Less Travelled

“Is there anything better than to be longing for something when you know it is within reach?” ~Greta Garble

Standing around the campfire, the couples were chatting about how they met. Deidre and Jamie, the only lesbian couple at the retreat, felt a bit on the edges of everyone there. Although many of the people they’d met had been more than welcoming and kind, there was still a hint of an unspoken “outsiders” air that had been assigned to them. One that, although, was not spelled out by word of mouth, could still be felt. Despite this being the case, it hadn’t deterred them from joining in group conversations. Finally, it was their turn to tell the story of how they’d met. They had decided amongst one another that Deidre would be the one to speak.

The rest of the couples turned toward them with expressions of inquiry. “Well, um, it is a bit of a long story,” Deidre said beginning recollecting her memory. The faces staring back at her for the continuation, she paused to reflect and looked into Jamie’s eyes. Jamie smiled back. This gave Deidre the full courage to recount their shared tale. One of longing that could never be articulated with words. “It started with a little black book I found on the subway in Brooklyn. I was running late for work as usual and the passenger, Jamie, here, had mistakenly left it in the seat I had taken. I ran to chase her but she’d already stepped off at her stop and the door had closed before I could reach her. It was much too loud in the car for her to hear me, “Miss, you left this”, so I placed it in my handbag and carried on to work.”

Deidre paused and took a sip of her hot cocoa. She lovingly smiled at Jamie and nudged her before carrying on. “I had arrived to work late and after a lengthy lecture by my supervisor, one of which I cannot remember a single utterance, I sat at my desk. Getting started with my work, I realized I could not stop my curiosity….”

“You know what they say about curiosity, it kills the cat,” Jamie interjected with a chuckle. “Exactly,” Deidre remarked! “I began reading the book in my spare time. I figured if I ever found the owner to give it back, it wouldn’t really matter whether or not I had read it. It’s not like I was really invading her privacy when I didn’t even know her. The book was REAL JUICY.” Deidre exclaimed feeling a little playful slap on her arm from Jamie, she smiled slyly and carried on telling their story. “At first…it also contained some fictional short stories as well. It seemed our Jamie is a highly talented writer. Ironically, at the time, I was an editor for a publishing company. I told myself I really needed to find this lady and tell her I’d like to help her get published. She wasn’t easy to find. I went through some rigorous twists and turns. It turned into a bit of a scavenger hunt too. One that we are currently writing a collaborative story about now. Every day I sat on the subway for hours hoping that I could, by chance, catch her on her way. “

And, then, one day, there she was. I was so surprised that I’d found her, finally. I ran up to her probably looking so crazy.” Jamie’s cheeks flushed as red as her bronze skin would allow and she smiled. “I fell in love at first sight, and, well, the rest is history. We got a book of her stories published and it hit the best seller list. She has since won several awards and even a cash prize of $20,000, not to mention, this is how we both make our living now. We live in a beautiful high rise apartment overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, we have a garden of African violets, and drink our coffee on the balcony every morning. We have been together ever since and still going strong. This retreat is our 10th year anniversary celebration!”

She smiled at Jamie and they embraced in a loving display of understanding and love.