Sarah drove to Laura's work but didn't see her car parked there. It came as both a relief and an aggravation. She dreaded confessing what she did, but each passing minute made the sick knot in her stomach tighten. She had to tell Laura everything now, tonight, before she made a worse mistake.
Next, she drove to Laura's house and saw her car in the driveway. Normally she would have walked straight inside; they exchanged keys weeks ago. Tonight, though, after what she did, it didn't seem right. Instead, she rang the bell, shifting from one foot to the other as she waited for Laura to answer the door. It seemed to take forever for the deadbolt to slide back.
Laura opened the door, her face was red and her eyes looked puffy and swollen. Sarah knew immediately Laura had been crying.
"What's wrong?" Sarah couldn't imagine what could make Laura cry. She seemed so strong and impervious. The only other time she saw Laura cry was when Marcy found them. "Did something happen to your kids?"
"No, they're fine. Or at least as fine as they can be with a lesbian for a mom."
"Don't say it like that. What we have is not dirty."
"I'm not so sure."
"I am. I know it for a fact." Sarah took a deep breath, it was time to tell Laura everything. "Laura, I-."
"I admire your conviction." Laura stepped back to let Sarah come in. When Sarah walked past Laura, she smelled her familiar perfume, the scent that snapped her out of her sexual trance less than an hour ago. "Do you want a glass of wine?" She indicated the wine bottle and glass on the coffee table.
"No, thank you." Even if she hadn't stopped drinking for her baby she didn't think she could hold anything down. "I'm giving up alcohol for a while. Laura, I need to-."
"Then I'll put this away. I wanted a glass before I went to bed."
Sarah followed Laura into the kitchen and rinsed the glass while Laura put the bottle in the fridge. "Laura, I-."
"I'm tired. It might be best if you slept at your own house tonight. I'm afraid I don't have the energy for our usual bedtime activities."
"We don't have to make love every night." God knew Sarah wasn't in the mood for it. "Something happened."
"I got a call from Logan a couple hours ago." Laura walked back into the living room and tidied up. Not that she had anything to tidy, she kept the living room immaculate. "He called Marcy selfish and ungrateful. I guess they had quite the fight. Logan told her the only way I could have a personal relationship without feeling like I was cheating on Tom was to be with another woman. It's exactly what Clair said. He said I loved Tom more than she could ever love Spencer because if Spence died she'd be married again within the year. He said that made Marcy the worst person he knew. It's not true, though. I'm not with you to avoid dead husband issues. I'm with you because you complete something in me and I'm in love with you because of who you are. It doesn't matter what gender you are." Laura's voice cracked and she started to cry.
Sarah's heart sank. She remembered the last time she had a bottle on her coffee table. She thought Laura had dumped her and was crushed by the fear of loneliness. Seeing Laura like this was like looking in a mirror when she had hit bottom. A horrible rush of dread surged from her heart to her fingers and toes. She choked down her bile as understanding dawned on her. Laura wasn't crying because Logan fought with Marcy. "You were there tonight. I really did smell your perfume."
Laura got her voice under control. "I finished at work faster than I expected so I came to your house to surprise you."
"I'm sorry you saw us. I'm sorry it happened at all." Sarah went to Laura and made her stop tidying a spotless room. "Stop cleaning and look at me. I cheated and I'm sorry. I was on my way to see you when Frank showed up. He said the right things and I was scared which made falling into old habits too easy." Sarah shook Laura's shoulders. "I felt alone and didn't know who to turn to and then Frank showed up and I let him kiss me and I knew I shouldn't have but I needed him. I didn't want to but it seemed like I had to and for so long he had the right and it didn't seem fair to change things right then and I should have done it sooner but I was so in love with you and so busy being with you that I forgot all about him and he isn't a bad guy and he's still family whether I want him to be or not and he's even more family now and it felt so good but then it felt so bad and-."
"Sarah!" Laura shook Sarah to stop her frantic rambling. "Calm down. Stop talking for a minute."
"I don't want you to think I'll always cheat on you because I wont. I know I slept with Frank once before, but I promise it will never happen again, you've got to believe me! I'll never have sex with him again!"
"Sarah, stop it." Laura pulled her into a hug probably thinking, correctly, it was the only way to shut her up.
Sarah clutched Laura to her and sobbed on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry." Sarah barely got the words out between sobs. "You have to believe me."
"I do. I believe you." Laura stroked Sarah's hair. "Calm down and stop crying. I know what dealing with family is like. As much as I love you I'd still sleep with Tom again if I had the chance."
Sarah pulled away from Laura. "That's different, Tom died, otherwise you'd still be with him."
"You're probably right but it doesn't matter. I'm with you now."
"This isn't right." Sarah pulled a tissue from the box on the coffee table. The waste basket was filled with used ones. How long had Laura sat there crying? "I'm the one who cheated, I'm the one who's supposed to sooth you, not the other way around."
"You went into hysterics." Laura gave her a weary smile. "I love you enough to forgive you anything."
"That's the third time tonight you've told me you love me. I've waited so long for you to be comfortable saying it and now I feel like I don't deserve it."
"I shouldn't have avoided it for so long."
Sarah shrugged. "I doubt it would have made a difference to what happened tonight." Or maybe it would have. If Laura told Sarah she loved her, would she have been less scared when she found out she was pregnant? No, she would have been just as scared. Sarah still didn't have answers to some very important questions. "In fact, I'm sure of it."