In part two we move forward as Jodie draws closer to Elaine and Imogen but there are other women on the horizon who show more than a passing interest in her. One is her boss, Vice Principal Graham and Jodie begins to feel herself being drawn back into the dating pool but there are still painful memories of Frankie lurking in the background as she contemplates taking the plunge.
Jodie had always felt drawn towards Vice Principal Kym Graham for various reasons, her sleeves rolled up approach was one of them along with her quirky sense of humour, innate curiosity and her willingness to go boldly where no woman had gone before. Just recently she'd approved a girls football team in opposition to the school sports teacher who thought it too dangerous for girls, and Kym's classic response had been.
"If it's too dangerous for girls why are you letting boys play?"
It had left John without a leg to stand on because they were all in the staffroom at the time when she publicly rebuked him. John stepped into her office at the end of the day to 'discuss' the issue and whilst neither party enlightened their colleagues as to what was said, it was obvious it hadn't gone his way. He stormed into the teachers' carpark in full view of teachers and a few students looking as if he'd been humiliated. A few days later the first girls ventured onto a football field and their enthusiasm knew no bounds. One of the parents, who worked for the local paper, turned up with a photographer a week or so later to take pictures for the paper. The picture on the back page shortly afterwards showed two girls passing the ball to each other.
The headline read:
Local Heroes Take the Field
and the article mentioned their school in glowing terms, and Kym's stature at the school had risen. It was rumoured however that if John hadn't been so intransigent that he might have been given the credit. As it was though, Kym was quoted in the article first with only one minor quip from John, the latter had just put in for a transfer and there were those who thought that maybe Kym had that outcome in mind after all.
Kym Graham, if nothing else, was hands on and capable of making tough decisions and yet Jodie had always found her approachable and despite the fact she'd dug her heels in over football, she was remarkably flexible. Jodie had welcomed her input on Paula's extra-curricular lessons these last few days, although she'd certainly cautioned her against doing too much.
"At the end of the day you've got a full time job and you need time off after work."
Jodie lowered her eyes to read the text from Imogen as she entered the carpark.
Imogen: Be a bit late getting to Elaine's joint tonight, had to stop off to the solicitor's, still here now but should be leaving in half an hour.
Jodie: No problem. Is Elaine home now?
The answer came back as she opened her car door.
Imogen: She is home. Feel free to drop in and wait, no pressure.
Jodie: No worries, I'll do that. Thanks for the heads up.
She tossed her handbag and another bag onto the front seat and propped against the side of the car as she read her other messages. There was one from her mother, one from her auntie and two from her girlfriends.
"Admiring the view?"
"Huh?" Jodie glanced up as Kym's voice intruded on her. The older woman was on the way to her car parked in the reserved space, "just checking on messages, you've got an early finish?"
"Dental appointment," Kym came to a stop.
"Ouch," she winced, "is it hurting?"
"No, it's just a check up but I also need a quote on whitening."
"Well I better not keep you then," she replied.
"How's it going with Paula?"
"It's good," she glanced at her phone, "Imogen just texted me to tell me she'll be late tonight but it's going well, hopefully I can bring her up to speed. She's a bright kid."
"Good," she looked past her, "and how's it going with Imogen?"
"Imogen?" Jodie's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yeah," she smiled crookedly, "we both live in the real world, most of the time."
"Um, it's okay. To be honest I haven't even thought about that for obvious reasons."
"It must be hard," Kym frowned, "well, harder than it is with guys. I always know how to handle guys, just flutter my eyelids and smile but with women there's the issue of intimacy between two friends. Does it get hard to maintain friendships with straight women if you've developed feelings for them?"
Jodie hesitated before replying. Was Kym leading the conversation just to lead her into a trap or was she genuinely interested in sexual orientation in general?
"It can be but it's a personal decision to keep a lid on it. I'm certainly more conscious of my own feelings towards girlfriends although there's been a definite change now that Frankie is out of my life. She was super jealous, I couldn't even go visit old friends without having to tell her all the intimate details. That has an impact on your outlook."
"She sounds like," Kym's eyes shifted.
"A bitch?" Jodie grinned, "it's all right to say it, she is a bitch. Sleeping with her was the best decision I made because it confirmed my sexuality, and leaving her was the second best decision because now I'm free to see other women."
"Are you seeing other women right now?"
"Not yet," she pocketed her phone, "but I'm in no rush."
"I know the feeling," Kym replied, "I've just broken up with Michael. We were just treading water in the end, he's happy in his house and I love my place but it sounds similar to your situation. It was a big move on my part, well for both of us but letting go was also a good thing," she glanced at her phone for a moment.
"Although I will admit that I'm curious and on that intriguing end, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Curious?" Jodie opened her door a little wider.
"Curious as in curious," Kym winked and then turning on her heel, walked away.
Curious? Jodie stared after the older woman. Kym? Curious? A slight giddiness moved through her as she slid behind the wheel. Kym was considered a stylish dresser. This afternoon she wore a pale beige blouse tucked into a dark brown, three-quarter length skirt. They were clothes she'd worn at least once a week and Jodie swallowed as she watched Kym fluff her hair back. The collar had been folded upwards and she allowed the fantasy to continue for a few seconds before reality intruded on her.
"Don't even go there," she murmured.
Kym backed out of the parking bay and tooted the horn. Jodie followed suit a few moments later and caught up to her at the front gate.
Was Kym flirting with her?
She suspected that Kym was looking at her in the rear view mirror as she reached the road and then the Vice Principal was accelerating away leaving Jodie still sitting there and when she finally did inch forward she had to brake suddenly as a car cruised past. The driver blasted her on the horn and she winced.
"Focus for fuck's sake."
***
Jodie stared at the house as she mentally prepared herself. Imogen's car wasn't parked in the drive or the street, which meant she hadn't arrived yet. Should she just wait out here in the street or go inside? Her eyes flickered to a man dressed in shorts. She'd noticed him first when she pulled into the drive prior to backing out again to park on the street, he'd worn a tank top then, now he'd taken it off to expose his six-pack torso to the late afternoon sun as he trimmed a hedge.
As if sensing her attention he turned to look at her and she felt a slight uneasiness at his clumsy flirting. A moment later she grabbed her things and exited the car. She could feel his eyes on her as she rounded the front of the car and proceeded up the drive to the house, it was a familiar sensation, that one of being mentally undressed. You got used to it eventually, but it was still eerie.
She pressed the doorbell and heard the chime a moment later, she glanced briefly over her shoulder as she waited for Elaine to reach the door. The man had gone around to the other side of the hedge in order to get a better view of the newest occupant.
The door was opened and she turned back to find herself looking at Elaine. She was wearing a light brown, patterned dress that fell to her ankles and for a few seconds she looked past Jodie at the man trimming the hedge.
"Hiya," Jodie ventured, "she just sent me a text, how long will she be?"
"She's on her way, she just texted me," she unlocked the flywire door, "come in."
"Thanks, I didn't feel like sitting out there getting mentally undressed."
"Oh, him?" Elaine chuckled, "Davo's young, dumb and full of cum, but just don't engage him any conversation. I mentioned something about the weather when I first moved in here," she stepped back, "and within five minutes we went from weather to football and then refugees flooding into the country."
"That's quite a leap."
"It is," she closed the door behind them, "it's his mother's house, apparently but she moved in with her boyfriend and let it out to him at a cheaper rate."
"I live with my mum again."
"Well there's nothing wrong with that idea," Elaine smiled as she led her upstairs to her kitchen, "I'd move back in with mum as well but it's not fair on her, I know she'd lose interest in all her other activities and become a full time granny and babysitter. She needs a full social calendar and I need to focus on raising a child and working."
Jodie nodded as she glanced in the direction of the living room. She could hear the television from here and Elaine gestured to a seat by the kitchen bench.
"Take a seat. Imogen shouldn't be long, she's selling the house because her ex has washed his hands of it."
"Was it a messy divorce?" Jodie eyed the flowers on the kitchen table, "I thought it was mutual?"
"It was but he's a lazy shit. It used to drive me up the bloody wall every time I walked into their house. He'd be sitting watching sports on the idiot box and she was doing housework or looking after Paula. He certainly helped out if she asked, but it's the fact she had to actually ask that used to piss me off," she started filling the kettle.
"My ex was a bit like that too," she replied, "Frankie was never a girlie girl, which used to annoy me as well because it's not like housework is only for one person."
"Oh," Elaine turned around slowly, "are you? Sorry, I'm not being insensitive or condescending."
"You're not and I don't announce it, so don't apologise," Jodie replied.
"Well I'll be buggered," she put the kettle on the charging stand and flicked the button, "you learn something new every day."
"So, what was your ex like?" Jodie asked her.
"Gary was a nutter," she pulled a wry grin, "it was cute when we first met because he was a bit of a rebel but then he developed a long term grudge against the walls. It was only a matter of time before he missed the wall and hit me instead."
"Frankie was never like that," she replied.
"Well, women are different although having said that it must happen."
