I watched the two of them, a gorgeous couple, if that’s what they were, make their way to the set of sliding glass doors. My mind was essentially blown by this new information. Carrie wasn’t happily married to some guy with a beard and a tie?
“Skyler, you’re here. You made it!” Kristin. But my brain was still busy.
“Is Carrie…in a relationship with that woman?” I had to ask and felt like I knew Kristin well enough for it to be off the record.
Kristin’s face took on understanding, and I followed her gaze to Audra and Carrie out on the deck. “She used to be. Yeah. I think they’re just friends now.”
Why hadn’t the public been notified, and by public, I meant me. Carrie dated women? Everything I thought I knew about life had just been tossed out the window, and I was going to have to start fresh. Probably learn English again. Did I even like pizza? “Interesting.”
The side of Kristin’s mouth tugged. She was well aware that I was a lesbian. “I know. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Right?” I asked in a hushed tone. “Because…right?”
Kristin laughed, patted me on the head, and was whisked away by a guest asking where they could find green olives.
Shock aside, the evening was just what I needed. A group of kind adults enjoying a fantastic dinner prepared by a hired chef, over intelligent conversation. I felt like I’d been invited to the big kids’ table and never wanted to leave. Did I spend a good part of dinner staring across the table at Carrie, who ate her food slowly, as if taking the time to enjoy each bite? Perhaps. Now that the ice had melted off her, I saw her in a whole new light. The journalist I’d long admired and the woman who was maybe on the way to becoming my friend. The introduction of the ex-girlfriend added more to my understanding of who Carrie was, and it turned out we weren’t so different.
“I agree with the point you made at dinner,” Carrie told me later as we lounged on the couch in the living room. The guests were down to about half, and the formality of the evening had fallen completely away with the late hour. I sat with my shoes off and my feet curled beneath me, facing Carrie on the other end of the couch. “About how much the industry has changed with the rise of social media. It’s hard to keep up. The station wants me to start learning TikTok. What am I supposed to do with that? Create lighthearted videos? I’m a newswoman.”
I squinted. “Why would they want you on TikTok? What does that have to do with the station?”
Carrie shook her head and watched the room for a moment. Lucy and Kristin smiled sweetly at each other in the kitchen. Emory nodded sagely at something Kristin’s neighbor was explaining. “I think they’re struggling for a foothold to keep the ratings where they want them to be. To keep us relevant. Younger people are getting their news from the internet rather than television.” She shrugged. “And let’s be honest, I’m not getting any younger.”
“Who needs you to?”
“Well, the network would love it.” She sipped from her champagne glass. A champagne kind of girl. I liked that. Oh, and I’d had two-point-five glasses of wine and no shame. God, she was stunning. If the camera could see her now, makeup faded, no shoes, and her blond hair framing her face as the ocean breeze floated in from the open back door, they’d be just as captivated as I was.
“Well, the network can fuck right off.” Had I said that?
She smiled at me, seemingly touched. “Well, thanks for that. But maybe not so loud. We are at our assistant news director’s home.”
“Good point. Still.”
She was studying me with soft eyes. I liked it. I wanted to live here. “You want to come over sometime next week?”
I couldn’t have been more stunned. “Me?”
“You’re the only one on the couch.” She smiled from behind her glass, regarding me, amused.
“Yeah, I mean, yeah.”
“I will accept yeah, I mean, yeah.”
“Maybe you can tell me more about working at the station, your career.”
Her eyes laughed, even if the rest of her didn’t. She thought I was cute, the way one would a sweet kitten. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “Sure, if you want. I can do that.”
“But we don’t have to. We can just have a drink or eat something. At the same time.” These were stellar ideas I was throwing out there. Incredible, really.
“Might be weird if we took turns.”
I nodded. “Given.”
“I thought so.”
The tone was light, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was the smallest amount of flirting hovering in our back-and-forth. Was I crazy? I had to be. There was no way Caroline McNamara was flirting with me, whether she was into women or not. I paused. But maybe Carrie was, the woman beneath the intimidating persona. Even that seemed ludicrous, given the fact that I was…me. No one important.
“When?” I asked, apparently feeling the need to nail this down.
“Oh, um…what about Saturday. I’m off.”
“Me, too.”
“Swing by late afternoon. We can hang out.” She caught sight of something across the room. Maybe Audra signaling her. “I’ll text you my address. Better go. ’Night, Skyler. Tonight was fun.”
“’Night,” I said, but nothing could have pulled my attention from the small details that came with Carrie’s exit. She gave Audra’s hand a squeeze and let go, located her clutch, and spoke quietly to Lucy and Kristin, exchanging a laugh followed by cheek kisses. She quietly slipped out the front door, and I was left on that couch, grappling with all the new information that overloaded my very intrigued brain.
Sarah sat down and said something casual about the dinner. Maybe that the garlic mash had been set on fire. I absently agreed, vaguely aware of Emory joining us.
She looked at me. “What’s going on with this one?”
Sarah tapped her cheek. “I don’t know, but she looks kinda happy about it and will agree with practically anything I say.”
I pulled myself off the cloud I was floating on. “She’s a lesbian, you guys. Or fluid, it’s hard to say which. And it’s more than a little surprising. Are you feeling all right?” I asked, my eyes flying to Emory. I’d been wondering all night, but we’d not had a moment.
“I’m fine. But what is it you’re going on about?”
“Have you ever found out someone you thought was straight is not so straight, and your world feels very weird all of a sudden?”
“Ah. Carrie.” Emory rolled her lips in, but her eyes danced with knowledge.