Beneath the Surface(50)

She shook hands with a few people, exchanged pleasantries, and accepted congratulations as she headed over to Sheryl and the woman she was talking to.

Sheryl and the neighbor both stopped talking as Kristin approached.

“The woman of the hour,” Sheryl said after a beat. “Amber, this is my partner Kristin, who made all of this happen. Honey, Amber teaches yoga just around the corner and is so persuasive I almost signed up for a trial.”

“Nice to meet you, Amber.” Kristin shook her hand, while, subconsciously, putting her other hand on Sheryl’s shoulder.

“This place is halfway between my apartment and the studio where I teach, so I guess you’ll be seeing more of me. Provided you also sell tea.”

“We most certainly do.” Kristin held Amber’s gaze. “And I look forward to serving it to you on a daily basis.”

“Don’t let her bully you into too much patronage,” Sheryl said. “She’s a crafty marketeer.”

“I look forward to it too,” Amber said. “Sheryl told me you’re new to the neighborhood, so welcome. I like that you’re so open about everything as well, by the way. Some people might argue that we don’t need more of that, but I think we do.”

Kristin was probably the only one who noticed the subtle shift in Sheryl’s stance. She rooted herself a bit more firmly to the ground and her shoulders squared a bit more solidly, as though guessing correctly at someone’s sexual preference gave her cause to grow a little taller.

Kristin herself had only pegged Amber as a lesbian because of the way her head had inclined when Sheryl was talking to her. Sheryl still had that instant effect on women. Sadly, Kristin felt she had grown mostly unaware of it after so many years together.

“It’s extremely important,” Sheryl stated.

With glee running up her spine, Kristin concluded that Amber would soon learn all about the ways Sheryl thought it was important to be out and proud. Kristin knew her arguments by heart, though they had changed and become more nuanced over the years.

“There’s still so much to fight for,” Kristin heard Sheryl say, pecked her on the cheek, feeling a little thrill at the reawakening of the activist in Sheryl, and went to greet a couple that had just arrived.

If the turnout at the opening was anything to go by, The Pink Bean would be a great success.



What Kristin didn’t realize, was how in awe Sheryl was of her. Probably because she didn’t tell her enough, though Kristin seemed to have made a point, even through the most hectic stages of the renovations, of having enough time for them as a couple. On paper The Pink Bean was owned by both of them, but in reality, all of it, including the design-in-progress of their apartment upstairs, was all Kristin’s doing. Sure, they had discussed everything, but all Sheryl ever had to do was say yes or no to something Kristin brought to the table. She mostly said yes. And this was what her saying yes all those times had amounted to. A brand-new business, a brand-new life for Kristin, for whom being busy and working toward something was the pinnacle of happiness. She was the kind of person who needed something like this.

How exactly Kristin had pulled this all off in a matter of months, Sheryl wasn’t entirely sure, despite being witness to it all. She tried to be as involved as she could be, but The Pink Bean was Kristin’s baby and what Kristin needed most of all was her unwavering support, not her opinion on which tiles to use in the bathrooms. The only aspect of the entire endeavor they had discussed in depth was the name. Sheryl had been the one to suggest it, not only because Darlinghurst was a very gay-friendly neighborhood, but because she thought it important to state who they were from the get-go, rainbow sticker on the door and everything.

Of course Sheryl had had her fair share of doubts. How could she not have? But she was due for a change as well. Kristin quitting her job had been the catalyst for all of this, for their reinvention as business owners, though Sheryl would just continue working at the university the way she always had. Secretly, she hoped the change in daily routine and environment would spark a more personal transformation as well—thank goodness Kristin hadn’t set her sights on opening a pub, because that might well have been the end of her.

“Hello, stranger.” Caitlin sidled up to her. “Who would ever have thought? You and Kristin owning a coffee shop?” Sheryl had invited her old friend on a whim, and to her surprise, she had been in the country and shown up. She was probably on the prowl. Maybe she should introduce her to that woman she and Kristin had just met, the yoga teacher, who had made Sheryl’s gaydar buzz all over the place.