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tour of London for the month of August. Laurel eventually agreed, convincing herself
that there was no better place to begin her search for love than a foreign country.
Sometimes I think Lilly is as fond of you as she is of me, Claudia said during a
phone conference. She will be thrilled to find out that you will go with her to
London. Of course it will be a first class trip, all on me.
Oh, I doubt I ll have any trouble spending your money, Claudia. I ve had a lot of
practice at it as GM of this place, she quipped good-humoredly. Will you be joining
us for any of the trip or are you making other plans?
I hope to spend the month in Germany, maybe even France. My company is
exploring some interesting possibilities and since the trip will be business intensive,
I didn t think Lilly would enjoy coming with me. Anyway, England is where she
wants to go, and with you there I won t have to lose all my hair worrying about her.
And from that phone call on, Laurel felt a new surge of energy. She had never been
to Europe before and she thought a month s vacation in a country rich with history
and a city vibrant with culture would be just the ticket out of the routine she
needed. Besides, being with Lilly would be fun. And with any luck, she would meet
someone elegant and exciting and thoroughly British.
A few weeks later, on the Friday before Lesbian Mother s Week at the retreat,
Laurel was standing in her kitchen looking out the window onto the patio where
Lilly was sitting facing the sun. The girl had come up by train for the afternoon to
relax, but she was too excited about spending the next few days with her mother to
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concentrate. Laurel, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive about having
Claudia under foot for the next five days. Usually at these kinds of events Claudia
was nervous and when she was nervous, she tended to criticize Laurel s every move.
With two glasses of iced tea in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other, Laurel
joined Lilly in the afternoon sun on the patio. You look very content, Laurel said as
she handed Lilly one of the glasses. But you should put some lotion on your nose.
It s getting awfully pink.
I will, Lilly said, reaching for one of the cookies. I love it when you mother me. It
brings a certain glint to your eyes!
I m much too young to be your mother! Laurel protested with a laugh.
I though child brides were the norm back then, Lilly teased.
Contrary to popular belief, I wasn t born in the dark ages you know. Laurel
watched Lilly s smile grow into laughter and she was reminded of how much Lilly
had changed since their first meeting. It had taken Lilly most of a year just to relax
with Laurel. Although Laurel had developed a deep sympathy for the girl early on.
Lilly was such a delicate and sensitive soul, and as a result Laurel had to struggle
against her inclination to be as overly protective as Claudia was.
Then, sometime last fall, Laurel gave up the notion that Claudia s daughter had to
be treated with detachment. Soon after that, Lilly became the little sister Laurel had
always wanted, and Claudia seemed to accept their special relationship without any
resentment.
After a long sip of iced tea, Laurel screwed up her courage enough to broach the
taboo subject. While we re on the subject of mothers, she started. She then stopped
to clear her throat before she continued. Do you remember anything about your
own? She had no idea why, after so much time, she was asking Lilly about her
mother. It was the first time Laurel had come close to the subject and she wasn t
sure how the girl would react.
Lilly s eyes brightened and she seemed eager to discuss the mysterious woman lost
long ago. I don t really remember much, but I ve kept lots of pictures of her. I
wouldn t say that she was beautiful, not really, but she was . . . , Lilly searched for
the right word, haunting.
Oh, really? Laurel said, somewhat amazed. Haunting was a perfect word to
describe Lilly. What makes you say that?
Well, Mommy was very slight, even thinner than I am, and she had tremendous
brown eyes which always look very sad in the pictures I have of her. Mom said she
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