Free Homecoming by Susan X Meagher Page A

she said, the corners of her mouth turning down a few degrees.
    Jill wasn’t sure if she was treading on thin ice, but she asked the question anyway. “Do you think you could have been monogamous forever?”
    Lizzie put her chin in her hand and sat quietly for a minute. “I think I could have. But given that my desire for women is really strong, it would have been hard.” She sighed again, this time with a determined look making her eyes spark. “I would have focused on him and our kids. If you’re going to be an adult, you don’t have to scratch every itch you get.”
    “I think the strap-on would have come out at some point,” Jill said, unable to avoid teasing her. “You would have needed some excitement.”
    She let a smile bloom, and it eventually lit up her face. “That’s probably why he really broke up with me. He feared my big, throbbing dick.”
    Jill shoved her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes. “I can’t hear you and I can’t see you. Tap me on the arm when you’ve stopped trying to give me nightmares.”
     
    ***
     
    When Jill got home that night, a big box was lying on her porch. She picked it up and opened it with one of her keys, then pulled out several wads of tan paper before lifting out a lovely, graceful, wrought iron lamp, with six delicately curving arms, each wired to hold a bulb.
    Pleased, she held the piece up to the light and took a good look at it. It was just the kind of thing she’d buy for herself. She’d never been crazy about the fixture she had over her dining room table, but Mark couldn’t have known that. He did, however, know her, and he’d used that knowledge to make something she couldn’t wait to hang up. He didn’t need to offer such a generous gift, but she was really glad he had. Maybe one day they could actually sit down and have a drink together—if Lisa let him.

Chapter Four

     
    On a cool, but clear night in mid May, Jill rushed around her house, neatening up for bridge. Seven people would be there in less than an hour, and she still had a decent amount of work to do.
    She’d made snacks; fresh vegetables and dip, some hummus, tabouli, pita chips, taco chips, and salsa. The taco chips would go first. They always did; but then, people would eat the vegetables once they had no other choice.
    The cats knew company was coming, and had secreted themselves in a closet or under a bed. She wasn’t sure how they always knew, given that she cleaned the house once or twice a week and cooked regularly, but when guests were coming, David sought shelter moments before Goliath joined him. When guests were there, not a treat in the world would entice either of them to come out. That made most of her friends semi-seriously believe she kept a litter box just for fun.
    Everything was dusted, the throw pillows were fluffed, the half-bath on the first floor was spic and span, the matching glasses were washed and set out on the breakfront in the living room, dessert plates nestled next to them. Cloth napkins sat next to shining forks and spoons. Everything was ship-shape.
    Just before eight, she turned on some music, choosing one of the streaming services she could access through her computer in the den. When she’d done some remodeling, she’d had speakers run into every room on the first floor, letting her fill any spot with sound. It hardly mattered which of her many channels she picked, though. Someone would change it within moments of arriving.
    Jill went into the living room and peered out the window when she noticed movement on the street. Karen and Becky were, as usual, the first to arrive.
    Friends filled different needs at different times, but these two had been her stalwarts for the entire time she’d been back in Burlington.
    Becky was attired in her usual frumpy professor look, with her hair in need of a trim, and khakis that she’d probably owned since the nineties. Her usual Birkenstocks were a source of good-natured teasing from the whole group, but