Thank God for the largecommunity of lesbians in Vancouver and online. It helped me feelless alone. Though, there is no substitute for your family.
Denny takes Stinky out for a peeas I do a quick look around the house for any signs that point toDenny being here. When he comes back in, I grab a pillow from thelinen closet and throw it into the pantry so he can take it up whenhe goes. “I hope it’s not too cold up there.”
“Do you work tomorrow?” he asksme.
“Yep, first day back since thewedding.”
Wow, that sounded weird. Thewedding. With all of this other crap going on, I haven’t had muchtime to really process the fact that I’m a married woman. It’s sotrippy. Even though Annie and I have known each other for years,our relationship has a kind of…new feeling, now.
With ten minutes left to spare,Denny uses the john, grabs a bowl of chili and then maneuvers upthe shelf and through the door to the attic. When he’s out ofsight, I shut off the pantry room light and close the door.
I’m filling up two bowls whenStinky starts to bark—Annie’s home.
I greet her at the door. Shelooks tired and pale and is hunching over a bit. “Are you okay,sweetie?”
“Yeah, I had a hard day. Wereceived a lot of soil today so I had to lift the bags out of thetruck and onto a pallet.”
“Annie, are you crazy? I don’tknow a lot about being pregnant, but I don’t think you should belugging around bags of soil.”
“Well, I couldn’t leave all thework for two old people. They’d snap in half. Anyways, I’m not sobad off. I think I just pulled a stomach muscle or something.”
Immediately, I feel concerned,though I won’t say anything. She’ll just tell me that I’m being aworry wart and that there’s nothing to worry about. I have a habitof being overbearing, and I want to show her that I’m changing.
Annie doesn’t eat much of herdinner. She leaves a half-empty bowl on the table and heads for theshower, saying that she’s going to bed. I follow her. The day hadtired me, too. When we’re both in bed she lies on her side and Igently massage her back. Soon, I hear her breathing get heavier andshe drifts off to sleep.
The next morning, I’m makingcoffee and tea when Annie shuffles out of the bedroom, looking justas bagged out as she did when she got home last night. “I think I’mgoing to take the day off today,” she says, her voice scratchy.
I hand her a cup of tea. “Ithink that’s a great idea,” I tell her. “Just put your feet up andI’ll be home as soon as I’m finished work.” No sooner to I speakthen Denny pops into my mind. I instantly feel cold sweat on myforehead. Oh shit. If she’s going to be here all day, there’s noway she won’t hear him in the attic. “Actually, do you want me totake the day off and stay home with you?”
“No. I’m just going to lie inbed most of the day.”
Oh no. This is really bad. Ican’t even text my brother to tell him what’s going on because heturned his phone off.
I tell her to call me at work ifshe feels sick or needs me. She assures me that after a good day ofrest, she’ll be back to normal. When I kiss her goodbye, her lipsare hot.
As I drive to work, I thinkabout how bad it will be if Denny comes down, thinking the house isempty. I can only pray that he’ll hear Annie walking around ormaking tea or maybe he even heard our conversation before I left. Ishould have talked louder. It’s going to be a long day.
Thankfully, the boss hands me along list of tasks when I step through the door. I’m grateful forthe distraction. I put my lunch away and shrug into my rain gearmeanwhile, Tim walks in—late. The boss reams him out and then handshim his list of jobs.
When Tim is dressed and ready,we head out to the river.
“So, how’s the newlywed?” heasks me.
“Great. All is great,thanks.”
“Annie?”
“Yeah, she’s good too.”
“She’s not too upset about herfriend, I hope?”
“What friend?”
“The guy. You know? The guy whowas found washed up on Gabriola.”
“Why would she be upset? Shedidn’t even know him.”
“Well, she looked like she knewhim at the restaurant that day.”
I stop in my tracks and stare athim. “What the hell are you talking about, Tim?”
“Remember? I told you that Anniewas with a guy when Hank I went to Molly’s for a bite. It’s thesame guy—he’s all over T.V. Robert Aaron James. Every hour they’retalking about him. Don’t you watch the news?”
“No. I don’t.”
“He was from Vancouver. Don’task me what he was doing on Gabriola.”
“Tim, you didn’t see Annie atMolly’s. You were drinking and you made a mistake. She was inVancouver on her way home. There’s no way she could’ve been at thatrestaurant that early in the day, especially with someguy—especially with that guy.”
Tim stands up tall and leans in.“Don’t get all offended. I didn’t say that she was cheating, did I?I only said what I saw. I wasn’t drinking that early. I was soberand my eyes were working well.”
“Let it go,” I say, my voicelouder than intended.
“Jade, what the hell? Have Iever lied to you?”
No, he hasn’t. I’ve known himfor a long time, ever since I started here. He’s been a trustworthyand reliable friend. But this bullshit that he keeps cramming downmy throat is starting to piss me off. He’s wrong and he won’t stopyapping about it. I care about Tim, but if he keeps this up, I’llend up throwing him into the river.
“Look, Tim. I don’t give a shit.I just want to get through today with the least amount of crap aspossible. I’ve got enough on my mind already.”
He looks at me for a few longseconds before giving a nod, and we continue on to the river.
For the first half of the day,Tim and I don’t say two words to each other that isn’t job related.At one point, Tim grabs the net and I go to
