“Yeah, my dad too. Back in the day when he not only ran the company but went out on calls too, I remember him coming home, usually at dark. My mother would meet him at the door with a can of beer and a kiss.”

“Did your mother work?”

“Yes. She’s a nurse. Well, retired now. Yours?”

“No. Stay-at-home mom. Which was great when we were young. She was always here when we got home from school. At least once a week we’d come in to the smell of cookies baking.”

“Did you have a lot of friends in school?”

Laura frowned, wondering at the question. She shrugged. “I guess. Normal. Why?”

“You never mention any that you’ve reconnected with, now that you’ve moved back.”

“Oh. Well, honestly, when I left home, those friendships kinda fizzled. I had an inkling I was gay back in high school, I just didn’t want it to be true. And I had my share of crushes. When I finally gave up on the whole straight thing, I think I was embarrassed to let them find out…so I mostly avoided old high school friends.”

“Why embarrassed?”

“I didn’t want them thinking about gym class and how many of them I’d seen naked.” She laughed. “Oh, but there was one girl—Monica Russell—that I had such a crush on. I’m sure she knew it. I always stared at her breasts.”

“Why didn’t you want it to be true?”

“Oh, the usual reasons. Turns out I had nothing to be afraid of. My parents were great when I came out to them.”

“I came out in high school,” Cassidy said. “My mother cried.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you devastated?”

“Not really. She was hugging me and telling me she loved me while she cried, so it wasn’t so bad.”

“And your father? Brother?”

“Dave claimed he knew it by the time I was ten. Tomboy to the max. My dad took the news with a shrug. In fact, to this day, we’ve never talked about it.”

“Dads are like that, I think. My mother, on the other hand, wanted to know all the details.”

Cassidy laughed. “Thankfully, my mother wasn’t quite as curious.”

Laura tilted her head, watching Cassidy. “Why so many women?”

Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“Still looking for that…that one. Definition of insanity, remember?”

“Still looking in the same places.” Laura splashed water on her legs, cooling them. “What’s the longest you’ve dated someone?”

“Oh…a month, maybe.”

“Claudia?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you knew she wasn’t the one, but you kept dating.”

“Are you accusing me of using her?”

“No. You must have more patience than I do. If after the second date I know it’s not going anywhere, I feel like I’m wasting my time if I continue to go out with them.”