Reboot Pt. 02

Sumita laughed, a warm, happy sound that filled the clearing they were walking through. "Yes," Sumita said, "I like flowing skirts and long silky hair and soft round faces with red lipstick."

Sumita stopped on the trail and turned to look Jenna in the eye. She liked that Jenna was about two inches taller than she was, so that she could tilt her head up just so to look at her. "But I also like strong hands and snug white sports bras and tight buns in blue jeans," she said, grabbing Jenna's ass with her left hand and lacing her fingers into Jenna's with her right. "I like everything about you. I think you're gorgeous on the outside and even better on the inside."

Glancing down with a hungry look in her eye, she added, "and you're definitely not flat-chested."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Jenna asked. "From anybody else, that whole 'beautiful on the inside' thing would sound like total BS, but I actually believe it coming from you."

"How do you think I managed to love my husband?" Sumita replied. "I had to work really hard to find that 'beautiful on the inside' thing when the outside had a big fuzzy mustache, chest hair, and a penis."

Jenna burst out laughing and pulled Sumita into a hug. Sumita held on tight, and when the giggles subsided, she gave Jenna's ass a gentle squeeze and then pulled back to look her in the face. Her smile made Jenna's heart melt.

Sumita broke the embrace but kept hold of Jenna's hand, and they continued on along the trail. "To give you a proper answer, I don't really know," Sumita said after a while. "When I first saw you, from the back, I thought you were a man."

Jenna let out an amused sigh. "I get that a lot," she said.

"Even then, there was something about you..." Sumita said with a dreamy sigh. "And then I saw your face and I found out you were the mysterious, amazing painter I had heard about, and that was it. I don't know if I fell in love with you right then, or if it was earlier, when I first saw your painting in Sarah's office."

Jenna stopped cold. "Um," she said, "did you just say...?"

Sumita stopped a pace later and turned that radiant smile back toward Jenna. "Not exactly," Sumita said, "but I'll say it now. I love you, Jenna Ibsen."

Jenna stood there frozen, mouth half open, for a good long while. She didn't know what to do. She'd heard the words before, at just the right stage of the relationship, from a few of the comfortable, predictable, boring women she'd dated over the years, but they'd never meant much. A warm, fuzzy, content feeling, and that was all. Tess, the only other person from whom she had ached to hear those words, had never spoken them.

"I love you," Sumita repeated, "and I want you to know that, however you feel about me."

Jenna realized she was holding her breath, so she let it out. Sumita was giving her an out, taking the pressure off. Jenna started walking, and Sumita fell in right beside her. Neither said anything until they were nearly back at the car.

Jenna's heart was thudding in her chest, and she felt like a silly teenager. She had never understood the power those three little words could have. She stopped on the trail again, within sight of the parking lot, and leaned in close, so that her forehead brushed against Sumita's hair and her mouth was right next to Sumita's ear. "I love you too," she whispered.

The smile on Sumita's face brightened enough to blot out the sun, and it stayed there for the rest of the day.

They drove home and spent the afternoon together, and then Sumita made lasagna and a salad for dinner. Gita emerged from her bedroom in time to toast some garlic bread to go with it. She didn't look very happy.

After some prodding, Gita admitted that she was mortified that her minor indiscretion had caused such a rift between Sumita and Jenna. She apologized again to her mother and twice to Jenna, but neither paid much heed. The fight was already forgotten. By the time dinner was over, Gita was mostly her old self.

After dinner, they decided to watch a movie together, which led to a five minute discussion between mother and daughter that resulted in precisely zero mutually agreeable titles. Jenna watched the whole thing with amusement and then suggested Casablanca, which neither Sumita nor Gita had seen. There were no complaints afterward.

Gita disappeared back to her bedroom when the movie was over, and Sumita and Jenna turned in for the night.

"I don't have a clean nightshirt here, babe," Jenna called out from the bathroom after she brushed her teeth. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Sumita replied. "I don't expect you'll be wearing anything tonight." When Jenna emerged, Sumita was waiting for her, completely naked. Argument hung on the wall behind her, almost glowing under the ceiling track light.

"Do you remember what I said about this painting the first time we met?" Sumita asked, her eyes filled with mischief.

"I remember," Jenna replied, drawing the words out like honey. "You said, 'I don't know what they're fighting about, but the makeup sex is going to be amazing.'"

Sumita was right. The makeup sex was amazing.

~~~

The rest of the weekend was wonderful, while it lasted. Jenna was back to work on Sunday afternoon catering a small office party in the evening, and then the weekday grind resumed. Somehow, though, it was more bearable. Jenna wasn't desperate to see Sumita again from the moment they were apart. She loved the time they spent together, even more than before, and she was okay with the time they spent apart. After the big fight, she wasn't quite so afraid that everything was about to end. They survived one fight and they were okay, just like normal couples. Maybe they could survive whatever else came their way.

Between business picking up at Ballard Bites and spending time with Sumita, Jenna was very busy, which was good, but it meant something in her life had to give. That something turned out to be her painting, and Jenna was not at all happy about it. The forest piece should have been done before Thanksgiving, but she still hadn't even started painting the two central figures. Jenna set herself a new goal of finishing before her birthday, the fifteenth of December, and she even gave up time with Sumita to achieve that goal. She finished on Monday night, the day before her birthday, and went to bed feeling proud of herself.

The next morning, though, she was depressed. It was her fortieth birthday, and she had told Rose sometime over the summer that she didn't want to do anything at all to celebrate this year. She wasn't very interested in being reminded about how much she hadn't accomplished in her thirties, or how alone she still was. She gave Sarah and Meaghan and all her other friends the same warning. Of course, that was before she met Sumita. Now that she had this wonderful woman in her life, she wanted to share her happiness with everyone she cared about, but it was too late.

So when she drove home that evening after some late afternoon errands, Jenna was feeling very sorry for herself. She would be having dinner alone on her birthday. That it was her own damn fault made her feel even worse.

The street seemed a little more crowded than usual when she pulled into the driveway, though most of the cars were toward the other end of the block. Somebody must be having a party, she thought to herself. When she walked in from the garage, the house was dark. Even Rose and Brendan had abandoned her, for some parents' thing at Brendan's school. She flipped on the lights, and her mind froze at the scene in front of her.

"Surprise!" she heard at least a dozen voices shout.

Jenna was so shocked she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling down. Rose and Brendan were there, of course, along with Sumita, Gita, Meaghan, Sarah, Kate, and too many others to process.

Sumita stepped forward from the crowd and took Jenna's hand. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You look a little unsteady on your feet."

"Yeah," Jenna replied. "I just ... I had no idea. Not a clue. I didn't think you even knew when my birthday was."

"I cheated," Sumita said. "When you wouldn't tell me, I got the date from Sarah. She and Meaghan also told me some embarrassing stories about you, so I have material for later if I need it."

"No fair," Jenna said, sticking her tongue out at Meaghan.

"Sorry," Rose said. "I know you said you wanted to ignore your birthday this year, but I couldn't let you do that. Happy fortieth, big sister."

Rose gave Jenna a big hug, Sumita gave her a kiss, and then all the other guests took turns to offer their own birthday congratulations. There was food, a haphazard jumble of deliciousness cooked by Rose, Brendan, Sumita, Sarah, and maybe a few other people. There was beer, all local Washington-brewed, including a strong, malty Christmas ale that was just about Jenna's favorite beer ever. There was a dense chocolate cake with forty individual candles, and Jenna barely managed to blow them all out with a single breath. Forty candles is a LOT of candles.

Jenna's new painting, which she had named Dryads, was on display in the living room, and she got a lot of compliments about it. Whether those compliments would translate into an actual sale was something she'd find out later.

After a few hours, people started to drift away. Meaghan and Sarah disappeared early - it was Jennifer's first time with a babysitter. Jenna personally thanked everyone who came. She was flabbergasted that her birthday party could draw such a crowd, though everyone who attended was a good friend.

When the last of the guests finally made their way out the door, Sumita said to Jenna, "Walk me to my car."

Jenna followed Sumita out the front door and then down two blocks to where she had parked. They both got in, and Sumita drove back to Jenna and Rose's house.

"Thanks for everything, Sumi," Jenna said, sitting in Sumita's car in the driveway. "Tonight was really lovely. It was incredibly sweet for you to do that."

"I was just happy to do something nice for you," Sumita replied. "I remember my fortieth birthday, a few years ago, and how I felt like my life was kind of over. Mother, wife, and maybe a writer on the side; that was it."

"It didn't turn out that way, did it?" Jenna asked.

"Nope," Sumita replied with a laugh. "So whatever you're thinking about your life, know that it can still be full of surprises."

Jenna smiled. "Good to know," she said. "Thanks again for this, babe. Have a good drive home."

"Ah," Sumita replied, "but this isn't goodnight. I'm staying here. Rose made it clear I'm welcome."

"Wow," Jenna replied. "Okay, then. We still probably shouldn't... you know..."

"Yeah," Sumita agreed. "I'm too tired anyway. Keeping up with you in bed takes a lot of energy."

Jenna stuck her tongue out at Sumita, and then the two of them went into the house. Rose refused Sumita's offer of help in cleaning up - "I'm basically done," she said - so Jenna and Sumita went upstairs and got ready for bed.

As they snuggled together in Jenna's tiny attic bedroom, Jenna felt her heart beating hard in her chest.

"Can I ask you something, Sumi?" she asked.

"You just did," Sumita teased. "Seriously, though, what is it?"

"Would you come with me over Christmas?" Jenna asked. "To meet my parents?"

"Oh, Jenna," Sumita said, melting. "I would love to meet your parents."

"I'll have to call them and ask," Jenna said. "I don't even know if they'll be okay with you coming. I've never brought anyone home to meet them before."

Sumita kissed Jenna, first on the forehead and then on the lips. "I love you, Jenna," she said.

"I love you too, Sumi," Jenna replied, and then rolled over onto her side. Sumita pulled her in close, and they fell asleep spooned together.

~~~

Jenna called her mother the next day after the morning deliveries were done. She was a nurse at a hospital on the Kitsap Peninsula, not far from the house. She worked half-time, mostly evenings and weekends, so Jenna knew she'd be home.

"Hello, Jenna girl," her mother said when she answered the phone. "How was your birthday party? I'm sorry your father and I couldn't be there, but you know we don't drive at night these days."

"It was very nice," Jenna said. "I'm usually not big on surprises, but last night was really amazing. I had no idea."

"I heard all about the planning from your sister," her mother said. "It was kind of fun, having a secret to keep when I talked to you yesterday afternoon. And that Sumita of yours sounds like a lovely person."

"Oh, um, yeah," Jenna said, and then couldn't think of anything to say.

"It's alright, Jenna girl," her mother said. "I'd like you to tell me about her. I know it took your father and me a long time to adjust after you came out, but we do really want you to be happy. We've been so worried that you're going to wind up alone for the rest of your life."

"Mother," Jenna said, struggling to keep her voice to a low growl. "The last time I told you about a girlfriend, you kicked me out of the house."

"No need to get huffy, dear," her mother replied, perfectly calm. "The last time you told us about a girlfriend, you were also drinking and taking drugs and failing out of school. Things are different now."

"Sorry," Jenna said. "It's still hard for me, you know?"

"I know, dear," her mother replied. "But your father and I are both very proud of you, and we've always loved you, even if we didn't know how to show it for a while."

"I know, Mom," Jenna said, and let out a big sigh.

"Sumita is ... wonderful," Jenna said. "I met her through Meaghan and Sarah - she went back to work at their company after fifteen years raising her daughter at home and writing technology books. She's Indian, as you can probably guess from her name, though she was born in this country, and she grew up kind of all over the place."

"And you get along well with her?" her mother asked. "That's more important than looks or money or anything else."

"Yes, mother," Jenna replied. "We get along very well. She's really good to me, and I'm doing my best to be good to her."

"Well, that's good," her mother said. "From what Rose has told me, it sounds like you really care about her, which is more than I can say for the last few women you've dated."

"Rose needs to keep her big mouth shut," Jenna said, though she laughed to take out the sting. "Anyway, that's kind of why I called."

"Oh?" her mother asked.

"I'd like to bring Sumita over for Christmas," Jenna said, her heart in her throat. "It's fine if you don't want her to come. I completely understand if..."

"Shush, dear," her mother said, cutting her off. "We would be honored for you to bring Sumita to Christmas at the house. Are you planning to come on Christmas Eve and stay the night, like you usually do?"

"Um, I guess so," Jenna replied. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, you're both welcome," her mother said.

"Thank you, Mom," Jenna said.

"Love you, Jenna girl," her mother said. "See you next week."

"Okay, Mom," Jenna replied. "Love you too. See you next week."

She was smiling the rest of the afternoon.

~~~

Sumita was thrilled when Jenna told her the news. Jenna was excited but also worried - by the time she saw Sumita, a little sliver of doubt had crept into her about how well her parents could accept Sumita, who wasn't just a lesbian, but was also a foreigner, a Hindu, and a vegetarian. Her parents didn't have much experience with any of those things living in their isolated corner of the state.

Before Christmas, though, there was another important event. Julie, Sumita's oldest friend, was coming to visit. Her fifteen year old son Ryan was spending Christmas in Seattle with his father, and Julie and her wife Amanda were flying up with him and spending a couple of days staying with Sumita after they dropped him off. This made Jenna very nervous.

She wasn't jealous of Julie, exactly, though she knew Julie and Sumita had some romantic feelings for each other from a long time ago. She was a little worried about how she'd look in Sumita's eyes next to Julie, though she was learning to control her insecurity. Mostly, she wanted Julie to like her.

They planned to meet at a Thai restaurant in Redmond, near Sumita's office. Sumita, Jenna, and Gita got there early and claimed their table. Julie texted that they were on their way, and they arrived about ten minutes later. After a round of introductions involving lots of hugs, Gita and Ryan sat down next to each other at one end of the table and completely tuned out everything the adults were saying. Gita had always thought of Ryan as the little brother she never had, and Ryan had always been a little in awe of Gita.

Julie was short and thin, with her brown hair in a pixie cut, sprinkled with gray. Her eyes were green, intense, and intelligent, with lines etched in the corners by her ready smile. She matched Jenna's mental image exactly, from the pictures in Sumita's house, except that Jenna had expected her to be taller. She could see why Julie and Sumita had been such good friends.

Amanda was tall, with a long, lean frame; close-cropped, curly black hair; wide-set, almond-shaped eyes; and perfectly smooth skin, as black as coal. When she spoke, Jenna caught a faint trace of some sort of west African accent, though she had no idea what it was. When she smiled, wide and bright, Jenna could see the generous good humor that Julie found so attractive. They were a lovely couple.

The conversation at dinner was mostly between Sumita and Julie. They only saw each other once or twice a year, so they had a lot of catching up to do. Amanda and Jenna stayed on the sidelines, listening politely while their partners chatted about things neither of them knew anything about. When Amanda rolled her eyes at a particularly obscure story Julie was telling and smiled at Jenna, Jenna could tell they were going to get along.

After dinner, Gita went back to her dorm and Sumita and Jenna drove to Sumita's house. Julie and Amanda dropped Ryan off at his dad's place in Bothell, and then drove down to Sumita's house in Sammamish. They got in fairly late, and they went to bed (in Gita's room) soon after they arrived. Traveling and seeing her ex-husband had left Julie feeling tired.

"How long have they been married?" Jenna asked Sumita in bed later. "They look really sweet together."

"Their wedding was in July last year, so almost a year and a half," Sumita replied. "I cried my eyes out at the ceremony, I was so happy for her. Even Rajeev shed a tear or two, and he was never the sentimental type."

"I'm so sorry," Jenna said. "I wasn't thinking. That must have been just a few months before he died."

"It's okay," Sumita replied. "I still miss him like crazy sometimes, but it really is okay now. I like to think some part of him is happy for me."

"Happy for you?" Jenna asked. "Like, happy for you with me?"

"Yes," Sumita replied. "Happy for us. He figured out that I was gay long before I could admit it to myself, and he would have wanted me to find somebody after he died. I think he would've liked you."

"Me?" Jenna asked. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Sumita replied. "How could he not? You're wonderful."

"Your assessment is not exactly objective," Jenna reminded her, "and anyway, there'd be that whole stealing his wife away thing."

"Yeah, there would be that," Sumita agreed, holding back a giggle. "It's a good thing I didn't meet you while he was still alive. I might have run off with you."

"You wouldn't!" Jenna said, shocked at the even the thought of it.

"No, I wouldn't," Sumita replied, "but it's kind of fun to think about, knowing it's not real."