Page 98 of Dirty Laundry (Down and Dirty)

“Divorce,” her daughter mouthed emphatically behind her.

Everything made sense then. Her tension. Her fragility. Her quick retreat to calm.

She’d learned to jump to conclusions and expect the worst. Not all departures were as kind as Heidi’s and Tim’s had been. Some breakups came with fresh stabs with every text message, email, and phone call made to resolve them. Some were accompanied by the trauma of being unable to look at things from the past, communal life without immediately calculating the cost of all the wasted time and energy.

Heidi had done the same thing the guest had and jumped to her own conclusion.

She’d flinched. Not Carine.

“You did catch me in a moment of whimsy,” Carine said cheerily while stepping into her shoes, “but I promise, I’m the best at what I do. I’ll take good care of you folks. There wasn’t a lot of detail in your query, though. Maybe we can go into the office over there and find out what’s brought you here specifically?”

Heidi gave Carine’s waist a squeeze to signal she would go, but without missing a beat, Carine grabbed her wrist.

“Just follow this hall around and go to the right. You’ll see my desk in front of the kitchen. I’ll join you in a sec. Need to make sure my girlfriend isn’t going out to do fun things without me.”

“One of these days, you’ll understand that you’re the fun,” Heidi said in a volume meant for just the two of them.

Carine put on her“everything surprises me, but especially that”beaming grin.

Heidi leaned in, whispered, “I love you, sweetheart,” and left Carine before she could react.

She heard the teen girl say in a low tone, “She could be your fairy gaymother. You should have asked her where she shops,” as Heidi walked to her truck.

“Well, that’s a new one,” Heidi murmured as she retrieved her phone from her pocket. The device chirped in her hand as though the attention had alerted the universe to her sudden availability.

Pausing on the walkway and shielding the screen from the late day sun, she read the text originating from an unknown number.

And then she reread it.

I know you think you’re being helpful. Some of the family might agree. I don’t agree. Momma’s had a good life up till now. You’re real hateful sticking your nose where it don’t belong.

“Fran.”

They were talking about Fran.

Whatever goodwill and faith in humanity Heidi had allowed to build up in her in the past hours and days suddenly seemed to have a cookie-crumb base and mortar made of the thinnest cake icing.

Her immediate compulsion was to swipe left, delete the thread, and block the sender, but she wanted to believe she was made of sterner stuff than that.

She waited for the next message because she knew the sender wasn’t done. Experience had taught her that once people set their minds to being ignorant, they were going to milk the condition for all it was worth.

Just leave her alone. Do what you want with your own kin. In fact, move her on out so Momma doesn’t have to be confused. I’ll wire you money for the moving truck.

Fran wasn’t confused. Fran had never been confused.

She’d been stifled. She’d been overwhelmed. She’d been practical.

The woman knew her mind, and it was evident to Heidi that the person texting her didn’t know that. But it was also evident that they wouldn’t go quietly into the night. They were going to create strife to assuage their comfortably narrow mindset and would probably stop at nothing to recruit Heidi’s parents and peers into their campaign. It’d be a social nightmare all around, and over two women who’d earned the right to finally choose for themselves.

Heidi did delete the thread then and blocked the number.

They could find other numbers for her if they really wanted to. They could call her at work and harass her there, or send threatening emails first to her, then to Tim, and then to whomever they thought would be receptive.

Steeling her spine, she turned back to the office door.

Carine was in that house thinking she had at least one part of her life figured out. She didn’t know what she didn’t know, or else her optimism had clouded her rationality.

Heidi didn’t want even the smallest drops of acid thoughts or actions to impact Carine’s future. She didn’t ever want to see nastiness put a crease between the other woman’s eyes or make her jaw tense from hurt feelings that never entirely went away.

Heidi didn’t want her getting crushed by the weight of disapproval. Heidi was mostly immune to the burden’s effects. Her skin was too thick, and her foundations were built differently, but Carine was typical. She was blessedly human and deserved to be able to breathe deeply when her brain clicked on in the mornings, and she opened her eyes to new days.

It wasn’t fair, but that was where they were, and she’d never been a fan of making people work harder to love her.

I hate being right all the time.

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