It was different, when you were gay, wasn't it? In places like South Beach, you could get away with that. But not other places. Kerry felt a little pang of irrational loss as she remembered how normal she'd felt in a restaurant or hanging out in the mall with Brian. If he'd put his arm around her, or they'd held hands, no one looked twice.
If she took Dar's hand, people would look twice, Kerry realized. Better they stay, as Dar had said, low profile. No sense in sticking out.
Ah well. She looked over and studied Dar's face instead, contenting herself with the knowledge that she'd found something very special here, regardless of how the rest of the world looked at it. So what if she never got to throw a bouquet?
"Hey! Dar!"
Kerry looked up to see a man and a woman approaching them. They were nicely dressed, and middle aged, and appeared pleased to see her companion.
"Hello, Marge, Charlie." Dar gestured toward the two empty chairs at their table. "Have a seat."
Kerry watched quietly as they came over and sat down, wondering briefly who they were.
"How are you, Dar? Haven't seen you in years. You haven't changed much," Charlie said, with an easy grin. "Has she, Marge?"
"Not at all," the woman agreed. "That should make you feel good, Charlie, since you taught her in high school."
Oh. Ugh. Teachers. Kerry folded her hands on the table and imagined them meeting some of hers back home.
Yikes. She could picture them all staring at Dar with those disapproving eyes as she introduced her...friend?
Hm. How did you go about introducing your significant other if you were gay? As your girlfriend? Kerry's brow creased. Your lover, and have to die from embarrassment no matter how true it was?
"I'm doing damn fine, for a change," Dar answered. "Kerry, this is Charlie, my high school math teacher, and his wife Marge. Guys, this is Kerry Stuart."
"Hi." Kerry gave them both a polite smile.
"Kerry's my partner," Dar went on without missing a beat. "She's from Michigan."
Partner? Caught by honest surprise, Kerry could only blink for a long moment, looking into the faces of these normal, ordinary middle-aged people and wondering what on earth they were thinking of her.
Of them.
"Michigan, eh?" Charlie chuckled. "Boy, are you a long way from home. I've got a cousin in Detroit I've been trying to get to move here for twenty years."
"Where in Michigan, Kerry?" Marge asked. "Have you two been together long?"
And then again, Kerry let out the breath she'd been holding, sometimes you find acceptance in the places you least expect it. "No, not very long," she managed to get out. "And, um...Saugatuck, actually, but I..." Without really thinking, she found herself reaching out for, of all things, Dar's hand. "I think I'm a lot more at home here than I ever was there."
Dar's fingers closed over hers and gave them a squeeze, punctuating the statement quite nicely.
Partner. Kerry squeezed back, feeling her doubts dissolve into the late afternoon sunshine. Yeah.
"Ker?" Dar gave her a nudge. "Sleeping already?"
Kerry wound her arm around Dar's waist and bumped her back. "Nope. C'mon, partner." She picked up her coffee and saluted the attendant with it. "Thanks. Have a great night," she added as they turned to continue on their way. "I know I will."
KERRY SETTLED HER sunglasses on her nose against the morning brightness, and then rested her hands on the steering wheel of Dar's Lexus as she waited outside the convention center.
She was glad enough to let Dar go in and handle Quest. After her partner's abrupt about face, she felt a little embarrassed about meeting him again, so she was content to relax in the car and watch the early morning park goers.
They were heading to the Animal Kingdom park, soon as Dar picked up the bid paperwork. Kerry was very much looking forward to it, and she smiled, whistling a little under her breath as she waited.
A family emerged from the nearby restrooms and headed for their car, the parents laden down with backpacks almost overflowing with toys. A little boy and two little girls ran ahead, screaming with delight as they chased each other in circles.
Kerry tried to remember being that small. She could vaguely call up some old flashbacks of her and Angie and Mike playing, but they seemed faded and out of focus.
In the back of the house in Michigan, behind the stately porch and the garden that was meticulously kept by servants, there had been a stretch of green lawn. They had been allowed to play there in the afternoons, but she mostly remembered only the smell of that.
Rich and green. She remembered rolling across the lawn and savoring the scent of the earth, and the newly cropped green, and watching tiny snails scramble away from her curious fingers.
The nanny had chastised her, for getting dirt all over her clothing. Kerry hadn't even understood what she was talking about at the time.
"Well, hello."
Jerked out of her daydreaming, Kerry turned her head to find Michelle there, peering in the window. "Good morning." She rolled the window down and leaned her elbow on it. "On the way out?"
"Waiting for our ride to the airport," Michelle said. "I see you drove up."
"We did," Kerry agreed.
Michelle looked around, and then turned back to her. "I guess you need to get back to start planning your strategy, eh?"
Kerry cocked her head to one side. "For what?"
The red haired woman blinked, her eyebrows lifting. "Mr. Quest's bid? You did know you were part of it, correct?"
"Oh that." Kerry pushed her sunglasses up a little on her nose. "Nah, we're heading for Animal Kingdom. Maybe do some more water parks later, depends on the weather." She rested her head on her fist.
Michelle crossed her arms. "If this is not that big a deal for you, why did you decide to get involved?"
Kerry caught sight of Dar emerging from the center, a folder clasped under one arm. "Dar likes ships." She refused to rise to Michelle's dangling bait. "It's something we're not involved in, sounded interesting...why not?"
"I thought maybe you'd done it to get a head-to-head with us." Michelle gazed at her directly. "Got something to prove?"
Kerry was glad she had her sunglasses on. "Something to prove?" She injected a quizzical tone in her voice. "Michelle, over the last two years I've presided over a couple thousand contract bids that we've won. You must have a pretty inflated ego if you think you're making this a big deal."
"Then I guess you won't mind if we beat you on this one. Because I absolutely intend on it," Michelle said. "Maybe you weren't looking for a head-to-head challenge, but we certainly were."
Kerry tipped her glasses down, revealing her misty green eyes. "Give me a break."
"Sure you don't want to reconsider? Could be embarrassing for you."
The passenger door opened and Dar climbed in, tossing the folder in the back seat and giving Michelle a brief glance. "Let's go. There are goats to pet and tigers to take pictures of." She glanced past Kerry. "Morning."
"That would be no," Kerry answered Michelle's last question. "Excuse us. We've got places to go and characters to see." She rolled the window up as Michelle stepped back, then put the SUV in drive and released the parking brake. "Sheesh."
"Sheesh what?" Dar settled back in the passenger seat, content to let Kerry navigate through the vast grounds to their destination.
"Michelle was fishing." Kerry paused at a stop sign, waiting to turn. "I threw a tin can on her hook." She headed toward the signs pointing the way to the Animal Kingdom. "She seems to think we're in this game because of them."
"We are," Dar responded in a placid tone.
"I know. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that though." Kerry pulled into line at the parking entrance. "Hell with them."
"That's my view." Dar had her sunglasses firmly on her nose. She was dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Glad we decided to stick around today."
"Me too." Kerry pulled through and followed the line of cars to a parking spot. She stopped the Lexus and they got out into the warm, muggy air. Kerry settled a ball cap on her head to shade it from the sun and waited for Dar to join her before she started the walk toward the front of the park which could barely be seen through the trees.
Their luggage was stored in the back of the SUV. Now Kerry was triply glad they'd decided to drive, since it gave them so many more options on how to spend their time. No running around, no airports...
"I hear they have a room full of bats," Dar remarked. "I'd like to see that."
Kerry tugged her hat more firmly onto her head. "Lead on." She showed her pass to the gate agent, and was clicked inside. "Into the wilds. Rowr!"