Destiny

Destiny By Gold

(I've made corrections and added and subtracted a number of items in this story, so I am reposting this on Nifty. Instead of Hawaii, I added a spa called Caldera De Gaia Spa in New Mexico. If you're interested where I got the spa's name from, check out the following website http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/ and the author is Julie O. Her Fresh Start stories are among the best I have read)

This is not a chapter of my storyline "Choices" but an independent story. I hope you enjoy it as much as you do my "Choices" chapters.

This is a product of my imagination and as such belongs to me. If you like it or don't, please let me know. That's the only way I can get better. Thanks.

SYNOPSIS:

Two families intertwined by destiny but will not be discovered until their daughters make the connection.

Linda Green was a single white female (straight) 30 years old who was very rich but very alone in this world; she seemed to have everything, her own business, money but no one to share it with,

Susan McKay (Gay) 26 years old, had been alone for about 6 months now (she also had money and a career) after she kicked out her last girlfriend after she found out she had been sleeping with someone else.

Little did either of them know that destiny was about to shine down on both of them?

The sun had just come up and was pouring in through the bedroom window, waking its lone occupant. Linda Green rolled over and tried to cover her eyes, but to no avail. She looked over at her alarm clock and noticed the time which read, 8:00 am. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and realized that she was alone as usual. She thought to herself that one day she would actually meet someone that she would be able to share her life with, some nice man who would be able to give her children.

As Linda removed herself from the bed, she stood in front of the floor length mirror and examined herself; 5'8", blue eyes, curly brunette hair down to her shoulders, her 36B-25-35 measurements and being 30 made her smile. She was also very wealthy; from investing in Google stock and the inheritance she received when her Grandparents passed away. She had a very nice house, a Lexus Sedan and the owner of an exclusive music store that did very well.

Linda jumped into the shower and took her time washing herself; she was due at the store in about an hour to open it but had to leave early today because her mother had called and wanted to talk to her about something important. More than likely, her mother wanted to berate her for not having someone to share her life with. She was being constantly being setup by her mother and the choices her mother made were horrendous.

She slowly soaped herself starting at her neck, working her way down to her breasts, taking time to slowly massage them, creating a very tingling sensation that was very pleasurable. Her hands slowly made their way down her flat stomach down to the top of her Mons. She slowly slipped her fingers into her pussy gently stroking her clit. She started stroking faster and faster and finally came with a thunderous moan. Her legs were so shaky she could barely stand but finally made it out of the shower and dried off. Linda thought to herself that she needed to find someone soon.

She checked out the clothes in her closet and finally decided on a very nice pair of black cotton slacks with a very nice mauve colored silk shirt. She threw on a pair of low heel black shoes, threw on her Tommy Hilfiger black jacket, grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

On the other side of town, Susan was in the process of making herself some breakfast; orange juice with a couple of eggs over easy and wheat toast. As she was sitting at her kitchen table she was trying to figure what had gone wrong with her latest relationship. She had been dating Kathy for about 6 months when she caught her in bed with another woman. She was too stunned at first, and then with sadness and anger, she told Kathy to get the fuck out of their house and never come back. Kathy told Susan that she had been seeing Christie for the last two months because Susan had been too busy at work and no longer had time for the two of them. At that point Susan didn't care anymore and just kicked her girlfriend out of the house.

Susan McKay was 5'6" with Irish Red Hair, freckles on her cheeks, green eyes which sparkled when she laughed, a 34B-25-34 figure, 26 years old and oh yes, a millionaire due to the fact that she inherited thousands of shares of Microsoft stock when her parents died when she 21 years old. Those shares were worth millions then and before the price went down, she sold them. She was also an accountant in a very prestigious Accounting firm where she still worked even though she no longer needed the money.

Over the last few years, she had been in and out of relationships, none of which lasted longer than 6 months. She kept telling herself that it was because of her work but actually it was because she never fell in love with any of the girls that she dated or lived with.

"Well, hell girl, one of these days I'm going to fall in love when I'm not expecting it and it's going to be someone that I probably just bump into." She mused to herself. She got up after finishing her breakfast, rinsed the dishes off and preceded to go upstairs and take a shower. Since it was her birthday today, she was going to treat herself to the new Meatloaf and Who CD that just came out a couple of weeks ago. She also wanted to shop at this record store that she found on the other side of town. Some of her friends told her that if she wanted unusual or imported CD's, this was the store to go to. She also wanted to search for anymore "Renaissance" CD's that she might have missed for her collection.

She loved them but especially their singer, Annie Haslam. God, what a voice that woman has, she thought to herself. Plus being beautiful didn't hurt either.

Linda arrived at the store at 9:00am and proceeded to let herself in. Her manager would be coming in at 11:00 so leaving early posed no problems. She looked around at her pride and joy and noticed that her staff had done their usual professional job; the store was spotless, the shelves had been restocked with old vinyl LP's, CD's, blank tapes (she found people still had old tape decks) blank CD's and the usual sundry items that was carried in a record store. She was proud of her staff and was always complimenting them. She was also very generous with the pay her staff made; she usually started a person out at $10.00 per hour and after three months if they continued to improve, she would increase their pay to $14.00 per hour. She found out that by treating her employees this way, there wouldn't be any employee's stealing, plus if they found any customers stealing and turned them in, they would receive a $100.00 bonus that day in cash! As such, Linda had employees that had been there for years and loved working for her. For instance, her manager, Beverly, had been working for her for 5 years now and was making a very nice living and probably would never leave Linda. Besides that, Bev had a secret crush on Linda but swore to herself she would never let Linda know because they were also very good friends.

As Linda made her way back to the office, she put on a CD she recently acquired for the store; a Renaissance CD called "Tuscany." She loved Renaissance and had all of their music. She listened to it while she counted out the drawer and made her way back to the front counter. As the title track of the CD came on, Linda stopped counting the drawer for a moment and just listened to "Lady from Tuscany." She couldn't believe the range of Annie Haslam's voice. It was such a magnificent voice with remarkable range. When the song was over, she finished counting out the drawer and was in the process of bringing it up to the register when she heard the front door open. She looked up and saw her manager Beverly enter the store.

"Hey Bev. I thought you were coming in a little later this morning?"

"Well, I was going to come in around 10:30 but decided to come in early to see how Tom and Leslie did on the display for the upcoming contest."

Linda totally forgot about that and decided to see the display for herself. The display was for the new Meatloaf CD "Bat out of Hell 3: The Monster is Loose."

The record company that was promoting the CD was having a countrywide display contest for it. The prize was $1,000.00 going to the winning store and the manager that won it had the discretion on how to disburse it. She gave the job of putting the display together to two employees, Tom and Leslie who were very big Meatloaf fans. They had asked Linda about the contest and if they won it what she would do with the money. Linda said that if the store won the contest, she would divide the money half and half and give each one of them $500 each. They couldn't believe their ears when Linda told them that. They knew that she was generous with money to her employees but not to that extent. They had been working for Linda for only about 6 months now but loved working for her. Linda gave them the leeway to decorate the store to bring in customers and besides; each of them loved working in the music industry.

As Linda and Beverly walked around the store looking for the display, the rounded a corner and there by the stairs right above them, was the largest display they had ever seen; It was an exact replica of the CD cover for the Meatloaf CD but in 3D. Linda and Beverly just stared in awe of the display and couldn't believe their eyes. The monster stood out, as did the rest of the display. It was an incredible work of art if you can call a display that. "Bev, can you believe the job those two did? It's incredible!"

Bev was looking at it with her mouth open, "Unbelievable to say the least Linda. I think we have a great chance of winning. What do you think?"

"Let's just say that if we win the contest, Tom and Leslie will definitely deserve the money!"

The Meatloaf display had temporarily taken their minds off the music that had been playing so when they left the display, Beverly just stood still listening to the music for a moment and was entranced. "Linda, is that the new Renaissance CD that came in yesterday?"

"It sure is. What do you think of it?"

"Well, being Renaissance, I would have expected no less. It's beautiful."

Being close to opening time, it was time to get ready to open the store. Linda went to the back office and Bev went up to the front to open the store. As she opened the door, Leslie walked in for her early shift.

"Leslie, Linda and I were just looking at the display you and Tom put together last night. It's incredible!" Beverly said to her as she walked through the door.

"Thank you Beverly. Tom and I were working on it for several hours yesterday. I'm just hoping that Linda's store wins it. That would be great for the store."

"It sure would. Plus having that extra money in your pocket would help too!

The judges will be by later on today so finishing up the display last night was very good timing for the both of you"

Leslie just stared at Beverly, "You didn't tell me they would be by today? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I didn't want to place any pressure on the two of you and I wanted to see what the both of you would come up with. And I was right. The display the both of you made is perfect!"

"Thank you Beverly. Speaking for Tom, we both appreciate it." Leslie smiled and went to get ready for work.

Susan had just gotten done getting dressed; she had on her best dressy jeans along with a light powder blue polo shirt, which accentuated her eyes perfectly. She grabbed her keys as she walked out the door and headed towards destiny.

As 10:00 rolled around the doors to the store opened and surprisingly, a number of people had been waiting to enter. Among which was Susan McKay and the judges for the Meatloaf display contest. The rest of the throng of people came into the store looking for various CD's and even some of them were looking for the vinyl records that Linda kept in stock. The judges themselves did not introduce themselves but just wandered around the store like regular customers. If what they found pleased them, then they would introduce themselves to the storeowner only. The previous stores they had entered that had placed a display for the Meatloaf contest had disappointed them. Some had only put up a token display and others had tried to put up a halfhearted attempt at a display.

When the judges rounded that corner that Bev and Linda had rounded earlier, they just stopped in their tracks and gasped. They had never seen a display like the one in front of their eyes now. They just looked up in awe and knew right then and there this was the winning store. They looked at each other and smiled. They walked up to the counter and asked for either the manager or the owner. Since Leslie was up at the counter she asked them if there were any problems and the two judges who did not introduce themselves yet, told her there wasn't any and just wanted to speak to someone in charge. Leslie buzzed Linda letting her know there were a couple of people up front asking for the owner.

As Linda walked out of the office, she saw the two people at the front counter and her instincts told her that these two people were the judges. "Hello, I'm Linda Green the owner of this establishment. Is there anything I can do for the two of you?"

The gentlemen spoke first, "Can we go into the back. We would like to talk to you in private."

"Sure, please follow me." Linda smiled inwardly as they walked back.

As they reached the back of the store, the gentlemen spoke again. "I would like to introduce myself and my partner. My name is Richard Tye and my partner's name is Rachel Tera from the record company promoting the newest Meatloaf CD." They shook hands with Linda and continued. "Miss Green, we would just like to let you know that the display in this store is the best display for the contest that we have seen and your store is also the last one that we needed to see. From what we have seen, we would like to award you the prize money now if you don't mind."

Linda smiled, "Mr. Tye, I would be honored to accept the prize. If you would hold on for a minute, I can introduce you to one of my employees that helped create that display." Linda buzzed Leslie to come to the back of the store for a moment.

As Leslie came to the back of the store she was slightly puzzled by Linda and the two strangers. "Yes Linda, what can I do for you?"

"Leslie, I would like to introduce you to the judges of the display contest. This is Mr. Tye and Ms Tera. Go ahead Mr. Tye please tell Leslie what you just told me."

"Well Leslie, I was just telling your boss here that the display that you helped put together is the best display that we have seen for this contest. I just wanted to congratulate you and let you know that you and your partner won the contest. In addition to the money, we also have two front row tickets and backstage passes for the upcoming Meatloaf concert. What do you think?"

Leslie was speechless and her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't know what to say so she smiled at the two judges, "Thank you very much. I know Tom will be as surprised as I am. Again thank you very much!" With that, Leslie went back up to the front of the store but this time with a definite spring in her step.

Linda accepted the check and the backstage passes from the judges. After the judges left the store, Linda contemplated a little; she thought how lucky she was having great employees, a good career with money to do whatever she wanted but then she thought she would love to share her life with someone and a frown appeared on her lovely face. Maybe one of these days.

As all of this was going on in the store, Susan McKay was wandering around looking at the store she was in and taking everything in. She was amazed by the collection of vinyl records, imported Vinyl and CD's and just an overall awe inspiring site of a Meatloaf display that left her breathless. My god, she thought to herself, the people that put this together must have spent a great deal of time on it. I just hope they won something. She picked up one of the Meatloaf CD's and continued to browse the store. As she was wandering around, she heard the faint sounds of Renaissance coming through the Bose speakers on the wall. She had to stop and listen because it was from a CD that she didn't own (she owned everything that Renaissance had ever put out). After a while, she started looking around trying to find the CD that she was listening to and finally found it. It was called "Tuscany" and found the sounds emanating from the speakers irresistible.

She picked up the CD and continued her browsing of the record store. Her next stop was anything new and appealed to her listening taste.

As Susan was looking around the store, Beverly had noticed her and was just gawking at Susan without her knowledge. My god, was this a beautiful creature or what! Beverly realized she was staring at this woman but couldn't help herself. She knew she was attracted to Linda but could never bring herself to tell Linda that she was gay. Besides, she and Linda were such good friends that she would never ruin that by telling Linda that she was attracted to her. She was so busy noticing Susan that she didn't notice Linda approaching from behind. "Hey Bev, who are you staring at now?"

"Oh Linda, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you coming." Bev stuttered out.

Linda took a look at Bev for a moment. She knew Bev was gay but didn't let on. It didn't matter to her what a person's sexual orientation was. She liked Bev and liked going out with her to the local pub every now and then. "You were staring at someone weren't you?" Linda said with a smirk on her face.

Bev just stared at Linda, "How did you know Linda?"

"It was kind of obvious Bev. Whenever you and I would go out drinking, you would stare at all of the women while I would be starting at all of the men, just to let you know, I don't care Bev. You're a great friend and I wouldn't change you for all of the money in the world. Now, show me who were staring at and let me make the decision on what she looks like." At that point Bev pointed in the general direction that Susan was in.

Linda looked in that direction and was struck dumb. Her heart started pounding in her chest, her mouth went dry and her breath caught in her throat. A redhead with an almost perfect figure and the face of a goddess stood in her store. The only thought in her head at the moment was thank god I finally met the person of my dreams!

She couldn't help but stare at her. As Linda was staring at Susan McKay, Bev couldn't believe the change in her friend. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that Linda was gay by the way she was staring at this redheaded stranger.

As Susan was meandering around the store just looking for items to buy, she was totally unaware of the stares she was eliciting from people around her and particularly from one storeowner. Not only was she a die-hard Renaissance fan, she also liked RUSH, Boston, David Sanborn (jazz) and other miscellaneous artists. As Susan was looking around, her eyes fell on a brunette with curly hair behind the front counter. She swore that she thought the woman was staring at her a moment ago but when she looked up, the brunette was talking to the other woman behind the counter. The woman looked to be about 5'8" or so, and when she looked up, Susan almost lost her footing; she was absolutely beautiful. When she looked into those eyes she felt something that she hadn't felt in ages; someone she could possibly share her life with. But after her last relationship, Susan was a little gun shy.

When Linda looked up into the eyes of the redhead, she felt something that she couldn't quite place. It felt like some electric current running through her and it gave her a very pleasant feeling. She had never experienced anything quite like it before; even when she was dating men and supposedly had fallen in love with her high school sweetheart Ken; she never felt anything like this. "Linda, hey Linda, are you okay?" Bev was asking her.

"Bev, I have no idea what just happened to me. When I looked into the eyes of that redhead, it felt like an electric current had gone through me. Bev, what's happening to me?"

Bev took another look at her friend and boss and knew what she was feeling and was a little taken aback. "Linda, I think what you just felt was very deep feelings and/or a VERY mutual attraction to that woman. Maybe you should go over there and introduce yourself?"

"I can't do that. I wouldn't know what to say!"

"Linda, let's go into the back for a moment and let's have a little chat."

Linda followed her friend into the back office and sat down with a thud behind the desk. Bev sat down next to her and took a long look at her friend. She saw something in those eyes that she thought she would have never seen before; a look of love.

"Linda, what happened to you out there? It was as if you were struck by a sledge hammer or something."

"I'm not sure but when I looked into the redheads' eyes, I felt a part of my soul slide home, mingled with an electric current going through my entire body."

Bev just stared at her friend and was dumbstruck. She knew what had happened to Linda; she found her life mate and didn't realize it. Very few people have that feeling in life. It had happened to her once but circumstances beyond her control took her away from Bev and she had yet to overcome it. "Linda, I'm going to tell you something. It might scare you but please listen to what I'm about to say."

Linda looked into Bev's eyes and could tell she was very serious about this.

"Okay but just don't scare me that much."

"Linda, what you experienced out there was a connection to another person that is so strong, that is so intense that people who do experience something like that usually wind up together the rest of their lives. The people who have this happened to them, call it meeting the other half of their soul."

"Bev, do you mean that this woman and I are destined to be together the rest of our lives?" Linda said with very wide eyes.

`Yes, Linda, I believe that's exactly what that means."

While the two ladies continued to talk in the back, Susan was still wandering around the store in a daze. She wondered where that brunette went and still wondered what happened to her on the floor of the store. When she looked into the eyes of the brunette, what felt like a jolt of electricity had gone through her? In all of her other relationships, she had never felt anything like that before. Could it be a sign she wondered? Well, she would stay in the store until the brunette came back out. Susan found the new Hayley Westenra CD that she had heard about along with the semi new Kate Bush CD. She picked up those two and continued around the store.

As Susan continued to wander around, Linda and Bev came back out of the office and almost collided with Susan. Susan looked up into the bright blue eyes of Linda and just stared. Linda stared back and couldn't believe she was face to face with one of the loveliest women she had ever seen. A cough from behind the two broke them out of their reverie. "Oh sorry, I didn't see where I was going." Linda stated

"That's okay; I was kind of preoccupied myself." Susan told her.

The two continued to stand there as if time stood still until Linda made the first move. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Let me introduce myself. My name is Linda Green and I'm the owner of this establishment. "Linda said with a wide smile on her face

"Nice to meet you Linda. My name is Susan McKay." Susan extended her hand to shake Linda's and when they did, something extraordinary happened. Even though they had just met, they moved closer to each other and before each of them knew what happened, they had kissed each other! They backed away from each other with a look of astonishment on both of their faces. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Susan. I have NEVER done anything like that before. Will you forgive me?" Linda exclaimed.

Susan looked at this extraordinarily beautiful woman and remarked, "Linda, I have never done anything like this before either. I usually wait until the third date before I kiss someone. And yes, you are forgiven." She said with a slight smirk on her lovely face.

Linda looked into Susan's eyes and felt herself falling for this woman even though they had just met. Susan's eyes held an aura of mystery for her because she had never been with a woman before and now after kissing this woman she was more confused than ever.

Susan still couldn't believe what had taken place. A total stranger had kissed her. A beautiful total stranger. This had never happened to her before.

As Susan and Linda were talking, Bev stood back watching the whole encounter and was momentarily stunned when she watched Linda kiss this woman right on the lips! She had a feeling about the red head when she saw her but Linda, this was a total surprise. Who would have thought a supposed straight woman, would be turned on another woman!! WOW!

Before anything else could happen, the telephone started ringing. Bev excused herself to answer it because Leslie was busy up front with several customers.

Linda and Susan were still staring at each other until Linda broke the ice again, "Susan, I know we just met but it feels like I've known you all my life. Does that make any sense to you?"

Susan couldn't believe her ears. Here was a total stranger, well almost, telling her that she felt that she had known her all her life. The interesting thing was, Susan felt the same way!

While they were talking, Bev was walking back from answering the phone, "Linda, that's your mother on the phone."

Linda looked at Susan for a moment, "Can you hold on for a moment Susan, I need to speak to my mother."

"Sure, go right ahead. I'm definitely NOT going anywhere!"

Linda walked up the phone and picked it up while looking over to where Susan was standing. "Hello Mom." She listened for a moment, "Yes Mom, I will be over in a little while" She listened a little more, "No Mom, everything is just fine and yes, I do have something I need to tell you. See you soon." With that, Linda hung the phone back up and sighed. How was she going to tell her Mother that she had fallen in love with another woman! Oh well, she would figure something out.

While Linda had been talking on the phone with her Mom, Susan was talking with Bev. "Don't worry Bev. Even though I just met Linda, I would never hurt her."

Bev stood back from Susan, took a long look at her and finally spoke her peace. "Susan, I know you and her just met by accident today but the way I saw you and Linda look at each other I knew something extraordinary was happening. Linda has been my friend for years now and I have NEVER seen her like that. I don't think she has ever felt this way before. She has dated in the past but only Men and has never, ever considered dating another woman unlike myself."

Susan took a look at Bev and finally realized that she really cared about Linda. "Bev, like I said, I will never hurt her. By the way, have you ever been to a bar called "Pieces?"

Bev was stunned, "As a matter of fact I have! Now I know where I've seen you before. But every time I've seen you there you've usually been with someone. What happened?"

"Well, the last woman I was with, I caught in bed with someone else and told her to get the hell out of my house!"

Bev laughed a little, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Evidently, some women are as bad as men when it comes to being faithful." Bev sighed

"Are you okay Bev?" Susan said quietly.

Bev considered what she was about to tell Susan, "Well, to tell you the truth Susan, I've been without anyone for a number of years now. My last relationship ended when my girlfriend had breast cancer and it was caught too late. She passed away about two years ago." Bev wiped away a tear that was coming down her face.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you ever want to talk, and even though we just met, I would be happy to listen. I do have a friend that has been through the same thing...if you want, I can tell her about you?"

Bev looked up in surprise and smiled, "That would be nice, thank you Susan."

Linda came walking up to the two of them, "Susan that was my mother on the phone. I'm afraid I can't get out of seeing her today. Can I get your phone number so I can call you later?"

Susan had a half smile on her face, "Sure, let me get a piece of paper and pen and I'll write it down for you." While Susan was writing down the information for Linda, Linda still couldn't believe what had happened. Here she was getting a phone number from one of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen and she had never even been with one.

"I have to go over my Mom's in a little while but I would like to continue this discussion over dinner tonight if possible?"

Susan was overjoyed at what she heard, "Sure Linda. I should be home in about an hour or so. I have to run more errands but give me a call a little later."

As she retrieved the piece of paper from Susan, their skin touched once again and both of them felt an electric tingle going through them once again. Linda looked at Susan dead in the eye, moved closer and gave her a little peck on the lips once again. Susan couldn't believe the feelings she was having for this stunning woman; they had just met but it felt as if she was meant to be with her.

Linda was thinking the same thing as her lips just grazed Susan's. As their lips parted both women smiled, "God Susan, I already miss you. Until tonight?"

Susan looked at Linda and smiled, "I can't wait." And with that Susan went up to the front counter to pay for her items and left.

After Susan left, Linda looked at Bev who was still stunned at what had occurred.

Bev noticed a single tear coming down Linda's face, "Come on Linda, let's go in the back and talk before you go."

After the talk she had with Bev, Linda was feeling a little more at ease with herself and whatever lay ahead for her. She was on her way to see her mother and hopefully her mother wouldn't be too angry with her daughter now that she was about to start dating? another woman!

Linda arrived at a beautiful colonial mansion set back from the street among the trees. She had lived there for years until college and had always loved this house. Even though her father had passed away years ago, her mother refused to move out to a smaller house. The house was paid for as was the 5 acres of land it sat on. Her father had been a major stockholder in Google, Microsoft and Cisco for years. When the stock market began its climb through the roof, he saw his stock double, triple and quadruple. After a while he sold the majority of the stock and retired. He was worth millions; then he passed suddenly from a heart attack, leaving all of his money to her mother.

She sighed as she made the walk from her vehicle to the front door. Before she had a chance to open it, the door swung open and her mother was standing in the doorway. "Well hello there young lady! It's about time you came and visited your old decrepit mother!" Her mother said laughing.

"Hello Mom...it's nice to see you too!"

Linda's mother was about as tall as Linda, had the same brunette curly hair and same color eyes. She was a stunning looking woman at the "ripe" old age of 54! As a matter of fact, whenever Linda and she went out shopping, they were usually mistaken for sisters!

"Well, come on in...don't just stand out here."

Linda and her mother walked through the foyer and into the kitchen area. This is where they normally held all of their mother and daughter talks. As they sat down, Linda's mother looked at her very successful daughter and saw something she hadn't seen in quite awhile; she was happy and had a look of love in her eyes!

"I suppose there's something you would like to tell me about Linda?"

Linda looked at her Mom and wasn't really surprised by her statement. After all, she could never hide anything from her mother. "I met someone today Mom." Linda said quietly.

"I had a feeling it was something like that. Why so quiet dear? Normally when you meet someone new, you're brimming with enthusiasm. You're very subdued today."

"This one is kind of different even for me Mom. I met this person today in the store. They were walking around looking for music and this person caught my eye and I haven't been able to get them out of my mind."

Linda's Mom noticed that when Linda mentioned this person, she didn't mention if it was a man...hmmm.

"Linda, are you in love?"

Linda was stunned into disbelief! She knew her mother was a very observant person but this was just unbelievable!

"Mom, what would you say if I was attracted to another woman?" Linda said almost too quietly for her mother to hear her.

Linda's mother just smiled, "Honey, I wouldn't be at all surprised by that fact. As a matter of fact, I've been waiting to tell you something for a number of years now."

Now Linda was really stunned, "You mean you wouldn't be surprised if I told you that I had fallen in love with another woman?"

"No, honey, not at all. As a matter of fact when I was younger, I had a relationship with a woman for a number of years. This was right before I met your father. Before I could tell her that I loved her and wanted to settle down with her, she moved out of town. I was devastated when that happened but I guess it was all for a good reason. She did write me and let me know that she met and married a wonderful man. She also let me know that she still loved me but she know nothing would come out of it except heartbreak. I know now that she was right."

Linda looked at her Mom and noticed a single tear started falling down her face.

She went over to her Mom and hugged her. "Mom, why didn't you tell me this earlier? I would have understood."

"Well, Linda, this was sometime ago when it was taboo to see two women or even two men together. Remember, this was in the 70's when homosexuality was never mentioned." Linda's mother reached into her pocket and brought out a picture of the woman. Linda gasped when she saw the picture it looked like Susan! The woman had red hair with green eyes and was the spitting image of Susan. "Mom, what was this woman's name?"

"Her name was Maureen O'Reilly. But when she married she took the last name of McKay. Why what's wrong sweetheart. It looks as if you've seen a ghost or something?"

"Mom, do you know if she had any children?"

"Well, the last time I had heard from her, she had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Just remember Linda, I haven't heard from her in over 20 years now. Is there a reason for this question?"

"Mom, you're not going to believe me but I met a woman today in the store who looks exactly like the picture you just showed me. Her name is Susan McKay!"

Now it was Linda's Mother's turn to be stunned. "Linda, did she look exactly like this photo?"

"Yes Mom, exactly like your photo. When she walked into the store, Bev had noticed her first and was following her around the store with her eyes when I inadvertently frightened her. Bev pointed to Susan and I felt something that I had never felt before; it was like an electric shock going through my entire body!"

"Linda, I don't know what to say, except I'm happy for you. It looks like everything that has happened to me and to you has happened for a reason. I still think about Maureen every so often and wondered what could have been. But then I remember how happy I was with your father and knew that I could never go back with her. Are you going to see this Susan anytime soon?"

Linda looked at her mother sheepishly, "Actually Mom, as soon as I get back home, I'm going to call her and set up a date for tonight. Can I take the photo of Susan's mom with me?"

"Of course you can sweetheart. Just do me a favor? Only show her the photo when you think she's ready for it, Okay?" Linda's mother said quietly.

Linda noticed that her mother was very quiet and looked like she was ready to cry at any moment. "I promise Mom."

"And you also have to tell me how your date went young lady! That is not an option." Linda's Mom snickered.

Linda looked at her mother and despite being 30; she went over and hugged her mother. "Where do you think I should take her on our first date Mom?"

"It depends on what you want to do on your first date; evidently you want to get to know each other but again you don't want to seem to anxious on the first date. I do have a question to ask you honey; did Susan feel the same thing towards you that you felt towards her?"

"As a matter of she did but there's also something else that I didn't tell you about...we kissed each other in the store Mom. But the weird thing is Mom it felt right. Does that make any sense at all?"

Linda's mother didn't know what to say about this. Deep down she knows that her daughter and this Susan McKay will probably be spending the rest of their lives together but she wasn't going to tell Linda this. "Honey, I think what happened to you was that destiny finally smiled upon you."

Linda was shocked, "Mom, Bev and I discussed this before I left to come over here. She told me that when two people are meant for each other, it can be felt like an electric shock or something like that. She explained it to me that it was something like meeting the other half of my soul. After talking to Susan, I would say that I have to agree with Bev."

"Well honey, from what you've told me so far, I would say that Bev is absolutely correct. You both feel that you've known each other for years and that you seem to be perfectly comfortable with each other already even though you two just met. I would say that it's definitely your destiny to be with Susan!"

"But Mom, we just met and what's so frightening is that Susan and I felt so comfortable kissing each other. Should it be like that?"

"Let me ask you a question first sweetheart; whenever you went out with any of the men that you dated, did you ever feel comfortable with any of them?"

Linda had to think a little bit about this question for a moment and when she considered her answer, she was very surprised by her answer, "Actually after thinking about it Mom, I would say that the answer to that question is no. I never felt really comfortable around any of the men that I dated." It was then that Linda realized that she had been gay all of her life and had been denying it.

Linda's Mom smiled at her only daughter. "Well, sweetheart you finally realized something that I knew your entire life... that you always liked women but only went with men because you just wanted to fit in with your friends!"

"You mean to tell me that you knew about me all this time and never led on or even hinted at that I was gay?" Linda was a little pissed at her mother for this but then realized that she was just protecting her.

"Let's just say that I realized it when you were about 13 and you had that sleepover for your birthday. I saw the way you and your friends played "spin the bottle" with each other as a joke but you took it kind of seriously, especially when you kissed your friend Lisa that night; After you kissed her, you looked at her like you had fallen in love with her. It was then I realized that you were gay but since I had that relationship when I was younger, I had no right to say anything about it. I did tell your father and he was very supportive also. He would have supported you if you had decided to come out then but since you had no idea what was happening at the time, the both of us decided to let it slide. So, you now have a decision to make regarding your future; should you decide to date Susan and come out as a Lesbian, I will support you fully Linda. On the other hand, should you decide not to and ignore the obvious signs pointing to it and more than likely breaking Susan's heart in the process, I will still support you."

Linda thought about what her mother had just told her and just sat there for a few moments before answering her mother. She was considering all of the possibilities about coming out as a Lesbian; her friends knowing, her co-workers, although she knew that Bev would support her regardless and after considering all of the possibilities, Linda Green then made the most momentous decision of her young life so far. "Mom, I think it's about time that I did what I think is right for me. I feel a connection to Susan and I'm going to follow my heart; I'm going to call Susan when I get home and set up a date for tonight. If everything goes the way that I think it will, I have a feeling that Susan and I will probably be living together within the next few months."

"I'm very happy for you dear. It's about time you did something for yourself instead of pleasing other people. Go home call Susan and enjoy yourself."

Linda's mom got up and hugged her daughter. Linda wrapped her arms around her Mother and whispered, "I love you Mom. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

While Linda was over at her Mom's, Susan was at home listening to the new Renaissance CD and contemplating what had happened earlier in the day with Linda. She still couldn't believe what had happened; she and Linda had actually kissed in the store and it felt so right! It seemed that destiny had finally smiled upon her. She looked over at her parent's photograph that was sitting on the end table and looked kind of sad. They had been killed when she was only 21 but had left her millions of dollars of Microsoft stock. She had been self-sufficient since then and had no desire to be tied down to anyone. Until now, when she thought of Linda a smile appeared on her face and considered a life with her. The phone ringing broke her out of her train of thought. "Hello?" She listened for a moment and realized it was Linda setting up the date for the evening. She gave Linda her address and set up a time to pick her up. Linda was taking her to Houston's Restaurant in the new section of town. She had wanted to go there but never found the time.

After hanging up the phone with Susan, Linda felt something she hadn't felt in a while, excitement. And something else, Love. She started getting ready for the date tonight with a nice long relaxing bath. As she carefully soaped herself all over she paid attention to her tits and pussy. She massaged herself as she thought about Susan; she started tweaking her nipples and worked her way down to her pussy. She carefully ran her fingertips over her labia carefully working her fingers into her pussy. As Linda ran her fingers inside and out of her pussy, she started stroking her clit eventually building up to a thunderous orgasm. As she came down from her high, her mind started to clear and all she could think about was Susan. WOW, she thought, she couldn't wait to see Susan tonight.

On the other side of town, Susan was in the process of getting dressed for her date with Linda. She couldn't explain the attraction she had towards this woman but she sure as hell wasn't going to deny the fact that she was drawn towards Linda Green. She seemed familiar yet Susan knew that she had never met her, at least not in this life anyway.

Susan had her whole ensemble laid out for the evening; a Vera Wang black dress that she had splurged on about a year ago. It came right above her knees and had one strap over her right shoulder and the other shoulder was bare. The first time she wore it she had wowed Kathy. She figured she would wear it tonight and hope that everything turned out okay. She placed a string of pearls around her neck and topped it off with Chanel. As she was walking downstairs, she heard the doorbell. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her hands were very sweaty.

Linda was standing at the door and thinking (and hoping) that she wore the appropriate outfit for tonight. She had picked her Kay Unger designer dress that she got not too long ago. It was a green satin color with both shoulders revealed.

It was about two inches above her knees, which showed her gorgeous long legs.

The door opened and Linda felt her heart rate increase; she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen standing in front of her. When Susan opened the door and saw Linda standing there, she almost fainted. Standing in her doorway was an angel; electricity was flowing through her as soon as she saw Linda. Both women moved towards each other and kissed each other very softly on the lips.

"God, I've missed you Susan. You look absolutely ravishing!" Linda said quietly.

"The same could be said of you Linda. You're absolutely beautiful." Susan almost said too quietly.

They walked towards each other again they hugged each other. Both women were feeling things they had never felt before; companionship but mainly love for another person. Susan laid her head on Linda's shoulder and immediately felt that she had known Linda her entire life. Unbeknown to Susan, Linda was feeling the same thing. "I'm sorry Linda, come on in. I've forgotten my manners."

As Linda walked into Susan's home, she noticed how well furnished and decorated it was. It wasn't over done as many homes as she's seen but very tastefully done. She walked over to the fireplace and noticed that she had some family photographs on the mantel of the fireplace. In one of the photos there was a picture of her, her mother and father. It must have been taken when Susan was around 16 or so. It looked like a very loving family.

As Linda was looking at the photograph, Susan was watching every move Linda made. Susan still couldn't believe that this gorgeous woman was standing in her home! "Well, what do you think of my house?" Asked Susan.

Linda was still staring at the photo, especially of Susan's mother. "Oh, I'm sorry Susan. I was looking at this photo of your family. What was it you asked me?"

"What do you think of my house?"

Linda carefully placed the photo back down. "I think your home is absolutely lovely. From what I've seen so far, you've done an excellent job decorating it. Did your mother help you with it?" After seeing the expression on Susan's face, she immediately regretted asking that question.

"My parents passed away when I was 21. They died in a car accident. I miss them terribly and think of them often." Susan said softly.

Linda walked over to Susan and took her in her arms. "I'm sorry Susan, I didn't know." She felt Susan's arms tighten around her and thought she heard her crying. Linda caressed the back of Susan's head lightly and thought to herself she felt so at home holding Susan like this.

At the same time Linda was thinking that, Susan was sobbing on Linda's shoulder tightening her grip on Linda not wanting to let go. She hadn't cried like this in a while. It felt good holding someone who cared about her. She slowly stopped crying and backed off from Linda a little bit. She looked into Linda's eyes and saw something she didn't think she would ever see again; unrequited love. Even though they had just met earlier in the day, it felt as if Susan had known Linda all of her life. She moved closer to Linda and gently kissed her.

Linda was holding onto Susan as if her life depended on it. She had never felt this way about anybody before. She wanted to protect this woman she was holding the rest of her life and it frightened her but at the same time it also excited her. She felt Susan loosen her grip on her and watched her back up just a little. When she felt Susan's lip on hers, she tasted the salty tears and shuddered with excitement! They kissed again but a little longer this time. When their lips separated, they looked each other in the eyes and smiled. "Susan, I don't know about you but if you still want to go to dinner, I would clean up a little!"

They were still holding onto each other, "Actually I would rather stay here but since we are dressed to go out, let me go freshen up then we can go." Susan gave Linda a little peck on the lips then went to go take care of her makeup.

While Susan was getting ready again, Linda looked around the house and really noticed it this time. It really was a beautiful home; it felt comfortable, looked lived in but most of all, it was a home to settle down in. She started thinking about her own house and how nice Susan's house is. Linda walked over to the stereo system to see what it consisted of and she was surprised to see that it was of very high quality separates: the speakers themselves were Polk Audio reference speakers that alone were very expensive; A Denon CD player, a SOTA Turntable with a Grace cartridge, an old Nakamichi Dragon cassette player which is still considered the best in the world even though it was a few years old, Conrad Johnson tube amplifier along with a Conrad Johnson pre-amplifier. Linda was very impressed with the setup but what impressed her more was Susan's CD collection. It looked like she had hundreds of CD's but was impressive was the variety of artists; she noticed her Renaissance collection, Susan's Beatle collection which she had them all, jazz, blues, Kate Bush, Hayley Westenra, etc. Linda was bowled over by the variety. It looked like her collection at home and then she realized that her and Susan had almost the exact same taste in music.

While Linda was looking over Susan's stereo and CD collection, Susan had quietly come back in and watched Linda. She was still amazed that this beautiful woman was standing in her house! Susan made a coughing noise so she wouldn't startle Linda too much.

Linda turned around to see Susan, "Well, I see that you're still as beautiful as when you left a little while ago. You ready to go eat?"

"Just let me grab my purse and we can go."

As they walked out of the house, Susan noticed Linda's car in front; it was a Lexus GS350 with all wheel drive. It was a mercury metallic color (at least that's what Linda called it) with a light grey leather interior and wood paneling. It was a beautiful vehicle. "Linda, your car is absolutely gorgeous!"

"Why thank you Susan. I waited for a while before I actually decided on what car to buy. I was debating on a BMW but I was reading Consumer Reports and other magazines stating that the quality of those cars along with Mercedes had gone down over the last few years. After reading the review on this car, that's when I decided on purchasing this one. I'm glad you like it." She smiled at Susan.

On their way to Houston's they made small talk; what their likes and dislikes were, their life in general, etc. They found they had quite a bit in common; musical tastes, art, the usual. They waited until they got to the restaurant to get into the "heavier" conversation, which they both knew would happen.

They arrived at Houston's at about 6:00pm. At that time the restaurants business was just starting to pick up for the dinner rush. They were immediately seated towards the back of the restaurant, which suited them both in a booth. As they looked over the menu, a young lady came over to their table. "Good evening ladies. Welcome to Houston's. My name is Lydia and I'll be your hostess for the evening. Would you like to start with some drinks?"

Linda was looking over at Susan and noticed her nodding her head. "Thank you. I will have a glass of Pinot Gris, please."

Susan looked wide-eyed at her, "I will have the same thing. Thank you."

After Lydia left to get them their drinks, both women started laughing, "I can't believe we got the same drink Linda?"

"I know, that happens to be my favorite. What about you?"

"I still can't believe this is happening. It's my favorite too! I wonder what else we have in common besides music, drinks and the other things we talked about in the car."

They started perusing the menu to see what Houston's had to offer them. Several items caught Linda's eye and at the same time the same items caught Susan's eye.

Lydia came back with the wine. "Well ladies, have you had a chance to look over the menu and make a decision yet?"

"As a matter of fact we have. I will have the seared tuna steak with a house salad with vinaigrette dressing on the side. Thank you." Linda said.

"And I will have your double cut pork chop with a Caesar salad please. Thank you."

"Both are very good choices. Let me go place your order." Lydia grabbed the menus and left.

Linda and Susan both looked at each other and started blushing. This was so totally new for Linda that she didn't know where to start. "That's' okay Linda, I know exactly how you feel. A friend seduced me when I was only 13 and loved it. I have had no feelings for men since that time."

"But this is so different for me Susan. I've never had these feelings for anyone before. The men I've dated in the past I never felt anything for. I just went out with them because I thought that's what was expected of me. If I tell you something, you promise not to tell anyone?"

Susan was looking at Linda wide eyed and wondered what she had to tell her, "I promise Linda."

"Well, when I was at my mothers today, we were having one of those mother-daughter talks. After I had told her that I was attracted to another woman she then proceeded to tell me something that had happened back when I was a teenager."

As Linda was talking to her, Susan's eyes just widened at the fact that she had just told her that she was attracted to her, which of course she already knew!

"My mother told me that when I turned 13 and had a sleepover for my birthday, a bunch of my friends were joking around and were playing spin the bottle with each other. Well, when other girls pretended to kiss each other, when my turn came, I actually kissed one of my friends! Since my Mother was chaperoning the party that night, she noticed my reaction to the kiss and didn't say anything. Well, when my friend Lisa kissed me back, something happened to me; I liked it, liked it a lot Susan! I think what happened back then has led me to this point in my life."

"I don't think I understand Linda. You kissed your friend and she kissed you back but you liked it. But until you met me, you never even considered dating or going with another woman, why now?"

Linda looked at this lovely woman and decided, "Susan, I'm gay." Linda said quietly. "I didn't realize it till I saw you in the store earlier today and after my talk with my mother, I realized what she said made sense. Look, I know we've only known each other since earlier in the day but I'm very attracted to you."

Susan was overjoyed at hearing what Linda just said but kept her calm. "Linda, I don't know what to say. I'm very attracted to you too!"

Linda reached over and very gently took Susan's hands into hers, "Susan I don't know how this happened so fast but I've fallen for you. I find this very frightening but exciting at the same time. I think I'm falling in love with you." Linda said almost too quietly.

Susan looked into Linda's eyes and could see nothing but love in them. "Linda, I feel the same towards you. I wish I knew how this happened so fast but I'm not fighting it."

They were both looking into each other's eyes and didn't hear Lydia come back with their food. Lydia was blushing furiously as she caught the two ladies in a tender moment. "I'm sorry. I can come back if you would like."

"That's ok Lydia. We're ready for the food. Thank you." Linda said smiling.

As they ate their dinner each of them was lost in their own thoughts. In between bites of food they talked about their lives or whatever came up. The longer they talked, the more the two women felt destiny bringing them together. As they were finishing up the main course, Lydia came back and filled up their wine glasses.

"How did you like the meal?"

Susan looked up at the young woman and smiled, "The meal was perfect, thank you."

"Yes it was an excellent meal Lydia, thank you."

Lydia started blushing again. "Would you like to look at the dessert menu now?"

"I think that would be a great idea, thank you." Linda said smiling.

Both of them took a quick glance at the menu and knew exactly what they were going to get. "Lydia, I think I will have the Warm Five Nut Brownie, thank you."

Susan's eyes opened wide, "Hey, that's what I was going to get. I'll take the same thing Lydia, thank you."

"I'll be right back with your desserts."

Before they knew it, Lydia had returned with their desserts.

"Enjoy ladies."

They were both quiet as they enjoyed their desserts. The mixture of the brownie, nuts and fudge mixed in was delicious! Evidently they were both savoring the dessert so much that they didn't even notice that Lydia had come back with the check.

"It looks like you are both enjoying the dessert so much that I didn't want to interrupt you two."

Linda looked up sheepishly, "Sorry Lydia but yes, we were both enjoying this absolutely decadent dessert. Thank you for asking. Just leave the check and we will take care of it."

After Lydia left the check, Susan looked at Linda with a little blush on her face, "Well Linda, what else do you have planned for tonight?" She asked innocently.

"It depends on you Susan. It's a beautiful evening out. What would you like to do?"

"Well, the park is not too far away and it is very well lit. And there are usually a number of people walking around the pond at this hour. What do you think?"

Linda looked at this extremely lovely lady, smiled and very quietly said, "I think that's a wonderful idea. We can talk and get to know each other even better."

Since Linda was the one that invited Susan to dinner, she took care of the check carefully leaving a sizeable tip for Lydia. Linda beckoned Lydia over, "Here you go Lydia and thank you for the great service. Have a nice evening."

"Ladies, enjoy the rest of the evening and please come back." Lydia said smiling at the two women.

Linda and Susan left the restaurant and headed towards Linda's car. After they got into the car, Linda steered it towards the park and their destiny.

They arrived at the park in ten minutes and Linda was able to find a great parking space. She parked the car and immediately went around to Susan's side and opened the door for her.

Susan was very surprised by this but extremely happy by Linda's thoughtfulness.

"Thank you for opening the door for me Linda. I appreciate it."

"Well, that's the least I can do for a beautiful woman." Linda said smiling.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" Susan quipped.

"You will just have to find out in time, won't you?" Linda said.

As Susan stepped out of the car, Linda shut the door and grabbed Susan's hand entwining their fingers together, which surprised her. They looked deeply into each other's eyes, moved closer and kissed. Their lips' lingering on each other's just long enough to portray true passion and not lust!

"Come on Susan, let's go for our walk." They started their walk but did not let go of each other's hands.

They walked around a little bit just taking in the serenity of the location; the pond with the ducks paddling around, the people walking around in couples holding hands, some kissing showing their affection for each other in public. They came to some tables and sat down. They sat down very close together and started talking about their lives.

"Linda, how long have you had that store?"

"Well, I started it after I inherited money when my Grandparents died. I've always loved music and wanted to start my own music store. I never realized how successful it would become!"

"Your store is just amazing Linda. I was able to find everything I was looking for today plus a bonus!" Susan smiled.

Linda realized what Susan just said and blushed up a storm!

"Thank you Susan. I am very proud of the store. It took me a while to get it where it is today. But Bev helped me out also. She has a very extensive knowledge of the music industry and what's popular and not in today's world. I'm glad that I met her when I did. Now, what do you do Susan?"

"Well, I'm a part time accountant with a major firm in the city. I really don't need the job because I inherited shares of Microsoft stock when my parents passed away. They were worth millions then and when I decided to cash them in, they were worth even more! So, I really don't have to work if I don't want to. I like the feeling of independence the money gives me. More than likely I will probably leave the firm within the next week or two. I'm getting tired of the office politics there. And besides, I think something better is right around the corner!" As Susan said this, she was staring at Linda.

Linda stood up and offered her hand to Susan to help her stand. As they stood, Linda grabbed Susan around the waist with both hands and pulled her towards her. Susan looked at the passion in Linda's eyes and wrapped her arms around Linda's neck. Their lips were only a fraction of an inch away from each other when Linda shocked Susan with her next move. In a very delicate and smooth move, Linda started kissing Susan; she started by pressing her lips against Susan's but due to the passion in her, it soon escalated to full blown open mouth, tongue twisting deep soul kiss. The kiss must have lasted a good ten minutes when they broke apart gasping for breath.

"WOW! That was incredible Linda." Susan said quietly and placed her forehead against Linda's.

Linda just stared deeply into Susan's eyes and realized that she was deeply in love with her already. The question was, should she tell Susan or hold off. She made a split second decision that would change her life even though she wouldn't realize it for years to come. "Susan, this is very frightening for me but I have to say this now or I never will, I Love You. I don't know how this happened so fast but it did. I am totally in love with you; I never want to be without you." She said quietly but just enough so that Susan could hear her.

Susan eye's opened wide after Linda made that statement but wasn't at all that surprised. After all, she felt the same way about Linda. "Linda, would it surprise you if I felt the same way about you? I love you too and it frightens me because of the intensity of my feelings toward you." Susan looked into Linda's eyes and noticed tears falling down her lovely face. She gently wiped them away and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Come on; let's go back to my house." Linda just nodded and took Susan's hand and led her back to her car.

After they arrived back at Susan's house and were standing at the front door, Susan looked at Linda, "You sure about this Linda?"

Linda looked at Susan and with no reservations in her voice; she said very quietly, "Yes, I'm very sure about this."

After Susan had closed the door, Susan turned around and faced Linda. She then backed Linda up to the door and started kissing her. She started out by running her tongue around the outside of Linda's lips causing her to groan with anticipation. After running her tongue around Linda's lips, she started sucking on her bottom lip causing Linda to almost collapse in Susan's arms. Thank god Susan was holding her up otherwise she would have been on the floor. As Susan continued her assault on Linda's lower lip, Linda started kissing back. Their tongues started twisting and rolling inside of each other's mouths. Susan would tease Linda's tongue by sucking it into her mouth and Linda would chase Susan's tongue into her mouth and suck it on gently driving Susan crazy. After fifteen minutes of kissing passionately, they broke apart breathing hard. Susan grabbed Linda's hand and led her to the bedroom.

They entered Susan's bedroom and the first thing that Linda noticed was the king size bed. It was enormous! The bedroom itself was decorated very fashionably; besides being a king size bed, it was also a four-poster bed with a canopy, very romantic! Before she could see anymore of the room, Susan had backed her against the bed and started gently kissing around her neck, which made her weak in the knees. Susan stopped kissing her and started undressing her. After she finished undressing Linda, Susan started undressing herself but Linda stopped her, "Let me undress you, please Susan?"

Susan just nodded noticing the passion in Linda's eyes. Linda undressed her as slowly as possible and when she finished Vera Wang had joined Kay Unger on the floor. Linda stepped back and looked at Susan and her breath caught in her throat; in front of her stood one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

Linda gently picked up Susan and proceeded to lay her down on the bed. Linda followed by crawling up beside Susan and started gently caressing her. During the course of the evening, both ladies would express their love for each other many times that night.

Right after one of their lovemaking sessions, Susan had to wake up to relieve herself. Right before she crawled back into bed next to Linda, she just stood there staring at this goddess sleeping in her bed and her emotions started to overflow; she never thought that she would find someone so compatible, so in tune with her own emotions that she actually thought about giving up the search. Then came yesterday and the visit to Linda's store; was it fate or coincidence? She would never know but she was ecstatic that she did. Before she crawled back into bed, Linda had woken up and was searching for Susan. When she turned over, she saw her standing there staring at her. "Susan, is everything alright?"

"Everything is perfect my love." Susan said quietly as she crawled back into bed spooning in front of Linda. Linda sighed as she wrapped her arms around her newfound life partner and fell back into wonderful deep sleep.

The sound of thunder woke Linda up that morning. She was confused by where she was and then realized what had happened last night; Linda was for the first time in her life, deeply in love with another person and didn't regret anything she did last night. Before she unraveled herself from Susan's arms, she thought about everything that had happened yesterday; from the chance meeting in her store, to the kiss, dinner and finally the two of them making love almost all night long. She felt warmth that had been missing her entire life and now had someone to share her life with. As she looked down at Susan, she started caressing Susan's red hair very gently. Susan's eye's opened and stared into her lover's eyes, "Good morning gorgeous." Susan quietly said.

"Good morning to you to sweetheart." Linda said as she placed a gentle kiss on Susan's lips. "Hmmm, you taste very nice in the morning, do you know that?" Linda said with a smile on her face.

Susan heard a crack of thunder and snuggled closer to Linda. "No I didn't but now that you say it, you don't taste too bad yourself!" Susan quipped.

They both laughed and tried to snuggle closer to each other. "Since it seems to be raining right now, why don't we see what I have for breakfast or we can go out for some. What would you like to do Linda?"

"Hmmm, if I had a choice in the matter, I would love to stay in bed all day and make wild passionate love with the woman that I would like to share the rest of my life with." Linda said quietly.

Susan stared at Linda and felt tears starting to roll down her lovely face. She had wanted to hear that for so long now that she almost gave up. Linda saw the tears and immediately thought she had said something wrong. "I'm sorry if I said something wrong Susan."

"Linda, you didn't say anything wrong, you said something right! I've been waiting to hear those words for so long now, it just touched my emotions off and I couldn't hold it in. I feel the same way and would love to remain with you the rest of my life." Susan quietly said and touched her lips very gently to Linda's.

Linda was so thrilled with what Susan said, that she couldn't contain herself any longer. As Susan's lips pressed very gently on hers, the passion started building once again in the two women. As their mouths opened and their tongues dueled together, Susan's tears mixed in with her saliva giving the kiss a little salty flavor.

"Mmmm... your kisses are soooo delicious Susan, even with your tears mixed in with them!"

"Linda, you are so bad!" Exclaimed Susan.

"You have no idea how bad I can be!" Linda said.

They continued to kiss and fondle for a little while longer until they heard their stomachs growl with hunger. "Well, I guess that's a hint that we need to eat breakfast. Since I didn't bring a change of clothes with me, I will need to head back home. I know this is a dumb question to ask but, do you want to come back to my place and wait for me to change?"

"I would love to come back with you. I would like to see your place and decide where to live." Susan quipped.

They arrived at Linda's house about 30 minutes later. As they got out of Linda's car, the first thing Susan noticed was the wrap around porch and the swinging chair. It was a beautiful house from the outside so she could imagine it was the same on the inside. They entered the house and what struck Susan about it was how comfortable it looked. It didn't have the impression of a museum but it gave off the impression that someone actually lived here and enjoyed living here. Linda tossed her pocket book down and didn't notice a picture that had partially come out of it. "Susan, I'm going upstairs to take a quick shower. You want to wait down here or come upstairs?"

Susan walked over to Linda and placed her arms around Linda's neck and gave her little peck on her lips. "Go ahead and take your shower. I'll wait down here and familiarize myself with your house." She gave Linda another peck on the lips before Linda went upstairs.

Susan wandered around Linda's downstairs and marveled at everything. In the dining room was a solid oak dining table with the matching oak chairs. There was a matching oak credenza with fine china situated in it. It was lovely. She wandered into the family/living room and the first thing she noticed was a pair of big speakers on either side of a very impressive stereo system. Her eyes widened when she started looking at the separate components of the system.

Linda had a Krell hybrid power amplifier with a mixture of tubes and electronics in it, a Krell pre-amplifier, a top of the line Denon CD player along with an actual turntable for vinyl records. But the speakers were the crown jewel of the system. They were a pair of Wilson Audio MAXX speakers, which were some of the best in the world. She just stared at these. Susan wondered how much time Linda spent listening to her system.

Susan continued to wander around and walked into the foyer on the way to another room when she looked down and saw Linda's pocket book. Sticking out of the pocket book was a photo of a red haired woman and Susan just had to look at it. When she picked it up she gasped. It was her mother when she was younger! How did Linda get this picture she wondered?

Susan went back into the living room to sit down and that's when the tears started. And that's where Linda found her when she came downstairs after cleaning up.

"Susan, what's wrong?" Linda said. And that's when she noticed the photo in Susan's hand. Linda started to tremble as she walked toward Susan.

"Linda, where did you get this photo of my mother?" Susan said between sobs.

Linda didn't know what to say. She sat down besides Susan, grasped her hands gently and proceeded to tell her the truth.

After listening to Linda's explanation and more tears being spilled she held Linda like her life depended on it. She felt so at home in this house and in Linda's arms.

"I still can't believe that our mother's had an affair so long ago. Could that be one of the reasons that we feel so comfortable with one another Linda?" Susan asked after wiping her eyes.

"I really don't know Susan but the one thing I do know, right now with you in my arms, I will never ever, let you go. After talking with my mother yesterday and remembering the talk I had with Bev, I believe that we were destined to be together and that fate or whatever it was, brought us together." Linda lifted Susan's face up and very gently placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Susan looked into that face and knew then that both of them would be together the rest of their lives. "I would like to meet your mother Linda."

"I think I can arrange that. When would you like to meet her?"

"Can we get out there this afternoon?"

"Let me call her and find out if she's busy first. Sometimes on Sunday's she is usually out bicycle riding but since it's raining out, that will change." Linda said with a smile because she noticed Susan was still holding her hand.

Linda picked up the phone that was sitting next to her and dialed her Mom's number. "Hello Mom?" Linda listened for a while. "Yes Mom, the date was perfect and yes Mom, Susan is still with me. She found the photo of her mother and she wants to come over and meet you." Linda listened a little more. "Today at 3:00pm?" She looked over at Susan who nodded. "We will see you at 3:00 then. See you then Mom. I love you."

"I can't wait to meet your mother Linda. It's a chance to ask her what my mother was like back then. My mother never told me that she had an affair with a woman. I guess she just wanted me to find out on my own that I was attracted to other women." Susan said with excitement.

Linda looked at Susan; "You ready to go for breakfast now?"

"As ready as I'll ever be sweetheart. Where are we going anyway?"

"We are going to a place that serves the best breakfast in the city. And I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm going to let it be a surprise." Linda was grinning.

As Linda was driving towards their destination, Susan decided to turn on the cars' audio system. As she turned it on, the sounds of Renaissance came out of the cars speakers and mesmerized her. She could never get tired of Renaissance but this was the one she heard yesterday in the store but had yet to listen to at home. She just sat there listening to the opening strains of Lady from Tuscany and was immediately entranced by the song and Annie Haslam's vocals. Linda looked over at Susan and smirked because that was the way she felt when she first heard this CD. "It's beautiful isn't it Susan?"

"It's one of the most enchanting songs I've ever heard her sing. She's got such a remarkable voice that I never get tired of listening to her. By the way, do you have her solo work?"

Linda smiled, "Now what kind of a Renaissance fan would I be if I didn't have her solo work? The CD that has the song "Celestine" is still my favorite one."

Susan was stunned because that was her favorite solo Annie Haslam also. "Linda, this has got to stop." Susan said giggling. "That one is my favorite solo CD also!"

"I know what you mean. It seems that every time we talk about music, art or books, one of us either has read it or has it! But you know something Susan; it's wonderful that we have the same taste in just about everything!" Linda giggled herself. "Oh, here we are!"

Susan looked up and saw what looked like a deli. The name seemed familiar but she knew that she had never been here before. The deli was called Parkway Deli. "I hope this is a good place for breakfast Linda?"

"Oh believe me; you will absolutely LOVE the food in this place. I fell in love with it some years ago."

As they entered the deli, Susan noticed that it had that old world look and flavor of what a real deli should be. The hostess led them to a table and then left.

They were looking over the menu when a young lady came over. "Good morning ladies. My name is Helen and I will be your waitress this morning. While you're looking at the menu, would you like anything to drink?"

Susan looked up at Helen, "Yes please. I will have a cup of coffee."

"And I will have the same, thank you." Linda told her.

As they perused the menu, Linda found the perfect breakfast for her; Salmon, eggs and onions better known as Lox, eggs and onions along with a toasted sesame bagel with plain cream cheese. Susan was looking at the wide variety of items for breakfast and wasn't quite sure what to make a certain item. But when she saw what it was in the explanation column, she decided on the same thing that Linda was having.

Helen came back, "Well ladies, have you decided what you're having for breakfast?"

Linda started out, "Yes as a matter of fact we are both ready. I will have your Lox, eggs and onions along with a toasted sesame bagel. Thank you."

After hearing what Linda was having she still couldn't believe how close the two of them were in their likes and dislikes. "And I will have the same thing except I will have a toasted everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Thank you."

Helen looked a little closer at the two of them and noticed a closeness about the two she hadn't noticed before. She smiled a little. "Thank you ladies. Let me go place this order for you."

Linda looked into Susan's eyes, "You know Susan, this is starting to get a little strange now. It seems that we have more in common than we actually do. But to tell you the truth, I like it."

Susan reached across the table and placed her left hand on top of Linda's right hand. "Linda, I don't even question it anymore. Ever since we met in your store, it seems that everything just seems to be falling into place. Our compatibility, even our mother's relationship; it seems we were meant to be, and I'm very happy about it."

They were looking at each other so intently that they didn't even notice the person standing in front of them!

"Hello Linda. I'm glad I stopped in for a bite before I got to the store today." Bev said.

Linda looked up into Bev's eyes and started blushing. "Hi Bev, you startled me there. You remember Susan don't you?"

Bev was smirking a little bit, "Now how can I forget a woman who kissed my best friend in the store!"

Susan looked over at Linda who nodded, "Bev, would you like to sit down and eat with us?"

Bev looked at the two women sitting there and realized they were holding hands; they were in love! "You sure you two don't mind?"

"Come on Bev. Sit down and have some breakfast with us before you head out to the store." Linda said with finality.

Bev sat down across from the two women and smiled at them. "Well Linda, from the look you two have, I guess your date went well last night?"

Linda blushed furiously now, "Well, uh, let's just say that it was a VERY successful date Bev and leave it at that, okay?"

"Don't worry Linda. I had a feeling something was going to happen between you two after that kiss. I'm just happy you two found each other and hope you're happy together." Bev said quietly.

Linda looked over at Bev who thought she saw a flicker of sadness on her face. "Thank you Bev. I appreciate it." While they were talking, Helen came on over and asked for Bev's order. After she left, they ladies started talking again. "Well, how did yesterday go at the store?"

"After Tom came in and I gave him the news about the contest win, he was so happy I doubt his feet even touched the floor all night. Oh yes, we also beat last years figures by a good 35 percent!"

"Now that IS excellent news Bev. By the way, Susan and I were talking on the way over here and she told me that she has a friend who is interested in meeting you! Would you be interested Bev?"

Bev's eye's opened wide, "I guess so. Its' been so long that I've kind of forgotten what it's like to date." Bev said it so quietly that Linda was worried about her friend.

Susan looked at Linda who nodded her head, "Here's her information Bev. She's really very nice, down to earth and loves music. You two will have a lot in common."

Bev took a look at the slip of paper and smiled a little bit, "Thank you Susan. I appreciate it. From the look on my best friends face right now I would say that she's definitely in love. And yes, I think you two make a very nice couple."

Now Linda was really surprised, "Why thank you Bev. I knew that you would support me without any problems. What about the rest of the staff?"

"Linda, don't worry about the rest of them. If they support me, I know they'll wind up supporting you. Besides, if they don't, you can always fire them! After all, you are the boss." Bev started laughing which got Susan and Linda laughing too.

At about that time, Helen brought out the food and the ladies dug in. Since Susan had never before had "Lox" from the first moment her taste buds encountered it, she was hooked. "Linda, this is soooo good. I still can't believe that I'm eating this fish and enjoying it!"

"Well Susan, if you really think about it, you're really eating salmon. That's what Lox really is!" Linda laughed at her girlfriend.

While Bev was eating her cheese omelet she was watching the interplay between Linda and Susan and was mildly jealous of what they had together in so short a time. She was only hoping for the same thing after calling up this woman on the piece of paper that Susan gave her.

Linda was enjoying the moment with her new found girlfriend and her best friend. She was thinking that life couldn't get any better than this at this moment in time. Little did she know what Susan had in store for her later this afternoon over at her mother's?

As they were finishing up their meals, Bev looked at her watch and didn't notice how late it was. "Linda, I really have to get going. I didn't realize how late it was."

"Don't worry about the meal Bev. I'll treat you this morning. Give everyone my best and oh yes, ask Leslie and Tom how they liked the concert last night."

"You know Linda, until you mentioned it; I totally forgot that the Meatloaf concert was last night. I'll let you know what happened!"

"And Bev, please don't forget to call that woman that Susan gave you the phone number please? I have a feeling that it's a good thing." Linda said smiling.

After Bev left to go open the store, Linda and Susan had a conspiratorial talk about Bev. "Susan, do you think that Bev will call your friend Lisa?"

"Well, from my conversation yesterday with her before you came over, she has been very interested in meeting her for a while now. That's one of the reasons that she's always in your store; the first time she saw Bev last year, she was smitten with her but wasn't quite sure how to go about asking her out. Besides, every time she tried to talk with her, she always noticed Bev staring at you!" Susan informed Linda.

Now it was Linda's turn to be surprised. "Susan, I always knew Bev was gay but never realized that she had a crush on me until now! I guess because we are so close as friends, she never wanted to jeopardize that friendship. I just hope that when they get together, they realize that they have a lot in common."

"You and me both Linda." Susan said smiling.

Helen noticed they were done and came back over. "Would you two like anymore coffee ladies?"

"Actually, we would like something sweet to eat right now Helen. What would you recommend?" Susan asked her.

"The cinnamon rolls her are to die for ladies. They are nice and big so one should be enough for the two of you. By the way, where did your friend run off to?"

"She had to go to work but we will pay for her meal Helen. Could you bring out two cinnamon rolls please? We are going to take one with us when we leave.

Thank you." Linda said.

"Be right back with two of them."

As the two ladies sat there in blissful silence, Susan was hoping that Linda's mother would go along with her plan for the two of them. She was hoping that she didn't scare Linda off with her plan but she doubted it very much.

Helen came back with the two cinnamon rolls with one placed in a wax bag to keep its freshness.

As the two women dug into the very fresh and hot cinnamon roll, they were immediately rewarded with a burst of cinnamon and sugar in their mouths. "Oh my god Linda this is so delicious!"

"Wow, I haven't tasted one this fresh in a long time. I forgot just how good they are freshly made."

Linda and Susan just sat there finishing up the rolls and drinking the remainder of their second cup of coffee. Helen was walking over towards them. "Is there anything else I can get for you ladies?"

"No thank you Helen. Everything was perfect this morning. I'll take the check though." Susan asked her.

"Hey, I thought I was going to pay for it?" Linda said.

"Nope. Since you paid for dinner last night, this morning was my turn. Besides, it was the least I could do since you drove us over here!"

After Susan paid the check and left a nice tip for Helen, they were off. Since they still had a couple of hours to kill before they went over to Linda's mother's home, they decided to drive around a little bit.

Unknown to Linda, Susan had brought something special with her that had belonged to her mother. Susan smiled inwardly thinking about her plan and kept on going over and over it in her head. "Hello, earth to Susan. Didn't you hear what I just said?" Linda was speaking to her but didn't hear her until just now. "Sorry Linda, I was thinking how I was going to tell my boss at work tomorrow that I am leaving."

"You're going to tell your boss that you're leaving? Why?"

"You already know that I don't need a job but I've been working there just killing time not knowing what I was going to do. Now that you're in my life, there are certain things that I want to do with my life and working full time isn't one of them."

"Well, I still have my store to contend with but of course Bev really runs it anyway. I go in from time to time to see what's going on and to check in Bev every now and then though. She's the one that everyone comes to anyway. Besides, I trust Bev implicitly with running the place."

They both got quiet as Linda drove around the area a little; Linda's mind was on her visit this afternoon with her mother and girlfriend, Susan's mind was on how to approach Linda's mother with her knowledge of her mother's affair with Linda's mom. Well, whatever happened would happen thought Susan.

It was almost time to go to Linda's Mothers home so instead of wasting any more time, they headed towards their destiny.

As Linda made that turn into the very long driveway, Susan started having nervous fits and Linda noticed. "Settle down sweetheart. There's nothing to worry about. I've already told my mother all about you and she's anxious to meet you if only to tell you more about your mother."

She looked over at Linda and noticed that she was very calm about this meeting. Underneath though, she knew that Linda was a little nervous about this. Well, too late to turn back now.

As Linda parked her car, the door to the mansion opened and out stepped Linda's Mom. Susan looked at this extraordinarily beautiful woman and noticed the similarity between Linda and her mother immediately. Instead of looking like her mother, she looked more like an older sister. She was breathtaking for an older woman.

Linda was the first to greet her mother; Susan watched her go up to her mother and gave her a hug and a kiss. She then motioned for Susan to greet her mother. "Mom, this is Susan McKay. Susan, this is my Mother, Julia Green."

Linda's mother looked at Susan and had to blink her eyes to believe what she was seeing before her. Susan was the spitting image of her mother. What a beauty! Julia walked up to Susan and instead of shaking her hand, she hugged Susan!

When Linda's mother hugged her, she was beyond surprised. Susan wrapped her arms around Linda's mom and hugged her back. Surprisingly she heard Linda's mother crying!

Susan pulled back as did Julia; they looked into each other's eyes and smiled at each other. Julia wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry for the emotional outburst Susan. It's just that you're the spitting image of your mother and I was so in love with her at the time."

"That's okay Mrs. Green. I understand because I'm so in love with your daughter."

"Please call me Julia, Susan and it's a pleasure to meet you. I have a lot of stories to tell you about your mother. I would imagine that you have a lot of questions about her yourself?"

"I think that would be an understatement that I have a lot of questions about my mother!"

They both laughed at that and all three women went into the house.

As the three of them entered the house, Susan was looking around and was astonished by the size of it. The foyer itself was the size of her kitchen at home but the thing that she was really amazed by was the spiral staircase leading upstairs. It was quite an amazing site. Susan followed Linda and her mother through several rooms and finally into the kitchen.

"Would you two like something to drink?"

"I would like an iced tea if you have some?" Susan asked hopefully.

"Make that two of them Mom. Thanks" Linda asked her also.

"I think I can rustle some iced tea up for you ladies. Make yourself comfortable. I think it's going to be a long afternoon."

As Julia got the ice tea out of the refrigerator, Linda looked over at Susan and smiled. She reached over and grasped her left hand with her right hand gently stroking it with her thumb. Julia came back over and noticed the affection and just smiled. She wondered what would have happened if Susan's mother would have stayed around. But then she realized that Linda would not have been born and she would have never met her husband who gave her a wonderful life.

"Here you go you two. Some nice cold iced tea on a very wet day!" Julia smirked.

As they started in on their ice tea's Julia looked over at Susan and still couldn't believe the similarities in her and her mother. "Susan, if it's not too painful, how long ago did your mother pass away?"

Susan sighed, "I guess it's been a little over five years now. They were both killed in an auto accident right after I turned 21." Susan wiped away a tear that was coming down her face.

Linda saw this and moved to take Susan in her arms. Susan wrapped her arms around Linda and held on. "I'm sorry Susan. It was just that I was so in love with your mother at the time that I was heart broken when she moved out of the area." Julia said with a tear rolling down her face.

"I understand Julia. I miss my parents very much and it's been five years since they died." Susan told her still wrapped in Linda's arms.

"It seems that you're mother made the right choices though. You grew up to be a very beautiful young women, with a career, college degree and money. You seem to have made the right choices in your life; maybe not socially but then everyone makes mistakes in their life regarding that part of their life. I know I did when I was younger before I met your mom and then my husband. And I know that Linda made some bad choices also." Linda hearing that started to blush, "MOM! Susan didn't need to know that did she?"

"Well, if you two are going to be spending all your time together, she will need to know all about you, now won't she?" Julia said with a big smile on her face.

Linda and Susan just laughed at that. "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate that."

"Julia, do have you other stories to tell me about Linda just in case she happens to "forget" about them?"

"MOM, don't you even think about it!" Linda said with a cross looking face.

"Sorry sweetheart but a being a mother means that I get to embarrass you when I want to." Julia laughed

Susan also laughed causing Linda to laugh also. It was a great way to relax.

Julia looked over at the two, "Susan, do you love my daughter?"

Susan was taken by surprise by the question but realized that she did love Linda," Julia, when I first saw Linda in the store, I was stunned. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was plus something strange happened that had never happened to me before; when I saw Linda standing there, what felt like an electric shock passed through me and that had NEVER happened to me before."

Linda looked over at her girlfriend, "The same thing happened to me to Mom. It was just the strangest sensation I've ever had. It was like I found something that I've been looking for my entire life. I've never felt so comfortable with anyone like I do with Susan. It seems like I've known her my entire life. Does that make any sense to you Mom?"

"Actually sweetheart it does. Remember me telling you when you were younger how your father and I were so compatible that we could almost read each other's minds?"

"I remember you telling something like that. It always seemed like you and Dad just knew what the other was thinking and that you two were so in sync with each other." As soon as Linda said that, she realized the significance of that statement. "Mom, I just realized that I love Susan very much!"

Julia just smiled at the two, "Love at first sight will do that to you."

Linda looked a little uncomfortable and stood up, "Excuse me you two but I have to visit the woman's room."

After Linda left the room it was a chance for Susan to talk to Linda's Mom. "Julia, I love Linda with all of my heart. I know we've only known each other for a short time but I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to marry her or in lieu of a marriage, a commitment ceremony. May I have your permission?"

Julia looked at the red headed beauty in front of her and just smiled, "Susan, I would love to have you as part of the family. But do you think Linda would say yes?"

This took Susan by surprise because she never thought about Linda's answer. "I think that's a very good question but I think she would say yes. I know she feels the same way I do. I just don't think I could live without her Julia."

"Well from the look in my daughter's eyes, I don't think she would be able to live without you either Susan. I'll tell you what, call me later and we'll discuss it. When did you want the commitment ceremony anyway?"

Susan took a deep breath, "Actually I wanted to ask her later on today and have it this coming weekend. I am going to give her my grandmother's wedding ring that I've had for such an occasion." Susan pulled out the ring to show Julia.

Julia looked at the ring and her eyes widened, "Susan is that a platinum ring?"

"It sure is. Evidently when my Grandfather first bought it for my Grandmother, platinum was not that expensive but I know better now. I had it appraised a few years ago and was given a fairly large quote for it. I didn't want to sell it because of the sentimental value. Now I'm glad I kept it. It's going to be Linda's ring if she says yes." Susan smiled.

"Well Susan, I will support the both of you in whatever the two of you decide. I think I hear Linda coming back. I think you should put the ring back before Linda see's it."

Susan received the ring back just in time because Linda had just turned the corner into the room. "Whew, I'm glad we came over when we did. I think I would have gone in my pants if we hadn't."

Linda sat down next to Susan who just had a brilliant idea. "Linda, there's something I want to ask you. Please bear with me okay?"

Linda looked into Susan's eyes' and was immediately worried. "Is there something wrong Susan?"

"Of course not, just bear with me okay?"

"Whatever you say Susan." Susan took a deep breath and started, "Linda, up until a couple of days ago, I thought I would be alone in this world. Every time I ended a relationship, I would always wonder why me. Well, two days ago I met you and everything changed. I looked into your eyes and realized that you were the missing piece of the puzzle; the other half of my heart so to speak. I knew then that I never wanted to be without you." Susan knew it was old fashioned but she got down off of the couch and bent down on one knee. She pulled out the ring. "Linda, would you marry me?"

Linda was stunned and shocked! She knew Susan loved her but this was beyond imagining. She looked over at her mother who was smiling! And in front of her, Susan was waiting for her answer. She had tears rolling down her lovely face and answered Susan, "I would love to be with you the rest of my life. The answer is YES!"

Susan slipped the ring on Linda's ring finger of her left hand, stood up and gently kissed her new fiancé. Linda with tears of joy rolling down her face kissed Susan back very gently.

Linda's mother had been witnessing all of this finally got up off of the couch went over and embraced the two women. "Congratulations you two. I'm sure that you'll be very happy together."

With tears still rolling down her face, Linda pulled something from her pocket, "I know I'm still crying from what just happened but I had a feeling something like this was coming. This is for you Susan. Would you be my wife, life partner, the other half of my soul?"

Now it was Susan's turn to be stunned. She had no idea that Linda was planning this but a look on Julia's face betrayed that she knew. "Yes, Susan I knew what my daughter was planning but I couldn't say anything. What you did just moved up her plans! She was planning on asking you tomorrow and having the ceremony this coming weekend like you were planning on. Looks like you two had the same idea!" Julia was still smiling.

Susan and Linda just stared at each other and started laughing. They both couldn't believe what had transpired this afternoon. "Susan, now we have to decide where and who we are going to invite and who the bridesmaids will be."

"Linda, I know you'll probably want Bev there to stand by you at the commitment ceremony." Susan asked her smiling.

"And who are you going to ask to stand by you Susan? I realize that I've never heard you talk about any friends." Linda asked her fiancé.

"Until now I wouldn't have any idea of who to ask. But I know now who I am going to ask to stand by me." Susan turned towards Julia, "Julia, I would be honored if you would stand by me at the ceremony this coming weekend."

Julia just stared at this remarkable woman and didn't know what to say. She was floored and also honored. "Susan, I would be honored to stand by you." Julia went over and hugged Susan. She felt the tears coming again and couldn't stop them this time. She had loved Susan's mother and she felt it was her duty to take care of her.

As Susan held Julia, she felt her arms tighten around her and heard her crying. Susan held her tighter and realized that she had a connection to Linda's mom through her mother.

Linda was watching all of this and realized that Susan made the right choice in choosing her mother to stand by her. After all, it was Susan's mother that was in love with her Mom years ago. Linda was pleased that her mother and her life mate would be good friends.

As Julia's crying subsided, she unwrapped her arms from Susan, stepped back and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry Susan; I don't know what came over me. I guess I was just overcome with emotion and just broke down. I just wanted to thank you again for choosing me."

"Julia, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel honored to have you by my side and to be a part of your family." Susan said quietly.

Susan and Linda looked at each other, smiled and gently kissed each other on the lips. "Okay, now that we have all of that out of the way, now we have to decide where we want to hold the ceremony sweetheart." Linda mentioned.

"Well, I don't think we want anything that fancy do we?" Susan asked.

Linda thought about it for a moment, "You know Susan, you're right. How about a plain and simple affair right here at my Mom's? What do you think Mom, would you like that?"

Julia took a few moments for that to sink in and after a few minutes which seemed like hours to Susan and Linda, she finally voiced her opinion, "Actually sweetheart, I think that would be a great idea! I have the room for up to 100 people and the backyard is big enough so long as the weather is nice. Yes, that would be a great idea."

"Now that that's out of the way, I guess we need to start thinking about people to invite or trying to find someone to perform the commitment ceremony. Mom, what would you suggest first?" Julia looked a little pensive for a moment before making a decision. "Well, honey, there is that pastor over in the next town. I've heard that he's performed several commitment ceremonies over the last year or so. Let's see, what was his name?" Julia tried to remember the pastor's name but it wouldn't come to her. "Let me call a friend Linda. I think she would remember the name."

Julia dialed a phone number from memory and on the second ring the phone was picked up. Julia listened for a moment before answering, "Hello Sally, yes, this is Julia Green. And how are you doing this rainy morning?" Julia listened for a moment, "Oh I'm sorry Sally, I didn't realize that you were home from school with Beth for the weekend. Is your mother at home?" She listened again. "Yes please. I need to find out something. Thank you Sally, I'll wait." Julia didn't have too long to wait till Judy came on the line. "Hello Judy. Nice to talk you again." Julia smiled while listening on the line. "Yes, I'm doing fine thank you. How's Sally and Beth doing in their last year at college? Really, that is wonderful. Hey, I was wondering if you know the name of the pastor that performs those commitment ceremonies for same sex couples?" Julia listened, "Yes, my daughter is planning on having one this coming weekend." She listened a little, "Well, in a way it was a surprise and in another it wasn't." Julia listened to Judy and wrote a name down. "Thanks Judy, I really do appreciate it. Yes, she's quite happy with her decision. Thank you Judy, please tell Sally and Beth good luck for me." Julia listened a little longer. "It will be here at the house. You're welcome to come on Saturday if you want to." Julia paused for a moment and listened. "Oh okay then. Have fun this Saturday then. Take care Judy and I'll call you soon."

Julia looked at the two women seated in front of her and it finally hit her that her daughter finally found the perfect partner to go through life with and it just happened to be with a woman who's mother she had loved years ago! Wasn't life strange she thought. "Okay ladies. My friend Judy gave me the name of the pastor that performs commitment ceremonies for same sex couples. His name is Pastor Steve Roberts and he's located just a few miles away. Let me see about contacting him now."

Linda and Susan were overjoyed about hearing this news. Hopefully he would be available this coming Saturday. Now all they had to worry about, were the people, along with the refreshments. Wow, too much to think about it right now. They were both on the couch listening to Julia on the phone when Susan turned to Linda. "Linda, can I ask you a question?"

"Baby, you can ask me anything you want to!" Linda smiled.

"Well, when I asked you to marry me earlier, were you really on planning to ask me the same thing tonight or was it just a passing thought?" Susan asked her quietly.

Linda looked over at her beautiful fiancé and smiled, "Well, to tell you the truth Susan I wanted to ask you last night but my mother told me to wait and make sure you were the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I had already realized that you were the one right after we have made love all night long the other night!" Linda stated.

Susan looked wide eyed and surprised at what Linda just told her. "You mean you were going to ask me yesterday but your Mother told you to wait? Well, I'm glad that I asked you today because I couldn't wait anymore. I think I realized that I loved you that first day when I saw you in the store. It was love at first sight for me."

"It was the same thing with me too Susan. My heart finally found it's home with you. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now." Linda moved closer if that was possible and gave Susan the deepest kiss possible. It made Susan moan really loud causing Julia to turn around. Julia just smiled when she saw what was happening with the two women.

Julia hung up the phone and looked very pleased. "Okay ladies. I just got finished talking to the Pastor and he said that he would be available on Saturday at 2:00. How's that sound to you?"

"MOM, that sounds wonderful! Thank you so very much." Linda got up and hugged her mother as did Susan.

"Now, what do we do about the food and refreshments?" Susan asked.

"Don't worry about that. I've got a friend or two in the restaurant business who can cater the entire thing for us. Let me call her up and set everything up for this Saturday. You two start on people list. Now, go and scat!" Julia told them.

As Susan and Linda moved from the kitchen to another room in the mansion, Linda wanted to call Bev up and ask her if she called Susan's friend. But as soon as she had her cell phone in her hand, it was ringing! Linda looked at the caller and saw that it was Bev! "Hey Bev, what's happening?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that everything is going just fine here at the store and the answer to your question is yes. I did call Susan's friend Lisa and she was very excited about hearing from me. I set up a date for tonight. Now, stop bugging me about calling her." Bev laughed.

Linda just chuckled at her friend, "Bev, I was about to call you up and ask you about that but there is one other thing that I need to ask you."

Bev listened to her best friend and wondered what was happening today with the two of them. "Are you going to keep me in suspense or let me know what's happening with the two of you?"

Linda couldn't help herself she was so happy at this moment but she decided not to keep in suspense any longer, "Bev, I have some great news to tell you. Please don't tell anyone yet because I want to make it a surprise. Promise me,okay?"

Bev was now really wondering what Linda was going to ask her, "Linda, I promise not to tell anyone. NOW, please tell me what's happening!"

Linda laughed a little before answering Bev, "Sorry for keeping you in suspense Bev but Susan just proposed to me!"

Bev was momentarily stunned. She couldn't believe what Linda just told her, "Linda, can you repeat what you just told me? I think I had something in my ears and I thought you just said that Susan proposed to you. Is that right?"

Linda just started to laugh out loud now causing Susan some concern, "Yes Bev, that's right. Susan proposed to me just a few minutes ago. You heard right."

"Congratulations Linda. I am so happy for you. It's about time you found someone. And I was right wasn't I?" Bev couldn't contain her smirking over the line.

"I hear you smirking over the phone Bev. You can't hide it can you?" Linda asked her friend while secretly enjoying it.

"You're absolutely right Linda. I am smirking and definitely enjoying that I was right about the two of you. But Linda, I am really happy for you. Tell Susan I said hi and congratulations also."

Linda held the phone away from her momentarily. "Hey Susan, Bev told me to tell you congratulations also."

"Hi and thank you Bev. I hope everything works out for you tonight with Lisa." Susan said.

"I heard that Linda and tell her thank you in advance. Now, there was something else you wanted to ask me?" Bev was on the edge of her seat now.

"Bev, I want someone to stand by me this coming Saturday when we have the commitment ceremony. I would like you to stand with me. Will you please?" Linda said almost too softly.

Now Bev was really unable to speak. Her and Linda were really good friends and even considered Linda her best friend but this was beyond belief. Bev started to cry a little. Linda heard Bev crying and wondered if she said anything wrong, "Bev, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Linda." Bev wiped her tears before continuing. "I just didn't think you thought about me like that. I would be honored to stand with you at your ceremony."

"Bev, what made you think that? You know you're my best friend and always will be. Now, I realize that you and I are the only ones who can open and close the store so I am going to close it this coming Saturday so the entire staff can attend if they want to.. Oh yes, I am also going to pay everyone for the day also so they don't lose out on any pay. If you want to tell the staff, that would be fine." Linda was smiling.

"Wow Linda, the staff would love that; taking Saturday off and getting paid for it. I will tell them when I get off the phone. Now, what time is the ceremony and where is it going to be held?"

"It's going to be here at my Mom's and it will be at 2:00. You really don't need to get too fancied up for it but you know that dress you wore last year at the party? Wear that dress. It would be perfect."

"Thanks Linda. I'll get there a little early and we can go over what you need me to do. By the way, who's going to be standing with Susan?"

"Are you sitting down Bev?"

"Yes I am. But why unless you have another bombshell to throw at me."

"Bev, my Mother is going to be standing by Susan."

"Whoa, your mother is going to be by Susan's side? There must be a story to that one."

"Actually there is but I can't go into it now. I need to run Bev. Go ahead and make up some signs letting our customer's know that we are going to be closed this Saturday. And don't forget to let everyone in the store know. And you better let me know how your date goes tonight too young lady!" Linda was laughing.

"Okay Linda. Let me go and tell everyone. And I will let you know tomorrow about my date, maybe." Bev hung up.

"Well, that's taken care of Susan. Now, is there anyone you would like to call and invite?" Susan looked over at her lover and fiancé and looked kind of sad, "Actually Linda, there's no one for me to call. I have no immediate family and really no close friends. The people that I work with are all snobs and after tomorrow, I won't even have to worry about going back there."

Linda was very surprised. She thought that Susan with her outgoing personality would have quite a number of friends. She wrapped her arms around Susan and hugged her. "I'm sorry Susan. I didn't know."

Susan felt Linda's arms around her and hugged her even tighter. It felt so good to be held by someone who loved her unconditionally. "That's okay Linda. I've been alone for some time now and have gotten used to it. But I have you now and your Mother. It feels good to be a part of a family once again."

After Linda with Susan's help called up a few more people, they went back into the room where Julia was just getting off of the phone. "Well ladies, did you make all of your calls?"

"Yes Mom we did. There's only going to be about 20 people there including us but that's fine with us. We really didn't want anything that big."

Julia looked over at them and smiled, "Well, my friend who runs a nice restaurant in town is going to cater it for us. I told him there will be about 30 people attending so we will have extra food just in case anyone else comes. Now another question for you two. Have you decided where you will be living?"

"Actually Julia, I was hoping to move in with Linda. My house is nice but I think her house is nicer. Besides, her stereo system is nice than mine!" Susan started laughing as did Linda.

"Well, now that you have that solved, what are you two going to do the rest of the day?"

Susan smiled and decided to have some fun. "I was thinking of going back to my place and having some wild unadulterated sex. What do you think Linda?"

Linda looked wide eyed at her girlfriend and saw the smile on her face, "Actually that sounds like a wonderful idea Susan!"

Julia was laughing along with them when she realized that Susan was somewhat kidding around. She couldn't wait for Saturday to get here so that Susan could become a part of their family.

As Linda and Susan finished up what they needed to do at her Mom's, they were back on the road. The rain had stopped a while ago and was starting to clear up. It was turning into a very nice day so they decided to go downtown and window shop. For some reason they had parked not too far from Linda's store so they decided to go in and see Bev and the staff.

They walked into the store and the first thing that happened was they found themselves wrapped up in Bev's arms being congratulated. As Bev was hugging both women, the rest of the staff came up and congratulated the two women.

Tom and Leslie were also there despite being at the Meatloaf concert the previous evening.

"Hey everyone please let me breathe a little bit would you?" Linda said laughing Susan joined in also and asked everyone to let her breathe also.

Everyone went back to work but Linda wanted to hear from Leslie and Tom about the concert. Tom was the first to volunteer the information, "Linda, the concert was just amazing!" Tom oozed with excitement.

"Oh my god Linda, it was so amazing watching that man. His concert was the best I've ever seen. Thank you for the backstage passes and the front row tickets." Leslie was also dripping with excitement.

"Actually you two, you were the ones that won the tickets, passes and the money. That's why I gave you everything because you guys deserved it. Besides, I can't have my great employees being shortchanged now, can I?" Linda told them smiling. "I'm glad you two had a great time. The next time there's another display contest, you two get first crack at it. Now, get back to work you two lazy bums!"

Leslie and Tom walked off but I doubt their feet were touching the floor.

"Linda, you have great employees. I can't believe that you gave them that money and backstage passes." Susan questioned her.

"Hey, they deserve it. They both work their butts off and they made a killer display."

Linda went over to Bev and left Susan to look around the store and to talk to several of the staff. "Hey Bev, how are you doing?"

Bev took a look at her best friend and knew what she wanted to know, "Yes Linda, I've talked to Susan's friend Lisa and she sounds very nice. I am meeting her tonight right after work. As a matter of fact, she gave me her address and I'm picking her up for dinner."

"Bev, that's wonderful. I'm glad that you called her up. I hate seeing you alone when you have so much love to give." Linda gave her friend a hug which kind of surprised Bev.

"Thank you Linda. I guess I'm kind of glad that I called her too. It's a little frightening though getting back into the dating scene but I guess it's about time. Maybe things will work out like it did with you and Susan." She hugged Linda back and it felt good to have someone to talk to.

"Just promise me to tell me all about the date though or I will get you back. And that's a promise!" Linda told her laughing. "Well, I'm going to get going Bev. Susan and I have a lot to take care of between now and Saturday. Take care." She hugged Bev one more time and went to join Susan on the floor.

Bev watched her friend walk out to meet Susan and sighed. She felt happy for Linda now that she met someone she could share her life with. Maybe she would be lucky tonight with Susan's friend Lisa. Well, only time will tell.

Linda said goodbye to everyone and reminded them that the store was going to be closed this coming Saturday but they would be paid for it which please everyone to no end.

Right after they left Linda and Susan were talking about the living arrangements for the rest of the week. Susan did agree with Linda about moving in with her but wondered what to do with her house. Linda mentioned that maybe she could rent it out for the moment and then later on, possibly sell it outright if the renters wanted to buy it. To Susan, that sounded like a very good idea.

On Monday Susan went into her office and gave her boss her notice. Even though she was only working there part time, she still wanted to say goodbye to her boss and some other associates. She'd been working there since she got out of college and she would miss some of the people there but not all of them.

After she left her office for the last time, she went home and started to pack up some clothes so she could bring them over to Linda's. Well, Linda's and her house now. Linda was in the process of getting a realtor so Susan could rent her house out or sell it depending on what the buyers/renters wanted to do. As she was packing her clothes to move out, she was thinking about the past and how happy her parents would be now that she found someone to share her life with.

Susan finished packing up most of her clothes to get them ready to go over to the house. She started packing up some of her pictures and as she came to the picture of her parents she sat down on her bed and just stared at the picture.

She still couldn't believe that her mother and Linda's mother had a relationship but then Susan herself couldn't believe that she was about to have a commitment ceremony with a woman that only up to a few days ago, thought she was straight. After talking with Linda's mother and after finding out from Linda that she really did like women, well, that was it. Besides, the chemistry she had with Linda was undeniable; the connection, the likes and dislikes was just too much to believe. She was so happy she couldn't believe it but she was glad that she went into Linda's store that day. Susan finished up and brought her stuff downstairs. She took another look around the living room, kitchen and her music room one more time. She would miss this house but she had another house now along with a woman that she loved and loved her back. She sighed as she picked up the suitcases containing her clothes and pictures. She closed the door behind her and loaded her items into her car. She knew that she would be back maybe only a couple more times but that was okay. She looked at it as moving on with her life. She started up her car and drove to her future.

A few days into the week and after Susan gave her notice to her boss; she was getting very nervous about Saturday. Linda's realtor friend already had an actual buyer for the house who offered her the money she was asking for which made her very happy. Linda also found a mover for the furniture that she wanted to keep (which wasn't that much) and was expecting it today as a matter of fact. No, the nervousness was due to the fact that this was going to be lifelong commitment and not just a six month one. Linda had already told her that there was no way that she would ever leave Susan; she loved her too much.

Last night in bed, cuddling with each other after another incredible (and very long session of sex) Linda was open and honest with her. "Susan, are you frightened about the ceremony this Saturday?" Linda asked her.

"Actually Linda I'm terrified because the longest any of my relationships lasted was only six months. I mean I love you so much but what if it doesn't work out?" Susan had started crying at that point and Linda had wrapped her arms tighter around her. "Susan, I have a confession to make. I'm probably just as terrified as you because up till last week, I only dated men and until my conversation with my mother, I probably never would have asked you out. So, I'm terrified myself but since the love I have for you is deep right now and getting deeper, I'm also convinced that we will be together forever." Linda gave Susan a very deep tongue twisting kiss that curled Susan's toes and she forgot all about why she was nervous about Saturday.

The next morning before Linda had to go into work, she had told Susan that Bev was glowing about the date she had with Lisa. She had told Linda that there seemed to be an instant connection with her like they had. Bev and Lisa had seen each other almost every day since then and Linda was very happy for her friend. She had asked Linda if Lisa could come to the ceremony and of course Linda told her yes.

Friday came and with it Linda's mother. Julia came over right before Linda came home and found Susan cleaning and straightening the house for tomorrow. Julia knew that Susan was fairly nervous about tomorrow so she sat her down and had a little talk with her. "Susan, please sit down, you're driving me crazy plus the house is clean enough!"

"I'm sorry Julia; it's just that I'm so nervous about tomorrow."

Julia took Susan's hands into her own, "I know dear but don't worry about it. If it's any consolation, Linda is very nervous herself but she has great faith in the two of you."

Susan smiled at Julia, "I know Julia. I am so in love with Linda that it scares me. It's only been a week since we met but it seems like we've know each other all of our lives. When I met Linda it seemed that my heart felt whole. Does that make any sense at all?"

Julia looked at Susan and decided to tell her more of the truth about their families history, "Susan, yes it does. What I'm about to tell you is something I've never told Linda so please don't let her know, okay?"

Susan looked at Julia with wide eyes, "I promise Julia but I don't think I need anymore surprises right now."

Julia took out a picture she had with her and showed it to Susan, "Do you recognize this woman Susan?"

Susan looked at the picture and gasped, "That's my grandmother Julia! How did YOU get this picture?"

"My mother gave it to me when I was younger. I didn't understand until she told me that she had an affair with this woman before she met my grandfather. She was very much in love with her but like myself, she had to break it off because of the taboo associated with being in love with another woman in the early years of the 1900's. It seems that our two families are intertwined somehow and it just came to a head with you and Linda. So, like I said earlier in the week, welcome to the family Susan!"

Susan still couldn't believe what Julia told her but after seeing her Grandmother's photo in her hand she couldn't deny what her eyes were telling her. "Julia, I guess this is destiny then. I guess when Linda and I saw each other in her store last week, it was meant to be."

Julie looked at this extraordinarily beautiful woman and just smiled. "It was about time you and my daughter found each other. It was bound to happen sooner or later but I'm glad it did."

Susan could feel the tears coming on and couldn't stop them. She had been waiting so long for someone to come into her life and all it took was a visit to Linda's store. The tears were now falling down her face like Niagra Falls and she couldn't stop them. Julia looked at Susan and moved over to hold her while she cried. After a few moments Susan's crying had subsided. "You feel better now Susan?"

Susan sniffed a little bit and Julia handed her several tissues. "Thank you Julia and yes, I do feel a lot better now."

After another half hour of talking and going over the plans for tomorrow, Linda came walking through the door. "Well hello Mom. I didn't think you would be here this early but nothing you do surprises me anymore." Linda smiled at her mother and went over to Susan and gave her a little kiss on her lips. After the kiss, Linda went over and hugged her mother. "Well, Mom did you and Susan have a nice talk about Grandma?" She said smiling.

Now it was Julia's turn to be stunned, "Linda, how did you know about your Grandmother? That was supposed to be a secret until I told you about it!"

"Well Mom; remember the time that I spent over there one summer before Grandpa passed away?"

Julia tried to remember that year and then it dawned on her what summer that was, "That was the summer when you turned 14, a year after your slumber party. Did you happen to tell your Grandmother what happened that night?"

Linda looked at her Mother and laughed, "I sure did. I had a talk with Grandma after that year. I told her what had happened and she sat me down and we had a nice long talk. She showed me a picture of a beautiful red headed woman and told me the story of what had happened. Then when we had that talk last week, all of that conversation came back to me and I figured that when you had a chance, you would tell Susan all about it. Well, Susan, now what do you think about our "chance" meeting?"

Susan just looked at her future and smiled, "I guess it was all meant to be. With the history that both our families have, I'm just surprised that we haven't met sooner but better late than never!"

"Yep, I just wish it had happened sooner but at least it did happen. Now, we have to go over what's going to happen tomorrow. But before I forget, I have some gossip about Bev and your friend Lisa."

"Well, spill it already. I'm anxious to hear all about them!" Susan laughed.

"I talked to Bev today and it seems the only thing she could talk about was Lisa. They have been seeing each other almost every day now, and seem to be getting real close now. They have a lot of the same likes and dislikes and they both love Renaissance just like we do. Bev will be bringing her tomorrow and will be sitting next to each other after the formal ceremony. Bev also has that look like she's in love with Lisa. I'm just glad that she found someone finally."

"I'm just glad she called Lisa. Lisa has been looking for quite a while now too. She almost gave up because almost every woman she had gone out with had cheated on her which seems strange because Lisa is a very nice person and would give her soul to make someone happy." Susan told Linda.

After talking about Bev and Lisa for another few minutes, the three ladies got down and started to plan for tomorrow which wasn't too bad because they had already planned during the week already. Linda and Susan still had not decided where they were going for their honeymoon yet but it was a choice between Hawaii and Martinique. They figured they would have some time to decide within the next couple of days after their ceremony.

Both Susan and Linda were going to sleep over Julia's that night so they wouldn't have to travel the next day so they got their clothes and whatever else they needed and headed over to Linda's mother's house.

Saturday dawned with a beautiful sunrise. The temperature was normal for this time of year, late spring, and was pleasantly humid free. Linda and Susan were in their usual position in bed; Susan's head resting on Linda's chest and Linda's arms wrapped around Susan in a comforting embrace. Linda's eyes opened first and looked down on her future; she was so happy with Susan in her arms. She started stroking Susan's hair very gently until Susan opened her eyes. "Good morning honey." Linda said sweetly and quietly. She gently placed a kiss on Susan's lips and Susan kissed her back.

"I hope this is what we can look forward to every morning Linda. I feel so comfortable in your arms. Do we really have to get up today?" Susan said smiling.

"Well, unless you want the commitment ceremony while we're in bed, I think we better get up."

No sooner than Linda had said that, they heard a voice from down the hall, "Come on ladies, time to get your lazy asses out of bed and get ready for the day!"

"I guess that means we have to get our "lazy" asses out of bed, huh Linda or your mother will drag us out?" Susan said laughing lightly.

"Well, look at it this way, we might be able to take shower together at least before the day starts. Come on; let's get in there before she says something." Linda said while she dragged Susan into the shower.

After the shower, they both went downstairs and had breakfast that Julia had prepared for them; Eggs, bacon, wheat toast and of course orange juice. All three sat around the table in companionable silence. While they were eating the doorbell rang. "I'll get it ladies. You just sit there and eat your breakfast." Julia ordered them with a laugh. "Yes mommy." Linda quipped right back at her mother.

After a few minutes, Julia came back in with a very distinguished looking gentleman. "Ladies, this is my good friend, Larry Wilson. He runs Wilson's Caterers downtown. Larry, this pain in the butt over there is my daughter Linda, and this gorgeous lady over here is her life partner Susan." Julia laughed.

Larry Wilson took a look at the two young ladies and saw a look of love pass between them, "Nice to meet you ladies. I'm very honored to be catering your commitment ceremony. Julia, where would you like me to set things up?"

"Right out in the backyard please, Larry. Just have your guys drive around back and set things up. I'll be out there in moment."

Linda looked at her mother with a mock angry look at her, "Thanks for the introduction Mother. I didn't realize I was such a pain in the ass."

"From time to time sweetie, it's a mother's prerogative to embarrass her daughter. Now, I think it's about time you two get upstairs and get ready. Your friends will start arriving soon. As a matter of fact, I'm expecting Bev here very shortly, so get you two!"

Susan looked over at Linda and decided to answer, "Yes mother, we're going."

Julia looked over at Susan and showed her joy at being called mother by Susan. She went over to Susan and hugged her, "It's about time you called me mother you young whippersnapper. Now, get upstairs and get ready." She smacked Susan on her butt as she turned around to go upstairs!

As the two women were getting ready upstairs, the door bell started ringing with the guests. The first ones to show up were Bev and Lisa. Julia opened the door and was mildly surprised when she caught Bev giving Lisa a little peck on the lips. "Well hello Bev. And who is this gorgeous woman standing with you or should I say locked onto you?"

Bev was turning a very deep shade of red as was Lisa. "I'm sorry Julia. Julia, this is Lisa Williams. Lisa, this is Linda's mother Julia Green."

Julia looked at this Lisa Williams; she was about five feet seven inches with auburn hair and blue eyes and about 36-24-34. She was definitely a very beautiful lady. "Please to meet you Lisa. Please come on in and make yourselves comfortable."

Bev and Lisa walked into the house holding hands but followed Julia closely. Lisa was very impressed by Julia's house and the staircase leading upstairs. "Julia, this house is very beautiful. How long have you lived here?"

"Well Lisa, I've lived here for quite a while now. Linda grew up in this house so that makes it kind of sentimental for me. My husband died years ago but left the house paid for. At one point I was actually thinking of moving to a smaller house but now I'm glad I didn't. I would have missed this opportunity to give Linda and Susan their commitment ceremony. I know my husband would have approved of it." Julia said quietly. "Well, enough about that. Come on out to the backyard and check out the setup that my caterer has taken care of. Bev, why don't you go upstairs and check on those two for me, please?"

Bev looked at Linda's mother and smiled slightly, "Don't you trust those two Julia?"

"It's not that, it's just that they are supposed to be dressing right now. Knowing them, if it was up to them, they would still be in bed!"

"Ok, let me go upstairs and check on those two for you then. Lisa, I'll be back down shortly but while I'm gone, don't let Julia corrupt you too much!" Bev gave Lisa a little peck on the lips and went upstairs.

Julia looked over at Lisa and watched her as she followed Bev with her eyes going up the stairs. "Lisa, you love her don't you?"

Lisa was taken by surprise with that question but then realized what Julia just said was right. "You know Julia, even though we just met, you have pretty good insight into things. How did you know?"

"I saw that look in your eyes when Bev was walking upstairs. I saw the same look in Linda's eyes when she came over to talk to me last week. Don't worry Lisa; I saw the same look in Bev's eyes when you two were standing at the door." Julia was smiling at Lisa.

"I guess it does show. I'm just surprised that it happened so fast though. When I first saw Bev in the store over a year ago, I've wanted to go out with her then but felt that something was holding her back." Julia looked at Lisa and debated on whether or not tell her about Bev. "Lisa, has Bev talked to you about some of the more personal things in her life yet?"

"As a matter of fact she has Julia. Bev told me that she lost her first love several years ago from cancer. She also told me that until Susan gave my phone number to her, she was not even considering dating. I could understand that because I too lost someone and up until last year when I first saw Bev, I was almost ready to call it quits. There were several times that I had a bottle of sleeping pills in my hands but I finally got help from my parents and my sister and with their help, I was able to pull through. Now I'm glad I did because I never would have met Bev." Lisa said quietly with a single tear sliding down her face.

Julia grabbed a tissue from the box on the side table and gave it to Lisa. "At least you two found each other. But I do have another question for you Lisa."

Lisa knew exactly what Julia was about to ask her. "I think I can read your mind Julia and the answer is yes. I will be asking Bev for her hand in a commitment ceremony probably within the next few weeks. That is unless she asks me first!" Lisa said laughing.

"Well if that happens, please let me know. We can have your commitment ceremony here too!"

As they finished talking the doorbell rang again and Julia went to open it. As she opened the door, standing there was Tom and Leslie along with the rest of the staff of Linda's store. "Come on in all of you."

Tom and Leslie said hello to Lisa and the rest of the staff came in to say to her. As they were saying hi, Bev came back downstairs and decided to play a little joke on them. "Hey, if you are all here, who's watching the store?"

Leslie looked over at her boss and friend and noticed a little sparkle in them and decided to play along with her. "Actually Bev, we left the store in the hands of a homeless gentleman who said he would take care of the store for us today."

Bev looked at Leslie and smiled, "Well then, I guess our store is in good hands today then!" Bev laughed.

The rest of the stores' staff consisted of Sharon, Mike, Cliff and Harry, all of whom have been with Linda at least 5 years now. Sharon was the assistant manager of the store; Mike and Cliff were working there full time because they loved the music business and Linda had been teaching them and Harry was also full time. He just liked to work there because he loved music.

There was another knock on the door and Julia let in the Pastor. "Hello Pastor and how are you doing today?"

Pastor Steve Roberts was about 38 years old, about five foot ten inches with light brown hair and weighed about 190 pounds. "I'm doing well Ms Green. It's a pleasure being out here for today's commitment ceremony of your daughter and her partner."

"Please call me Julia and thank you very much. I was given your name by Judy Krieger, an old friend from years ago"

"Ah Judy, yes I know her. Her daughter Sally and her partner are having a commitment ceremony next summer after they graduate college. Both are extremely nice young women who have been seeing each other since high school."

"Now that is very nice. I will remember to call Judy up after this to congratulate her and her daughter. Now, let me show you out back where the ceremony will take place." Julia led him out back.

While Julia was showing the Pastor around the back yard, there was another knock at the door. Since Julia was out back, Bev went to answer the door. She opened the door but didn't recognize the two people standing there. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Mark Henry and this is Constance White. We came from Susan's old office. I was her boss there and Constance was a close worker with her."

Bev looked at the two and noticed they were holding hands and she smiled at them. "Please come in. Susan and Linda are upstairs getting ready for the ceremony. I will show you out back and you can introduce yourselves to everyone else." They followed Bev out back and noticed at least eight more people out there along with a Pastor and a very good looking older woman.

The older woman was walking towards them with the pastor. "Hello, my name is Julia Green and I'm Linda's mother." She shook their hands and they introduced themselves to her as Susan's friend and boss where she used to work. "Well, this a surprise. I'm glad you showed up. I think Susan will definitely be surprised."

Everyone got acquainted while the Pastor was going over the details with Julia. As the time got closer, everyone started taking their seats. At the appointed time Julia and Bev went to get Linda and Susan to bring them outside.

As they walked upstairs they were talking among themselves and Julia found out from Bev that she was also going to have a commitment ceremony as soon as she talked with Lisa. Julia had to hold it in because of what Lisa had told her earlier.

As they got to the room where Linda and Susan were getting ready, they heard no noises coming from it which surprised them because Julia knew that her daughter was anything but quiet. Julia quietly opened the door and watched with mute fascination as her daughter and Susan were getting ready. Susan was gently zipping up the dress that Linda was wearing and when Susan got done, she turned around and let Linda zip up her dress. As Julia watched silently, both Linda and Susan looked at each other, smiled and then gave each other a very gentle kiss to stop time with. Julia was watching all of this and thought back to Linda's 13th birthday and smiled to herself. She was so happy that her daughter had found Susan and was about to spend their lives together. Julia knocked on the door. "Hey you two, are you ready in there?"

"Come on in Mom. We're ready for you and Bev."

Bev and Julia walked in the room and were momentarily stunned; the dresses that Linda and Susan picked out were identical! Evidently they were planning on this and didn't tell Julia about it. They wanted it to be a surprise. "You two look stunning!" Julia announced.

"Thank Mom. Susan and I went shopping for them the two days after we proposed to each other. I knew you would like them."

"As a matter of fact, I love the dresses. What do you think of them Bev?"

Bev was speechless; she didn't know what to say. She had never seen Linda look more beautiful than at this moment. "Julia is right; you two look stunning! Are you two ready?"

Susan looked over at Linda; I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be. Let's go get hitched!" The ladies laughed and started their descent.

Bev and Julia waited at the back door while the Pastor was standing the edge of the deck. As Linda and Susan walked towards back door, Julia and Bev joined them walking behind them. As Linda and Susan approached the Pastor, both Bev and Julia took their seats and waited for the Pastor to begin.

The Pastor looked at the two ladies in front of him, nodded to them and started the ceremony. "Today is a momentous day. Today, Linda and Susan have honored us by inviting us to participate in the joining of their two lives into one. Love is a gift from the universe. It is the most precious gift and I'm happy to see that both Linda and Susan appreciate the depth of this gift." The pastor took a break and looked from one seated guest to another; he met each person's eye briefly. "It is our responsibility, as this couple's chosen family, to support them in their love, to protect them from those who would deny them their right to be a family, to share in their joy, and to be there for them in their trials. Are you willing to take on this responsibility? If so, please signify by saying, "We will." All of the seated guests said "We Will." Both women smiled radiantly at everyone as the Pastor continued. "Linda, Susan, the joining of your lives is not an action to make lightly. Any relationship takes dedication and work and a relationship between those who love differently has trouble built into it from the start because of the small mindedness of so many in our society. The love and support that you have from the people here bless you in many ways. Remember that you are not alone; remember that although you are joining your lives together, you each need to maintain your own individuality. Respect one another's differences and be willing to allow your partner to grow as an individual as you grow in your partnership." Pastor Steve turned to Linda. "Linda, please make your vow to Susan.

Linda turned to Susan and looked into her eyes, "Susan I love you. >From the first moment that I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were the one. I get so frustrated because those three words are so inadequate. What I feel for you is so encompassing that words can't describe the way I feel for you. I promise to love you every day for the rest of my life and when this life is over, I'll find a way to love you from beyond the grave. I promise to stand by you, to support you, to allow you to support me. I promise to keep you close but give you room to grow. I promise my passion to you and I promise always to be faithful to you. "She looked into Susan's eyes, "I can't wait for our life to begin. I love you."

"Linda, the other half of my soul, the love of my life, I love you. I can't imagine my life without you. A year ago, I believed that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Then, I found the person that I was destined for. I met the other half of my soul, my heart and I felt complete. I promise to love you every day for the rest our lives and beyond. My destiny is with you for all time. I love you Linda."

Pastor Steve looked at the two women and smiled. "Linda, Susan, these rings that I have here are a symbol of your love for each other. It's never-ending and unbroken. Please take these rings and place them on each other's fingers and repeat after me.

Linda took the ring and placed it on Susan's ring finger and repeated the Pastors words. "With this ring, I promise my love for you. Wear it as a token of the pledge I make to you today as your lover, your partner, and your friend. I love you."

Susan took the other ring and placed it on Linda's ring finger and repeated the Pastors words. Pastor Steve smiled and continued. "These two lives are now joined. Wherever they go, may they always return to one another. May these two find in each other, the love for which all people long for. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home that they establish be a place of sanctuary. May these two rings symbolize the spirit of undying love in the hearts of both of them? I now pronounce you as one. You may kiss your bride."

Susan and Linda turned towards each other and kissed. When they broke apart applause erupted from everyone along with some yelling and whoops. They turned to everyone and walked down among the guests accepting their congratulations.

Linda's mother came up to the both of them and hugged them. "I'm so proud of the both of you. Susan, your parents would have been proud of you today."

"Thank you Julia, I appreciate that. I feel that my parents are watching us right now and would also approve."

Susan was looking around at the people that were there and noticed that her old boss was there along with Constance. She also noticed them holding hands which wasn't a surprise. She walked over to them to thank them for coming. "Hey Mark, Hey Constance. I just wanted to thank for coming today."

"No problem Susan. We really miss you at work but since you were only there part time we could understand why you left. Constance and I just wanted to wish you a great life together with Linda."

"Thank you Mark, I really do appreciate it. Are you two staying for the food and refreshments? I would like it if you did."

Constance looked at Mark who nodded, "We would love to stay Susan, thank you."

She continued to talk to Mark and Constance for a few more minutes before moving on. She found out that the two of them had been dating for almost a year now but because they worked in the same office, they had to keep it fairly quiet.

Susan left them and went to talk with several of Linda's staff.

While Susan was wandering around talking to different people, Linda was talking to Bev and Lisa. "Bev, I am really happy to see you with someone. You really do deserve some happiness finally." Linda was smiling at the two of them.

"Thanks Linda and I really do appreciate your support all these year."

"Are you kidding me, you're my best friend and my manager! I don't know what I would do without you Bev." Linda hugged her.

"Well Lisa, the only thing I have to say is you better take care of her or you'll have me to deal with." Linda told her then started laughing.

Lisa looked at Linda and felt a friendship with her already. "Don't worry Linda. I will always be there for her." Lisa took Linda aside for a moment. "Linda, please don't tell Bev this but I am taking her out for a very romantic evening tomorrow and even though we've only known each other for only a week, I am going to propose to her."

Linda looked slightly shocked but kind of expected it after watching Bev and Lisa together all day. "Lisa, are you sure of this? I just don't want Bev hurt. She's my best friend and I just want the best for her."

"Linda, when did you know that Susan was the right one for you?" Lisa asked very seriously.

"I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her. Oh, I see now. It must have been love at first sight for you two also."

"Actually Linda, I fell in love with Bev almost a year ago. That's when I started coming in to the store. I've just been very hesitant about asking her out because like I told you before, she always seemed to hang around you all the time and I thought that she and you had a relationship. But now I know better." Lisa was smiling.

Now Linda was really floored. "You mean you thought that Bev and I were in a relationship? Now I know that Bev is in good hands." With that, Linda gave her a very big hug.

"Thank you Linda, I really do appreciate your support." Their conversation ended just as Bev was walking back to them.

"I hope you two aren't planning anything too bad are you?" Bev laughed.

"As a matter of fact Bev, we were planning the overthrow of the country and we were going to make you the new President of the United States!" Both ladies laughed but Lisa winked at Linda.

As the three continued to talk, Julia came up to her daughter. "Linda, can I talk to you and Susan for a moment?"

Linda looked at her mother with a worried expression. "Mom is there anything wrong?"

"Of course not sweetheart, I just wanted to give you and Susan your wedding gift."

"Mom, you don't have to give us anything, you know that. You know I'm set for life and so is Susan."

"I know that Linda but this is something that I want to do." Julia looked at Susan. "Come on Susan, this concerns you too."

Susan grabbed Linda's and dragged her following Linda's Mom to a secluded location. As they followed Julia, they both wondered what Julia had for them.

"Linda, Susan, I just wanted to say again how happy I am that both of you found each other and I hope you both have a happy life together." Julia pulled an envelope out of her pocket and gave it to Linda. Linda opened it and gasped. "Linda, what is it?" Susan asked her.

Linda looked at her mother and hugged her. "Susan, my mother just gave us our honeymoon. Its two weeks at a very exclusive spa in New Mexico called Caldera De Gaia with everything paid for!"

Susan went over and hugged her new mother-in-law. "Thank you so much Julia. Linda and I were wondering where to go for our honeymoon. Now, we don't need to worry about it!"

Bev and Lisa came walking over to them. "Hey you two, you're supposed to be the guests of honor at this shindig. What's happening over here anyway?"

Susan looked at Bev with a huge smile on her face. "Bev, Linda and I are going to a spa in New Mexico for our honeymoon! As a matter of fact, according to these papers, we are supposed to be leaving in two days!"

"Two days? Wow, that is a nice honeymoon. And you're going to be gone for two weeks? Just remember to bring back something for us you two. Now get over there and join the party you three." Lisa told them.

As the party swung into high gear, the music started and Linda's mother got up. "As the host of this ceremony, I would like to introduce the newlyweds, Linda, Susan, come on up here." Linda and Susan got up from behind the table they were sitting at to join Julia. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Linda Green and Susan McKay. Ladies, the dance floor is yours."

Linda gently held Susan's hands as the sounds of Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" played. They were looking into each other's eyes as they made the circuit around the dance floor and as they danced together, they smiled and gently kissed each other. As their lips parted, their eyes showed promises of the coming evening together and they kissed one more time before waving to everyone to come join them on the dance floor.

As the evening progressed into the late night, their friends came up to congratulate the pair and then left for the night. After everyone had left for the evening, there was still the issue of cleaning up the backyard but Julia had told the people that had brought everything out, they could come back the next day to pick up everything and they agreed.

"Well you two, I guess it's about time you were getting home."

Linda looked a little sheepish at her mother. "Yes it is Mom. I'm going to take my beautiful partner home with me and make wild passionate love with her all night long!"

Susan started blushing at what Linda just said. "Linda! Your mother didn't need to hear that did she?"

"Susan, please. I'm a grown woman and know what you two do in the privacy of your home by now. Besides, go and enjoy the start of your new life together."

With that statement, Linda and Susan took off and went home. After they pulled up to the house, Linda told Susan to stay instead of getting right out. Linda then walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Susan to get out.

As the two walked up to the front door, Linda told Susan to wait until she opened the door. After Linda opened the door, she picked Susan up in both arms and walked her across the threshold of the house. Inside, she placed Susan down, closed the door and looked at her lovely life mate. She drew Susan close to her, wrapping her arms around Susan's waist as Susan wrapped her arms around Linda's neck. "I love you so much Susan. I don't know how I lived without you for so long but I'm so happy that you're in my life now." She gave Susan a little peck on the lips.

Susan looked at the love of her life, "Linda, I feel the same way. I love you so much and it still scares me that we've only known each other a little over a week now but it just seems so right." Susan placed her lips as close as possible to Linda's without touching them. She then placed her tongue on Linda's lips and traced around the outside of them causing Linda to moan with anticipation. As she continued to tongue Linda's lips, she felt Linda open her mouth and at that moment, she stuck her tongue deep into Linda's mouth. The two women, then started sucking on each other's tongues so hard, they thought their tongues would come out of their mouths. "God Susan, you drive me crazy with that tongue of yours. Come on, let's go upstairs to bed."

Susan just nodded with agreement and followed Linda holding her hand.

As the two of them reached the bed, Linda started undressing Susan very slowly and seductively. When the last piece of clothing hit the floor, Susan started undressing Linda the same way. After all the clothes were off the two women, they joined each other on the bed and during the course of the night, they made love so many times that they just got to bed right before the sun came up.

The next day after waking fairly late at about 2:00 pm, they ate a late lunch that was made for them by Julia (she had came in early and seen that they were still sleeping, made them turkey sandwiches), drank some iced tea and had chips with the meal. Afterwards, they started packing for their honeymoon and because they would be gone for two weeks, Linda went next door to her neighbor to see if she could take in her mail. After coming back, both women decided to go to Linda's store to have a quick talk with Bev.

As they entered the store, they were mobbed by the staff that was working that day. "Okay everyone; give them some room, please!" Bev was telling them.

"Hey Linda, Susan, come on into the office so we can talk a little more privately."

As the door closed behind the three of them Bev almost exploded from curiosity.

"Okay, spill it already. How was last night?"

Linda was looking very amused by Beth's outburst and Susan was trying to keep from laughing. "Bev, last night was the WORST night of my life. It was so bad that Susan and I are splitting up over it!"

Bev looked horrified but then realized that both Linda and Susan were pulling a joke on her. "Why you two, I will get both of you for that one!"

Linda and Susan just broke up laughing. "I'm sorry Bev, I just couldn't help it and the look on your face was priceless. Now, to tell you the truth, last night was probably THE best night of my life." Linda said with a very wide smile.

"Well, it's about time you told me the truth. Now why the visit?"

"Well, since you're my manager I just wanted to let you know that starting tonight and for the next two weeks, Susan and I will be in New Mexico on our honeymoon. I just wanted to ask you who you're going to ask to open and/or close the store on your days off."

"Actually I was thinking of asking Sharon since she's been here for a couple of years now and she almost knows the store as well as I do. What do you think?"

Linda thought for a moment, "You know Bev; I think that's a great idea. Call her in.

Bev opened the door and beckoned for Sharon to come back to the office.

Sharon had brown hair, blue eyes, stood about five foot eight inches and was about 36c-25-34 and was only 23! In short, she was a stunning looking young lady but had put off going to college for several years to go out into the working world. When she started at Linda's, she was working full time and in the space of only a few months, Bev made her the assistant manager with Linda's approval.

Sharon came back into the office and closed the door behind her. She was looking a little apprehensive when she saw Linda in the office. She liked Linda very much because she gave her quite a bit of leeway to dress the store up whenever a sale was going on. "Hi Linda, what's up?"

Linda had this all planned out but decided not to tell Bev what she was going to say. A few weeks ago unknown to Bev, Linda had her lawyer file some papers naming Bev a full partner in the store. She had told Susan a couple of days ago and wanted to keep it a surprise until right before they left for their honeymoon.

"Well Sharon, it seems that you've been doing a great job being my assistant manager. The store always looks neat and clean and you've done a great job helping Bev out with all of the promotions." Linda stopped to let Sharon think about that. "Sharon, the reason why I called you back here is to give you a promotion to store manager that is if you will accept it. Someone is going to have to look after the store while Bev is off doing other things while I'm away on my honeymoon. What do you think?"

Bev and Sharon both looked shocked and just stared at Linda who was smiling.

"Linda, what do you mean promoting her to store manager? What about me?" Bev looked very worried now.

"Oh, you mean I forgot to tell you what else I had planned? Well Bev, I don't want my new partner to work herself to death now do I?"

Now Bev was really floored. She could feel the tears start to trickle down her face. She couldn't believe what Linda just told her; partner in her store! It was just too much take in right now. She was ecstatic; she still couldn't believe Linda just told her she was now equal with her. "Linda, are you sure about this? I mean I know you've wanted me to have more input with the store but I never imagined this. Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around Linda.

Sharon was also stunned. She couldn't believe that Linda had asked her to be the manager; she really didn't have to think about it. "Linda, I would be honored to be your manager. Thank you very much."

"Sharon, being the manager also means a raise in pay too. I know you're still learning about the music business but everything will come to you in time. I've decided on a 30 percent raise for you, what do you think?"

Sharon almost fainted when she heard Linda mention another 30 percent more.

"Linda, that sounds wonderful. Thank you again." She threw her arms around Linda and hugged her a little too tight.

"Sharon, can you let me breathe please?"

"Sorry Linda, I didn't realize I was hugging you that tight. I guess I should go back out on the floor." As she left the office, Linda, Susan and Bev were watching her glide out on the floor.

"You know Linda; I don't think I saw her feet touch the floor." Susan said laughing.

Bev looked over at her friend and now partner, "Linda, are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Bev, how long have you been with me now? Four years? Five years? You know just about as much as I do about the store if not more. You've been in the music business longer than I have. I can't think of another person who deserves it more. Besides, I want to have you around as long as possible!"

Susan was watching all of this going on and was very impressed with Linda's decisions. But what she didn't know is what else Linda had planned. "Oh yes, there is one more thing I forgot to mention Bev. We do have another partner that we need to hear from." She turned to Susan who was caught unawares of what just happened. "Yes, sweetheart, you are the third partner."

Susan was stunned. "Linda! I don't know anything about running a retail operation. Don't you think getting someone else who knows how to run a retail operation would be a better choice?"

"Look Susan, I've seen your music collection and you know quite a bit about music. Plus, you're also an accountant. Who else would be a better choice? You can take care of the books and help Bev and I run this place. Besides, I want this to be a family run operation and to keep it out of big business's hands. Tower Records made a bid on it last year and I turned them down cold. I know they will try again and I will say no again. This has to be run by people who love music and the business, not by suits."

"Well, if you say so. Now I know why I love you so much. If our business here is done, it's about time to go and get ready for the trip. Bev, I promise you that Linda and I will bring you back something."

"Susan, as long as you keep her happy, that will be good enough for me. But if you do decide to bring me something, just make sure it's something I can use." Bev laughed.

"If that's all you want, I guess we can bring something back for you Bev. Now you take care of our store and we'll be back in two weeks." Linda hugged Bev and then Susan hugged her. They walked out of the store to the car and went back home to get ready for their honeymoon.

The two weeks seemed to fly by too fast for any of them. When Linda and Susan came back from their honeymoon, they found out that Lisa had proposed to Bev and of course Bev had accepted. Bev had been ecstatic since that night and everything seemed to be falling into place for her and Lisa.

Linda's mother had been to the store in her absence and was making preparations to have Bev and Lisa's commitment ceremony at her place. The store was doing phenomenal business and was 50% ahead of last year's sales which pleased everyone because it meant big bonuses for everyone.

A few years after their ceremony, Susan had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was a healthy, 7 pounds 8 ounces and they named her Julia Maureen after the two grandmothers and Linda's mother was overjoyed. She now had a beautiful grandchild that she could spoil to the dismay of Susan and Linda.

Bev and Lisa had their commitment ceremony several months after Susan and Linda had theirs and they had moved into a house not too far from them. They also had a child several years after Linda and Susan had theirs but it was a boy and they named him after Linda's father, Walter. And again, Linda's mother was overjoyed that she had another child to spoil. It seemed that her dreams of an extended family were coming true at last. She had seen her daughter find the love of her life, settle down and have a life at last.

The music store was one of the most successful music stores' on the east coast and was constantly being visited by the big wigs of the music industry, including U2, Paul McCartney and Annie Haslam herself.

As the years flew by Linda and Susan's love grew even more if that was possible. Their little girl Julia grew up to have a beautiful head of red hair just like Susan. She went to business school to learn the retail business so she could take over for her Mother's when they retired.

As they looked back upon their lives one day, they realized that if Susan had never stopped by that fateful day, none of this would have been possible and more than likely, they would have been alone the rest of their lives. It seemed that Destiny had a hand in what would become their future.

THE END

Copyright 2008 Gold

I would like to dedicate this story to Donal who inspired me to write years ago when I read his continuation of the Sarah and Allison series on the Sisters in Love website.