Chapter 28 - Life

It was just getting dark when a light knock on the door nudged Cam from a nap. She sucked in a deep breath as she lurched up from her chair to go and find out who it was. The long walk around the lake with Michelle had tired them both out, and she was exhausted still from the long drive up and the emotional turmoil of the last few days. Michelle had fallen asleep the moment they had gotten back and had only just woken up. Now though, she sat on the couch staring at the TV, but not really watching it from what Cam could tell.

“You didn’t hear the door?” Cam asked as she passed by her wife and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

Michelle’s attention snapped back into the room. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t hear…who was it?”

“I am about to find out,” she said quietly.

Opening the door, she found Lucy leaning against the wall, grinning at her, looking all casual and relaxed in jeans and a red plaid shirt that was slightly too big for her. But that didn’t matter because she was wearing it more like a jacket than a shirt, a white tank top beneath it. A dirty pair of well-worn boots finished off the look.

“Hey, Lumber Jill, good to see you again.” Cam chuckled.

“Alright?” Lucy said. She shifted her weight from her good leg and straightened up.

Cam moved out of the way and made room for her to enter the house. “All good at the moment,” she replied quietly, looking back at the living room where she knew Michelle was.

“Great. Listen, I had an idea,” Lucy whispered as they met shoulder to shoulder.

“Okay, let’s get some coffee going and you can tell me all about it.” She led the way through and into the lounge, where Michelle had now tucked her legs up under her and was leaning against an oversized cushion. A grey woolen blanket covered her. She looked cozy, and Cam thought about joining her later.

“Hey Michelle, how are you doing?” Lucy smiled, the scar down her cheek crinkling with the movement.

It seemed to take Michelle a moment or two to gather her thoughts before finally, she looked up and smiled at Lucy too. “Oh, Hi Lucy. I’m doing better, thank you.”

“Fantastic. The girls send their love.”

“That’s sweet. I’ll…soon as I feel up to it, I’ll visit.”

“We’d love that,” Lucy answered before looking up to find Cam already gone from the room and waiting for her in the kitchen. “Well, I will leave you to your film.”

Michelle didn’t answer, so she moved slowly away and towards the kitchen to join her friend. Her heart sank a little for Michelle, and what they must all be going through.

She found Cam swearing and fiddling with the coffee machine and chuckled. “Have you still not worked out how to use that yet?”

Pulling a face of frustration, Cam shook her head. “No, it’s bloody annoying,” she said, yanking the contraption and then being surprised when it popped open and she could drop the pod into it. “Ha, see, that’s how you do it!” She grinned, turning back to Lucy. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Right, well it’s only an idea, and of course, you can veto it instantly. It’s just, Storm is…let’s just say inspired by Michelle, and well, she’s been cast in the school play. I’m her acting coach?” She pulled a face and Cam smiled. “I was thinking that maybe if she wanted to, if she wanted something to do to take her mind off of things, that Michelle might want to step in?”

Cam’s smile slipped from her face and turned into a frown. “Oh, I dunno. It’s…”

Lucy held her hands up quickly. “It’s okay, it was just an idea. Something to take her mind off things.”

Cam thought about it, reminding herself just how much she hated it when other people made decisions for her. “I’ll ask her though.”

The coffee was made, and she passed the mug to Lucy, adding another pod for her own coffee and pulling a clean mug nearer.

Lucy took a sip from her mug. Looking at Cam, she then added, “So, Summer is still insistent that she is a boy.”

Cam raised a brow and smirked. “Fair enough.”

“We’re just gonna go with it and see what happens. Might be a phase, but if it’s not then we will deal with it. So, can you go along with it?”

Cam’s coffee stopped brewing and she lifted the cup to her lips. “I guess Wyn will feel less odd man out in a house full of women.”

Lucy laughed. “There is that.”

“Of course we will go along with it. Whatever the kid needs.”