It wasn't easy being queer in a small town in the 1990's. Truthfully, it's still not easy. Having friends means a lot, having a special someone who loves you means even more. Here's my standard disclaimer: This story includes joyful, consensual, and sometimes kinky lesbian sex involving high school girls. There's a lot of story in between the sex scenes because this is a story inspired by true events.

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Part 19 -- Life: A Mix of Happiness, Fear, and John Philip Sousa

 

I had been spending quite a bit of time with Gil and his lumbering monster of a truck. The truck was an utter mess, but Gil really did know what he was doing. I helped him with new wires, sparkplugs, points, a condenser, and other electrical items. He pretty much had the exhaust replaced, he just needed help holding it up while he welded things in place. Lisa came along but she mostly sat on a stool and watched; she did not like getting dirty, but she was very good and handing me, and Gil, the tools we needed.

 

"Where do you learn to do that?" I was impressed with his welding skills.

 

"My uncle taught me. I'm taking welding in the fall, though mom and my aunt aren't totally on board with it."

 

"I understand you there; I'm taking Electricity 1 and 2 and my parents are still worried I won't want to go to college."

 

"I think we make a pretty good team. The two of us could go into business."

 

"Hey!" Lisa shouted in mock indignation, "I'm right here."

 

"Sorry Gil, you're overruled by my sexy assistant."

 

He laughed. "Story of my life." Gil was a good guy, he seemed totally cool with hanging around with a bunch of lesbians; he never hit on Lisa or I, and when he did hot on some of the other girls he wasn't crude about it and he didn't get all weird when they said "No". I had noticed Alecia checking him out, maybe I would point him that way.

 

By the time I had leave to get ready to go to work at the record store the truck was running a lot better, and with a lot less choking blue smoke. Lisa and I went back to her house so that we could take a nice hot shower together. I had worn my coveralls, but my face and hair were filthy. I luxuriated in the feeling of Lisa pissing on my face and I of course licked her pussy clean. Now clean and quivering from my orgasms I drove to the store, taking Lisa to dance practice for the play. The performances began in a week; Lisa had shown me her moves (naked of course) and she looked so amazing.

 

When my box arrived from Crutchfield I was ready to go to work. I got everything set up in the garage, including lots of work lights; I did not like that Gil's workspace was poorly lit. The day was spent snaking wires through the Red October, putting in the speakers, and finally replacing the head unit. Pleased I walked over to Lisa, sitting on her stool and unzipped my coveralls, revealing my naked body under them. She spent several minutes sucking on my nipples and rubbing my pussy while I was eagerly biting her. We went inside, making sure Janet was upstairs, so that she could sit on my face and let me properly eat her pussy and ass.

 

"Ready for some real food babe?"

 

"I'm famished! That many orgasms works up an appetite."

 

"How do you feel about a trip north to Charleston? I saw a review of a new Cajun place there."

 

"That sounds yummy!"

 

"Are you OK if I ask if Janet wants to come? I can ask Rhonda too."

 

Lisa gave me a quick kiss. "You're a good big sister."

 

Janet wanted assurances we wouldn't embarrass her with our "Weird lesbian stuff" but she also called Rhonda. Rhonda seemed excited about getting out of the house, so we picked her up and headed north.

 

The Evangeline Parish Provisions Company was in a storefront in a strip mall. Inside it was decorated with lots of kitschy swamp imagery but I was happy to see that even at lunchtime on a weekday there was zydeco on the sound system and a few people dancing. Lisa was very excited by this as well. I had been getting Cajun cookbooks from the library, so I had a pretty good idea what I wanted and the other girls followed my lead. I love jambalaya, though all the starch does my ass no favors. We ordered, and Lisa pulled me onto the dancefloor. She was graceful, as always, but I am proud to say I was not as clumsy as I once was. That got me a big kiss, and that provoked a loud "Eeeeeeew!" from Janet. Of course when Lisa asked Janet to dance she said "Yes"; and so did Rhonda. Janet looked on Lisa as her much cooler big sister, Rhonda liked having sisters, period. The food was incredible and, because we had not eaten enough already, there were beignets. I love bread in all forms, I mean, hips don't lie. Sweet fried dough covered in powdered sugar is right up there with sex on my list of my favorite things.

 

On the way home Janet grabbed my shoulder. "We need to stop! Rhonda looks awful." I looked in the mirror and saw that my sister was right, Rhonda was really pale and sweaty. We pulled off at the next exit and got her some juice to try to perk her up.

 

"You want me to call your mom?"

 

"No, just take me home."

 

I am not ashamed to admit that I did not obey the speed limit on the way home. We got Rhonda home and got her inside. Her mom looked really worried but thanked us for looking after her.

 

"She hasn't been feeling good for a while. We're going to the doctor in Champaign tomorrow.

We went back home and sat downstairs on the couch. Janet was curled up next to Lisa; she was really worried, we all were, because we knew Rhonda had been treated for cancer when she was little. No one brought that up. Lisa went home that evening, neither of us felt like fucking.

 

The next evening Janet got a phone call. I was in my room when I heard a loud "Noooooooooo!". I hurried into the TV room, followed by both our parents. Janet was crying hard.

 

"They got the test results back. Her cancer may be back. They are going to Riley Children's hospital tomorrow for her to start chemotherapy."

 

"I'm so sorry Brat." I gave her a hug. "Did she say how long she will be in Indianapolis?"

 

"Probably all week. I told her I will call every day."

 

Mom jumped in, "Are her parents going too?"

 

"Yeah, she said they will stay in the Ronald McDonald House by the hospital."

 

"Well you let me know when they get home and I'll make them some dinners." My mom and her need to feed the masses.

 

I called Lisa and told her the story; she went full Weepy Lesbian Girl. I told her to meet me at the coffee shop. Janet announced she was coming too; she needed her other big sister. Lisa beat us there so when we walked in she gave Janet a big hug; I led them over to the Crying Couch because they needed it. Ron made up Lisa's favorite weird coffee drink and made a second one for Janet. I got my usual Black Darjeeling. I sat with them on the couch quietly, they were both closer to Rhonda than I was.

 

Lisa's pretty face was one of fear today, "Do you know when she will get to come home?"

 

"When I talked to her yesterday she said it could be as soon as next week or as late as the week after."

 

"How is she doing?"

 

"She's scared but there's a determination in her too. Did you know she writes to Carrie Fisher a lot? They've been exchanging letters for several years."

 

I was impressed. "Wow, I didn't know that."

 

"She sent her last letter the day she left to go to Indianapolis. She told Carrie that she's scared but that whatever happens she is still a Jedi and she will face it with the courage of a true Jedi."

That was it; the floodgates opened. All three of us made sure the Crying Couch lived up to its name and Ron, who had overheard us, brought over some towels. He had one for himself as well.

 

Life went on, though all of us who were close to Rhonda were worried the entire time. Janet said her treatments involved lots of sitting around so she looked forward to Janet's phone calls. Our parents even got Janet a mobile phone, they were getting more common even in rural Illinois, so they could stay in touch. After two very long weeks Rhonda was released from the hospital and she got to come home. She would have to go to the hospital up in Champaign for tests every week but at least she would be here at home with her friends. Janet had warned us about the effects of chemo, but nevertheless Rhonda's appearance caused a shock.

 

She came to the coffee shop with her parents. Lots of her friends were here: The Crew of the Revenge, many of the theater people, and lots of her fellow musicians in the Youth Symphony. Janet's warning did not adequately prepare us for seeing her completely bald. Yes, we knew that hair loss is a common thing for people going through chemo but it's still a shock to see a totally bald 16-year-old girl. There were all manner of hugs and tears. She told us she was ready to go back to rehearsing with the symphony, that she had missed that more than anything. She also had a request for me.

 

"Janet told me your mom and some other ladies would be making us food, which is really cool, but I want to ask you something."

 

"Ask away kid, I'll do whatever I can."

 

"I loved that jambalaya we had when you took us up to Charleston. Could you get some more of that?"

 

"One way or another I will make sure you get a proper Cajun dinner." I gave her a big Weepy Lesbian Girl hug.

 

I had been working on the whole cooking thing for a while. I had decided that if I wanted to eat better tasting food than what my mom made I needed to learn to do it myself. I had started with something my mom did do well, spaghetti, and proceeded from there. I had never tried jambalaya, so this mean it was time for a trip to the library with my favorite sexy bookworm.

 

We found several cookbooks by Paul Prudhomme; I had seen him on TV and judging by his photo the man clearly loved his food, so he seemed to be a good choice. The rice, chicken, and vegetables I could get from the grocery store, but no one in our town had even heard of andouille sausage. I finally called the restaurant in Charleston and explained my predicament. The owner thought what I was doing, "Bringing proper food to the people cher!" was wonderful. She said I could get andouille in Champaign or Terre Haute or I could just use smoked Polish sausage (I knew where to find that) and add some more spices. She made me promise to tell her how my efforts worked out.

 

I went to work in our kitchen. Mom was at work, so I had a very sexy sous-chef and my surprisingly capable little sister. Normally Janet argues with me about everything, but today she did whatever I asked her to do. She knew this was important for Rhonda and so that made this important to her. The smell in the kitchen was amazing and, in keeping with my mom's tradition, I made way more than I needed. I also tried my hand at hushpuppies (again, fried bread yum!). We got the jambalaya divided up into bowls, leaving some for mom and dad as well as some for people whose opinions I valued. The three of us went to Rhonda's house, dinners in hand.

 

Everyone thought it was wonderful. I certainly liked it and Lisa would have easily consumed another bowl if we had some, but I had plans for those other bowls. I invited Rita and Katherine to meet us at the coffee shop the next day. I figured Cajun food had much of its roots in the food of the Caribbean and that was what Katherine had grown up on.

 

The smell alone had Rita digging in, Katherine was (of course) far more dignified.

 

Rita's take was, "Damn, this is really good!" She also ate six hushpuppies. Rita loves her some fried bread too.

 

Katherine thought for a bit longer. "Cindy, you have some real skill here. My grandmother and my aunt are both extremely skilled in the kitchen and they would be proud to serve this to their customers. You have done well here."

 

I turned stop-sign red. As I have said before, I have never been good at receiving compliments. I mumbled that I owed much to the work of Paul Prudhomme.

 

Katherine's smile was, for her, remarkably warm. "Did you taste it as you were cooking?" I nodded. "Did you adjust the spices based on how it tasted?" I nodded again. "I have watched my grandmother at work since I was a little girl, she does the very same thing. Be proud of your skill, feeding people tasty food is a true sign of respect and love."

 

Holy cow! Maybe I was good at this. I looked over at Lisa, "OK babe, time for another little trip north."

 

"Lead on Captain", she said, slapping my butt.

 

We drove the 20 minutes north to Charleston to visit the Evangeline Parish Provision Company. The owner remembered my phone call and was delighted I wanted to share my effort.

 

"I appreciate you bringing good food to your sick friend. Food can be a wonderful medicine. Now cher, let's give it a taste. She warmed it up in the microwave and tucked into it. Her face lit up, "Bouclés, you have made some really good brown jambalaya. Anyone with the bayou in their blood would say this is some fine eats." Lisa looked bouclés up, it's French for "Curly"

 

I blushed again, deferring the praise to Paul Prudhomme.

 

"Nonsense! Chef Paul is a great chef, but you took his recipe and worked it to your taste. Be proud cher, I'd be proud to call you a Lost Cajun, you just need to learn some French."

 

Lisa held my arm tight. "I told you it was good, and now two people who really know their business have told you the same thing. Be proud baby! You've got skills!" Lisa sometimes grew frustrated with my reluctance to take credit for things I did. Today she was really proud of me.

 

The owner came out as we were leaving with a big bag of beignets. "Here petite fille Cajun perdue, take these to your friend and her family, tell them everyone here at Evangeline Parish hopes she feels better soon." Lisa looked up "petite fille Cajun perdue", it's French for "Little Lost Cajun Girl." I took a lot of pride in my new name.

 

You guessed it, the Weepy Lesbian Girls came out for an extended curtain call. Lisa and I did eat some of the beignets on the way home, even Weepy Lesbian Girl needs her sugar. "Someday babe," I had my hand rubbing Lisa's pussy through her jeans, "We are going to Louisiana. We just can't stay long, I would get way too fat."

 

Lisa grabbed my pussy through my jeans. "if we hurry we can get to my house before my parents get home from work. I needed no further encouragement, we roared down the interstate with the Anthrax/Public Enemy version of "Bring the Noise" turned up to 11.

 

We did at least make it to the bedroom before our clothes came off. Lisa was clearly the dominant one today, she pinned me to the bed, sitting right on my boobs. Grabbing my hair, she pulled my head up, my face now buried in her soft white fur. I slid my tongue between her pussy lips and began loudly eating her beautiful pussy. I reached up so I could grab her tits and squeeze them. She worked her marvelous hips, letting my tongue slide over her pussy and her anus. She crushed my head between her thighs as she climaxed, a torrent of juices covering my face. She got off me and proceeded to lick my face clean while still fingering my pussy.

 

I lifted one of her muscular legs up and held it between my tits so I could suck on her toes. I pressed my pussy to hers and started rubbing our hairy cunts together. It didn't take long for me to fall off her and lay there, legs jerking, on the bed.

 

Lisa leaned on my, her nipple on mine. "I am really proud of you. Someday, when we can live together, I'm going to make you do all the cooking; if I get fat, then we get fat together." We laid there together, totally happy, until we heard her mom get home from work. We were dressed and watching TV when she came in.

 

July is a long, hot month in central Illinois. One day just sort of ran into the next. The performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum went wonderfully. I particularly liked the opening song, "Tragedy Tomorrow, Comedy Tonight." Getting to fuck Lisa while she wore her slave-girl costume was an added, delicious, bonus.

 

Steph and I were playing pool at the Youth Center, most nights there were very few people there. I have no idea if it succeeded in keeping us naughty teens away from drugs and that demon alcohol; there was certainly plenty of sex going on in the rambling old building. However, the sheer number of queer teens who went there had to mean there were very few pregnancies. Lisa was watching us play, for all her other talents she was terrible at pool, when Rita came bouncing in; that meant her tits were pretty much slapping her in the face. In all my life I have never known a girl whose tits grew as fast as hers.

 

"Katherine's going to a concert in Terre Haute on Saturday. Someone she served with on Okinawa plays in the Marine Band and they are doing a free concert in the afternoon. You want to go?"

 

"Sure. Have you ever met any of her friends?"

 

"No, apart from some people she grew up with in Calumet City. Certainly no one she ever served with."

 

As soon as I mentioned "Marine Band" to Janet he wanted to go, and she would bring Rhonda too. She did tell me that tomorrow she wanted me to pick Rhonda up at her house and bring her to the coffee shop. I was curious, but I didn't ask why. Janet and I had gotten a lot closer and I trusted her more than I used to.

 

About noon Janet left with some of her orchestra friends to go to the mall. She reminded me to have Rhonda there at 5.

 

I picked up Lisa and went and got Rhonda. She seemed really small and even more pale, it was clear she had lost a lot of weight. Her hair was coming back slowly and, as her doctor had predicted, it was coming back white. I was already fantasizing about fucking her and Lisa at the same time, and I think Lisa was thinking the same thing.

 

When we arrived at the coffee shop Janet was waiting for us. I stopped short as I looked around; she was there with many of the girls from the Youth Symphony. The reason that they had met at the mall earlier was to have their heads shaved to show their support for their friend. Weepy Lesbian Girl came bursting in like some demented Kool-Aid commercial. There was all manner of hugging; Ben and Ron were handing out clean bar towels right and left and there was pretty much a line to sit on the Crying Couch.

 

Rita and Katherine were there. Katherine was smiling her small smile, she whispered to me, "That was my haircut when I reported to Boot Camp."

 

Rhonda got up on a chair and thanked everyone for their love, also mentioning me bringing Cajun food (her family did get most of the beignets we were given, Lisa and I did not eat all of them even though we easily could have).

 

"I wanted to share two cards I got while I was in the hospital that mean a lot to me. This one is from my idol, Carrie Fisher." She held up a studio promo photo of Carrie Fisher in her costume from the scene on Endor with the Ewoks looking totally beautiful. "She wrote on the back, `You are a true Jedi Princess. The Force will be with you, Always." Yep, I was bawling again.

"The other is from my step-brother's unit in Kuwait." Her step-brother was in the Navy and he was a corpsman, I had no idea what that meant, but I was about to find out. It was a short letter, but God almighty did it pack a punch.

 

"Dear Rhonda. On behalf of the entire unit I want to tell you we are all thinking about you and many of us are praying for you as well. When Doc told us about your cancer coming back it hit all of us very hard. We have enjoyed hearing him read your letters about your music and the plays and the fun things you do with your friends; they all remind us there is a world outside this awful desert. Get well soon, I know Doc really misses you." It was signed Gunnery Sargent Alan Montane, Company D, Third Battalion, 6^th Marine Regiment.

 

I looked over and to my utter shock Katherine was openly crying. I took her hand, she smiled.

 

"Your friend's step-brother is a man of immense courage and respect. They call him `Doc' because he is a medic for the unit; these combat medics are some of the bravest people I have ever met and for your friend to have this effect on his unit shows how special she is." Katherine walked over to Rhonda, who was still standing on the chair; that meant they were eye to eye. Katherine saluted her, which brought silence to the entire store. Then she hugged Rhonda and the cheers were wild.

 

We were invited to spend the night at Rita's, there was certainly enough room, so that we could leave out in the morning. This was going to be an interesting night; several boyfriends (mostly guys from the marching band) were coming too. I had no idea if Rita had planned another orgy, but I really hoped not. My experience with dildos made me think that while I might enjoy a cock in me, I was really not interested in the guy attached to the cock. People were sleeping all over the place, and from the sounds there was a fair amount of sex going on. I wondered what Janet and Rhonda were thinking.

 

Lisa and I shared the bed with Rita and Simon. I tried very hard to ignore the noises coming from that side of the bed. Lisa and I were kissing and rubbing each other but Lisa could not stop herself from giggling when Simon would grunt with pleasure. It was not the most romantic of nights.

 

Terre Haute was just over an hour away so we had time to get in the pool or the hot tub but sadly we could not be naked. Lisa and I hung out in the hot tub, rubbing each other's pussys as quietly as we could. We stopped when Janet and Rhonda joined us; I think they were in a state of shock having never seen this much open sex before. Janet and Rhonda both looked really cute in their swimsuits. I had no doubt that from the moment she walked through the high school's doors Janet would have guys following her like horny sheep.

 

When they left to go shower Lisa turned to me, "You know, Janet is becoming a real cutie."

 

I snorted, "Sweetheart, do you want to fuck my baby sister?"

 

"Oh God no! It would still almost be incest. I'm just commenting."

 

"I have noticed it too. I think mom and dad are kind of worried because Janet will have no problem finding a boyfriend."

 

"Well then baby, The Dread Pirate Roberts will just have to look out for her."

 

I moved in close and slid two fingers up into her pussy; I pulled one breast out from my suit and let Lisa to bite it to keep from squealing. I didn't care if the other girls saw us fucking but it would have been weird for Janet to see us. Knowing my baby all too well I pushed her head under the water just as she orgasmed, that muffled the sound well.

 

Rita's mom made a mountain of breakfast burritos for all of us; this was something else I wanted to know how to make. I had two and took one for the road. We got to the park in Terre Haute and dragged out chairs and blankets and all the other things you need for an outdoor concert; we were quite fortunate there was shade. Katherine gathered up Rita, Lisa, and I and had us come with her, she had Rhonda come along too.

 

We went backstage where the band was setting up and warming up. Katherine saw someone, obviously her friend, and waved excitedly. I was definitely seeing a different side of her from the normal deadly serious samurai woman. A woman came over to us, dressed in a really elaborate uniform and carrying a clarinet.

 

"Katherine! It has been too long!" Katherine hugged the other woman; another break with her usually behavior.

 

"It is so good to see you again Erin! I want to introduce you to these young ladies. They are the ones I have written about."

 

Erin was short, probably about 5'5" with her brown hair tied up in a regulation bun; she was also very pretty.

 

She smiled at Rita, "This one I know, but heavens she has grown up since I last saw her. That was when the family was still in Chicago, right?"

 

"Yes, Rita had just started first grade when you played a show in Grant Park."

 

She looked at us, "You must be Lisa. I hear tell you are an excellent vocalist and dancer." Lisa blushed. She might tease me for having trouble accepting compliments, but she was almost as bad.

 

"And you must be the formidable Cindy. It's good to meet you. She shook my hand, obviously we were not at the hugging stage."

 

Katherine brought Rhonda forward. "Rhonda, would you let Erin read the letter from your step-brother's unit?" Rhonda handed her the letter. Erin began reading it and within seconds there were tears streaming down her face. Obviously the content of this letter, and the nature of the people writing it, meant a lot to those who had served in the military.

 

She handed it back, "Oh my. Your step-brother has a really important job and it is evident that he also has the respect his squad." Rhonda got a big hug.

 

We headed back to our lawn chairs, our minds still reeling at seeing a new facet to Katherine. As the band was taking their places I noticed Erin pointing toward us as she talked to her fellow musicians. Judging by the reactions she was telling them about Rhonda's letter.

 

Even I, mired deep in my love female hard rockers, rockabilly, the Grateful Dead, and a lot of 1980's pop, have heard of John Philip Sousa. I remember learning about him in my elementary school music class and that he had once said her goal was to write music that would, "Make a one-legged man get up and march." It was an amazing program; Janet and Rhonda got way more out of it than I did, being actual musicians. As is tradition the last two pieces they played were "Semper Fidelis" (the official march of the Marine Corps) and "Stars and Striped Forever". Katherine motioned for us to stand up for both pieces, which we did.

 

We got back home about dinner time and I made sloppy joes for my family plus Lisa and Rhonda. They are hardly gourmet food, but they are a real comfort food for us Midwesterners.

 

Three weeks before school began again the Youth Symphony played their final summer concert at the Galaxy Theater. Janet made it a point to ask Lisa to come; I guess knew I would be there no matter what. I didn't get all dressed up, but I did wear one of my nicer tops (one that I had gotten for one of our dates) and my cleanest black high-tops. Lisa wore a stunning blue skirt and top along with her blue high-tops. As we found our seat she whispered in my ear, "No panties." I gave her butt a squeeze, I was ready.

 

At the end of the program the director turned to face the audience. "You may notice some of the young women in the orchestra have shaved their heads. They have done this to show solidarity with their friend Rhonda, one of our French horn players. The entire Youth Symphony family is delighted to have Rhonda back with us tonight and to honor her struggle and bravery the musicians agreed to play one more piece to honor our own Jedi Princess." I grabbed Lisa's hand tight, having a good idea what was coming next and absolutely sure I would not be the only Weepy Girl here, probably not even the only Weepy Lesbian Girl.

 

Everyone recognized it, from the opening fanfare that Lee's dad described as the most well-known piece of orchestral music of the 20^th century. The entire crowd was on their feet as the theater filled with the unmistakable sound of the Main Theme from Star Wars. When the orchestra finished there was a level of cheering that would normally be reserved for the second coming of God and all the Hosts of the Five Heavens. It was the supreme Weepy Lesbian Girl moment.

 

Lisa came home with me that night. We did stop with the rest of my family for ice cream to celebrate Janet's great performance.

 

Down in my bedroom we were quickly wrestling naked. I was really revved up and I went at Lisa with everything I had. I had gotten stronger with our regular swimming times and I was actually able to escape those long, muscular legs. I finally got her face-down in the floor with my arm locked around her neck and my legs spreading hers wide. I put the pressure on her neck until she submitted. I got off her and got her ass up in the air and I started devouring her butthole and pussy while grabbing her swaying tits with both hands. Her pussy was dripping when I got to my knees and grabbed her ponytail, wrapping it around my wrist. I pulled hard on her white hair and simultaneously pushed two fingers into her pretty pink cunt.

 

I leaned forward, "You want more baby?"

 

"Yesssssssssss" it was a mix of a hiss and a moan.

 

Working slowly, I got two more fingers inside her, spreading her pussy open wide. I was now twisting my hand and pushing it when my entire hand slid inside her. She collapsed on the floor, her muscular ass quivering around my fist as it impaled her. I kept my hand in her as her gloriously sexy body jerked and twitched as one orgasm after another swept through her. I pulled my hand out, make a big show of licking her juices off it.

 

"OK baby fuck me with your nipples," Mean Girl was definitely in the house!

 

I leaned up against the bed, legs wide so I could see her blue eyes. She began slowly rubbing her hard pink nipples on my swollen clit and it didn't take long for my legs to start shaking. She kept it up until I actually squirted a little (this is rare for me).

 

The next night, after the record store closed and all the moms had picked up Lisa's little students, we met at the coffee shop. We were a little surprised to see Rita there, she rarely came alone and there was no sign of Katherine. That part was not surprising, she would be taking the Illinois Bar Exam in a few weeks and she was studying with an intensity I could never match.

 

Ben grabbed my arm as we came in. "Your friend has been here for a while, she won't say what's wrong, but she can't stop crying either." We walked over to the crying couch and we could see Rita's cute face was swollen and red from crying.

 

We sat on either side of her. Lisa stroked her hair, "What's wrong sweetie?"

 

Rita took a deep breath. "I had very few friends at my old school. Most girls didn't like me because I was a slut and guys saw me as just a silly girl who would fuck anyone. But there was a girl in my art class who was my friend, her name was Alecia. I've stayed in contact with her, but we drifted apart once we were going to different schools. She called me tonight; she has been in the hospital. She tried to kill herself two nights ago."

 

I felt sick. I just sat there, my mouth hanging open holding on to Rita with the tears streaming down my face. Lisa had both hands over her mouth. Neither of us had words, but we both know that the rate of suicide among queer young people was way higher than the rate for the overall population.

 

Rita continued, trying to talk around her sobs, "She was at a party, and she had gotten pretty drunk. I guess she thought another girl was attracted to her and so she kissed her. The next day the AOL chatroom set up by people at her school were talking about `The Fat Dyke' and `The Stupid Black Girl' and other, even meaner things. That's when she cut herself. I don't think she ever thought of herself as gay, I'm sure her parents had no idea, and now no one knows what to do."

 

We sat there. Lisa sipping her super-sweet caramel chocolate coffee drink, me with my tea.

 

I swallowed hard. "Rita, do you think she is up to having visitors?"

 

Rita looked at me, "I don't know."

 

"Well here is my thought; it may be a terrible plan, but it's all I got. Maybe if Lisa and I talk to her, show her that she is not alone, it might help. Maybe we invite her to join us for karaoke, help her meet some better people."

 

Rita nodded. "I'll call her. Come pick me up at my house tomorrow afternoon."

 

Lisa came home with me. We didn't go right down to the bedroom, neither of us felt very sexy tonight. Instead we sat down in the TV room with my mom and dad.

 

Dad sensed we were troubled, "What's wrong girls?"

 

We told the story. We interrupted each other a lot but by the end mom, dad, and Janet were shocked into silence.

 

"Well girls, I think it is great you want to talk to her. I know how much strength you girls get from each other, I think letting her know she is not alone is important. I will say this, if you talk to her parents, and I hope you do, tell them about the PFLAG group. It helped me understand you Cindy, I think it could help them." Just when I think I have my mom figured out she surprises me yet again.

 

We picked up Rita at her house. He mom was there in the front room.

 

"You girls are doing a good thing. I hope it helps."

 

Lisa was not her usual bubbly self, "We will do our best Mrs. Graff."

 

Alecia lived in the same neighborhood as Rita. Once again, I realized that wealthy people live in a different world than people like Lisa and me. Alecia's house wasn't the fortified compound that Rita lived in, but it was a big house, it looked like one of those English country houses I had seen on PBS.

 

Her mom knew we were coming. She was not a tall woman, maybe 5'5" but she was incredibly glamorous (think Phylicia Rashad). "Hi Rita, it's good to see you."

 

"It's good to see you to Mrs. J. These are my friends Cindy and Lisa."

 

"Are you girls a couple?"

 

I held Lisa's hand tight. "Yes we are."

 

"Are you girls happy together?"

 

Lisa smiled her most radiant smile, "Yes we are."

 

I spoke up, "My mom didn't know what to do when I came out. She found a group called PFLAG that meets at the Episcopal church; it's all parents of gay and lesbian folks. You'd be welcomed if you wanted to go."

 

"Thank you," It was obvious she was trying very hard to not start crying again, "I will think about it."

 

Alecia's house seemed to have a similar design to Rita's, but it lacked the James Bond touches. I saw a nice pool and a hot tub; I mentally filed those away since Lisa and I love sex in the water. Alecia was sitting on the couch in the TV room; the TV was on, but she wasn't really watching it. She was not a big girl, when she stood up to greet us I could see she was about Rita's height. She was noticeably chubby, but in a really cute way, with a great mass of curly black hair which had a whole 1970's black sex goddess look going.

 

I also noticed the bandages on her arms. Looking at Lisa and Rita it was clear they saw them too. None of us mentioned them, no point in bringing up the painfully obvious.

 

Rita gave Alecia a big hug. She didn't say anything for quite a while, she just held her friend. "How are you doing today?"

 

Alecia sat back down, "I'm OK. Mom and dad are pretty much hovering over me and I haven't really left the house. I've quit going online, I can't read any more of the shit those girls are posting."

 

Rita sat next to Alecia, holding her hand. Lisa and I sat on a loveseat; I could tell Lisa was trying really hard not to cry because she was close to breaking my fingers.

 

Rita looked over at us, "These are my friends, Cindy and Lisa. Cindy is one of the bravest people I know, I think second only to Katherine." Alecia nodded, clearly Katherine is a real legend in these social circles. "Cindy saved my when Brayden came after me last summer, remember him?" Alecia nodded again. "My mom and dad decided the best thing for me was to switch schools, and these girls took me in and took care of me in my new school." Now Rita smiled a little, "They also agreed with Katherine and my mom that I should consider being less sexually promiscuous. I listened, at least where boys are concerned. I realized I liked girls almost as much as I like boys. These girls took me in sexually was well; in case you haven't guessed they are lesbians and they are a couple. I have never met two people my age who are as much in love as these two are."

 

We both blushed. I squeezed Lisa's hand, "I wanted us to come here with Rita to show you that you are not on your own. There is a community of queer people our age, it's small but we do exist. We hang out a lot at the Youth Center and at the coffee shop. The owners of the coffee shop are a gay couple and they have pretty much adopted all us queer kids as their own. I work at the record store downtown and Lisa teaches a beginner dance class at the dance studio."

 

Alecia smiled a little, she had a very nice smile. "When did you know you liked girls?"

 

I told the whole story, with all the explicit details. Yes dear readers, I already wanted to fuck her. I told her about masturbating while watching wrestling on TV, the glorious purchase of the box of magazines, and meeting Melinda.

 

"So she made the first move?"

 

"Yeah. I mean, the signs were there. We would grab each other's hands during close plays and we would often have our arms around each other, but it was Melinda who kissed me first." I went on to tell about our first nude wrestling, fucking each other whenever we could, being spied on by her younger sister Cheryl and intimately fucking Cheryl too (I included all the rough stuff) and the ultimate event with Jennifer {Author's Note: You can read all about this in my earlier story in the Young Friends section}. I told the story of falling in love with Lisa from the moment I saw her in Homeroom, up to me making that first move sitting on the lawn in front of the school.

 

Alecia was smiling more. "Wow. You've done a lot." She looked at Lisa, I could tell by her expression she had just noticed how blue Lisa's eyes are. "What's your story Lisa?"

 

Lisa took a deep breath, still holding my hand tight. "Looking back, I think I had feelings for other girls back in junior high, but I never acted on them. I do remember playing with my pussy and thinking about Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink. I never acted on my feelings, I had too much to deal with being the only kid at school with white hair. When I met Cindy that first day of high school I felt different. She just seemed so confident and cool with her Joan Jett t-shirts and her high-top sneakers." Here I had to laugh; Me? Confident? "When she asked if she could kiss me sitting there under the tree with my half-eaten Subway sitting in my lap I knew she was someone special and I have never looked back."

 

"So, you two and Rita...?" I don't think she could bring herself to say "fucked".

 

I smiled, "Many times. Rita has also helped me be less butch by doing my hair and makeup for school dances."

 

Lisa licked her lips, "Here's the truth Alecia, Cindy and I are totally devoted to each other, but we enjoy sex a lot, so we have both been with other girls, including Rita on several occasions."

 

"Are you going to go to college together?"

 

I took a deep breath, "That's a more complicated question. We will hopefully be at schools that are close to each other. My plan is for us to live together until we are two old ladies who love each other and possibly have lots and lots of cats."

 

"I would love to be at the coffee shop for karaoke night. If my parents are willing to let me out of their sight would one of you give me a ride?"

 

Rita hugged her. "Of course! Katherine is so busy studying for the Bar Exam I'm actually allowed out on my own. I'll come get you."

 

Lisa stood up and went over to Alecia, pulling her to her feet and holding her hands. "What we all want you to know is that you are not alone. I know you have been through something really awful, but I want you to know that you are not alone. We will always be here for you; we pirates take care of our own."

 

Alecia looked at all of us blankly. "Pirate?"

 

I smiled "You know, The Dread Pirate Roberts."

 

"I don't get it."

 

Rita figured it out. "You've never seen The Princess Bride, have you?"

 

"No."

 

I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her soft middle, "Don't worry sweetie, we'll take care of that." And with that, dear readers, a new lusty wench joined the crew of the Revenge.

 

A lot of us gathered at the coffee shop Thursday night. Tonight would be the last time we would see Gena and Brian for a while, they were leaving for Carbondale that weekend. I was sipping my tea, waiting for my name to be called. I had not told anyone, not even Lisa, that I was going to try singing again. This time it I would attempt jimmy Buffet's "A Pirate Looks at Forty." I had decided that if I picked songs where the vocals were more in my range it would not hurt people's ears as much. My voice was much more suited to AC/DC or Joan Jett, I was never going to have Lisa's ringing soprano. When my name was called Lisa popped up off the Crying Couch, clapping wildly.

 

"Hi." Suddenly my voice was really soft. "I'm Cindy, sometimes known as The Dread Pirate Roberts. I picked this song as a send-off for two of our crewmembers. Gena and I have seen a lot and Brian, you are a really nice guy. You've put up with all manner of insanity from me and Gena and I want you to know I really do like you. May the four winds blow you safely home." Had to give a shout-out to the Grateful Dead.

 

I was sure I would piss myself right there, but I made it. Somewhere in my brain I registered cheers from the small crowd when I got to the line `Yes, I am a pirate, Two hundred years too late. The cannons don't thunder and there's nothing to plunder." I finished, mumbled a "Thank You" and came down off the stage. Gena ran up and grabbed my ass, pushing her boobs into me and kissing me with lots of tongue. Brian gave me a high five and that meant a lot to me. Lisa pulled me down to sit in her lap to give me more kisses and some nice boob squeezes too. I noticed Rita and Alecia were both there too. Alecia seemed to almost be in a daze; I don't think she had ever been around this many queer people (and their friends) in her life. It was really dawning on her that she wasn't alone, even in our little town.

 

Readers who are my age (I'm a middle-aged lesbian these days) no doubt remember a time when it all seemed so hopeless and that there was no way out. Never give up! Reach out to the people who love you, lean on them. For those who are curious, while I like the version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the 1955 movie Carousel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7YhWIzd-gc) this version by Brittany Howard gives me the chills every time and it's a Johnny Walker ad! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4vdYzUMWbo)

As always I love hearing from you, my dear readers (cattingcindy@yahoo.com). Please also consider donating to the Nifty Archice (https://donate.nifty.org)