Lesbian Stepmother (3 page)

“I am?”

“Yes. It made me feel wonderful to cook this for
you, and it made me feel even better to sit here with you while you
enjoyed it.”

“You’re acting weird, Lonna.”

Lonna smiled. “I feel weird.”

Abbie stared at her, finishing her coffee.

“Can I get you something else?”

“No, I’m stuffed.”

“Good. I’m glad you liked it. And I’m
sorry about dinner last night. I don’t like the idea of you
going to bed hungry.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but it still bothered me.”

“My dad is an asshole.”

“I know.”

That time Abbie did smile, but just for a second. Then
she stood up. “I’ve gotta get to school. I think I’m
running a few minutes late.”

“Can I drive you?”

“No, I’m not that late. It’s just a
twenty minute walk.”

“I’d be happy to drive you.”

Abigail picked up her purse and her knapsack. “No,
really, I’m fine.” She looked at Lonna. “But
thanks.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“And thanks for breakfast. It was fucking
awesome.”

Lonna laughed. “Thank
you!
”

Chapter 4

After work that day, Lonna stopped at the store to pick
up a little gift for Abbie’s birthday, and then spent a half
hour grocery shopping. She wanted to replace all the food she’d
used for breakfast and stock up on more, as well as get a few things
for dinner. It had gone so well that morning she thought she’d
do it again right away. If all it took were a few good home-cooked
meals to be closer to Abbie, then she’d be cooking a lot more
often.

Back in the kitchen, she mixed herself a little drink
and began putting things away. She was still in very good spirits
from earlier in the day. As she began pulling out pots and pans and
chopping onions, she was mildly surprised to find herself humming and
moving around with an easy grace, as if she truly belonged. She felt
like she belonged. For the first time since moving in, she was
actually looking forward to Abbie arriving home.

By the time she was finished with her drink, she had
assembled a large Mexican casserole. The dish was filled with
chicken, black beans, peppers, onions, corn, salsa, three kinds of
cheese and covered with crushed tortilla chips. She slid it into the
oven to bake and mixed herself another drink, taking it into the
living room where she relaxed for a few moments on the couch.

The atmosphere of the house had changed for her. She
knew she was probably reading too much into her stepdaughter’s
fragile acceptance of her, but it was at least a start. And if she
could feel this peaceful and relaxed in the house, then it had to
have at least some significance to it. She’d just have to wait
and see if it lasted.

She took a sip of her drink and turned on the TV.

* * *

It was about 40 minutes later when she heard Rick’s
car door slam. Lonna sat up on the couch, taking a quick gulp from
her glass. At least she didn’t have to worry about his
reaction to dinner tonight.

The screen door opened and he walked in carrying his
customary empty coffee cup. “Wow. Something smells good in
here.”

Lonna nodded. “It should be ready in just a few
minutes.”

He sniffed the air, crushing the cup in one fist.
“Smells like chicken enchiladas.”

“Close.” She got up and gave him a kiss on
the cheek. Rick took hold of her arm and pulled her closer, kissing
her on the mouth. “Ooh, my arm,” she whined.

“Sorry.” He released her and she took a
quick step back. “How are you?”

“Fine.” She forced a smile. She suddenly
didn’t feel like dealing with him. “How are you?”

He shrugged. “Been better. Two of the guys
called in sick, I had to bust ass all day. Man, that smells good.”

“I’d better check it.” She entered
the kitchen and pulled open the oven door, peeking in. The cheese
was bubbling around the edges of the pan and the chips on top were
golden brown, just starting to darken. She turned off the oven and
grabbed a couple of dishtowels, carefully taking hold of the
casserole and moving it onto the counter. As she was closing the
oven door, she sensed Rick watching from the doorway.

“Did you make that from scratch?”

“I sure did.”

“My god, does it smell good! I can’t wait
to dig in.”

“It needs to cool off for a little bit.”

“I like it hot.”

“We should probably wait a little while for Abbie
to get home. She’s usually here by five on Thursdays.”

Rick was surprised. “Really? Wouldn’t it
be better to eat in peace? She can always have hers later on.”

Lonna looked at him. She wasn’t sure why, but
she was beginning to feel a growing revulsion toward him. She hoped
it was temporary, but for the moment it was very real. “I
think we ought to wait. It needs to cool anyway, and she’ll be
home soon.”

Rick seemed to consider it. He pushed his glasses up
on his nose and nodded. “Okay. Five is good. That’ll
give me a chance to wash up.” He removed a can of soda from
the refrigerator and took it with him down the hall.

* * *

At five o’clock Abbie still hadn’t shown,
but Rick wasn’t willing to wait any longer. “What’s
the big deal?” he asked. “She usually just storms past
us anyway and eats later on.”

“I just thought it would be nice if we could all
eat together.”

“It
would
be nice. And I’m very glad you feel that way. But she’s
not here. No sense in us waiting around. Besides, we’ll all
be going out together for a nice dinner tomorrow night.”

Lonna nodded, dishing out the food. When she had the
table set, Rick sat down and began devouring his dinner. She took
the opportunity to finish her drink and mix another one before
joining him at the table.

“This is great,” he said. “You
should make this more often.”

“Thank you.” She poked at her food, taking
a small mouthful. It really was good. She wished that Abbie could
have been there to have some. She’d really made it for her.

Rick polished off his entire plate and began scooping
out more from the dish. “Maybe we can forget about going out
tomorrow night. This is better than anything we’re going to
get in a restaurant. Man, look at all that cheese!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.” He filled his plate again and
went right to work on it.

Lonna took another bite and then a long drink. As she
was setting her glass down, Rick’s cell phone began to chirp.

He reached into his front pocket, pulling it out and
examining the screen. “It’s Abbie.” He pressed a
button and held it to his face. “Hello?” He listened
for a few moments drumming his fingers on the table. “That’s
fine.” He nodded his head. “Yeah.” After another
brief pause he glanced at Lonna. “Alright, you have a nice
time. I’ll see you later. Bye.”

“She’s not coming?” Lonna asked. She
was startled by the degree of her disappointment.

Rick put the phone back in his pocket and picked up his
fork. “She’s got a date. Some guy from school. Well,
I’m glad we didn’t wait any longer.” He shoveled
more food into his mouth. “Man, is this good!”

Lonna took a long drink. She felt as if all the life
had been drained out of her.

Rick didn’t seem to notice. He took a long drink
of soda and resumed eating. “Hey,” he said between
bites. “Looks like we got the place to ourselves tonight.”

Lonna cringed. “Oh. That’s nice.”

He smiled. “Maybe we can finish what we started
this morning.”

“Maybe,” Lonna agreed. “Although I
feel like there’s a railroad spike going through my head right
now.” She began to massage her forehead, hoping the gesture
came off as authentic.

“Oh, no, really?” He was genuinely
disappointed. “I could tell something was bothering you.”

“I took a couple of aspirin. Hopefully it’ll
pass.”

He jammed in another forkful. “I sure hope so.
We’ve got all night.”

Lonna sighed and finished her drink. She got up and
began making another.

Chapter 5

The next morning, Lonna woke up to the sound of
arguing. The angry voices of Rick and Abigail resonated from the
living room, penetrating through the bedroom door and startling her.
She sat up in bed, her head fuzzy from the previous night’s
overindulgence. Reaching over to her nightstand, she found her glass
of water and took a long drink, listening for hints of what was going
on.

As soon as she began trying to eavesdrop, there was a
loud slam and the shouting suddenly stopped. She got up out of bed
and slowly made her way down the hall.

In the living room, Abbie was sitting on the couch, her
head down and her eyes closed. She sensed Lonna’s approach and
looked up. As she did, a car engine rumbled to life outside and
Lonna glanced through the gap in the curtains in time to see Rick’s
car pulling away.

“What happened?” Lonna asked.

Abigail studied her miserably, her eyes shimmering with
tears. She wore only a sheer black nightgown, an open box beside her
on the couch. “Nothing.”

“Something must have happened. Are you okay?”
She wanted to sit beside Abbie on the couch, but wasn’t sure
she’d be welcome.

“Do you really care?”

“Yes. I do.”

Abbie laughed callously. “Oh, that’s
right. You’re my friend now.”

The layer of sarcasm within the remark hurt Lonna, but
she tried not to let it show. “I’d certainly like to
be.” They regarded each other for a moment and then Lonna
looked away. When she looked back, Abbie had her head down again.

“Happy birthday, Abbie.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Abbie glared at her.
“Gee, thanks. It’s real fuckin’ happy.”

“Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“As if you don’t already know.”

“I don’t. I swear I don’t. I just
woke up.”

Abbie swept the box top and tissue paper away from the
bottom half of the box with the back of her hand. She then pulled
out a thin black cotton jacket and flung it onto the floor. “Thanks
for the jacket. It’s just what I always wanted.”

Lonna stared at the jacket. “That’s what
your father got you?” She’d had no idea. He’d
never mentioned anything to her about a gift.

“He said it was from both of you.”

“It wasn’t. I didn’t even know about
it.”

“Oh. Well, then, thanks for nothing. Oh, wait,
you made me breakfast yesterday. Swell.” She buried her face
in her hands and began to cry.

Lonna took a chance and stepped over the jacket, taking
a seat beside her on the couch. She wanted to put her arm around the
girl, but didn’t want to risk aggravating her further. “That’s
really all he gave you?” She was genuinely surprised.

“Oh, no, not at all,” Abbie said harshly.
She rummaged on the cushion beneath her leg and pulled out a plastic
Wal-mart gift card. “Happy birthday to me. Fifty buck
spending spree at fucking Wal-mart. Maybe I’ll pick up the
iPad I needed.” She threw the card across the room and buried
her face again.

Lonna sighed. “Your father and I didn’t
discuss what we were going to get you, Abbie. If he said those
things were from the both of us, he was probably just covering for me
in case my gift didn’t measure up. But I got you something,
too. Something I didn’t tell him about.”

Abbie peeked at her from behind her hand. “What?
More eggs?”

Lonna smiled. “Wait here.” She got up and
returned to the bedroom, taking a wrapped package out from beneath
the bed. When she returned to the living room, Abbie hadn’t
moved from her place on the couch, her face still hidden. She
approached with the package and held it out. “Happy birthday.”

When Abigail saw it she seemed mildly surprised. “You
mean you actually bought me something?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I just…” She shrugged, tangles of
dark hair hanging over her eyes. “I dunno. I can’t
figure you out.”

“Well, this is just a little something I picked
up for you. Something I thought you might like.”

Abbie finally reached out and took the package. She
hefted it, trying to get a feel for what might be inside. “It’s
not another jacket, is it?”

“No.” Lonna took a seat beside her and
waited as her stepdaughter slowly peeled the wrapping paper back.
When the white box beneath was revealed, she watched in blissful
fascination as the expression on Abbie’s face changed from one
of sorrow to one of elation.

“No fucking way!”