In Part Three, Ellen and her old friend from school, Jacinda have reunited and after going back to Ellen's bungalow had a torrid one night stand, with a promise of more to come, if Ellen wants to play the game. Anna on the other hand was at Kym's place and after smoking some weed they too ended up in bed together. Considering both women are straight it has been quite a leap and they agree to meet up on Saturday to discuss the encounter. In this part however, Kym decides to do a little more research as she explores her sexuality, utilising a method that would have seemed wrong to her a few years ago. Another woman, Shobi however has noticed Anna and sensing the shift in the wind, Shobi also makes a move on Anna.
Author's note: This part is much shorter than part three, which looked to be too long after it was published on the site. Therefore, I've decided to cut this part in two and submit the next part shortly after this one.
Anna stared at her reflection in the mirror. The blouse she was wearing was almost cut in the same style as the one she'd worn yesterday but this one was an off-white with thin blue stripes down it, a pocket was over her left breast and at some point in the past the old State Bank logo had been on it. The blouse was a gift from Kym along with the skirt she was now wearing. A black garbage bag filled with clothes was on her bed. The clothes had come from Kym's mother who'd given them to her daughter rather than taking them to the charity shop. The only problem with that however was the fact that Kym had put on more weight around her hips and breasts.
"She means well," Kym held up a blouse, "but she probably hasn't even checked the sizes, she wore these when she was much younger. I just didn't have the heart to tell her that they weren't my size, a few of the tops are stretchy but the rest," she frowned.
"Why don't you take them to the shop?"
"I was, it's been on my bucket list for the last month and then you turned up and I noticed the size label on your blouse and thought, eureka, I've found a home," she put the blouse back into the bag, "they've been washed recently though," she sniffed the bag.
"If you can't use them then just take them to the Salvos. I really won't be offended."
"I like this one," she picked up the blouse Kym had been holding, "it's like the one I'm wearing now," she looked down.
"It used to be her work uniform when she worked at the State bank, there's another two in there just like it, minus the logo."
"Thanks," she sniffed it for herself, "smells fresh though."
Anna ran a hand down the edge of the blouse. Two rows of six buttons ran parallel to each other and she looked down at the buttoned skirt. The black pencil skirt had black buttons down the front and was fastened with a thin belt with a silver buckle, the overall effect was stylish.
Her phone beeped and she glanced at the phone lying on the window ledge of Gitti's bathroom, a moment later her regular alarm sounded, it was the tolling bell from
Hell's Bells.
She wasn't a big fan of of the band but found the bell alarm was one of the few alarms that actually woke her in the morning, along with the chiming bells from a Pink Floyd song. This morning however it had been an Abba song,
Knowing Me, Knowing You
that woke them. It was playing on Kym's phone and the older woman had sat up slowly and poked her.
"You awake?"
"Hmm, mm," she opened her eyes, "what time is it?"
"Six," she ran a hand through her hair, "you wanted to wake up earlier so you could get back home and change."
She remembered now, the arrangement had been made after they just shared a shower although that was not all they'd shared after making love again. Kym had been on fire with desire and had gone down on her knees to give her what she'd always fantasized about, her very own shower scene that had her sliding to the floor of the cubicle in exhaustion.
She silenced the alarm and then opened the message app to read the most recent one again.
Kym: Hiya, sorry for kicking you out the door so early. Won't be available tonight but I will be free Saturday arvo. Text me when you're ready for our talk.
Anna's eyes flickered to the mirror briefly. The talk referred to the morning after talk, they'd had a one night stand and seeing as neither of them had ever slept with a woman before it was probably a good idea to at least discuss their reactions. There had been no promises whispered in the dark, no I love you, just a promise to talk and that had to be a good thing.
A knock sounded at the door followed by Gitti's voice.
"Hey, can you unlock the door please?"
She turned and walked to the door and unlocked it. Gitti was wearing her pyjamas and she raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the bathroom, which was normally left unlocked.
"Sorry," she managed, "I don't know what I was thinking."
"That's cool," she reached the toilet and dropped her pyjama bottoms, "even I forget sometimes and I've been living here for years," she sat down on the toilet.
"You're up early though," she went on, "you were up an hour before your alarm went off."
"Did I wake you up coming home?"
"Huh?" Gitti closed her eyes as her flow started, "that's the first time I've heard you say that."
"What?"
"Refer to this place as home," she opened her eyes, "and yeah you did but there's no curfew here, the only times I have curfew is when I'm babysitting for Ellen and even that's pretty casual."
"I was at Kym's joint last night, I had a few drinks and decided to crash the night."
"Good, there's enough drunken lunatics on the roads, more people should follow your example," she glanced at her.
"You look different though and I'm not talking about the clothes. Did you stop by home on the way back to grab some more clothes?"
"No, I came straight here, these belong to Kym's mum."
"Huh," she smiled crookedly, "but as much as it feels weird saying this while I'm sitting here you look nice this morning."
"Thanks," Anna walked to the vanity basin to retrieve her phone and makeup case, "it's an old State bank uniform, minus the logo."
"God, that brings back memories, my first ever bank account was at State."
Anna smiled and nodded and then left the bathroom.
I should have said something. Why didn't I just say something?
The answer came to her as she prepared breakfast a few minutes later.
Because you haven't got anything to tell her. You don't even know if you are gay,
she stared out at the bungalow. There were signs of life visible through the front window. Ellen was standing with her back to the window wearing just her panties, she was talking to someone on the phone and as if sensing something, she turned and looked directly at the kitchen window. For an instant Anna did nothing and then she raised a hand in greeting that was acknowledged a moment later and then Ellen turned away and walked towards one of the bedrooms.
Am I attracted to her?
The answer was yes but it was still complicated. She was attracted to Gitti but not sexually, just like she was attracted to other women but some of those women could be sexually attractive. So was this something she'd been harbouring for a while or was it just a way of dealing with separation from her husband and the inevitable divorce? Was she just using this as a smokescreen to retreat behind so she could come to some kind of resolution?
So much had changed since she first reached out for help. She'd reported her husband Ritchie for threatening her with a pistol and after searching the house they'd discovered guns that hadn't been registered in his name. After his arrest she'd moved into Gitti's place, temporarily, and then things had taken a distinctly dramatic turn when one of Ritchie's 'business partners' had been implicated in a major gun running operation. The former policeman had been charged and released on bail but one of his colleagues, a serving detective named Tom Steele had been suspended from duty and then promptly arrested and jailed on remand.
Ritchie was still on remand but after being moved to the Melbourne Remand Centre there were hints that he might be prepared to give evidence against his co-conspirators in exchange for a get out of jail free ticket and entry into the witness protection program. It would mean he'd be barred from ever contacting anyone including her and even his parents. It was a brutal price to pay and there was a part of her that pitied him but she was also somewhat befuddled by the actions that had led to this situation. His parents had money, they were independently wealthy and as he was their only child he stood to inherit the lot when they died and there was a lot to inherit.
Anna glanced at the microwave as it pinged and opening the door, took out the scrambled eggs and stirred the mixture before putting it back into the microwave and setting the timer again. That was another change. She'd gone from two slices of toast and coffee in the morning to either scrambled or fried eggs on toast, juice and proper brewed coffee. She put a hand on her belly and looked down at it, and she'd put on a bit more weight although after last night, she managed a tight smile, they said there was nothing like sex for losing weight.
She picked up her phone and swiped the screen. She activated the camera app and walked back into her bedroom and stood in front of the mirror. She aimed the lens at the full length mirror and took a picture of herself and then sent it to Kym.
Anna: Sorry, I was getting ready for work. The clothes fit! Thank you so much! Wearing them to work today. Have a wonderful day.
The reply came back some five minutes later as she was putting the scrambled eggs onto her toast. The picture had been taken in front of a mirror and showed Kym wearing a beige blouse tucked into a white, pleated knee-length skirt.
Kym: Glad to see it. You look fabulous and there's room on my wardrobe floor for all my shoes now, it's a win win situation. Off to negotiate with mini terrorists, have a great day yourself.
She stared at the picture for the better part of a minute and then came out of her reverie as Gitti stepped into the kitchen. She was wearing a bulky flannelette bathrobe and had a towel wrapped around her head.
"Wow," she looked at the phone, "I wish I looked like that first thing in the morning."
"She is cute," she picked up her phone and plate, and stepped over to the breakfast bar.
"Did you resolve anything last night?" Gitti asked her as Anna stepped around to the other side of the bench.
"Huh?"
"Your property settlement," Gitti opened the fridge, "what did you think I was talking about?"
"Um, yeah, I got some ideas."
"And?" Gitti took out the egg carton.
"I'm going to push for a bigger slice. We lose the house insurance if one of us is convicted of an offence and if I transfer the insurance to my name then I can claim more. Even if he goes into this witness protection program he'll still have a black mark against his name."
"Wise move indeed," she put the eggs on the bench, "I might boil these fuckers today," she glanced at her, "and the other thing?"
"It was, yeah, it happened but we haven't talked about it yet. Neither of us planned for it but she's supposed to be coming around tomorrow arvo."
