A Store in Pride Valley

As the day for the wedding approached, so did the day for Susy’s arrival. I was excited to meet her… at first. John was driving himself insane worrying about what she would think of him when she found out he was about to marry a man.

My thoughts were that she’d either accept it easily, tolerate it because it just was and what else could she do, or have a screaming fit and want to go back with her mother. I didn’t see the last option as one that would come to fruition, but it was a possibility, and meeting her was going to happen before we got married. My brain grabbed onto that. I figured that she wouldn’t like me, and she’d force Daddy to choose her over me. I’d be alone; my perfect man would be gone.

And then it was the day. I was at work; I was training Abigail. She already knew about needles, thread, quilting notions, and the basic notions for garment sewing; although, she admitted she wasn’t into making clothes. We went over the charts for the popular machines. The only problem I could foresee was someone’s trading in a machine for a new one. I gave her some guidelines, but I knew I often gave people more for their trades than they were worth so they could get into a better machine. I’d just have to trust that nothing would go wrong during the two days we would be gone.

Abigail had just returned from lunch and had decided to dust the sulky thread display, and I had just finished nibbling on fajita beef croissant that I’d made for lunch when I heard the subtle chime of the front door announce the arrival of John and Susy. I headed out front, leaving the remains of my lunch on the table. I wasn’t surprised by what I saw. First, there was my six-foot one-half-inch stud of a man closing the door, and next was a pre-teen girl with light brown hair who seemed mesmerized by the sewing machines.

Abigail had turned toward them. “Hello, John. This must be Susy.”

“Yes, ma’am. I am. How do you know my name?”

“Aaron told me that a very pretty young woman would be visiting the shop today and that her name is Susy. When I saw you, I figured that was you.”

I saw Susy blush.

I walked up to her. “Hi, Susy. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Aaron.”

“Hi, Aaron. How do you do?” She gave me a little curtsy. I wondered whether John had told her to do that, or could it have been her mother.

“Very well, thank you,” I replied. “And you?”

“I’m fine.” She stepped past me, still looking at the machines. “My daddy told me all about you and the drive here from the airport.”

I wondered what ‘all about you’ truly meant.

“He said you sold sewing machines. I was expecting some boxes like at Walmart. This is like a fairy-tale land.”

“I think so, too. When I was a little boy, my uncle owned this shop, and I would come to visit him during the summer.” I thought about my uncle and how I loved to come here and all the things he’d taught me. I felt myself tear up. “It’s always been a wonderful place for me.”

Susy was too enraptured to notice the emotional attachment I had to the shop, but John’s hand on my back told me he noticed and understood. “What are you planning for this afternoon, John?”

“We’re going to the house and get Susy settled in. She’s going to help me with dinner.”

“That’s right, Susy quipped. “I’m going to make my specialty. Dad told me that you’re roommates, so you usually eat dinner together. I saw that the store closes at five-thirty. What time do you want to eat? Is six o’clock OK?”

“It’s good for me,” I replied.

“Do you like his shop?” John asked Susy.

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

“Aaron said he would give you some lessons on seams. I bought you a pattern for a shopping bag.”

“And I can come and sew on one of your machines?”

“That’s right.”

“Thank you.” Her smile and appreciation were truly genuine. I hoped they would stay that way when her father told her more about his roommate.

“Goodbye, Abigail,” called John.

“Bye, John.”

I walked them to the door. I saw Susy turn and wave before she got into the car. I stood by the door until they drove off. I started for the back of the store to clean up my mess and finish cleaning Mrs. Montgomery’s machine.

“You two make a nice couple, and with the little girl, that’s a nice family.”

Her words startled me. I looked at her without saying anything.

“You know that big house on Cow Lane. The one with the orchard on one side and the big walnut trees on the other. Actually, it’s for sale now. I guess Elijah passed away in the old folk’s home. But, when I was a girl, Elijah Washington came back from school to work on his father’s dairy. When his father passed away, one of the farmhands moved into the house to help him take care of his elderly mother. The farmhand stayed on even after Mrs. Washington passed. Elijah never married. I saw the way they looked at each other whenever I went up there to get milk. You ain’t fooling me none, Aaron Jennings.”

“It was never my intention to fool anyone, Abigail. Just as it was not my intention to fall in love with John Blackwell.”

“But you did, and I’m happy for you. Everyone in this town knows that you have been generous to a fault. You fix machines for free for those who can’t afford it, and I know of two times when you gave people sewing machines when their old ones couldn’t be fixed, and you didn’t give them no bottom-of-the-line ones, either. You’re a kind man, Aaron, and I think you’re finding love with John Blackwell is you getting your just deserts.”

Tears fell from my eyes, and I wiped them away. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know that’s your story. You know, a couple of months ago, I got together with some of my old friends, and your name came up. You remember Jane Haskell?”

“Yeah, I do. Her brother teased me for crying with Jane when their grandfather died.”

“Jane remembered after that, her brother said you were a pussy. If you’ve ever noticed, he has a scar on his cheek. She gave him that scar. None of us advocate violence, but we girls knew then just as we know now that you are a decent man. I’m not saying anything about how you help those in need. But I’ll not deny it, either.”

“I’ve got work to finish up in the back. And just a little reminder that while I’m gone, don’t give away the store.” I stepped the rest of the way to the opening to the back, then turned and looked at her. “Unless God compels you to.”

I did my best not to rush to the house after closing the shop for the day. I walked in to find a nicely set table. The wonderful smell of baked cheese. Susy was at the kitchen counter putting the finishing touches on a salad. “Oh, Aaron, I messed up on the time. It’s not ready yet.”

“Hey, it’s cool. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. I’ve got everything under control.”

“Well, I’m going to go wash my hands.

“It’s going to be another fifteen minutes. So Daddy and you have plenty of time to do it. He’s in his bedroom.”

I think my jaw dropped down to the floor. “Do what?” The question came from my mouth before my brain processed what she said.

“Kiss and make out and probably other things that parents don’t want their kids knowing that they’re doing.”

John came into view. He motioned me with his finger.

“Yeah, well, I’m going to go wash my hands.” I calmly walked to the bedroom. We’d even put a twin bed in the third bedroom to ease telling. What the fuck did John say to her?

I stepped into ‘his’ room and realized his face had lost some of its color. I wondered what color mine was at the moment. I raised my index finger. “Just so you know, Susy sent me back here so we could ‘do it.’ Her words, not mine.”

“I’ve got a knot in my belly. She knows. But she really said ‘do it’?”

“Something like, you and my dad have plenty of time to do it, as in kissing, making out, and…”

“She did not say fucking; please tell me that she didn’t.”

“OK. She didn’t use that word, but she said ‘other things that parents don’t want their kids to know that they’re doing. She’s eleven. At that age, the other kids had told me about fucking, but I didn’t want to believe my parents did it.”

“Aaron, she asked me if you were my boyfriend.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell is this? Abigail told me we were a perfect couple.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Is there a sign on top of us that says we’ve been fucking almost every day since we met?”

“We must look at each other and drool and not realize it. I figured I’d ask her at dinner. I need you here for moral support. I thought I’d have a heart attack when she asked. What are we going to say?”

“I’ll just tell her that I fell in love with your small penis. It fits me perfectly.”

“What?” John brought his eyebrows together. “Oh, you’re joking. You’re trying to get me to realize that the world isn’t ending.”

“Johnny, she’s going to find out that we’re in love. We’d planned to tell her. We’re getting married in two days. The sexual aspect of our relationship is no one’s business.”

“Dinner’s ready.” Susy had shouted from the kitchen.

“John, you’re still too on edge. I know we weren’t going to drink, but why don’t we have some Sprite and a shot of whiskey. You get it ready. Do you hear me?”

John nodded.

“Just go with the conversation until I bring things up.”

We walked out to the dinner table. I noticed that she had a can of root beer at each place setting. A salad in the center of the table next to some bubbly macaroni with lots of cheese.

“Susy,” I said. “We’ve decided to save all the root beer for you. Your dad has been so excited about your visit, and he’s sure you’re going to want to drink it yourself.”

“That’s right, my girl. Two cans per day are the limit though.”

“OK, what’ll you have then.”

“Sprite. I’ll get it.”

He came back a few minutes later with the drinks.

“That looks like tea,” said Susy.

“Um,” said John.

“It’s got some alcohol in it,” I said. “You know, it’s not good for your brain to drink it until you’re in your twenties, but if you want to taste it, I can put a little on a spoon.”

“No. I smelled some of the stuff my mom drinks. I don’t like it.”

“Well, when you decide you want to taste it, let us know. We’d rather have you taste it here at home than to drink it somewhere else and possibly drink too much of it.”

“So what are we having for dinner?” asked John.

Her face lit up. “My special macaroni and a salad. Will you serve the macaroni, Daddy?”

“Of course.” He gave each of us a huge helping. We said a prayer and then began to eat some of the best macaroni and cheese. She’d mixed several kinds of cheese together, and the top was just crunchy enough.

Other than complimenting Susy on her culinary skills, we didn’t say much. With only a few bites left, I decided to start the inquisition. “So, Susy, what made you think that your father and I are boyfriends?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” I shook my head.

“OK. My dad talked non-stop about you when I asked him about how happy he was living here. When you look at each other, your faces do this thing.” She made a really goofy look. “Plus, mom told me not to be surprised if my dad had a boyfriend.”

“When did she say that?” demanded John.

“I’m wondering why she said it.” My tone was much softer.

“Well, she had this friend staying with us. Her name was Carole, and one day I walked into her bedroom to borrow a brush, and mom and Carole were naked on the bed talking about the chances for rain.

“Grown-ups are weird. Anyway, Mom says that she and Carole have been friends for a long time and that they were in love. She said she was already married to you and I was several years old when she realized that she was in love with a woman. She told me that you, Dad, were gay, but you may not have realized it yet, but that she hoped you would and find someone to fall in love with, too.”

I looked over at John. He looked down at the table.

“Earlier,” I began, “you said that we had time to ‘do it.’ You probably don’t know but that’s not a nice thing to say. It’s not a dirty word, but it’s not a phrase you should say.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Accepted and forgotten. Right, John.”

“Yeah.”

“You should know, Susy, that I’m in love with your father. He makes me happier than I have ever been.

“And I love Aaron.”

“And because we love each other, we kiss and hug. We do the things that two people in love do. Those things are private. Here’s the difficult part. We don’t want to hide things from you. You may have questions, and we want you to ask us when you do. And, it’s more than likely you’ll fall in love within the next few years. We’re going to want to know what you’re doing. Because you won’t be a grown-up yet, we’ll want to make sure that you’re safe and not being taken advantage of. We’ll talk more about that later.”

“You’re not mad at me then?”

“No. There’s no reason to be angry with you.”

Susy smiled.

“Honey,” said John. Both of us looked at him. He smiled for the first time that evening. “I love Aaron so much that I want to be with him for the rest of my life.”

“Are you going to ask him to marry you?”

His smile got even bigger. “I already have.”

Susy made a little half-scream giggle. “And what’d you say, Aaron.”

“I said, ‘No.’”

Her smile disappeared.

“Not until Susy says it’s OK. I love him with all my heart. I want to marry him more than anything. We’ve even got plans already made because I was hoping more than anything that you’d like me and say yes.”

“I don’t know,” said Susy. “This is a big decision. I should think about it.” She started to laugh. “Fooled you. I don’t need to think about it. My answer is ‘yes.’"