Andi pulled into her Aunt Christie's driveway just before sunset on Friday night following a four-hour drive from home. She had spent a week at home with her parents and younger sister after she finished her second year of college and was going to start a summer internship on Monday morning. Her aunt offered to let her stay with her for the summer since the company she was going to work for is located just a few miles from Christie's townhouse. Christie and her now ex-husband visited Andi and her family often for when Andi was growing up, but after Christie's divorce, five years ago, the visits had stopped. Andi had always felt very close to Christie and had missed her a lot, so she was very excited to see her again.
Andi stepped out of her red hatchback and pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail using the scrunchy that was around her wrist. Andi was tall, nearly 5'10", and very thin. Her long, thin features were the first thing most people noticed about her, and it often made her feel uncomfortable and awkward. Looking up, she saw the front door open, and Aunt Christie stepped out, a big smile on her face. Christie stepped quickly down the short walk and gave her niece a big hug.
Christie squeezed Andi tightly and said softly, "So good to see you, Andi."
Andi leaned into her aunt and sighed, whispering, "Thank you, Aunt Christie, I'm so excited to be here. I've been looking forward to it for months."
They separated and looked at each other for a second, both smiling. Christie stepped back and said, "Let's grab your stuff and take it inside, then we can catch up."
Andi smiled and reached back into the car, hitting the button to open the back hatch. They grabbed her bags and carried them inside, then up the stairs to the guest room where Andi was going to stay. They tossed the bags on the queen size bed, then went back out and grabbed armloads of loose items and carried them to the room as well.
"Bathroom is right through here," Christie said as she pushed the door next to the bed open. "Towels are in the drawer, soap and shampoo if you need them. There are speakers built into the wall in here and in the bathroom, you can synch your phone to the system here," she continued as she pointed to a white device sitting on the nightstand.
"Nice," Andi responded, smiling, noting the wall speakers had volume controls.
"It's also an intercom system," Christie said with a grin, "I'm kind of a gadget geek."
"Cool, so that's how I order room service?" Andi said with a giggle.
"If you want to starve," Christie responded with a wink as the two women walked out of the room and down the hall. "This is my room," Christie said as they passed an open door. Andi looked in as she passed the room, noting the large room with a huge King size bed. They went down the stairs and Christie led her to the kitchen, motioning to Andi to have a seat while she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. She held up two glasses with a questioning look and Andi nodded. Andi was only nineteen and didn't drink often but did enjoy wine.
Christie set the glasses on the table, opened the bottle and filled each glass, before slipping the cork back into the top of the bottle. The two women sat and caught up, telling each other about what was going on in their lives and with the family. They finished the bottle of wine as they chatted.
It got quiet for a moment and Andi looked a bit uncomfortable as she asked, "So, um, why did you stop coming around, Aunt Christie?"
Christie paused and thought for a moment before answering, "Well, Hun, when I got divorced, your mother and I had a bit of a falling out."
Andi looked at her with a look of confusion. "How would you getting a divorce cause a problem between you and Mom?"
"Wasn't so much the divorce," responded Christie, "more the reason for the divorce."
"Still don't understand," said Andi.
"I had an affair," said Christie quietly.
"Um, OK," replied Andi, still not understanding.
Christie blushed a bit, looked Andi in the eyes and said, "With a woman."
"Oh," said Andi, then burst out laughing, "Are you kidding me?"
Christie looked at her confused. Was she upset that she had had an affair with a woman?
"Mom was so upset that you were with a woman that she was willing to stop seeing her sister?" she said as she shook her head, "Mom can be such a bitch sometimes."
Christie giggled and grinned, letting out a deep breath. She had been surprised when her sister, Sally, had agreed to Andi spending the summer with her, she hoped that it meant Sally had learned to accept who she was and it would give them a chance to reconnect, she really missed the relationship they had growing up and early in their adult lives.
Andi watched her for a moment, then broke the silence when she said, "I'm sorry, Aunt Christie. That was bullshit."
Christie smiled at her niece, then reached across the table and took her hand. "Thank you, sweetie. It was a very hard time for both of us and I'm sorry that it ended up meaning that I couldn't spend time with you."
Andi giggled and asked, "So, are you a lesbian or was that just a onetime thing?"
