grandmother never backed down from anyone in her life.  I’m hardly any different.”

            “You can’t believe this aberrant alliance would ever be approved of by Irene.  I warn you, Kathryn, you lie down with dogs, you’re apt to get up with fleas.” Hannah grew dangerously red. 

            Kate actually took a step toward the stout woman, unable to remember being this furious in a very long time.  She was vaguely aware of Susan moving hastily around the table to put a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from going any further.

            “I think it would be a good idea to return to your table, Mother Elliot.”  Matthew desperately positioned himself between the women.  Being married to Celia had left him bound to the Elliot family, but he was the last person who wanted to go up against the granddaughter of Irene Taylor.  Caught between two imposing forces, he raised a hand weakly, attempting to find some sort of middle ground that would placate both women.

            “Don’t think that I’m not going to inform Irene of this situation as soon as possible,” Hannah told Kate viciously as the rest of the family tried to unobtrusively move her away from the conflict.  “She’ll know what to do with you.”

            “You do that,” Kate responded hotly to the woman’s retreating back.  Literally shaking in fury, she turned around to see Susan’s regarding her with a sardonic expression.  “What?”

            “Hey, don’t snap at me.”  Susan raised her hands defensively, but the grin on her face indicated she was clearly amused at the incident.  “Unlike you, I’m not spoiling for a fight.”

            Belatedly, Kate looked around, conscious of all eyes glancing in her direction, and she composed herself instantly, shoving her anger down where it wouldn’t control her.  Though neither woman had raised her voice, it would have been readily apparent that she and Hannah were exchanging words of an unpleasant nature and the room had been watching and eavesdropping in breathless anticipation, no doubt greatly entertained by the whole situation.

            “Where’s Nikki?” She was belatedly aware of her lover’s absence.

            “I think she went to the ladies room not long after the catfight started.” Rick’s tone was unnaturally even, an eyebrow raised as he looked at Kate.  “I guess she wasn’t as amused as the rest of us were.”

            Stung by the casual comment, Kate favored him with a dark look, and immediately made a beeline for the powder room.  Inside, she encountered some women from her golf club that took one look at the stormy expression on her face and immediately cut off their conversation so they could hastily vacate the premises.  Taking a moment to lean against the sink counter, Kate was astonished to discover she was still shaking.  As she tried to compose herself, one of the stall doors opened and Nikki came out, moving over to the nearest sink to wash her hands.  She shot a brief look at Kate, not appearing particularly upset, but definitely not happy, either.

            “I’m sorry,” Kate said after a moment, when she didn’t seem inclined to talk to her.  “What occurred out there should never have happened.”

            Nikki shrugged slightly.  “It’s what I expected.  I’m just surprised it took so long for one of your friends to make a fuss.”

            Kate was stung once more.  “Hannah is no friend of mind.”

              “One of your enemies, then.”  Nikki pulled some paper towels from the dispenser and dried her hands, avoiding her eyes.  “Kate, this is what happens.  I tried to explain it to you when you first came up with this idea.  You just didn’t want to listen.”

            “I don’t believe the ranting of one old woman...” Kate began hotly.

            “She just had the guts to say what all the rest are thinking.” Nikki tossed the used towel in the trash bin, and finally turned to face her lover.  “Ultimately, this is how it works in a small town, Kate.  Keep this life quiet, don’t flaunt it, and it’s tolerated to a certain extent.  Make a show of it, try to rub people’s faces in it, and you’re just asking for someone to take offense.  You thought no one would dare, but you were wrong.”

            “I’m not the one that’s wrong, here, Nikki.”  Despite Kate’s best effort, some of her anger spilled over onto the young woman in the sharpness of her tone.  “Hannah’s the one who was out of line.”

            “Probably, but does it really matter?  We’ve accomplished a certain restraint in how others act around us, Kate, but the fear and hatred of what’s different is still going to be the same.”

            Kate started to respond, and then deliberately took a deep breath, forcing herself to consider her words carefully.  “Nikki, you can’t keep turning the other cheek.  That’s letting them win...”

            A spark flared in Nikki’s eyes.  “Kate, you’ve been gay for all of a few months. You don’t exactly have the experience to know what you’re fighting here.  I can tell you there are far easier and more useful methods to make strides than by marching directly into the heart of enemy territory, and waving your rainbow flag.”

            “But that’s the point, Nikki, this isn’t ‘enemy’ territory.  It’s as much my world as it is theirs, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let these small-minded idiots tell me how I should behave at an event that I’ve attended since I was fourteen.”

            Nikki’s jaw firmed visibly, her eyes still bright with anger.  “You’re right, this is your world, Kate.  The trouble is, you keep forgetting that it’s not mine.  They don’t want me invading their territory whether I’m sleeping with you or not.”

            Brushing past her, the young woman moved out of the room, and jolted by Nikki’s final comment, Kate belatedly followed her, intending to continue the discussion further.  But both women forgot their argument as they reentered the dining room, transfixed by what had occurred in their absence.

            Stephen Elliot III was face down in his chocolate mousse, a situation that was far more interesting to the crowd than whom Kate Shannon might have brought to the Historical Society dinner.

CHAPTER 3

            “What the hell happened?”  Nikki nudged Susan as Rick lifted the stricken man from his dessert.  Beside him, another man was loosening the collar and checking for a pulse.  Stephen Elliot was lolling in the chair, mouth gaping open as chocolate covered a face that appeared blue through the brown smears. 

            “I’m not sure.  All eyes were on Kate and Hannah, and when it finally broke up, someone noticed that Stevie had taken a header into his mousse.  He probably had a heart attack.”

            Nikki blinked at the somewhat callous tone in the older woman’s voice.  “Why isn’t anyone doing anything?”

            “They are.  Rick called for an ambulance, while Dr. Lynch is staying out of the way because he’s a podiatrist, and wouldn’t know what to do about a heart attack if he had instructions from God.”

            “Oh, dear.” Kate was on Susan’s other side, observing this with a horrified expression on her face. 

            “Who are all those people around the old woman?”  Nikki eyed the group warily.

            “You mean, Hannah Elliot?”  Susan didn’t exactly smile, because under the circumstances, it would have been inappropriate, but she did lift a significant eyebrow.

            “Yes, the woman who likened me to a canine.”

            Kate shot Nikki a stricken look.  The young woman flicked a glance in her direction and felt her heart twinge at the distress in her lover’s eyes. With an effort, she let go of her anger at Kate, deciding it wasn’t worth letting it come between them.

            “The victim, Stephen is her grandson, and runs the family business.”  Susan inclined her head slightly at the brunette woman hovering nearby, extremely upset.  “That’s Denise, his wife.  Beside her is Stephen’s brother, Andrew, who is the oldest.”  Her voice became slightly mocking.  “The woman looking vaguely bored is Andrew’s wife, Tiffany.”

Nikki’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at the couple standing off to the side.  Tiffany was the type of blonde that came from a bottle, big, brassy, and bold.  She seemed out of place with the rest of the family.  Andrew, meanwhile, was a less polished version of his brother, as if the first attempt was an experiment with the result further refined in the features and build of the younger brother.

            “’Tiffany’?  You can’t be serious.”

            “Hey, some people will name their kids anything.  I know some people tried to shorten it to ‘Tiff’ but she got so pissed about it, that no one dares try it now.”

            Nikki glanced at the final man, who, unlike Tiffany, seemed to be part of the family, yet boasted a slight expression of disdain on his face as he patted the voluptuous blonde’s arm absently.  He was less stocky than the other men, slighter in build, with darker hair. “Who’s he?”

            “Martin.  He’s a cousin with no real money of his own but still manages to live a life of leisure.  Don’t ask me how, or why the family lets him stick around because I don’t know.”

            Nikki mentally filed that away as she and the rest moved out of the path of the paramedics who had finally arrived.  The medical personnel applied various techniques on Stephen before lifting him onto the stretcher and wheeling him out as the rest of the family followed in their wake.  Once that was finished, there was a general exodus from the rest of the crowd, the implication being that this dinner, as entertaining as it had turned out, was finally over for another year.  Nikki retrieved her coat from the room where it had been held, and followed Kate and the rest out to the curb where they hailed a taxi.

            “That was sort of a bust,” Susan remarked as they sped down Willow Street, interrupting the awkward silence that had fallen over them.

            “I’m sure the society made their target amount.” Kate’s tone was distant, almost indistinguishable from where she was sitting in front with the driver, while Nikki sat next to Susan in the back. Miserably, Nikki glanced out the window at the darkness of the passing streets, not surprised when Kate directed the taxi to her apartment first.

            When the car stopped on Queen Street, Nikki mumbled a brief good-bye to Susan and Ted, though she didn’t dare say anything further to Kate...not in front of her friends at least.  It hurt when the older woman didn’t even look in her direction as the taxi departed.

            Blinking back tears, Nikki went up the stairs leading to the second floor where her cat greeted her.  Powder was quite vocal about being left alone for the evening though she paid him little mind as she walked past into the bedroom.  There she removed the expensive clothes, and placed them carefully in the closet, aware of how different they were compared to everything else hanging there.  After scrubbing the makeup from her face, she removed the contacts and replaced her wire-rimmed glasses, glancing in the mirror.  She looked like herself now, not like some stranger she barely recognized.  She could change a little for Kate, she thought sadly, make every attempt to try to fit into her world, but in the end, she didn’t really belong there and never would.

Despondently, she pulled on a robe, and padded barefoot out to the small kitchen where she made herself a hot chocolate.  Carrying the mug to her threadbare sofa, she curled up with Powder, rubbing her cheek against his snowy fur to dry the moisture staining it.

             The knock that sounded at her door only twenty minutes later startled her.  Besides the landlord and the other tenants of the building, the only people she knew who had keys to the lower security door was her mother, her friend, Kim, and of course, her lover.

            Swallowing hard, she got up to answer the door.  Kate stood outside on the landing, looking greatly forlorn.

            “May I come in?” Her voice was soft, barely audible.

            Wordlessly, Nikki took a step back, raising her arm to indicate the other woman was welcome to enter, but not quite ready to go further than that.

            Kate bent her head and moved inside, walking past her into the living room where Powder glared at her with dislike and pointedly leapt from the sofa.  Sauntering past her with his tail in the air, his utter disinterest in the whole situation was evident in every line of his sinuous body.  He had yet to warm up to Kate, and she returned his antipathy, though both maintained a sort of polite regard toward each other for Nikki’s sake.

            “I owe you an apology.” Kate turned to face the young woman, her eyes dark and unhappy.

            Nikki inhaled slowly.  “For what?”

            “For making you go to that dinner.  For forcing you to play a role you weren’t comfortable with.  I didn’t listen to what you needed, and I’m sorry.”

Nikki felt her chest fill, and she inhaled deeply, trying to loosen it.            “You didn’t ‘force me’ to do anything. It was my decision to go to the dinner.”  She took a step closer so that she was within arm’s length.  “I’m really sorry it didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would.”

            Kate looked down, looking defeated, and Nikki felt her heart ache.  She put her hands on the other woman’s arms and gently pulled her close, wrapping her up in a warm embrace.  “It’s all right.  I know it’s not easy to face things like that.  You were so brave to try.  I should have been more understanding, more supportive...”

            “But you were right.”  Kate’s voice was muffled as she buried her face into the taller woman’s neck, surrendering to her embrace.  “I shouldn’t have tried.”

            “That’s not what I meant,” Nikki corrected immediately, resting her cheek on the auburn hair.  “I know it may have sounded like that when we were at the hotel, and I’m sorry.  I know you have to try, Kate...we both do...I just hate that you’re so hurt when it doesn’t work out.”

            “Damn that Hannah, anyway.” Nikki could hear the anger bubbling to the surface again.

            She made a small sound and nudged Kate over to the sofa where they sat down.  “If it’s any consolation, she has more important things to worry about now.”  Curling a leg under her other thigh, she turned to look at the other woman.   Kate managed a wan smile, and rested her chin on her hand.

            “I’m sorry about everything that happened tonight.”  She reached out with her other hand to brush a strand of Nikki’s hair back from her face.  “I’m sorry for dropping you off without saying good-night.  I’m sorry for using you to rub the town’s faces in it.  I’m sorry for being...well, for being such a damned fool.”

            “You’re not a fool,” Nikki told her sincerely, capturing the fingers in her hand and brushing her lips over the knuckles.  “I’m sorry I ran out on you while you were talking to the old woman. I should have stood by you instead of trying to avoid the confrontation.  That was cowardly of me.”

            “It’s not your job to put up with the fools in this town.”

             “It’s not yours either.”

            Kate stared at her before offering a rueful grin.  “I guess it isn’t.  You know, I didn’t even tell you how spectacular you looked tonight.”

            Nikki dipped her head, suddenly bashful.  “Thank you.  I wanted … I hoped that I looked good enough for your dinner.”

            “Good enough?  My god, darling, you put everyone there to shame.”

            Nikki shrugged, pleased but aware of being a trifle uncomfortable as well.  “Kate, you know that isn’t really me. I mean it’s fun to dress up once in a while, especially for you, but...”

            “I know.” Kate tilted her head, trying to catch Nikki’s gaze.  “I don’t ever want you to be someone you’re not, darling.  That’s not what tonight was about.  I’m just saying that you looked absolutely exquisite, and I’m flattered you’d made such an effort for me.”

            Nikki stared at her, then nodded. “All right.”  She squeezed the fingers in her grasp gently.  “I’m really glad you came back.”

            Kate slid closer.  “I couldn’t imagine going back to my apartment without telling you how much I love you.  Once the taxi dropped Susan and Ted off at their hotel and took me home, I just sat there outside my building and wouldn’t get out.  Finally, I asked the driver to bring me right back here.  He must have thought I was crazy.”

            Nikki leaned closer, kissing her gently, a brief touch of her lips on Kate’s.  “I love your craziness,” she murmured against them.

            “As long as you do,” Kate responded before returning the kiss, her mouth soft as it lingered on Nikki’s.  “I promise to make tonight up to you, darling.  What can I do?”

            “You don’t have to make up anything.”

            Kate nuzzled her.  “Oh, but I want to.  Please, let me do something for you.”

            Nikki pressed closer, able to slip her arms around the smaller woman.  She suspected she would have to come up with something because Kate simply wouldn’t let this go until she did.

“What are you doing during the last weekend in May?” she asked, nibbling a tender path along her lover’s jaw.

            “I’m all yours,” Kate promised without hesitation, her respiration increasing measurably.  “Why?”

            “It’s the annual canoe trip down the Stewiacke River,” Nikki explained, her hands slipping over the silk of Kate’s dress, finding the zipper at the back and slowly drawing it down.  “It’s with Nova Pride, the gay group.”

            Kate chuckled, half in amusement, half in sensuality as Nikki’s fingertips traced back up her spine.  “I suppose that’s fair.  You came to one of my functions, so I suppose I should go to one of yours.   But I have to warn you, I’ve never been canoeing in my life.”

            “That’s okay.”  Nikki put her hand on the outside of Kate’s leg and slipped along the warm, nyloned smoothness of it, sliding beneath the hem of the dress.  “There’s a first time for everything.  Besides, I’d never let anything happen to you.”

            “Promise?”  Kate caught her breath as Nikki trailed over to the inside of her thigh, stroking lightly.

            “Promise.”  Nikki paused for another kiss, one that left them both shaking.  “Stay the night?”

            “Do you really think I could leave at this point?”

            “I would hope not.” Nikki rose to her feet, stretching out her hand in invitation that Kate readily accepted, leading her to the bedroom.

To be continued
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