by S Lee

Disclaimers: See Part 1.

Your feedback is very welcome and appreciated. You can contact me at: s.lee@e-scribblers.com

Copyright © 2004 by S Lee. All Rights Reserved.

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Late that night, Kat woke up and watched her wife in peaceful sleep. She smiled as she felt the warm skin against her own. Words started popping into her head, along with phrases and melodies. She gently eased out of her lover's arms, dressed, and walked into the living room. She picked up some paper and a pencil and began singing out lyrics.

"Wake up, whatcha been dreamin about?

I ain't got a lot to say

But I could talk to you for hours"

'Oh that's good. I like that,' she thought to herself. She picked up her guitar and began strumming out chords, with her pencil between her teeth, stopping to write out more words and chords as she went on. The words and notes flowed out of her. Beth stood at the living room door and smiled. She watched her partner sitting on the couch wearing her glasses, a pencil behind her ears; the guitar in her lap.

The blonde woman spoke. "I would ask you to come to bed, but I know you too well. You won't be able to get back to sleep until you either run out of words or you finish."

Kat looked up to see her wife smiling. "What was that honey?"

Beth laughed and walked over to the couch. "How's it coming?"

Kat kissed her on the cheek. "It's good. Did I wake you?" The blonde laid her head on her wife's shoulder. "No, I reached out for you and you weren't there. Then I heard you in here and thought I'd check you out. I've always loved lying in bed, listening to you play in the other room."

Kat looked at her. "I've always loved you."

Beth smiled and pressed her lips against her lover's. "You are the only woman I've ever loved. I'll never forget the first time I saw you. We were both freshmen. I was walking through campus and you were sitting under a tree, playing your guitar and singing. Your long hair was in braids, and you were so cool with your sunglasses on."

Kat smiled at the memory. "You didn't talk to me those first couple of months. You stopped and listened with some other people, but you kept walking. I sat at that tree every day for a month, hoping to see you again. You would stop for a minute, listen and then walk on. Eventually I figured out that you passed that way every day. When you finally sat down to study at the fountain just a few feet away, I thought my heart would beat out of my chest."

Beth laughed. "But, you never said a word. One day, I sat under the tree a few feet away."

Kat interrupted. "I didn't see you that day. I looked around my tree and there you were, against the tree behind me, reading a book. I stared at you for several minutes."

"That's when I happened to look up and I caught you watching me. When I did, you hid back behind your tree. I laughed so hard. I thought you were the cutest thing I had ever seen. You sang so beautifully. I would sit and study and listen to you. Listening to you is still one of my favorite things."

Kat kissed her wife softly. "After staring at each other for a couple of months, you finally came up to me at Threadgill's."

"Well, what did you expect? You always had a crowd of men and women sitting around you, adoring you. I went there that night with some friends to hear some music. I had no idea you were playing."

"You finally walked up between sets to talk to me."

"Yes, you looked straight at me when you sang. My friends had to goad me into approaching you."

"I was so glad they did. I was trying to get your attention. What a pair huh? You were a brainy English major with straight A's and I was put on academic probation that first semester, and eventually dropped out because I never went to class. I spent all my time working at the music store, playing gigs until late at night, sleeping until noon, and falling in love with you."

Beth wrapped her arm around Kat. "Ten years later, I'm still falling in love with you."

Kat smiled and placed her hand on Beth's stomach. "You are more beautiful now than I've ever seen you. You are a walking miracle to me. But, you need to get back to bed. I want you to be well rested."

Beth nodded. "You'll have to give me a little push."

"I'll do even better." Kat stood up and helped her wife stand up. She led her to their bedroom and tucked her into bed. She sat next to Beth and kissed her head. "Go to sleep sweetheart. I'll be in soon."

Beth smiled. "Don't be too long."

"I won't. Goodnight." She went back into the living room and resumed her work. The song began to take shape as she wrote the bridge. She wrote the final chorus and played the song through. Pleased with her work, she set her guitar down and went back to bed.

The next morning, Kat drove Beth to the university, and kissed her gently as she got out of the car. "I'll pick you up at one. I put a bottle of water and a snack in your bag."

The professor just shook her head. "Could you be any more adorable? It's good to have you home baby. Have fun and I'll see you in a bit."

"I love you 'Scilla."

"Love you E." Kat drove away, waving to her lover. She picked up her phone and called her fiddle player, asking him to meet her at the house to go over the new song. He arrived shortly after she did and she played the new song for him.

"What can you come up with to go along with this melody? I was thinking of something that kind of rolls smoothly over the syncopated rhythm of the guitar, that stresses on the downbeat. Back off when the vocals come in and then during the instrumental section before the bridge, the focus will be back on you."

The fiddle player nodded. "Sure. Let's go over it again."

As Kat began the guitar introduction, David joined in, backing off to accompany the guitar and vocals. The two musicians played off one another, as music filled the empty house. After running through the song several times, the pair took a break.

"Damn, that's nice."

Grinning, the singer said, "Thanks. I want to perform it at the show tomorrow night. I wrote it for Beth and I want her to hear it the first time I do it live."

Dave just shook his head. "You gotta stop that. You make us look bad in front of our wives."

Kat laughed. "We'll rehearse it tomorrow before the performance. The guys should pick it up quickly."

"Great. Are you going to want to keep it as a part of the song lineup?"

Kat nodded. "Yeah, if it does well tomorrow night. I'd like to put it on the new CD as well."

"How's the baby?"

Kat beamed. "We're having a little girl. Beth is just so beautiful, it just blows me away. Stay right here; there's something I want you to see." She went into the bedroom to get the sonogram photo. She walked back into the living room and handed the picture to her band mate. "Check this out. This is Presley Erin Green."

Dave laughed. "Well, would you look at that. Congrats. I guess you got Beth to agree to the name."

"It wasn't easy, but yes, I did."

Dave looked down at his watch. "I need to go. Susan has a list of things she wants me to do before we go back out on the road."

Kat shook her head and chuckled. "I'd get to it then if I were you."

Laughing, Dave put his fiddle in the case. After he left, Kat made calls to her manager and her sister, who was also her accountant. She left early to pick up her wife, stopping to buy one red and one pink rose.

When Beth stepped out of her classroom, Kat was standing outside, holding the roses. The professor grinned and the dark haired woman held out her arm. The smaller woman accepted her arm and the roses.

Beth held the flowers to her nose. "These are lovely."

"The red is for you. The pink is for little Presley."

The smaller woman smiled. "That is so beautiful. Thank you." The two women had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon at Baby Depot, choosing clothes, decorations, and other necessities. Kat picked up a breast pump and turned it around, looking at it.

"Beth honey, how is this thing supposed to work?"

The pregnant woman laughed. "You slip the cone onto the breast, with the nipple centered. Then, you either pump or flip the switch and it sucks the milk out of the breast, into a bottle. This one is a hand pump. I want one with batteries and an electric adapter."

Kat picked up a battery-powered pump and turned it on. She immediately threw it back on the shelf as if on fire. "Aren't you afraid of power surges? What if it gets stuck and won't turn off?"

Beth laughed so hard, she had to hold onto her partner for support. "That won't happen. It will work just fine."

"Those things are scary. I'm glad it's not me."

Still laughing, Beth said, "Yeah, me too. Come on ya big lug. Let's go look at baby monitors."

As they were looked at the latest technological baby monitoring gadgets, a woman came up to Kat. "Excuse me; you're Kat Green, aren't you?"

Smiling, the singer said. "Yes, I am."

"Could I have your autograph? I just saw your newest video on TV this morning. Did you shoot it at Gruene Hall?"

Kat signed the woman's paper. "Yes we did. And what's your name?"

"Karen."

The dark haired singer finished the autograph and held out her hand to the other woman. "Karen, it's nice to meet you. This is my partner, Beth."

The two women exchanged greetings. The fan began to walk away. "Thanks Kat. I'm looking forward to your concert tomorrow."

"Thank you Karen. I hope you enjoy it."

Kat had a huge grin on her face, and was doing everything she could to contain her excitement. Beth smiled and shook her head. "Oh Lord, now we'll never be able to get that big head of yours out the door."

"Oh, ha ha ha. You're such a smart ass."

The pregnant woman teased, "And you like my smart ass."

"Ok, well that's beside the point. But that's been happening more often. I can't imagine that I would ever get used to it."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Come on E; let's go pay for all this stuff."

The women drove home in a car full of baby gear. Kat noticed Beth's silence. She looked over at the passenger seat to see her partner sleeping. She smiled and put her hand on her wife's knee. The singer kissed her cheek when they pulled up to the house, waking the pregnant woman gently. Beth sleepily opened her eyes and looked at her lover. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep like that."

"It's ok honey. Why don't you go in and lie down and I'll bring all this stuff in and take care of dinner?"

"I would love that. One more thing though. Could you help me out of the car?"

Kat chuckled and placed her lips against her partner's knuckles. "Of course, my love." She walked to the other side of the car and took Beth's hands, pulling her gently. The singer opened the front door of their home for her lover. The tired woman walked in holding her back. "I swear. I don't walk anymore; I waddle."

The taller woman just shook her head. "Sweetheart, you're having a baby; it's expected. I happen to think you are perfection."

Beth laughed. "You are so good for my ego."

Later that night, Kat sat behind her wife, rubbing her back and shoulders. The pregnant woman melted into her lover's touch. "God, honey, that feels so incredible."

The taller woman wrapped her arms around her partner, and laid her hands on the protruding stomach, running circles around the taut skin. "Yes it does. I miss this when I'm gone. These quiet times with you are what keep me sane. I love the audience. I feel electric when I'm out there. The feeling I get when I look out over the crowd and people are singing my songs right back at me is indescribable. But being away from you, traveling with four guys, setting up my equipment, is so draining. You recharge me and make me whole again."

Beth leaned back into her lover, relaxing against her. "How could I ever possibly love anyone as much as I love you?"

Kat kissed her wife's head. "I pray you can't."

The two women spent the rest of the night holding one another close, connecting again; savoring every minute together.

The next morning, Kat had an interview during a morning radio show. Beth and some of her friends from the English department sat around her office listening to the show. "We're excited to have local singer, Kat Green, in the studio with us today. She's performing tonight at the Backyard and you can find her CD's in any music store."

Kat smiled and spoke into the microphone. "Hey. How's it going?"

"It's good to have you back. It's been a while since you've been in here. What have you been doing?"

"Thanks. It's good to see y'all again. You've always been good to me. I've been touring; doing my own shows and opening for others. I've got a month left and then I'll be home for a while."

"A friend of mine caught Willie's show in Dallas a few weeks ago and said you were great. What's that like, touring with such a legend?"

"It is just awesome. I've been performing for as long as I can remember. I thought I knew a lot. Next to him, I know nothing." The DJs laughed. "He has been fabulous and even lets me sing with him. He's an amazing person and performer. I'm grateful for the chance to tour with him."

"You're going into the studio soon, aren't you?"

Nodding, the singer answered. "Yes. My partner and I are having a baby in two months, so I'm taking some time off to be with them and then I'll start recording the new album here in town. I'm so thrilled. It's my first big budget CD. I'll be here probably for the next year, recording and doing local shows."

"That sounds exciting. Do you know, is it a boy or a girl?"

Kat grinned. "We just found out the other day that we're having a little girl. We're both over the moon."

"Congratulations. That's great news. Good luck to the both of you. While you're here, could you sing something live for us this morning?"

Kat nodded. "Gladly. Any requests?"

"How about that old Lyle Lovett song? I love the way you do that one."

"Sure. This is, "Nobody Knows Me." She picked up her guitar and began to play the ballad.

Kat ended the song and the DJs were applauding. Kat nodded her head.

"That was great Kat. Thanks for coming in today. Good luck on the show tonight. We'll both be there. Wild horses couldn't keep us from a Kat Green show."

"I appreciate that guys. I had fun today, as usual. We'll see you tonight."

"Come back anytime. Tonight. Kat Green at the Backyard at seven. Don't miss it."

Beth beamed as she listened to her wife on the radio. One of her friends looked at her. "So what's it like being married to a famous, sexy singer?"

"I love it. I miss her being gone, but I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I truly believe that she's my soulmate."

"Ok, excuse me while I go brush my teeth before I get cavities. Don't you worry about her sleeping around on the road?"

Beth just smiled and shook her head confidently. "No, I don't. She's not your typical touring musician. We've practically grown up together and I know her as well as I know myself. We're connected in a way that goes beyond explanation. I trust her implicitly."

"Oh stop that. You're making me depressed about my own sorry relationship." All the women laughed.

Beth shut the radio off. "Shouldn't y'all be preparing for your classes?"

The women laughed again and went to their offices and classrooms.

Conclusion in Part 4

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