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“That’s her cousin’s daughter, but they’re more like aunt and niece,” Carmen whispered. Faith turned to greet the newcomer and almost gasped out loud.

Standing there in a forest green bikini with a rainbow wraparound was Nathalie. The Nathalie from the bus station. Faith’s Nathalie.

Chapter 8

Carmen

So that was Nathalie. The girl who clearly got under Faith’s skin. Carmen grinned as the two young women stared at each other with wide eyes. Both a little shy and more than surprised at their reunion.

“Hey, why don’t you two go and catch up? You don’t want to be hanging around us oldies.” Carmen nudged Faith. She could see the girl was embarrassed and needed an excuse to duck away.

“Um… are you sure?” Faith asked, only momentarily tearing her eyes away from Nathalie. Carmen chuckled, nudging her again to suggest they take off. Faith and Nathalie didn’t need any more convincing.

“Have I missed something?” Rita asked.

“It seems Nathalie and Faith met a few days ago on a bus.”

“That’s who Nathalie was talking about. Wow, okay.”

“Nathalie mentioned Faith?”

“She most certainly did. Nat didn’t give me a name, but she wouldn’t stop yammering about this cute girl she met.”

Carmen smiled warmly. A sense of nostalgia washed over her as she watched Faith and Nathalie chat by the pool. Their feet dipped in the water. Carmen was twenty before she had any hands-on experience with a woman. Sure, she’d known for years prior that she was gay, but with all the upheaval and work both she and Mateo had to do to get themselves in a good place, women came second. That was until she met Hattie Belmont, in her third year at college.

Hattie was the heart and soul of any room she walked into. Carmen noticed her on the first day of college, but was far too focused on her studies to think too much about the buxom blonde. Then, one Friday night, Mateo convinced Carmen to attend a LGBTQI+ fundraiser. Lo-and-behold, Hattie Belmont was the student president in charge of the event. After a couple shots of bourbon, Carmen accessed a pool of confidence she didn’t know she had. Carmen charmed the pants off of Hattie that night—literally.

And there began Carmen’s journey into the sapphic world. The rest of her college experience involved a few more nights with Hattie and several other women. Carmen liked the idea of a girlfriend, but not the feelings. Caring for anyone else but Mateo was too daunting, and she didn’t trust anyone enough to let herself try. For years Mateo behaved similarly, but over time he put their therapist’s help to good use. Mateo wanted a boyfriend, someone to build a life with. That’s when his opinion on Carmen’s less than permanent arrangements with women bugged him and in turn, he bugged Carmen.

Now, watching Faith and Nathalie muddle their way through their second first interaction was hitting Carmen in the feels. What would it be like to really let someone get to know her? To allow herself to be vulnerable and give another person the trust needed to build a relationship? Carmen’s mind wandered to Molly Parsons, which was odd. She had no idea who the woman was or what she was like.

“Earth to Carmen.” Rita’s voice pulled Carmen out of her head. A Pride party wasn’t the time or place to be pondering life-altering things. “Sorry, just watching those two,” she replied, nodding in Faith and Nathalie’s direction.

“Cute, aren’t they?”

“Very. It’s nice to see Faith coming out of her shell. The difference today from just a few days ago is astonishing.”

“Mateo gave me a rundown of the situation. She’ll be okay, especially with you two on her side. Plus, kids are resilient.”

If that were true, why hadn’t Carmen bounced back so easily? She was in her mid-thirties, and still dealing with crap from her childhood. Hopefully Faith wouldn’t be like her.

“You know,” Rita began. “You could do that,” Rita pointed.

“Do what?”

“Talk to a woman. Get to know them. Start something that lasts longer than an evening.”

Aside from Mateo, Rita was Carmen’s closest friend. At ten years her senior, Rita offered both Mateo and Carmen an older sister/mom support. Rita worked at the shelter Mateo and Carmen stayed at over several months after they’d bolted from the system. In that time they became friends. Rita helped Carmen get her first job.

“Mateo has been harping at me to open up more,” Carmen sighed.

“Is he wrong?”

Carmen shrugged her shoulders. “Over the years, I was happy having fun. I was more worried about Mateo than me.”

“And now?”

Another shrug. “I don’t know.”