Defeat washed across Gretchen’s face. “Since… your husband?”
“Since too many things happened at once.” Thelma forced her whole body toward Gretchen. “I’ve been through a lot, Gretch. I shouldn’t be dragging you into my mess.”
“Maybe I wanna be dragged.”
“No.” Thelma got up, searching for her purse and shopping bags. “I should go. I…”
Gretchen came after her, a hand on Thelma’s arm. Thelma tilted her head back and silently dared Gretchen to pretend she knew one thing about what was happening in this moment.You have no idea.It wasn’t her fault. Thelma couldn’t tell her.
“I don’t care about your past, you know,” Gretchen said. “I don’t care about the past at all.”
For a moment, Thelma hesitated, debating whether she should throw herself into Gretchen’s arms and tell her everything. But it was moot. Deep down, Thelma knew it was too soon.
“I really shouldn’t be with anyone right now,” she said. “I shouldn’t have led you on.” She reclaimed her arm. Gretchen lowered her hand.
“You didn’t lead me on. But if it’s not the right time… then whatever, huh?”
“Gretch…”
“For what it’s worth,” Gretchen began, attempting to take this in stride, “you’re the kind of girl worth waiting for, aren’t you?”
Thelma slung her purse strap over her shoulder and grabbed her shopping bags. “You’d have to ask Robbie that.”
“Why would I ask your unc—”
But it was too late for her to finish her thought. Thelma had burst into the night, traveling the ten seconds it took to get to the house next door, where the quiet darkness of being alone drove her to the shower, where she cried for the next hour.
Gretchen had unlocked the grief within her.
Chapter fourteen
Even God Loves You
The pounding drums drowned out the cheers of the growing crowds on either side of Hollywood Boulevard, where Thelma, Megan, and Emma watched that year’s Pride Parade.
I’ve never seen so many colors together at once.She quite liked the idea of rainbows being used to represent those who followed the beat of a different drum.So many colors!Thelma didn’t even mind the dry heat as she stood with a small parasol that wouldn’t hit the people around her. Her cotton sundress with spandex shorts beneath helped her blend into the crowd, but both her granddaughter and Emma were decked out in crocheted tops that represented their respective sexuality “flags.” For Megan, that was a mesh of dark pinks, purples, and blues, while Emma was smashing in bright pink and orange. They held onto each other while the parade passed, hollering as they were handed stickers, beads, and other small trinkets from groups representing local markets, volunteer groups, and “queer friendly” shops and services.
At first, Thelma was smitten with the idea of the neighborhood market where she now bought most of her groceries, showing up with employees dressed in rainbow-themed uniforms who handed out 10% off coupons like candy. Then there was a local union showing up.A lesbian choir? Who knew!Watching muscular women in leather ride by on motorcycles certainly awakened something in Thelma, although she wasn’t sure what to make of one young lady with spiky orange hair and more piercings than she had ever seen in her life.
“Come on, you’ve gotta wear one!” Megan called over the roar of the crowd as she handed her grandmother a rainbow-colored star sticker. “Just put it on your cheek like this!”
How fun!Thelma pulled the sticker off its sheet and gently pushed it against her skin. The trash was tucked into her green purse, and she insisted that the girls hand over their bits of paper before they ended up on the pavement.
In the end, Thelma handled a Pride Parade well. While the concept had initially left her mind an utter wreck as she attempted to conceive it—despite photographic evidence from past events—once it began, she got into the groove of things. Technology and social mores had advanced enough that she was neither surprised nor put out by the smoke machines or topless women exerting their First Amendment rights.Why shouldn’t they?The only time Thelma balked was when a man with his rear hanging out of his leather chaps and a giant, metal penis hanging around his neck approached with a rainbow-colored rose.
“Oh… my. Thank you.” She kept her eyes averted from the rest and focused on the man’s hefty mustache and dark sunglasses. He tipped his hat to her and went on his way.
“You’ve been blessed!” Megan shouted.
As the parade died down, the girls escorted her to the festival grounds, where a stage had been erected for performances andvendors opened booths to promote their local businesses. The grounds were so crowded, though, that Thelma had to put her parasol away and wrap her arm around Megan’s to keep them from being separated.
“There are so many men dressed as women…” Thelma observed as another “drag queen” brushed up against her. While it wasn’t her first time seeing such a thing since coming to 2018, she had never seen so many at once, and up close? Absolutely not!
“Wait until you see the gals dressed as guys,” Emma said with a giggle. “My fave.”
“’Cause you’re a slut,” Megan candidly said.
“Megan!” Thelma gasped. “How can you say such a thing?”
