A Wild Ride (Jessica Brodie Diaries #3) (26 page)

It was after dinner that I realized things had changed. I couldn’t have said when it happened, it might have been when Julie and Cindy stopped by our table to say hi to the cowboys, or maybe with one of the dancers, but I caught William looking at Adam with a knowing smirk. He knew.

I caught his eye. He reached across the table, taking my hand with a smile.

“Don’t you say anything,” I muttered with an evil twinkle in my eye.

His eyes got soft, making a lump form in my throat. He winked.

He loved it when he figured out the punch line before I got to tell it. He also loved when I played jokes on Adam.

Toward the end the show, the dancers pulled everyone to the bar that had a special occasion. There were four girls. Three were bachelorettes and one had a birthday. The prettiest dancers were sitting on the bar with a Blowjob shot between their legs. All the women, giggling and looking mortified, had to get on their hands and knees and take the shot, unable to use their hands in the process. Laughing and wiping their faces, they all posed for pictures.

William and I were watching Adam instead of the proceedings. He looked harassed. His eyes were wide and his mouth hanging open. He could not believe that women were taking shots out of other women’s crotches! I could just imagine him thinking that this would be a great time if his girlfriend wasn’t present.

After the next round of drinks, Adam got up to hit the restroom. While he was gone I turned to William. “How did you figure it out?”

He laughed. “Little clues here and there. They don’t move quite right for women when they speak to you. Well, to me, actually. They don’t dance quite right for women. Women tend to be more hip and breast and sleek, these...women weren’t using those attributes so much. Something was a little off, is all. Not much off—I couldn’t put my finger on it at first.”

Adam was coming back now, drawing the attention of women left and right, shuffling toward us quickly and uncomfortably.

“Until I saw the bulge,” William finished.

Lump started to say something with a smile when I kicked her into silence. Adam slid into the booth.

“Good Lord there are a lot of women here,” Adam said, flustered. “Why would all these women come to watch women dance around? Don’t make sense.”

“And if I didn’t get it before, that fact would have certainly done it,” William said, scanning the crowd.

“What’r you on about, man?” Adam asked with a short temper.

William laughed and sat back with his drink. “Not a thing. Finish up.”

“Hey babe?” Lump asked with nonchalance.

“Yeah,” Adam replied automatically, watching the dancer currently onstage with awe.

“I don’t know if you heard, or figured it out, but, ah...that gal is a dude.”

“Used to be a dude,” I interjected.

“Oh yeah,
used
to be a dude,” Lump amended.

Adam’s brow furrowed. He wasn’t nearly as open-minded as William. “What?”

“That dancer you are watching with such single-minded determination...she was a he. Born a man. Had her bits removed.”

I added commentary: “Probably because those bits were responsible for a persona of useless macho-man. Also, are just ugly and get in the way. She obviously realized it was better to be a part of the superior sex. ”

“Well, ugly, get in the way, and push men to make bad decisions on their behalf,” Lump continued.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Still, having one gets you a lot of benefits in life. Men run the world. Young men get groomed to run the world. I’m not sure I would do away with mine—if I had one, I mean. It gets you into a lot of clubs.”

“Good poi--”

“Wait,” Adam said, cutting off our conversation with a hand in the air, “are y’all tellin’ me that them gals is really guys?”

William nodded with a smile.

Adam looked at William, blinking. “Did you know ‘bout this, Willie?”

“When I first got in here? No. After I saw the bulge in that gals pants? Yeah, I caught on.”

“And you didn’t
say
nothin’?”

Before William could answer, our server was back with the check.

“Did you girls and boys need anything else?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“No, ah, ma’am,” Adam said carefully, looking at her closely.

The server smiled and winked at Adam before telling us to let her know if we changed our minds.

“Y’all got something
wrong
with your heads!” Adam exclaimed quietly, grabbing for the bill.

“Why? Because you are wondering if you are homosexual? Or because you were too slow to figure it out for yourself?” Lump had an evil glint in her eye.

“I was only starin’ cause they was takin’ their clothes off!” Adam snapped. “How could I not? How can any self-respectin’ gal get up on a bar and strip like ‘at?”

“Any girl that does it is just trying to market what she’s got. There would be no need for her to do it if there weren’t men lining up to pay for it. And stare at her,” Lump said back with a nasty attitude.

I didn’t like where this was going.

“Look,” I cut in, “there were half-naked girls and Adam was too fascinated to look away. If you both want, when we get to L.A. I can take you to a place where Lump will stare. Even the playing field, so to speak.”

Lump was trying to sound saint-like now, but when the Thunder Down Under show came through with delicious bodied men showing off their stuff on stage, there wasn’t a woman in the place that wasn’t glued to the show.

As I thought, that shut Lump up and made Adam stare at her. I could tell he was wondering what type of show I was talking about.

“Oh, and Adam, do you want to stop by Castro on the way home... just in case?” I finished.

Adam’s face went beet-red. William clapped him on the back, laughing.

The tension was calmed down and Adam paid the bill, not so kindly telling William to keep his money to himself since he was good-for-nothing.

Chapter Thirteen

We left San Francisco for L.A. two days later after exploring San Francisco as much as we could. Lump and I were excited to visit our old stomping ground, Adam and William indifferent to the change in location. One thing I dreaded—introducing William to my mom.

He wanted to see the house I grew up in, which didn't belong to the family anymore, and wanted to meet my maker, so to speak. It wasn't a reunion I wanted to have, especially after the halted conversation when I told my mother I was engaged and bringing my fiancé to meet her. It was plain she was obliging out of some long forgotten sense of motherly duties.

My family life was depressing.

We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and had a quiet, late lunch. Then Lump and Adam went their own way so William could meet the old hen. I begged Lump to come with, but she liked my mother about as much as I did.

The house was as I remembered it. Good sized with four bedrooms, two car garage, adequate yard and quiet neighborhood. I felt like I had lead shoes as I trudged up the sidewalk to the front door.

I rang the doorbell hesitantly, feeling William rub my back for support. The door opened and there she was, scowl and all. Nothing had changed.

She was older than I remembered, with wisps of gray intermixed with her light brown. She quickly glanced at me, then lingered her gaze on William.

"Hi mother," I said with a flat tone.

Her eyes drifted back to my face.

"Mother, this is William. William, my mother, Judy."

"Hello, Mrs. Rogers," William said politely.

My mother had changed her name when she remarried. I hadn’t, of course.

"Hi William," she answered in a voice tinged with boredom. She was trying to act important; bored with our presence. It was so very Hollywood of her.

"Judy, is that them?" I heard from inside the house.

A graying man I recognized as my stepfather came to stand beside my mother. He had glasses and looked like the Mr. Rogers of my childhood, fuzzy sweater and all. I’d always thought it funny that he matched his name.

He saw me and stepped onto the front porch to give me a hug hello.

Had he always been this friendly?

"Hi ya, Jess! How goes it?" Turning to William, he stuck out his hand jubilantly. "This is the Texan prize, I take it? Tall order to be good enough for our Jessica!"

I didn't remember him being this happy to see me. And where did he get that charm?

William smiled and shook hands.

"Oh, good firm grip, young man! Good firm grip! A man that knows what he is about. I like it. I'm Dick, by the way." He smiled.

"Hello sir. I'm William. Willie for short."

"Dick and Willie, huh? Yikes. What a pair we make in namesake!"

Everyone laughed. Well, except my mother, who looked uncomfortable by Dick's friendly nature.

We were quickly ushered inside. The house looked and smelled the same. Memories of a lonely teenager came floating back. I suddenly wanted to be out of that house as fast as I could go.

William must have sensed my need for flight because he put his arm around my waist and kissed me on the head.

The house opened into a sitting room that had clean, flowered sofas, a coffee table, a piano, and no sort of distractions. It was where "company" sat.

Apparently I was "company" these days. Figured.

After everyone was seated comfortably, I spoke, "Um, Dick, I'm not sure if my mother mentioned it, but I have some news..."

"I didn't," my mother said, clasping her hands in her lap.

"Oh. Well, William and I are getting married."

Dick's eyes widened in surprise, his smile lighting up his already bright eyes. "Oh really? Oh fantastic! I have been so hoping for a wedding! Ted isn't having a great time with the ladies, so to speak. He is young yet, of course, but I hope he finds his way. Oh that is great. Let's see the ring!"

I lifted my hand, beaming. I saw my mother's eyes bulge, but she said nothing.

"Oh my goodness that is great. Wow, what a rock, huh?" Dick said, getting up to give William a congratulatory hand shake.

"So...what have you two been up to?" I asked awkwardly. I thought some catch-up conversation might be needed.

"Well…" Dick looked at my mother, hoping she would pick up the slack. When she didn’t, he continued with, "We are thinking of remodeling the house. It is still in a dream-state, but it's out there. Right honey?"

My mother nodded, lips a tight line.

Dick continued with a small frown. "Other than that life is the same. We are still a few years away from retirement, so we are just hanging in there."

The conversation paused awkwardly, Dick waiting for my mom to take the reins. She didn’t.

"What are you two up to?" Dick recovered gracefully.

Pushing back the desire to ask her what her damn problem was, now as well as growing up, I answered, "Well, I work in Finance and have a couple promotions under my belt, so that is good. I work for William's company, actually."

"My family owns the majority of the shares of the company,” William explained. “It is privately held. I head up the expansion unit."

William was trying to sound modest, but it was a hard thing to do with his rap sheet. I didn’t bother to hide my surge of pride.

"Wow! Great!" Dick said, ever enthusiastic.

"Lump has her own company. You remember Lump?" I asked both adults.

Dick looked at my mother, trying to remember the person mentioned. "Hmmmm, honey?"

"No, I don't remember that name."

Figures.

"Oh, well, she has her own company and I am helping her with that. I own stock in it, so when it gets huge I'll be in good shape." It was a half joke, half trying to sound all grown up and awesome.

Dick was excited, but he wasn’t the person I was trying to impress.

Suddenly I just felt tired.

We talked about other things, like what it was like living in Texas, how long we had been together, and other such questions all parents should know. Dick did most of the asking.

After we ran out of the staple questions to ask and answer, the conversation suffered another lull. It hadn’t even been this hard to talk to Denise when I first met her, and she didn’t like me.

Dick said, "Say, Willie, you want me to show you the backyard? We have a great grill set-up that a Texas man is sure to love!"

“Sounds great!” William answered immediately, squeezing my leg in support.

After they were clear of the room, I dove in.

"Mother, what is your problem? Why are you such an...why are you acting this way?"

I was trying for a flat tone, and nailed it. It didn't even phase her.

"Jessica, you were a selfish kid and you are a selfish adult. You and your father were always in a club of two. Apparently you must have forgotten that there were three in the family." She turned her head away from me, unfocused gaze now out the window.

That was a lot more honest and up front than I expected.

"Mother, I was a kid. How could I know any better? Things would have changed when I got older, but we didn't have the time with him."

I hated myself for letting my voice crack when I finished the last sentence. I didn’t really want to have this conversation, but obviously it was the block that had been between us all these years.

"Things would not have changed, Jessica. I wanted a boy, but I had you. Your father was happier with a girl and I was unable to have any more children. Thank goodness for Dick and his son. Now I want to get on with the rest of my life."

"What--? Are you serious right now? Are you not right in the head? So you had a girl, so what? A penis doesn't your dreams make, mother. Couldn't you have just dealt with it and moved on? Had a relationship with your only kid?"

I was visibly getting upset now, but it still didn't faze her.

"Jessica, I tried. When you were a baby, I tried. But it never took. I never even wanted you around. I didn't want to breast feed you, hold you, anything. They said it was some sort of depression with childbirth or something, I don't know. You were your dad's daughter, then you took your dad away from me, too. It is too late now to try again."