Never Let Me Go Read online

  NEVER LET ME GO

  By

  Lydia Rose

  Edited By

  Holly Schneider

  FOR LINDA ALWAYS

  THIS IS A STORY OF FICTION AND NOT A BOOK OF HISTORY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LEGALIZATION OF GAY MARRIAGE IN 2012

  CHAPTER 1

  Mary Rogers was on her way to the restaurant to meet her best friend Thomas. The two of them tried to get together once a month while Thomas was in town. Mary and Thomas had been friends since they were in third grade and even though Thomas swore that Mary broke his heart when she told him she was gay, they remained the closest of friends. Thomas Kelly became a lawyer and now was the county’s congressman in the state of Virginia. Mary went off to business school after high school and now worked for the town’s current mayor. Mary’s life as a child wasn’t always the best. Her parents were strict religious people. Her father was a foreman on one of the large farms and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. Her brother, Henry Jr., worked in a local factory and her sister Sara remained at home with her own children. Mary was tired of hearing her mother harp that she needed to get married because at the age of thirty her prospects were getting slimmer. If only Mary had the courage to tell her parents the truth, but instead she remained in the closet. Mary walked into the restaurant and saw Thomas waving her over to his table. Thomas gave her his usual bear hug before Mary took her seat.

  “It’s good to see you, Mary,” Thomas said, placing the napkin back onto his lap.

  “You too, sweetie.” Mary was now smiling being in the company of her best friend.

  “So how is the job?” he asked watching her face.

  “Good.”

  “How are your parents?”

  Mary wrinkled her nose. “Same.”

  Thomas watched his friend closely. “Is your mother still trying to marry you off to every single man in the county?” he asked chuckling.

  Mary lowered her head. “Yes.”

  Thomas waited until they placed their orders before he began with the reason he had asked Mary to meet him. “My secretary is pregnant.”

  “How nice for her.”

  Thomas rolled his eyes. “She’s not coming back after the baby is born.” Mary picked at her food. “I want you to come work for me.”

  Mary’s head popped up. “What?”

  “I want you to come to Washington to work for me.” Mary just stared at his face. “The pay is so much better than what you are making, but the best part is that you will be away from your parents.” He leaned closer to Mary. “You can have a life there, Mary.”

  “I can’t, Thomas,” Mary shook her head to emphasize her words.

  “Why? Is there anything for you here?”

  “No, but…” She wondered if she had the courage to leave everything she had known to go work in such a large city.

  “No buts, Mary.” Thomas took her hand. “She’s never coming back into your life.”

  Mary didn’t have to ask Thomas whom he meant. She knew very well. Sandy had been her first love and the first one to break her heart. They had gone to business school together and realized quickly that they were both attracted to each other. It wasn’t easy to find a place to be alone, but somehow they managed. Her mother constantly commented about the time she spent with Sandy. She often wondered if her mother knew what was going on between them but chose to avoid the subject. The few times that Sandy came to her house, her mother had something to say.

  “You girls aren’t going to find husbands if you just spend all your time together,” Sybil would comment.

  “Mother, where are we going to meet boys?” Mary would argue. “There aren’t any boys in our class.”

  “If you went to church more often, you would find someone.”

  That last week of classes, the school took the class to the city to a job fair for the weekend. That was the best and worse weekend of Mary’s life. She had a room with Sandy for the whole weekend, but the night before they left, Sandy told Mary, “I’m going to DC after school ends.” Mary just stared at Sandy. “I have a cousin there that has offered me a place to stay (with her) until I can afford to get a place of my own.” Mary began to cry. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Mary, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t stay in that town. If I do, I’ll die.”

  “But we can live together,” Mary cried softly.

  “If we did, everyone would talk. I need to get away from there, Mary. Please understand.”

  The two women spent the rest of the night crying and making love for the last time. That was ten years ago.

  “I can’t afford to live there,” Mary said looking at Thomas.

  “I want you to live with me. I have three bedrooms and I’m rarely there. You would have the place to yourself.”

  “Thomas, what will my parents say?”

  Thomas looked up at the ceiling. “Mary, you are thirty years old. You don’t need your parents’ permission to start a life.”

  “I’m not sure, Thomas.”

  “Mary, please think about it before you say no. Do me this favor, please.”

  “I will, Thomas.” Mary left the restaurant with her head spinning. The thought of getting away from her mother’s feeble attempts to marry her off were wearing hard on her. Mary had visited Thomas once and although as a tourist she enjoyed herself, living there seemed daunting.

  “Oh, Mary,” Sybil Rogers said when Mary walked through the door. “Your father invited Ronald Templeton to dinner this evening.”

  Mary rolled her eyes. Her mother had been trying to get Mr. Templeton’s grandson and Mary together for years. As the owner of the massive farm Mr. Templeton thought the match for his grandson was perfect. Ronald was the farm’s accountant and both he and Mary attended school together. “Mother, I have no interest in Ron.”

  “He’s always liked you, Mary. Why won’t you at least go out with him?”

  “I can’t, Mother. Thomas offered me a job in DC and I’ve accepted.” Well, I will as soon as I get upstairs and call Thomas.

  “What? You can’t leave your family.” Her mother moved closer to her. “You’ve always been such a selfish girl. Why can’t you be more like your sister and brother?”

  “Can’t you understand, Mother that I don’t want to be like them.” Mary rushed up the front stairs and slammed the door to her room.

  CHAPTER 2

  That fight with her mother was three weeks ago and now Mary was driving to a new life. Her father tried to talk her out of moving to no avail. Even the sister that she never got along with begged her to stay. Sara tried to guilt Mary by saying she was breaking mom and dad’s heart, but Mary wouldn’t listen to anyone. The mayor was very gracious and wished Mary well. He also said if it didn’t work out to come see him.

  Pulling up to Thomas’ apartment made Mary smile. Mary carried her suitcases up the front stairs of the brownstone and rang the bell.

  “Hello, Ms. Rogers,” the housekeeper Sylvia greeted her.

  “Hi, Sylvia. Is Thomas in town?”

  “He’s in Virginia this week. Mr. Kelly said to make sure you had everything you needed.” She helped Mary with her suitcases. As she put the cases down in the room Mary would be using, she said, “Lunch will be ready in a half hour.”

  “Sylvia, you don’t have to go to any trouble for me.”

  “It’s no trouble, Ms. Rogers.”

  “Sylvia, please call me Mary.”

  “Thank you, Mary.” Sylvia disappeared down the stairs.

  Sitting on the bed of the place Mary would call home for a while made her smile. There would be no one here telling her that she must marry or why she was such an ungrateful child.

  While Mary ate her lunch, Sylvia told Mary where she could take the Metro train to work. “There is
too much traffic for you to drive your car. There are also buses that you can take. Thomas left you the train and bus schedules,” she said handing Mary the pamphlets.

  “Thank you, Sylvia.” Mary finished her meal and went up to her room to finish unpacking.

  She walked into Thomas’ office Monday morning and met the very pregnant Eve.

  “Hello, Eve. I’m Mary Rogers,” she said extending her hand to the woman.

  Eve smiled instantly. “Mary, I’m so happy to meet you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to start your training immediately.”

  “That’s what I’m here for, Eve.”

  Mary spent the day taking note after note. At lunchtime, Eve gave Mary a tour of the building and introduced her to a few of the women working there. “Thomas is so easy to work for, but I’m sure you know that since you are friends.”

  “Thomas has always been such a sweet man,” Mary admitted freely.

  “He speaks very highly of you and your skills. I know I’ll be leaving my job in good hands.”

  “I hope you are right, Eve.”

  *

  Three weeks after Mary’s arrival in Washington, D.C. she was going to start her week on her own. Eve had been anxious to leave and spent the last three weeks cramming Mary’s head with the job and procedures. She learned all the latest gossip that was going around which Eve shared even though Mary had no interest.

  “Mary,” Thomas said when she walked into her office.

  “Thomas, are you here for the week?” Mary asked hanging up her coat.

  “Yes. I just got in this morning and came directly from the airport. I’ve got a meeting to chair with Congresswoman Katherine Willow.” He looked down at Mary. “So, how do you like the job?”

  “I love it, Thomas. I can’t thank you enough for getting me out of Virginia.”

  Thomas grinned. “Have you heard from your parents?”

  “Not a word,” she said returning his grin.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to your job. I should be back by one if anyone calls.”

  “Yes, Mr. Kelly,” she said with a wink. “Play nice with the politicians.” Her laughter followed Thomas out of the office.

  As Mary walked down the hallways of this building many heads turned. Mary’s dark hair which she wore just above her shoulder and petite frame brought her attention she wasn’t interested in having. Her dark blue eyes would ignore the looks as she continued on to her destination. She paused to greet her friend Arlene. “Off to lunch, Arlene?”

  “I wish,” she said following Mary. “I’m just going to grab a cup of coffee and come back. Katherine has so many things for me to check out,” Arlene sighed. “I hope you get this assignment of the committee she and Thomas are working on right now. I have more than enough work to do.”

  “If they ask, I’m up for it,” Mary told her friend.

  “Thank you, Mary. My boyfriend is beginning to think we’ve broken up since I never get to see him.”

  Mary didn’t have that problem and she was happy to help out a friend. It didn’t matter if she spent late nights in the office finishing her work. There was no one at home waiting for her to come home. “I’ll catch you later, Arlene,” Mary said as she turned the corner to drop off a folder to another congressman.

  Mary and Thomas left the office together at seven o’clock. They arrived at the apartment and found a note from Sylvia. “There’s stew in the refrigerator for us,” Thomas said dropping his coat on the chair near the door. Mary hung it up in the coat closet along with her own.

  “I’ll go heat up a bowl for each of us if you want to change clothes.”

  Thomas came into the kitchen and took a seat as Mary placed a bowl in front of him. “So have you been getting out?”

  “I went to the Smithsonian this past weekend.” Mary picked up her fork and dug into the stew.

  Thomas laughed. “Who are you going to meet at the Smithsonian? A tourist.” Mary didn’t answer. “What about gay clubs or bars?”

  She looked at her friend. “No. Besides, I have no idea where they are.”

  “I’ll find out for you.”

  Now Mary laughed. “And how are you going to do that?”

  “I know people.” Thomas knew exactly who he would ask. He found out accidently about a fellow congresswoman. He was having dinner with a woman when Katherine Willow walked in on the arm of a gorgeous woman. He knew instantly that she was not dining with a friend. Katherine swore him to secrecy and the two of them had been close friends since that time. He escorted Katherine to work functions as her beard since Thomas was more than happy to help his friend.

  “Please be discreet, Thomas. I don’t need that building to know I’m a lesbian.”

  “I won’t tell her who I’m giving the information to.” Thomas put his hand over his heart.

  Three days later, Thomas handed Mary a slip of paper. “What’s this?”

  “Places for you to go and meet women,” he said grinning. “I’m told that this place,” he pointed to the paper, “is very classy and you should start there.”

  “Thank you, Thomas. I’ll think about it.”

  “Mary, I asked you here so you can have a life. It’s 1992 and it’s time for you to start living.”

  Mary just nodded and went back to her work. When Thomas went into his office, she looked at the paper again.

  CHAPTER 3

  Mary didn’t have time to visit any of the places on Thomas’ list at the end of the week. She was working on the report Thomas required for the children’s program. To Mary this was much more important than her own self-gratification. Thomas was back in Virginia as Mary completed the report. She sent a copy to him via overnight mail.

  “Outstanding, Mary. I’ve left word on Congresswoman Willow’s voicemail to let her know she can pick up a copy to review.”

  “I’ll have a copy waiting for her, Thomas.” Mary knew Congresswoman Katherine Willow by reputation only. Everyone said that she was not only beautiful, but kind. She did her job well and she was always there to help people in need. Everyone that had the pleasure of knowing Katherine Willow wanted to be her. Mary knew from Katherine Willow’s reputation that she would go far in the political world if she wanted to.

  “I should be back sometime Saturday. Maybe you and I can go out to dinner somewhere?”

  “Thomas, wouldn’t you rather go out with someone else?” Mary asked knowing he didn’t have a girlfriend in a long time.

  “Who, Mary? You know it’s hard to meet someone when you are living in two states.”

  “I know some women at work I could introduce you to.” Mary’s list of friends went through her head and who would make a good match with Thomas.

  “That wouldn’t be a good idea, Mary. I need to keep my personal and career separate. Now if you have some friends that don’t work for the government…” Thomas laughed.

  “I’ll keep my eyes open for you.”

  “Just make sure they aren’t interested in you first.” Both he and Mary laughed.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Friday evening Mary left work with the intention of visiting the club on her list. She walked into the building and took a seat at the bar.

  “What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

  “A white wine, please,” Mary said with a shy smile. Now her eyes gazed at the crowd. There were professional women at the bar and in the booths toward the back. She was still gazing as someone took the seat next to her. Her eyes slid to the woman as she took off her coat and draped it across her lap.

  “You weren’t saving this seat for someone?” the woman asked as their eyes met.

  “No,” Mary answered quietly.

  The woman’s hand came out. “Carol.”

  Mary looked at the hand and took it gently. “Mary.”

  The bartended returned with her glass of wine and looked at Carol. “Martini. Dry with two olives.” Carol turned toward Mary. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here before.”

&
nbsp; Mary sputtered her drink. “No. I’ve never been here before.”

  “New to town?” Carol pressed.

  “Yes.” Mary now had the opportunity to study the older woman. Her hair was a reddish brown and rested comfortably on her shoulders. The dark eyes were very expressive and her red lipstick emphasized her smile.

  “Politics or business?” Carol asked taking a sip of the drink that was now in front of her.

  “Politics.”

  “Me too.” Carol waited for Mary to say something. When Mary didn’t add to the conversation, she continued, “You don’t talk much.”

  “No,” Mary answered.

  This got a chuckle out of Carol. “Don’t worry, Mary. I’m harmless.”

  Mary turned and looked at Carol. She could tell that Carol was older than herself and her clothes were expensive. “I can tell from your outfit that you must work for someone very important.” Her words were followed by hiding her eyes from this woman.

  “How do you know I’m not the important one?” Carol’s eyes crinkled with teasing.

  “Are you?” Mary asked looking at the smile Carol wore.

  Before Carol could answer someone touched her arm. “Senator, it’s good to see you again.”

  “Ava, you too.” Carol looked over Ava’s shoulder. “Where is Adele?”

  “She’s running late as always. Do you mind if I sit while I wait for her?”

  “Please,” Carol motioned with her hand. She now turned toward Mary. “Ava, this is Mary.”

  Ava stood and reached out her hand to Mary. “It’s nice to meet you, Mary.”

  “You too, Ava.” Mary now listened to the casual conversation of the two women. She could tell they were friends and not just acquaintances. Mary was lost in thought and never heard the women talking to her. “Excuse me?” she asked when she noticed them looking at her.

  “I asked what branch you work for,” Ava repeated.

  “Congress,” Mary answered.

  “I work for the Senate. Unfortunately, not for someone as great as Carol.” Ava now smiled as someone new walked into the bar. The woman walked over to Ava. “Hi, babe,” she said when the woman was standing in front of her.