“I know. I feel like more too, and I’m offering.” Her open smile brushed Jess’s hesitation away.
“Thank you.” Jess leaned in for a kiss, but before their lips could meet, Lena’s phone rang.
“Oh, that must be Joanne.” Lena fished the phone from her pocket and answered with a wide grin.
To give her some privacy, Jess went to the stove and opened the lid on the pot. The stew looked like stew, at least to her untrained eyes. She stirred it once, and nothing stuck to the bottom, so everything must be going as planned. She should learn to cook soon before Ella outgrew the formula. She wandered out the patio doors but couldn’t help sneaking glances back at Lena.
The phone call seemed to be good news. Lena enthusiastically nodded more than once and smiled widely. After she hung up, she joined Jess outside.
“Guess what? The paperwork went through. I’m officially a guest student in Joanne’s class.” She bounced on her toes.
Jess hugged her. Like always, the perfect feeling of having Lena in her arms eclipsed any other sensation. She leaned back a little to look into her eyes. “I’m so happy for you. When’s the big day?”
“Next week, Friday. The twenty-third. She said the first day will be the foundation for the whole course.”
“Friday is great, I can drive you since I have the day off. Then you don’t need to use your death trap.”
“Hey, it’s not nice to talk about my car like that. She has feelings too, you know.”
“Well, your safety is more important to me than her feelings.” Jess winked. “What time?”
“Eleven, but I want to go earlier to look around campus a bit.” Lena’s enthusiasm was infectious.
“I’ll write it down so it’s official.” Grinning, Jess pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the calendar app. “Uh, did she say next Friday or the twenty-third? Because the date doesn’t match.”
“She said the twenty-third. Isn’t that Friday?” Lena’s smiled dimmed.
“Wednesday.” Jess swallowed and stared at the tiny screen of her phone as if it could give her a solution to the obvious problem. Most of Wednesday was marked with a red box labeled work. She typed the date and time of Lena’s class into her calendar. A message appeared on her screen.
You seem to have a scheduling conflict. Do you want to continue?
Her finger hovered over the yes button.
“But…but Wednesday is your workday, and I…” Lena’s shoulders hung low.
“You just agreed to take care of Ella.” Jess frowned. This wasn’t a difficult decision. Lena’s chance to join this course was too good and important to pass up only because Jess needed help watching Ella. Joanne didn’t teach every semester, and even if she did, it wasn’t fair to make Lena wait for months to spare Jess some inconvenience.
Resolutely, Jess stabbed the yes button and showed the screen of her phone to Lena. “See, now it’s official.” She tried to lighten the mood with a teasing voice. “You have to go.”
The corner of Lena’s mouth twitched. “Just because your phone says so?”
“Yeah. Who are we to disagree with our computer overlords?”
“You’re nuts.” Lena chuckled, but then her mirth faded again. “I appreciate your sense of humor, but that still doesn’t solve the problem. Ella is more important. I can call back and ask if I can start the class a week later.”
Jess would do anything to return the smile to Lena’s lips. And it was the right thing to do. “There is another solution. I’ll reschedule work and take care of Ella myself if I can’t find a babysitter.”
“But it’s your work.” Lena tilted her head to one side, and her gaze flitted all over Jess’s face.
“And it’s your education.” Jess cupped Lena’s jaw and locked eyes with her. “It’s more than that. It’s your dream. And we’re partners. That is, if you want to be.” This time, she didn’t hesitate. It might be soon, but that’s how she felt about Lena and she wanted her to know that.
“Thank you,” Lena whispered, and her breath tingled on Jess’s lips. “Yes, I very much want to be. I love you.”
“I love you too.” This time, nothing stopped them from kissing, and Jess lost herself in the soft touch.
The December afternoon was sunny, but it was still too cold to be out without a coat for long. Lena jogged down the path to the garden house. The enticing scent of tomatoes and herbs welcomed her home after a long day at Maggie’s desk. Amazement at someone cooking for her hadn’t worn off in the last two months. Since she’d moved out of her grandma’s, she’d been the one responsible for every meal and, more often than not, for everyone else’s meals.
But now Jess had four days off every week and was using the time to learn to cook.
Lena quickened her steps, even though her muscles protested. She wasn’t used to a desk job, as much as she liked the actual work. She needed a walk after dinner to work off the stiffness. Or a massage. The thought warmed her better than a coat would have.
Wearing a thick sweater and wrapped in a quilt, Jess sat on the porch with Ella, giving her the bottle. She smiled at Lena.
The image stirred Lena’s heart, as always. Her favorite two women. She still couldn’t believe how fast she’d gotten used to their daily presence in her life. “Hi, there.” She kissed Jess on the mouth and Ella on her head.
“Dinner will take another ten or fifteen minutes. You want some tea?” Jess motioned with her head to the table, where a travel cup waited.
“For me? Thank you.” Yawning, Lena sat in the other chair and sipped the still warm tea. Mint with ginger and a hint of honey. For someone who supposedly didn’t like tea, Jess had become quite good at combining fresh
