Juicy Secrets Forbidden Tales of Lesbian Love

By Jos Mous

{ This story was originally posted at the now-defunct Sisters in Love }

Sam’s fingers were flying over the large, bulky keyboard that lay on the desk in front of her. The computer she was working on was old, considered prehistoric by people who had never even seen the 8-bit age. She was well aware of the fact that many of her colleagues found her old-fashioned. Some would consider this to be rather odd since she, at the age of 34, wasn’t considered to be “old”. Or at least, not in the field she was working in. Samantha McPherson was a politician and a member of Parliament. Early on in her Journalism study, Sam had discovered that she found politics to be a lot more fun, so she had switched studies and had never looked back even once.

She was now working on a speech she planned to recite tomorrow, explaining exactly and in detail just why she thought the head of the Ministry of Defence was a complete idiot who wouldn’t be able to find his own butt with the help of an atlas and three GPS satellites. The trick, of course, was saying this without actually becoming insulting. She already had a rough draft, outlining her points and now she was trying to edit out the insulting parts. It was proving to be quite difficult for her.

That was why the sudden ringing of the front doorbell came as quite a relief for her. Sam quickly saved the document, shut off the computer, walked out of her small work room, down the stairs to the front door. When she opened it, she froze with shocked surprise.

The person standing at the other end of the doorframe was a teenage girl with black hair and brown eyes. She wore a black shirt under her black leather jacket, along with a black pair of jeans and a pair of black boots from an army surplus store. She also wore black eyeshadow, black lipstick and every single fingernail had been carefully painted black as well. She had a small rucksack flung over her shoulder and attempted to give off a vibe of casual indifference. Sam, however, could easily spot that the girl was simply very tired and had recently seen a little too much ugliness in the world.

“Hey, Sam,” said Mackenzie. “Can I come in?”

Sam opened the door wider and stepped out of the way, indicating that the girl could come in. Mac walked past her into the living room, dumped the rucksack on the floor and flopped onto the blue couch. Sam, after having quickly closed the front door, joined her in the living room and sat down next to her.

“I… haven’t seen you in a while,” said Sam, not really knowing what to say and thinking that this was a pretty good opening.

Mac smiled a rather thin smile. “Nice to see you too.”

“Could you tell me why you suddenly show up in front of my house all alone?”

Mac sighed. “I need a place to crash, really. I figured you might take me in.”

Sam nodded. “You must be pretty desperate to come all the way to Europe just for a place to crash.”

“Dad kicked me out of the house and that shithead Brooke calls a husband wouldn’t take me in either. So, I begged Mom for some money to fly here, hoping that… well…”

“I see,” said Sam. “Can I ask you why Mike kicked you out?”

“It’s a free country. Or so I’ve heard, anyway.”

“Why did Mike kick you out of the house?” Sam asked patiently.

“I’d rather not say.”

“Was it drugs?”

“No.”

“Theft?”

“No?”

“Did you kill someone?”

“God, Sam, what do you think I am?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Listen, I’m not a criminal, okay? The only thing I’m guilty of is aiding some people in performing statutory rape, got it?”

I see, thought Sam. “Are you pregnant?”

“Look, it’s been a long flight and I’m tired. Can I crash here or do you want me out on the streets again?”

And now I’m sure. “Of course you can stay here,” said Sam.

“Thanks,” said Mac gruffly. She stood up and picked up her rucksack from the floor. “Anywhere I can put my things?”

“I have a guest bedroom upstairs. Just up the stairs then immediately on the left. There’s a bed there too, if you’re really tired.”

“Thanks. See you at dinner then, I guess.” Mac headed for the door that led from the living room to the small hallway and hesitated for a moment. She turned around. “Look, Sam, I know I’m really not the best of company right now. It’s just that I’m still going through some stuff I’d rather not be going through, so…”

“Hey, you just told me about Mike kicking you out. I don’t understand what you’re going through, but I think I can be quite understanding if you decide to start acting like a bitch.”

Mac smiled, a little more genuine this time. “Thanks.”

“Just don’t overdo it, hmm? After all, with all the experience I get in my profession I am more than able to out-bitch you any day of the week.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“Later.”

Sam carefully cut a small bit of her pork chop and ate it. She watched Mac as she slowly chewed on the piece of meat. Even though dinner tonight consisted of meat, potatoes and beans, which were not Mac’s favourite choices of food, to say the least, the girl was eating everything and didn’t seem to be thinking about stopping any time soon.

That, of course, didn’t have to mean anything. Mac had just had a very long flight, not to mention a rather long ride, behind her and it was only natural that she was hungry. But still…

“Mac?” asked Sam.

“Hmm?”

“How are things at home? I mean, before…”

Mac shrugged. “Lots of yelling. Probably one of those weddings that only keep on existing because it’s in the best interests of the child.” Mac said those last words with such cynicism that it made Sam shiver.

“I see,” said Sam. “And did they yell at you too?”

Mac chuckled. “Didn’t get the chance. I made sure I was never home.”

Sam nodded. “And how’s Brooke?”

“Oh, she’s just peachy,” said Mac sarcastically. “After all, she’s got a pretty good job as a nurse in the hospital and she doesn’t even have to stay there very often because her so-called husband is usually too wasted to be really able to hurt her.”

Sam sighed. “I see,” she said again.

“It’s not your fault,” Mac said. “Mom and Dad would probably fight even if you hadn’t left and I’m betting Brooke would’ve still taken such a crappy excuse for a human being as her husband.”

“Still…”

“Look, everything was still fine when you decided to move all the way over here. You couldn’t have known things would end up like this.”

“I wasn’t even at Brooke’s wedding.”

“Well that makes two of us then,” said Mac. “At least you’ve got the excuse of being on a different continent at the time.”

“Really?” asked Sam. “What was your excuse?”

“Didn’t have one,” said Mac. “Just wasn’t there when the parentals had to leave.”

“So where were you?”

“At a friend’s place.”

“What kind of friend?”

“Hey, I was 12. What kind of friend do you think?”

Sam sighed. “The way you just said it…” she let the sentence hang unfinished. “How did you do at school?”

“Pretty good, I guess,” said Mac.

“You were going to school, weren’t you?”

“Course I was. Any excuse to get out of the house.”

“That’s something at least,” said Sam. “How long are you planning on staying here?”

Mac looked down at her plate, futilely poking her potatoes with a fork. “I was sort of hoping on indefinitely.”

“In that case, I’ll have to see to it that you go to school.”

“Do you have to?” Mac asked.

“Mackenzie, you’re 17. That still makes you underage and I know that here compulsory education ends at 16, but if you want to stay here you’re going to school, understand?”

“Yes, Mom,” said Mac.

“And don’t call me Mom.”

“Big Sis, then?”

“Just stick with Sam.”

“Fine.”

And that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Sam quietly finished eating, then turned down Mac’s offer to help with the washing up. She had some thinking to do. She had lost touch with the rest of the family a few years ago. The only contact she had with them were postcards on birthdays and Christmas.

And now, as it turned out, her family was totally and utterly fucked up.

So here she was, with her sister half her age who probably had more problems than the average therapist could and who had done something (which could possibly be getting pregnant) that had caused her expulsion from the rest of the family.

And all Sam could do was hope that there were enough pieces left to glue the girl back together again.

*****

Sam’s car pulled up in the small driveway next to her house. Inside the car was Sam, who turned off the engine, unbuckled her seatbelt and then sat back in the driver’s chair, staring out the windshield towards the white garage door.

Today had been a long day.

A really long day.

Being a member of one of the opposition parties all she could really do was argue a lot with members of the ruling parties and trying to sway a few of them to the point of view of her party. Today had been particularly trying. The ruling coalition was planning to take a few million euros away from the Ministry of Education and Sports and invest it in Defence. Needless to say, the entire opposition was vehemently against, save for the three representatives of the extreme-right party. In the end, the measure had not been passed, but it had required a lot of arguing, debating and even a little bit of name-calling.

What Sam really wanted right now was to order some Chinese food and take a really long hot bath. Not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately, she still had to deal with Mac. Or, to be more precise, all the paperwork that came with having Mac in the house. If Mac was really planning on staying indefinitely, she would have to be reported to Immigration at least. And since Mac was underage, she might also have to be forced to become Mac’s legal guardian lest she be sent back to the States.

Then there was the matter of school. Sure, saying that Mac had to go to school was easy, it was the actual finding of a high school for foreigners that would pose a bit of a problem. And when she had found one that wasn’t too far away there could still be problems in actually getting Mac accepted over there.

And then there was still the matter of just why Mac had to leave home in the first place. Which was quite possibly even worse than all the bureaucratic paperwork she’d have to deal with. At least she had some experience with paperwork.

Sam sighed and got out of the car. She unlocked the front door, opened it and sighed again. She quickly closed the door, hung up her coat and marched into the living room where she turned the volume of the radio down somewhat.

“Hey, I was listening to that,” Mac protested. The girl was lying on a couch, and had been looking at the ceiling, but was now glaring at Sam.

“Look, I know all about wanting to hear loud music. Just… not now, okay?”

“Rough day or something?”

“Yes.”

“Want me to order a pizza or anything?”

“And how are you planning to do that?”

“You know, by phone, just dial up and… Oh.”

“Exactly,” said Sam. “Listen, I’m… I’m going to take bath now and then we’ll see about dinner, all right?”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

“Oh, before you go…”

“What?”

“I need new clothes.” Mac stood up from the couch to show that she was still wearing the same clothes she was wearing yesterday. “I didn’t exactly have time to pack, if you know what I mean.”

Sam smiled thinly. “Don’t worry. We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”

“Great. Thanks,” said Mac, before flopping down on the couch again.

“Don’t mention it. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Nah,” said Mac, ignoring the hint of sarcasm in Sam’s voice.

“Thank you.”

Sam left the room and headed up the stairs. She was halfway to the top when she heard that the volume downstairs had increased considerably once again.

They had ordered Chinese food. They had ordered only one portion, of course, since one portion is more than enough to feed three people. And since there were just two of them, there was bound to be leftovers. During dinner Sam and Mac talked about nothing in particular. Small, short sentences asking things that didn’t matter, saying things that weren’t important. Then, nearing the end of the dinner, Sam decided to ask what had been on her mind the most.

“Mac?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you have to leave home?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“I think you’ll have to.”

“Look, it’s over. It doesn’t matter.”

“What’s over?”

“You’re not going to let this rest, are you?”

“Not until I get an answer.”

Mac stared at her plate for a while.

“Fine then. You know what a town bicycle is?”

“Yes,” Sam answered calmly.

“I was it,” said Mac.

“Why?”

“Just because, okay? I wanted something, because I didn’t have anything.”

“Were things that bad?”

“Worse, probably. Anyway, I go through life thinking that contraception is something that happens to other people. So… well… guess.”

“AIDS?”

“Thank God, no.”

“So I was right yesterday. You’re pregnant.”

“I got pregnant, yeah. Dad wanted me to keep the baby.”

“Pardon?”

“Dad, you know, Mike, thought that I should drop out of school to give birth to the baby and take care of it all on my own. He thought it would teach me a lesson on responsibility and shit. Frankly, I think he just wanted to torment me with that.”

“So what did you do?”

Mac snorted. “Got an abortion, obviously. Anyway, I was so stupid to tell Mom about it, who then told Dad, who then freaked and put me out on the street with only the clothes I’m wearing. That’s the short version anyway.”

“Are you serious?”

“Does it look like I’m kidding?”

“How was it?”

“Ah, the usual. Lots of shouting and yelling and calling each other names and just a lot of fighting, basically.”

“The abortion, I meant.”

Mac was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does.”

“Look, it was just a clump of cells, okay? It had no mind, no life, no soul. It was an it, nothing more and I’m glad I’m rid of it.”

“That’s pretty cold.”

“It’s a cold world. Deal with it. Can I be excused?”

Without waiting for an answer, Mac got up from the table and left. Not long after, Sam could hear the loud thump of footsteps walking up the stairs, then the slamming of a door. Mac didn’t have a key or anything, so Sam could easily go to Mac’s room and continue to talk to her.

She didn’t. She didn’t know what to say or do if she got up there. So instead she cleared the table and went to do the dishes.

Had she gone up, she would have seen Mac crying her eyes out.

Continue on to Chapter 2