"Sounds good to me." She pulled away and turned her back to the window. "So what exactly is the plan here, Doc?"
"Why don’t you give me your email address, and I'll send you a tentative schedule? We can work out the details tomorrow. I'll email you a questionnaire to fill out as well. I'll need that before we meet again." At Alex’s nod, Rachel headed for the door. She paused with her hand on the knob, and turned back to ask, "Why did you retire? You were still so young and could have easily had one more Olympic appearance."
Alex chuckled. "This does not leave this room, I’m having far too much fun teasing your wife." She waited for Rachel to agree before she continued. "I retired because I wanted out of the public eye. I wanted to be able to live my life as I wanted to, not how the public expected me to."
"As a lesbian, I can understand that, but what big secret were you hiding from the world, well besides who you really were?" Alex tilted her head to one side as she regarded her closely. "What?" Rachel asked.
"You really don’t know either do you?" At Rachel’s confused expression, Alex began to laugh. "I was always pretty good at hiding when I wanted to, but the lesbians usually figured me out. I guess I’ve been out of circulation too long."
"I don’t understand."
"You just refuse to see it." She smiled again as she confessed. "I’m a lesbian."
Rachel’s mouth opened, then quickly closed again as a look of shock crossed her face. "Are you serious?"
"Totally."
Rachel’s brow furrowed. "So who was Joe?" she asked.
Alex looked surprised by the question, but replied, "Jo was my former partner. She and I split up a couple of years ago. How did you know about her?"
Rachel leaned against the door. "Apparently the name came up several times today. The impression I was left with was not a positive one." Alex bit her lip and looked away as if ashamed. "She hurt you didn’t she?"
Alex was unable to meet her eyes. "In more ways than one, but I really don’t want to talk about it today."
Rachel pushed off the door and opened it for her. "I’ll be there when you’re ready to talk." Alex nodded her thanks as she made her way out into the living room.
Alex looked over at the other end of the couch where Nikki sat watching TV and said, "Did you bring a bathing suit with you?" Nikki turned to her with a puzzled expression and she smiled. "Sorry, that was a bit out of the blue. I was just thinking that a swim sounded like a wonderful idea. Soaking away my aches and pains as well as the tension of the day sounds perfect, but I shouldn’t be in the water alone." She looked hopefully at Nikki. "I was hoping you would join me."
"I see." Nikki shook her head. "No, I’m afraid I didn’t bring my suit with me. It’s still a bit cool for a swim anyway isn’t it?"
"No, not at all." She looked Nikki over closely, her eyes roaming over her curves. "It may not be to your taste, but I do have something that should fit you." She stood and looked down at her. "What do you say?"
Nikki stood and gestured for her to lead the way. "I used to swim a lot in college, but haven’t had the opportunity much lately. I think it sounds like a grand idea as long as I don’t freeze my…well, anything vital off." She followed behind Alex, and watched the muscles in her arms and shoulders ripple under the tight T-shirt she wore as she used the crutches to maneuver through the house.
"I’m telling you, it won’t be cold. You’re just going to have to trust me." She opened the back door and stepped out into the courtyard, Nikki trailing close behind.
"I see. Well, it seems I have a few trust issues of my own."
Alex paused and looked over her shoulder. She could see the pain in Nikki’s eyes, and somehow knew that she would be able to relate to some of her own experiences. "Fair enough. I guess that when you feel the warmth of the water, it will show you that you can trust me just a little."
Nikki nodded. "I suppose so." Alex smiled and started walking towards the far end of the western side of the u-shaped house. "What will it take for you to start trusting me?" When she didn’t respond, Nikki continued as they came to a stop in front of a door. "Have I given you cause to believe I would hurt you?"
Alex took a deep breath as she thought about all of her interactions with Nikki. "If you had asked me that yesterday, the answer would have been no." She held up her hand, stopping Nikki's response. "I realize that I am judging you based on the behavior of someone else, but I can’t help it. Past experience tells me that the anger, jealousy, and possessiveness I saw earlier today goes hand in hand with violence." She took a deep breath, and blew it out noisily. "Please be patient with me."
Nikki watched as she keyed a code into the pad beside the door. "I can do that," she said as she held the door open. "Will you help me understand what it was that upset you? You say I was being jealous, angry, and possessive," she leaned against the wall just inside the door, "but I wasn’t any of those things. I was concerned because I couldn’t reach either of you. I was afraid something had happened."
Alex watched her closely and knew she was telling the truth. "I may have misinterpreted, and overreacted just a little." She smiled apologetically. "There should be something here you can wear," she said as she began to open a closet in
