“…and as the wisest lesbian I know, I figured you could help me decide what to do.”
Chloë leaned against the counter and looked at Vanessa expectantly. It was the next morning and things were slow at La Vida Mocha following the a.m. rush; so slow, in fact, that Vanessa had decided that she and Chloë could take a little coffee break of their own. They were both standing behind the counter, ready in case a customer came in, both sipping from cups of the day’s house brew, which today was an Ethiopian Harrar, and Chloë had just related to Vanessa the events of the previous evening.
“You do realize I’m only thirty-seven, right?” Vanessa asked, shaking her head. “I wasn’t around for the Stonewall uprising.”
“Dude, I told you, it’s a compliment!”
Vanessa sighed. “Fine, whatever.”
“So, what do I do?”
Chloë waited while Vanessa sipped her coffee, evidently thinking about the matter at hand.
“No idea,” Vanessa finally stated.
“Dude!”
Vanessa reached out her hand and placed it on Chloë’s arm.
“I can see your point, Chloë.”
“Thank you!” Chloë said, feeling that Wisdom, as manifested by Vanessa, was vindicating her.
“But I can also see her point,” Vanessa added.
“What?” Chloë exclaimed, feeling now that Wisdom, as manifested by Vanessa, must have suffered a blow to the head.
“Well, Morgan is my age, right?”
“No, she’s a year younger,” Chloë said petulantly.
“Oh, for fuck’s…Anyway, if I woke up one day and suddenly found myself attracted to a man, that would be a pretty huge deal and I’m fairly certain I would want some time to process it.”
“Even after you had sex with the man?”
Both Chloë and Vanessa shuddered, but then Vanessa said, “Yes, even after I had sex with the man. Especially after I had sex with the man. Especially if I enjoyed it.”
Chloe sighed, hating that Vanessa was making sense.
“You and I are lucky,” Vanessa continued. “We both knew we were lesbians right from the start and so for us, everything is very black and white. But I can understand your reluctance to invest your heart into this relationship with Morgan if you’re worried that she might always be attracted to men.”
Vanessa then recounted the story about how her fiancée, Megan, had discovered that her ex—who had dated men before coming out as a lesbian in her twenties—had been cheating on her, with a man.
“You don’t want to wake up one day and find out Morgan’s been having an affair with a guy,” Vanessa finished.
“Well, I don’t want to wake up one day and discover she’s been having an affair with a woman either!”
“A-ha!” Vanessa exclaimed, holding up one finger, startling Chloë.
Chloë looked at her, frowning with puzzlement.
“A-ha, what?”
“Don’t you see?” Vanessa began. “As much as you’re worried that Morgan might one day cheat on you with man, the fact of the matter is, she could just as easily cheat on you with another woman!”
Chloë held her bottom lip between her teeth, considering this.
Vanessa continued.