Selena Kitt - A Baumgartner Christmas

“You are?” Daphne sank down beside her, all wide-eyes.

“Well… yeah.” Carrie glanced up, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Interesting.” The response wasn’t much of a clue.

So she just decided to ask her directly. “Does that freak you out?”

“No. I just didn’t know.” Daphne ran a wet finger around the rim of her glass. “I mean, it’s not often you find someone else who’s bi.”

“You?” Carrie hid her smile behind her glass. Doc had been right after all.

Daphne nodded.

“Doc thought you were.”

“Did he?” Her friend laughed. “But you didn’t guess?”

“I suspected…”

“So wait…” Daphne leaned in, curious. “Have you been with a woman since you’ve been married?”

“No.” Carrie shook her head. “But Doc thinks I should.”

Daphne’s eyes narrowed and she frowned. “Is he one of those guys who wants you to be bi so he can cheat?”

“No, it’s not like that,” Carrie protested. “He doesn’t care if he’s not involved. He’s fine with me being with a girl all on my own.”

“Really?” Her friend looked doubtful. “But he wouldn’t mind if he was a part of things, of course.”

“Well yeah.” Carrie grinned. “I can’t blame him.”

“But not guys?”

She pursed her lips, remembering their conversation about Wilson. “Actually, we were just talking about that.”

“And what did you two decide?”

Carrie shrugged. “He’s not as okay with that.”

“Go figure.” Daphne snorted, glancing at her. “Let me guess… the conversation was about Wilson?”

Carrie blinked and swallowed, not sure if she should tell her friend the truth-but they always told each other the truth, right? Even when it hurt.

“Well… that’s where it started, I guess.”

“I can’t blame you.” Daphne’s finger traced round and round the rim of her glass. “He is fine. Prime threesome material.”

“Well, he’s not an option on the table,” Carrie reminded her, putting her hand on her friend’s forearm. Her skin was as soft as a baby’s.

“But I am.” Daphne spoke the words, matter-of-fact, sliding her hand down to press it into her friend’s. “Doc’s given you permission to have sex with me… if you want.”

“Yes.” Carrie’s heart beat so fast it felt like it might burst out of her chest. “If you want.”

Daphne linked her fingers with Carrie’s, smiling. “I wish I had a husband who was so open.”

“You don’t have a husband at all.” The words were out before she thought about them.

Daphne laughed. “Thanks for reminded me.”

“You know what I meant.” Carrie flushed, squeezing her hand. “You’re free to do whatever you want. With anyone.”

“I am.” She nodded, their eyes meeting.

“If you were me…” Carrie swallowed. “What would you do?”

Daphne said what she felt, as always. “I’d have an affair with my best friend.”

“You would.” Carrie couldn’t catch her breath.

“Hell yes,” she breathed.

The front door opened and both girls jumped, startled, as Doc came into the room, brushing snow off his shoulders.

“Hey girls! It’s snowing, but they say it’s supposed to warm up, so I doubt we’ll get a white Christmas. Not that we’ll be here anyway…” He slid his coat off, glancing at them sitting on the sofa, and then stopped, looking between them, from one to the other. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Carrie protested, trying not to sound breathless as Daphne unobtrusively disengaged her hand from hers.

“I was just getting ready to go.” Daphne stood, putting her wine on the coffee table. “Nice to see you, Doc. Have a good holiday, if I don’t see you.”

“You too,” he replied, watching as she slid on her coat and boots. He held the door for her as the women said goodbye, waving to each other before Daphne slipped out into the cold.

Doc looked after her, curious. “What was that about?”

“Nothing.” Carrie wasn’t in the habit of lying to her husband, but this time, this one time, she wanted to keep this to herself. At least, for a little while.

* * * *

“It’s about time you picked up the phone!” Carrie berated her friend over the wire, but she really felt like hugging her through it. “Where have you been for the past three days?”

“Home,” Daphne replied.

“I was getting ready to come make sure you were still alive,” Carrie scolded. “Why haven’t you picked up the phone? Did you get my messages?”

Of course she’d been worried about just this thing, that Daphne would be scared off, that it would ruin their friendship. And maybe it had, just the mention of it. The thought made Carrie feel physically ill. She’d been feeling that way for days.

“Yeah, I got them,” Daphne admitted. “I just… I guess I’ve just been feeling sorry for myself.”

Uh-oh. So this was it then.

“Why?”

“Oh I don’t know, because you’ve got Doc, and now you’ve got Wilson lusting after you, and you pretty much just get everything, and what do I get?” Daphne spat bitterly.

Wow.

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

Carrie stared at the receiver for a moment. “What do you mean, I have Wilson lusting after me?”

“He came over here the other night and you were all he could talk about.”

“…What?”

“You heard me. You and your temporary tattoo. And it’s not that I blame him-you’re fucking gorgeous, and who wouldn’t lust after you? Hell, even I’ve thought about it. You know I have.”

“Daphne… stop.” Carrie really wished her friend was in front of her, that this conversation had taken place in person instead.

“What?”

She took a deep breath. “Listen, I called you for a reason.”

“What reason?”

Might as just well come out with it. “I wanted to invite you to Key West with me for Christmas.”

Daphne was quiet for a long time. “Are you serious?”

“I already bought the ticket so you better say yes.” She’d dipped into her own savings account, the one she’d had since before she and Doc were married.

“Wow.” That was all Daphne could seem to say. “Wow. I mean… wow.”

“Come on, it will be fun. Doc can’t come for a few days, he has to work. It will just be me and you. Well, and Doc’s parents. But we can go shopping and swimming and, hell, we can even swim with dolphins if you want, I don’t care-”

“Shut up,” Daphne replied, laughing. “You had me at shopping.”

“You’ll come?” Carrie’s heart swelled, filling her throat.

“Of course I’ll come! I told you I’d jump at the chance. I’m jumping! This is the best Christmas gift ever. I so need a break.”

Carrie smiled at the phone. “Me too.”

* * * *

“How many inches?” Carrie twisted the phone cord around her finger, glancing at Daphne sitting on the sofa in the living room. Her friend raised her eyebrows, grinning, and Carrie stifled a laugh. “Oh Nan, I’m so sorry. When do they think flights will be going out of Boston again?”

“So how many inches?” Daphne used her hands to denote the measurement. “Eight… ten…” The width between her hands got wider, and wider still. “Twelve?”

“Fifteen inches of snow is just crazy,” Carrie agreed, snickering at the shocked look on her friend’s face, the way her hands tried to take that huge measurement. “So they’re saying at least a day? Maybe two?”

“Did they get that kind of snow in Michigan?” Daphne called.

Carrie shook her head, answering Nan. “No, Doc said it was all rain when it went through. They got wet, but no snow… yep, he’ll be here… okay… and where is the Christmas tree stored?”