Page 67 of Minha Dona

What’s her job title? x

Helena shook her head in irritation. Twenty minutes since the last message and she’d hoped that Isabella had finally stopped. Apparently not.

Partner. You don’t need to know that.

Isabella wasn’t taking the unsubtle hint though.

Isabella: Yes, I do. This is the woman you’ve spent months lusting over. I need to be ready for everything x

Helena: I wasn’t lusting over her.

Isabella: Lusting, pining, all the same thing. I’m excited Helena, your presumably rich older woman coming to meet poor old me x

Helena: I don’t think you count as poor. You do a job in fashion that I still don’t understand and somehow can afford your own house at our age x

Isabella: ok ok so not rich, just older x

Helena: She’s only a few years older than us.

Isabella: Is she beautiful?

Helena: You saw her photo!!! You said she was hot x

Isabella: Sure, but is she beautiful? Is she going to turn me lesbian? x

Helena: leave me alone xx

Isabella: NEVER!! Remind me… you’re her dominatrix and she’s your slave, right? Do I need to give her any commands or will she know how to behave herself? x

Helena: Isa… please xx

Isabella: I want to get it right. Do I need to use a special tone of voice with her so that she knows I’m not your slave too? x

Helena: Just, she’s my girlfriend. Nothing else. Treat her like that.

Isabella: GIRLFRIEND?!? That’s huge, since when? x

…and so on. If there’d been much work to do Helena would never have managed it. But, in truth, Isabella’s excitement was infectious. Helena wanted her to meet Caitlin, to get to know her, to bring Caitlin more into her world.

The evening couldn’t come fast enough.

***

“Normally I’d ask for your number, but I seem to already have you saved under Minha Dona…”

Helena turned to see a grinning Caitlin walking up the sidewalk towards her. They hugged briefly but nothing more… both women understood the need to be cautious lest they be seen by a colleague on the street, unlikely as that was in the teeming metropolis that formed São Paulo. At the beach house they’d be able to be openly together, but not until then. She leaned back and took Caitlin in.

“That’s a bad line,” Helena said after a moment, “but you look amazing.” Helena looked her up and down again, taking in the dress, the heels, the hair and makeup, not to mention that necklace. But… there was something else, something more to Caitlin that evening. “You’re… glowing, I guess. Being on holiday suits you.”

Caitlin pursed her lips and blushed a little. “Last night might have something to do with it too.” She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in closer. “I lost count after number seven…”

Helena simply grinned back at her. “I counted nine or ten in the end…”

“Nine or ten…” Caitlin was shaking her head in wonder. “I’ve spent the day recovering. It’s a miracle I can even walk. What are you doing to me?”

Helena laughed. “Come on, it’s a five-minute walk from here and Isabella will be there already.”

They fell in to step next to each other. “We’re equals tonight, right?” Caitlin asked after a moment.