“Hi, darling.” James accepted Arthur’s quick kiss with a fast squeeze of his arm. Real delight brightened his face, just at the sight of his husband, and for a second, Anne couldn’t even recognize him as her former spouse.
She braced for the usual resentment that came with noticing James’s transformation. Instead, though, an entirely new realization blossomed, so quickly that she barely had time to wonder where it came from.He likes who he is now.
“To what do we owe the pleasure, Anne?” Arthur asked pleasantly, glancing between Anne and James.
“She just dropped by.” It sounded awkward, clumsy, in a way James never was. “For—uh, for—”
“I can speak for myself, James, thank you,” Anne interrupted, gesturing at him to be quiet. “Hi, Arthur. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s so good to see you, too.” Arthur’s sincerity always outperformed Anne’s politeness. “We almost never get you down here. Is Sadie with you?”
“No. I was just—”
“Oh!” Arthur snapped his fingers. “Before I forget—love, did you remember to get those tickets for the Gay Men’s Chorus next month? I promised Tony and Paul we’d be there. They’re doing a Madonna medley.” That was directed at Anne. “I’m crossing my fingers they’ll include ‘Let Down Your Guard.’ Do you know that one? It’s a B-side fromBedtime Storiesshe didn’t release in the U.S. until recently.”
“I, uh, I don’t—”
“Oh, they’ll probably just sing all her greatest hits. I won’t complain.” That, to James. “I promise.”
“We’ll see,” James said dryly.
“But I was looking ahead to the chorus programming for next season, and—”
“Arthur,” Anne interrupted. Out of nowhere, a rare devilish impulse bubbled up inside her. No half measures. “Would you like to play a little game with me?”
Arthur looked surprised, then delighted. “Oh, I’m always up for games. What subgenre—board, video, card?”
“A guessing game.” She didn’t hesitate. “How many gay people are in the kitchen right now?”
On the other side of the island, James stared at her, then let out a soft groan.
“How many—gay people?” Arthur looked between Anne and James, clearly at a loss. “I’d say the answer is pretty darned obvious, but—maybe there’s someone hiding in the pantry? Is that the twist? Oh, Jimmy, your shirt’s all stained.”
“There’s no one hiding in the pantry.” Bizarrely, Anne was enjoying herself. “James, want to tell him the answer? You can say it. It’s all right.”
“Three,” James said. “There are three of us. Three gay people.”
“I don’t understand—”
“Everyone,” Anne said slowly, “in this room. All of us.”
She looked Arthur levelly in the face, something she hadn’t been able to do with James on the front doorstep. Was it normal to feel excited at saying it out loud, when just a few minutes ago she’d felt hot worry scrape inside her? “That’s what I came over to tell James. And now you’re here, so I’m telling you. I’m attracted to women. Exclusively.”
“You’re attracted to—”
“I always have been. I just couldn’t let myself acknowledge it until very, very recently.”Abouttwenty-four hours ago, to be exact.“So—there you have it.”
“But Anne—” This time, Arthur interrupted himself. “Look at all the men you’ve dated since the divorce!”
“None of them lasted longer than five minutes.”
“You were married to him”—Arthur pointed at James—“for thirty years!”
“And he was married tomefor thirty years. God, James—” A thought occurred to her, right enough that it didn’t feel new, just seen. “We must have sensed something. Did we know on some level all along? That we needed each other, I mean. Not in the way you’re supposed to need a spouse, but—”
“—because you were safe,” James finished. “And I was safe.” Wonder spread over his face. “You know, even after I figured it out, I never once thought to ask myself why I’d been enough for you. It never occurred to me.”
“Oh.” Arthur sounded like he was having a moment. “Oh.”