The Green-Eyed Maid Inn

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“Hey, can I ask you a stupid question, now that we’re being all open and stuff?” I asked, adding, “Maybe this is just one of those girl things I can’t understand as a boy.”

She snorted loudly. “There’s no such thing. That whole men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is just a tired boomer stereotype to sell books. Ask away,” she said.

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Author's Note:
Just a quickie up top. Avery is a character who speaks her mind. If you're comfortable with the PG-13 "One F-bomb" rule you'll be fine, but I wanted to put a warning, but didn't feel a full on CAUTION: Language was appropriate either.
- Zoë

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“You look cute in black,” Avery said as she started the car. I grunted. “No seriously! You wouldn’t catch me dead in that frumpy costume, but you actually pull it off.”

I looked over at her. She was smiling - not grinning, but genuinely smiling. “It’s not what you think,” I said. She laughed, reaching a hand over to pat my arm.

“Hey Rye, I just came out to you not five minutes ago. I’m not going to troll you for looking - and please don’t take this the wrong way, really cute as a cleaning girl.”

“Thanks,” I sighed. “It’s really not something I planned. It just sort of happened. God I hope aunt Rose doesn’t see this,” I groaned. “You know how tight Heedless and Hearts are.”

Avery nodded, and even gave me a sympathetic smile. “Maybe finding out I’m gay will soften the blow,” she said. This time she did have a playful smile. She giggled. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

“Just a little,” I said, and she started to giggle again as we pulled into the driveway of our two story Victorian. It was an old house, with plenty of proverbial skeletons though thankfully no real ones, but we were gradually able to make repairs and restorations - we being the family as a whole. Between our grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Dad. Grandpa Rory was a professional carpenter and cabinet maker, and dad an electrician, so we had plenty of expertise to go around. I just helped with the heavy lifting as needed.

“What?” I asked, a little bit of laughter in my voice too just because it’s hard not to laugh when someone else is.

“I uh,” she said, “I just want to say sorry about the crack about the pink skirt earlier. I mean I meant it, but if I’d known you were dealing with... you know, anything, I would’ve kept it to myself.” She glanced at me, waiting for my reaction. I couldn’t help it, and laughed even more despite myself.

“Oh, that,” I said and shook my head. “The worst part is, I may end up having to take you up on that offer. It’s a long, dumb story, but the super short version is that I went to apply, and found out after I was already hired, that they were only hiring women for the cleaning staff role. But Erika says I could get a huge promotion in a few months once the tourist rush is over, so... So I just kinda went with it. I wasn’t expecting to actually see anybody outside work like this.”

Avery continued to surprise me, giving me another sympathetic smile. “Just be yourself. Clothes are just the set dressing. I mean, do you think I like looking like jail bait?” she said dryly, motioning to herself. “I’d wear jeans and leggings 24/7, but the school is so, so worth it.”

“You know,” I said as I put my hand on the car door handle, looking back at her, “You’re surprisingly deep.”

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock,” Avery shot back dryly. “I may be blonde, but I’m still a straight A student and tech nerd.” She winked as she stepped out, and I followed not far behind her.

We had no sooner stepped out of the car, when a familiar yellow Camaro rolled up the street and into the driveway behind us. Aunt Rose emerged wearing a sleeveless black v-neck and tight leather pants, her strawberry auburn hair in a ponytail, and the biggest briar eating grin on her face that Avery and I had ever seen.

“Yep,” Avery said. ‘She’s seen it.” She giggled.

“Don’t tempt fate,” I groaned as we waited on the front porch for her to catch up to us.

“Hello hello!” Rose said brightly, eyeing me for just a moment.

“Hey, Rose,” I said as she and Avery exchanged a quick hug.

“Hi Auntie,” Avery added and then opened the door to step inside.

“A little birdie told me you landed a new job,” Rose said, grinning even wider, as if that were even possible. “Congrats!”

“Thanks,” I said. “Did you see Jessica’s post?” I asked, deciding to just rip the band-aid off. Despite there being millions of Jessicas, there was only the one that we mutually knew.

“I did,” she said, her grin shifting to more of a sympathetic smile. “For what it’s worth I don’t think Jess recognized you.” I nodded.

“Small miracles. It’s such a stupid situation,” I said. “Am I just making a mountain out of a mole hill?”

“Hey, the job market’s rough as hell,” Rose said. She didn’t even have half of the story, but I could already tell she understood what was going on, and possibly what was at stake. “On the other hand, if you really need money that badly I’m sure I could talk to my bosses about hiring you on.”

I shook my head. “It’s not about the money,” I said, adding, “I mean, it’s not just about the money. I’m just not college material, and I’m okay with that, but... Well it’s like you said, the job market is hell right now. I don’t just want to sit home all day doing nothing, you know? I tried doing street photography, but nobody’s buying, and I made, like, $5 on Ko-fi.”

For context, the front door opened onto a large foyer with two arched doorways, one to the left that led to a small tea room, which we had converted into a sitting room for business guests or unwelcome strangers - where ironically coffee was usually the drink of choice, and to the right a hallway leading off to the dining room and den.

The stairs, a good 2 1/2 people wide, stretched to a half landing and then up to the second floor, and next to them another archway led back toward the kitchen, with another door under the stairs and half landing that went down to the basement/laundry room.

“But we’ve got a bigger situation than that right now,” I said, lowering my voice. “I promised Av I’d talk to mom and dad about her dating someone.”

“Uh oh,” Rose said. “You don’t think they’ll approve? She asked.

I shook my head. “I think they will. But Avery’s spooked after her girlfriend’s parents had a meltdown. Her and Megyn are going steady.”

Rose’s lips pursed into an ‘o’ shape for a moment, and then she nodded. “I can promise you without a shadow of doubt that your mom will understand and support you both. But I shouldn’t say anything else. It’s one of those things that it’s not my story to tell.” She winked. I stared for a moment then laughed.

“Okay now you’ve just got me curious. I need to go change, and then I’ll come down and talk to her. I’ll see if I can get Avery to come down too.”

“I’ll fire up the espresso machine,” Rose said jokingly as she disappeared toward the kitchen, while I headed upstairs.

Even though Kate had her own apartment off campus, Mom and Dad kept her bedroom vacant, in part as a guest bedroom, but in part because I think they wanted her to always know she could come home. She did come home pretty often, only going back to her apartment to sleep, so in some ways that hadn’t really changed.Fiona still lived with us, and of course there was Avery and me. At the moment they were out though, and Dad wouldn’t be back until the weekend on business.

After changing into my favorite gray pullover hoodie I stepped back into the hallway, where Avery had just stepped out, now dressed in a pair of relaxed fit, stone wash jeans that looked like they had been through more than one acid wash, followed by a few dozen hail storms. I laughed.

“You look comfy,” I said.

“Same,” Avery giggled.

“Hey,” I said, catching her attention, “I just talked to Rose. She said Mom’s got a story that you’re going to want to hear.”

“What about?” Avery asked, giving me a puzzled, half blank stare. I shrugged.

“Dunno. I told her about you and Megyn, and she said it’s not her story to tell, but that she 100% guaranteed Mom would understand.”

Avery rolled her eyes. “I hate it when she talks like that. Like, just say what you mean,” she said, but then cracked a smile. “Thanks Rye. I just texted Megyn. No reply yet.”

I put a reassuring arm around her, and she leaned into it. It’s funny. We were never really all that close before. We weren’t the stereotypical brother and sister, or sister and sister that hated each other kind of thing, we just tended to stay in our own lanes. I was the artsy photo geek who liked to hang out at the race track on weekends, she was the techno babble robotics nerd. But I couldn’t help empathizing with her right now, with what she was going through.

“I’m going to pay you back you know,” she said as we took the back steps at the other end of the hallway. They were another half landing set of stairs that led down to the kitchen directly. “Everything, you being so sweet. I honestly didn’t expect you to be this supportive. And I want to repay that.”

I stopped on the landing and turned to face her. “Av, you don’t owe me anything. We’re family. I know we’re like night and day, but you’re still my sister, and I still love you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Don’t,” Avery said, frowning. “Don’t make me fucking cry again. I just fixed my makeup.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Sorry,” I said, as we started downstairs again. She put an arm around my waist.

“Thanks though,” she said.

“Hey, can I ask you a stupid question, now that we’re being all open and stuff?” I asked, adding, “Maybe this is just one of those girl things I can’t understand as a boy.”

She snorted loudly. “There’s no such thing. That whole men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is just a tired boomer stereotype to sell books. Ask away,” she said.

“Well, don’t get me wrong. I love to dress comfortably, and you look like you’re very, very comfortable. But you also have these wild looks with your makeup. You always look stunning.”

She genuinely beamed at me. “Awww, thank you. Yeah, I guess that can seem pretty weird huh? I dress like a hobo, but do my makeup like a movie star,” she giggled. “It’s how I like to express myself. I like to remind people that, despite being willing to get my ass elbow deep in robotics grease or geeking out over code, that I am still a girl. Plus makeup is just fun. You should let me give you a makeover sometime.”

Mom and Aunt Rose were sitting at the informal breakfast bar sipping coffee and laughing when we stepped down into the room. They both got quiet.

“I hate it when people do that,” Avery said bluntly, but grinned at the adults. “Always makes me feel like they’re talking crap behind my back.”

“Oh no,” Rose laughed. “I was just getting your mom caught up on the latest industry gossip.”

“She did say you had something you wanted to talk about though,” Mom said, pausing to sip her coffee. Avery walked over to the fridge and grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper as I leaned on the other side of the breakfast bar across from them. She slid a can of Pepsi over to me before opening hers. I didn’t even have to ask. She just knew my preference.

“Yeah, um,” Avery sighed. “It’s about Megyn and me.”

Mom, to her credit, sat patiently and listened as the whole story unraveled, how they were sitting on the sofa one day talking, got on the subject of dating, and how they both had feelings for each other.

“I know we’re young, and we probably don’t know what love is, and...” she stopped, looking at Mom, who had a wry smile on her face. “What?”

Mom looked at Rose, who put up her hands. “No way, sis. I’m staying out of it.”

Mom laughed. “You’re no help!” she said, turning back to us. “Sorry, Av sweetheart. It’s just not something I ever thought I’d be talking about with my kids. I never wanted you guys to think that I married your father for anything but love. But before I met him, I never thought I’d love any guy.”
The room got quiet for a moment as the weight of what she had just said sank in for both of us. Avery spoke up first.

“So... Like, you’re bisexual?”

“Probably closer to pan, but yeah,” Mom said. “See, I’m not from Boston originally. I know everyone thinks I’m Boston Irish like your dad, but I actually followed your aunt Rose’s footsteps.”

We both looked at Rose, who gave a wry smile now. “Let’s just say, when you told me earlier you weren’t college material,” Rose said, eyeing me, “It struck close to home. I managed to attend Harvard for about two months before I realized it just was not for me.”

“There’s a really juicy story in there,” I said, “But we’ll pry it out of you some other time.”

“Thanks for the reprieve,” Rose laughed. “But, yeah. I was living and working in Boston at a local radio station, when I got a call from my baby sister that she was in town and needed a place to stay.”

“Tell us you didn’t hitch hike?” Avery asked.

“Almost as bad,” Mom said. “I got on a Grayhound bus with the clothes on my back, $300 in cash, and a can of bear mace.”

“Oh,” Avery said. “Well at least you had the bear mace. But like, why hide it? I mean it’s not like being attracted to women and men, or, you know, being attracted to people because they’re attractive people changes how you feel about Daddy.”Mom’s smile brightened.

“Yes, exactly!” she said. “I mean in part, I also wanted a family at some point, too, but I was willing to adopt if things hadn’t worked out with your dad the way they had, and I ended up dating someone who I couldn’t physically have kids with. What matters is what’s between your ears. To me, anyway.”

“Hard. Same,” Avery said as Megyn’s custom ringtone, a line of chorus from our favorite glam rock band “Midnight Dolls” started to play. We at least had that much in common. All three of us were super fans of the angry lesbian rock diva.

She quickly answered it, and the energy in the room turned on a dime. We were definitely not going to get to hear the rest of that story tonight, what Mom moving to Boston had to do with her being pansexual or whatever. We waited in silence.

“Are you okay? Where are you?” she stopped to listen. “Stay RIGHT there. I’m coming to get you okay? I love you.”

Mom had by now already bailed off her barstool and was grabbing her purse. “I’ll drive,” she said. “Just tell me where to go.”

“Thanks Mom,” Avery said, trying to put on a brave mask, but I could hear the quiver in her voice. Part of me wondered if I should go with her, but I stayed behind with aunt Rose. We stood in silence for a moment.

“Should we follow them?” I asked finally.

“Your mom’s got this one,” Rose said. “I’m not sure we’d be much help.”

My phone beeped with a text from Avery. “Megyn’s parents threw her out,” I said out loud, barely able to contain the bile I suddenly felt welling up from deep inside.

I felt Rose’s arm wrap around me and I leaned into her. I stared in silence at the message for a long moment before I finally pulled away. “I’m going to go make sure the guest bed is made up for Megyn.”

Rose nodded. “I’ll order us some pizza,” she said.

“Crap!” I said. “I completely forgot my coworkers wanted me to go out to dinner with them tonight. I can’t. Not tonight, not with all this going on.”

“Just tell them it’s a family emergency,” Rose said reassuringly. “They don’t have to know the details. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thanks Aunt Rose.”

We used Signal for our work chat, but it was the easiest way to let them know I couldn’t make it. ‘Sorry can’t do dinner tonight. Huge family emergency has come up.’

Their replies were variations on not to worry about it, to asking if they could do anything, but I felt too numb to answer right now, just dropping my phone in my pocket. I headed down to the basement where we kept the washer and dryer and spare bed linens and things, and just grabbed up an armful of whatever I could find.

The guest bed would get a new set of sheets and pillow cases whether it needed them or not because right now, I needed to take my mind off not projectile vomiting with rage. Besides, I needed the practice: a fact that lingered in the back of my mind despite myself and despite what was going on just now.

I met Megyn and Avery on the landing when they came in. Without a word, I gave Megyn the biggest hug I had ever given her. She leaned hard into me and put her arms around my back for a moment. I didn’t say anything because there was nothing to say. I let her go, and Avery walked with her upstairs.

I came back down to the kitchen, leaned against the counter, and I’m not ashamed to say, I cried.

“I know, Rye,” Mom said, causing me to jump. She slipped an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into her.

“This is so messed up. Why are people like this?” I sighed.

“I wish I knew,” Mom said. “But, there’s a reason you’ve never met my mom, your grandma Eleanor.”

“Is that how... Is that why you ended up in Boston?I asked. Mom nodded. I squeezed her. “Then I’m glad I’ve never met her.”

“I kept hoping one day, she’d change her mind,” Mom said, passing me the box of tissues that she had already dug four or five out of for herself. “I wanted her to be part of your lives despite what happened, but she made her choice, and Dad stuck by it, the old bastard. I’ll talk to Megyn in a minute. I just need to compose myself first.”

“I’ll go wait for the pizza,” I said. “I made up the guest bed already, and the old sheets are in the wash.”

Mom gave me a surprised look, but cracked a small smile. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Just glad I can help,” I said, heading for the foyer while she started upstairs, and taking a moment to compose myself so I didn’t look like a complete wreck in front of the pizza delivery person..