Changes

Chapter 10






Melanie picked up her glass of wine and held it out in front of her. She and Lindsay were enjoying the dinner Brian had arranged for them in the Plaza’s upscale restaurant. They had enjoyed a baby spinach salad with dried cranberries and toasted pecans. It had been flavorful and very enjoyable. The waiter had just brought their main course, perfectly cooked Beef Wellington. The waiter had sliced it in front of them, laid it out expertly on the plates for them and then added roasted herbed potatoes and a mixture of crunchy vegetables. After refilling their glasses with the hearty merlot that went so well with beef, he had then departed.

“A toast,” Melanie said looking into Lindsay’s eyes.

Lindsay smiled. “What shall we toast to?”

“To us,” Melanie said, “and a blissful weekend together.”

“Blissful?” Lindsay asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Blissful and hot and erotic and … wonderful.”

“That’s the nicest thing you could have said,” Lindsay told her lover and wife. “I love you, Mel. This weekend has been very relaxing so far. I feel like we’ve really reconnected.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because so do I.”

“Why do we always fuck it up?” Lindsay asked taking a bite of the beef and moaning at the sheer deliciousness of the meat and the flaky crust. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“I would agree,” Melanie sighed chewing the morsel she had put in her mouth. It practically melted as soon as her teeth touched it.

“Mmmmm, we should do this more often.”

“It must have cost Brian a fucking fortune for all this,” Melanie observed. “Here’s to the great and wealthy Kinney.” Melanie held up her glass before clinking it with Lindsay’s. They each took a sip.

“I’m glad you’re giving Brian some credit,” Lindsay said. “It was lovely of him to provide us with this weekend. He wants us to work things out.”

“I have to admit that this weekend is a selfless act on Brian’s part. He’s not going to get anything out of it,” Melanie stated.

“The only thing he wants is a happy home for his son. He wants us to be happy, Mel.”

“Yeah,” Melanie admitted reluctantly. “I can’t fault him on this one.”

“Good. So let’s talk about something else,” Lindsay said, as she continued to enjoy the beef.

“Gus and JR seem to be doing well at school. What are we going to get Gus for his birthday?”

“I know he still wants a car,” Lindsay said.

“Not his first year in university. I think that would just be asking for trouble,” Melanie said adamantly.

“I have to agree,” Lindsay said quickly. “Brian thinks so too.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

“I was talking to Brian about the whole car thing, and we came up with this idea.”

“I can’t wait to hear it,” Melanie said sarcastically. “Is Brian getting Gus a chauffeur driven limo to take him back and forth to his classes?”

“No, he is not!” Lindsay said indignantly. “Brian wouldn’t do something that stupid.”

“Okay, okay, so what did you two decide?”

“We decided to get him half a car,” Lindsay giggled.

“Half a car? What the fuck is half a car?”

“We’re going to ante up half the money to buy a reasonable car. It will go in a special account for Gus until next summer when we will add the rest, and Gus will be able to purchase his car. We thought it might be better for him to get it early in the summer so he can use it and get used to it before he goes back to Penn in the fall.”

“You know that’s not a half bad idea,” Melanie had to admit.

Lindsay smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“So, what are we going to give Gus at his party, a passbook to the bank account?”

“No, silly, a half a car.”

“Huh?”

“Brian’s having someone cut a toy car in half. We can wrap it or put it on his cake. Whatever, but it will be symbolic, until he gets the other half next year.”

“Okaaay.”

“Are you good with this?”

“I’m good,” Melanie replied as she finished her Beef Wellington and scooped up the last of her vegetables. “This is one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”

“Me too,” Lindsay said wiping her mouth and taking the final sip of her wine.

“Would you ladies care for more wine, or perhaps coffee or cappuccino?” the waiter asked. He had promptly appeared to clear their plates once they were finished.

“Mm, cappuccino sounds wonderful,” Melanie replied.

“I’ll have one too,” Lindsay chimed in.

“Excellent,” the waiter said. “I’ll bring those and your dessert momentarily.”

“I’m not sure I have room for dessert,” Lindsay groaned.

“Let’s see what the Kinney chose for us,” Melanie laughed. “And while we’re waiting, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.”

“There is?” Lindsay asked with a frown. She thought they had discussed most of their issues, but Melanie seemed very serious. “What is it?”

“You remember when we were driving back from Edna’s Treasures and I saw that sign for a piece of property that was for sale?”

“I remember. So?”

“So I called the real estate agent, and he linked me to the MLS for the place. There’s this cute little cottage and five acres that goes with it and a stream runs at the back of the property and I really want to go see it,” Melanie said, her voice rising and getting more animated with each aspect she described about the place.

“You … you want another house?” Lindsay asked uncertainly.

“Well, we could at least look at it,” Melanie said, her disappointment evident at Lindsay’s lack of enthusiasm.

“But why?”

“I thought that…oh, never mind,” Melanie said shaking her head.

“Tell me,” Lindsay said laying her hand over Melanie’s where it rested on the table. “We’re going to be honest with each other, remember … and this sounds important to you.”

Melanie drew in a deep breath. “When we were at Edna’s Treasures, I had a talk with John. He’s a very bright man, you know.”

“I know,” Lindsay agreed, smiling encouragingly.

“We were talking about what makes us happy and things that we might want to do and have been afraid to do.”

“Oh my God! You’re not going skydiving or something, are you?” Lindsay demanded.

Melanie laughed, as the waiter brought their cappuccinos and a chocolate soufflé. “No,” she said, “nothing like that.”

They tasted the rich but light dessert and moaned in ecstasy.

“This is incredible,” Lindsay gushed.

“It’s so delicious. I can’t believe it,” Melanie added taking another spoonful. “God! I’m going to weigh two hundred pounds by the time this meal is over.”

“You’re as bad as Brian,” Lindsay chuckled. “You haven’t gained an ounce in all the years I’ve known you.”

Melanie smiled. “Good years,” she whispered softly.

“Yeah,” Lindsay replied feeling tears well up. “I love you, Mel.”

“I love you too,” Melanie responded. “Sometimes we forget how many good years we’ve had together.” Lindsay nodded. “Anyway, after my chat with John, I was thinking that if we had a little getaway somewhere, we could maybe do some of those things that would fulfill us.”

“Fulfill us? Like what?” Lindsay asked, her brow creasing as she tried to figure out what Melanie was talking about.

“It would be a place where you could paint and I could write,” Melanie explained.

“You want to write?” Lindsay asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I’d like to give it a try, and I don’t mean legal briefs.”

“You … you never told me that.”

“I never told anyone,” Melanie replied. “But now that I’m a partner and I don’t work twenty-four hours a day, I need something else in my life.”

“And you think writing would do that for you?”

Melanie nodded and looked into Lindsay’s eyes. “That’s what I’m hoping. A creative outlet would be a good thing.”

“But … I have a studio up in our attic,” Lindsay said deciding she needed to be practical, “and another place would be a huge expense.”

“You have a studio that you never use,” Melanie reminded her.

“I … I think that the fact that it was made by Leda has something to do with that.”

“I’m not surprised. But this new place would be fresh and clean with no memories or ties to the past. We could go in with a whole new attitude and see what happens.”

“Jamie has encouraged me to paint or draw, and Sidney said I could have a spot in one of the shows coming up,” Lindsay said slowly.

“Then this place would be great for you to get back to your artwork,” Melanie said enthusiastically.

“You think?” Lindsay asked, looking for encouragement.

“I’m very sure,” Melanie replied squeezing Lindsay’s hand.

“And what would you write?” Lindsay wanted to know.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe poetry or the great American novel. I need to try it and see what comes out.”

“We could both be awful failures,” Lindsay reminded her wife.

“Yeah, but who cares? We’d be doing something creative and we’d be together.”

Lindsay’s smile was radiant as she listened to Melanie’s words.

“Mel,” a voice called.

Melanie and Lindsay both looked up to see Jamie and Leda leaving the dining room. They were holding hands, but they waved and laughed seeming to enjoy each other’s company.

“They look very happy tonight,” Lindsay observed.

“Yeah.”

“Are you jealous that Leda seems to have found someone?”

“No, are you jealous of Jamie?”

Lindsay made a face. “Not at all.”

“I have everything I want right here at this table,” Melanie told Lindsay. The sincerity of her words rang true and clear. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Lindsay said as they leaned across the table to exchange a tender kiss.



*****



“Hello?” Mel whispered groggily into the phone.

“Good morning, this is your wake up call,” the disembodied voice cheerfully informed Mel.

“What time is it?” Mel asked as she attempted to clear her sleep sticky eyes to look at the clock.

“It’s eight in the morning.”

“Eight?! Why the hell would you wake us up at eight?”

“What’s going on?” Lindsay asked as she woke up to an angry spouse.

“This asshole gave us a wake up call,” Mel griped as she waited for a response from the operator.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I thought we left you an itinerary,” the voice said apologetically.

“Itinerary?” Mel said. “Hold on.” Lindsay quickly got up and went for the itinerary they had left on the desk last night. “I got it.”

“See the first item on your agenda? It’s a special light breakfast that was arranged for eight-thirty in your suite. If we didn’t wake you then...”

“I get it. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to snap at you. We didn’t read the itinerary last night. We were, um, distracted.”

“Understandable, ma’am. You still have time; your first spa treatment is at nine-thirty. You have plenty of time.”

“Thank you and I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“It’s okay. Enjoy your spa day.”

Melanie hung up the phone then looked at the clock. “Lindz, we have twenty minutes before breakfast shows up and we begin our spa day.”

“Then I say we take a page out of Brian and Justin’s book.”

“What would that be?” Mel asked as if she didn’t know.

“Let’s shower together,” Lindsay replied with a sparkling smile. The girls leapt out of bed to start their day.



*****



“I thought you quit working on Saturday’s, boss,” Ted remarked as Brian walked through the front doors of Kinnetik.

“Time and advertising wait for no man, or in this case, a dyke,” Brian snarked. They heard a rumble and roar of a motorcycle engine, then silence. Leda walked into Kinnetik. “And there’s the dyke. Morning, Ms. Leda,” Brian drawled, making a slight bow.

“Morning, Mr. Brian,” Leda answered as she curtseyed, shaking her hair out from the confines of her helmet.

“Schmidt!” Brian bellowed.

“Yeah, boss,” Ted responded, eager to do Brian’s bidding.

“Send someone over to the diner to pick up some muffins and popovers. Let’s feed these people who insist on working on a Saturday,” Brian commanded as he cocked his head toward several members of his staff who were hard at work. And he wanted a popover too.

“The diner? Not the bistro?”

“Yes, the diner. Our very enterprising Lacy has entered into an arrangement with Emmett. He now supplies the diner with all sorts of delectable tidbits, including...”

“Popovers?” Ted ventured knowing Brian’s penchant for them. Brian nodded. “On my way.”

“Ted, I didn’t mean you. You have more important things to do.”

“Bri, for Emmett’s delicacies, I’d crawl down Liberty on my hands and knees. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” Brian grinned as he showed Leda into his office.



*****



“So what does all of this tell me?” Leda asked as she used her muffin to point to the report laid out on the table.

“The results of the research indicate that the straight male market is the way to go.”

“You must be proud of yourself; you were right,” Leda begrudgingly acknowledged.

“I’m always proud, and I’m rarely wrong when it comes to advertising, but you do realize that you came to me very late into the riding season. So I’ve come up with a multi-phase campaign.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Leda said getting her ire up. “You’ve proved your point, start advertising.”

“Leda, if we market your bikes up here, in the North East, we have perhaps two months left in the riding season. Less if we get a freak blizzard.”

“What about Christmas? Maybe some wife will want to surprise her bike riding hubby.”

“And then the bike sits in the garage all winter. Wifey gets pissed because she spent all that money on something hubby can’t use until the spring thaw. And they argue all winter long about the waste of money that they could have used on little Johnny’s braces. No.”

“So what’s the solution?”

“We have Perspectives advertise the bikes on the West Coast. Remember, it never rains in California or however the fuck that song goes. N’rgy will concentrate down south. Just after March madness, Kinnetik will begin the campaign for the North East. By the time Pride rolls around, your dykes will have a new ride vibrating between their thighs.”

“I like the sound of that,” Leda admitted. Brian refreshed her cup of coffee and then his own.

“I thought you might. I propose a toast,” Brian said as he raised his coffee mug. “To Lethal Motorcycles, long may they rumble.”

“To Lethal Motorcycles,” Leda reiterated, raising her mug to take a sip then she took a large bite out of another muffin.



*****



“Oh my god!” Lindsay cried out in ecstasy.

“Th-th-th-this i-i-i-s s-s-so in-cred-d-d-ible,” Mel stammered as a pair of strong hands pummeled her back.

The girls had enjoyed a light fruity breakfast that was satisfying and yet did not make them feel overly full. Then they started off the spa day with manicures and facials and then they each had a pedicure. During the pedicure they girls were treated to dainty finger sandwiches and mimosas. After, and giving them time to digest, the girls had their hair styled. Now they were enjoying a vigorous deep tissue massage.

They were currently sharing the same treatment room with two very large Slavic women who were administering the massages. When the girls were just at the point where they couldn’t stand any more torture, the massage became soothing. The lights dimmed, fragrant incense burned and the sounds of the sea were heard in the background.

“Mmmm,” Lindsay and Mel both sighed.

“I think I may fall asleep,” Melanie murmured as a warm oiled stone caressed the bottom of her foot. The masseuse attending Lindsay was gliding warm stones across her back.

“Heavenly,” Lindsay groaned.

The girls were then wrapped in warm sheets and left to luxuriate.



*****



“Hey,” Justin said as he walked into Brian’s office. Brian had concluded his business with Leda and was just putting his papers into his briefcase.

“Hey, Sunshine,” Brian said with a kiss to Justin’s lips. “Where’s the Squirt?”

“Umm...”

“Um?” Brian parroted as he raised an eyebrow.

“I brought her over to my Dad’s for a visit. Molly came over with Taylor,” Justin said with downcast eyes. Brian raised Justin’s chin with a finger to look into Justin’s penetrating blue eyes.

“When you left her was she happy?”

“Yes.”

“Then let me buy you lunch. We’ll have dessert with the Squirt later.”

Justin graced Brian with one of his sunniest smiles, as the lovers left Kinnetik for Emmett’s Place Too for a late lunch.



*****



“That was quite a workout.”

“I agree. I’ve never been handled like that.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much.”

“Do you think you’d like to try it again sometime?”

“After a sufficient recovery time, I’m sure I can be convinced. And you’re looking way too smug for your own good.”

“I’m just so happy and pleasantly satisfied.”

“Me too.”

“So what should we do now? It’s too early for dinner.”

“I suggest a nap and then a nice dinner later. When I’ve sufficiently recovered, you can demonstrate your prowess with our new toy again,” Leda purred into Jamie’s ear.

“You enjoyed it that much?”

“I wouldn’t want to do it again if I didn’t enjoy it. Besides it was nice to lay back and let someone else take the lead. I don’t allow it too often.”

“I realize that. Leda, I know I’m not as experienced as you are, but I’m willing to learn and to gain your trust. I’m hoping this relationship goes beyond this weekend.”

Leda tenderly kissed Jamie.

“That’s exactly what I want too. I never thought this would ever happen to me but I’m realizing that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Leda and Jamie cuddled close; the room smelled like their lovemaking.

“Then let me grow old with you,” Jamie whispered as she fell asleep in Leda’s arms.



*****



“I’m not sure if I can walk. My bones have been turned to Jello,” Lindsay said as they slowly made it to their room after their sauna.

“I think I need a nap,” Mel said as she unlocked the door with her swipe card.

“Great idea. Nap now, whatever later,” Lindsay agreed as she locked up.

The girls stripped off their clothing as they stumbled to the bedroom. They collapsed onto the bed with their limbs entangled and went to sleep.