TIFFANY PART 6
CHAPTER 1
I had not seen Tiffany and Julia in about 3 months. I talked and texted with Tiff several times, but I was busy at work and so was she. And I wanted to give them space to work on their relationship. She had told her mother about Julia and she didn't care one way or the other. She was too wrapped up in her addiction. Julia had gotten her car back with a new engine but was still living with Tiffany. They were good together and it helped them both financially, as well.
I was talking to Tiffy on the phone one Saturday afternoon and she asked if she could come over the next day. I told her, "Of course you can. I would love to see you. It's been a long time. And you're welcome anytime. Is Julia coming, too?"
"No. Just me. She's visiting her folks. I can be there about 1, if that's okay."
"Perfect. I'm looking forward to it. I'll make us some lunch."
"Sounds good. See you tomorrow."
CHAPTER 2
Tiffany showed up at my door at 1 as planned. We hugged and greeted each other. The first thing I noticed was that she had cut her hair. Pretty short. It didn't look bad but I liked it much better long. I commented on it and she said Julia had asked her to cut it.
We ate our lunch and chatted about our lives and jobs. After cleaning up we sat in the living room to have a cup of coffee. As we continued talking I sensed that something was wrong. Tiffany seemed a little disturbed. I asked her about it and she said, "Yeah. There is something wrong. That's one reason I wanted to see you. To talk. I hope that's okay?"
"Of course. I'm here for you. Whatever you need."
"Well," she said, "Julia isn't visiting her parents. She moved out."
"Oh. I see. You two broke up?"
"Yeah. I felt like she was too domineering. Asking me to cut my hair was just the beginning. I didn't mind making some concessions for our relationship, but I felt like it went too far. She wanted me to become more 'butch'. Short hair, flannel shirts, baggy jeans, act manly. The whole shebang. That's not who I am and when I balked against it she blew up."
"I understand. And I know you. You aren't one to let anybody dictate how you look or dress. Or act."
"No. I'm not. Anyway, I think she wanted me to become a full-blown lesbian. And I'm not. I enjoyed sex with her but I still like men, too. I didn't want to give that up. She couldn't accept that and blew up at me. I asked her to move out." She was crying at this point.
"Tiffy," I said. "You have every right to be who you are. You can't let anybody change you. I'm sorry that happened, but I'm glad you stood up for yourself."
"Thank you. But I'm not sure I did the right thing. I mean, we had a good thing. At least I thought we did. But I couldn't take her telling me to change into what she wanted me to be."
"Of course you couldn't. Nobody can. You absolutely did the right thing. You would be miserable if you tried to change for her. Your mother always tried to change me, and I hated it."
"Thank you, Dan. I knew you would understand. I just needed a second opinion to know if I made the right decision. I don't like it, but I felt like it was what I had to do."
"Yes, I think it was the right thing. You may feel bad now, but in the long run you will be happier. You've been through break-ups before. You know it gets better."
"Yeah. I know. I just needed to talk. Thanks"
"Any time." I hugged her and she seemed to be a little calmer. We had another cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie she had brought with her. She stayed another couple of hours and we chatted about other things and had a wonderful time catching up. She left with a promise from both of us to see each other more often.
CHAPTER 3
I called Tiffany the following weekend and asked her if she would like to go to a concert with me. A band that I used to love when I was younger had gotten back together for a short tour and they were going to be at a venue near us the next weekend. None of my friends particularly cared for them. She said she would love to.
I went to pick her up at 5 the day of the show. It started at 7 and it was about an hour's drive. She was dressed nicely. She wore a knee-length dark blue skirt, a white short-sleeved blouse, pantyhose, and comfortable white canvas shoes as it may be a little bit of a walk into the place and we may have to stand. As it turned out we got a parking space very close and there were plenty of seats. I guess not a lot of people were interested in their reunion tour.
We had a great time. The show was awesome. She thought so, too. She said she always liked them when I used to listen to their music when she was younger. We both got t-shirts.
On the ride home I asked how she was feeling about her break-up. She said she was fine with it. That her talk with me had confirmed she did the right thing and she accepts it and is happy that she was able to do what was necessary and not give in to what somebody else wanted.
"Good for you."
"Julia called me and asked if we could work it out. I told her no. That I was not fully a lesbian and I wanted to keep my options open."
"Good. I'm proud of you."
I dropped her off at her house about midnight and she said thanks for the show and that she would call me.
CHAPTER 4
We talked a couple of times on the phone but didn't see each other for a month. Either I was busy with work, or she was. She had just started a new project at work and it took up a lot of her time. She called and asked if I would like to come to dinner Saturday evening. I told her I would love to but I was going to a show up in Pennsylvania. It was a train show and I'm a train nut.
"Oh. Shoot. I was really looking forward to seeing you. It's been a while. But I hope you enjoy the show. I know you've always loved trains."
"Yeah. Sorry. I would really love to see you, too. Maybe next weekend."
"Unfortunately I gotta go out of town for that project I'm working on for work next weekend."
"Oh. Shoot. Hey, you can always go with me to the show", I said jokingly. I know she's not interested in trains.