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By now Shaz had arrived on the sidelines.“Pip!”she said sharply.“You need to stop this.”She turned to Judith.“Anything you can do to get her to talk to your mum, I support.”
Pippa gave Shaz a look that showed they’d obviously been talking—heatedly—about it all weekend.
“She was so rude to you,” Pippa huffed, her face even redder than her hair.“She didn’t acknowledge you as my partner, once.”
“I don’t care.”Shaz stood her ground and glared at Pippa—quite fiercely, Judith thought.“If it takes her time to come around to us, so be it.After what you told me about her childhood, I get it.I really get it.You can’t not talk to your mum; it eats you up inside.”
“It’s easy for you to say; your mum’s the best,” Pippa almost whined.
“And so is ours,” Judith said firmly.“Mum always did her best.I know she got it wrong, I know she’s never really understood you, but she loves you and she tries.She worried herself sick when she thought you had glandular fever, she drove you to netball, watched your matches twice a week, every single week.Went with you to all the weekend tournaments and stayed over, even though she hates being with lots of people.”
Pip stared silently at the ground, unable to refute any of it, of course, because it was true.
“What would Mum have to do for you to forgive her?”Judith demanded again.
Pippa shrugged.“She’d have to say she totally accepts I’m gay and that Shaz and I are together.And not hang up when I—”
“Shout at her?”
“I only shout because she goes all weird and silent.”
“You know shouting is hard for her, Pip.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be, she should just accept—”
Shaz put a hand up.“Okay, heard enough now.”Pip stared at her.Shaz shook her head.“I love you, I absolutely love you, but sometimes you are such a stubborn cow.”
Pippa’s eyes rounded.“Cow!Did you just call me a cow?”She puffed out her chest and the two of them eyeballed each other.Then suddenly they both burst out laughing.Pip flung her arm around Shaz’s shoulder and Shaz planted a kiss on her neck.“Urk, and a sweaty cow at that.”She made a gagging face, but her eyes were full of love as she gazed at Pippa.
“Fuck!Okay, okay, for you—and Jude—I’ll talk to her.But I’ll tell her it’s only because you two made me.”
“Don’t you dare,” said Judith and Shaz in unison.
Pippa traced patterns in the gravel with her foot, her lower lip jutting.A moment later her mouth quirked at the corners as she peered up at Judith.“Do you think I’m a stubborn cow, too?”
“Sometimes.”Judith laughed.“But an adorable one.”
“Egh.Couldn’t you organise something?”Pippa wheedled.“It’s so much easier to talk to Mum when you’re there.”
Judith fought the familiar tug in her chest.“No, Pip.I can’t keep smoothing things out between you.You need to start talking to each other.”
“It’s so hard.”
“Yes.It is.At first.But once you start, you’ll find it gets easier.Just don’t get shouty, okay?”
Pippa hung her head, and Shaz squeezed her shoulder.“C’mon, lover, you can do this.”
“Okay.I’ll count to ten and try to be non-shouty.”
Shaz held up her other hand to Judith, who palmed it with hers.
“We’ve won.”
As Judith walked away, she found she’d broken into a little jog.
Wow, wearing jeans, and laying down boundaries and falling in love all in one week was totally empowering.
