MY SISTER’S KEEPER

PART TWO

By Mavis Applewater

 

For Disclaimers, see Part One.

 

Thanks to my beta reader Joanne.

 

As always this is for Heather.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

The normally stoic policewoman felt like the walls of reality were crashing down around her.  The blonde that was watching her seemed to be amused by her strife.  Jenny rubbed her aching temples.  “Lizzie?” she repeated in disbelief.  There was no mistaking those emerald eyes.  Jenny just couldn’t clear her muddled mind enough to understand why she was sitting in front of her. 

 

Jenny rubbed her eyes and then blinked several times in hopes that the vision of her former lover would simply vanish.  “Hello, Jenny,” the blonde finally offered in a flat even tone. 

 

  “Oh my God,” Jenny muttered in agony. 

 

“No, just on the payroll,” the nun quipped.  Jenny growled as the blonde shrugged.  “How are you feeling?” Lizzie inquired nonchalantly.

 

“Oh, just peachy,” Jenny moaned in agony.  “Other than someone is tap dancing on my head and I’m naked in a strange apartment.  How did I get naked by the way?”  Jenny arched one eyebrow as she stared at the nun.

 

“I helped you to bed,” the blonde explained calmly.  Lizzie’s casual attitude was really starting to annoy the hung over brunette.   There was something else that was eating away at her; it was a familiar sensation pulsating through her body.  “Kate brought you home,” Lizzie explained as if it was an everyday occurrence.  “ She said something about the place where you were staying not being fit for the rats living there.  She grabbed your stuff.  It’s over there.”  Lizzie pointed to a corner of the tiny living room where Jenny’s few meager belongings were laying.

 

“And you’re here because . . . ,” Jenny choked out, fighting against the wave of nausea that was swelling up inside her.

 

“I’m visiting my sister,” she responded flatly. 

 

Jenny was fighting with the physical and emotional hell that was suddenly thrust upon her.  Kate entered the living room dressed in her uniform.  “Lizzie?” Kate called to her sibling brightly.  Lizzie put her book down, seemingly unaware that her sister was speaking to her.  Her emerald eyes flashed in sudden recognition.

 

“Sorry, I’m not used to being called that,” she apologized.

 

“Oh yeah, what are you called these days?” Jenny grumbled from the futon.  ‘Why do I care what’s she’s called?  I just need to get out of here,’ Jenny fumed internally.

 

Lizzie smiled at her and Jenny heart skipped a beat.  Jenny shifted uncomfortably as her childhood friend smiled at her with a sweet innocence.  Jenny struggled to turn onto her side without losing any of the blankets.  “Sister Rachel,” she explained finally.

 

“I am so not calling you that,” Jenny griped bitterly.

 

“It’s alive,” Kate shouted at Jenny.  The blonde covered her mouth quickly with her hand.  Jenny knew she was fighting to stop the laughter from escaping.  They both knew that Kate was intentionally torturing Jenny.  Unable to withstand the pounding in her head, Jenny buried her head in her lap as she groaned once again. 

 

Kate was laughing boisterously, sending sharp pains throughout Jenny’s body.  “Please stop,” Jenny begged.  She felt the bile rising steadily.  She lifted her head, which somehow opened the floodgates.  She tried to stand but her long legs refused to cooperate.  “Oh no,” Lizzie gasped.  Out of the corner of her eye Jenny saw the petite blonde jump up and move quickly towards her.  Before she knew what was happening she was assisted to her feet and led quickly into another room.  Somewhere in the fog that had settled around her mind, she was aware that she was in a bathroom.

 

She heard the lid and seat being lifted with a loud clank.  Then gently but rapidly she was placed on her knees in front of the toilet.  As she lost what little there was in her stomach, she felt Lizzie pull her hair back.  She released the poison from her system while she silently vowed never to drink again.  She could feel Lizzie rubbing her back gently.  The blonde’s breath caressed her ear.  “Ssh.  It’s going to be all right,” Lizzie reassured her.

 

“I’ve heard that before,” Jenny spat out.  She could feel Lizzie’s body tense behind her.  The blonde took a deep breath before she stood and began to run some water in the sink.  As Jenny leaned back, Lizzie offered her a cool damp washcloth.

 

She wiped her face, enjoying the feel of the cool cloth on her skin.  Lizzie settled down behind her once again and wrapped a comforting arm around her.  Jenny was too tired and emotionally spent to pull away.  Jenny glanced down at the tanned muscular arm that held her steady.  She ran her fingers along the simple gold band on Lizzie’s ring finger.  “What’s this?” she inquired absently.

 

“Bride of Christ,” Lizzie responded simply.  Jenny snatched her hand away as if it had been burned.

 

“You have got to be kidding me!” Jenny snapped as she tried to stand.  For some unexplainable reason the thought irritated Jenny.

 

“Not yet,” Lizzie said softly as she held her in place.  Jenny wanted to run.  “You might get sick again,” Lizzie explained.  Jenny didn’t know if Lizzie had grown stronger over the years or if she was as helpless as she felt. 

 

“Did you ever tell Kate what happened?” Jenny finally managed to ask.  Kate had pestered Jenny over the years to tell her what had happened that night.

 

“No,” Lizzie said flatly.  “I . . . couldn’t,” Lizzie stammered slightly.  Jenny wondered if Lizzie was now ashamed of the love that they had once shared.  “The only explanation I’ve offered to her over the years was that I got caught.”

 

‘I guess that answers that question,’ Jenny thought bitterly as they remained kneeling in the cramped little bathroom.  The awkward silence hanging around them became unbearable for Jenny to endure.  “I need to get up,” she stated gruffly.  Lizzie’s hands moved to her hips.

 

Jenny jerked away, wrapping the blanket around her more tightly.  Lizzie stepped back without a word and allowed Jenny to walk out of the bathroom on her own.  Jenny staggered as she made her way over to the corner where her clothes were piled.  “And just what do you think you’re doing?” Kate’s voice inquired harshly. 

 

“I have to get ready for my shift,” Jenny mumbled as her legs trembled.

 

“I’ve already called you in,” Kate explained.

 

Jenny turned to see her superior’s body tense as she glared at the brunette.  “You’re grounded,” Kate stated firmly.  Jenny opened her mouth to speak and then snapped it shut quickly.  Kate Carrington was not someone you wanted angry with you.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Jenny responded dutifully.

 

“Stop being such a bully, Kate,” Lizzie chastised her older sibling as she entered the room.  “But she is right, Jenny.  You really should rest today.”  Jenny looked at the two of them standing side by side.  In many ways the siblings were very similar and yet quite different.  The hair and eyes were the same; the height was the first thing that set them apart.  Kate stood about five foot seven while Lizzie was a good four inches shorter.  Of course Lizzie would insist that it was only two inches. 

 

Despite the same powerful bodies, their personalities were as different as night and day.  Kate was straight forward and no nonsense.  Lizzie, at least the Lizzie Jenny remembered, never thought things through and just seemed to bounce through life, somehow always managing to land on her feet.  That was until that rainy night so long ago when both of their lives changed forever.

 

“I’m not being a bully,” Kate protested as she glared down at her sister.  Lizzie snorted indignantly as she swatted Kate playfully.  “Brat,” Kate retorted.  “Look, I have to get going.  Why don’t the two of you spend the day getting reacquainted?  Jenny, I’ll leave you the keys to my truck just in case you feel well enough to get some belongings from your old place.”

 

“Sarge, I . . . uhm,” Jenny stammered as the realization that her life with Wendy was over.

 

“I’m sorry,” Kate apologized softly.  “I just assumed that you would end things with her.”

 

Jenny didn’t miss the surprised expression on Lizzie’s face.  This isn’t the way she’d wanted the two of them to meet again.  She had hoped that they would both be happy and healthy.  She never expected Lizzie to reenter her life at its lowest point with her looking and feeling like something the cat dragged in from the rain.  “I am,” Jenny stated confidently.

 

“Then I suggest you go get what’s yours before Wendy changes the locks,” Kate stated with conviction.  “I don’t trust her.”

 

“Now there’s an understatement,” Jenny grumbled as she flopped down on the sofa.

 

“The truck is parked on the next block,” Kate explained quickly.  “Lizzie can help you out; just don’t let her drive.”

 

“Why not?” Lizzie whined.

 

“You don’t have a driver’s license,” Kate snapped.

 

“And?” Lizzie teased as Kate growled.

 

“I have to go,” Kate said as she hugged her sister.  “Jenny, you’re welcome to crash here as long as you need to.  And don’t let her drive,” she added sternly.  “And you call Dad to let him know that you’re back in the country.”

 

“I need his number,” Lizzie said softly.  “And I’ll call Mom as well.”

 

“Screw Mom,” Kate spat out.  “Dad’s number is in my address book on the dresser in my bedroom.”

 

“Kate, you really should try and make peace with Mom,” Lizzie offered in a compassionate tone.

 

Jenny’s mind was reeling.  ‘How could you defend that woman?’ she screamed internally. 

 

“Maybe I would if I knew what really happened,” Kate argued.  “I bet you know,” Kate said, turning to Jenny.

 

“I need to take a shower,” Jenny muttered in discomfort.  She turned and made her way unsteadily back to the bathroom.

 

“Coward,” Kate called after her.

 

Jenny could hear the two women arguing even after she closed the bathroom door tightly.  Jenny tried to block out the sound as she turned on the water full blast.  She stepped into the shower and allowed the water to fully encompass her.  As the hot water caressed her body, Jenny allowed her mind to wander.  Kate was right and wrong about what Jenny knew.  Jenny knew that Lizzie had been sent away the day after Mrs. Carrington had caught them making love.  It had taken her weeks to find out that small piece of information. She also knew deep in her heart that she should never have left without Lizzie that night.  

 

Lizzie had asked her to leave with the reassurance that everything would be all right.  In the end nothing was ever the same.  Lizzie was sent away a few days before the two of them were scheduled to begin their senior year of high school.  Lizzie, as Jenny would discover in the lonely weeks that passed, had been unceremoniously shipped off to a convent school in Minnesota.  She had to hand it to Mrs. Carrington; the woman certainly took care of things quickly.

 

Jenny’s first love had been literally ripped from her arms, yet the devastating event wasn’t what finally destroyed their love for one another.  No, Jenny’s first heartbreak came later.

 

For weeks after their separation all Jenny could do, when she wasn’t crying uncontrollably, was to mope around.  Jenny couldn’t help herself; it was as if a part of her had died.  She managed to find out the name of the school Lizzie had been sent to.  She wrote to her lover every day.  All of her letters were returned unopened with the words ‘Return To Sender’ boldly stamped across them.  She knew that it was the nuns that were keeping her heartfelt words from her lover.  Perhaps that’s why she still had a chip on her shoulder where the clergy was concerned. 

 

Jenny kept writing in the desperate hope that Christian charity would kick in or just that somebody would simply get careless.  It never happened.  Jenny’s parents were at a loss as what to do with their desperately unhappy child.  Since they were clueless as to just why Jenny was so depressed, they tried everything to cheer her up.  Finally, in an attempt to shake her out of her funk, they forced her to attend the school’s annual Halloween dance.

 

Jenny now understood the logic behind what they had done.  But when she was seventeen she was convinced that her parents were the meanest people on earth.  Her mother tried to explain that perhaps being around her friends would help her deal with her best friend moving away.

 

An added thorn in Jenny’s side was that her parents insisted that she attend the dance with Robby Ventnor.  Robby had lived directly across the street from Jenny her entire life.  Her parents thought he was a nice young man.  Jenny thought he was an arrogant blockhead.  Robby wasn’t a bad guy; he was just Robby.  Eventually the Jacobs wore down their stubborn daughter’s resistance and she agreed to go.

 

All and all, attending the dance was a huge mistake.  Jenny had bounced out of her depression to find herself completely miserable.  It became very clear that Robby viewed himself as her escort for the evening.  To Jenny, Robby was nothing more than a friend with a car.  For the life of her she couldn’t fathom how he thought it was a date.  He asked her to go and she refused.  Then when her parents insisted she attend the dance, she asked if she could catch a ride with him.

 

Jenny never understood the mind of a teenaged boy.  How did ‘can I catch a ride with you’ translate into ‘I like you’?  Robby kept trying to get her to dance and to put his arm around her in a possessive manner.  The last straw came when Robby asked if she would pose with him for a picture.  Just as one of his jock friends snapped the picture, he planted a sloppy kiss on her lips.

 

Enraged and somewhat grossed out, Jenny stormed out of the high school gym.  As she walked the three miles back to her house, she cursed Robby and herself.  She was angry with herself for not seeing Robby’s attitude coming; he had been chasing her since puberty.  Now Lizzie was no longer around to act as a well-needed buffer.

 

Robby stood about the same height as Jenny, and with his dark looks, was certainly a catch.  Jenny never found him interesting.  He and Lizzie mixed like oil and water from the very beginning.  Robby was constantly trying to push Lizzie out of the way to get closer to Jenny.  Lizzie to her credit pushed right back.

 

As time passed Jenny continued writing her unanswered letters to Lizzie.  She lay awake at night, remembering each erotic encounter the two girls had shared during their all-to-brief courtship.  When Lizzie failed to return home for Thanksgiving, Jenny felt herself sliding back into her depression.  The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that Lizzie would most certainly return for Christmas.

 

When Christmas came and went with no sign of Lizzie, Jenny was almost devastated.  Somehow she gathered up enough courage to promise herself that she just needed to be patient and her lover would return to her.  She would wait for Lizzie forever if need be.  She didn’t really think they would be apart for an eternity, just until the summer came.  Then once they were out of high school they would be free to be together.  Of course at seventeen the time from December to June did seem like an eternity.

 

Valentine’s Day was a sharp knife through her already fragile heart.  The doorbell rang and Jenny was greeted by the delivery of a dozen roses.  She assumed that they were from Lizzie.  When she found Robby’s name on the card, the pain overwhelmed her and she threw the bouquet out the front door.  Jenny rushed up the staircase to her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, sobbing until it was time to return to school the following Monday.  Her parents never asked about the flowers strewn across the front lawn.

 

The only bright spot during her dark days was that Jenny’s grades soared for the first time in her life.  Her parents were more than pleased with her new academic success until she remarked, ‘No big deal.  There’s nothing to do but study.’  The Jacobs’ concern grew and they started pushing Jenny to go out and socialize.  She refused.

 

By the time spring had arrived in the little town of Haven Jenny hadn’t seen her lover in almost nine months.  She couldn’t endure the hell any longer.  She saved her money and concocted what she considered to be the perfect plan that would finally reunite her with her lover.   She told her loving parents that she was going on the class trip to the White Mountains.  She even went so far as to have them sign a permission slip for the trip.

 

Her parents were ecstatic and happily signed the form, thankful that their brooding child was finally excited about something.  On the day her classmates were on a bus heading north, Jenny drove to Logan Airport.  She took the first flight out of Boston.  She flew to St. Louis first.  To this day she didn’t understand why you needed to fly past your destination to get to where you are going.  She endured a short stopover in Chicago.  The roundabout journey only added to her excitement and nervousness.

 

Finally she arrived in the Twin Cities.  From there she had to take a cab to the train station.  It was an arduous journey that drained her energy and savings.  But she was bolstered by the knowledge that at the end of the road Lizzie would be waiting for her - Lizzie with her strawberry blonde hair and emerald eyes that twinkled with tiny flecks of blue when she was excited about something.  The thought of her lover was the only thing that kept Jenny going.  Lizzie was worth the risk and the challenge.  To Jenny, Lizzie was worth sacrificing everything.

 

While she rode on the train to Fairbanks she couldn’t help but smile at how proud Lizzie would be.  At the Fairbanks station she took yet another taxi since she had no idea how far the school was.  She still recalled how the driver kept reassuring her that he would get her to St. Mathews before curfew.

 

Once Jenny arrived at the campus with the twenty-foot stone wall, she impressed herself with her detective skills.  She found a far too perky nun and explained that she was Mary Catherine Carrington, Lizzie’s sister and that she wanted to surprise her.  She used Kate’s name just to be on the safe side.  The nun instructed Jenny on how to find Lizzie’s dormitory.

 

Jenny waited outside the dorm, hiding in the shadows until she could slip in with a large group of girls.  She scrunched down so not to be noticed by the nun sitting at the front desk.  Between her height and lack of school uniform, she stood out.  Fortunately the nun seemed to be close a century in age and failed to notice her.  The seventeen-year-old roamed from floor to floor, searching for Lizzie’s name on one of the doors.  Finally she found it. 

 

She stood there for a moment and ran her fingers across the nameplate - ‘Mary Elizabeth Carrington’.  Jenny’s fingertips tingled from simply touching her lover’s name.  Unable to hold her excitement in any longer, she threw open the door.  Nothing could have prepared her for what she discovered on the other side.

 

Both of them were naked as they sprung up from the bed.  The faceless redhead still haunted Jenny’s dreams to this day wrapped her arm around Lizzie.  ‘How dare she touch my Lizzie?’ her mind screamed as Lizzie just stared at her blankly.  Jenny still didn’t know if it was shock or guilt she saw in Lizzie’s eyes.  “Beth, do you know her?” the redhead asked in a jealous tone.

 

Jenny felt her heart shatter and once again something deep inside of her died.  She clenched her jaw defiantly before spinning around.  She stormed back down the hallway, leaving the door open in her wake.  Somewhere behind her she heard the door slamming.  ‘Don’t look back,’ she told herself repeatedly as she walked out into the cool night air to face the long trek back to the train station.

 

When Jenny returned to Massachusetts her parents were livid.  With all of the transfers, she arrived home a day late.  The Jacobs were normally kind tolerant parents.  Yet discovering that their only child had hopped a plane for the Midwest instead of hiking with her classmates broke down their normally calm demeanor.  Jenny was grounded for the rest of her natural life.

 

Of course she was sprung from her exile in time to attend the prom.  Jenny already existed in a self-imposed exile.  Being kept locked in the house seemed pointless.  Even Jenny had to admit that she had to return to the land of the living.  The Jacobs granted their permission for Jenny to attend the prom if she promised not to leave the state.  To this day Jenny still smiled at her father’s lighthearted consent.  Jenny attended the prom with Robby. 

 

Jenny unrepentantly enjoyed the event and seeing all of her classmates dressed up.  For the first time in a very long time she didn’t feel like an outsider.  Perhaps that is why she dated Robby for the rest of the summer.  She even slept with him in a vain attempt to return to the straight and narrow.  The effort failed to expel her demons.  For her there seemed to be no cure.  So when it came time for college, she ended the relationship.

 

Robby was brokenhearted and begged her for another chance.  Jenny was firm and even tried to remain friends with him.  In the end they ended up being awkward acquaintances. 

 

Jenny stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself off.  Seventeen years had passed since she had last seen Lizzie Carrington and now she was forced to relive the pain.  She emerged from the bathroom wrapped in only a towel.  “I’ve put some coffee on,” Lizzie said.  Jenny turned to see the nun with her back to her, fumbling in the kitchen.

 

“Sorry I took so long,” Jenny apologized as she looked through her meager pile of clothing.  “The shower felt so good that I didn’t want to get out.”

 

“I know what you mean, “ Lizzie said and then she squeaked.

 

Jenny turned to see Lizzie standing in the kitchen, which was just a small space off the living room.  The blonde’s eyes were bulging and her features had become flushed.  “Are you all right?”  Jenny inquired as she tried to understand what was wrong with Lizzie.

 

“Dandy,” Lizzie choked out as she quickly turned away.

 

Jenny looked down at her appearance and realized that she was clad only in a very small towel.  At first she assumed that Lizzie was embarrassed by her state of undress.  Still there was something else and it wasn’t embarrassment, to Jenny it looked more like desire.  ‘Interesting,’ Jenny’s mind processed.

 

“Kate said you could borrow some of her clothes,” Lizzie explained while keeping her back to Jenny. 

 

The policewoman entered the kitchen, noticing that the blonde was gripping the kitchen counter tightly.  “You okay there, Sparky?” Jenny whispered in her ear.

 

“You’re still a brat,” Lizzie grumbled as she turned to Jenny with a smirk.  “The coffee’s done.  Why don’t I get you something to wear?” she suggested.

 

“Thanks, since my uniform and the clothes I wore last night are all I have,” Jenny grumbled bitterly.

 

Lizzie left and returned a short while later.  Jenny accepted the sweats and T-shirt and returned to the bathroom.  She changed quickly, trying to decide if she should say anything about Lizzie’s reaction to seeing her body.  When she emerged from the bathroom she found Lizzie on the telephone.  She helped herself to another cup of coffee while the blonde chatted away.

 

“No, tonight sounds good, Dad,” Lizzie continued.  “I’ll check with Kate.”  Lizzie waved to Jenny who was adding more sugar to her coffee.  “No, I haven’t talked to her yet.”  Lizzie face saddened as the conversation continued.

 

Jenny lingered in the kitchen, not wanting to intrude.  It was a small apartment and she really didn’t have anywhere to disappear to.  Once she heard Lizzie end the conversation, she stepped back into the living room.

 

“How’s your dad?” Jenny inquired as she sat down next Lizzie on the still unfolded futon.

 

“Good,” Lizzie responded absently as she stared blankly at the cordless phone.  “He’s happy that I’m home.”  Jenny simply stared at the blonde who seemed to be fighting an internal battle.  “I should call my mother,” Lizzie stated finally.

 

Jenny could tell that Lizzie really didn’t want to speak to her mother.  She had also figured out by Kate’s comments earlier and the fact that Lizzie needed to call her parents separately that they were no longer together.  “I didn’t know that they’d split up,” Jenny offered in a comforting tone.  Lizzie simply nodded in response.  “I’m sorry,” Jenny added, hoping to comfort the unhappy woman sitting next to her.

 

“Dad moved out while I was at St. Matthews,” Lizzie explained in a distant voice.  “Mom still lives in the old house up in Haven.  Dad lives here in town.  They’re not divorced because you know Mom’s so religious.”

 

“I’ve kind of noticed that about your mother,” Jenny retorted bitterly.

 

Lizzie stared blankly at the telephone as they sat side by side.  “Speaking of parents,” Jenny finally broke the silence, “I really should give mine a call.  I’m going to need to store my stuff up there until I find a new place.”  Lizzie handed Jenny the receiver.

 

Jenny dialed her mother and discovered that she was in court.  She tried her father next.  Both her parents were lawyers and sometimes it was difficult to track them down.  “Hey, Dad.”  Jenny smiled into the telephone when she heard her father answer.  Lizzie lay down beside Jenny and stared up at the ceiling.

 

“What’s wrong?” her father inquired franticly.

 

“Nothing,” Jenny reassured him.  Both of her parents supported her career choice, yet they worried just the same.  “Well, not what you’re thinking,” Jenny explained.  “Wendy and I split up.”

 

“Oh?” her father inquired carefully.  “Is this permanent?”

 

“Yes,” Jenny responded, firmly unaware that her hand was caressing Lizzie’s stomach.

 

“Good,” Jerome Jacobs said.

 

“So you didn’t like her either?” Jenny grumbled.

 

“No,” her father responded flatly.  ‘Do you want to talk about what happened?”

 

“Not right now,” Jenny sighed.  “Look, can I store some of my stuff in the garage?  I’m going to be staying with a friend until I relocate.”

 

“Why is Wendy getting the apartment?” her father groused.  “You lived there first.”

 

“She can have it.”  Jenny groaned as she felt Lizzie’s thumb brush the back of her hand.  “I’m not ready to talk about this yet, Dad.”

 

“Okay,” he responded in a comforting tone.  “Do you need any help moving?”

 

“No,” Jenny said with a shy smile as she looked down at her and Lizzie’s hands.  “Kate Carrington is lending me her truck.  In fact, I’ll be staying with her for a couple of days.”

 

“Good to know you’ll be in safe hands,” Jerome said with relief.  “Katie was always a good kid.  Maybe you can find out about Lizzie?”

 

“Funny that you should mention her.”  Jenny laughed as Lizzie lifted her head and smiled.  Unconsciously their hands became entwined.  “You’ll never guess who’s helping me move.”

 

“No?” her father gasped.

 

“Yes,” Jenny teased.

 

“Are you okay seeing her again after everything that happened?” her father asked in concern.

 

“I . . . uhm.”  Jenny hesitated, uncertain of just how she felt.  A part of her was instantly relaxing into the familiarity of Lizzie’s presence and another was screaming for her to run.  “I don’t know,” Jenny finally responded honestly.  Lizzie gave her hand a gentle squeeze, seeming to understand her confusion without knowing what she and her father were discussing.  “Look, I’ll be by today or tomorrow.  I couldn’t get hold of Mom.  Could you tell her what’s going on?”

 

“Sure, baby,” Jerome reassured her.

 

“You can reach me on my cell,” Jenny added.   “I love you.”

 

“I love you too,” her Dad responded sincerely.

 

Jenny ended the phone call feeling much better than she had at the start of the day.  “I’ve always liked your parents,” Lizzie murmured.

 

“Yeah, they’re okay,” Jenny teased as she set the phone down next the cup of coffee she’d abandoned earlier.  Lizzie chuckled lightly at the comment.

 

Jenny lay down next to Lizzie, still holding her hand tightly, and sighed contentedly.  Jenny studied her former lover’s profile as Lizzie stared up at the ceiling.  “When did you cut your hair?” she inquired thoughtfully.

 

“Years ago,” Lizzie responded casually.  “Actually I had to shave my head when I first entered the order.”

 

“You what?” Jenny gasped.

 

“No pride or vanity is permitted,” Lizzie said with smile.  “I looked quite ridiculous, but then so did everyone else.  I think that’s the point.  After that I just kept it short.  It’s easier to deal with and more comfortable when I wear my habit.  Plus in the places I’ve been living the heat is incredible.”

 

“It looks great,” Jenny said without thinking as she snuggled slightly closer to Lizzie.

 

“Thank you,” Lizzie responded as she turned onto her side to face Jenny.

 

“So just where have you been living?  You said you just got back into the country?” Jenny asked.

 

“For the last nine years I’ve been assigned to a lot of places,” Lizzie explained thoughtfully.  “El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and a few places I don’t think exist on any map.”

 

“Wow,” Jenny responded in surprise.  “What were you doing down there?”  Lizzie smiled as she brushed a lock of hair out of Jenny’s eyes.

 

“I’m a teacher,” Lizzie explained with a shrug.

 

“Excuse me?” Jenny scoffed.  “Miss ‘hey Jenny let’s skip class’ is a teacher?”

 

“I know,” Lizzie said as she crinkled her nose.  “I love it.”

 

Jenny hadn’t realized that they’d moved closer together while they spoke.  The familiarity of the situation was clouding her judgment as they stopped speaking and simply stared deeply into one another’s eyes.  Jenny’s eyes drifted down to Lizzie’s full lips.  She hadn’t realized what she was doing until their lips were almost touching.  Jenny could feel Lizzie’s breath on her skin.  And suddenly it was gone.  Lizzie pulled away and sat up as if nothing had happened.

 

PART 3

 

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