One Good Reason

“You’ve been away ten years, haven’t you? Melbourne’s grown by about a million people in that time.”

“That would explain it.”

A small silence fell and they both glanced to where Ally and Tyler were serving the meal. To Gabby’s admittedly inexpert eye, it looked as though they were still several minutes away from being rescued by their hosts.

Which meant more small talk was called for.

Over to you, buddy. I did my bit.

“So. It’s your birthday, huh?” Jon finally said.

“Yep. Keeps coming around every year, whether I like it or not.”

“Am I allowed to ask …?”

“Thirty-three. It’s actually on Saturday, but since we’re having the work Christmas party then, Ally wanted to do something tonight so I’d feel special.”

“Sounds like Ally.” There was a softness in his voice when he said the other woman’s name.

“Yeah. She’s pretty great.”

Another silence.

My turn. Think of something. Anything.

But the only thought that popped into her head was that he would have a hell of a time buying a suit off the rack with his broad shoulders.

She took a breath to launch into a discussion about work, but he beat her to it.

“So, Dino was telling me you usually dress up for the Christmas party?”

She gave him a mental elephant stamp for coming up with such a nice, neutral topic. Even they couldn’t go awry talking about this one.

“It’s kind of become a tradition.”

“What are you coming as this year?”

“I was thinking Rudolph. But I’m still toying with the idea of a Christmas tree.”

“What about your girlfriend? Does she get into the whole dressing-up thing?”

Gabby frowned. “I’m sorry?”

She was vaguely aware of Tyler and Ally ferrying dishes to the table.

“Here we go,” Ally said.

“Or aren’t partners invited?” Jon asked, his questioning gaze going from Gabby to Ally to Tyler.

Partners. Girlfriend.

The words circled Gabby’s brain like thought balloons. It took her a full five seconds to join the two together and jump to the only conclusion possible.

“I’m not a lesbian.” It came out sounding a lot more high-pitched and defensive than she would have liked.

Ally’s eyebrows rose as she stared at Jon. “You thought Gabby was gay?”

Tyler laughed. “Bloody hell. Where did you get that idea from?”

Jon’s cheekbones were a dull red. “She mentioned her girlfriend, and I thought …” His gaze went to Gabby’s hair, then dropped below her chin to her body. “I must have got the wrong end of the stick.”

“Girlfriend as in a friend who happens to be a girl,” Gabby said.

She didn’t need a mirror to know she was bright red—she could feel the heat radiating off her skin. Although why she was embarrassed was beyond her—he was the one who had made a fool of himself.

“Sorry. My mistake,” Jon said.

“No kidding,” Gabby said. Talk about a lack of perception.

Tyler was still smiling.

“Tyler. It’s not funny,” Ally chided.

“I know. Sorry. It’s just—Gabby as a lesbian … It boggles the mind.”

“Can we let it drop?” Jon said. The glance he shot her was full of apology.

Great. First he outed her as a lesbian, now he felt sorry for her.

“This looks great, Ally,” she said brightly, picking up her knife and fork. “You know, if you weren’t married, I’d be tempted to nab you for myself.”

Everyone laughed, including Jon. The knot in Gabby’s stomach loosened a little.

“This reminds me of a letter I got last month for the column …” Ally said.

Gabby reached for her water glass as Ally launched into her story. Gabby nodded and laughed and made comments in all the right places, but all the while, behind her smile and her I-couldn’t-care-less demeanor, her mind was whirring, obsessing over Jon’s mistaken assumption.

She told herself that she didn’t care what he thought, that being thought to be gay was not an insult, that some of her best friends were gay. She told herself that his lack of perception said a lot more about him than it did about her. She even got herself to the point where she half believed it—except she kept returning to that significant pause when he’d looked at her hair, then her body before apologizing for getting it wrong.

“Excuse me.” She pushed back her chair and stood.

Hopefully enough time had passed that her leaving the table wouldn’t be read as retreat. Right now she was beyond caring.

The bathroom door closed behind her with a soft click and she crossed the tile floor to stand in front of the full-length mirror mounted beside the old-fashioned tub.

She stared at the woman she saw reflected there, determined to prove to herself once and for all that Jon had his head up his backside.

The woman staring back at her had short, straight dark hair, with a crooked fringe and a pale face utterly devoid of makeup.