Lily and Jack sprang out of bed and scrambled for their clothes, sure that the boys across the hall were doing the same thing. But it was no good. The bedroom door, which they hadn’t closed all the way, swung open. Sheila’s scream at the sight of Jack and Lily rang out at the same moment as Tracee’s did when she opened the door on the boys across the hall.
“Have you never heard of knocking?” Lily yelled, pulling on her shirt.
“I always thought family didn’t have to knock,” Sheila said. “Of course, I thought family had nothing to hide from each other.”
“Look,” Ben barked, standing in the hallway wearing only his jeans, “what my wife and I choose to do in the privacy of our own home—”
“You and your ‘wife’—if you can call her that—wasn’t doing a thing together,” Tracee interrupted. “I knew there was somethin’ funny about y’all’s marriage the second I laid eyes on y’all together. I said to myself, somethin’ —”
“Ain’t right,” Sheila finished. “Oh, I wonder what Big Daddy and Mama McGilly will have to say when they realize they bought a new car and a new house for a couple of —”
“Queers!” Tracee finished for her. For two straight girls, they finished each other’s sentences like an old married couple.
“Now wait just a damn minute,” Jack said, towering over the two big-haired women. “I don’t see why there’s any reason to go off and tell Benny Jack’s parents. Lily’s a good mother, and if you go off blabbering like that, she could lose her daughter.”
“Last thing a lezzie needs is a little girl,” Sheila spat. “She’s probably already been messing with her.”
“Now, that’s ridiculous—” Ken began.
“No,” Tracee interrupted. “This is ridiculous. Come on, Sheila, we’re taking a drive over to the big house.”
And they were gone.
Jack punched the wall with the fist she had balled up while talking to Sheila and Tracee. “What do we do now?”
“Nothing to do but wait for the hammer to fall,” Lily said, her voice dull and numb.
“If I know Mother and Daddy, they’ll be over here within the hour. It would probably be a good idea if the two of you went home,” Ben said.
“God, I feel so guilty,” Ken wailed. “If I hadn’t brought the champagne—”
“This still could’ve happened,” Lily finished for him. “It’s not your fault.”
Jack kissed Lily’s cheek. “Call me the second you know something.”
Lily sighed. “I will.”
Their lovers scurried off, and Lily and Ben sat on the couch, holding hands in despair. They hadn’t even been to the courthouse yet, but they were already awaiting their sentence.
