Protector Plus

The next morning, I met Lorna for breakfast, but couldn’t shake the mental picture of her kissing that woman. As I sipped my tea, I decided to probe a little for information,

“My poor Callum,” I laughed, “he had to cook his own dinner last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if he destroyed my kitchen.” Then, before Lorna could respond, I added, “So how does Mr Masters cope…if there is one that is?”

Lorna chuckled, “I am not married and my partner does most of the cooking, so I am sure they will cope, like they always do.” Then, before I could press with more questions, she spun the topic away, “This morning, watch out for the manager, Mr Jones, he can be a right grumpy bastard, so I will deal with him. The assistant manager, Mrs Lewis, is nice. I have known her for years, so you two should get on.”

When we got to the branch, Lorna greeted the manager, buttering him by saying how well the branch was doing in sales. Then she introduced me to the assistant manager, “Jenny, this is Lesley Lewis,” as I held out my hand to shake, Lorna went on, “Jenny is here to help me with a view to joining the team full time.”

I was in shock, as the assistant manager, Mrs Lesley Lewis, was also the blonde woman who had left our hotel at two that morning.

The morning went well, and at lunchtime I sat with Lesley and chatted while Lorna went outside to make some calls. During our conversation, I discovered that Lesley had been married for eight years but didn’t have any children, and she had first met Lorna four years ago on a course. Of course, no mention was made of her visit to the hotel the previous evening. Acting innocent, I casually asked, “I was asking Lorna earlier how her husband copes with her being away, as my boyfriend isn’t that keen.”

Lesley looked at me strangely before she said, “You probably need to talk to Lorna a bit more,” then, glancing at her watch, added, “I need to get back to work.”

I watched her almost rush away, my mind whirring as I went in search of my boss.
Walking into the car park, I saw Lorna’s back, but she couldn’t have realised I was there. I had no idea at first who she was talking to, as I only heard her side of the conversation.

“Yes, dinner was great, I was with Lesley Lewis.”

There was a muffled response as Lesley replied, “You do know who she is. You met her when I was on that course a few years back.”

More muffled response, then, “Yes, the one we double fucked for half the night.”

I was in shock and knew I should make my presence known, but like standing outside a burning building, I couldn’t drag myself away.

“The trainee seems OK, but I think she is straight; she goes on about her boyfriend all the time.”

Lorna laughed at what I now realised was her partner had said. They were talking about me, and I wasn’t sure if I should be horrified or flattered. Then Lorna went on,

“Yes, I know I can’t fuck them all,” then added, “of course I will let you know, I always do.”

The call ended with Lorna saying, “I love you as well,” and before she could turn around, I ducked back around the corner.

I stood for a moment and could feel my heart beating wildly when Lorna appeared,

“There you are. Let’s get the afternoon session done, then we can get across to Manchester. If you fancy it, we can go out for something to eat tonight and have a bit of a laugh.”

If she noticed my flushed face, she said nothing, and as I followed her into the branch, I wondered what this evening was going to bring.

The rest of the day had gone well, and we set off for Manchester late afternoon.
“Do you know Manchester?” Lorna said as we joined the A1 to pick up the M62. I shook my head as she went on, “I know all the good bars in Canal Street…you know the gay area.”

I had been trying to work out how to raise the subject, and she had just come out and effectively told me. The car went quiet for a moment as I tried desperately to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound trite or condescending.

“Lesley told me you didn’t know.” I went to speak, but she just carried on, “I have been a lesbian all my life. I don’t hide it, but I don’t advertise it either. I live with a lovely woman called Shelly, and we are very happy.” Then she paused before she said with a chuckle, “Questions? And I don’t mean of the physical kind, I am sure you know about those.”

I must have blushed a deeper shade of red than a ripe tomato, which made her roar with laughter. I wanted to ask her about Lesley and her leaving the hotel at two in the morning, or what her partner had said when she told her, but instead I simply said, “It must make it difficult at work.”

“Very perceptive, young Jenny. Succeeding as a woman in a man’s world is hard enough, but when they find out you are a dyke then it gets twice as hard. That’s the main reason I don’t advertise it.”

We passed the next few minutes in silence before she said softly, “Have you ever had a girlfriend?” I knew what she meant, and when I shook my head, she laughed, “Have you ever wanted one?”

“No, of course not, I’m straight,” I said immediately, although deep down I knew that I had always wondered.

Lorna laughed, “Funny, isn’t it. We use the words ‘straight’ or ‘normal’ to describe heterosexuals, but lesbians or homosexuals are ‘bent’ or ‘queer’ like it is something wrong.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“You didn’t, young Jenny, so don’t worry. My Shelly used to be ‘straight’ until she met me.”

I wanted to scream, “What about Lesley?” But I kept my mouth shut.

“Anyway, you live your life the way you want to,” she said, smiling, “tonight we will have a laugh…assuming you aren’t afraid the big bad lesbian will turn you off cock.”

I was shocked to hear her talking so basically, but then realised that perhaps she was testing me, so laughing, I replied, “I doubt that will ever happen.”