The Woman at the Edge of Town by Georgette Kaplan

Author:Georgette Kaplan [Kaplan, Georgett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: lesbian fiction
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2019-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Sarah needed to decompress. So she went through the motions: She helped Eileen in the flower shop, went home, ate dinner, went to bed, got back up when Eileen woke up, showered, dressed, breakfasted, went to work, and adjusted products on shelves. She just didn’t feel like herself anymore. It was like she’d been changed and didn’t yet recognize herself. As if she was still getting used to a reflection that had done all those things with Nina.

After work, she got on her bike and rode until her thighs burned, looping around town, seeing how long she could go with her fingers off the handlebars. The sun was hot, and when she needed H2O, she stopped at the first water fountain she saw. Wasn’t surprised when she saw her father’s statue there.

And there, sitting next to the statue, was Nina. Sarah said her name as she walked the bike over to her, holding on to it like a security blanket.

Nina returned the greeting, dog-earing her place in the notebook she’d been writing in and pulling her headphones down around her neck. “Sarah, hello. Nice wheels.” She hesitantly patted the bench between herself and the statue. Sarah could tell she didn’t want to impose—was probably worried Sarah was in the middle of some sort of gay panic.

Giving her a reassuring smile, Sarah sat down. “Look who’s out and about. They’re going to kick you out of Hermits United if you keep this up.”

“Hermits United?” Nina asked. “Isn’t that a bit of a paradox?”

“It’s a Doctor Who reference. I assumed someone who never left the house would get it. So, the other night was fun, right?” she said, just to clear the air, and felt the tips of her ears burn. Fun suddenly seemed like a very dirty word.

But Nina was relieved, Sarah could tell. “Yes. Very fun.”

Sarah nodded. It felt good to have things out in the open. It felt like she’d been longing for so long, wanting for so long, and now she could just admit it. Was this what people talked about, “wanting to shout it from the rooftops”? She didn’t need that. She just needed Nina to know.

She looked over at the statue of her dad. Pen in one hand, notebook in the other, lip curled in thought as he prepared to jot down an idea that would never make the page. “He took those damned notebooks with him everywhere. He was bursting with ideas. Just full of them. It was as if he saw something worth writing down in…everything. I’ve lived here all my life, and the first thing I’ve seen that’s in any way special is you.”

Nina took the compliment with a curt nod, her eyes on the statue. “Do you want to talk about him?”

“Why? You probably know more about him than I do. And that’s the way he wanted it.”

Nina gave an abashed smile. “He talked about you all the time. He didn’t want to neglect you, and he certainly didn’t want to leave you.

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