GINNY BATES: BEAN PODS

Here's another installment of my Great American Lesbian Novel (in progress), Ginny Bates. If you are new to reading GB, go to the section in the right-hand column labeled Ginny Bates to read background and find out how to catch up.

May 2014

The next morning after breakfast, Myra and Ginny visited Jane and Gillam for an hour, mostly for their chance to hold Mimi. Jemima was reading magazines, Jane was sleeping, and Gillam was baby-worshipping. Anton looked antsy, and when he asked Ginny if there was something he could do in the garden, Myra said if he wanted, he could come over to their house and plant starts for the next round. He accepted instantly and managed to muscle his wheelchair down the unpaved path on their side of the fence. Ginny set him up with seeds and potting soil at the bench inside the back door before she hightailed it upstairs to her easel.

Myra got on the phone with Mara to talk pond and barbecue area design for a while. She then got online and looked through baby car seats, bassinets, and playpens, coming up with a range of possibilities. She interrupted Ginny long enough for her vote, and placed an order to be delivered in a couple of weeks: Mimi wouldn't need furniture right away, she'd be held while she was in their house.


For lunch she made sandwiches of smoked ham, watercress, and paper-thin slices of cucumber for her and Anton, substituting cream cheese for the ham in Ginny's. He was very chatty over the meal, and while Myra ordinarily liked him quite a bit, she wanted a chance to stay in her own thoughts. As soon as they were done, she fled back upstairs and answered mail for an hour. He eventually ran out of things to do and called up the stairs to say he was going. She came to the railing and said he was welcome to visit any time, hoping to herself he wouldn't push it too far.

Since other family were most likely to visit after work, Myra and Ginny went over before dinner with a ham, cabbage, potato and cheese casserole. Jane was lying on the couch, her eyes closed but not asleep. Gillam was walking back and forth with Mimi, who was crying steadily and with as much volume as newborns can muster.

"What's wrong?" said Ginny, going to him.

"I don't know. We've done everything" he said desperately.

"Is it okay if I run down the list?" asked Myra. "Hungry, wet, cold, hot, clothes fitting wrong, fever, any part of the body that responds to touch as if it's hurt?"

"We've checked everything three times" said Gillam, letting Ginny take Mimi. Mimi continued to wail.

"You haven't tried giving her some formula" said Jemima sharply.

"I have milk, Mom" said Jane. "She's full, she doesn't want to nurse."

"Then she just needs to cry" said Myra. "You can't really stop that need, any more than you can stop her from peeing."

"But why, Mama? Why should she need to cry?" asked Gillam, unconsciously wringing his hands.

"I don't know. I don't remember what it was like to be new to the world, nobody does" said Myra. "It's a massive change in environment, even when everything around us is good and interesting. Crying is something we do as automatically as blinking, and there's a lot of studies that show it helps brain chemistry to cry -- that is, as long as you're not experiencing an ongoing real pain of some sort. Margie did this, several times a day. You didn't. And I'll swear before god that she was not treated worse than you. She simply needed to cry in a way you didn't."

Ginny was speaking quiet phrases of acknowledgement, gazing at Mimi calmly as she swayed slightly on her feet. Myra could hear Mimi's crying shift -- not in volume or intensity, but without any edge of panic to it. Gillam heard it, too. "What did you do?" he asked Ginny.

"I'm not worried" she said. "Babies come out able to read other people's emotions, it's a survival skill. When you react with fear or upset, it makes her feel those things, too."

"Are you saying my feelings make her cry?" said Gillam, clasping his hands behind his neck as if to surrender.

"No, no, definitely not" said Myra. "She begins crying on her own. But when you get stressed about it, it takes her longer to achieve release. That's if you don't shut her up entirely in some other manner." She hoped she wasn't being too blunt about Jemima's formula suggestion.

"I don't know how to not react with concern, I mean, that sounds completely psycho to me" said Gillam. Jane's eyes were open and she was listening alertly.

"Yep" said Ginny softly, maintaining eye contact with Mimi. "Baby crying is the number one attention getter for a reason. We're physiologically not able to ignore it, not if we're undamaged. But, perversely, what she needs from you is relaxed witnessing. After you've eliminated all the reasons she may have as an actual need, of course, because crying is also the only way she can tell us something is wrong."

"She's asking you to set aside your feelings as a parent and listen to her express some kind of frustration, disappointment, whatever it is" continued Myra. "Welcome to the world of being that ultimate of adults, a parent. It never ends, that kind of demand. But where else can she go to get her needs met?"

"She doesn't need to even think about going elsewhere" said Gillam fiercely. "I'm hers, body and soul. How do you know this?"

"Years of practice" said Ginny cheerfully. "Plus I was part of a damned good team. You and Jane have that going for you; in fact, you probably have an edge on us, you had better childhoods than us." Myra looked at her gratefully: Way to reel Jemima and Anton back into the circle.

"We tagged each other when we began running out of juice" said Myra. "Which, honestly, Gillam, was about five minutes for me when it was this kind of crying." She moved in and took Mimi from Ginny, who wiped her brow and went for a glass of water. Gillam shook out his shoulders and sat down. Myra said quietly "I tended to leave the room when I wasn't doing the actual holding, because I couldn't turn it off." He looked at her tiredly and said "I'm not leaving. Not right now."

After five minutes, Jane stood with a wince and came to Myra, reaching for Mimi. She kissed her cheeks and said "I hear you, my darling daughter. Mommy's right here, always." A minute later, Mimi began to quieten. The shift in the room's atmosphere was like a fresh wind. Gillam said to Jane "You think she felt the difference in you?"

Jane looked jubilant. "I don't know, could she?"

"She's bound to be brilliant, coming from you two" said Myra. Mimi hiccoughed loudly and everybody laughed in profound relief.

Ginny said "She'll be really serene and in better shape for a few hours now. Shall we set the table for dinner?"

Late the following afternoon, Ginny and Myra returned to find that Anton and Jemima had gone out shopping. Jane was playing something bluesy on her cello, and Gillam sat with a sleeping Mimi. Myra put her cedar-plank salmon a la Ginny in the oven to stay warm, and left her coconut cream pie on the breakfast bar. Ginny settled in next to Gillam on the couch to Mimi-watch.

"She sneezed today" he said. "First time. It was hilarious. She looked utterly shocked."

"I put it in the baby book you made us" said Jane, lifting her bow for a minute. "Gillam's taken a photo of her in the same spot by our bedroom window every day since she got home. If we can keep it up, after a year we'll make a movie of all the pictures, one after the other."

"She's going to seem giant in a year compared to her size now" said Ginny. "I'd forgotten myself until we pulled out Gillam's baby clothes. And when Myra brought home those newborn diapers and we set up our changing table yesterday, I realized all over again that I cannot actually comprehend how much we grow."

"Speaking of baby clothes" said Jane, "We've decided to use the same outfit Gillam wore to his naming ceremony for Mimi's big event. It looked like new when I washed it in Woolite."

"It was only worn the once" said Myra. "And crafted by Belva, her garments always held up beautifully."

"She'll be stunning in it" murmuring Ginny, gently touching Mimi's dark red cheeks. She said to Gillam "Your Aunt Cathy arrives on Saturday morning. She's sleeping in the spare room upstairs; we're giving the downstairs bedroom to Frances and Margie."

"Lucy and Seth are staying upstairs in the kitchenette room. We'll put the big crib in there for Peter" said Gillam. "That still leaves one extra room for anyone else from out of town."

"Frances is making a lobster brodetto and her tiramisu again" said Myra. "I'm doing brisket, as you requested, Gillam, and Ginny's doing her stuffed tomatoes. The rest we're leaving to the caterer that Frances recommended."

Jane resumed playing, switching to "St. James Infirmary". It sounded odd but good on a cello, Myra thought. At the shift, Mimi's eyelids flickered open. Gillam said softly "Ah, you heard that, did you? Your mommy's music is mapping your brain for you, lucky girl." Mimi tried to wave her arms, and her face grew still for a moment.

"She's pooping" he announced to Jane.

"Right on schedule" said Jane, glancing at her watch. "I think this means right before dinnertime is going to be our optimal time for her first swim on Saturday."

Ginny said "Let me change her, I haven't diapered her yet" and Gillam handed her over. Myra said "How do Anton and Jemima feel about the swimming lesson?"

"Iffy" said Jane. "For that matter, so am I. Except that pool is out there, and it's a deathtrap unless she's equipped to handle a worst case scenario. Plus, Gillam's example is reassuring."

"I was petrified with Margie" admitted Myra. "And I thought Allie was going to intervene at the last minute. David looked grim, too."

"I really think the muscle development it fostered, and hunger for body independence, is part of the reason both of you walked so early" said Ginny from the changing table. Gillam's eyes had never left Mimi.

"I tell you what I'm dreading" he said so softly that only Myra heard. "Going back to work tomorrow. The idea of seven hours away from her -- she's never been separated from me yet."

"It's only three more days and then you'll be done for the school year" said Myra, without really thinking. She was listening to Jane riff. Gillam turned and looked at her. Myra felt momentarily scorched.

"Erase that" she said. "It's brutal, you're right. It's not what we're meant to do with new life, tear ourselves away from it."

Ginny walked Mimi over to Jane so she could see the motion of her mother's arms. Mimi was very intent. Gillam asked, still soft-voiced, "Did you automatically see me as the man, the father, whose presence was somehow more expendable?"

Ginny's head swung around, her expression surprised. She'd heard that much, then. Myra considered for a few seconds.

"I don't know. I don't think so, because I don't generally see you in that light. I was probably just avoiding how unfair it is for you, wishing I could make it not necessary."

Jane stopped playing, now listening as well.

"I don't think I can face taking classes the first summer semester" said Gillam. "I need to be here, with her and Jane. It'll fuck up my graduation plans, perhaps affect my job -- I'll have to talk with my principal, see if I can get an extension. But the idea of leaving the house every day for six weeks makes me physically ill. I'll never have this time of her life again." He was vehement and flushed.

"I hear you, Gillam. I support you, and we'll do whatever we can to help." Myra scooted close to him. He linked his arm through hers and sighed heavily.

"Now I'm blazing trail for more than me" he said.

"Not alone, you're not" said Jane. He met her eyes and they looked at each other, slowly grinning. He reached for Mimi and Ginny came to return her to him as Jane resumed playing.

The following morning, Ginny finished her painting. Mimi stood wearing a ragged pair of black shorts, her chubby calves and dimpled elbows brown from the sun. She stared directly out of the canvas, blue eyes a little smudgy, face serious but contented. Her right hand was wrapped around a cornstalk which stretched down to a mound from which also sprouted a bush of squash leaves and a vigorous tendril of bean vine spiraling up the cornstalk to beyond the canvas's view. All of the three-sister crops were ripe. Between dark green leaves at the bottom the mound peeked striped squashes in a starburst shape. The bean pods were thick, and in Mimi's left hand she held one she had twisted open, revealing maroon and white speckled legumes about to spill from her palm. The play of light in the field behind her, the moist earth she was squeezing between her bare toes were so real that Myra imagined she could hear cicada, smell the sweet aroma of fresh corn. After a moment, she realized how much it reminded her of the painting Ginny had done decades ago of Rosa, her grandmother, harvesting beans as well in a garden. She thought about how Rosa must have looked like this as a child, like Ginny, like Mimi now, and she began crying from pleasure at this brush with time travel.

Ginny held her and said "I'm giving it to them. I can't not."

"Of course" said Myra. "Shall we save it for the naming ceremony?"

"That's a good idea. I'm grabbing a cashew butter sandwich and lying down, I can't handle anything more right now" said Ginny. "This one was extremely hard."

When Ginny finally got up, it was late afternoon. She shuffled into the kitchen where Myra was shredding spinach into a wooden salad bowl.

"What's that savory smell?" she asked, leaning against the counter.

"Lentil and carrot stew. I have roasted walnuts and chopped leeks to go on top of this salad, and there's several big Yukon golds about ten minutes from being baked" said Myra. "I thought we could top our potatoes with feta."

"That's my kinda meal" said Ginny appreciatively. She tried to slide her ass onto the counter, but couldn't quite make the hop.

"Here, allow me" said Myra. She pushed a button at the edge and the counter lowered six inches. Ginny shifted back onto the dark green surface and Myra returned the counter to its original position.

"Pretty impressive" said Ginny, pulling Myra toward her. Myra put down her knife and slid between Ginny's legs, wrapping her arms around Ginny's waist. They grinned at each other, their faces very close.

"Ya know" said Ginny lazily, "We haven't made love yet in this new house."

"That's crossed my mind. We've been rawther busy, what with birthing babies and all" said Myra.

"I think we broke in, carnally speaking, almost every room of our old place" said Ginny. "Besides our bedroom, there was the living room -- "

"Several times" said Myra.

"The daybeds in our studio and study" continued Ginny, "too numerous to count. The counter in the kitchen, which I think also includes the dining room since I was kinda spread out across the border, there."

"I remember vividly" said Myra. "The upstairs bedroom when the kids were babies, but not their room, I don't think -- "

"Oh yes we did, right after the mural was done, while it was still empty" corrected Ginny.

"Oh, yeah. You were Honey Wheeler to my Trixie Belden. That was especially perverted, Ginny-O."

"On the stair landing" said Ginny, wrapping her thighs tighter around Myra's. "Our bathroom. But not the back bedroom, right? Or the store room?"

"Yes to the store room -- well, we began there, when the old washer was unbalanced and had a spin cycle that made it bounce around the floor?"

"Lordy yes, how could that have slipped my mind" laughed Ginny.

"And definitely the back yard, but never the carport" said Myra. "Gillam would pass out if he knew."

"Like he and Jane aren't doing the same thing" snorted Ginny. "Well, not this week, but..."

"This house has even more rooms for us to inaugurate" said Myra provocatively. "I don't even know how to count some of them, where one space flows into another."

"Well, and we've people coming and going at all hours of the day now" said Ginny. "We'll either have to confine ourselves to late night or -- "

"Risk discovery" whispered Myra, finally giving in to her need to have her mouth on Ginny's. After a couple of minutes, Ginny murmured "I have to eat first. I mean..."

"I know what you meant" said Myra. "Yes, let's make sure we both have stamina."

"And that all the doors are locked" added Ginny.


© 2008 Maggie Jochild.

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RIVER OF SORROW

I heard this song tonight on Bones. Really excellent.

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GINNY BATES: GENERATION THREE

(Kaigyokusai {Masatsugu}, Japan 1813-1892, pair of rabbit netsuke in ivory with inlays, photo by Marshall Astor)

Here's another installment of my Great American Lesbian Novel (in progress), Ginny Bates. If you are new to reading GB, go to the section in the right-hand column labeled Ginny Bates to read background and find out how to catch up.

May 2014

Myra went to sleep very shortly after they got home, her emotions worn to a whisper. Ginny went to her easel, and Beebo curled up on Ginny's daybed within line of sight of Ginny. Myra woke up after five hours, wondering where the fuck she was for a minute until she recognized their new bedroom. After another minute, she remembered that Mimi had been born. That shoved her out of bed, down the wide hall into Ginny's workspace where Ginny was asleep under a quilt, Beebo now beside her head looking down into the yard. Breaking every rule, Myra stepped to the canvas and looked at it. There were fields of color and strange shapes atop them, but nothing recognizable yet.


Myra pushed in behind Ginny, whispering to Beebo "Go check downstairs or something". Ginny shifted and put her hands over Myra's arms. Myra breathed into her ear "Can you wake up, or do you need sleep too badly?" She waited. After half a minute, Ginny shifted again and said "What?"

"Will you hold me?"

Ginny rolled over, her eyes bloodshot and wide as she looked at Myra. She pulled Myra into her embrace and Myra burst into tears.

"It's a baby. A baby that's a direct descendant of you and Gillam. A new human being, and I love her with all my heart already" she sobbed. Ginny patted her back and said "I know, I know." Myra cried for a few minutes before she realized Ginny had fallen back asleep. That was all right, it was enough. She closed her eyes and slept, too.

She was awakened an indefinite amount of time later by the phone ringing. She had another period of disorientation, but at least this time Ginny was beside her. Finally she found her way to her desk around the corner and answered. It was Carly, saying they were heading for the hospital, did she and Ginny want to accompany them?

"We're just waking up. Yeah, come by for us" said Myra.

"Don't eat, I'm buying a bunch of breakfast burritos" said Carly.

Ginny was lying on her back, staring at Myra blearily. She got up and showered while Myra dressed and went downstairs. Carly was already in the kitchen making coffee to put in a thermos for Gillam, while Eric filled a plastic bottle with cream. "He'll want sugar, too" said Myra.

She emptied their fruit bowl into a canvas carry-wall, adding a loaf of her bread already sliced and a round of cheese. She pulled carrots and celery from the crisper and lay them on top of the rest. By this time, Ginny was downstairs. They got into Carly's back seat together and Myra sent text messages to Allie and Chris saying they would be at the hospital.

When they walked into the birthing room, Myra's gaze went immediately to Gillam, sitting on the edge of Jane's bed with Mimi in his arms. He looked like he had not slept at all. Even so, his face was diffuse with wonder. Mimi was asleep. But Ginny said "Why do you have an IV?", and Myra noticed Jane then, curled on her side, paler than ever, with a line in her arm.

Lucy, at her side, said "Her blood sugar isn't normal." Gillam added "She didn't have any diabetic results during the pregnancy, but they're talking about it now. We're waiting on the latest urine test." He released one hand from Mimi to put it on Jane's hip. He hasn't slept for two nights, then thought Myra.

Jane spoke in a faint voice "If I don't even out, they won't let me nurse her any more." She sounded close to defeat.

"When did this come up?" said Ginny, moving to Jane and cupping her cheek.

"About 4 this morning, they did a set of tests" said Gillam. He had turned so Carly and Eric could look down on Mimi.

Anton and Jemima, on the couch with pillows, began rousing themselves. Myra said to them "We brought breakfast. Well, Carly, mostly. Why don't you set it up for them on the table over there?" When Carly and Eric carried the bags over, Myra said to Gillam "You should eat. I want to hold the baby anyhow." As he stood, she took his place on the edge of the bed: Jane needed Mimi nearby, she guessed.

Ginny went to the cafeteria and returned with cartons of milk and juice. Lucy had joined her parents to eat. Ginny ate two plums and a wedge of cheese, then came to ask for a turn with Mimi. While Myra was unwrapping a burrito, Dr. Plakovic came into the room.

"Looking better" she said to Jane right away. "We're going to keep you n.p.o. until noon, then do another set of values. But your glucose is almost in normal range, everything else is normal, and if you return to a regular diet by this evening, we'll let you go home tomorrow."

Gillam was at Jane's side instantly, still chewing. "With Mimi, yes?" he asked.

"She's in perfect condition" said the doctor with a smile. She noticed the crowd at the other end of the room at that point. Myra said "Would you like some coffee or a burrito?"

The doctor declined and said "Jane should rest." After she left, Myra said to Anton and Jemima, "If you want to go home and sleep, we'll take watch for you." They conferred briefly and accepted. Lucy seemed torn; she had a baby at home with her husband. Finally she decided to wait until noon and Jane's next test results before going home. Carly and Eric offered to drive Anton and Jemima to Jane and Gillam's house. Myra nudged Ginny and said "You need more sleep. Or -- whatever. You can go, I'll call you if something changes here."

"You sure?" said Ginny.

"Yep. Call the aunties and ask them to not come until noon. We're going into sleep mode here, if we can" said Myra.

After everyone but Myra and Lucy had gone, Myra urged Gillam to stretch out next to Jane. "Unbuckle your pants, take off your shoes, and cover yourself with a second blanket" she said. Jane groaned as she curled into Gillam. "My stomach feels like someone punched me in it for hours" she said. He put his arms around her and whispered something only they could hear.

Lucy pulled the blinds and turned off the lights except for a lamp at the end of the room. "What if she gets hungry?" said Jane, reaching for Mimi.

Myra gave her the baby but said "I can tell if she needs you and I'll give her to you right away. If you'll sleep better with me holding her, I'd be thrilled." After kissing both cheeks, Jane returned Mimi to Myra. Gillam's eyes were already closed. Myra moved to the armchair, motioning Lucy toward the couch. Five minutes later, everyone in the room was asleep except for Myra.

Nurses interrupted the peace regularly but briefly. Gillam didn't wake at all. Not just dead on his feet, but sure of me, thought Myra. Since he was born. She whispered to Mimi, "You'll have the same security, won't you? You get to have him as your rock, even better than me."

Mimi woke up once to nurse and have her diaper changed. After she was back in Myra's arms, Myra talked to her almost inaudibly about how glad everyone was to have her join their family, about what she was going to see in this glorious world she had entered, how perfect she was. She got to look her fill at her granddaughter's face, familiar on a cellular level and yet somehow unique.

Ginny was the first to return, right before noon. As Myra gave Mimi to her, she whispered "Did you sleep?"

"No" said Ginny. There was a streak of pale yellow on her wrist and green underneath two fingernails. "But I'm okay. What about them?"

"Soaking in accomplishment" Myra answered. Ginny began singing to Mimi the same Yiddish lullaby about raisins and almonds that she'd sung to their own babies. Mimi woke up to listen, trying hard to focus on Ginny's face. Myra felt tears well up behind her eyes.

A few minutes later, a nurse came to draw more blood from Jane and escort her to the bathroom for a urine sample. Gillam, groggy but much more responsive than earlier, came to take Mimi from them. He gave her up to Jane for another feeding. He walked to the table and chewed a slice of bread between bites of banana.

"It's Saturday, right?" he asked the room.

"Yes. Shabbat shalom" said Ginny. He grinned at her and said "She was born on shabbos?"

"A sacred child" replied Ginny. He stood up on his toes briefly in jubilation, drank down a carton of orange juice and went to the bathroom before returning to Jane's side. When Margie called on Myra's cell a few minutes later, Myra handed it over to Gillam and he described Mimi to his sister with reverence that made Myra well up again. As he returned the phone to Myra, he said "She'll be here for the naming ceremony next Sunday. Her and Frances both."

"We'll get the invitations out tomorrow" said Myra.

Allie and Edwina arrived a couple of minutes after Dr. Plakovic had come to tell Jane her blood sugar was normal and she could eat. A nurse brought her soup and juice. Jane asked for a slice of Myra's bread instead of crackers. After finishing her soup, she asked for cheese as well, which Gillam fed her morsel by morsel as Jane resumed holding Mimi. Eventually she lay back down, groaning with each movement, and allowed Allie and Edwina to take Mimi between them.

Lucy said quietly to Myra and Ginny "She had an episiotomy, too." Ginny winced in commiseration. Lucy took her leave with great reluctance, promising to return the next weekend. Jane wept her gratitude at Lucy's steadfast coaching through the birth. Lucy said "I'll tell little Peter you gave him his favorite cousin."

Carly and Eric showed up with chicken salad and iced tea. Gillam ate some more, sitting on the couch close to Carly as Carly had a turn holding Mimi. Carly said "Will her eyes stay this color?" Gillam looked at Ginny, who answered "Hard to tell. If they stay blue, they probably won't be this shade. But they don't look like Gillam's did, so I think yes, they'll be blue."

Myra added "I hope her hair stays this dark. Margie's was like this but went to brown quickly. Gillam's was always brown." Ginny said "Hers will be brown, too. I mean, if my vision was correct." Gillam said sharply, "What vision?" Ginny told him about the painting, and Gillam's face flooded with awe.

"How did she look? I mean, was she happy?" he said hoarsely.

"Extremely. She was around three or four, sturdy, brilliant, and utterly confident" said Ginny. "You'll see." Gillam turned and looked at Jane, whose expression had a trace of fear in it.

When Anton and Jemima came at 2:00, Ginny and Myra went home, promising to return after dinner. At the house, Ginny said she would lie down a while now and Myra decided to join her. They woke again at 6:00, picking up cheeseburgers and fish tacos on the way to the hospital. Gillam greeted them with "I was hoping you'd bring food" and ate a cheeseburger with fries. Jane ate some fries in addition to her hospital meal. Mimi thrilled Myra by making a small sound when Myra took her, an exhalation that Myra was certain meant recognition.

By 11:00 the next day, Jane, Gillam and Mimi were home, along with Beebo who was introduced to Mimi as "her big brother". He sniffed of her with astonishment on his face -- clearly, he didn't know humans came in miniature sizes, Myra said. In addition to the soup and meatloaf, she and Jemima created reheatable favorite dishes for the new family while aunties and uncles passed around the baby. At 5:00, Myra suggested everybody not currently living there go home. She remembered how she and Ginny had just wanted to doze with their newborns for unlimited amounts of time. Gillam had the next two days off, and Jane's parents were around for urgent requests.

Still, it was agonizing to leave Mimi behind. She was already integral to their existence.

The aunties and uncles decided to follow Myra and Ginny to their house. Ginny excused herself swiftly and climbed the stairs to her easel. Myra put lasagnas in the oven and let Carly decide what kind of salad to accompany it. She and her friends sat around the table, looking at the collection of Mimi photos they already had and finalizing plans for the naming ceremony. Chris went outside to check on the new cherry tree, and on her return she said "One heavy rain and that yard will be a bog. You need to get grass begun."

"The problem is", said Myra, "We have more construction to do out there -- the fish pond, the herb garden plus canopy, the barbecue area, putting in a shed, and even the flower beds aren't decided on yet. And Ginny'll be painting for another couple of days, I'm guessing." Sima asked about some of these ideas, and eventually Myra called Annie to see if she was free for dinner. Annie agreed to come by. She sat between Ginny and Sima, and by dessert they had a preliminary sketch of the metal framework over the herb garden.

"I'll see if I can get Mara to come some time this week, too" said Myra.

"For the shed, you should just go buy one prefab" said Chris. "I'll help you lay a concrete pad once you know the dimensions you're getting, and they can deliver it and set it up. Way easier than getting your contractor back."

"Yeah, we'd considered that. I'll add that to my list this week" said Myra. "When I'm not Mimi-watching."

"How's your book going?" asked Allie.

"Not" said Myra. "I'm too caught up in other stuff at the moment. Another week or two and I'll be able to focus on it again. How's yours?"

"I need one more research trip, which we're thinking about taking in July" said Allie. "In the meantime...now that Mimi's here, I want to finalize the Poppyseed book." Allie had drawn a series of illustrations for the main body of the book. Poppyseed was a brown child with orange eyes. Her Grandma Bran was a lovely pale green and her white hair had tinges of pink.

"Go for it" said Myra. She asked Ginny, "Have you worked on a cover yet?"

"I think this painting should be the blueprint for the cover" said Ginny. "Except I'll use Allie's color scheme for the characters."

Allie cleared her throat. "We still have to hash out percentages with our respective agents, but I want to donate my share of any income from the book to Mimi's education fund."

Myra high-fived Allie, saying "Brilliant! Me too!"

"Me three" said Ginny. "And with all three of our names on it, this book will sell, you know?"

"Don't tell 'em yet" asked Allie. "I want us to all hand over the bank book together."

"Listen, over the next few months, I want you all to think of this house as a coming and going point to visiting baby-land next door, if necessary. Feel free to grab meals here, hang out, whatever" said Myra.

Eric asked shyly "Would it be all right if I did one of your new flower beds?"

Ginny said "Absolutely. I know I'm going to be taking cuttings from the other rose garden and starting one here, inside the front fence. Otherwise you have a free hand."

Carly looked at him expectantly, and when Eric didn't say more, Carly nudged him. Eric finally said "Uh...Once there's grass and the pond is in, I was wondering...would it be all right if I brought over Welsh sometimes to get fresh air, run around in a safe environment?"

Chris and Sima looked blank, and Myra reminded them "Welsh is his elderly rabbit." To Eric she said "I'd love that. I'll even babysit for him if you can't be here the whole time."

Ginny said "He won't eat flowers, will he?"

"He might" said Eric. "That's why he has to be watched, directed toward what's all right for him to consume. But if you're weeding, say, dropping some of those in his direction would be a treat for him."

"We'll get rabbit-savvy" said Myra firmly. "I'm honored to have the chance. Just think about how Mimi's going to adore seeing a bunny sometimes."

"Which reminds me, I need to research the best species of fish for my indoor tank as well as the pond" said Ginny. Chris turned out to have knowledge in this area, and they went upstairs to Myra's computer to look online for ideas.

"She won't be back down" predicted Edwina, watching Ginny disappear.

"Nope. Probably will paint most of the night. You all wanna do something?" asked Myra.

Allie stood and said "I want to go home and help Edwina get ready for the week. I'll be by tomorrow, though. Every day I can to see the baby."

"Yeah, us too" said Carly. Myra said to him "Take lasagna for your lunch tomorrow."

Annie left at the same time as Chris and Sima. Myra went upstairs and stood at Ginny's elbow to get her attention. "I looked at it yesterday" she confessed. "Can I look again?"

Ginny stood aside. The difference was startling. It was as if something alive was slowly emerging from the flat surface -- no facial features yet, but the body of a girl in a garden was coming forward.

"Wow" said Myra softly. She kissed Ginny lingeringly and said "I'm going to create the ceremony invite on my computer. As much as I can manage -- will you look it over later and make it perfect, then hit send?"

"Yes" said Ginny. Then, another first, she stopped Myra from leaving and said "Do you like it?"

"What -- the painting? Oh, Ginny, it's spectacular, incomplete as it is. It makes me tremble to look at it." She was touched at Ginny asking reassurance. No wonder she had always kept other eyes off her work until she knew it was the way she meant it to be.

"Wake me when you get up" said Ginny, hugging Myra again. "I want to go with you to see our granddaughter in the morning."

"Remember what it was like, our first night at home with Margie? And Gillam?" said Myra.

"In that very house. In that bedroom" said Ginny. "Our little boy has created his own immortality and his own family."


© 2008 Maggie Jochild.

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LOLCATS WEEKLY ROUND-UP, 7 OCTOBER 2008

Here's the weekly best of what I've gleaned from I Can Has Cheezburger efforts. There are some really creative folks out there. As usual, those from little gator lead the pack.

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GINNY BATES: MIMI

(Montmorency sour cherry tree)

Here's another installment of my Great American Lesbian Novel (in progress), Ginny Bates. If you are new to reading GB, go to the section in the right-hand column labeled Ginny Bates to read background and find out how to catch up.

May 2014

Myra and Ginny's new house renovation was finally completed on May 9, three weeks behind the already one month behind schedule it had been earlier. The yard was a wreck, all the bathrooms and windows needed cleaning, and Poppyseed's due date was in a week, which meant any minute now, really. The day they got the keys, Myra called the cleaning service working for Gillam and Jane, asking them to do a rush job the following day. Ginny called a university-area moving service which was rather fly-by-night but available immediately and arranged for the contents of their apartment to be transferred to the new house. She and Myra went to Pike and bought groceries for the new place, then went to the apartment and began packing.

Two days later, Ginny had hired the same student movers (who had managed to not break or misplace anything) to transport their furniture from storage to the house the following day. She put clean sheets on their bed, towels in the bathroom, dishes in the sideboard, and began unpacking her studio as Myra continued setting up the new kitchen. At dinnertime, Gillam and Jane walked over with a basket of fried chicken and fresh rolls. Allie and Edwina arrived shortly afterward with greens, grits, and three-bean salad. As Ginny came downstairs to make tea, Carly and Eric came in the front door with cartons of ice cream and vanilla wafers. Myra said "It's a potluck! How perfect for our first family meal here!"


After eating, everyone got the nosy grand tour. At the conclusion, back in the kitchen, Allie said "How can we help?"

"Oh, let's just sit at the table and play a game" said Myra.

"Nope. We gonna help. How about we work all-out for an hour, then we'll settle in to poker" said Allie. Ginny was more able to delegate than Myra at first, but eventually even Jane was assigned a task (sorting CDs and DVDs into a rack). When Myra's kitchen timer went off, she walked away from the box of books she had been shelving and yelled up the stairwells, "All done. Come down and buy your chips."

Of course, it took another quarter hour to find where the cards were, but Carly put on music and Edwina made iced coffee. Jane had to pee every quarter hour and used her frequent trips to "break in every toilet in the joint", reporting on "commode atmosphere" with much humor. They played until late, taking turns feeling the baby shift in Jane's belly and looking at each other with wild excitement. Ginny promised to bring Jane over the next morning and keep her company while Gillam reluctantly went to work. Jemima and Anton were arriving the following evening to sit vigil.

Over the next two days, Myra got her study and desk set up. Ginny had their art brought in from storage and hung it on the walls accompanied by heated discussion with Myra as to placement. Myra baked a double batch of bread and took half over to Jane and Gillam's. Ginny made a list of furniture they would need for the new place but could not find time to go out thrift-storing. Jane had two bouts of diarrhea, which Gillam thought might mean labor was approaching, but after switching to rice and bananas for half a day, it cleared up and the baby stayed put.

On their third day home, Myra put on battered clothes to help Ginny build their new raised beds, taking up one entire corner of the yard. They used the wheelbarrow to fill the beds with compost from Jane and Gillam's, a pile which had been years in the making, augmented by stacked bags of organic soil delivered to their new carport. As tired as they were by this, they went on to transplant Ginny's baby lettuces, cabbage, early tomatoes, kale, chard, broccoli, and marigolds. They sowed radishes, carrots, peas, beans, and squash. They planted onion sets and potatoes, started a mint bed, and filled special pots with strawberry starts.

They were now filthy as well as aching and sweaty. But triumphant. Gillam poked his head through the gate, holding Beebo, to say "This cat is spending all his time at the back fence here."

"He can't come visit yet, we've not gotten our fence cat-proofed" said Myra, coming to rub Beebo's head. "Tomorrow the security folks come to hook us our systems together, and the next day the fence will be finalized, they say."

"You smell" observed Gillam. "Of many things." Beebo's nose was twitching.

"Yeah, we're headed for -- well, our indoor hot-tub, I guess."

"You're welcome to use ours" said Gillam gallantly.

"Not with this muck on. Plus we need to be nekkid, and the in-laws might be shocked" grinned Myra.

"Then come by for dinner after. We're going to eat whenever Jane is ready, but there'll be plates set aside for you."

"You're on" said Myra. She regretted her acceptance once in the hot water, wishing she could instead drift off and stumble into her own bed with Ginny. But they dressed, groaning, and walked through the gate, met immediately by Beebo. Myra picked him up and said "You finally got us in the same general location again, but now there's a door. Cats HATE doors, don't they, buddy?"

Jane informed them "Dr. Plakovic says if I don't go into labor by Sunday, she wants to induce me."

"How do you feel about that?" asked Ginny, concerned. Jemima answered for Jane, saying "Every one of my kids was a week late, so-called, and they were all fine. I think pushing it leads to unnecessary C-sections."

Gillam looked pale at the mention of surgery. Jane, however, smiled serenely and said "I'm cruising. Wait and see."

The next day, Gillam called at noon to tell Myra that Jane's milk was starting to come in, what did that mean?

"I don't know. What did her doctor say?"

"To not break in the breast pump because that first colostrum should be fresh for the baby" said Gillam.

Two hours later he called back to say "I'm on the bus home. She says her back is aching.

"Ah" said Myra. "Now that I recognize."

"That's that Jemima said, too. Will you go sit with her until I get there?" Apparently Gillam's faith in his mothers far surpassed Jemima's extensive herstory as a breeder.

"We're on it" said Myra. When Gillam came in his front door, Jane was having her feet rubbed by her mother, Anton was talking with Ginny about how color was expressed on a particle level, and Myra was heating one of her lasagnas in the oven while constructing a salad.

"Lucy is on her way" Jane said, her pupils a little dilated, he thought. "Does the corner room upstairs have sheets on the bed?"

"I'll check after while" he said, beginning to rub her other foot.

"I need to pee again" she said, pulling her feet from both their hands. Gillam went with her. Myra called after him "Bring some towels back with you for Jane to sit on, just in case."

Ginny and Myra finally left at 10:00. Jane was still achy but not clearly in labor. Gillam called at 2 a.m. to say Jane's water had broken and she was starting to feel "spasms". "They said to come in at 8 a.m. instead of now, is that safe?" he asked.

"Yep" said Myra. "Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and get some sleep now if you can, it'll be your last chance for years."

"As if" said Gillam. "When are you coming to the hospital?"

"When you call and tell us she's in active labor, approaching transition. Unless you need us sooner" said Myra. If they weren't going to be in the room with the main action, sitting and waiting would be easier done at home.

"Okay" he said distractedly. "Anything else I should know?"

"Daddy is as easy for babies to learn to say as Mama if you work with them on it" said Myra. He laughed abruptly and hung up.

Myra was able to go back to sleep once she'd made sure the land line and both cells were in fact turned on. She got up with Ginny and they walked over to Jane and Gillam's immediately. Jane was walking back and forth in the hall, holding her back. A bag sat by the front door. Gillam's hair had not been combed. Jemima was putting eggs on the table.

"Come eat, son" said Myra. "I'm pouring you some milk. Do you think you could drink some milk, Jane?"

"No" she said shortly. She continued her pacing, her usually pale cheeks very flushed. She said to Anton "There's another wave, I guess you'd call it." Anton looked at his watch and said "Eight minutes plus a few seconds."

Myra buttered toast and added jam, setting it on Gillam's plate. "Eat" she said again. "You need the reserves, stoke up." He looked at her and complied. Ginny put on water for tea and conferred quietly with Jemima in the kitchen.

Gillam said "I didn't call Carly yet."

"I'll notify everybody" said Myra. "Do you want them to text you or divert messages through me?"

"I don't know" he said, watching Jane.

"Through you" said Anton. "And you can call me, you have my number, right?"

Gillam finished wolfing his meal and stood up. "Go brush your teeth and take a leak" advised Myra. "Then you can go, it's all right if you're early."

"Should we take our own car?" Anton said to Jemima. Gillam said over his shoulder, "I'm driving Jane. I'm the driver." His voice was high.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he went to Jane and took her hands. "You ready, love of my life?"

Jane leaned against him. "I don't honestly think so, but I don't have a choice, do I?"

Myra and Ginny came to hug them goodbye. "We'll take care of everything here" assured Ginny. Myra said "You are going to have a good birth, I know it in my gut. Enjoy as much of it as you can." Gillam looked at her with hope and disbelief mixed.

After the four of them left, Ginny cleaned the kitchen and Myra fed Beebo, saying "You're gonna have a new kitten in the house." They locked up and went home to eat fruit, write e-mails, and wait. Ginny took her cell upstairs with her as she began cleaning the overdue gecko habitat. Myra began a soup simmering, then got online at Williams and Sonoma, adding items to her new kitchen. Ginny walked by and saw what she was doing, and said "Don't send that order in yet, I want to look at the yard stuff first."

At the two hour mark, Myra called Anton to hear if there was any news. "She's progressing, they say. She's still walking, Gillam with her now. Her stomach definitely looks different."

Myra sent this out as text updates and put the finished soup into two containers, one for the new parents. Ginny took a bath, rubbing her hair dry by the upstairs window as she stared down into the yard. She called downstairs to Myra "I want a knot garden. I've always wanted one. We could put all the herbs in it."

"What about cold spells, or too much rain?" said Myra. "Some herbs need warm and dry."

Ginny thought for a moment. "We could build an iron frame over it, decorative, and let it slowly rust. Something to hold a plastic canopy if need be for monsoons or freezes. I bet Annie could design it."

"Sounds good" said Myra. "Ginny, I'm already in love with this house."

Ginny's face appeared at the stair railing above. "Me, too. But this is it, Myra. No more moves for us."

"Second that. What do you think, a boy or a girl?"

"I think a boy. I heard Gillam tell Carly that they're not going to observe Askenazic naming rules, and I wonder if that means Gillam plans to name his son after himself."

Myra gazed up at her. "World I cannot hold thee close enough" she quoted in a whisper.

"Is the soup done?"

"Yeah. Broccoli rice with a fish broth base. You want anything else with it?"

"Tomato sandwich. I'll come make them." When Ginny came downstairs, she had on dressy clothes. To meet her grandchild in, thought Myra. She made sure the camera battery was charged and asked Ginny to put some Swiss cheese on her own sandwich.

They ate in silence, at the same end of the table. Before they were done, the fence folks arrived. Myra carried her sandwich in her hand as she went out to explain, one more time, what they needed. The gate to Jane and Gillam's had a security lock on it, and she didn't give them the code in case Beebo slipped through. She explained they might be leaving for the hospital at any moment and told them to let themselves out the front gate when they were done.

When she went back in, Ginny was no longer at the table. Myra cleared the dishes and walked upstairs to discover Ginny stretching a canvas.

"Oh my god" said Myra.

"Don't worry, I'm not starting it yet. But it landed in my head like a tornado, and -- I never do this, Myra, but it's the baby. It's -- I was wrong, it's not a boy, it's a daughter. She appeared to me" said Ginny, looking amazed. "I can sketch it on the canvas and leave it until...I don't know when."

"If you can work in pieces, instead of one blast, we can swing it between visits to the hospital. At least for a couple of days" said Myra slowly. She had no doubt at all about the visitation, and she wanted this painting in existence, above any others Ginny had ever done.

"I'm not normal, you know" said Ginny emotionlessly.

"No, you're not, and thank you god for that" said Myra. "Take off that blouse if you're going to use charcoals."

Leaving Ginny naked from the waist up, Myra went back to the kitchen and began turkey meatloaf in three pans. She chopped Napa cabbage to add to the ground meat, which kept it moist. She spread a layer of Ginny's tomato paste on top and set it baking. She called Anton again, who said "Still going well, but not near enough for her to get her epidural yet. I'll call you, I swear, when it moves into the next stage."

She experimented with making potato galletes according to a new technique she'd seen on a cooking show, but interrupted herself to make peanut butter cookies. The fence crew finished and she gave them cookies as well as cold drinks before they left. She walked over to the old house and got Beebo, who rumbled with excitement as he finally breached the mysterious gate. She showed him their new cat door, put down a bowl of water and kibble for him, and left him to hours of exploration.

Eric and Carly came straight from work, hoping for more news. When there was none, Carly said "Are you going to plant a tree in your yard for this baby, too?"

Myra stared at him. "We hadn't discussed it." She went to the stairwell and called up. "Ginny? Come down for a sec, I gotta question. The boys are here, by the way."

Ginny had pulled on a T-shirt, so she wasn't completely gone into Painterland yet. She and Myra discussed the tree idea and decided the western fence line was a good place. Eric said "Will you let us go buy it? Can we choose it?"

Eric really missed having a yard. Ginny might have argued, but Myra said "Of course. A fruit tree, good for this climate, that will bear. Whatever you think is best." They left for the nursery with a handful of cookies.

Half an hour later, Allie and Edwina arrived, followed shortly by Chris and Sima. Myra had finished a salad and pulled the meat loaves from the oven. Chris made couscous and Sima steamed carrots while Allie set the table. Edwina baked a few pears to offer Allie instead of cookies. They began eating without Carly and Eric, who startled them by appearing outside the glass wall holding a small, burlap-wrapped cherry between them. Myra went to the door and said "We'll all dig the hole later, come eat first."

Before they had a chance to wash their hands, Ginny demanded "What kind is it?"

"Montmorency" said Carly happily. Eric added "Sour cherry, disease resistant, loves cold, and a heavy producer." Ginny smiled and said "Excellent."

They did not linger at the end of their meal. Everyone but Myra and Allie went outside to dig the hole. Myra told Allie about Ginny's premonition, and Allie whistled. Beebo accepted a morsel of meatloaf before returning to his prowling.

For the actual placing in the ground, Ginny came back for Myra and Allie. Myra carried both cell phones and left the door open so she could hear the house phone. Chris asked "What will we do with the placenta, bury it in a small hole over the roots later?"

Ginny laughed. "Jane said absolutely no to the idea of saving her placenta. So, instead, we'll bring Poppyseed out here and let her put her tiny hands on the trunk, as a blessing."

Carly and Eric stayed outside to water in the tree. Beebo had joined them, staying clear of drips. Back in the house, Ginny, Allie and Sima began talking over plans for the naming ceremony. Chris had brought her flute and went to sit by the fireplace, playing softly. Within a couple of minutes, Allie disengaged herself from the planning session and went to sit in the half dark with Chris, her eyes closed, listening. Edwina sat in front of Allie on the floor and pulled off her large collection of metal and shell bracelets, handing them back to Allie. Allie held them in her hand and began making a rhythm with them.

By the time Carly and Eric came back in, everyone was in the living room, weaving a percussion with mouth or object. Silently, the boys joined them. When the phone rang an hour later, they all jumped convulsively, jerked from a trance.

Myra clicked on. "Yeah? How are you, Gillam? Okay. We'll be there soon as we can drive it."

She faced them. "She's fully dilated and beginning to push. Gillam sounds crazed but happy."

Myra locked up as they all went out the front door. It wasn't until she was driving to the hospital that she realized it was shabbos. Nobody else had remembered, either. But they'd observed it all the same, she felt.

They were a large, attention-drawing cluster in the waiting room for another two hours. Gillam came out for 30 seconds to greet them, his face sweaty, his speech clipped. "She's not in pain any more, but we're worried about stamina" he said briefly. When he went back in, Ginny said "They shouldn't be, she's strong as a Percheron."

"Is somebody filming the birth?" asked Allie.

"Supposedly Anton, but he gets distracted easily" said Myra.

At 11:45, the door opened again and a beaming Lucy said "Will you all please come in, now?"

Jane was sitting up in bed with her hair matted to her head, a bundle held between her and Gillam. Gillam's face drew Myra's eye. He was beyond joy. He looked utterly fulfilled. He murmured to Jane, who let him have the baby with visible reluctance. He walked gingerly to Myra and Ginny, and had to clear his throat before he could say "This is our daughter, Jemima Jane Bates-Josong. Say hello to your clan, angel."

She was passed from arm to arm. Myra wept again at the expression not just on Allie's face, but Edwina's this time. Chris stopped fidgeting, and Carly and Eric held her together, Carly kissing her forehead reverently.

Gillam said "After prolonged debate, we're calling her Mimi for short."

"She's the third Jemima Jane" said Lucy, "And they felt like those names were already occupado."

Jemima added "And JJ was vetoed by Jane."

Gillam said "I lobbied hard for Trey". Anton giggled. "But it was Jane who finally came up with Mimi. And now that she's here, she's right."

"She looks exactly like you did at birth" said Ginny.

"She's got those Bates looks, she's the image of you and Margie, too" said Myra. "But yes, she's Gillam more than anything, with that wide brow and generous mouth."

"Such a mass of dark hair" said Allie. "And she's long, isn't she?"

"Long and big" said Jane in an exhausted voice.

"Born at 11:17 on May 16th, weight 8 lb. 8 oz., 21 inches long" said Gillam. "Yelling as she came out. She's already nursed once."

One of the nurses said "They really need to rest, all of them. Visiting hours begin tomorrow at 8:00."

Thad left with the rest of them, walking with them to the parking lot. "This is the niece I'll get to help raise" he said. "And she's Jane's, which makes her the most special anyhow."

The rest of them decided to head for bed and meet again at the hospital in the morning. As Ginny unlocked Myra's side of the car, she leaned in for a long kiss and said "Grandma, you never looked better to me."

"He did it" said Myra. "He really did it."

"Let's call Margie" said Ginny.


© 2008 Maggie Jochild.

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GINNY BATES: PREGNANT SPRING

(Blueberry Pie and Bagettes, mosaic mural by Therese Desjardin)

Here's another installment of my Great American Lesbian Novel (in progress), Ginny Bates. If you are new to reading GB, go to the section in the right-hand column labeled Ginny Bates to read background and find out how to catch up.

March-April 2014

Though the renovations to Jane and Gillam's house were much less extensive, Jane was over there every day she was not called in to substitute teach. Gillam brought home a face mask for her to wear to filter out paint and other fumes. When Ginny saw it, she drove right down to the same store and bought a supply for Myra. They actually helped Myra stay on site more, giving Ginny half a day off at a stretch, which she usually spent in the garden at Jane's, as they had begun to call their old place.

A week later, Myra woke up with the inevitable "bowling tournament", as she called it, that seemed to be part of their upstairs neighbor's morning preparation for work. She noticed that Ginny felt very hot to the touch. Over breakfast, she asked "Are you feeling a painting coming on?"

"Fighting it" said Ginny tightly.

Myra thought for a minute. "Go ahead. I can handle it."

"Are you sure? It's the plumbers this week, and if that tile upstairs has to be replaced -- "

"I'll consult you about the design. Otherwise, I'll take my laptop and sit on the bench by the fireplace downstairs, that's a relatively calm spot. We need to put down a dropcloth in the studio here, though."

She helped Ginny get set up, made her lunch and set an alarm to go off at noon to remind Ginny, and drove to the new/old houses with Jane. She emptied a thick cardboard box of its sink and used that as a table for her laptop. The second day, she took in a large cooler of soft drinks and snacks which she handed out to crew, solidifying her position as the new go-to owner. After four days, Ginny had produced a spectacular portrait of Jane as a pregnant Valkyrie. After ten hours sleep, she woke up with a second painting nipping at her heels, and Myra waved her on.


Demolition finally came to an end at both sites. Myra's turf was filled with plumbers, electricians, and elevator installers. The solar panel folks were doing both roofs at once. The back corner of their yard was dug up to install the grey water tank and the rainwater collection cistern, tracking mud throughout every room. At Jane's, however, exterior painting and appliance installation began. Ginny's blue door was transformed to a rich brown, while the outside walls became ivory.

"Won't that show every spot of mildew? And reflect sun-based heat, instead of absorb it?" Myra asked Ginny at dinner that night.

"Yes indeedy" said Ginny shortly. "But the copper salmon will go back on our new blue door. And Jane is from California, remember."

Myra wasn't sure what that last part meant. However, all their decisions seemed to be made just as much by Gillam as Jane. She decided not to point that out to Ginny. Instead, she said "The wrong fixtures were delivered for the roll-in shower. It's called brushed nickel instead of the shiny stuff you ordered. I called but you didn't answer, and they said it would take another week to exchange things, so I went ahead with what we had."

"Well, shit" said Ginny. "Did they find that leak in the side wall?"

"No. But they decided to run pex there instead of using the old pipes anyhow, so it doesn't matter."

"How much extra is that going to cost?" demanded Ginny.

"I don't remember. It's got a 20 year guarantee, though. Look, Gin, we're doing well, relatively speaking. At least the space they made for the elevator actually appears to match the car it's designed for, let's count our blessings. Here, have my extra scallop."

By the first of April, Jane and Gillam's house was ready and they moved in, with a pizza dinner that night for the extended family. They had purchased a massive old table which Ginny was going to paint for them at some point in the indefinite future. It was battered and had more than one finish at the moment, but nobody cared: Getting to eat in the familiar yet utterly transformed dining room was a relief for everyone.

A few evenings later, Gillam walked over through the new gate and invited Myra and Ginny to come for dinner which he was cooking. After seeing off their work crew, Myra and Ginny approached the back door, hearing Jane at the piano and the recently uncovered hot tub bubbling again. Gillam let Myra make the gravy for his broiled chicken, and Ginny went upstairs to cut herbs. Afterward, they retired to a living room arranged in a way they'd never used with furniture they'd never have looked at twice.

When she needed to pee, Myra stood up from the chair which was more comfortable than it looked it would be and faced a quandary: The bathroom adjacent to the main bedroom was no longer "her" bathroom. Neither was the bedroom. After a moment's hesitation, she turned left and went to the guest bathroom next to what was, thank god, still a laundry and storage room.

After she came out, she went to the kitchen to refill her cup of tea. Ginny followed her, calling out to those in the living room "Shall I start another pot?"

"I'll do that" began Gillam in his host voice.

"No need to, if you want the same as before" said Ginny. He settled back down and said "Will you bring it in here when you're done? And pile more of those hazelnut bars on a plate, too."

"Their compost is overdue to be taken out" Ginny whispered to Myra.

"I'll do it" Myra offered, but Ginny said "No. It's their household, they'll run it the way they want." After a moment, she couldn't help but add "Sitting in that living room, though, is like being in an Ikea catalogue."

"They bought it themselves" said Myra, "That's what counts."

"Did he just hate all the color and solid old furniture growing up, then?" continued Ginny in her barely-breathed but still aggrieved tone.

"He adored it. But he did grow up. And he's sharing his world with someone else now. I gave up the idea of ever having my own soda fountain on this counter here because of you, remember Besides, the feel of this house is still as wonderful, don't you think?"

Ginny grudgingly agreed it was nice to be there. As if to argue with herself, she said "The biggest plus is the commute we had to get here."

"Exactly" grinned Myra.

"What are you two whispering about in there?" called Gillam. Ginny poked her head around the corner with a quizzical look and said "Uh, are these little brown mice new pets you didn't tell us about?"

Gillam was on his feet in horror before he realized Ginny was teasing him. They all laughed as she and Myra returned with a tray, Ginny saying "If I'd let you have that soda fountain, you'd be dead now of a heart attack."

Jane was now eight months pregnant and having trouble finding a comfortable position in which to sleep. Both she and Gillam looked tired all the time. Myra began doing their grocery shopping for them and persuaded Gillam to accept a cleaning service to come in once week for laundry, vacuuming, mopping, and other heavy labor. It was all he and Jane could do to keep up their classes and Gillam's job. They had both done extra class work all semester as a deal with their professors against the time when the baby would be delivered and miss at least a week for Gillam, more for Jane. Jane was going to take her final exam later in the summer. They were both such exceptional students, they were granted this leeway.

Myra also got into the habit of making lunch for Jane, walking over to their house through the gate and finding out what Jane's appetite was needing that day. She made enough extra to provide the young couple with dinner as well. Ginny was going over in the morning to have breakfast with Jane, who had stopped getting up with Gillam because she was short on sleep.

On Sunday, Myra and Ginny arrived with a large roast, two ducks, and enough side dishes to feed an army. Jane and Gillam were both crabby, and Myra said "We're just dropping these off. We plan to be next door, hashing out yard plans on graph paper, if you need us for anything." Neither of the young people urged them to stay. Once they out of earshot, Ginny said "I think they were fighting."

"Wouldn't surprise me" said Myra. "Is it safe for us to use the elevator yet?"

"I don't know and I'm not going to risk it. There's stuff we can do inside, since it's starting drizzling. I'm taking this broom upstairs." She vanished into what Myra was beginning to think of as an enormous house, especially compared to their cramped apartment.

An hour later, Gillam came in the back door. "I made a pie earlier, thought you'd like a piece" he said, holding out a plate with two wedges on it.

"I would, even though I'm full of my share of that roast" said Myra. She sat down on a lower step and offered him to join her. "Wow, this is tasty -- did you add almond juice to the blueberries, or what?"

"Or what" grinned Gillam. "Trade secret."

After two more bites, Myra said "So, how's it going?"

"We're squabbling over the baby's name" said Gillam dejectedly. "And I can't talk with you about it, don't try."

"Is she unyielding in a way you never noticed before?" asked Myra. "Petty? Humorless?"

"Yeah" said Gillam, surprised.

"It's not her. I mean, it is, but it's the final trimester hormones hitting her brain, too. Protect the fetus at all costs translates into some weird behavioral shifts" said Myra.

"Good to hear" he said. "I'm feeling pretty irrational myself, way too often."

"A little like watching a freight train bear down on you?" said Myra.

"I thought getting the house ready would help more than it has" said Gillam. "I guess there's no sanctuary from insane responsibility."

"You're up to it, boychik" said Myra. "If Poppyseed appeared overnight, you're ready. What's required is empathy, flexibility, and love, love, love. You're as good as they come in those departments."

"I get scared when I see her climb the stairs" he said. "I get scared when I feel the baby move under my hand. I'm scared now, being out of the house."

"I hear you" said Myra. "It gets better, once you have a routine of hands-on things that actually do make the baby safe and happy."

He rubbed his forehead. "Listen, I need to tell you something. You and Mom both."

"Should we get her down here, or you want to start with me?"

"I'll take the easy route" he said with a faint smile. "You know that Jane's parents are coming for the birth. And Lucy, if she can. They'll be staying at our house."

"Yes. We'll be on call to feed them or drive them around, if necessary."

"Yeah, Thad has offered, too. Well, the thing is...Jane wants her mother and Lucy in the room for the birth. And her dad, if he really wants to. Plus me. But nobody else." Gillam looked at her with not quite apology.

"Oh. Well, I guess -- I had hoped to see your child born, I'll be honest. But -- it's what the mother needs, Gillam, what the woman doing all the work that counts. And you, I don't mean to erase your role, but she's -- it's unbelievable, giving birth, Gillam. You have to be and do whatever Jane wants. You're her lifeline. Even the baby comes second, once labor is underway." She repeated what Patty had told her before Margie's birth.

"I don't think Mom is going to be so understanding" said Gillam.

"Don't underestimate her. She delivered both of you without anesthetic, she knows firsthand in a way I don't. And, if you asked us but not Allie, well that would be strange, and then what about Carly and Margie -- no, I think Jane's support system makes sense. We'll be on hand, out in the waiting room, when you need us." Myra was deeply disappointed and determined not to let any of it show.

"Jane says fuck pain, she's having an epidural" said Gillam.

"Good for her" laughed Myra.

"How about if you and Mom do all the arranging of the naming ceremony?" said Gillam. "At our house. And if Aunt Cathy is here, we want her to be the kvatterin. If not, then Aunt Allie, like she did for me."

"And Margie" said Myra happily. "Are you getting Rabbi Rachel to officiate?"

"No. Carly" said Gillam. His elbow was next to Myra's, and she suddenly realized he was trembling slightly. She put her arm around his shoulders and said "It's going to be okay, honeyboy. It's all going to be just fine."

He cried, as she hoped he would, leaning against her and letting his chest heave. Ginny appeared from above them and sat on his other side, stroking his back. When he was done, he wiped his face with the back of his hand and said "Whew. A little backed up, there."

"Come visit the gatekeeper anytime" said Myra. Ginny had picked up the pie plate and began eating.

"I should get home. Stop by again before you leave, okay?" he said, kissing them each on the cheek.

After he was gone, Myra filled Ginny in on the conversation. Ginny said "I'd wondered about the birth room thing. I don't blame her. The truth is, if Chris hadn't been phobic about hospitals, I'd not have wanted her and Sima in there with us, either."

"A month from now..." mused Myra. "And the contractor told you absolutely, we get this place finished in ten days?"

"He swore. For what it's worth" said Ginny.

The following Friday, shabbos was at Chris and Sima's. Chris's dictionary had been published by the Smithsonian and she had advance copies for them all to crow over. It was a jubilant meal.

Over dessert, Sima said "Guess who I ran into on the street this week? Yoshi Barton."

Myra looked instantly uncomfortable. Allie said "Yeah? She living here now?"

"Yes, she's moved back with her partner. She asked about you. She likes your books, she said."

Ginny said "I don't think I know her, do I?"

Sima answered "She's one of Allie's exes. They were together around the time I met Chris. She asked after you, too" she said to Chris.

Chris said "I bet she didn't ask after Myra." Her tone was provocative.

"Why wouldn't she?" said Gillam.

Myra didn't look up from her plate. Gillam couldn't tell if she was mad or embarrassed.

Allie said "Myra didn't like Yoshi. Was crazy jealous of her."

Myra did look up, then. Mad, Gillam decided. "You're right that I didn't like her. But it was not jealousy."

"What was it, then?" challenged Allie. Ginny realized this was an old, untouched wound.

"I don't think she was...ethical" said Myra.

Allie said to Edwina "We was together almost a year, and Myra never once hung out with the both of us."

"I don't remember you asking me to" retorted Myra. "And I'm sure she didn't."

"Did you have some sort of past relationship with her?" asked Ginny cautiously.

"No. I mean, I'd met her. Through Blue" said Myra. There was definite evasion coming from her, Ginny could tell.

"So you just magically knew she was wrong for me from the get-go and that was enough to not support me in the first big relationship I had during those years" said Allie. "But you can't explain why."

"Was I wrong about her?" replied Myra. "I mean, she dumped you for somebody else and never answered your calls."

"You never talk about her" said Edwina quietly.

"It's a sore subject" said Allie. "Matter of fact, let's drop it now."

There was a long, turgid silence. Myra could tell Edwina's hand was on Allie's knee. Finally Carly said "How 'bout them Seahawks?", which sent them all into relieved laughter.

Back at their apartment, as Ginny was heading for bed, she stopped and turned to Myra. "What's the story with that ex of Allie's -- Yoshi, was that her name?"

Myra put down her pencil and sighed. "I don't talk about it. I don't have anyone I can talk to about it. But I'd like to. You have to promise to never tell anyone, especially Allie."

Ginny sat down swiftly at her worktable. "I promise."

"She was a friend of Blue's, from Ithaca, where Blue lived before. She moved here with her lover, Wicca, after they'd traveled around in their camper for several months. They were crashing with Blue, and fighting nonstop because somewhere along the way, Wicca had slept with a woman they met. They were technically nonmonogamous, but it was one of those deals where neither of them ever acted on it, so they had all the political points without having to deal with actual other women. But Wicca had upset the applecart, and Yoshi couldn't get past it. So...I had some sort of rep as being good with mediation, helping dykes sort out stuff. I'd do it for groups or two women in conflict, usually for a simple barter. Blue asked me if I'd meet with them, and I agreed. Wicca was good at haircuts, so I traded a two hour mediation for two haircuts, I remember. I didn't tell Allie about it because, well, I felt like these sessions were confidential and shouldn't be part of community knowledge."

Myra stopped, rolling her pencil back and forth cross her desk.

"And?" prompted Ginny.

"Well, it did not go well, to say the least. They'd been together at least five years but you coulda fooled me, they had absolutely shitty communication skills. Wicca was apologetic, kept saying she'd never do it again, she'd take it back if she could, but that wasn't good enough for Yoshi. She wanted her beaten down and destroyed, seemed like. I finally confronted her and said 'What do you hope to get from this? Wicca can't apologize any more than she has. Either you believe her and move on, or you two won't be able to go on being lovers, is that what you want?' Wicca was wailing, saying 'Don't leave me!' Yoshi was so fucking cold, I couldn't believe it. She said 'We have to even up the score. The only way to do that is for me to fuck somebody else, too.' Wicca begins begging her not to, saying it'll make her crazy, which is just feeding Yoshi's lust for vengeance. Then Yoshi says 'And since you say this woman you were with didn't mean anything to you, I'll make that even, too. I'll pick somebody who's a nothing, a loser. I'll fuck her and we can talk then about starting over.'"

Ginny's face was horrified. "You're not saying..."

"Yep. They left, because Yoshi wouldn't budge and I said I couldn't help them any further. And six days later, not even a week, Allie calls me one morning before work to say she's got a new girlfriend. She was thrilled to bits, saying it had happened in a whirlwind, after one date. I had to get off the phone to throw up. I couldn't tell her, Ginny, you see that? I couldn't break confidence, but I also -- I just wanted it not to be true. And when Yoshi kept seeing her, I thought maybe it wasn't revenge, maybe she really had fallen for Allie, I mean, who wouldn't? Only then Wicca came over to give me a haircut and she said Yoshi had called her, they were talking about making up when Yoshi was 'done with her affair', and in the meantime they were sleeping together again. I was beside myself, Ginny. And I couldn't talk to anyone about it. After a few days, I called Yoshi and told her if she didn't stay away from Allie, I was going to beat the shit out of her. She laughed at me and hung up. And then she stayed with Allie for months and months, dragging her through all kinds of emotional games and lying hell. She never did get back with Wicca, she was jacking her along, too." Myra's face was miserable.

"And Allie never knew?"

"Not from me. But she stopped talking to me about her and Yoshi when she decided I was jealous of them and being irrational. It was -- it took everything we had to stay friends through that." Myra looked into Ginny's eyes. "I hate her, Gin. Yoshi, I mean. I think she is the scum of the earth."

"I can see why" said Ginny. "I think you should tell Allie now, though.'

"What, that she was so pathetic she was tagged as a loser by someone new to town, a woman she loved who used her as a pawn? I can't say that to Allie" said Myra.

"But it's a barrier between you. Listen, how about if I talk it over with Edwina? Allie doesn't see herself as a reject any more, not in any way. I think she'd be relieved to know you weren't an asshole in the way she thinks you are. You are vitally important to her, much more than even the memory of Yoshi is, I'm sure" said Ginny. "Secrets are toxic, Myra. In ways you can't control."

"I don't know" said Myra worriedly.

"Trust me, Myra. I think this as much for Allie's sake as for yours. Give me the okay to talk with Edwina, and if she disagrees with me, says don't tell Allie, then we won't. But if she thinks Allie would rather know, well, you'll trust her assessment, won't you?"

Myra chewed her lower lip. "Yeah. Okay. Especially since that fucking skank has moved back to town and I may have to run into her."

Ginny stood and kissed Myra. "I'm amazed you've kept this to yourself without imploding."

"Anything to not hurt Allie" said Myra. Ginny hugged her close and whispered "I know what you mean."


© 2008 Maggie Jochild

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GINNY BATES: GOODBYE TO ROY STREET

Here's another installment of my Great American Lesbian Novel (in progress), Ginny Bates. If you are new to reading GB, go to the section in the right-hand column labeled Ginny Bates to read background and find out how to catch up.

February 2014

The day after Ginny's birthday, Myra slept late. When she got up, an enormous wooden crate blocked the living room, and Ginny was methodically removing all the art, hers and others, from walls, wrapping the pieces in special padded boxes, then standing them on end in the crate. Myra helped her with a feeling of desolation at how the house already looked. Ginny packed fragile and rare items, like the pot Myra had brought her from Second Mesa, into a second compartmented crate, and they hammered the lids down. Late that afternoon, a crew came to take the crates for storage at a bonded warehouse with temperature control and high security.

Over the next two days, they sorted through all the items they'd possibly need for three to four months and packed what they could into boxes. Everything else going into storage would be left for the movers. Gillam and Jane wanted to keep the shelving in the store room, so the rows of preserves could be left. Ditto the contents of the freezer, and all of Ginny's plants on the upstairs deck. Gillam's bedroom furniture was moved into the upstairs hall and stacked. The mini-stove in Carly's kitchenette was given away, since Jane wanted to use that space for a stacking washer and dryer upstairs, an idea Myra wished she'd had decades earlier. Carly and Eric moved the furniture from his old room to their apartment.


Myra had difficulty determining which books she might want in the next quarter year. Finally Ginny said "Just pack the ones in your study that you've actually opened in the last six months. Everything else goes to storage." Carly and Eric came over a second evening to help with this, tackling the shelves on the stairs. Myra was clearing out the pantry and overheard part of a quiet conversation between them. Carly had said something about Gillam and a "balancing act".

"What is it with him and her? Were they always like this?" said Eric. As Myra wondered which "her" was meant, Carly said "Think Sarah Connor and John. That's a good comparison."

Eric giggled. "Lordy. Where does that leave you, then?"

"In the clear" said Carly cheerfully. Myra repeated this snippet later to Allie, who found it very entertaining.

"What else did they say?" she asked.

"Uh...I think they began making out then" said Myra, embarrassed.

On Friday morning, a large team of movers arrived with two trucks, one for storage and one to carry what they were taking to the new apartment. It was a hard day for Myra and Ginny both. The movers finished by 5:30, accepted cold drinks and snack boxes, then pulled off as Margie and Frances pulled up. "I've ordered Chinese food" announced Ginny, her voice echoing through the living and dining rooms. The fridge was gone, but they had a cooler still holding ice and drinks. When the food was delivered, with paper plates and plastic forks, Gillam and Jane arrived with Carly and Eric.

They ate every last scrap, sitting in a circle on the floor. After dinner, Margie said "Is your new apartment set up for you?"

"Not nearly" said Myra. "We've rented a motel room for the night. We got you one, too." She handed Margie a key.

"Why don't we tour Gillam and Jane's new house, now that it's cleared, and hear what they plan to do with it?" suggested Ginny. Jane looked at her gratefully.

It was eerie, how large the rooms seemed. Myra and Ginny stayed arm in arm as Gillam explained how they planned to arrange the new family room once the wall between the old study and studio came down, with his desk in a corner and Jane's piano at the end. He and Jane waved their hands as if magically spreading carpet on floors or paint on walls, mentioning colors like oatmeal, champagne, biscuit. Ginny kept squeezing Myra's arm unobtrusively.

They went upstairs to the mural room, still covered in the drapery panels Gillam had chosen as a teenager. "You should see these walls, Jane" he said. "Can we get these down without hurting the mural underneath?"

"They're screwed on at the corners" remembered Ginny. Frances pulled a Swiss Army knife from her pocket and extracted the screwdriver. Kicking off her shoes, she said "Gimme a boost" to Margie, who made a stirrup of her hands and lifted Frances to her shoulders. Frances balanced against the far wall of the bedroom and unscrewed the top corner of one panel, then walked with her hands as Margie carried her to the other corner, which she unscrewed as well. Sliding to the ground, she disconnected the bottom two corners, Gillam and Margie holding the panel in place until it was all loose . As they lowered it and placed it against the side wall, Jane gasped.

The river at Green Knowe flowed into the river in front of Ratty's house and Toad Hall, which emptied into a lake from Swallows and Amazons, which drained into the Everglades where a group of girls in fol boats were trying to outrace an approaching hurricane while in the swamp beyond them Mowgli was talking to Bagheera. On the shores, extending up into mountain ranges or nearby plains and forests, were Joan of Arc and Robin Hood, Charlotte in her web, the Would-Be-Goods, Harriet Tubman leading escaping slaves past a cheering Scout and Jem, Harriet the Spy taking notes on Buffalo Woman who in turn was trying to approach Misty of Chincoteague's wild pony parents, Justin making biscuits at a campfire nearby, and a small pond covered with water lilies adjoining Linnea in Monet's garden -- all were revealed in vivid color.

Gillam stepped over to put his arm around Jane's waist. "Wait until we take off the ceiling drapes. Peter and Wendy are flying up there, with Mary Poppins and Dragonwings -- "

"And Kiki running deliveries, which got added in after you were born -- " said Margie.

"Flying Monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the West" remembered Carly. Ginny gave Myra a nudge, grinning.

"Podkayne of Mars, in transit" continued Margie.

"Stuart Little in his airplane" added Gillam. "Wonder Woman in her invisible airplane, and Amelia Earhart over the Pacific. But no Ripley" he said, turning to Myra. "Why nothing from Alien, Mom?"

Myra nudged Ginny back, more forcefully. "I was defeated by the Hays Code" she replied.

"A whole new generation is going to fall asleep at night with these images in their heads" said Gillam, wonder in his voice. "In fact..." He looked at Jane, who finished his sentence for him.

"We were hoping you'd do a second mural in the other bedroom up here. A lot has happened in the world of children's books since I was born, and we plan to have two bedrooms full of kids."

Ginny's eyes were welling. "Of course we'll do it. I mean, I can't actually speak for Allie -- "

"But you know she will" said Myra.

"I'll help!" said Margie eagerly.

"Me, too" said Carly. "Can't paint but I can haul ladders, whatever lifting needs doing."

Gillam said "We'll need a whole wall just for Allie's Podinqo books".

"And Skene" said Ginny.

"And Maira Kalman" said Jane. "Max, Mrs. Kackleman, Grand Central -- "

"Hey Willie See The Pyramids" said Gillam, grinning at Margie.

"Calder's Circus" added Ginny. "Stay Up Late."

"We missed all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings possibilities the first time around" said Myra. She mouthed at Gillam "And Ripley." Ginny pretended not to see.

"Arthur, D.W., and Buster making maple syrup with the lesbians" said Frances.

"Plus Lemony Snicket" said Jane. "All the Philip Pullman books. Olivia. And that train ride through the water in Spirited Away."

"And on the ceiling, Porco Rosso, Princess Nausicaä and Howl's Flying Castle" said Gillam, getting more and more excited. "And Catwings, and oh my god, a quidditch match!"

"Hermione!" breathed Margie.

They all stood still for a moment, imagining the room to come. Then Margie walked over to the closet and swung open the door.

"Come look at this" she said, motioning Frances to her. On the back side of the door were two painted lines marked off in one inch intervals, labeled "Margie" and "Gillam" in different colors. Their heights at each half-year gap were inked in. Jane and Frances were enchanted.

"Look, we stopped at 16" said Margie. She asked Myra "Got a pen in your back pocket?"

Giggling, Myra pulled it out. Margie backed up to her name and Gillam drew a line on the wood at the crest of her head, then she did the honors for him. They wrote down the date and their ages. "Now it's all done" said Gillam. "We'll have to find a new place for our children's progress."

Ginny was trembling. Myra kissed her cheek, and they started back downstairs.

Myra turned into their old bedroom, still linked with Ginny. As everyone filed in behind them, Ginny said to Gillam "That glass wall originally was like the other walls, with just two casement windows."

"Wow, hard to imagine" said Gillam.

"And our bed was over here against this wall" said Myra, walking to the spot. She looked at Ginny and said "The first time we ever made love was right here."

Ginny said softly "Remember how I couldn't wait?" Suddenly she recalled, vividly, Myra's expression as she looked down into her face and the feel of Myra's hand sliding between her legs for the first time. She closed her eyes momentarily, weak with desire.

Gillam turned and left the room. Myra, not noticing, pointed back to the spot in front of the glass wall and said "And both our children were conceived in that very bed."

"With eggs I'd carried my whole life, waiting to use for just that reason" said Ginny.

Gillam, discovering everyone else was still in the bedroom listening, came back and stood leaned against the doorway.

Margie said, "Well, as one of those eggs, I do most earnestly thank you."

Ginny laughed and pulled Margie in between her and Myra. "You spent your first nights home in that bed with us -- you, too, Gillam." She craned her neck around at him. Jane stepped over to Gillam and said to him "As will our babies, hmm?"

He beamed at her. Frances linked her arms between Carly and Eric and asked "How about you, boyfriends? Planning to reproduce?"

Carly was startled, then laughed and said "You offering a womb?"

Eric and Frances found this hilarious, as did Margie. Myra and Ginny smiled but did not laugh. Neither did Gillam.

Myra said "Well, to quote Annie Lamott: 'A hundred years from now? All new people.' So, let's bow to the inevitable, leave this house to Jane and Gillam, and I, for one, need to go to bed early tonight." They hugged Jane and Gillam goodnight and walked back to the living room, bagging trash and carrying the cooler to their car. When Margie and Frances joined them, they left for the motel. Myra refused to look back at the front door.

The following night, their first at the new apartment, Myra found herself awakened repeatedly by sounds from outside and the apartment upstairs. She was unable to sleep in, either. She dragged herself out of bed not long after Ginny got up and went with her to the renovation site of their new house, stopping for a Coke along the way. By lunch she was so cranky, she drove herself home for a nap instead of eating. She put in foam earplugs and slept for three hours. That night when she went to bed, she put in the earplugs again.

The third morning, she woke up before dawn feeling congested. Taking out the earplugs didn't help the swollen feeling in her head. She rummaged through the closet and finally located her breathing treatment machine. She took it into the living room and set it up on the end table next to their one easy chair. After having a treatment, she felt a little better and dropped off, but was awakened by neighbors getting up and going to work. By the time Ginny got up, Myra said she had an earache and was coughing up thick phlegm. Ginny took her temperature and found it was over 100.

Myra called her doctor's early hours nurse and finally persuaded her to not force an office visit on her. She was prescribed an antibiotic and a decongestant, which Ginny ran out to pick up for her, along with a gallon of orange juice. Back at the apartment, Ginny made a quick batch of garlicky chicken soup while Myra ate dry toast and drank OJ with her first round of drugs.

"Eat a bowl of this whenever you can" said Ginny. "I really have to go back to the work site, honey. But I'll have my cell -- "

"I'm going to hang out in the easy chair and watch movies all day, with breathing treatments every four hours" said Myra, coughing at the end.

"Uh...The movies are all in storage, I think" said Ginny.

"Oh, god. Daytime TV is depressing" said Myra.

"Make a list and I'll run to rent you some before I leave" said Ginny, feeling harried already. Myra asked for her laptop, which Ginny brought to her. Her list wound up with 24 titles on it.

"I'm not going to rent this many" objected Ginny.

"Ten. Get the top ten if they have them" said Myra. She looked mulish, and Ginny didn't argue.

"And Beebo, I want Beebo here for company" added Myra.

"The last thing you need is cat fur in your lungs" said Ginny.

"It's already on this chair, and I'll keep him out of the bedroom. I need him" said Myra. Ginny had to borrow Gillam and Jane's litter box, making two trips across the complex to set up Beebo with Myra. He was highly interested in their apartment and was still investigating when Ginny finally escaped, saying "No cheese, no milk, don't put those earplugs back in, and if you need something delivered, try Allie. I'll be home by 6:00 and feed you something else then."

When Ginny got home, a loud chase scene was blaring. Myra was leaned back in her chair asleep, Beebo at her shoulder. He woke up and looked at Ginny quizzically. The end of the dining table nearest Myra was littered with take-out boxes full of Thai dishes. Ginny looked for Coke bottles but found none; the orange juice was empty. When she turned off the TV, Myra woke up and gave a long belch before demanding the remote.

Ginny muttered to herself "I might as well have a husband" and began carrying take-out into the kitchen. Myra said "I ordered you a shrimp something. And I'm hungry again."

"How long have these been sitting out?" said Ginny.

"Two-three hours" said Myra. "It's so spicy, it won't have turned. And it really cleared my head. I want more of the yellow curry dish, it's got tofu and water chestnuts, you'll like it. And the crab wraps. And -- oh, some of everything, really."

Ginny made two plates, heated them in the microwave, and joined Myra at the table, insisting she sit up and eat like an adult.

"This that new place? It's extremely good" said Ginny.

"Mm-hm" said Myra, not mentioning the mango pudding and sticky rice buns with red bean paste she'd had for dessert earlier. Beebo's kibble looked untouched, and Ginny guessed he'd helped himself to the chicken soup in Myra's bowl on the floor or take-out cartoons all day. Gillam stopped by for a visit after dinner and took Beebo home with him. "Drop him off tomorrow on your way to work, please" called Myra after them.

"I want you to try sleeping in the bed tonight" said Ginny. "We'll put an extra pillow for you. Eventually you'll get used to the noise, Myra. Did you sleep any solid amounts today, or was it all movie-laden dozing?"

"Mostly the latter" said Myra. "I feel raw, still." She hadn't asked about how the renovation was going at all. Ginny felt drained herself. She mixed more juice and a carafe of herbal tea, and coaxed Myra into a shower with her, hoping the steam would help. They didn't have a tub in this apartment.

Myra slept in chunks but again got up before dawn to take a breathing treatment. Ginny found her watching another movie with the sound turned off and captioning on. "Didn't want to wake you" said Myra.

"Do you still have a fever?"

"Maybe when I first got up" said Myra. "Now I just feel achy. What the fuck are they wearing upstairs, wooden shoes with metal spikes?"

Ginny made them eggs and fruit. Gillam forgot about Beebo, so she had to go retrieve the cat again before leaving for the construction site, which was pure chaos. Jane rode with her to check on the progress of their own house. Because of Jane's needs, Ginny came home at 3:00 and found Myra eating a cheeseburger with Chris, watching some thriller from the summer before.

"I finished the chicken soup" said Myra, trying to appear virtuous. "And the solar panel folks called me three times, despite me giving them your cell number over and over, did they get hold of you?"

"Goddammit, no, and I kept leaving them messages" said Ginny. She sat down at the other end of the table with her notebook and phone. Beebo hopped up beside her and she pushed him onto the floor irritably. She wrangled with obtuse men on the phone, her voice loud because of the TV blare. When the movie ended, Chris picked up their food debris but came back to sit on cushions on the floor near Myra, showing no interest in leaving.

Ginny went into the kitchen and began constructing a salad. She wasn't quite done when Carly and Eric stopped by with fresh salmon and an offer to cook it with one of Eric's noodle dishes. Ginny gratefully accepted, and as they filled the small kitchen, she complained for half an hour nonstop about the trials of dealing with construction crews. Carly listened patiently, putting a small slice of salmon in Beebo's bowl atop the still undisturbed kibble.

Myra wasn't hungry again yet, so Ginny ate with Carly and Eric. When they were done, Carly methodically harassed Myra from her easy chair and into shoes for the walk to his and Eric's apartment. "You need to move your body, to clear out the infection" he insisted. "I'll put you through a routine on our machine and you'll sleep tonight as a result." Chris left with them, and Ginny relaxed into the sensation of having space and silence for a while.

Myra returned with color in her face again and sweat on her cheeks. Ginny asked her to go over some house questions, and Myra sat at the table with more attention she'd had in days. When Gillam walked over to pick up Beebo, Myra told him she wouldn't be at home all day the next day, so Beebo shouldn't plan on returning.

She did sleep better, but was still tired when Ginny woke up. They ate together and Myra said she needed to go slow, she'd come over to the work site at noon, bring Ginny lunch. She kept her word but didn't stay long because her wheezing recurred swiftly with all the dust in the air. She had her laptop with her, and instead of going back to the apartment, she went to a diner and sipped Cokes while reading e-mail and blog comments. She wrote a new post, then sat staring out the window for half an hour. Finally she opened a new document and began writing.

The only reason she noticed the time was because the diner had filled up. It was almost 5:00. She hurried home, Ginny calling her cell just as Myra was parking her car. She helped Ginny make a quick veggie pasta dish with the last of their salad greens as a side. After dinner, she opened her laptop and continued writing.

"Something new?" asked Ginny, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Memoir, I guess you'd call it. Not sure what it's for" said Myra. She vanished back into her computer. Ginny sighed, looked through the cupboards until she found her favorite sketch block and pencils, and sat at the other end of the table to draw Myra. Anything but floor plans and design ideas.

Myra's sleep was normal that night, although she went to bed late, staying up writing. She didn't want to go with Ginny to the new house the next morning but forced herself. Once again, however, her wheezing flared. She left apologetically, going to Pike for groceries as penance and making clam fritters with roasted corn for Ginny's dinner. The rest of the time, she wrote, creating an outline for what she was now calling her Memoir with a capital letter. Allie and Edwina joined them for the meal, bringing mashed sweet potatoes and ripe kiwis. As they ate, Allie and Edwina talked about research trips they planned to make once Edwina had retired.

After clearing the table, they returned to drink tea and hear stories about Ginny's time at the job site, where she managed to turn her frustration into funny stories. When the wall behind the space where the elevator was to go had been broached, half a dozen frantic mice had poured out, making one burly guy scream and two younger man flee the room before they could stop themselves.

"What did you do, levitate?" grinned Allie.

"I happened to be on the stair landing, and I remained there until one guy with heavy boots stomped them into oblivion" said Ginny. "Thank god all that flooring is going to be replaced, is all I can say."

"You need to add finding an exterminator to the list of things to be done" Myra said to Ginny. Ginny gave her a look as Myra continued "Since I can't be around all that airborne crap and who knows when it's going to get better, I was thinking about going up to Anacortes for a few days. Check into my motel and write."

"You mean, without me along" said Ginny, deceptively calm.

"Well, somebody has to ride herd on 'em over there, and since you're clearly having fun with it -- " began Myra. Allie kicked her so hard under the table that Myra leaped in her chair, saying "Fucking OW, Billups, what the hell?"

"I can find worlds of fun you can share without being at the site" said Ginny, her jaw tight. "Like calling an exterminator, for one thing. You can still write, and go to diners during the day if that's beckoning you, but I need you to help keep this apartment our temporary home and to do your share now, Myra."

"Oh. Well, I wasn't trying to duck out on you or anything" said Myra. Allie snorted.

Ginny's eyes were wide and clear. "Are you under the impression that this house renovation is somehow more my responsibility than yours?" she continued.

"No, no. I just...Never mind. We'll go over the list tomorrow and divvy things up." Myra coughed, not deliberately but Edwina looked at her suspiciously.

"Well, I need to mosey on home. You can get some writing in tonight. Come to our place tomorrow night for shabbos" said Allie. "I'll make ribs. And chicken for you, boss" she said to Ginny, who laughed. After she and Edwina were gone, Myra asked Ginny "What are you going to do now?"

"Sit at my work table and read mail. Check my e-mail. Talk to the geckos" said Ginny.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Not quite. But get in gear, Myra. And listen, if you're up to hauling laundry tomorrow, we need some done."

Myra concealed her reaction. "That means getting quarters from somewhere, I guess."

"I've heard banks have them" said Ginny. She headed for the study/studio. Myra sent text messages to Gillam, Carly and Chris, telling them they were all eating at Allie and Edwina's the next night. She went into their bedroom to sort laundry, then finally gave herself permission to return to her laptop at the dining table.


© 2008 Maggie Jochild.

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