The warriors of peace
Bzzzzzing! The door buzzed open. Ah, it was the sweet boy with...that one woman. Or, and this was a question that plagued Azura ever since she first laid eyes on her, possibly guy. She was like, 94 percent sure that it was a woman, but that last six percent just left her wondering. The woman was not overly tall, but she had a sort of presence about her that suggested dude. Also, the tight haircut and the button down shirts, always combined with slacks all pointed to guyishness. But then again, women could wear slacks and have short hair, right? Azura was not afraid to admit, at least to herself, that if the person
were
a guy, we would be talking about one
gorgeous
specimen of bro. The stark features, dark hair, twinkling eyes... and that slightly raspy voice, too deep for a woman, too light for a man.
She, let's go with she for now, and her adorable kid were recent additions to the clientele of the daycare center where Azura worked. It was only the fourth time in two weeks that she walked in with her kid perched on her or possibly his, aargh, not very ample hip. Enough time though to stoke the fire of Azura's curiosity as to the gender of her new client to scientific levels. Since "general impression" was not going to provide an answer, objective criteria had to be found to solve the blue-pink conundrum.
Facial hair or stubble: none detected.
Boobs: hard to say. maybe pecs?
Mention of Timothy Chalamet and light oat soy moccachino: nope. But that was a good thing either way.
Mention of ball sports: no.
Cameltoe or bulge: none detected.
Make-up, painted nails, perfume: leaning towards no, unless very strategically done.
Hip to waist ratio: on the pink side. Not booty per se, but curvier than a board.
Entry in client registration system: Oowkayy. This was dicey. Azura was allowed to look into this information for care purposes. If the sole purpose to open the parents tab in Nicks registration was to finally get closure on the weewee versus peepee question then that was a bit of a bad move. Not that it helped. The company was way too woke to register the gender of a parent. It just said that the parent had an age not too far from Azura's, and the name "Cin". What the hell was that for kind of name?
Google: Cin is derived from cinnamon, really? Registered as a girl's name. Hmmm. This could, with unisex names like Ash and Skyler going around, still go both ways.
So sigh. There was of course always the blunt approach and just ask her. The thought bounces around in Zura's head. They make eye contact and she smiles widely. The woman's (probably) kid raises no questions as to their gender. Azura really likes him. To be honest, she likes all the kids, even the difficult ones. He is a typical boy. A bit over a year old, walks, but up to now has never said a word yet. Nick. Anything with wheels is good to play with. You can kind of already see him as a thirty year old. Tool belt and all. Good work, fair prices, great smile. She imagines how he orders a new pickup truck with cool graphics. Awww, he stretches his arms out to her and makes a little noise. Smiling, Azura leans in to take him from her.
"Hello young man, how are you doing this fine morning?" He doesn't reply but does pinch her chin in apparent amazement at its texture. Azura looks up at Cin. "And how are you?"
"Great Azura!" Ah, that in between voice, it was maddening. She did just offer that she knows Zura's name though. In the corner of her eye Azura can see that Rita, her loud and large colleague and friend, is watching them. Azura does a quick scan of the room to see if all kids in their care are safely smearing snot everywhere, as they rightfully should.
"Your name is Cin right? I looked it up actually, sorry." Azura has this weird habit of planning what not to say, and then say it anyway.
"Yeah that's right." Cin replied, offering no opening such as
and it's a chick name in case you were wondering.
"So, I wanted to ask you, um..." Azura is working towards it, really. Rita has meanwhile very deliberately while looking innocent floated over. "God, your little guy grows up fast. Come spring he'll run circles around us!"
Cin grins at Azura and ignores Rita completely. "Look, it's called butch."
Azura must look puzzled because she adds: "Butch, it's my, well, look and feel. I am a lesbian woman, rockin' the short hair, wearing slacks rather than skirts..."
Ah, right. Of course. Azura was not small minded or oblivious to the fact that lesbian women were a thing. Weren't you supposed to call it queer these days? Or was that a slur? It's just that the possibility wasn't on her mind all that much. Also, this silence was dragging on too long. Luckily Cin started filling up the readily available conversation space.
"The other option is called femme. Like, a butch girl would be "handsome" and a femme girl would be "pretty"." Cin has her hands free now, allowing her to make air quotes. She looks a bit flustered and red around her ears. Not something Azura has ever seen on her before. "Never call me pretty. You can call me handsome. Um, hypothetically."
How did this woman, thank you, know what she wanted to ask? "I em, wasn't trying to ask you..."
"Yes you were. It's fine."
"OK, yes I was." Azura's face feels hot. Luckily Rita chooses this moment to intervene, this time with more success.
"Owkayeee ladies, that seems to be enough awkward and hardly appropriate conversation. Azura has a lot of kids to take care of here and I'm sure you have work to get to."
After she's gone, Azura picks up Nick and whispers in his ear. "So, you have a mom then." He blubbers adorably in response. Weirdly, the intrigue is not entirely gone. A woman who is into women. So that means that she could hypothetically also be into Azura. Is that something that can get weird between women? But then again, most guys who came through the door here could also be into her, hypothetically. So that did not make things awkward right? Azura tries to remember if she has any gay acquaintances. Not that she can think of. But then again maybe she does know them, but she just doesn't know. Like with Cin just a minute ago.
A strong smell hits her nose. Aaah... diaper time.
________________________
Bzzzzzing! The door buzzed open. Ah, it's Nick and Cin. "Hey Nick, hey Cin! Come here you little snotty boy, yes you are!" Azura is being unladylike, but the kids love it.
Nick reaches out for her with his short arms. "Pwwwrttt. Zu! Zu."
Both women cry out in delight. "Oh Zura, he said your name! That is just so sweet!"
"Yay! Oh, is it his second word?" Azura is secretly kind of relieved that "Zu" is not the
first
word he says. He has been calling Cin mama for a while now. The fact is etched into her memory because of the text that Cin sent her about it. You're the first one I wanted to tell, after my own mom. It made her feel special. She has been getting close with Cin. The awkwardness she feared about her being into women just...never happened. That is not to say it isn't forefront on her mind all the time. She thinks about the fact that Cin likes women and not men
all the time.
It just turns out not to be awkward.
Cin beams. "Yes, yes, it is, apart from dadadada. First mama, then Zu. Or did he say Zuzu?"
"Owww baby, that is just so sweet! It's probably not allowed but I could just
gobble you up mwamwawaa!
" He shrieks in delight, much tot the enjoyment of Cin, who adds "They can get away with murrderrrr".
"What are you guys on about? I'm sure murder is not allowed here, but it's friday, so the gobbling may just fit within the frame of proper child care. No teeth though!" Rita wears an impossibly loud head scarf today, that is likely going to... oh yes Nick grabs hold of it now...
"It's from Brave." Cin ventures, "There is this GIF, um, nevermind." Azura and Cin have inside jokes now.
Between the three of them they manage to save Rita's head gear and break out in giggles.
"Um, Zura, I want to ask you..." Azura has by now discovered that under the butch bravado Cin really is a bit shy. Rita floats over to the other side of the room, as she tends to do. The floating, but also the other side of the rooming. To "rescue" a toddler's toy from under a chair no doubt. Why she always does this when Cin is around is beyond Azura.
Cin actually fidgets.
