Free Magnetic by Robin Alexander

I’ve never done anything like that before.”
    “You were hurting.”
    Layne blinked and looked at Stacy. “Ronnie told you about what Olivia did.”
    Stacy nodded. “I understand now. I didn’t the day we talked at the buffet.” She smiled. “You never did look like a Chloe to me. Layne is much more befitting.”
    “Yes, well, it was the best I could come up with on short notice.” Layne steered the conversation away from that night. “So why the move to New Orleans?”
    Stacy shrugged. “It just seemed like the thing to do. I’ve been nomadic over the past few years. When I left San Fran, I spent some time in Utah, then Maine, and somehow, I ended up in Detroit. I guess I was just tired of bitter winters and snow. And I got tired of hearing my cousin beg.”
    “The nomad thing, was it for work?”
    “No, I’ve just felt…unsettled. I met a girl in college and fell in love. When she got a job in California at an environmental law firm, I went with her. We were together eight years when she was killed in a car accident.” Stacy pulled a leg up in the swing with her. “Nothing was ever the same after that.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Layne didn’t know what else to say or do as Stacy stared off into space.
    Stacy inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “We should talk about Alana.”
    Layne nodded.
    “I’m not going to tell her about our encounter.”
    Layne sighed with relief. “I appreciate that.”
    Stacy grinned. “She’s not known for her discretion.”
    “No, she’s not,” Layne said with a laugh.
    They were quiet for a moment or two. “I was considering the Florida Keys, but Alana said they dealt with too many hurricanes. Apparently, she considers New Orleans safer.”
    “Maybe she just wanted you near. Are you two close?”
    “Yeah, she’s the only one in my family I still talk to. No one else came to see me when Anna died, just her. We’ve been pretty tight ever since. The two black sheep stick together.”
    Layne knew very little about Alana’s personal life outside of her proclivities. “Black sheep?”
    “My lesbianism and refusal to go into the family business of politics, and Alana was responsible for the divorce of one of her father’s closest friends. According to my uncle Robert and his good buddy Gene, Alana seduced him. They’re still friends, and Alana is trash in her father’s eyes. She was nineteen when it happened and believed she was in love, thought Gene really loved her. It was a very rude awakening about a lot of things for her.”
    “I had no idea. Our conversations aren’t very deep. Everything always seems to be a joke to her.”
    “Yeah, that’s how she copes, I suppose.”
    Layne studied Stacy’s face. “Gavin Mayeaux is your father, isn’t he?”
    Stacy nodded. “I look just like him, don’t I? You’ve no doubt seen his political ads for the Senate.”
    “Alana defaces every poster she can find. She has his face on a dartboard in her office. You and Alana look nothing alike, but I should’ve put things together the night we met.” Layne cleared her throat. “I was out of sorts.”
    Stacy’s smile faltered for a second. “It’s understandable. Tell me about your family.”
    “Well,” Layne began with a sigh. “I’m not the black sheep. I just don’t exist. My parents are strict conservatives, so they consider my,” Layne made air quotes with her fingers, “‘lifestyle’ to be inappropriate, and to include me in the family would mean they’d be condoning who I am. My brothers are much the same as my parents, so we don’t talk. I get religious cards from my mother delivered to the office once a month, but that’s about the extent of our relationship. My family now is Jenny, Molly, and Ronnie.”
    Stacy pursed her lips before saying, “It sucks, doesn’t it?”
    “It used to when I was younger but not anymore. I guess they thought their stonewalling would break me and I’d bend to their will, but all they did was make me stronger.