"But that was after your mother said he was 'positively charming,'" Grace said, mimicking Barbara's inflections.
"How many men do you know nowadays that hold a chair for a woman?"
"Dad's just old fashioned," Grace said.
"Well, I think it's cute. You know my mom was only going to stay a week, and it's not me that caused her to change her plans, because I'm doing fine."
Grace nodded. "You think this is going to turn into something serious?"
Carey shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I think they make a great couple."
Grace reached out and closed the front door. "Come on, hon, let me take a look at the drain. It's been quite a while since we checked it." She took Carey's hand and led her to the bathroom. "Hardly anything in there," she said as she removed the bulb and inspected it.
"You take such good care of me," Carey said as she watched her lover tuck it back into her waistband." I'll be so glad when they take that damn thing out tomorrow." She motioned at the bandages. "All of it."
Grace jumped up as Carey came through the door. "Well?"
"The doctor said everything looks good and I'm healing up nicely."
Carey smiled. "God, it's good not to have that drain hanging out of my armpit anymore. Now that it's gone, and the staples are out, are you going to stop treating me like an invalid?"
"I didn't mind. I like taking care of you."
“I know. And I loved it. Really I did. But we need to put this behind us. Get some normalcy back into our lives."
"Back up a minute," Grace said. "Did I hear you say staples?"
"Yes, you did."
"They really put staples in you?"
“Yep."
"Did it hurt when they took them out?"
Carey nodded her head. "They said it wouldn't hurt. But they lied."
She saw the distressed look on Grace's face and started laughing. "It wasn't that bad. I was kidding." She glanced at her watch. "As much as I like hanging around doctors' offices, it's almost time to meet the folks for lunch. Come on, let's go home and get changed. I can't wait to have a real shower again."
"I'll help."
"That's okay," Carey said. "I don't need help."
"Carey, are you afraid to let me see?" Grace asked, putting her arms around the older woman's waist.
"A little, I guess," she said. "They said the scarring would fade with time, but it looks pretty red and ugly right now. And I have a dimple."
Grace smiled. "Isn't it lucky that I just love a woman with dimples. And a little scar is certainly not going to change how I feel about you." She leaned over for a quick kiss. "I love you, Joanna Carey. A scar or dimple isn't going to make a difference to me."
Carey opened the door and walked inside the cabin and glanced around. "I'm home," she said as she deposited a canvas shopping bag on the half wall that divided the living room from the kitchen.
It had been five weeks since the surgery, and she had spent the day at the cancer center, meeting with the radiologist and getting everything ready to begin radiation treatment the following week.
She started walking toward the bedroom when the bathroom door opened and she was greeted by Grace's smiling face.
"Whatcha got?" Grace asked as she walked over and peeked in the bag.
"Did you know that most deodorants have aluminum in them?" Carey asked.
"What?"
"Really, they do." Carey reached into the bag and pulled out a package of deodorant. "They sent me to the health food store to pick this up. Apparently the regular deodorant makes the radiation cause burns because of the trace amounts of aluminum in it." She pulled Grace into her arms and leaned over for a kiss. "And I'll have you know that you're not the only tattooed lady around here any more."
"My, my, you're getting daring, my love," Grace said. She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, what are you waiting for? I want to see it."
Carey pulled her shirt over her head, then unhooked her bra, revealing a series of dots tattooed on her breast. "You think they'll be able to hit the target?"
Grace crossed her arms over her chest. "You brat. I thought you meant a real tattoo."
Carey looked down at her breast. "These are real." She pulled Grace back into her arms. "What? You thought I had your name tattooed on my ass?"
Grace smiled. "I wouldn't complain if you got my name tattooed on your ass. In fact, I rather like the idea."
Carey threw off the covers for the second time that night and sighed in frustration. She hated the hot flashes that had begun shortly after she started taking the estrogen suppressant her oncologist had prescribed.
The six weeks of radiation treatments had been uneventful, and the only side effect Carey had suffered was fatigue. She seemed to be tired all the time. But at least the radiation treatments were behind her now, and the doctor had assured her that her energy would return.
She turned her pillow over to find the cool side, then snuggled down to try to get back to sleep. Of course she knew she would be wakened again to pull the covers back when the heat left her body. Grace yawned and rolled over onto her back. "What's the matter, honey, another hot flash?"
"Yeah," Carey said, lightly touching her lover's hair. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
Grace propped herself up on one elbow, her naked breasts visible in the moonlight. "Something's bothering you," she said. "I can feel it."
Carey reached out and traced Grace's lips with her fingertips. "I love your lips. Have I told you that?"
"No changing the subject, Carey. I need to know what's been bothering you."
"I want to go fishing."
"Now?"
"No, not now," Carey said. "I mean I want to be able to wake up and go fishing."
"At your cottage? But you can't do that and be here."
"I know," Carey said. "And I can't afford to be there."
"Maybe you can't," Grace said. "But can we?"
"I don't know."
"We should figure it out," Grace said. "Two can live cheaper than one and I'm making good money. At least as good as I can get with an associate’s degree and a telecommuting job."
"Would you make more if you went to the office every day?"
"I like having to go to town only one day a week," Grace said. "I love making my own schedule and I have one of the highest productivity ratios in the office." She leaned down and rested her head on Carey's chest. "I can work from home wherever home is," she said, kissing the soft skin near her lips. "I love you."
"And I love you, but it's not that easy," Carey said. "Right now we're not worrying about paying the mortgage, and it's almost an hour more each way for you to commute from the cottage to Mohawk." She hugged Grace close. "That beat-up wreck of yours would never make it."
"Your truck would," Grace said. "Or I could buy a better car. I've been saving money, you know."
"I hoped you were," Carey said. "But your finances are your business."
"I wanted to talk to you about that," Grace said. "I don't hide my pay stubs and I'd be happy to show you how to use my banking program." She propped herself up again, looking down at Carey. "I don't want it to be my finances, I want it to be ours. We're a couple. Why do we keep the money separate?"
"You know how to bring up the big subjects, don't you?" Carey said, turning on the lamp. "What happens if we break up?"
Grace brushed her lips over Carey's. "I hate when you say things like that," she said. "I'm not planning on going anywhere so don't quote me statistics about lesbian relationships not lasting. We're going to sit down and look at everything and see if together we can afford to move to the cottage." She settled down and cuddled against Carey's side. "Now go to sleep."
"And that's it, hmm?" Carey said, kissing the top of Grace's head. "No discussion?"
"Give me a good reason, other than you being afraid of commitment, and we can discuss it," Grace said, pulling the blanket up over them. "Good night, my love."