Linda Gibson raced, or tried to, through the holiday crowd so she could get to the chain bookstore with the last copy of the stupid book Zoe had needed since the start of the semester but had only told her about last night, hoping to get back to the office in time to avoid a passive-aggressive series of remarks from her incompetent clod of a boss who basically had her running the office but would never admit it.
And missed Tim, her late husband, again, acutely, and not just because he used to handle these sorts of things because he ran the old business.
Suddenly, she stopped. She didn't notice the crowds jostling her and then unconsciously part around her. She didn't notice the noise or the insipid Mariah Carey Christmas song in the background. She didn't notice the smell of the mall cookies from the little shop next to her that had, just moments before, been tempting her from her diet. She didn't notice anything. She was completely blank.
She noticed nothing. She absorbed everything.
"I don't know what you mean. You're absolutely beautiful."
Linda grew three inches. Her body toned. Her eyes grew and slanted very slightly, becoming a deeper shade of blue. Her breasts filled up to what they'd been before three children and twenty years had done the inevitable. Her stretch marks disappeared, her hips pulled in slightly, her waist pulled in more than slightly. Spare fat relocated from all over to her breasts, now full and firm. Her hair thickened, as did her lips.
"You're not fooling anyone! You're such a lesbian!" Laughter.
Neural connections began rewiring. Memories of her husband, still fond, lost all sense of sexual attraction and power. Every woman Linda knew was suddenly recast in a different mental light, every crush and attraction from the course of 42 years robbed of emotional resonance forever.
"Your problem is that you act like you own the place wherever you go, and no one can tell you no. You--"
Linda's back straightened and a small smirk touched her perfect lips. The crowd parted more as they moved around this stunningly beautiful woman whom for some reason they felt they owed some kind of profound respect.
"Oh no, your fashion sense is perfect, it just yells, 'Boss lady!' Ouch! Hey!"
Linda's clothes twisted around her.
A calm in the storm. Murmurs, indecipherable. Laughter. Muttered curses. Nothing tangible. No descriptions. Noise, but no signal.
Linda's eyes sharpened. Her heart rate picked up slightly and then returned to a calm, measured beat. She resumed her
march
trip to the bookstore, after stopping for a cookie, her stride regal, the crowds naturally parting for her and more than a few men and women unable to help staring at her.
She turned into the shop and found that Christmas had come early. A sly little smile curled the corner of her left lip.
--
Ashley Haniford put down her phone and reminded herself that she needed the money for Christmas presents this year as she prepared to deal with another pushy customer, wanting nothing more than to be home with her husband Eric and planning their first child as soon as his work stabilized. A master's in 19th century English literature didn't open many doors to help out and so she was here dealing with--
The most beautiful woman Ashley had seen in her life. Ashley had never had a sexual thought about another woman, not once, she and her husband went to a little Christian church every Sunday and the complete incomprehension she experienced at same-sex relationships dovetailed nicely with the teaching there, but Ashley was completely bowled over by this
regal
elegant woman before her -- deep blue eyes over a perfect nose and lips, all smiling into her soul.
A moment passed, and Ashley realized she needed to say something. "Can--" Her voice caught. "What can I do for you?"
Those ruby lips quirked a bit more as her eyes flicked to Ashley's name tag. "Two things. I ordered a copy of 'The Handmaid's Tale,' Ashley," she said with a voice that had Ashley immediately searching in the customer reservation shelf. As she turned with the book, the woman unslung her Strathberry bag and removed a card to pay. "And second, you're going to join me for dinner tonight at 8 at Le Jardin, after I ... fix a few things at the office. Dress to impress," she added with a hungry look in her eyes.
Ashley found herself nodding before she even thought. "Wait," she said, even though she was already committed to dinner. "I don't want you to-- I need to tell you--" She collected herself. "I'm straight, and I'm married," she said, holding up her left hand with its simple gold bands and small diamond.
The older woman smiled and sent a shiver into Ashley's soul. "Not for me, you're not," and Ashley paused as her brain and mind underwent a rapid seismic shift. "And I don't care about that, and you don't either." She turned and started sauntering out with a commanding away of her hips Ashley found suddenly incredibly important. She stopped. She turned, her face setting the younger woman's pulse racing. "I'm Linda, by the way," she said. "You're going to need that later."
Ashley took off her wedding and engagement bands as she walked out the employee exit, putting them in her jeans pocket without further thought. She had shopping and prep to do so she could dress to impress tonight.
--
She did, in fact, need to use the name "Linda" a lot that night. And most nights after.
--
Linda strode into her home, a short day at the office completed. She'd left Kev, her former boss and now assistant, in charge with explicit commands to handle closing the office for Christmas. A banner year at Gibson & Associates under Linda's leadership and her holiday speech to the staff had led everyone to want to plow straight into the new year, but the new boss wanted everyone to be rested and ready for another record breaking year.
She dropped her Infiniti coupe's keys into the dish on the table next to the door. Something smelled amazing and she was about to say so when her wife rounded the corner and greeted her with a scorcher of a kiss. She sank into it, running her hands possessively over Ashley's curves, loving the way her wife moaned into her mouth as she did so. She let her hands rest on the now fairly large baby bump there and broke the kiss to take in the vision before her.
Always beautiful -- she really had been Linda's Christmas present last year -- the former cheerleader next door look had blossomed into something almost like a princess, and that pregnancy glow worked perfectly with the golden jewelry (including the large diamonds-studded gold engagement ring and wedding band) she wore.
Linda wanted to eat her up. And would, later.
Another kiss later, Linda asked, "Are the kids home?"
Ashley smiled radiantly. She loved being a stepmom. "Yeah, Zoe and Athena are in Zoe's room and yes, the door is open," she began, a sparkle in her eye. Linda had seen, shortly after she and Ashley had become a couple, what she'd somehow missed before -- that Zoe and Athena were more than friends and just lying to themselves about it. She'd taken them both aside, quietly, and the effect was almost immediate; now, they were basically inseparable and planning college around each other.
Linda opened her mouth and Ashley laughed and kissed a corner of it. "Jon and Karyn, too," she said. Another of Linda's successes: She had found them playing with some shiny rock and she'd gotten tired of their will-they-or-won't-they routine, so she'd firmly told them to forget about that rock and just be honest with each other about how they felt. There had been a weird pause and then only her presence had kept it from going any farther. She'd tossed the rock into the back yard without another thought.
"Mikey's home and won't stop trying to suggest baby names to me," her wife continued with a smile. God, she was beautiful. Their daughter was going to be a stunner, much as Zoe was, albeit with Ashley's looks. Only the duty to get the kids fed and in bed kept Linda from ordering Ashley into the bedroom.
Another kiss, hands held, an amazing year behind her and more in front of her, Linda Gibson led her wife into the kitchen and the life they'd made together.
