Chapter 19 #2
“Yasss!” Victoria said raising a fist in victory. “C’mon, let’s finish those shelves. I want us out of here on time so I can call JB.”
~~~
Now in the motel room, Tillman graciously excused himself to check on the crew members’ accommodations and the couple in their RV in the motel parking lot. She was clearly giving Victoria space for her call.
“Guess what?” Victoria said when JB answered the phone.
“What?” JB said, sounding bubbly and happy to hear from her.
“I’m sore from this job.” Victoria stretched and groaned.
“Soak in a tub?”
“Only if you’ll scrub my back.” As soon as the words were out, she froze. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That was very forward of me. Old habit.”
“It’s okay,” JB said. “I can take a little flirting every now and then.”
“Oh, yeah?” Victoria nestled into the motel room bed. Her back really was kind of aching. “I do like you, JB. And, uhh…” She took a breath to stall for time. “And, I’m not usually this nervous around women.”
“Why are you nervous? It’s just me.”
“I know,” Victoria said. “But we only know each other superficially. I want to get to know you better. But I’m afraid of myself. I don’t want to push or ruin the good friendship I think we’ve got going on here.”
“I’m a big girl,” JB said. “Hey, I’m going to hold your hand while I say this next thing, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Look, now we’re holding hands.”
Victoria waited for JB to say something else, and when the silence grew longer, she finally understood and burst out laughing. “You got me. ‘And now we’re holding hands.’ Good one. Sounds like a Daddy Cheese maneuver.”
“I learned from the best,” JB said with a chuckle.
“Hey, how are you and the volleyball team taking the semi-final loss in the big state tournament?”
“Listen, we’re all grieving,” JB said. “We wear black bands on our sleeves and cover the mirrors.”
Victoria laughed.
“Actually, we’re bouncing back,” JB said more seriously. Victoria loved how easy it was to talk to her. She was upbeat and funny but could also be serious. “They’d never made it to states before, so now they’re excited for next year. Speaking of excited, can I fill you in on the lit magazine?”
“Absolutely, and I have news, too. But you first.”
JB’s voice was upbeat as she talked about the school project.
She now had a full student staff, and the entries were pouring in.
Once she got back to school after this weeklong Thanksgiving break, she and her new staff would only have a week and a day to get the magazine online and then published in print.
“I’m so proud of you,” Victoria said. “And I don’t mean that in a Mommy Domme kind of way. Just in a wow, you faced that challenge head on, didn’t shy away from it, and just freaking did it kind of way.”
“Thanks, Victoria,” JB said. “That means a lot. And, uh, I have more news before we get to yours, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, tell me.” Victoria loved this exchange of news between them. She’d tried sharing like this with Alyssa to some small success, but this was totally different. This was infinitely better.
“I’ve made some new friends here since I’ve moved,” JB said. “Friends in the community, if you know what I mean.”
“I do and good for you.”
“Well, I don’t know,” JB said, sounding unsure. “There are these aunties, someone called them that, who want to set me up with someone.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Well, I’m kind of talking with someone every night who has my interest right now, and I’d like to explore that more.”
Victoria sighed a gentle sigh. She hadn’t known how much tension she’d been holding in her body trying not to let her feelings for JB show. “With me? Just so we’re clear, you’re talking about me?”
“Yes, Captain Cheese,” JB said with a laugh. “Yes, with you. I know we’re just getting to know each other, and neither of us wants to jump in too quickly, but I don’t usually stalk people like this.”
It was Victoria’s turn to laugh. “No one’s stalking anyone. I think we’re acting like reasonable and respectful adults.”
“Despicable, isn’t it?”
Victoria laughed and said, “I want to keep talking to you, too. I want to know everything about you, but I’m not sure how to do that. Let’s just agree that we’re both interested to see where this will go, but we’re taking it slow and getting to know each other.”
“Agreed,” JB said, blowing out a clear, relieved sigh.
“So, what are you wearing?” Victoria asked, laughed big, and quickly added, “Just kidding. Just kidding.”
They laughed for a moment, and then JB said, “Tell me your news.”
“Where to start?” Victoria muttered. “Okay, I’m now seeing a therapist online and working through my mommy issues, which are basically trust issues.”
“That’s fantastic, Vic,” JB cheered. “Brava!”
“Thank you. I called the day after our first phone call. You suggested it, gently, and I realized asking for help didn’t have to be something negative. I mean, as a teacher, you’re part counselor, and you got me thinking. There’s been so much thinking.”
“Wow. Look how we’re helping each other.”
“And so, in that vein. I decided to go back home, see my people, and talk to B again. If she wants her Domme there, that’s fine. I’m okay with that.”
“Wow, wow, wow. Big step, Vic,” JB said.
“And that therapist’s office is in that town, so if everything goes sideways, I can go pound on her door for a refund.” Vic laughed. “Just kidding. Again. Just kidding.”
“Seeing her in person might not be a bad thing,” JB said. “Maybe you should make an in-person appointment anyway.”
“You know what? I will. I mean, I just made the decision to go back, so I’ll call during one of my breaks tomorrow and set that up.”
“When are you going?”
“In a little over two weeks,” Victoria said. “Actually, right after your lit magazine comes out.”
“That’ll make it easy for me to remember.”
Victoria had been mulling over the idea of meeting JB for a few days, and now that JB also seemed interested in seeing where their relationship might go, she went for it.
“I want to meet you, JB,” Victoria announced.
“If I’m not being too forward. But I think I need to wait until after my trip back home and all that… stuff.”
“I’d love to meet you,” JB said. “So, let’s agree to discuss details once you’ve done your thing. I’ll have Christmas break off soon after that and can travel wherever.”
“You’re sweet to offer, but that won’t be necessary,” Victoria said. “I’ve got all the time in the world now and can come to wherever you are in the Eastern time zone.”
“Deal,” JB said. “That makes me really happy. I’ve also jumped in too soon to things and made some ill-advised choices in the past, so thank you for suggesting we do this thing sanely.”
“Safe, sane, and consensual, as they say,” Victoria said, quoting an oft-used catch phrase from the BDSM community.
“We should wear, like, green carnations or something when we meet,” JB said. “And have a secret hand signal because what if we meet and there’s some kind of carnation festival going on?”
Victoria burst out laughing. “I love it. What’s the hand signal?”
“Uhh,” JB said, obviously thinking. “Hand over the heart.”
“But what if there’s a heart doctors’ festival going on?” Victoria teased. “They’ll think you’re having a heart attack and give you CPR or something.”
“Okay, okay,” JB said up to the challenge. “Hand over the heart. Pat three times. Pause. Pat another three times.”
“Perfect.” Victoria laughed. She heard Tillman’s slow key in the lock and waved him in the room. Tillman headed straight for the bathroom. To JB, she said, “I’m really relaxed talking with you.”
“Good,” JB said. “Me, too.”
Victoria wanted to ask JB if she, like Tillman, wanted a house and home and kids and barbecues and all that, but knew enough not to ask.
Cart way before the horse. Especially because Victoria wasn’t sure whether she wanted any of those things.
Aha, now she had something concrete to discuss with Dr. Sumner at their next appointment.
Too soon, the call had to end, but Victoria fell asleep with a smile on her face. JB had scolded her for not texting that she’d gotten to the job site safe and sound. Strangely, Victoria was more than okay with the scolding.
~~~
Victoria sat in the visitor’s room of the correctional facility, grateful that Tillman had been okay delaying their trip back to Indy.
She couldn’t be this close to her father and not visit.
The cold metal bars and painted concrete block walls made her shiver to think he had been living in this place for two years, with a minimum of five more to go.
She wasn’t sure she would survive it herself.
“Dad,” she said when he was escorted into the room. She stood up.
They both teared up when they saw each other. “Hi, baby girl,” he said. He gave her a brief hug. The actual contact caused more tears in both of them.
“Are you okay in here, Dad?” He was thinner than she remembered. It had only been two years since she’d last seen him, but he’d aged much more than that.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I know how to take care of myself. What brings you here? I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“Yeah, orange is not your color.” She laughed. “I wanted to see you, Dad. I think I needed to see you. I took a construction job near here, and I was close, so…”
“I’m glad you came,” he said. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.” He smiled at her and then said, “You look tired.”
“So do you,” she said with a laugh. And then she launched into the tale of the dumbass cousins and their botched fencing ring. She also mentioned her uncle’s probable involvement.
Her father closed his eyes and sighed the most exasperated sigh she’d ever heard. “Your Uncle Jimmy told me only his boys were involved.”
“He told you about it?”
“He did. He didn’t tell me that dumbass Donny tased you, either, so thank you for that information. Are you okay?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, no worries. He was a bad shot.”
He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “They tried to use you, baby girl. But you didn’t let them. That’s the girl I raised.”
“I knew something was wrong. Something at Erin’s storage place just felt wrong.”
“I get that. And, I have to remind you that Jimmy takes care of me in here. He puts money in my account, takes my calls, and even visits on occasion.”
“He feels guilty about getting you involved in his shit in Chicago and landing in here.”
“Yes. So, I have to find the exact right way to fuss at him about this situation and somehow get him to take care of you. Believe me, though, I would kick his ass if I could.”
“I know, Dad. I get it. You’re in survival mode in here. And Uncle Jimmy should take care of you for making you the patsy back then.”
“He does.”
“His boys learned that underhanded business from him, Dad. But they didn’t learn very well, I think.
And Erin,” Victoria shook her head. “She’s devastated that they used her like that.
She’s selling her business. She’s moving.
Aunt Jenny has forbidden her to move away from the family, because you know—”
“Family first,” her father finished.
“Exactly,” Victoria said. “Erin said a few choice words about that in her apartment. Not right to her mother, but Erin is pissed. And I don’t blame her.”
“And you?”
“Yes, I’m positively furious for her. And for me. This family…” She trailed off because she didn’t want to disparage her father’s brother or even him.
“I know,” her father said. “They’ve done you wrong, baby girl.”
Victoria changed the subject. She asked about his daily routine in the facility, and he asked her if she was seeing anyone special. She said she was, but told him it wasn’t official yet. All too soon, their time was up. “Dad, I’m going to come back to visit you here more often.”
“I’d like that,” he said as they took their second sanctioned hug.
Neither were huggers, but Victoria vowed that would change.
And not only with her Dad. She needed to open up more and allow herself to be vulnerable.
Those were Dr. Sumner’s words, not hers, but she would try to figure out how to do just that.
She stayed in her seat as her father was led out of the room.
Tears filled her eyes, and she swiped them away as she left the room and the building.
She had always been so stoic, rarely showing emotion or feelings.
But that had begun to change, hadn’t it?
JB was a good listener. Victoria had shared more than she ever had before.
With help from Dr. Sumner and JB, maybe Victoria could actually do the touchy-feely thing.
~~~
Two weeks after she visited her father, Victoria was in her truck heading southeast on the highway toward Denton Heights.
Tillman was in the passenger seat. JB’s literary magazine had been launched the day before to great success and praise from her supervisors.
And that made Victoria proud, too. The masquerade ball was in three days, and Victoria hoped she’d be welcomed there.
This trip would determine whether she could resume her life in Denton Heights or would have to look elsewhere. Maybe she’d end up where JB was.