Intentions - SF9 (3 page)

After immigrating to join her sister in Palo Alto, Marta had come to work for the Evanses as her first job in the States. Jamie had always wondered why she had never shown any interest in men or dating, but Marta seemed content with her life. Her job was only to cook the meals for the family, and since Catherine ate out so often, Marta might only cook once or twice a week now that Jamie was gone. She'd had to cook for quite a few large parties, but she seemed to thrive on running a busy kitchen and appeared to get a great deal of satisfaction from successfully handling a big affair. Her interests seemed to revolve around visits with her sister, and her devotion to her church. She had belonged to a large Catholic parish in San Mateo for over 20 years and was very involved in many aspects of parish life.

"What is on your mind, Little One?" Marta asked in her flawless English.

"Let's speak Spanish," Jamie suggested. "I don't get a lot of practice."

Marta had worked with Jamie extensively when she was a child to perfect her grammar and accent. It had been hard for the child to keep her languages straight, since Italian is so close to Spanish, but Marta was an excellent teacher as befitted her many years of teaching English as a Second Language classes at her church.

Seamlessly switching to her native tongue, Marta looked at Jamie carefully and asked, "What is it, Little One?" applying her usual pet name for Jamie.

Clearing her throat nervously, Jamie began, feeling a little tentative since she was afraid that Marta would not take well to her news. "I don't know if you know this, but I live with a woman named Ryan. Ryan O'Flaherty," she added, thinking that neither "Ryan" nor "O'Flaherty" sounded very good with a Spanish accent.

Marta nodded and said, "Yes…the woman you brought here for dinner this summer," an enigmatic look on her handsome face.

"Yes, that's Ryan. I'm sorry I didn't introduce you then, Marta, but that was a…that was a difficult night," she said, shivering at the memory.

"Do not be concerned, Jamie," Marta assured her. "I took no offense."

Jamie smiled at the older woman and continued, clearing her throat nervously. "She's…she's my very good friend, and I want you to get to know her. She's going to come down later today and stay here this weekend. I wanted you to know…" she said, clearing her throat again.

"Yes?" Marta urged, gazing at her sympathetically. "What would you like me to know?"

"Well, I…ah…she's very important to me…and…ah…"

"I know that you love her, Jamie," Marta said softly as she placed a hand on the younger woman's knee.

She looked up in surprise but saw only acceptance from her old friend. "Do you understand…how…how I love her?" she finally got out.

"Yes, I understand these things." She looked down for a moment and said, "It is not my way, Jamie. I do not know what causes a person to love someone of their own sex. But it is the way for you, and I can see that. If it is your way, and you are loved by this woman, then it is what you must do." She paused for a moment and turned her face to gaze into Jamie's eyes. "You are well loved, are you not?"

Brushing a tear from her eye, she nodded mutely. "I am," she said haltingly. "Very well loved." She took a deep breath and asked, "But how did you know? You've never even spoken to her."

"You act like a woman who feels loved, Jamie. It shows," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Jamie reached over and grasped the strong, warm hand of her old friend. "Thank you for understanding, Marta. Somehow I knew you would support me."

"I know love, Jamie. There is no greater power on earth, and I'm very happy that you finally have it." She opened her arms and Jamie tumbled in, just as she had when she was young. "I am very glad that you did not marry Jack, even though I liked him very much. It was obvious that it was not right for your heart."

"Why am I spending so much money on a therapist?" she laughed softly. "I could have figured this out just by talking to you."

"I know you and I love you, Querida, but I would never tell you who to love. You must follow your heart."

Jamie gave her a gentle squeeze as she got up and ran her fingers through her hair. "Thanks for knowing me, and for supporting me, Marta."

"It's my pleasure, Jamie. Oh, one more thing," she added. "If you are patient with your father, I believe he will come to see who you really are. It may take a while, but I have faith."

"But how…?"

"The house is big, Jamie, but it is not that big," she laughed as she stood and tousled her hair.

Mia came barreling into the gym at 7:15, having taken nearly two hours to get to Palo Alto. She quickly found the O'Flaherty rooting section, the small group consisting only of Jamie, Martin, Maeve, Caitlin, and Catherine. As the curly-haired woman climbed up into the stands, she noticed that Cal was beating BYU two games to one. The score of the current game was 12-6 in favor of Cal, so it was obvious that the end was near.

As Mia sat down, Jamie introduced her to Martin and Maeve, and within seconds, Caitlin was flirting shyly with her.

Stanford's game began at the conclusion of the Cal/BYU match, but since there was a separate admission for each match, the Stanford crowd was still outdoors, lining up to see the beloved Cardinal. Since the gym was so quiet, Jamie noticed that, for the first time, she could clearly hear the setter calling out instructions to the team. With the score at 14-7 the setter passed the ball high in the air to Ryan. Jamie laughed aloud when she heard her cry, "Boomer!" as Ryan glided into position to kill the ball decisively with a powerful spike. As usual, Ryan seemed to know exactly where Jamie was in the crowd, and she gave her a smirk as she caught her eye. "Oh, oh," the blonde said aloud. "I've got to be more careful when I use my little pet names around Jordan."

After congratulating the players from BYU, Ryan headed across the floor, a shyly grinning Jordan in tow. As Ryan was congratulated, Jordan shot Mia a smile and said, "I was hoping to see you again. This is a nice surprise."

You could have called me, you big dope
, she thought, but said, "I decided to come down for the weekend, and since I'm so close, this seemed like it would be fun. You really play well," she said, even though Jordan had not touched the ball in her presence.

"Thanks," the blonde blushed. "Um…well, it was nice to see you again, Mia. I have to go change so I don't miss the bus."

Jamie had one ear on their interchange and she piped up, "Come to the house, Jordan. No sense in going back if you just have to come down again tomorrow."

"Really?" she asked, hesitantly. "Are you sure…"

"Mom?" Jamie said, getting her mother's attention. "Would it be all right if Jordan stayed over with us?"

"Oh! I assumed she would, Honey," Catherine said. "Didn't I mention that? I told Marta to prepare enough for eight." Looking past Jamie, Catherine looked at Jordan and said, "I'm sorry for not inviting you personally, Jordan. Can you make it?"

"Sure," Jordan said, blushing a little.

"Uh, Mom," Jamie said, "that's only six…seven if Mia comes by."

"I know, Dear," she said, rather proud of herself, "but if Jordan eats as much as Ryan…"

"No one eats as much as Ryan does, Mrs. Evans," Jordan insisted. "She's a freak of nature."

"It's Catherine, Jordan," she decreed, giving the tall blonde a warm smile.

"Me too?" Mia asked, her sunny face curling into a grin.

"Of course, Mia, you should have been calling me Catherine for years now."

"Cool!"

Jordan gave Mia a tentative look and asked, "Will you come to Jamie's? I'd like to spend a little time with you if you can manage it."

"Um…sure. I didn't get a chance to tell my parents I was coming down. They're not expecting me."
All you have to do is ask, Jordan, and you've got a very friendly roommate for the weekend.

Jamie waited for Ryan, and Mia offered to give Jordan a lift, so the others took off since Caitlin was getting fussy.

Jamie and Mia were patiently waiting when Ryan and Jordan came strolling out just a few minutes after they entered the locker room, their sweats replacing their wet uniforms. A reporter for the student newspaper was in attendance, and he snagged the women for a few post-match comments as Jamie made faces at Ryan behind his back. "Real mature, Cupcake," she said as she kissed her a few minutes later.

"Cupcake, huh?" Jordan teased.

"Feel free to tell the announcer at her next tournament, Jordan," Ryan instructed. "Paybacks are a bitch, Baby."

They pulled up into the large circular drive just behind one another. Jordan didn't say much at first, standing still as her clear blue eyes took in the entire place. Jamie walked ahead, and the tall blonde gave Ryan a dramatic open-mouthed stare as she took in the mansion. Ryan laughed and said, "Given the look on your face, I would have given anything to see my father's when he took this monster in."

Jamie knocked on the door, deciding to announce their presence so as not to overwhelm the staff. When the door opened, she guided her companions inside. Doffing her jacket, she said, "Helena, these are my friends, Ryan, Jordan, and Mia."

Helena stuck her hand out to grasp Ryan's offering and shook the hands of all three young women. Accepting their coats, she bustled away, indicating, "The others are in the kitchen."

Jordan finally found her voice and said, "Umm, your house is really…nice, Jamie."

Sliding her arm around Jordan's slim waist, Jamie said, "I know it's terribly ostentatious, but thank you anyway."

She led the women into the kitchen where Martin and Maeve were sitting rather stiffly. Ryan sensed her father's discomfort at being in this palatial setting, so she made an inquiry. "When will dinner be ready, Catherine?"

"About 20 minutes or so. We're just having soup and sandwiches. Is that enough for you girls?"

"Perfect," Ryan decreed. "How warm is the pool?"

"It's 82," she said. "Would you like to take a dip before dinner?"

"I would, and I bet Jordan would, and I bet Mia would, and I know Caitlin would," she said, giving Catherine a winning smile.

A few minutes later, Jamie had secured suits for the adult women and Caitlin had been stripped bare. As Ryan jumped into the deep end, Jamie stood back slightly and observed Mia checking Jordan out. The lanky blonde looked absolutely fabulous in the too-small suit that Jamie had provided for her, stretching the bright gold bikini to its limits. "Put your tongue back in your mouth," Jamie joked, elbowing her friend playfully.

"I'd rather put it into
her
mouth," Mia said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "She's tasty!"

"I don't normally have the need, or the desire to look at other women, but I've gotta agree with you on that one, Mia. Jordan could stop traffic."

"Whew!" Mia fanned herself playfully. "She makes my wheels squeal." She took a running dive into the pool, ostensibly to cool off, as Jamie shook her head and joined her, trying to land close to Ryan to give her a big splash.

The girls were all playing so joyously that within minutes Martin and Maeve lost their shyness and were acting like their completely typical selves. Marta and Helena brought the food out to the pool house and opened the wide double French doors to the space. It was fairly warm out, about 70 degrees, but they lit the large gas heaters that surrounded the pool anyway, and the adults were able to relax comfortably while the younger women played.

Caitlin particularly wanted to be with Mia and Jordan, since they were the new members of the Caitlin Appreciation Society, and to Ryan's delight, Jordan was very pleased to carry the happy baby all around the pool, even though she claimed to have no experience with babies whatsoever. When Jordan placed her on her shoulders and swam around like a shark, Caitlin was in heaven. She looked like she was riding Shamu as the water rushed over her chubby little legs, and she giggled so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. Jordan got tired fairly quickly, since she had to be underwater to make the trick work, but she kept it up much longer than she would have normally chosen, just to hear Caitlin laugh.

Jamie hopped out and loaded up trays with soup and the little tea sandwiches that Marta had prepared, placing them on the deck of the pool so that no one had to get out. Jamie and Mia kept the baby entertained while Ryan and Jordan attacked the food-both women nearly starving since they hadn't eaten since lunch. The adults watched in amazement while the hungry athletes snarfed up every bit of food they could get their hands on. Martin got up twice to fill their plates again, and as Ryan finished he admonished her, "
Siobhan
, you stay out of the deep water. I don't want to have to jump in and rescue you if you start to drown."

Jordan caught her eye, and Ryan realized that her friend had never heard anyone call her by her first name. She swam up alongside her and threatened, "If the whole team starts calling me
Siobhan
, you are toast, Blondie."

"Why,
Siobhan
, I mean Ryan, why would you assume that I would mention this?" she asked innocently.

As Ryan pushed her under and held her down for a moment, she casually asked her father, "You don't mind if Jordan drowns, do you?"