Lands End, page 9
Buzz. Buzz.
Lena pulled her mouth away, needing a moment to breathe, and vaguely aware of the door buzzer going insistently. The sudden halt seemed to bring Amy back as well.
Amy stared at her door almost as though she was trying to see through it. It buzzed again. She kissed Lena quickly before getting up. “Don’t move.” Amy quickly went over to her door and pushed the buzzer in response. “Who is it?”
“Hey there. I knew you were going to be alone tonight. I brought some food. I thought maybe we could spend this Christmas like we did the last one. You know, naked in bed, eating dessert.”
Amy looked back at Lena before she responded, her face bright red. “Hey, Britt, I have company, actually. Sorry.”
“Oh, okay. Have you had a chance to talk to Lena for me?”
Amy shook her head and closed her eyes. “I have to go.”
Lena had heard enough. She felt foolish. Chloe had been right. Amy was using her, though for what, she couldn’t imagine. And clearly, she and Brittany were more than friends.
Amy stepped in front of her, her palms up in a pleading gesture. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Really? What do you think it looks like?”
Amy took Lena’s hands in her own. “Okay. You’re either thinking I’m sleeping with Brittany, or we’re in cahoots or something.”
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“No, but I have.”
“Did she ask you to talk to me about the interview?”
“Yes. She’d like to change the angle to be more about your parents and your sister. She really thinks it could help. Maybe the police would reopen the case. Nothing she didn’t tell you herself, I swear.”
Lena stared at a spot on the table. Emotions came at her from every angle, twisting her up inside. “When were you planning on telling me? After you slept with me? When it would have been easier to convince me?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Not like what, Amy? Not like you were trying to use me to help advance your friend’s, or whatever she is to you, career?”
Amy stayed silent, and her face had gone pale. Her eyes showed her hurt, but Lena wasn’t about to fall for it.
“Are you so used to spinning a story you don’t even realize when you’re doing it?”
“Lena, please. Hear me out.”
“I have to go.”
Lena walked out and leaned against the wall in the elevator. She was angry, hurt, and confused. The thought that Amy was trying to deceive her in any way made her ill. When she got outside, Brittany pulled up beside her on her motorcycle. Lena was sure she probably looked out of sorts, and the last person in the world she wanted to see, aside from Amy, was the person Amy had been sleeping with.
“Hey.”
Lena crossed her arms in an attempt to keep warm. “Hey.” Brittany looked ridiculously cool in her leather jacket and pants. At least I understand why Amy…and how could I think she was interested in me, compared to that?
Brittany pointed up in the direction of Amy’s apartment. “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”
Lena put her hand up. “It’s fine. You probably interrupted just in the nick of time.”
She inclined her head as though accepting the answer. Clearly, the woman was too cool to ask any prying questions. She gets other people to do it for her.
“Are we still on for tomorrow?”
Lena didn’t know if she was angry or impressed by this woman’s brazen audacity. “Are you sure you just don’t want Amy to do the interview for you?”
Brittany seemed confused by the question. “Amy? No, I had just asked her to talk to you, because you two seemed close and I didn’t want to step on your toes.”
Lena put her hands on her hips. “You don’t seem to have a problem overstepping your bounds to me.”
“Lena, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lena took a step closer and pointed up at Amy’s window. “If you have a question for me, ask me. Don’t get your girlfriend, or whatever she is, to do it for you.”
Brittany huffed. “Amy isn’t my girlfriend. She never has been.”
Lena waited for a further explanation, but Brittany gave no indication she was going to give one. She needed to get out of here. She turned to walk toward the parking garage. “I said I would do this interview and I will. Be at Lands End at eight in the morning.”
Brittany put her helmet on and flipped up the front portion, revealing her eyes and mouth. “I would be there at three in the morning if that’s what you wanted. See you tomorrow.”
The bike took off down the near empty street with a roar. Lena rolled her eyes and shoved her hands in her pockets. She got in her car and drove away, berating herself for not listening to her instincts. I knew she was trouble, and I let myself hope anyway. Stupid.
*
Amy watched the two women from the security of her balcony. She could practically feel Lena’s rage, even from so far away. She leaned against her railing, watching the red wine swirl around with each flick of her wrist. She brought it up to her mouth and finished the rest with one gulp. Then she plopped down on her lounge chair. Worst Christmas ever. The day had started with so much promise. Then Evie. Evelyn. Her first reaction was to blame her for everything that transpired after. She’s the reason I slept with all those women. The reason I keep everyone at a distance. Amy even went as far as to blame her for Brittany showing up tonight. But that wasn’t reality. Amy made the choices she made; they were hers to own. Every day at work, she saw people who blamed others for their mistakes, and she helped them believe it. She wouldn’t allow herself to be one of those people. Yes, Evelyn was the reason her heart was broken; she was the reason she had dropped twenty pounds following that horrible morning in college. But everything since then had been Amy’s choice. She shut herself off in order to avoid pain, and in doing so, she had closed herself off to all the good things that come with intimacy, too. Shit. It was easier when it was just her fault.
Then there was Lena. That went sideways in record time. This was usually the moment where Amy would write a woman off for good. Too much complication, too much hassle, and too many emotions. But that was before. Before someone had made her laugh, made her body light up and refused to leave her thoughts. Lena had caught a glimpse of something she didn’t like, and they were going to need to talk about it. And, unlike her previous responses to emotional confrontations, she wanted to talk. She wanted to make Lena understand. The thought of Lena being upset with her, that she might be thinking she was untrustworthy, gave her a feeling of dread and made her feel sick to her stomach. I have to fix this. Somehow.
Chapter Eleven
Amy didn’t know the actual time someone needed to physically be at a restaurant in order to open it. She figured seven in the morning was a safe bet. She sat in her car watching the way the sky changed as the sun rose, and morning light glistened off the Pacific Ocean. This morning, this day, felt different from others. She felt a sense of peace and calm for the first time in years. Her normal, jaded demeanor felt slightly sanded down, diluted. She was usually in the office by this time, two hours prior to everyone else. She had never been late for work, but this morning that didn’t seem important. She needed to talk to Lena.
Amy caught a glimpse in her rearview mirror of a light green Prius as it pulled into the parking lot. Her heart sped up, partially out of nervousness and partially because that was the effect Lena had on her. Amy got out of her car and waited for Lena at the front door. Lena looked her up and down for a moment, and although Amy was hoping to see the smile she loved, she clearly wasn’t going to be rewarded with that yet.
Lena sipped her coffee from a mug that had pictures of her and her sister wrapped around it. “I forgot what you looked like dressed for work.”
Amy looked down at her suit, suddenly self-conscious. She ran her hands over her stomach, an old nervous habit she’d long tried to break. But then, she couldn’t remember ever being this nervous. “I wanted to talk to you before either of us started our day.”
Lena turned to unlock the doors. “You could have called.”
Amy followed closely behind. Calling hadn’t been an option. She knew the importance of face-to-face conversations. “I wanted to actually see you. I wanted to apologize in person.”
Lena opened the door and waited for Amy to follow her in. Once Amy was in, Lena entered a series of numbers on an electric keypad and then locked the door again. “I actually wanted to talk to you, too. You start.”
She wanted to talk to me. That’s good, right? She continued to follow Lena through the main dining area and toward her office, turning on lights as she moved through the building. “I should have told you about Brittany.”
Once they were in her office, Lena finally faced her. “Which part about Brittany?”
Amy took a step closer, wanting to see if Lena moved away, but she didn’t. “All of it. I should have told you. Not because I think we have to disclose all our history as quickly as possible, but because you had asked. I intentionally left out certain parts, and I shouldn’t have. Old habits, I suppose. I’m sorry.”
Lena nodded and sighed softly. “We weren’t together. You don’t owe me anything.”
Amy desperately wanted to touch her, but her body language suggested it wouldn’t be welcome yet. “I should have been more honest. I’m not used to disclosing things about myself or my history. I’m not really good at doing anything except casual. Like you said, maybe I even use spin on my own life, I’m so used to doing it in my work life. I hadn’t thought of it that way, really. It will take a little time to get used to doing things differently.”
Lena’s expression was deadly serious, her gaze searching. There was heat in her eyes, but whether from anger or passion, Amy couldn’t tell.
“Do you want to do things differently?”
Amy had flashes of Evie rush through her mind. “I wasn’t always like this, believe it or not.”
Lena’s intent gaze suggested she continue.
“My college girlfriend, Evie. We’d been together for three years and were making plans for the future. I really believed we were going to spend our lives together.” Amy felt her voice start to trail off, and a lump formed in the back of her throat. She took a moment to clear it. “Anyway, she decided she wanted to end things. There was no real explanation, no warning. She was actually only going to leave a note. A few sentences. She thought a few years could be swept away by saying that we needed to grow, become who we were meant to, and we could only do that apart. I mean, it was clearly bullshit. That was Evie though. She had a way of minimizing everything. We had an epic fight, said a lot of things to one another we shouldn’t have. I happened to come home right before she left.” Amy wiped away a tear she hadn’t realized until then had started its way down her cheek. “Since then, I haven’t allowed myself to get close to anyone. Actually, I haven’t really wanted to get close to anyone.”
Lena’s expression had softened. “And now it’s different?”
“You are different. I don’t want to do things the way I have been, not this time.”
Amy leaned forward and kissed her. It was a soft, slow kiss intended to tell Lena she did want to do things differently.
Amy’s phone began to ring in her pocket, and a soft noise of disappointment came out of Lena’s throat. Amy pulled out the phone and looked at the caller ID. She gave Lena an apologetic look and pushed the IGNORE button. “I need to go into the office.”
Lena took both her hands. “I understand. I can only imagine what the wealthy people of San Francisco managed to get themselves into over Christmas.”
Amy kissed her again. “Can I still see you tonight? I should be off around seven.”
Lena nodded. “I’d like that. But we still need to talk things through, okay?”
Amy wouldn’t have been able to hide her smile if she had wanted to, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to hide anything, anymore. “I understand. Pick you up from your place at eight?
“Sounds good.”
Amy kissed her again. “Great. See you then.” She forced herself not to skip out of the office. It wasn’t until she got to the front door that she realized she needed to be let out. She turned around to find an amused Lena a few steps behind.
“I need to unlock the door for you.”
Amy felt her cheeks flush. “Yeah. I just realized that.”
Lena leaned around her, putting the key back into the door. The sensation of their arms brushing against each other was almost overwhelming. Amy didn’t want to go anywhere. She couldn’t remember when she had ever felt like that, when something personal made her want to put her work aside.
“Amy, wait.”
Amy turned around, hoping there would be more kissing.
“Stay for the interview. I mean, I haven’t talked about this publically before. I haven’t talked about what happened.” Lena took a step closer to her. “I guess I would feel better if someone was here, you know, with me.”
Amy answered without regard to work, without worrying about the consequences. “Of course.”
They walked back into the restaurant and toward Lena’s office. Once inside, Lena motioned to her desk. “You can use my computer to answer any emails or do whatever you need to do. I’ve got things to do before Brittany gets here.”
Amy sat down and pulled out her tablet. “Thank you. I have everything that I need right here.”
Lena walked toward the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen if there’s anything you need. And, Amy, thank you for staying.”
Amy smiled up at her. “Thank you for asking.”
*
The staff started to arrive, prepping the kitchen and the dining area for the customers that would be outside their door in a few hours. Lena moved around the dining area, correcting tablecloths to their exact position and checking silverware. A staff member walked up and told her someone was at the front door for her. Lena took a deep breath and walked to the front of the restaurant.
Lena was starting to think that Brittany only owned clothes that could double for motorcycle wear. Brittany had a way about her, a confident swagger. She was confident, cool, and her hair never seemed to be out of place, even after she’d worn a helmet. Lena walked with her to her office. “I asked Amy to sit in on the interview.” Brittany nodded her acceptance, seemingly unfazed by the information.
Once inside, Amy got up and moved to the corner of the room, letting Lena take her seat behind the desk. Brittany shot her a half smile and took her seat as well. “Thank you for agreeing to do this. I know it wasn’t something you really wanted to do. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to record this, but if there’s something you specifically don’t want on the record, let me know.”
Lena nodded. She appreciated that Brittany was going to make that allowance. In her experience, most reporters were interested in the story and weren’t all that worried about their subject’s concerns. “Thank you for that. Also, before we get started, I wanted to apologize for last night. I overreacted.” She shot a glance at Amy, who seemed to be intently listening to the exchange. Amy’s encouraging smile helped settle her nerves.
Brittany held up her hand. “It’s okay. I can only imagine what the situation looked like. And you were right. I should’ve talked to you and not Amy. That was my bad.”
Lena was going to explain further, but it didn’t seem necessary. Brittany seemed genuine, but Lena was fighting back the impulse to like her, at least until she knew more about her intentions.
Brittany pulled out a notebook and a pen. “Why don’t we start by you telling me what you want me to know about your parents?”
Lena leaned back in her chair. She hadn’t actually thought about what this interview would entail. She tried to focus, and pulled on cherished memories. “They were amazing people. I’m sure most people say that about their parents, but mine really were. My mom was kind, smart, and selfless. She spent almost all of her free time volunteering, working with the homeless. My dad was a bit of a goof. He liked to play practical jokes and tell stories you knew were exaggerated, but you wanted to hear anyway because of the way he told them. They met and married at nineteen. My mom was working here, at Lands End, for the previous owner. She started out by serving at sixteen and then worked her way up. Being a chef was the only thing she had ever wanted to do, but culinary school is expensive. My grandmother had passed away when my mom was very young, and then my grandfather passed when she was seventeen. The owner took my mom under her wing. She never had any formal training, but she was the best. Anyway, my dad went to school here and worked as a delivery driver. He asked her out fourteen times before she finally said yes. A year later, they were married.”
Brittany looked up from her notes. “What about your dad’s parents?”
Lena shook her head. “None. I mean, he obviously had them, but they were never part of our lives. There was a falling out of some sort before he left for college. I tried to find them when my parents passed, but I couldn’t. Not because I wanted them to take Laura, but because I thought they would want to know. I believe my dad has a brother, too.” Lena could tell Brittany’s mind was turning. She forced herself not to look at Amy. She was aware of her presence. She could feel it in every part of her body, but she was worried looking up at Amy would make her cry as she delved into old memories.
“Do you want to find them?”
“No.”
“You don’t think it’s lonely? Without any other family?”
“I have family. I have my sister, and my best friend Chloe’s family. They treat us like their own. That’s enough for us.”
“Does your sister agree?”
“Is that really pertinent to your story?” Brittany was quiet for a moment. Lena thought she would push more but she didn’t.
“Okay, I’m sorry. Please continue.”
“They were married in 1979. My dad finished business school, and my mom kept working here. They purchased a house when a family could still afford a home in San Francisco for a reasonable price. They tried for years to have kids and finally got pregnant with me. When I was about two, Dorothy, the woman that owned Lands End, passed away and left it to my mom. My mom was the only family she really had. Eleven years later, my sister was born. I went off to college when she was seven. I was attending UC Davis, to be a social worker.”
Lena pulled her mouth away, needing a moment to breathe, and vaguely aware of the door buzzer going insistently. The sudden halt seemed to bring Amy back as well.
Amy stared at her door almost as though she was trying to see through it. It buzzed again. She kissed Lena quickly before getting up. “Don’t move.” Amy quickly went over to her door and pushed the buzzer in response. “Who is it?”
“Hey there. I knew you were going to be alone tonight. I brought some food. I thought maybe we could spend this Christmas like we did the last one. You know, naked in bed, eating dessert.”
Amy looked back at Lena before she responded, her face bright red. “Hey, Britt, I have company, actually. Sorry.”
“Oh, okay. Have you had a chance to talk to Lena for me?”
Amy shook her head and closed her eyes. “I have to go.”
Lena had heard enough. She felt foolish. Chloe had been right. Amy was using her, though for what, she couldn’t imagine. And clearly, she and Brittany were more than friends.
Amy stepped in front of her, her palms up in a pleading gesture. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Really? What do you think it looks like?”
Amy took Lena’s hands in her own. “Okay. You’re either thinking I’m sleeping with Brittany, or we’re in cahoots or something.”
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“No, but I have.”
“Did she ask you to talk to me about the interview?”
“Yes. She’d like to change the angle to be more about your parents and your sister. She really thinks it could help. Maybe the police would reopen the case. Nothing she didn’t tell you herself, I swear.”
Lena stared at a spot on the table. Emotions came at her from every angle, twisting her up inside. “When were you planning on telling me? After you slept with me? When it would have been easier to convince me?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Not like what, Amy? Not like you were trying to use me to help advance your friend’s, or whatever she is to you, career?”
Amy stayed silent, and her face had gone pale. Her eyes showed her hurt, but Lena wasn’t about to fall for it.
“Are you so used to spinning a story you don’t even realize when you’re doing it?”
“Lena, please. Hear me out.”
“I have to go.”
Lena walked out and leaned against the wall in the elevator. She was angry, hurt, and confused. The thought that Amy was trying to deceive her in any way made her ill. When she got outside, Brittany pulled up beside her on her motorcycle. Lena was sure she probably looked out of sorts, and the last person in the world she wanted to see, aside from Amy, was the person Amy had been sleeping with.
“Hey.”
Lena crossed her arms in an attempt to keep warm. “Hey.” Brittany looked ridiculously cool in her leather jacket and pants. At least I understand why Amy…and how could I think she was interested in me, compared to that?
Brittany pointed up in the direction of Amy’s apartment. “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”
Lena put her hand up. “It’s fine. You probably interrupted just in the nick of time.”
She inclined her head as though accepting the answer. Clearly, the woman was too cool to ask any prying questions. She gets other people to do it for her.
“Are we still on for tomorrow?”
Lena didn’t know if she was angry or impressed by this woman’s brazen audacity. “Are you sure you just don’t want Amy to do the interview for you?”
Brittany seemed confused by the question. “Amy? No, I had just asked her to talk to you, because you two seemed close and I didn’t want to step on your toes.”
Lena put her hands on her hips. “You don’t seem to have a problem overstepping your bounds to me.”
“Lena, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lena took a step closer and pointed up at Amy’s window. “If you have a question for me, ask me. Don’t get your girlfriend, or whatever she is, to do it for you.”
Brittany huffed. “Amy isn’t my girlfriend. She never has been.”
Lena waited for a further explanation, but Brittany gave no indication she was going to give one. She needed to get out of here. She turned to walk toward the parking garage. “I said I would do this interview and I will. Be at Lands End at eight in the morning.”
Brittany put her helmet on and flipped up the front portion, revealing her eyes and mouth. “I would be there at three in the morning if that’s what you wanted. See you tomorrow.”
The bike took off down the near empty street with a roar. Lena rolled her eyes and shoved her hands in her pockets. She got in her car and drove away, berating herself for not listening to her instincts. I knew she was trouble, and I let myself hope anyway. Stupid.
*
Amy watched the two women from the security of her balcony. She could practically feel Lena’s rage, even from so far away. She leaned against her railing, watching the red wine swirl around with each flick of her wrist. She brought it up to her mouth and finished the rest with one gulp. Then she plopped down on her lounge chair. Worst Christmas ever. The day had started with so much promise. Then Evie. Evelyn. Her first reaction was to blame her for everything that transpired after. She’s the reason I slept with all those women. The reason I keep everyone at a distance. Amy even went as far as to blame her for Brittany showing up tonight. But that wasn’t reality. Amy made the choices she made; they were hers to own. Every day at work, she saw people who blamed others for their mistakes, and she helped them believe it. She wouldn’t allow herself to be one of those people. Yes, Evelyn was the reason her heart was broken; she was the reason she had dropped twenty pounds following that horrible morning in college. But everything since then had been Amy’s choice. She shut herself off in order to avoid pain, and in doing so, she had closed herself off to all the good things that come with intimacy, too. Shit. It was easier when it was just her fault.
Then there was Lena. That went sideways in record time. This was usually the moment where Amy would write a woman off for good. Too much complication, too much hassle, and too many emotions. But that was before. Before someone had made her laugh, made her body light up and refused to leave her thoughts. Lena had caught a glimpse of something she didn’t like, and they were going to need to talk about it. And, unlike her previous responses to emotional confrontations, she wanted to talk. She wanted to make Lena understand. The thought of Lena being upset with her, that she might be thinking she was untrustworthy, gave her a feeling of dread and made her feel sick to her stomach. I have to fix this. Somehow.
Chapter Eleven
Amy didn’t know the actual time someone needed to physically be at a restaurant in order to open it. She figured seven in the morning was a safe bet. She sat in her car watching the way the sky changed as the sun rose, and morning light glistened off the Pacific Ocean. This morning, this day, felt different from others. She felt a sense of peace and calm for the first time in years. Her normal, jaded demeanor felt slightly sanded down, diluted. She was usually in the office by this time, two hours prior to everyone else. She had never been late for work, but this morning that didn’t seem important. She needed to talk to Lena.
Amy caught a glimpse in her rearview mirror of a light green Prius as it pulled into the parking lot. Her heart sped up, partially out of nervousness and partially because that was the effect Lena had on her. Amy got out of her car and waited for Lena at the front door. Lena looked her up and down for a moment, and although Amy was hoping to see the smile she loved, she clearly wasn’t going to be rewarded with that yet.
Lena sipped her coffee from a mug that had pictures of her and her sister wrapped around it. “I forgot what you looked like dressed for work.”
Amy looked down at her suit, suddenly self-conscious. She ran her hands over her stomach, an old nervous habit she’d long tried to break. But then, she couldn’t remember ever being this nervous. “I wanted to talk to you before either of us started our day.”
Lena turned to unlock the doors. “You could have called.”
Amy followed closely behind. Calling hadn’t been an option. She knew the importance of face-to-face conversations. “I wanted to actually see you. I wanted to apologize in person.”
Lena opened the door and waited for Amy to follow her in. Once Amy was in, Lena entered a series of numbers on an electric keypad and then locked the door again. “I actually wanted to talk to you, too. You start.”
She wanted to talk to me. That’s good, right? She continued to follow Lena through the main dining area and toward her office, turning on lights as she moved through the building. “I should have told you about Brittany.”
Once they were in her office, Lena finally faced her. “Which part about Brittany?”
Amy took a step closer, wanting to see if Lena moved away, but she didn’t. “All of it. I should have told you. Not because I think we have to disclose all our history as quickly as possible, but because you had asked. I intentionally left out certain parts, and I shouldn’t have. Old habits, I suppose. I’m sorry.”
Lena nodded and sighed softly. “We weren’t together. You don’t owe me anything.”
Amy desperately wanted to touch her, but her body language suggested it wouldn’t be welcome yet. “I should have been more honest. I’m not used to disclosing things about myself or my history. I’m not really good at doing anything except casual. Like you said, maybe I even use spin on my own life, I’m so used to doing it in my work life. I hadn’t thought of it that way, really. It will take a little time to get used to doing things differently.”
Lena’s expression was deadly serious, her gaze searching. There was heat in her eyes, but whether from anger or passion, Amy couldn’t tell.
“Do you want to do things differently?”
Amy had flashes of Evie rush through her mind. “I wasn’t always like this, believe it or not.”
Lena’s intent gaze suggested she continue.
“My college girlfriend, Evie. We’d been together for three years and were making plans for the future. I really believed we were going to spend our lives together.” Amy felt her voice start to trail off, and a lump formed in the back of her throat. She took a moment to clear it. “Anyway, she decided she wanted to end things. There was no real explanation, no warning. She was actually only going to leave a note. A few sentences. She thought a few years could be swept away by saying that we needed to grow, become who we were meant to, and we could only do that apart. I mean, it was clearly bullshit. That was Evie though. She had a way of minimizing everything. We had an epic fight, said a lot of things to one another we shouldn’t have. I happened to come home right before she left.” Amy wiped away a tear she hadn’t realized until then had started its way down her cheek. “Since then, I haven’t allowed myself to get close to anyone. Actually, I haven’t really wanted to get close to anyone.”
Lena’s expression had softened. “And now it’s different?”
“You are different. I don’t want to do things the way I have been, not this time.”
Amy leaned forward and kissed her. It was a soft, slow kiss intended to tell Lena she did want to do things differently.
Amy’s phone began to ring in her pocket, and a soft noise of disappointment came out of Lena’s throat. Amy pulled out the phone and looked at the caller ID. She gave Lena an apologetic look and pushed the IGNORE button. “I need to go into the office.”
Lena took both her hands. “I understand. I can only imagine what the wealthy people of San Francisco managed to get themselves into over Christmas.”
Amy kissed her again. “Can I still see you tonight? I should be off around seven.”
Lena nodded. “I’d like that. But we still need to talk things through, okay?”
Amy wouldn’t have been able to hide her smile if she had wanted to, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to hide anything, anymore. “I understand. Pick you up from your place at eight?
“Sounds good.”
Amy kissed her again. “Great. See you then.” She forced herself not to skip out of the office. It wasn’t until she got to the front door that she realized she needed to be let out. She turned around to find an amused Lena a few steps behind.
“I need to unlock the door for you.”
Amy felt her cheeks flush. “Yeah. I just realized that.”
Lena leaned around her, putting the key back into the door. The sensation of their arms brushing against each other was almost overwhelming. Amy didn’t want to go anywhere. She couldn’t remember when she had ever felt like that, when something personal made her want to put her work aside.
“Amy, wait.”
Amy turned around, hoping there would be more kissing.
“Stay for the interview. I mean, I haven’t talked about this publically before. I haven’t talked about what happened.” Lena took a step closer to her. “I guess I would feel better if someone was here, you know, with me.”
Amy answered without regard to work, without worrying about the consequences. “Of course.”
They walked back into the restaurant and toward Lena’s office. Once inside, Lena motioned to her desk. “You can use my computer to answer any emails or do whatever you need to do. I’ve got things to do before Brittany gets here.”
Amy sat down and pulled out her tablet. “Thank you. I have everything that I need right here.”
Lena walked toward the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen if there’s anything you need. And, Amy, thank you for staying.”
Amy smiled up at her. “Thank you for asking.”
*
The staff started to arrive, prepping the kitchen and the dining area for the customers that would be outside their door in a few hours. Lena moved around the dining area, correcting tablecloths to their exact position and checking silverware. A staff member walked up and told her someone was at the front door for her. Lena took a deep breath and walked to the front of the restaurant.
Lena was starting to think that Brittany only owned clothes that could double for motorcycle wear. Brittany had a way about her, a confident swagger. She was confident, cool, and her hair never seemed to be out of place, even after she’d worn a helmet. Lena walked with her to her office. “I asked Amy to sit in on the interview.” Brittany nodded her acceptance, seemingly unfazed by the information.
Once inside, Amy got up and moved to the corner of the room, letting Lena take her seat behind the desk. Brittany shot her a half smile and took her seat as well. “Thank you for agreeing to do this. I know it wasn’t something you really wanted to do. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to record this, but if there’s something you specifically don’t want on the record, let me know.”
Lena nodded. She appreciated that Brittany was going to make that allowance. In her experience, most reporters were interested in the story and weren’t all that worried about their subject’s concerns. “Thank you for that. Also, before we get started, I wanted to apologize for last night. I overreacted.” She shot a glance at Amy, who seemed to be intently listening to the exchange. Amy’s encouraging smile helped settle her nerves.
Brittany held up her hand. “It’s okay. I can only imagine what the situation looked like. And you were right. I should’ve talked to you and not Amy. That was my bad.”
Lena was going to explain further, but it didn’t seem necessary. Brittany seemed genuine, but Lena was fighting back the impulse to like her, at least until she knew more about her intentions.
Brittany pulled out a notebook and a pen. “Why don’t we start by you telling me what you want me to know about your parents?”
Lena leaned back in her chair. She hadn’t actually thought about what this interview would entail. She tried to focus, and pulled on cherished memories. “They were amazing people. I’m sure most people say that about their parents, but mine really were. My mom was kind, smart, and selfless. She spent almost all of her free time volunteering, working with the homeless. My dad was a bit of a goof. He liked to play practical jokes and tell stories you knew were exaggerated, but you wanted to hear anyway because of the way he told them. They met and married at nineteen. My mom was working here, at Lands End, for the previous owner. She started out by serving at sixteen and then worked her way up. Being a chef was the only thing she had ever wanted to do, but culinary school is expensive. My grandmother had passed away when my mom was very young, and then my grandfather passed when she was seventeen. The owner took my mom under her wing. She never had any formal training, but she was the best. Anyway, my dad went to school here and worked as a delivery driver. He asked her out fourteen times before she finally said yes. A year later, they were married.”
Brittany looked up from her notes. “What about your dad’s parents?”
Lena shook her head. “None. I mean, he obviously had them, but they were never part of our lives. There was a falling out of some sort before he left for college. I tried to find them when my parents passed, but I couldn’t. Not because I wanted them to take Laura, but because I thought they would want to know. I believe my dad has a brother, too.” Lena could tell Brittany’s mind was turning. She forced herself not to look at Amy. She was aware of her presence. She could feel it in every part of her body, but she was worried looking up at Amy would make her cry as she delved into old memories.
“Do you want to find them?”
“No.”
“You don’t think it’s lonely? Without any other family?”
“I have family. I have my sister, and my best friend Chloe’s family. They treat us like their own. That’s enough for us.”
“Does your sister agree?”
“Is that really pertinent to your story?” Brittany was quiet for a moment. Lena thought she would push more but she didn’t.
“Okay, I’m sorry. Please continue.”
“They were married in 1979. My dad finished business school, and my mom kept working here. They purchased a house when a family could still afford a home in San Francisco for a reasonable price. They tried for years to have kids and finally got pregnant with me. When I was about two, Dorothy, the woman that owned Lands End, passed away and left it to my mom. My mom was the only family she really had. Eleven years later, my sister was born. I went off to college when she was seven. I was attending UC Davis, to be a social worker.”
