Lily stood up with Jack, who rested her hands on the small of Lily’s back. Lily draped her armsover Jack’s shoulders, and they began to gently sway.
“I haven’t danced like this since high school,” Lily said.
“Did you dance like this with boys?”
“Yup — pimply-faced little Beta Club boys.” Lily laughed self-deprecatingly. “I didn’t have a clueabout myself back then. Once I got to college, though, I caught on pretty quick.”
Jack laughed. “I was different than you, I guess. I always knew what I was, but I had the goodsense not to do anything about it till I was in college.”
“That was probably wise. I doubt that Faulkner County would be too tolerant of a sexually activeteenaged lesbian.”
“Lord, no, particularly since that was, what? Twenty-four years ago?” She grinned. “Of course, Imight have showed good sense waiting till I was in college, but as soon as I started dating, my good sensewent straight out the window. I went out with anything with a pair of tits and a homosexual urge—all theway through college in Chattanooga, then through vet school in Knoxville. Sometimes I think the entirepopulation of Tennessee consists of my ex-girlfriends.”
Lily laughed. “I guess you had to slow down after you moved back here.”
“Oh, yeah, that was probably the best thing for me, though. It made me grow up — have realrelationships instead of flings. Honey and I were together for a while years ago, before Mick rode intotown on her Harley.”
“Oh, yeah?” One of Lily’s favorite things about lesbians was their ability to turn ex-lovers intoplatonic family members —and to welcome the ex-lover’s new partner into the family as well.
“And then, of course, there was Sandy.”
Lily smiled. “You were her experiment, I believe?” “Yup, that’s me. And then she cast me asidelike a frog she was finished dissecting.”
When the record of 40s music ended, Mick hollered, “Thank god that’s over! Honey, why don’tyou put on some Allman Brothers — I’ve gotta get the taste of that sweet stuff outta my mouth.”
When the evening began to turn toward heavy beer drinking and rock ’n’ roll, Dale and Sue rose toleave. “Well, we’d better take off,” Sue said. “We old ladies like to get to bed early.”
Dale grinned. “Of course, that don’t mean we always get to sleep right away.” She ducked as Sueplayfully slapped at her with her purse.
After they left, Lily said, “God, I guess it sounds condescending to call them adorable, but theyreally are.”
“Oh yeah, they’re great,” Honey agreed. “I always call them my lesbian grandmas.” Honey