Lisa wished Sam would hurry back to the table. She was on information overload and needed her support system. She turned to see what was keeping her, and wasn’t surprised to see her talking to an older woman at a table near the bar. Earlier that day, when they first walked into the church, Lisa got a taste of what it meant to be Samantha Rose Payton. Everybody seemed to know who she was and wanted to say hello, get a quick hug, or talk to her about something. It was like being with a celebrity. Lisa knew she was being given the rare privilege to see the other side of Sam’s life. No, not Sam, but Samantha Rose Payton, and part of being Samantha Rose Payton meant being gracious and charming and talking to everyone and anyone who wanted a piece of her.
Lisa looked back at the dance floor and watched her new aunt Fran, and Fran’s wife Margaret slow dance together. Fran was the spitting image of William. She was tall with short black hair, minus the mustache. Margaret’s light brown hair was even shorter, almost boyish like Marlee’s. They seemed to fit together perfectly in each other’s arms. They looked just like every other couple slow dancing on the hardwood dance floor, except that they were two women. Lisa sighed. She wished she could slow dance with Sam, right there in front of everybody. William and his family would have been okay with it, and even Evelyn’s family seemed pretty liberal about William's gay sister and her partner. No, not partner, Lisa admonished herself. Wife. Fran and Margaret were legally married. The tiniest of black clouds swarmed around her heart, and she tried hard not to let the fact that if she wanted to live in New York State when she got older, she wouldn’t have the legal right to get married. It was so unfair. She didn’t want to have to move away to Massachusetts or Canada. She wanted to live near her mother and father. She wanted to watch Lynnie, Lawrence Jr., and Bridget grow up. She wanted to see them go to high school, fall in love, and get married.
“Hey, brand new niece,” Lisa’s aunt Fran said as she sat down. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”
Lisa forced herself to chuckle. “Oh, no, I’m fine. I’m just a little overwhelmed with all of this.” She whirled her hand to encircle the whole room.
Aunt Margaret sat down at the table. “Breathe, Lisa, breathe,” she teased. “I can only imagine what all of this is like for you.”
Lisa chuckled genuinely that time. “I’m okay, really.”
Once Aunt Fran and Aunt Margaret seemed satisfied that Lisa was comfortable, Aunt Fran gestured toward Sam who held the interest of the entire table of guests. “Sam is absolutely beautiful, Lisa.”
“Thank you. I think so, too.”
Her aunts laughed, and Aunt Fran added, “We’ll keep her secret like you asked.”
Lisa sighed in relief. “Thank you so much. She’s not out to her parents yet, and she wants to be the one to tell them, not, you know, the whole town.”
“Yeah, coming out is always a tough gig.” Aunt Margaret nodded.
“Hey,” Aunt Fran said, “you’re lucky I broke William in for you.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks for that, too. I’m glad he wanted me to be part of his life and his wedding.”
“You’re family, Lisa.” Aunt Fran smiled and then, as if to lighten the mood, said, “Who else but family would make you wear powder blue silk chiffon?” She tugged at the hem of her bridesmaid’s dress.
Aunt Margaret rolled her eyes. “Fran’s not a dress person. She can’t wait to get back into jeans and T-shirt.”
Lisa laughed, but didn’t want to say that she absolutely loved her dress and doing her hair and putting on the makeup.
“Oh,” Aunt Fran gestured toward William and Evelyn who were making their rounds to various tables, “speaking of family, and the things that they do—I, for one, am really proud of my big brother for sending you money every month for all those years.”
Lisa didn’t know what her aunt was talking about. It must have shown on her face because Aunt Fran said, “Oh, honey, didn’t you know? He never missed a month.”
Lisa shook her head in confusion. As if called by Lisa’s distress, Sam came back to the table and handed her a glass of sparkling white grape juice. “It’s so hard to break away sometimes.” She sat down, but took one look at Lisa’s face and said, “Baby, are you okay?”
Lisa nodded, but didn’t have a chance to tell Sam what she’d just learned from her aunt, because William and Evelyn walked up to their table.
William pulled out a chair for his new bride, and Lisa couldn’t help seeing how giddy they both were about being married. She hoped one day to capture that feeling for herself.
“You’re positively glowing, Evelyn,” Lisa said.
Evelyn blushed and squealed, “Thanks” in a high tight voice that made everybody laugh.
Lisa turned toward William, “And you.” She poked him in the arm. “You are the luckiest man alive today.”
When his cheeks turned scarlet, everyone laughed again. He said, “I am, and I know it.” He smiled at his new bride. Aunt Fran tapped her wine glass insistently with the edge of a knife. Soon dozens of wine glasses tapped out their frantic demand. William shrugged for the crowd and then leaned over to kiss his new bride. A cheer went up in the reception hall.
Aunt Fran leaned in front of Lisa to get her brother’s attention. “William, she doesn’t know about your monthly checks.”
“I know.” He looked at Lisa and took a deep breath. “Your mother didn’t tell you, but I sent her money for you every month. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but I always sent something. She said she put every single cent into a college investment fund for you.”
“She did?” Lisa asked. “I didn’t know.”
William smiled. “Hey, I didn’t know she was doing that either until I called her a few months ago. She told me that you probably have about three full years of college already paid for.”
A cheer went up at their table.
“I do?” Lisa was overwhelmed.
William nodded, and Evelyn reached up and squeezed his hand.
William laughed and added, “Well, you do if you go to a state school. If you want to go to Cornell or something then you probably have half a year paid for.”
Lisa laughed, and then threw her arms around her bio dad. “Thank you, William.” She pulled away and blinked back a haze of tears. “You’re the luckiest guy today, but I think I’m the luckiest girl.”
“We’ll share him,” Evelyn said.
“Okay.” Lisa grinned.
Evelyn grinned, too. “Thank you so much for being in our wedding, Lisa. We’re so happy to have you in our lives.”
“Thanks.” Lisa knew her face must be turning fifteen shades of purple over the attention. A few people that day had stared, mostly out of curiosity, and a few others had pointed, but for the most part, she’d felt accepted.
“With that,” William stood up, “we must leave this pleasant company and keep circulating.” He put his hand out. Evelyn placed her smaller hand in his and stood up. William turned to Lisa. “You are a beautiful young lady, Lisa.”
She smiled. “Thank you. Good genes.”
He started laughing. “Thank goodness you got your mom’s looks.” Everyone at the table laughed, but then a serious demeanor took over his face, and he looked from Lisa to Sam and back to Lisa. “Promise me you’ll take care of each other.”
Lisa felt her face get warm. “I promise. For the rest of my life. If she’ll have me.”
“Same.” Sam’s smoldering gaze made Lisa melt.
“Hey, girls!” William wagged a finger at them. “One wedding at a time.”
About the Author
Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker who left those "New York minutes" for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. She currently teaches mathematics at a college preparatory school in the Orlando area. When she's not teaching, playing softball, tiling her floors, or evicting possums from the engine block of her RV, "Dr. Barb" plays bass guitar in a local band called The Flounders with her partner who plays the drums. Her ultimate dream is to one day snowbird between upstate New York and central Florida.
More Barbara L. Clanton titles to enjoy:
Outof Left Field: Marlee's Story
Book One in the Clarksonville Series
High school junior Marlee McAllister lives and breathes softball. She's the pitcher for the Clarksonville Cougars in the North Country of upstate New York. With the season opener approaching, Marlee and her best friend, Jeri D'Amico, go to scout their rivals, the East Valley Panthers. The Panthers star pitcher, Christy Loveland, took the All County pitching title the preceding year. It is a title Marlee covets. Marlee and Jeri settle in for the game but as the Panthers take the field, Marlee finds herself staring at Susie Torres, the Panther left fielder.
For reasons Marlee doesn't understand, she's drawn to Susie. Over the course of the next few weeks, Marlee and Susie will slowly act on their mutual attraction. But suddenly Susie pulls away without explanation and Marlee realizes it has to do with Christy. Susie won't explain the bond she and Christy share but whatever it is threatens Marlee's burgeoning relationship with Susie.
Struggling to maintain her grades, dealing with the ever-increasing estrangement from her best friend Jeri, and handling the pressures of the All County Pitching competition, Marlee also has to confront the bittersweet realities of what it might mean to be gay.
Art for Art's Sake: Meredith's Story
High school senior Meredith Bedford is a social outcast. Her family recently moved from the Catskill Mountains to the sprawling suburbs of Albany, the capital of New York State. Shy and self-conscious about her acne scars, she stays to herself and tries to remain invisible. Her twelve-year-old brother, Mikey, has Down Syndrome and she tries hard not to blame her troubles on him. Despite verbal and sometimes physical harassment, she survives because she has her art. She was selected to be part of the elite Advanced Placement art class and is quite good at capturing the emotions of her subjects in her portraits. Art is the one thing, besides her family, that helps her cope with her outcast status. One day, at a senior class meeting, she sees Dani Lassiter, president of the senior class, captain of the lacrosse team, and knows that she must paint this enigmatic young woman. One class period later, Dani manipulates things to have Meredith as her partner for a history project. Meredith is suspicious of Dani's motives, but takes a chance. And it pays off. Meredith slowly sheds her invisibility cloak and allows Dani in - a little at a time. They explore an old Victorian house for their history project and become close with Esther and Millie, the two older women who own the house and who've lived together for about forty years. But, when Dani reveals to Meredith that she is gay, Meredith simply can't deal with the news. How had she not known? What is it that won't allow her come to terms with this unexpected news? Will Meredith control her own homophobia or will she reject the one person who had taken a chance on her and made her feel human?
ISBN 978-1-935053-14-9
Quite An Undertaking: Devon's Story
Devon Raines, sixteen-year old journalism nerd, was happily minding her own business when wham, her life was turned upside down. She struggled with grief when her grandmother died from a sudden heart attack. But it was at her grandmother's wake that she locked eyes with the most beautiful black girl she'd ever seen. Rebecca Washington was the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen, period. Would this beautiful dancer freak out if she knew Devon was gay and attracted? Enter Jessie Crowler, Rebecca's basketball playing best friend. Or were they only friends? Devon tried to hide her attraction for the ebony dancer, but would fate allow Rebecca to look her way? Would Jessie get in the way? Would the difference in skin color keep them apart? All this adds up to quite an undertaking in Devon's formerly quiet existence.
ISBN 978-1-935053-021-7
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