Page 103 of Caught A Vibe

After we recover and get dressed again, we move the conversation away from the too-tempting couch to the kitchen table. I make coffee, hers with cream and two sugars, and cut up an apple for a hasty snack plate with some cheese sticks and butter crackers to go with her brisket. Panini charcuterie. That would make for a good article, if I still had a job writing articles. While I putter in the kitchen, my mom comes home, and I introduce the two women in my life. Mom seems to take it in stride that I am dating a sex toy designer, and begins putting away the groceries while I sit across the table from Penny.

“So what are you going to do now that you’ve left the magazine?” Penny asks gently.

I rub my hand over the back of my neck and take another sip of my coffee. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from this whole debacle, it’s that I need to be doing something that keeps me interested. So I’ll probably keep freelancing and gigging for a while, until I figure out another big project.” I shrug, as if it doesn’t bother me at all that my career is so unstable, but I can tell Penny isn’t buying it.

“Dash, you need to work the way that works best for you. If that means hopping from gig to gig, I think that’s great. You know, we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from the community portal you built into our website. I’m sure there are other companies out there who have specific community requirements who could use that kind of expertise. You are smart and curious, and you’ll continue to find the things that motivate you to succeed.”

“And if I don’t succeed? If I’m happy but just getting by?”

“I believe in you, and I trust you to make the career decisions you need to. If you are happy, I am happy.”

That’s it. That simple statement unlocks a flood of barely contained stress and anxiety that I’ve been suppressing for months, feeling like I’m not good enough, that I can’t compare to her level of success, and therefore she deserves better.

But she believes in me enough to give me the grace and space to figure my shit out.

“That’s lucky, because I believe in you too, Madame CEO. I know this company is going to take off like a rocket once the products get into more…hands. I want to support you too.”

I reach across the table and cover her hands with mine. Why did we decide sitting far apart was a good idea? I really need to touch her, like right now. My mom closes the fridge door with a snap, and suddenly I remember. This will have to do.

“I had an idea. The new game? I want you to take it and develop it. I think it could be a great tool to sell access to while you’re ramping up your 2.0 prototypes. Clients can customize it to each partner’s pleasure profile. You could even use it to suggest types of toys they might enjoy as well as giving them a safe space to play out their communication issues.”

“We could enroll couples and have them complete detailed surveys, and code avatars for them individually? That would be incredible. One of the things people were asking for were videos to demonstrate techniques and toy usage. Could that be incorporated into the game?” I love that she immediately sees the vision and is excited.

“Absolutely. It’s a long way from being ready for public consumption, but there are so many ways we could adapt it to work for your needs.”

My mother turns from the counter and crosses to me. “Hold on,” she says. “Are you saying you designed a game to help couples learn to talk to each other? This week? Out in my garage?” Mom leans her hip against my shoulder and bends to kiss my head when I nod. “My baby. That’s remarkable. I’m so proud of you.” Then she turns to Penny. “The door to the garage is thin. Don’t toy with my son. He’s been hurt too many times before.”

“No, ma’am. I intend to love him as best I can.”

“Good. If you need more alone time to fix things, just say so and I will go get my hair done.”

Eyes wide, I turn back to Penny as my mom leaves the room, marveling under her breath about young love.

“Did…did that just happen or am I hallucinating? And if I dreamt that up, are you a dream too?” I ask, holding back laughter.

Penny chuckles as she sits in my lap and drapes her arms around my shoulders. “If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”

When her lips connect with mine, the jolt of electricity is undeniable. No, this is very real, and I am very lucky to have a second chance to get it right.

“Mom, you should go get your hair done!”

Chapter30

Penny

When I start the video conference call with Dash sitting next to me on camera, we are met with surprised silence. Of course it’s Nicola who breaks the ice.

“Oh, thank fuck. Now that you two have kissed and made up, maybe we can get back to normal around here.”

I smile and raise my hand to quiet the resulting cheers from my loyal crew. After taking a much needed staycation with Dash to reconnect and work on things, I called for an all-staff meeting on my first day back. The funding deadline is fast approaching, and I need updates.

“Thank you all for joining the call. I know it was last minute that I took time off, but it was necessary.” I glance at Dash, seeing my love reflected back at me, feeling grateful for every minute we spent making up. “And appreciated. Let’s start with updates. Where are we at?”

Zarah jumps into the fray first. “As of two days ago, the last of our delayed inventory cleared the ports! We’ve been able to commit to filling all existing orders.”

“I’ve already received the skids, and am getting things organized as we speak,” Mike chimes in.

“That’s amazing! How did you manage to get the containers unloaded, Zarah? Weren’t we weeks behind?” I ask.

---