Enchanted Desires

He's a Lesbian Now By Alana Church Artwork by Moira Nelligar Copyright 2017 Alana Church == || || == ~~ All characters in this book are over 18. ~~ == || || == Fifteen years ago... “Brian?” “What?” “Come on over here, honey. Don't you want to meet the people who are moving into Mrs. Klepper's house?” “No.” Brian Underwood, six years old, scowled at the TV. He didn't know why Mrs. Klepper had to leave her house and move away. She was nice. She gave him cookies and let him play with her dog, Rosco. And now she was gone and some stupid new people were taking her place. “Brian!” His mother's voice was uncommonly sharp, and his head jerked around. “Come on, honey,” she continued more gently. “I know you miss Mrs. Klepper. So do I. But she's gone and we have new neighbors. We have to make them feel welcome here.” She held out her hand. “Come on.” He sighed and frowned down at his feet, but got off the couch, taking his mother's hand. Maybe she would let him watch a show about dinosaurs when they got back. ***** Outside, there was a big truck in the driveway next door. Sweating grown-ups lifted and carried all sorts of furniture into the house. A strange man with black hair and dark skin stood near the front door with his arms crossed, looking like his mother did when he tried to stay up part his bedtime. Close by, a worried-looking woman watched the movers, as if they were going to break everything on purpose. “Hello!” his mother called. The two grown-ups turned to face her. “I'm Marjorie Underwood. We live next door.” The man stood very still, his mouth looking like he had bitten into something nasty. Finally, he nodded. “I am Wei Lee,” he said. He spoke slowly, the words sounding strange. He made a small gesture to the woman at his right. “My wife, Min.” His mother smiled, but Brian could tell she was confused by the new people's rudeness. “This is my son, Brian.” “Hi!” Brian said, hoping he would be able to go soon. The lady gave him a small smile. “Hello, Brian. How old are you?” “I'm six,” he said. “Six,” the lady repeated, turning to her husband. “Perhaps our daughter might like to meet him?” Brian found himself subject to a long, frowning study, from his scuffed tennis shoes to his scabbed knees to his uncombed hair. It seemed he earned a passing grade, if barely, because Mr. Lee raised his voice. “Jia! Come and meet this smelly American boy!” Above him, he felt his mother take in an outraged breath. He cut her off. “Hey! I'm not smelly!” “Yes, you are.” Brian spun around and looked down, his mouth opening angrily. But- She was dressed in pink and white, with ribbons in her hair, and Brian Underwood felt a tiny spark light up in his heart. “Hi!” he said, taking in her slim, elegant form. “I'm Brian.” “I'm Jia,” she said, sounding bored. He fumbled for something else to say. “Will you be my girlfriend?” he heard his mouth asking, then hoped, with all the power of his heart, that the earth would suddenly open up and swallow him. Jia laughed, the tone like tinkling bells to his suddenly love-struck heart. “No. I don't like boys.” Her nose wrinkled in distaste. “They're stupid and stinky.” “I'm not stupid,” he flared. “I can name all the states. And their capitols,” he said proudly. In truth, this skill had been learned while singing along to episodes of Animaniacs on DVD one day while his parents were wrestling upstairs. When he had gone into their bedroom, his mother seemed to be winning, which was weird. And his father had told him he could watch TV until they were done, which was even stranger. “Yeah?” she said, a cute frown on her delicately carved face. “Well, I can name all the elements in the periodic table. So there!” “The what?” Behind him, he heard Mr. Lee give a harsh snort. “Well, I don't care about your dumb table. I like dinosaurs. I'm going to be a paleontologist when I grow up.” Mrs. Lee leaned down, smiling at him. The expression made her tired face resemble her daughter's. “That's a very big word for such a little boy. Do you know what it means?” “It's a scientist who studies fossils,” he said. “And I know what 'condescension' means, too,” his mother said. She was looking at Mr. and Mrs. Lee with an unhappy expression. “I came here to welcome you to the neighborhood. Not to have my son insulted. If you don't think he's good enough for your daughter, we'll just go on home.” “No! Wait!” Mrs. Lee cast a pleading look at her husband, who scowled and looked away. “I'm sorry. We're...it's not easy, being the new people. We would...we would be very happy if Brian and Jia were friends.” His mother tapped her foot, the same way she did when he hadn't cleaned up his room, then nodded. “Would Jia like to come over and play with Brian while you get moved in?” she asked. “She can play-” her father started. “Oh, good!” “She can play the piano. When she is done studying.” His mother looked flabbergasted. Was this man real? “It's June. What could she possibly be studying for?” “She-” Wei Lee looked around suddenly. “Where did she go?” Upstairs... “....And this is my allosaurus. And this is my stegosaurus. And these are my velico..velocit...” “They're velociraptors, Brian.” “Yeah! They eat everything! Like snotty little girls. Grrrrr. Bite bite bite.” “Eww,” she said, laughing. “Get them away from me!” ***** Present Day... “That b***h!!” Brian looked up from his computer as the door to his tiny apartment slammed shut. “Hi, Jia. Come on in. Don't knock. It's not like I could have a girlfriend over, and be making hot passionate love to her.” “Did you know what she was doing?” his best friend said as she stormed in, ignoring his gibe. “Do you have any idea?” “I can guess. I told you she was no good for you. Cheerleaders are all the same. Even lesbians.” “Shut up. That f*****g w***e was in our bed. In my bed, getting eaten out by some bleached-blonde bimbo with t**s the size of f*****g beach balls.” She swiped a hand across her cheeks, which were shining with tears. “She said I was never around, I studied too much, I wasn't any fun unless we were in bed. You know. All that crap. “Come on,” she said, coming over to his desk and tugging at his hand. Her eyes shone with a mad, self-destructive gleam. “It's Friday night and finals are over. Let's go out, get s**t-faced, and do stuff we'll really regret in the morning.” “Oh, no.” Brian resisted her pull. “Remember the last time that happened? When you broke up with Yolanda because she decided being a lesbian was 'just a phase?' I ended up holding your hair while you were puking up your shoes at three in the morning.” He saved the file he was working on and shut down his laptop. “Luckily for you, I have prepared for this little eventuality.” “What?” The black-haired vision in front of him glared angrily. “Did you know this was coming?” He shrugged. “I've seen this movie before, Jia. I know how it ends. Everything starts out wonderful. Then I start to hear complaints. Like the ones Lynette was making.” He sighed. “Listen. I know it hasn't been easy for you. But if you don't learn to relax a bit, you're never going to have a relationship that lasts for more than a couple of months. You're going to drive everyone away.” Jia's lovely face crumpled, and she sank onto his ratty second-hand couch. Her face was held in her hands. “I can't help it. It's my dad. He makes me crazy, you know. I hear him in my head, when I'm not studying. 'Jia,' he says, 'we're A-sians, not B-sians.'” Despite himself, Brian snickered. “I heard a new one in my geology final yesterday. Do you know how Chinese students say the alphabet?” “No.” Brian sang to the tune of the 'alphabet song.' “A-A-A-A-A-A-A.” Jia giggled and imitated her father, mimicking his accent mercilessly. “Remember, Jia. All good things start with A. A doctor. A lawyer. A-sian.” And they were off: “You use calculator? Why not calcu-now?” “If at first you don't succeed – don't come back home.” “Your friend call you a-hole? At least you not c-hole.” “You on f*******:? Why you not stick your face in book?” By the time they were finished, Jia was curled up on the couch, shaking with laughter. When she finally stopped, she sat up, the strained look gone from around her eyes. “You mentioned being prepared?” Brian nodded. “I've got beer, cheap wine, frozen pizza, and as many bad comedies to shove into the DVD player as you can handle.” Jia smiled at him. “Challenge accepted.” ***** As they finished 'Knocked Up' and started 'Superbad,' Jia leaned back, with a slice of pizza cradled in her fingers. “s**t. f**k. Shitfuck. How did I not see this coming?” Brian shrugged. “Because you're a delicate flower who always thinks the best of people?” She punched his shoulder. “Shut up.” She finished the slice and burped delicately. “I don't suppose you've got any ice cream?” “Two pints,” he replied, fishing them out of the freezer. “Chocolate mint for you,” he said, handing her the container and a spoon. “Rocky Road for me.” “Nice.” She peeled the top off and dug her spoon in deep. “Let's go out on the balcony for a while. I've seen this thing a dozen times.” The night was warm and pleasant, with ragged clouds playing hide and seek with the nearly-full moon, which hung low in the southeast. Brian leaned back in his cheap plastic deck chair, rescued from a garage sale before he moved in last fall, and put his feet up on the railing. Four stories below, the Burlington Northern tracks wound away towards the western suburbs. In that direction, the last glow of sunset was slowly fading. Jia sat down beside him, her dark eyes shadowed in the dim light. He looked at her, feeling his heart break all over again. He had loved her since the day they first met. But the cruel realities of s****l orientation said that they would never be together. Four years ago, after their junior prom, Jia had asked him to take her for a drive, rather than to go to the after-party some of their friends were hosting. His heart had raced excitedly. Here, he had thought, would finally be his chance to make love to Jia. They had been dating for several weeks, after he had finally worked up enough nerve to ask her out. And even if they didn't end up screwing, he was more than willing to spend a couple hours making out with her. She was so beautiful. Unlike many of his classmates, she had never gone through the gawky teenage transition, where they were all knees and elbows and acne. No, not Jia. Somehow she slowly transformed from a cute, black-haired girl in pigtails to a stunningly beautiful young woman, with long, shapely legs, a wonderful ass, a shimmering black waterfall of hair, and the sort of chest that made priests curse their vows. But instead of indulging in his fantasy of taking his virginity, his gorgeous Asian neighbor and best friend had come out to him as a lesbian. It was, he had decided when he had recovered his ability to think clearly, an incredibly brave thing to do. He was aware, as no one else was, of the tremendous pressure Jia faced from her parents to excel in everything - particularly from her father, who was a high-ranking medical researcher in a pharmaceutical company. The pressure was not limited to grades and scholastic achievement, either. A few years ago, Mr. Lee had made it appallingly clear to him just how unacceptable he was as a potential husband for their only daughter, who was expected to graduate with honors, have a career, and produce grandchildren for her parents. And all at the same time, if he understood correctly. His lips quirked as he remembered Mr. Lee's blank-faced astonishment when he shared the news that he, like his daughter, had been accepted into the University of Chicago. Unlike Jia, who was planning on being an engineer, Brian was in the geology school, with an emphasis in paleontology and climate science. The older man had stormed around the neighborhood for weeks, muttering darkly about how low the admissions standards had fallen, and how Jia didn't really want to go to UC, and how it was just a safety school after she had been cheated out of her rightful place at Yale.