Family Ties

“That you’re a Ramones fan? Doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’re a rebel too, like me.”

“You aren’t a rebel,” she protested. “You’re about as straight as they come.”

“Says the dom lesbian to the nudist swinger.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s easy to forget. You seem so… normal.”

“I am normal.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do. But I try not to judge people. ‘Normal’ is whatever makes you happy, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

“Unless they want to be hurt.”

“Ah, right.”

“Like some of the guys I’ve met. Which brings us back to Max and her friend.”

“Friend?” I tasted the word. It had a special flavor when Sara said it.

“Yeah. That’s the exciting part of the story.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“She has a friend who met this new woman. It’s the craziest situation I’ve ever heard, but hey… who’m I to judge, right?”

“My sentiments exactly.”

“So the friend’s new girlfriend has a daughter, about my age. The daughter is married, but her husband’s gay. She’s just a beard so his parents don’t find out.”

“Let me guess,” I laughed, “they were trying to set you up?”

“Right in one. The daughter is a real sub type, like Daphne. ‘Needs a take-charge type,’ Max says.”

“Enter Sara,” I said, “take-charge type and getting out of a long-term relationship.”

“Right again. They don’t know about Daphne, though. So to them I’m just an unattached dom. But I’m a lipstick lesbian, not butch like a lot of women out here.”

“Never heard that description before,” I said with a laugh, “but it makes sense.”

“Yeah, and it’s kinda important to the story. It wouldn’t work with this woman if I was butch, ’cause her husband’s parents would figure it out real quick. I mean, this is San Francisco, not St. Louis.”

“Ah, gotcha,” I said. “But since you’re a lipstick lesbian, she can pass you

off as just a ‘friend.’”

“You’re starting to figure this out,” she said with a grin in her voice.

“I still sense some hesitation, though.”

“The daughter’s really hot, and she’s totally my type, but…”

“Ah… I think I get it. You don’t want to get hurt again, like with Daphne.”

“You really know me, don’t you?”

“As well as anyone does,” I said. “You’re human too, after all.”

She laughed softly. “I appreciate that. It’s easy to forget when I hear what guys like Jerry Falwell say on the news about people like me.”

“Don’t even get me started about that guy. Self-righteous asshole is about the nicest thing I’ll say.”

“Fucking douchebag is what I say.”

“Moving on,” I said. “We could spend all night talking about the hypocrites and prudes in the Moral Majority.”

“No kidding. So… this woman they introduced me to. I kind of like the idea of some no-strings-attached fun, but I’m a little worried, too.”

“What if you get attached?”

“Right. Still… it’s exciting.”

“Sounds like it. Are you going to see her again?”

“As a matter of fact… Max bought a bunch of my newest prints, and she’s having a private show next week. The friend and new girlfriend and daughter will be there.”

“You’re right,” I laughed, “it is a complex relationship.”

“I told you…” She laughed too. “So, that’s what’s going on in my life.

What’s your story? Did it go well with Christy’s family?”

“Well, we’re officially boyfriend-girlfriend now.”

“So that’s a ‘yes.’”

“So far, so good.” I told her the highlights of my Thanksgiving with the Carmichael clan.

She reacted predictably to the parts about my fight with Rich and the ongoing macho one-upmanship. “Typical.” And she was amused by how Anne seemed to run the entire show with a quiet hand behind the scenes.

“Most guys never give women enough credit.”

“Oh,” I said, “I think Christy’s dad knows what her mom’s doing.

They’re a partnership. Maybe not like my own parents, but they’ve been together for 35 years. So I think they’ve probably figured out how they work

as a team.”

“Maybe you’re right. Totally different from what I grew up with. And just so you know, if I ever sound like I resent your little princess, it isn’t personal. It’s ’cause she grew up with a perfect life and perfect parents.”

“No one’s perfect,” I said gently.

“Yeah, but some of us got the really fucked-up end of the spectrum.”

“But you survived. And it’s why you’ll be successful. You don’t take it for granted, so you work for it. That’s what Max sees in you. Heck, it’s what I see in you. I mean, I’ll always care about Daphne, and a part of me even loves her, but we’ll never be lifelong friends.”

“Oh, so you think we’ll be lifelong friends?”

“You tell me.”

“You’re a smug son of a bitch when you’re right. You know that, don’t you?”

“I’ve been told a time or two,” I said with a grin.

“So… things are going well with you and Christy?”

“Yeah, I think they are.”

“You still haven’t told her about the nudist camp and the swinging, though, have you?”

“Baby steps.”

“Those are some big-girl steps.” She laughed at the understatement. “Do you think she can handle it?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“That’s a change. You were pretty worried before.”

“I’m still worried. But now that I’ve spent more time with her—”

“And done more than just kiss.”