The Ones that Matter (9/?) Kate x Betty, Gladys/Betty/Kate friendship,
In the weeks following Kate’s realization, she found it more and more difficult to keep it to herself, particularly when she was around Betty. Betty had noticed Kate’s increased nervousness around her, and at first, she thought it was because Kate felt uncomfortable again, that maybe Kate had seen her throw a glance her way that was too easily interpreted. God knew Gladys was constantly telling her things like, “Look a little more like you love her, why don’t you?” with a smirk on her face. But then Betty noticed that Kate didn’t seem nervous and standoffish, she seemed, nervous, but…anxious to be closer to Betty.
Betty caught Kate looking at her with what looked like…great affection. Kate laughed at her jokes more than she used to, and wanted to spend even more time with her. All of this was just fine with Betty, but she was quite sure she was misinterpreting things again. She became even more careful in her interactions with Kate, and more hesitant to spend time with her alone, even those few minutes when Gladys or Vera wandered off to get a drink or dance with some soldier. Gladys, for her part, was being driven insane by having to sit with both of them, knowing how they both felt, and not being able to say anything. And there was no end in sight. Although Kate seemed to be having trouble keeping her feelings completely under wraps, she still refused to flat out tell Betty, or entertain the thought of having a relationship with her. And Gladys knew Betty would never initiate anything again. If anything were to happen, it would have to be Kate. Gladys could only hope that Betty’s charms made Kate realize it was worth the risk.
One sunny Sunday afternoon, after another night at the Tangiers, where Kate had finally begun singing again, she was sitting home alone, reading, when the phone rang. It was Betty.
“Heya Kate,” Betty always tried for nonchalance, and could sometimes pull it off, “How’re you doing?”
“Hi Betty!” Kate couldn’t stop the smile that broke across her face as soon as she heard Betty’s voice, “I’m good, just reading. Gladys is out, so things are pretty quiet.”
“Aw, shoot, Gladys is out? I was going to invite you two ladies to take advantage of this warm weather while it lasts, and drive out of town a little ways for a picnic.”
“Oh, well I’m sure she won’t mind missing it. She’s at her parents’ house. For an afternoon dinner with their friends.”
Betty was flustered by the first part of Kate’s response, which implied she still wanted to go. Just with Betty. Alone with Betty. Betty couldn’t think of the last time she actually went anywhere alone with Kate. Well, yes she could-it ended with Kate calling her disgusting, and Betty running out of the bar. But, she supposed if Kate was agreeing, when she had such an easy way out of the situation, it must be all right with her. Still, she felt that she should ask, just to make sure. But first, Gladys was where?
“Princess is spending all afternoon with her parents? Willingly? Ohhh, she must be fit to be tied.”
“Betty! Her parents are perfectly fine. Or at least they try. And besides I don’t know how willingly it was. Her father came and picked her up. She told me I could feel free to take a spin in the Packard, so… that works out perfectly. You and I can go in that.”
“Wh-are you sure you still want to go? Without Gladys?”
Betty’s question made Kate doubt herself. Can’t friends go on picnics? She really wanted to spend time with Betty. She knew friends went on picnics. She almost didn’t care if they didn’t, she still wanted to. But, only if Betty did, “Well, I thought we could, but…we don’t have to, if you’d rather we not.” Kate felt tears springing to her eyes, and stomped her foot in exasperation with herself. You are ridiculous. You will survive if you don’t see Betty today.
“No, I want to go! I mean, if you want to, then…let’s go.” Betty paused for a moment to gather herself, because right now she sounded like a teenage boy, and that wasn’t going to continue. “It’ll be fun. We can stop at Shopsy’s and get some sandwiches and Cokes. Plus, I have something I want to show you, on the way.”
“Well, that sounds intriguing, Miss McRae. You’re on!”
Betty laughed, thinking just how appropriate that phrase was, given the last time Kate had said it to her. Kate, smiled when she heard this, relieved that Betty hadn’t thought her comment sounded flirtatious. Or maybe she had, and liked it. That possibility didn’t make Kate feel as anxious as she’d thought it would.
“Would you like me to pick you up?”
“That would be great.” Betty had almost jokingly said ‘it would be right gentlemanly of you,’ but caught herself in time. Kate’s easy manner over the phone made her forget herself for a minute. Forget who she was talking to. Kate was just a friend. Always would be. She spent the ten or so minutes waiting for Kate to arrive repeating this to herself, over and over. By the time Kate arrived, she was sure she could spend the afternoon with her, enjoy it, and not give herself away with any off hand, inappropriate comments.
*****
For a woman who hadn’t driven at all growing up, Kate had sure gotten the hang of it quick, once Gladys had obliged her with lessons. Betty felt safer with Kate at the wheel than Gladys herself. Of course, that was because Kate was extremely cautious, and didn’t drive quite so fast as Gladys. But still, today was a perfect day for a drive that wasn’t rushed, and Betty rolled down her window to catch the breeze, as she gave Kate directions to their stop on the way.
“Betty, where are we going?” Kate asked, a mix of excitement and impatience. Betty just smiled, seeming to enjoy knowing, but not sharing, the answer.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise. Turn down this street here.”
They were in a modest neighborhood, with small but neatly kept houses and yards. Betty directed Kate to pull over beside a little white house, with green shutters. Kate looked around, as if expecting a brass band or something quite exciting to jump out at her. She turned to Betty, who looked as if she was about to burst with news.
Betty opened her door and walked up onto the lawn. Kate followed her quickly, as she stood on the grass.
“Betty!” she whispered, glancing at the front of the house, “What if the owners come out and see us loitering on their lawn? What are we doing?”
Betty was so excited to give Kate the answer to that question. But even with that excitement, she was afraid Kate would disapprove, somehow. Still, she couldn’t let that stop her. Turned out, she had nothing to worry about.
“The owners aren’t going to come out, Kate, because, well, first, there is only one owner, and second…” Betty didn’t finish the sentence, but pulled a set of keys out of her pocket, and dangled them in the air.
Kate looked at the keys, then Betty’s smiling face, then the house, keys, back to Betty, “It’s YOURS? You bought this house?” Kate was yelling about as loud as she’d even done in her life, and Betty just nodded. Kate threw her arms around Betty, forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t a good idea. “I’m so happy for you! It’s lovely! Can we look inside? What’s it like? How did you pull this off?”
Betty hugged her back, laughing at all of her questions, and just for a second letting herself imagine that Kate loved her, and they would live together in this house. The she brought herself back to reality, and appreciated a hug from her friend. “I told you, remember? I’ve been saving money since I started working at VicMu, and with the promotion to shift matron, I was able to save a little faster. So…it’s mine.”
“My goodness Betty, you are something else,” Kate said, beaming at her.
“Huh, I’ve heard that before, but I’m going to take it as a compliment in this case,” Betty said, turning toward the house, and nudging Kate playfully with her shoulder. “We can go in. There isn’t much to see, now, but, I’ll show you.”
Betty gave Kate the nickel tour of the place, feeling her heart almost burst with every enthusiastic comment Kate made-which were mostly along the lines of, ‘Oh! Look at this kitchen!’ and ‘Oh! Look at the staircase!’
Kate was so proud of her friend. Who knew? Who knew a woman could just go buy her own house? That she could just live her own life like this? Betty knew, of course, and had told Kate as much, but seeing it in happen was different. Thinking back to when Betty had first told her she planned to do this raised another question for Kate.
“But, you said you’d need housemates. Do you have housemates?” Kate did her best to ignore the unspoken fact that she had agreed to be Betty’s housemate, and Betty hadn’t mentioned anything to her about the house until now. If Annie was her housemate…Kate was not going to be happy. Granted, Kate had no right to feel unhappy, for one thing, and also, hadn’t seen or heard of Annie in months, and was pretty certain Betty wasn’t seeing her at all anymore, so that seemed an entirely unlikely scenario. Maybe Vera? Kate was undeniably hurt that it wasn’t her. But, what could she expect? Throughout this new chapter in their friendship, Betty had never done anything that Kate could construe as more than friendly. Kate knew she wouldn’t risk asking her to live with her.
“Well,” Betty swallowed. Truth was, she couldn’t bring herself to get another housemate. Not right now, at least. The only person she wanted to share a house with was standing in front of her. “I…since I get paid a little more, I won’t need a housemate just yet, so, the spot is still open.” She realized as soon as she said it that it sounded like she was implying the spot was open for Kate. She decided to just leave it though, and not draw any more attention by apologizing. Plus, really, that spot was still open for Kate, and she half wanted Kate to know that. They were friends. She wanted to live with her friend. That was all right. ‘Your friend you love more than anyone in the world,’ --she heard echoing in her head, in what was inarguably Gladys’ voice, and only barely managed to stop herself from muttering ‘shut up Princess.’
Kate had interpreted Betty’s comment just as Betty had feared (hoped) she would, and wasn’t at all sure how to respond. She certainly couldn’t be Betty’s housemate, but she wanted to be. Very badly. And, so, couldn’t bring herself to flat out reject the option. “Oh, well. I hope that…when you want someone, you’ll find someone.” Kate cringed, as she said it. Both because it was utterly ineloquent (good thing Gladys and her finishing school vocabulary weren’t there to witness it) and because it sounded as if she might have been talking about more than just a housemate.
Time to get a move on with this picnic, thought Betty. She nodded in response to Kate’s…interesting comment, before saying, “Uh, thanks, and…all right, I’m starting to get hungry, you ready to head out?”
“Yes! Let’s go, where are we going?”
Betty laughed, “I know a place outside town. There are some fields, pretty view-trees, stream, the whole bit. You’ll like it.”
To be continued....soon
Betty caught Kate looking at her with what looked like…great affection. Kate laughed at her jokes more than she used to, and wanted to spend even more time with her. All of this was just fine with Betty, but she was quite sure she was misinterpreting things again. She became even more careful in her interactions with Kate, and more hesitant to spend time with her alone, even those few minutes when Gladys or Vera wandered off to get a drink or dance with some soldier. Gladys, for her part, was being driven insane by having to sit with both of them, knowing how they both felt, and not being able to say anything. And there was no end in sight. Although Kate seemed to be having trouble keeping her feelings completely under wraps, she still refused to flat out tell Betty, or entertain the thought of having a relationship with her. And Gladys knew Betty would never initiate anything again. If anything were to happen, it would have to be Kate. Gladys could only hope that Betty’s charms made Kate realize it was worth the risk.
One sunny Sunday afternoon, after another night at the Tangiers, where Kate had finally begun singing again, she was sitting home alone, reading, when the phone rang. It was Betty.
“Heya Kate,” Betty always tried for nonchalance, and could sometimes pull it off, “How’re you doing?”
“Hi Betty!” Kate couldn’t stop the smile that broke across her face as soon as she heard Betty’s voice, “I’m good, just reading. Gladys is out, so things are pretty quiet.”
“Aw, shoot, Gladys is out? I was going to invite you two ladies to take advantage of this warm weather while it lasts, and drive out of town a little ways for a picnic.”
“Oh, well I’m sure she won’t mind missing it. She’s at her parents’ house. For an afternoon dinner with their friends.”
Betty was flustered by the first part of Kate’s response, which implied she still wanted to go. Just with Betty. Alone with Betty. Betty couldn’t think of the last time she actually went anywhere alone with Kate. Well, yes she could-it ended with Kate calling her disgusting, and Betty running out of the bar. But, she supposed if Kate was agreeing, when she had such an easy way out of the situation, it must be all right with her. Still, she felt that she should ask, just to make sure. But first, Gladys was where?
“Princess is spending all afternoon with her parents? Willingly? Ohhh, she must be fit to be tied.”
“Betty! Her parents are perfectly fine. Or at least they try. And besides I don’t know how willingly it was. Her father came and picked her up. She told me I could feel free to take a spin in the Packard, so… that works out perfectly. You and I can go in that.”
“Wh-are you sure you still want to go? Without Gladys?”
Betty’s question made Kate doubt herself. Can’t friends go on picnics? She really wanted to spend time with Betty. She knew friends went on picnics. She almost didn’t care if they didn’t, she still wanted to. But, only if Betty did, “Well, I thought we could, but…we don’t have to, if you’d rather we not.” Kate felt tears springing to her eyes, and stomped her foot in exasperation with herself. You are ridiculous. You will survive if you don’t see Betty today.
“No, I want to go! I mean, if you want to, then…let’s go.” Betty paused for a moment to gather herself, because right now she sounded like a teenage boy, and that wasn’t going to continue. “It’ll be fun. We can stop at Shopsy’s and get some sandwiches and Cokes. Plus, I have something I want to show you, on the way.”
“Well, that sounds intriguing, Miss McRae. You’re on!”
Betty laughed, thinking just how appropriate that phrase was, given the last time Kate had said it to her. Kate, smiled when she heard this, relieved that Betty hadn’t thought her comment sounded flirtatious. Or maybe she had, and liked it. That possibility didn’t make Kate feel as anxious as she’d thought it would.
“Would you like me to pick you up?”
“That would be great.” Betty had almost jokingly said ‘it would be right gentlemanly of you,’ but caught herself in time. Kate’s easy manner over the phone made her forget herself for a minute. Forget who she was talking to. Kate was just a friend. Always would be. She spent the ten or so minutes waiting for Kate to arrive repeating this to herself, over and over. By the time Kate arrived, she was sure she could spend the afternoon with her, enjoy it, and not give herself away with any off hand, inappropriate comments.
*****
For a woman who hadn’t driven at all growing up, Kate had sure gotten the hang of it quick, once Gladys had obliged her with lessons. Betty felt safer with Kate at the wheel than Gladys herself. Of course, that was because Kate was extremely cautious, and didn’t drive quite so fast as Gladys. But still, today was a perfect day for a drive that wasn’t rushed, and Betty rolled down her window to catch the breeze, as she gave Kate directions to their stop on the way.
“Betty, where are we going?” Kate asked, a mix of excitement and impatience. Betty just smiled, seeming to enjoy knowing, but not sharing, the answer.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise. Turn down this street here.”
They were in a modest neighborhood, with small but neatly kept houses and yards. Betty directed Kate to pull over beside a little white house, with green shutters. Kate looked around, as if expecting a brass band or something quite exciting to jump out at her. She turned to Betty, who looked as if she was about to burst with news.
Betty opened her door and walked up onto the lawn. Kate followed her quickly, as she stood on the grass.
“Betty!” she whispered, glancing at the front of the house, “What if the owners come out and see us loitering on their lawn? What are we doing?”
Betty was so excited to give Kate the answer to that question. But even with that excitement, she was afraid Kate would disapprove, somehow. Still, she couldn’t let that stop her. Turned out, she had nothing to worry about.
“The owners aren’t going to come out, Kate, because, well, first, there is only one owner, and second…” Betty didn’t finish the sentence, but pulled a set of keys out of her pocket, and dangled them in the air.
Kate looked at the keys, then Betty’s smiling face, then the house, keys, back to Betty, “It’s YOURS? You bought this house?” Kate was yelling about as loud as she’d even done in her life, and Betty just nodded. Kate threw her arms around Betty, forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t a good idea. “I’m so happy for you! It’s lovely! Can we look inside? What’s it like? How did you pull this off?”
Betty hugged her back, laughing at all of her questions, and just for a second letting herself imagine that Kate loved her, and they would live together in this house. The she brought herself back to reality, and appreciated a hug from her friend. “I told you, remember? I’ve been saving money since I started working at VicMu, and with the promotion to shift matron, I was able to save a little faster. So…it’s mine.”
“My goodness Betty, you are something else,” Kate said, beaming at her.
“Huh, I’ve heard that before, but I’m going to take it as a compliment in this case,” Betty said, turning toward the house, and nudging Kate playfully with her shoulder. “We can go in. There isn’t much to see, now, but, I’ll show you.”
Betty gave Kate the nickel tour of the place, feeling her heart almost burst with every enthusiastic comment Kate made-which were mostly along the lines of, ‘Oh! Look at this kitchen!’ and ‘Oh! Look at the staircase!’
Kate was so proud of her friend. Who knew? Who knew a woman could just go buy her own house? That she could just live her own life like this? Betty knew, of course, and had told Kate as much, but seeing it in happen was different. Thinking back to when Betty had first told her she planned to do this raised another question for Kate.
“But, you said you’d need housemates. Do you have housemates?” Kate did her best to ignore the unspoken fact that she had agreed to be Betty’s housemate, and Betty hadn’t mentioned anything to her about the house until now. If Annie was her housemate…Kate was not going to be happy. Granted, Kate had no right to feel unhappy, for one thing, and also, hadn’t seen or heard of Annie in months, and was pretty certain Betty wasn’t seeing her at all anymore, so that seemed an entirely unlikely scenario. Maybe Vera? Kate was undeniably hurt that it wasn’t her. But, what could she expect? Throughout this new chapter in their friendship, Betty had never done anything that Kate could construe as more than friendly. Kate knew she wouldn’t risk asking her to live with her.
“Well,” Betty swallowed. Truth was, she couldn’t bring herself to get another housemate. Not right now, at least. The only person she wanted to share a house with was standing in front of her. “I…since I get paid a little more, I won’t need a housemate just yet, so, the spot is still open.” She realized as soon as she said it that it sounded like she was implying the spot was open for Kate. She decided to just leave it though, and not draw any more attention by apologizing. Plus, really, that spot was still open for Kate, and she half wanted Kate to know that. They were friends. She wanted to live with her friend. That was all right. ‘Your friend you love more than anyone in the world,’ --she heard echoing in her head, in what was inarguably Gladys’ voice, and only barely managed to stop herself from muttering ‘shut up Princess.’
Kate had interpreted Betty’s comment just as Betty had feared (hoped) she would, and wasn’t at all sure how to respond. She certainly couldn’t be Betty’s housemate, but she wanted to be. Very badly. And, so, couldn’t bring herself to flat out reject the option. “Oh, well. I hope that…when you want someone, you’ll find someone.” Kate cringed, as she said it. Both because it was utterly ineloquent (good thing Gladys and her finishing school vocabulary weren’t there to witness it) and because it sounded as if she might have been talking about more than just a housemate.
Time to get a move on with this picnic, thought Betty. She nodded in response to Kate’s…interesting comment, before saying, “Uh, thanks, and…all right, I’m starting to get hungry, you ready to head out?”
“Yes! Let’s go, where are we going?”
Betty laughed, “I know a place outside town. There are some fields, pretty view-trees, stream, the whole bit. You’ll like it.”
To be continued....soon