Siobhan has agreed to go out with Lisa for dinner with her friend, Diane who has recently come out as gay. Lisa however feels as if the date is a step too far, especially when she stays overnight at Siobhan's place and then she makes a surprise discovery.
The date night drew nearer and with every day, Lisa felt as if she was being pulled by invisible strings and yet surprisingly it wasn't as if she was resisting. Rather, she was almost bemused by the idea of going out on a 'date' with a lesbian. Granted it was just a dinner date with three women, but with Siobhan's sexual orientation locked firmly in her mind it almost felt as if she was going out on a date with a guy. This was summed up in her choice of outfit for the night, a pale cream dress with a draping ruffle attached to the neckline. The ruffle stopped just shy of her breasts and the dress hugged her figure quite nicely and included a gold-coloured belt fastened with two brass rings. Granted, it was the kind of dress she'd wear on a date if she was hoping to impress the man, but here she was, ironing the dress ready for the date the following night.
Lisa frowned as she rested the iron in the stand and tried to think of another dress that might be more appropriate for a night out with Siobhan. However, nothing came to mind, there were dresses that might better fit the occasion but they were very casual items that you'd wear if you were at home. Maybe a skirt and a top? She briefly thought of a short-sleeved blue blouse paired with a flowery skirt but it was made of chiffon.
Perhaps with something under it,
she held the dress up and smiled crookedly,
yeah, what would I wear, a chastity belt?
The phone rang and she hurried to pick it up before the answering machine took over.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's me, Diane."
"Diane," she twirled a lock of hair around her finger, "what's wrong?"
Diane didn't reply for a few seconds and Lisa swallowed.
"It's mum, she's, it's all just fucked."
"What's wrong?" Lisa sat down hurriedly, "how did it go?"
"I thought it was okay, I mean she kind of said okay when I told her but after I'd been outside for a fag she was in the living room talking to one of her friends on the phone. She was saying don't worry it's just a phase, give her a few months and it'll all be over. She didn't know I'd come back inside," she paused, "look, I don't know if I'll be much company tomorrow, sorry."
"Don't you dare back out now," Lisa replied, "I've just ironed the dress, Siobhan is looking forward to meeting you. I can't change the way your mum thinks but sitting around thinking about it isn't healthy. Come out with us, you don't have to be much company anyway, we'll have a meal and piss off to the pub. You can't sit there in your own shit and misery, if she thinks it's just a phase then good luck to her but you're coming out with us even if I have to kidnap you."
There was a long silence and she actually thought Diane had hung up for a moment when there was a click but then Diane came back with, "sorry, I dropped the phone, are you still there?"
"I am, so, you'll be ready tomorrow night?"
"Okay, okay, I'll come out. I'm sorry, Lisa. I just didn't expect her to go behind my back with that kind of shit."
"She's trying to process it I think, she might come around in the future but right now you've got things to do, like getting ready for Henrietta's arrival."
"You're not wrong, I was kind of hoping to have her here but how can I when mum thinks it's just a phase?"
"Well, there's a spare junk room here, not sure if it's big enough for both of you but if not I'll move my sewing stuff into the smaller room and give you guys the old sewing room."
"I couldn't do that to you."
"Well the offer is there, but talk it over with Henrietta when she arrives. When is she arriving?"
"The end of next week."
"Okay, so you've got some thinking to do. If it comes down to it, she can stay here for a few days while you work something out. That much I can pretty much do right away, okay?"
"Okay, thanks. I really appreciate it."
"No worries," she farewelled her and ended the call.
Lisa sat staring at the dress on the ironing board.
"What a fucking bitch," she spoke into the emptiness.
Siobhan was a little more sanguine when Lisa told her the next day as they sat outside smoking cigarettes.
"On the bright side, she didn't send her off to the nunnery. My Auntie Ezzie was convinced that the only cure was a stint in a church finishing school where they'd beat it out of you. That's what I love about this country, no one gives a fuck what you believe as long as you're not shoving it down their throats," she glanced at her.
"Listen to you though," she nudged Lisa's leg with her knee, "even I couldn't mount such an heroic defence of gays and I'm one of them."
"It's just such a pitiful excuse, instead of admitting she doesn't understand she has to write it off as some teenage crush."
"So, what are you going to do? Give up a spare room?"
"Not sure yet, I made the offer but to be honest they're better off just finding their own place, but in the short term it might work."
"The family across the road from me are looking for someone to move into a house they bought in Camberwell."
"Oh, okay? You should tell her about it tonight, how much is the rent?"
"Not entirely sure, they bought it all on negative gearing so taking a wild stab in the dark I'd say they're trying to recoup their monthly payments, but even if it's not in her bracket there's plenty of choice out this way," she traced some graffiti on the table.
"Just don't tell the landlord you're gay."
"It's changing," Siobhan replied, "and don't forget it's two women applying to move in, landlords tend to be more biased towards women, unlike employers who want you to make the grade," she butted out the cigarette and stared into the middle distance.
"And talking about that, there's been movement on the interview. You haven't been told yet so act surprised when they tell you, but you'll be up for an interview on Monday morning."
"Oh, shit," Lisa winced, "that's, sooner than I expected."
"You've got this weekend to iron out the wrinkles, maybe we'll go over some questions just to get you comfortable," she glanced at her.
"Unless you'd rather wing it?"
"Any help would be great," she exhaled, "thanks."
"No worries," she nudged her again, "and on that pleasant note I'd better love you and leave you before they start gossiping about us," she rose, "see you later."
Lisa smiled and felt the colour in her face, suddenly conscious that the office windows looked out onto the rear carpark reserved for employees. There had been several people outside having lunch or a quick cigarette but now they were alone.
I need to get back to work,
she made sure the cigarette butt was out,
what must they think?
However it occurred to her as she went back inside that she wasn't actually concerned about her colleagues thinking she might be dating Siobhan, so what was she afraid of? Lisa was still mulling over this when Harry, from Siobhan's section, came into the open-plan office to tell her that she was to be interviewed for the position on Monday morning.
"It's nothing to worry about," he reassured her, "we know you're a hard worker, this is more to see how you fit in with the rest of the team."
What does he mean do I fit in?
Lisa stared after him as he exited the room, the term seemed rather too politically correct, as if she was supposed to come up to some yet to be defined standard.
"It's the new word for the month," Siobhan merely shrugged as they made their way out to their cars, "it's all about the team, you'll basically be put through imaginary scenarios to see how you might react under pressure. Harry will be one of the interviewers and they'll have a woman in there as well."
"Like you?"
"I um, I dropped myself from the list, seeing as I put you up to it in the first place but if Dottie can't make it then I'll be the other interviewer."
They stopped at Lisa's car.
"Well, I'll see you later, about half past six?"
"Yeah," she unlocked her car, "I'll pick you up, we'll take my little chariot."
Lisa spent longer than usual getting ready for the dinner date. Most of the time was spent on hair and makeup, she tried on three different shades of lipstick before settling on a lip gloss and toning down her eye-shadow to a subtler colour that highlighted her rouge. It occurred to her when she finished that whilst she'd go to this much trouble for a man it seemed a little strange doing this for a woman.
Am I doing this for a woman?
Lisa studied herself in the mirror once again, the dress clung to her hourglass figure and she made a minor adjustment to the belt. The outfit definitely looked good, better than good, she decided, she looked hot but was this sending out a signal when instead she should be just trying to keep a low profile?
"You're complicating it," she told herself.
Some five minutes later she was heading out onto the highway to pick up Diane who was still trying to find herself a decent second hand car. A Dukes of Hazzard style car horn alerted her to the dark blue Monaro going past her. The passenger leaned out the window and shouted something that was lost in the slipstream but the meaning wasn't lost as he inserted his finger into the shape formed by finger and thumb in a fucking motion. She kept her eyes on the road ahead and braked when the lights turned amber. The driver of the other car however didn't stop in time and tore through just as the lights turned red. A camera flashed and she managed a crooked smile.
Karma is a bitch.
Diane looked pretty nervous as she slid into the passenger seat. She was wearing a black dress and black jacket, her hair had been done sometime in the last week or so.
