This time it was Rory's turn to splutter into her drink. Unfortunately, it was her coffee, and it shot up her nose and down her chin. She swore and grabbed a napkin to dab herself off. Fortunately, it had missed her shirt. As she dried coffee off herself, she shared a heated look with Gemma that reminded Gemma just how much of each other they had seen over the past few weeks.
Happily, this episode was largely ignored by both Phyllis and Mary. Phyllis was glaring at Mary, and Mary was blushing a deep red.
“Mary,” Phyllis hissed, “we spoke about this.” Phyllis dropped her voice to a stage whisper. “We don’t assume pronouns.”
Mary nodded her grey-haired head. “Sorry Rory.”
Rory stared open-mouthed at the two women beforequickly snapping it shut. Gemma stifled a grin. Many times as teenagers, she’d heard Phyllis chastise Rory for hanging her mouth open.
Rory cleared her throat and shifted in her chair. Her knife and fork rested perfectly on her plate, and her back was ramrod straight. As teenagers, their grandparents had always instilled good manners in both girls and to Gemma, and it seemed Rory as well, it was now as natural as breathing. Rory took a sip of coffee, and Gemma thought there was a slight tremble in her hand. She longed to reach over and press her hand to her arm for support. Or to have a hand in the small of Rory’s back. She knew that brought Rory a lot of comfort and dearly wanted to give that to her now. Instead, all she could do was send as much love as possible, silently, to her girlfriend.
“It’s fine Granny.” Rory smiled at Phyllis. “I’m happy with female pronouns.”
“Hmm.” Phyllis hummed into her own coffee and looked carefully at her granddaughter. “I’m sorry for the way the family reacted last night. Your mother was out of line, and I told her so.”
Phyllis’s back was ramrod straight in her chair, and Gemma easily envisioned Rory’s mum, Amanda, being told off by her own mother. Amanda differed greatly from Phyllis and from Rory. Phyllis and Rory were both gentle in their approach to the world, kind and decent. Gemma had come to appreciate Rory’s steadiness as they had navigated the past few weeks together. Amanda, on the other hand, was the party girl, the bouncy, fun-loving woman who was at the centre of every fun thing. She was also the one who had peppered Rory with questions last night. As her rapid staccato of questions had shot forth, Gemma had seen Rory shut down and withdraw into herself, and it had scared her.Fortunately, Phyllis had shut her daughter down and come to the rescue. Gemma straightened her spine and silently made a promise to herself and to Rory. If Rory needed rescuing and defending in the future, she would do it. Rory was her girlfriend, her lover, and Gemma would protect her.
“Now, I will not pry into what’s going on.” Phyllis patted Rory’s hand. “But I can’t guarantee how your mother will react later or that she won’t pepper you with questions again.”
“It’s really nothing to do with her.” Gemma mumbled. As three pairs of eyes swivelled to look at her, she added. “Well, it isn’t. If Rory wants to talk, then she will. But until then, everyone just needs to accept her as she is.”
Rory shot her a grateful smile and turned back to her grandmother.
“The thing is Granny, I wasn’t happy. I thought it was just breaking up with Darcy, but then I realised I broke up with Darcy because I wasn’t happy. She wasn’t letting me be who I wanted to be, who I needed to be. Since we were here forThe Marriage of Figaro, I’ve been on a bit of a journey of self-discovery. I’m not sure if I’m at the end of that, but for right now, I am happy to say I am a masculine-presenting lesbian. I enjoy wearing male clothes and having my hair cut short. I feel butch, but I am still very much a woman and proud of who I am. Does that make sense?” Rory wrinkled her brow, and Phyllis smiled gently at her.
“Not entirely.” She confessed as she sipped her coffee. “But it doesn’t have to make sense to me, only you. All I am concerned with is whether you are happy?”
At that, a broad smile crossed Rory’s face. “Yes. I am very happy Granny.” She threw Gemma the briefest of looks, which warmed Gemma’s heart.
“And you have Gemma back in your life?” Mary threwthat in, and Gemma rolled her eyes at her grandmother’s obvious digging. She quickly sobered and tried to look like a friend would look rather than a concerned girlfriend looking after her lover.
“Yes, I have Gemma. She’s been an angel.” Rory shot another look at Gemma, which made Gemma’s stomach flip-flop with joy. Her heart thumped in her chest, and a flurry of butterflies fluttered in her tummy. She realised she was grinning like a fool and schooled her expression lest the grandmas sensed something was going on.
Rory reached a hand across the table to Gemma, and they interlocked fingers. Gemma’s chest heaved, and she felt a prickle of heat dash across her cheeks.
“You did the hard stuff.” Gemma smiled. “I just held your hand for most of it.”
They shared a smile, and Gemma wondered if Rory, like her, was thinking of everything they had shared over the last couple of weeks.
“So, you don’t want to be a boy then?” Mary’s voice was inquisitive and insensitive.
“Oh Mary!” Phyllis chided her friend. Gemma winced but looked across to Rory, who had a broad grin on her face.
“No Mary, I don’t.” Rory sent her a sincere look. “I am comfortable in my skin for the first time in years, and Gemma has been a huge part of my getting here. I can’t say for certain that I will remain this way in the future. For most people, their gender aligns with how they were born, and that’s great. Other people find their gender differs from what they were assigned at birth. For me, my gender expression is much more fluid. Some days I feel more feminine, other days, I feel more masculine. Some in my position would be non-binary and use they/them pronouns. I don’t feel like that right now.” Rory used the gentle smileGemma had come to think of as her comforting lawyer smile.
Mary and Phyllis looked at each other. It was eerie sometimes how they could have a conversation without words. Gemma shuffled in her seat and waited for the other shoe to drop.
“So, are we all going to the spa?” Phyllis folded her napkin and laid it gently on the table. Obviously, the conversation about Rory was done for now, and Gemma was pleased that Rory was out of the spotlight.
“Yes, I think so.” Rory smiled, seemingly unperturbed by the grandmothers inviting themselves to the hotel spa with them.
Rory sprang up and moved swiftly around the table to help Mary with her chair. After sitting for such a long time, her hip was likely to be stiff, and Rory already had her arm proffered for the older woman to steady herself on. Gemma felt a wave of affection wash over her at the care that Rory was showing to her grandmother. They left the restaurant and headed across the lobby towards the lifts.
“Do you need to go back to your rooms, or do you have everything with you?” Rory pressed the button to summon the lift, and Gemma resisted the temptation to tap her foot in impatience. They were nearly out of the firing line, for now. Fortunately, she and Rory needed to return to their room for their bathing suits and, hopefully, a quick kiss.
“Oh no, we will go straight there. We’ve got everything we need.” Phyllis tapped her tote bag hanging off her shoulder. “Perhaps we can fit in a Bucks Fizz before you get there?”
Mary and Phyllis laughed together, and Gemma was pleased that her grandmother had such a good friend to spend her time with.
