Radclyffe - Safe Harbor

"Reese!" her mother exclaimed when she opened the door.

"Bad time?" Reese asked uncertainly.

"Not at all. Its wonderful to see you. Come on back and have some coffee."

"Sure," Reese replied, following the other woman through the house to the kitchen.

"How are you?" her mother inquired.

"Im fine. I was just passing by, and-" Reese faltered, not able to explain.

"Reese," Kate said softly, "you dont need a reason to come by. Being able to see you is a miracle."

Reese looked away, then faced her mother directly. "It was part of the agreement, wasnt it? That you not see me?"

Her mothers distress was palpable. "Yes. I wouldnt have agreed, but twenty years ago, a lesbian mother had no rights at all. And I couldnt fight it. Your father had pictures."

Reese grew very still. "He had you followed?"

"Yes. We werent very discreet. Jean and I were young and terribly innocent. It didnt occur to either of us that loving each other could be wrong. Im so sorry, Reese! I was selfish, I know, but I was so unhappy for so long! Not with you! You were the best part of my life! And then I met Jean, and I felt alive for the first time!" Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at the woman her daughter had become. "I am so terribly sorry!"

Reese shook her head. "You chose life. If you had stayed, I can only imagine it would have been worse for all of us eventually. I dont blame youif I ever felt what you felt for Jean, Id do the same."

Kate studied the tightly controlled, perfectly contained features of her daughters face and asked boldly, "And have you ever? Felt that way for someone?"

"No." Reese looked past her mother to the smooth water of the harbor, looking inward to a life she never examined. "Im like him, you know. I was happy in the military, and Im happy now. I love the order, and the duty, and the responsibility. I dont need anything else."

"You have your fathers best qualities, Reese. I can see that. You remind me of why I married him - seeing you in that uniform - not a wrinkle, not a fold out of place. It reminds me that he represented something decent and honest and admirable. Or so I thought. Your father never made room in his life for love, Reese. I hope that wont be true for you. If it finds you, dont turn your back."

Reese smiled ruefully. "Im not sure I would recognize it."

Her mother laughed, squeezing Reeses hand gently. "Trust me - youll know."

**********

Reese spent the next four hours directing slowly moving cars and hordes of weekend arrivals through the congested, narrow streets in the center of town. Tour buses crowded the pier, disgorging packs of mostly elderly people who milled about uncertainly, seemingly oblivious to the cars passing within inches of them. Lesbian and gay couples of all ages and description poured into town for the first gathering of the summer season. Commercial Street was wall to wall pedestrians, interspersed with vehicles attempting to navigate around them. Reese greeted Paul Smith, her relief, with a grin.

"Welcome to bedlam, but I guess you expected it!"

Paul looked up and down the street, shaking his head. "Yep, looks about like I thought. Once the sun goes down, most of the out-of-towners will leave. Then all well have are the gays - until two or so."

He looked harried, and Reese remembered that his young wife was pregnant. "Whens your baby due?"

"Any second. Cheryls so big now she can hardly sleep, and shes getting really spooked about being home alone at night," he said worriedly.

Reese looked at her watch, then said, "Listen - how about I relieve you at midnight? I can duck home now and sleep for a while."

He looked at her hopefully. "Youd do that?"

"Sure - its only for a few days. Just let the Sheriff know, okay? Ill be home if you need me."

She waved away his attempts to thank her, walking off to retrieve her cruiser. The enthusiasm and holiday spirit of the people surrounding her was contagious, and she doubted that shed be able to sleep much. She might as well work. Besides, she was anxious to see the Provincetown that only came to life at night.

At ten minutes to midnight, Reese pulled her squad car into the small lot behind city hall, across the street from the Pilgrims Monument, and one short block from the center of town. She found Paul and sent him home. Standing with her back to the pier, she looked up and down Commercial Street. It was nearly as crowded as it had been at noon, but the entire atmosphere had changed. There was a Mardi Gras energy in the air, as same sex couples of all ages, styles, and garb strolled the sidewalks and spilled out into the street. Men in impossibly revealing shorts, leathers, and spandex passed singly or in groups, openly appraising each other. Women, mostly in couples, and occasional knots of youths were very much a presence as well. They held hands or draped their arms about each other, delighting in their visibility. Reese had never seen so many gay people in one place before. It was clear that Provincetown was every inch the mecca it claimed to be.

She started west along Commercial, toward the Coast Guard station that marked the end of the most populated walk in Provincetown. For the most part, the crowds were congenial and controlled, parting like the sea for the bicyclists and rollerbladers who dared navigate the packed one way street. Reese took her time, glancing in the shops she passed, most of which were still open and would remain open eighteen hours a day until after Labor Day. The merchants of Provincetown had a very short season, and worked nonstop during the three months of summer. The restaurants and many bed-and-breakfasts were also dependent on a heavy tourist trade during the summer migration of gays and lesbians in order to survive the near desolation of the empty winter months.

Reese walked down to the entrance to the Provincetown Gym and stuck her head inside. Marge was behind the counter, piling tee shirts and sweats onto the shelves behind her. Marge smiled a greeting. "Hey, handsome! I thought this was Paulies shift!"

"It is, but hes home with his wife, waiting on the baby. Im filling in for a few days."

"Aint it beautiful out there?" Marge remarked with a grin.

"Everything Ive been told is true. Its changed overnight," Reese agreed.

"And it isnt even busy yet!"

It was hard not to catch the enthusiasm that pervaded the small fishing village. Reese nodded, knowing that the hardest three months of her year were in front of her, and not minding a bit. This was the reason she was here - to make sure that the town and its people were safe and prosperous through another cycle.

"Ive got to get going. I just wanted to say Hi."

Marge waved her on, saying, "How about dinner again soon?"

"Sure," Reese agreed. "How does September sound?"

"Oh, come now, Sheriff," Marge teased, "youve got to find some time to enjoy the goings on around here. Ill take you to the tea dance!"

"Deal," Reese acquiesced, "as soon as I get a day off."

"Its a date!"

Reese raised one eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Marge laughed, "Get out of here. Go make our streets safe for the younguns!"

Reese smiled to herself as she rejoined the throngs in front of Spiritus Pizza, the central gathering place for the dozens of men and women who sat on the curb, occupied the benches, or leaned against the light poles to watch the spectacle of life passing by. There wasnt much in the way of public drunkenness, or obvious drug use. Generally someone in the gathering managed to keep the heavy partyers under control or off the streets. Reese was glad of that. She didnt want to spend her shift hassling people over fairly harmless substance use, but shed have to if it became too publicly blatant. She was paid to enforce the law, and she would, but she reserved the right to use her own judgement as to what constituted a real violation.