Someone Like Her (Lesbian Light Reads Book 9) by Elizabeth Andre

Author:Elizabeth Andre [Andre, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tulabella Ruby Press
Published: 2016-10-13T23:00:00+00:00

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The following weekend, Squeak invited me to pitch in and help her family paint the interior of a graystone three-flat they were renovating. Her mother and stepdad had bought the building to rehab it and rent it out. It was in a not-very-nice neighborhood, but there were signs that things were starting to look up. An old high school classmate of Squeak’s had opened a vegan soul food restaurant earlier this year in the neighborhood, and it had good word of mouth. A tech startup with lots of buzz because it was creating fashionable wearables and owned by a black woman who’d managed to get an eye-popping amount of venture capital, had opened its offices in the neighborhood. Good things were happening here, although there were still plenty of signs of its very recent past of poverty and crime, like condemned buildings, vacant lots covered in overgrown grass and weeds, and broken bottles in the gutter. There were more churches and liquor stores than restaurants and clothing boutiques, but that would change as the neighborhood did.

Squeak was surprised that I accepted her invitation. “I meant it as a joke. I really didn’t think you’d be down with house painting, Empress.”

“It’s no joke. I can get my hands dirty. I’m ready to get my hands dirty.”

“All right. All right. Word of warning. A lot of my family will be painting, too. You ready for that?”

“As I said. I’m ready to get dirty, and I’d love to meet your family.” I thought it would be a good way for me to see how she was when she was with her family. I figured meeting them over a can of paint for the first time would be less stressful than over something more formal like dinner.

Years ago, I dated a woman whom I thought I was in love with. She seemed perfect. Early on in our relationship, we were hanging out at her place when her mom called. My insides curdled when I heard the cruel and patronizing way she spoke to her mother. I put it down to the stress of her job at the time, but a few months later, at the end of our relationship, it struck me that she used a similar tone with me. Ever since then, I’d believed I could get some important insight into how a girlfriend would treat me by how she treated her family.

I met Squeak, her mom, stepdad John, and an assortment of other relatives at the graystone at 9 o’clock on a Saturday morning. Summer was over. We were having a mild autumn, and we weren’t thinking of winter yet. It was a perfect day for painting.

I was surprised at how many of Squeak’s relatives were there. She wasn’t kidding when she told me that a lot of her family would be painting. I’d expected her parents and siblings, but a couple of aunts, a few cousins and an uncle were there, too. Apparently, more would be stopping by throughout the day to bring food and lend a hand.

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