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I find peace, find balance, and release all my tears.

Embracing who I am in the skin I live,

In the love that I offer, in the way that I give,

Finding peace in moments, both grand and small,

In the quiet wisdom that answers my call.

So here’s to the journey, to rising, to falls,

To the beauty of being, the strength in it all,

With every breath, every heartbeat, in life’s tender grace,

I find peace in my soul, in my own sacred space.”

Applause erupted as she bowed in appreciation and slipped off the stool. Jane leaned in toward Rebecca and asked, “Was that original? I have never heard it before.”

“Supposedly she wrote it while in Iowa. That’s all I know.”

“Huh.” Jane stopped clapping. “I had no idea she wrote poetry.” What else didn’t Jane know about her wife?

She was checked out for the rest of the talent portion – some other poets and musicians took up too much time for Jane’s tastes. Besides, she had to keep a diligent eye on her niece, in case Cece was making plans to run off with someone when Jane wasn’t looking.

I can’t help it. I’m a wee bit paranoid these days.Was this what it felt like to be a parent? To fret over a kid every hour of the day? God, was this whathermother felt like thirty years ago when Jane spent most of the ‘90s chasing girls and driving fast down the highway?

Would it be uncouth to tell Cecelia some of those stories? Or would that make Jane “cringe?”

“Are we going to hear who made the top five yet?” Jane asked during the next commercial break. “I am starting to go mad. I love our Cait, but I do not know how much longer I can take sitting here watching women parade around in beauty pageant attire.”

“There’s still the athletic portion,” Rebecca said. “I think they announce the top five after the top ten show off their bodies.”

“Oh, well, now… I could pay attention to that.”

Jane wasn’t sure what “athleticism” meant in a pageantry sense, but somehow she wasn’t surprised that it involved ten women strutting out onto the stage in a mix of stylish gym and bathing suit attire. Caitlyn stunned in a black, strapless bikini that somehow held up her girls without falling. (Later, Rebecca told her this was the magic of fashion tape.) A black and gold crocheted sarong fell off her shoulders as she turned around at the end of the stage, black pumps making her hips sway and focusing everyone’s attention on her fabulous arse. Jane swooned. Rebecca poked her in the side.

“I have no idea what that had to do with sports,” Jane said. “And I do not care.” As far as she was concerned, nobody else had the kind of confident gait that Caitlyn sported while showing off so much tasteful skin. It was also the only time she wore her hair up while on stage. That was always Jane’s favorite look on her wife.

“Jane,” Rebecca hissed. “You’re drooling.”

“What is the matter with that? Are you not drooling as well?”

“I hide it better.”

“Uh-huh…” Well! Unlike Rebecca, who had Cait all to herself that past week – including last night, as the knickers dropped on Jane implied – someone’s wife had yet to enjoy her marital perks that past month. Jane had a lovely laundry list of activities she would like to enjoy with Caitlyn. But only if her wife had time to get kissed between the legs.

Normally, this was the part where she hoped everyone around her was jealous that she got to sleep withthatwoman on the stage, but Jane knew it was futile. That was Rebecca beside her, and Rebecca got everything… but her own room. So it went.

It was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Or at least Jane had been waiting, her fingers crossed with Rebecca and Christine as the ten semifinalists lined up to hear the top five. The host thanked everyone for doing so wonderfully that night before launching right into it.

“Our first finalist…Mrs. Alasssska!”

One by one four women were called to the front of the stage, each one falling over themselves in joy and laughter as they shook each other’s hands and thanked the host for calling them. Caitlyn stood in the back, politely clapping, the camera briefly panning over her face in the hopes of catching any anxiety in her finer lines and blossoming wrinkles.

To the untrained eye, she was as cool as a late summer’s breeze. To Jane, her wife was staying calm but still wanted that final spot.

“Be quiet, be quiet!” Christine hushed Rebecca before she had the chance to say something. “I’ve got a good feeling!”