To celebrate Coming Out Day, members of the Outer Alliance are posting stories or excerpts on this theme on their blogs. Here is an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, The Longer the Fall. This scene is set in the year 1954.
As they were passing Camden Hills State Park, Moira said, a little too casually, “There was one more thing…that I wanted to ask you. I’m just kind of curious.”
“You know the rules, if I can’t answer, I won’t. Nothing personal.”
“Actually, this is…pretty personal. I mean, it’s not about your group, or Mr. Morgan.”
Diana would have given Moira a curious look at this, but she had discovered that taking her eyes off the road was most inadvisable. “Go ahead.”
“Okay…um. So. With all the…experience that you’ve had…have you ever been with another girl?”
“Sure.” The white line on the road seemed to be a little too close to the car, and Diana leaned forward, peering.
“More than one?”
“You mean at the same time?” She slowed down and let the car drift a bit to the right—yes, that seemed better. I should have had another cup of coffee…Thomas would never forgive her if she killed herself in a car crash, so close to the end of their working.
Moira sounded a bit flustered. “I didn’t mean…I wasn’t talking about your, your Beltene things…”
“I wasn’t, either.” They were coming into Pepperell now, meaning there were street lights and mailboxes and sidewalks and many other helpful guideposts to assist in staying in the right lane. Diana relaxed with a sense of relief. She turned off of Main Street and very carefully drove the two short blocks to the duplex where Moira rented an apartment, and braked a little hard, bringing the car to a sudden stop. “Oops, sorry,” she said as Moira caught herself on the dashboard with both hands. “What are we talking about, Moira? If you want to know everything I’ve done, in bed and out, I’ll tell you! But we’ll be here all night.”
Moira stared at her for a moment, and she smiled weakly. “Nothing, I just…nothing. Thanks for dinner, that was sweet of you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Shaking her head, which was a mistake, Diana took the back way to School Street. She opened the driver’s window all the way to let the reviving chilly night air blow onto her face. Her thoughts alternated between focusing intently on the road, and meandering with some puzzlement over Moira’s questions. Just as she pulled up to the granite boulder and was about to make the turn, the shoe finally dropped. She sat in the idling car, staring blankly at the speedometer and wondering just how much of her brains had ended up in her sinuses, after all, and whether she should go back to Moira’s house and talk to her some more. She had absolutely no idea what she would say, however. When she heard Thomas’ amused voice just outside the car window, she jumped so badly, she lost contact with the clutch and the engine stalled.
(c) 2009 Inanna Arthen