Chapter 1

It was a hot Friday in the middle of August. Actually, not just hot…it was sweltering. New Englanders aren’t prepared for this much heat, but like most Yankees, we trudge on. What good would complaining do? No one could change it.

The heat in Hartford was beyond belief for the Northeast. It would set records this weekend. In addition to that, I’d had a truly bad day: Katie had told me she was leaving me. She was moving out. She’d made plans with her friend Anne to stay there until she found a place of her own. So, I did what any red-blooded American lesbian would do: I ran away.

I’d stopped by my grandmother’s house. Well, not “stopped by”; more like crashed. I’d always gone to my grandmother’s if I needed to get away from something. I knew she wouldn’t ask too many questions. Oh, she’d asked some but she knew I’d talk if I wanted; if not, I wouldn’t.

I suspected that I was her favorite grandchild because I visited her more than my brother or two cousins. All four of us had stayed with her and Gramps during the summers when we were young. We played with the local kids, swam in the lake that bordered their property, and went hiking around Lake Sunapee. We’d had a wonderful time. As the oldest, I was always in charge. Of course, I loved being in charge.

When I was a teenager, I had this crush on a local boy, Bud Johnson. I couldn’t wait to go to Gran’s so I could see him. He had a crush on me, too, so we spent a lot of time together, and we sent notes and post cards to each other during the winters. I fantasized about marrying him. Of course, that was before I realized I was gay. I never told him that, though. I never told anyone.

I ended up going to the college my grandfather had gone to, The University of Hartford. My cousins went to bigger schools. My brother got married instead. He had to. He’d gotten Jenny pregnant. I wish I’d had his skill…well, luck…in seducing women.

When I graduated from college, I’d gotten a job with a local head hunter and excelled in it. I had skills I never knew about: I could match people up and sell them to each other. I loved my job. I got paid well and I enjoyed going to parties with the corporate big-wigs. They liked me, too, of course, because they didn’t know I was gay. I was very good at ‘playing the game.’ I’m not a slouch when it comes to looks so a lot of the men asked me out. I always refused. I told them that I didn’t want a work-related relationship. I didn’t tell them the real reason.

When I met Katie at a conference, I fell in love. I’d commute every weekend to New Haven to stay with her or she’d come to Hartford. We talked about finding a place halfway between so neither of us would have to drive that far, but we never did. Finally, after the distance seemed crazy, the weather became too unpredictable and the gas too expensive, I took my vacation time, went to New Haven, helped Katie pack, and brought her back to Hartford.

Oh, what times we had together! The first few days she was there, we rearranged the entire apartment to accommodate all our stuff. It was another very hot stretch, not as bad as today, but pretty close. Maybe that’s what made today seem so bad.

We’d work a few hours, go down to the apartment complex pool, and then start working again. Even the air conditioning was having a hard time keeping up. We could have waited until it cooled down. But did we? I don’t know what was wrong with us, maybe we were both OCD, but neither of us could stand the mess of half-emptied boxes and stacks of possessions scattered around. It was Sunday night before we got most of the things into place.

The heat outside was kicking everyone’s butts. We stood there looking at each other, both of us sweaty and tired. We took deep breaths at the same time and sank down on the floor so our sweat wouldn’t ruin the furniture.

“That’s it,” she told me as she pushed a handful of her dark hair back behind her ear. “I can’t do any more today.”

“Neither can I,” I agreed. “We should put it back in the boxes and take it to storage.”

She looked at me to see if I was serious.

I grinned. “We’ll get it done…just not today.”

She smiled. “I’m happy I’m here, Sweetie,” she told me.