Chapter 13 Gwen #3
Then they were both crying and, upon realizing this, both laughing, shyly at first, then hysterically, the maniacal type of laughter that signifies the release of something held within for too long.
Leigh lay flat on the floor next to Belle, clutching her stomach as she laughed.
Gwen did the same, lying flat next to June, staring at the ceiling, thinking how strange it was to be in this woman’s home, crying and laughing and feeling better than she had in weeks.
There was the sound of the front door opening, and Leigh quickly jumped to her feet. Gwen was slower to get up, pushing herself into a seated position just as a man, presumably Leigh’s husband, walked into the living room.
“Well, hello,” he said.
He had a British accent, which was unexpected. He was excessively tall, six and a half feet probably, and thin, with auburn hair that explained the orangey tint to Belle’s wisps.
Leigh had hurried to greet him.
“Gwen, this is Nathan,” she said. “Nathan, Gwen.”
Was Gwen right to feel an odd tension in the room? Was Leigh nervous around her own husband?
Gwen waved from her seated position on the floor. June flailed her arms, as if also trying to wave.
“Oh, so you’re Gwen?” Nathan said, eyebrows raised in interest.
Gwen couldn’t help but smile at the thought that Leigh had discussed her with Nathan, just as Gwen had discussed Leigh with Jeff.
“I’m Gwen,” she said. “And this is June.” She lifted June from the floor and stood for a proper greeting. He came to Gwen, stuck out his hand.
“Such a pleasure,” he said, shaking her hand. His grip was firm, his eye contact intense. It was like he was trying to ascertain something about her just by staring at her, and she didn’t know what it was.
“You got off work early?” Leigh said.
It was just after three o’clock.
He turned his attention back to his wife as he loosened the tie around his neck.
“I did. Sorry, forgot you were having company. I’ll just jump in the shower and make myself scarce,” he said. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before jogging down the hallway.
“Maybe you can make a trip to the grocery store instead of making yourself scarce,” Leigh called after him.
He grunted in return and then closed the door to what Gwen assumed was their master bedroom.
“He’s usually not home until six or so. I think he goes out of his way to miss the witching hour,” Leigh said. “But he knew you were coming, so.”
So what? He’d wanted to meet Gwen? She couldn’t imagine Jeff caring enough to meet one of Gwen’s new friends, especially in the context of a baby get-together.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Gwen said, unsure if this was the correct response.
“He said he forgot I was having company, but he totally remembered.”
Leigh seemed irritated by this, and Gwen waited for her to say more.
“There was this . . . thing . . . when we lived in Santa Cruz,” Leigh said, waving her hand in the air, as if this “thing” were as silly and innocuous as a buzzing-about housefly.
Leigh sat on the couch again, while Belle continued hanging out in the lounger. Gwen resumed her seat on the couch next to Leigh, June in her lap.
“Nathan refers to it as my indiscretion,” she said, using a British accent for “indiscretion.”
Gwen still had no idea what she was getting at.
“This woman in my psychology program. It was nothing, but Nathan freaked out about it.”
The gears in Gwen’s brain turned slowly. A woman in her psychology program. An indiscretion.
“It was a brief fling situation. It didn’t mean anything. Nathan saw a text from her on my phone. Freaked out.”
Gwen understood now.
“That’s pretty much why we moved,” she said. “He was that bothered by it, said he couldn’t stomach living in the same city as this woman.”
Gwen had so many questions, but none she felt comfortable asking.
“Anyway, that’s why he was a little unnerved when I mentioned you were coming over,” she said.
“Oh” was all Gwen could say.
“I told him you’re married, that you have a kid, that we are in a support group with moms. I guess he still felt he had to come home and see for himself.”
“Oh, well, I guess I understand that,” Gwen said.
Leigh seemed to think this was all dumb, but Gwen understood her husband’s angst. Leigh had cheated on him. The fact that it was with a woman, that it “didn’t mean anything,” likely did not provide much comfort.
“He knew I was bi when we met,” Leigh said. “I didn’t hide it from him or anything.”
Gwen took in this information and tried to keep her face neutral, though she was a little surprised that Leigh was discussing her sexuality when they barely knew each other.
“Anyway, this is all TMI, I’m sure. Sorry, I’m an oversharer,” Leigh said. “I’m sure you could feel some weirdness, so that’s why.”
Gwen bounced June on her knees, thankful for her baby’s giggles to distract her from the awkwardness of this situation.
“I appreciate your sharing,” Gwen said diplomatically.
“Oh god. I’ve made it so weird,” Leigh said. She knelt down to her own baby, probably seeking her own distraction.
Nathan appeared in the hallway, now wearing a pair of expensive athleisure pants and a T-shirt, his hair slick from the shower.
“Did you say you needed something at the store?” he asked Leigh. “I have a call at four, but I can run out now.”
“Really? Would you? That would be amazing,” Leigh said, jumping to her feet and running to the kitchen. She pulled out a notepad from a drawer and started writing frantically.
“So Gwen, Leigh said you two met in a moms’ group?” Nathan said. He bent down to lift Belle from the lounger, held her against his chest.
“Yes. At the hospital. I just went for my first time.”
“I told you this, Nathan,” Leigh said with undisguised annoyance.
She ripped off the paper from the notepad and handed it to him.
“You’re reminding me that I need to send my husband to the grocery store too,” Gwen said, feeling the need to mention Jeff.
Leigh took Belle from Nathan, and the baby whined her disapproval.
“Right, okay. I’ll run to the store,” Nathan said, turning to collect his wallet and keys from the kitchen counter where he’d left them.
“I doubt I’ll be here when you get back. Have to head home soon,” Gwen said, still desperate to offer him reassurance. “So it was nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” he said, before closing the front door behind him.
Leigh gave Gwen a pouty lip once Nathan left.
“Do you really have to go so soon?”
Gwen didn’t have to go, but she felt like she should.
“I’m sorry,” Gwen said, standing from the couch, transferring June into the car seat.
“I totally made it weird.”
“You didn’t, I promise,” Gwen said.
The situation was objectively a bit weird, but Gwen wasn’t put off.
A former version of herself might have been, but now she took comfort in another mother who didn’t have all her shit together, another mother who had made mistakes.
These new facts—that Leigh was bi, that she’d had a past “indiscretion”—had no bearing on their budding friendship.
It was not like Leigh was attracted to Gwen.
Even if she was, Gwen wasn’t attracted to her, had never been attracted in that way to a woman.
“Okay, well, I hope we can do this again,” Leigh said.
“We will. Of course,” Gwen said with a burst of enthusiasm. “At my place next time?”
Leigh’s face brightened. “Yes. Please. I’d love that.”
Leigh opened the door for Gwen and asked if she needed any help to the car. Gwen assured her she was fine, and then she and June took the elevator down. As she put June in the back seat, she glanced up at the terrace, and Leigh was there. Gwen went around to the driver’s side and waved up at Leigh.
“Thank you for coming,” Leigh shouted down. “I couldn’t remember if I said that.”
Gwen laughed to herself and shouted back, “Thank you for having me.”
Then she got in her car and drove home. It was only when she parked in the garage that she realized she’d been smiling the whole way.