Page 77 of In Her Own Way
“And so, in that vein. I decided to go back home, see my people, and talk to B again. If she wants her Domme there, that’s fine. I’m okay with that.”
“Wow, wow, wow. Big step, Vic,” JB said.
“And that therapist’s office is in that town, so if everything goes sideways, I can go pound on her door for a refund.” Vic laughed. “Just kidding. Again. Just kidding.”
“Seeing her in person might not be a bad thing,” JB said. “Maybe you should make an in-person appointment anyway.”
“You know what? I will. I mean, I just made the decision to go back, so I’ll call during one of my breaks tomorrow and set that up.”
“When are you going?”
“In a little over two weeks,” Victoria said. “Actually, right after your lit magazine comes out.”
“That’ll make it easy for me to remember.”
Victoria had been mulling over the idea of meeting JB for a few days, and now that JB also seemed interested in seeing where their relationship might go, she went for it. “I want to meet you, JB,” Victoria announced. “If I’m not being tooforward. But I think I need to wait until after my trip back home and all that…stuff.”
“I’d love to meet you,” JB said. “So, let’s agree to discuss details once you’ve done your thing. I’ll have Christmas break off soon after that and can travel wherever.”
“You’re sweet to offer, but that won’t be necessary,” Victoria said. “I’ve got all the time in the world now and can come to wherever you are in the Eastern time zone.”
“Deal,” JB said. “That makes me really happy. I’ve also jumped in too soon to things and made some ill-advised choices in the past, so thank you for suggesting we do this thing sanely.”
“Safe, sane, and consensual, as they say,” Victoria said, quoting an oft-used catch phrase from the BDSM community.
“We should wear, like, green carnations or something when we meet,” JB said. “And have a secret hand signal because what if we meet and there’s some kind of carnation festival going on?”
Victoria burst out laughing. “I love it. What’s the hand signal?”
“Uhh,” JB said, obviously thinking. “Hand over the heart.”
“But what if there’s a heart doctors’ festival going on?” Victoria teased. “They’ll think you’re having a heart attack and give you CPR or something.”
“Okay, okay,” JB said up to the challenge. “Hand over the heart. Pat three times. Pause. Pat another three times.”
“Perfect.” Victoria laughed. She heard Tillman’s slow key in the lock and waved him in the room. Tillman headed straight for the bathroom. To JB, she said, “I’m really relaxed talking with you.”
“Good,” JB said. “Me, too.”
Victoria wanted to ask JB if she, like Tillman, wanted a house and home and kids and barbecues and all that, but knew enough not to ask. Cart way before the horse. Especially because Victoria wasn’t sure whether she wanted any of thosethings. Aha, now she had something concrete to discuss with Dr. Sumner at their next appointment.
Too soon, the call had to end, but Victoria fell asleep with a smile on her face. JB had scolded her for not texting that she’d gotten to the job site safe and sound. Strangely, Victoria was more than okay with the scolding.
~~~
Victoria sat in the visitor’s room of the correctional facility, grateful that Tillman had been okay delaying their trip back to Indy. She couldn’t be this close to her father and not visit. The cold metal bars and painted concrete block walls made her shiver to think he had been living in this place for two years, with a minimum of five more to go. She wasn’t sure she would survive it herself.
“Dad,” she said when he was escorted into the room. She stood up.
They both teared up when they saw each other. “Hi, baby girl,” he said. He gave her a brief hug. The actual contact caused more tears in both of them.
“Are you okay in here, Dad?” He was thinner than she remembered. It had only been two years since she’d last seen him, but he’d aged much more than that.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I know how to take care of myself. What brings you here? I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“Yeah, orange is not your color.” She laughed. “I wanted to see you, Dad. I think Ineededto see you. I took a construction job near here, and I was close, so…”
“I’m glad you came,” he said. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.” He smiled at her and then said, “You look tired.”
