Page 55 of Pierced Pages
The thought sent warmth rushing through her. The thought that had no chance of becoming a reality.
She heard the door open from around the corner, and she stood from her chair and left the room to meet Lila and her piano teacher. Lila walked out, still in her school uniform, with her piano books tucked under one arm. Behind her was her teacher, a short brunette about Danielle’s age with big, soft waves, looking as professional as always in a breezy dark blue sleeveless top and fitted khaki pants.
Lila stood beside Danielle, her face shining as it always did after a lesson. Her teacher, Ms. Venable, pointed at the books Lila held.
“I can tell she’s been practicing. She’s doing excellent with the new song.”
“Good to hear,” Danielle said, smiling down at Lila. “She’s been working on it every evening.”
It had been good to see Lila interested in something other than soccer. Not that there was anything wrong with soccer. It had just been nice to have a little keyboard music around the house, too.
Her mother had always played the piano on the weekends. Sometimes she’d play something they could all sing along to. Sometimes she just played alone, enjoying her solitude as she let herself get lost in a tune. It was one of the fondest memories Danielle had of her childhood. One she clung to after her mother died.
“Oh, that’s a good one.” Ms. Venable said, nodding at the copy ofFinding Georgiain Danielle’s hand. “That ending. Phew. So good. You’re going to love it.”
“I’m loving it already,” Danielle said. “You read a lot?”
Ms. Venable grinned. “I go through a book a week, usually.”
“Oh, wow. I usually get through about one a month. Depending on how busy things are.”
“I’ve been reading a lot lately. I’ve got more time now, since…” Her gaze shifted to Lila, then back to Danielle. “Well, I’ve just had more time lately.”
That’s right. She’d separated from her wife a few months ago. Or at least, it seemed that way.
Danielle met her wife at a recital last year. Then, sometime after the new year, they’d walked in on her crying in the practice room. She’d insisted she was fine, but ever since that day, she never wore her wedding ring again. And it was easy to notice. It was a gorgeous platinum ring with the most elegant etchings. And then it was gone.
But Danielle didn’t have a partner either, and she was still impressed with that amount of reading.
Wait.
Ms. Venable might just be a good fit for their group. And Melanie had already told her it would be okay to ask anyone she thought might enjoy it.
“Hey, would you be interested in joining a book club I’m in?”
Ms. Venable fought to hide a grimace. “I, um, I don’t know. Maybe?”
She looked about as hesitant as Danielle had felt when Melanie first broached the subject last month.
“It’s a sapphic book club,” she added. “Sapphics reading sapphics. This is our first book.”
The tinge of fear evaporated from the woman’s soft face. “That sounds absolutely lovely.”
“It really is. Do you want me to text you the details when we have our next meeting?”
“Sure. Sounds great.”
They all said their goodbyes, and Danielle followed Lila to their car. It was toasty inside, heated from the March warm front that had blown through the area.
“Mom, can Morgan come over again? Like… tonight? I’ve got a history test tomorrow, and she helped last time, so… do you think she could?”
Danielle juggled the keys as her shaky hands tried to reach the ignition. Once she turned the car on, she addressed the question.
Although it was less a question than a setup. Danielle could spot a setup from much farther than her passenger seat.
“That was a onetime thing because she happened to already be at our apartment. And there are no plans for her to stop by again.” Danielle scanned behind her car before she began inching out of her spot, trying to focus on the maneuver instead of the subject. “Besides, I’m sure she has to work this evening.”
“Oh. Well, I have another science test Monday. What about this weekend?”
