Angela Rizzoli applied her lipstick, re-checked the rest of her make-up and hair. She slipped on her new black heels and straightened her red dress. Applied some perfume, grabbed her small clutch and headed out. She went into the house to say good bye to Maura and Jane.
"Well I am out for the evening. You two behave yourselves" she said on her way to the front door. Maura and Jane were cuddled upon the lounge watching a movie. Jane turned to say goodbye to her mother but stopped when she caught a glimpse of her.
"Ma, where the hell are you going?" she asked as she untangled herself from Maura and got up from the couch. Angela stopped and turned to meet her curious daughter.
"I'm going out for a few drinks, that's all" she replied casually.
"Dressed like that? Ma I know dad left and I know that was hard on you, but you don't have to go out and…you know" she gestured to her mother's dress.
"Jane I am old enough to do what I want. If I want to go out and meet new people then I will. Your father has moved on and it is about time I did the same" she told Jane. She wasn't going to let her talk her out of this.
"Jane she is right. It's just one night. And plus with the divorce rate as high as it is, I am sure there are plenty of single and interested men out there for her" Maura interrupted from the couch. Jane sighed. She knew she wasn't going to win this battle.
"Fine. But if something happens you call me. I will go all bad cop on their ass. Got it" she said. Angela nodded with a smile and kissed Jane's cheek.
"Don't wait up" she said happily as she left the house.
Angela Rizzoli was now 55, divorced and living in her daughter-in-laws guest house. She never thought her life would be where it is today and so it is a shock to find herself sleeping alone. She missed the company and companionship of a spouse or lover. It took months for her to finally accept that Frank had left her. And another few to finally get up the courage to try and move on. She didn't expect to find someone on her first night, but perhaps get a feel of how the dating game works now. It had been almost 35 years since she had been on a date.
She arrived at a club that she had heard was decent and not crowded with horny 20 something year olds. She paid the fair and went to head inside. The bouncer let her in with a nod and a small smile. The club wasn't busy for a Friday, but it was busy enough. Angela made her way over to the bar and waited to be served. She had no idea what to order. After asking for suggestions she decided to go with an apple martini and to her surprise, it was pretty good. After a few sips she turned around and surveyed the people that filled the room. There was a good mix of men and woman and she guessed they aged anywhere between 28 to mid-forties. Before long she had finished her martini and was asking the bartender for another one.
"You might want to be careful. Those things can be lethal" a voice from next to her said. She turned to see a young brunette sitting on the stool next to her.
"Thank you, but I will be fine" Angela replied. She felt a little embarrassed that the young woman thought she couldn't hold her alcohol. Did she really look that old?
"Well don't say I didn't warn you" the brunette turned back around and watched the crowd herself.
By the time Angela had started her third martini she needed the use the restroom. So she quickly finished her drink, grabbed her clutch and made her way to the back of the club. She didn't realise it until she was safely inside the bathroom and grabbing onto the sink to try and stay up right that she was in fact, already drunk. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt ashamed.
"Stupid, idiotic idea Angela" she said to herself. On her way back to her stool she ran into a few people, but none of them seemed to notice or care. She sat back down with a sigh and ran a hand through her hair.
"I told you to be careful" the same voice said again. She turned to see the young woman still sitting there.
"Don't you have anything better to do then to make fun of a divorced old woman" Angela said a little annoyed. The brunette spun around so she was facing Angela.
"I'm not making fun. And for the record, you aren't that old" she gave Angela a wide smile, which for some reason made her blush.
"Well thank you, but its obvious I am the oldest one in this club and that this was a very big mistake" she said as she looked through her clutch for her phone. The brunette moved her stool closer to Angela's.
"I don't believe it. Why don't I buy you another drink?" she offered. Angela stopped and looked at her.
"I don't think that's a good idea" she shook her head.
"Please. Let me. I hope you are a wine person" the brunette called the bartender over and ordered two glasses of merlot.
"I didn't know they had wine here" Angela said as she watched him.
"They have almost everything. I'm Sara by the way" the brunette smiled and handed Angela a wine.
"Angela and thank you" they clinked glasses and took a sip.
"So why aren't you out there with your friends?" Angela asked after a short pause. Sara couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh please. I get dragged here every Friday night because they don't want to come by themselves" Sara rolls her eyes.
"It's funny. We come here together but I always end up leaving alone" she sipped her wine.
"Well why aren't you out there dancing, trying to meet someone?" Angela asked. She had only met this woman, and wouldn't normally ask these sorts of questions. She blamed it on the three martinis.
"It's just not my…scene" she smiled as she looked at Angela.
"Well after tonight, this certainly isn't my scene either. And all I wanted to do was to try and move on. I should have listened to my daughter" she took a long sip.
"She told you not come out didn't she?" Sara couldn't hide the amusement in her voice. Angela just nodded.
"If you don't mind me asking. How old are you?" Sara asked cautiously. Angela sighed.
"55. I haven't been on a date or done this sort of thing for almost 35 years" she couldn't bare to look at the young woman. But when Sara didn't reply she glanced over at her.
"What?" she asked. Sara finally blinked.
"You are not 55" she replied with a smile. Angela nodded.
"No way. I was thinking 48 at the most". Angela blushed.
"I wish" she said with a chuckle.
"Well I'm 42 if that makes you feel any better" Sara said with a smile. Now it was Angela's turn to be shocked.
"Really? You're just saying that" she didn't believe her.
"I'm serious. I take after my mother who was Greek" Sara took a sip of wine. Angela smiled. It did feel better knowing that someone was at least over 40.
"So good genes and not plastic surgery" Angela asked.
"God no. I hate needles. The most I use is the eye cream at night". Angela smiled. She was really starting to like talking to Sara.
"So what is your story? Lousy husband at home? Divorced?" this wine was making her chatty. Sara laughed.
"Never married. Just haven't found the right person. And no one night stand babies either. You mentioned a daughter?" Sara asked.
"Yes. Jane. She is the eldest of three" Angela drunk the last bit of her wine and before she knew it the bartender had filled it up again.
"So any grandkids?". Angela smiled at the thought.
"Not yet. Maura and Jane have only been married 8 months. Frankie and Paige are organising their wedding for next year and Tommy…well he is still finding himself" she didn't want to scare Sara away by telling her that her youngest had just gotten out of jail for running over a priest. Sara smiled and filed the information away for later.
Before long three hours had passed and two bottles of wine later they had finally decided to call it a night. Angela got off the stool but lost her footing, but before she had time to fall Sara was by her side to steady her.
"Okay. I think I may have over done it with the wine" she giggled.
"You don't have to tell me twice. Come on I will drive you home" Sara offered as she helped Angela out of the club.
"No you don't have to. I can call a cab, of Jane" she couldn't stop giggling.
"I am not sending you home in a cab or making you call your daughter at 1 am. Plus I think I owe you for a not so boring night" Sara smiled at Angela as they made their way to her car. Once inside Angela relaxed into the leather seat of Sara's BMW.
"Okay. Let's get you home safe and sound" Sara started the car and followed Angela's directions. Soon enough she pulled out the front of Maura's house.
"Well this looks nice" Sara said as she got out of the car and went around to help Angela out.
"It is very nice. It just isn't mine. We should go around the side so we don't wake them up" she suggested. She took her heels off and led the way. Sara's arm stayed around Angela's waist all the way to the guest house around the back of Maura's house. She opened the door and went inside and turned on the lights. Sara escorted her over to the bed and sat them both down with a sigh.
"Thank you. Tonight wasn't so bad after all. Jane will be pleased to know that I didn't go home with some strange man" Angela giggled again.
"Well I'm glad I could help. Are you going to be okay if I go?" she asked watching her closely. Truth was, she didn't want to leave. She liked being in Angela's company.
"I think I will be fine now that I am home. Perhaps we can do this again sometime. But maybe not at a club" Angela smiled. Sara nodded. She took out a card from her purse.
"Call me when you are free" she smiled. Angela took the card and read it.
"Divorce lawyer. You didn't mention that?" she said a little shocked.
"I told you I was a lawyer" she gave her a small smile. Angela smiled too. It was ironic when she thought about it.
"I will call you" Angela nodded. Sara smiled. She really didn't want to leave. She wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss Angela right there. And she did. She leaned forward and softly kissed Angela on the lips. Before she had time to react, Sara had already pulled back and was up by the door.
"So, uh yeah. Call me and we can…go out for drinks. If you want to" and with that Sara left. Angela still sat there frozen. It was her first lesbian kiss and she didn't know what to think. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact she kind of had the feeling she wanted to do it again.
"Just the wine talking" she told herself before kicking off her shoes and laying down in bed and finally passing out.
The next morning Angela climbed out of bed and quickly got changed. She wasn't going to go into the house still dressed in her dress from last night. She quietly snuck in and went straight for the bathroom. She quickly washed her face as she would shower later. She went back down stairs to see Jane in the kitchen.
"Morning honey" she greeted, her voice a little hoarse.
"What time did you get in?" Jane asked as the toast popped.
"1:30am I think" she replied as she went to the coffee machine. Jane looked at her.
"Wow, who was the lucky guy?" she asked a little surprised.
"No guy. I was talking to a woman named Sara. She thought I was 48" Angela smiled at the memory. Jane couldn't help but laugh.
"How much had she had to drink" she didn't realise how harsh her words sounded until it was too late.
"Thanks Jane. Great way to make me feel older" Angela had no idea where the emotions came from, but she wanted to cry.
"Ma I was just joking. You aren't that old" Jane tried to make it right. When she got no reply she knew something was wrong. She walked over to her mother and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Angela wipe her face.
"Just let it go Janie" she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Oh god ma, don't cry. I really did mean it as a joke" she tried to make it better but Angela moved away. This time she couldn't keep the sob quiet.
"Jesus Ma what happened last night?" Jane was really worried. This wasn't just because of her bad joke. Angela turned around to face her. She couldn't find the right words. She really wanted to tell Jane about Sara kissing her, but didn't know how.
"Good morning Angela" Maura said cheerfully as she came down, dressed to go for a morning run. Her smile faded once she finally saw Angela was crying.
"Oh what happened?" she asked concerned.
"It's nothing. You two go for your run" she said with a sniffle.
"No ma. We are going to talk about this" Jane said not tearing her eyes away from her hurting mother.
"I can go for a run by myself if you two need to talk. It's not a problem" Maura offered. Jane nodded.
"Tomorrow I will go with you. Promise" Jane said then gave Maura a quick kiss before she left. Jane walked over to Angela and pulled her over to the couch.
"Now you are going to tell me what is going on" she ordered. Angela looked down at her coffee.
"Sara kissed me" she said softly. Jane froze. That is not what she was expecting.
"Uh. Okay. And when did this happen?" she asked.
"Last night. Well rather this morning when she dropped me off. It was so quick I didn't even have time to think about it" Angela sniffled. Jane just stared at her mother, still not knowing what to think.
"And how old is Sara?" she asked cautiously.
"42" she finally looked up at her daughter.
"Janie I am so confused. I had such a good time last night. I laughed so much and she wants to go out again". Jane could tell she was confused. I mean when a woman kisses you for the first time it can be confusing. Especially when you are a middle-aged divorced woman with three kids.
"Well do you want to see her again?" Jane asked. Angela sighed.
"I did. How did you know you liked woman?" she asked. Angela had known Jane was into girls for many years now, but she had never asked that question and it took Jane by surprise.
"Uh…well…I don't know Ma. I mean I was into guys until Maura came along" Jane smiled at the memory. "And don't forget I was forced to kiss her. But after that, kissing her was all I thought about". Angela played with the cup on her hands.
"Ma I think you need to call her and talk about it. She is obviously into you and I'm taking it a lesbian as she was sober enough to drive you home. Go out again and see how you feel" Jane tried to be encouraging, just like Angela had been for her.
"I guess you are right. But how can I just become a lesbian. If your father found out he would laugh at me" she sighed again.
"Ma I won't tell anyone until you do. I won't judge you. You didn't judge me at all" Jane reached over and took her mother's hand.
"Thank you honey. I think I will go take a shower then perhaps call Sara" she gave Jane a small smile. Jane nodded.
"Then you can maybe teach me how to make biscotti?" Jane grinned, which made Angela giggle.
"Sure honey. If that's what you want" Angela got up, kissed Jane's cheek and went up for a long hot shower. When she was done she back out to the guest house and found Sara's card.
She rang the number and got her voicemail so decided to leave a message.
"Hi Sara its Angela from last night. I was just calling to see when you were available. Um, perhaps just call me back on this number to arrange a date. So…yeah. Talk to you soon. Bye".
Angela waited patiently for a call back. She helped Jane with her biscotti, cooked a big dinner for the three of them and then got ready for bed. It was while she was reading in bed that her phone started to ring.
"Hello?" she answered it without seeing who it was.
"Angela its Sara. Sorry it took me so long to call you back" came Sara's sweet voice. Angela sat up more and closed her book.
"It's fine really" she assured her.
"Well I hope I didn't wake you or anything. I am sure you had a horrible hangover".
"Oh no not at all surprisingly. After some coffee and a shower I felt fine" she couldn't help the smile that was on her face just from talking to her.
"Well that's good. So I am available tomorrow night if you would like to go out. Obviously we shouldn't have too much to drink as it is a work night for me" Sara chuckled.
"Of course. Well we could just go out to eat if you like? And just a few glasses of wine instead of two bottles" Angela laughed.
"Yes. Just a glass or two" Sara chuckled, then cleared her throat. Angela knew what was coming.
"Angela , I am sorry for what I did last night. I shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation" Sara started, but Angela quickly cut her off.
"Sara please don't apologise. I didn't expect it and I have never done anything like that before" she didn't know what else to say.
"Okay. I really enjoyed last night and I hope we can have more nights like that. You are a lot of fun Angela. Your ex was an idiot to leave". Angela couldn't help but scoff.
"Things were different back then. I am the way I am now because he left me" she explained. All she could hear was Sara laughing.
"Angela, the side I saw of you last night has always been there. You have just been repressing it because your ex-husband didn't let you be you. I have learned one thing being a divorce lawyer. After many, many years of marriage, sometimes it changes people for the worst" she said softly.
"Perhaps you are right. Well I should go. For some reason I agreed to go for a run with my daughter and her wife in the morning. I need all the beauty sleep I can get" she chuckled.
"Oh Angela. You need no beauty sleep. Enjoy your day and I shall send you an email with the finer details of our date tomorrow night. Sleep tight" Sara said sweetly.
"You too. Good night" with that she hung up with a sigh and grin on her face. She turned off her lamp and went to sleep.
"She said herself it was a date. I have nothing to wear on a date" Angela said as she looked through her closet. Jane and Maura sat on her bed, trying to help.
"Well why don't you just wear the dress you wore when you met her" Jane suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Jane!" both Maura and Angela said together.
"I can't let her think I only own one dress. Here, what about this one?" she pulled out a lovely plain light blue dress and held it against herself. It stopped just above her knees.
"I think that's perfect. And" Maura got up from the bed and went to the closet and pulled out a navy cardigan.
"This would go nicely with it as well" she held it up and they showed Jane.
"Yes. Wear that. Now can we go back and finish watching the game" she complained. Angela rolled her eyes.
"Jane go watch your baseball game. I can help her get ready" Maura smiled. Jane got up from the bed.
"Thank you" she kissed Maura quickly.
"And Ma, you are in good hands" she said with a smile as she went back into the house.
Just under an hour later Maura came back into the house.
"Jane?" she called out.
"In here babe" Jane called from the lounge room. Maura entered with a smile on her face.
"So how did it go?" Jane asked.
"See for yourself" Maura motioned behind Jane. She got up off the couch to see Angela walking in. She couldn't help but stare at her mother. She had never seen her so dressed up before.
"Oh Ma. Wow. I mean…wow. You look good" she said with a smile. Angela grinned.
"You really think so?" she asked as she looked down at herself.
"Angela you look beautiful" Maura added. Angela couldn't help but blush.
"And I didn't know you had such great legs" Jane couldn't help but notice. Maura laughed.
"Well I always said you got your figure from your mother" Maura added. Jane playfully nudged Maura. The knock on the door interrupted them.
"Oh god that's her" Angela now felt panicked. She hadn't been on date in years. And she had never been on a date with a woman before. Especially one who was 13 years younger than her.
"You will be fine. Now go have fun so Maura and I can have some fun" Jane said and ushered Angela to the door.
"Okay. I get the hint" she took a deep breath and opened the door. There stood Sara. Her long brown hair was pulled to the side, her slender frame was wrapped in a black strapless dress that stopped just under her knees.
"Angela. Wow. You look amazing" Sara gushed as she saw her. Angela instantly felt the flush in her cheeks.
"See it wasn't just us" Jane said from behind Angela. She stepped aside so Sara could see Jane and Maura.
"Sara this is my daughter Jane and her wife Maura" Angela quickly introduced them. Jane gave a small wave.
"Nice to meet you. Well I have a great night planned. Shall we go?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes. I will see you two later" Angela said and left them alone. Jane let out a sigh.
"Sweetie are you sure you are okay with your mother going on a date with a woman?" Maura asked as she walked over and took Jane's hand.
"You know, I'm not really sure. She looks happy. I just don't want her to get hurt. She has had too much hurt already" she said softly. Maura nodded.
"I agree. So what do you want to do?" she asked with a smile. Jane looked at her wife and grinned.
"Well, since you asked. I already got some candles ready in the bathroom and put a bottle of wine in the fridge" she pulled Maura against her.
"Well I do like where this is going. Have I really turned Jane Rizzoli into a wine person?" Maura asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"No, I still prefer my beer, but if it gets me laid, why the hell not" Jane laughed. Maura shook her head and pushed Jane away from her.
"You know I don't like that word Jane" Maura said as she headed toward the stairs.
"Oh Maur, come on I was only kidding" Jane groaned. She needed to learn when to shut up. Maura turned around and slowly took her shirt off.
"I prefer sex" she grinned and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. Jane followed soon after, wine bottle in hand.
"That was a wonderful dinner. I have never eaten there before" Angela said as they walked down the street after dinner.
"It only opened about two months ago. I heard lots of good things so I thought why not try it out" Sara smiled. She had to use all her will power not to reach out and take Angela's hand.
"Well I will certainly go back. So where are you taking me now?" Angela asked as she glanced over at the other woman.
"Well, the other night you mentioned how you loved the orchestra but your ex-husband never liked going. So I pulled a few strings and got us in to see the Boston String Symphony tonight. It's not as extravagant but they are really good. And it's such a laid back surrounding" Sara looked at Angela with a smile.
"You are so sweet. I can't believe you remembered something like that. My children have trouble remembering my birthday" she laughed. Sara led the way as they entered the park. They were shown to their seats as the Symphony took the stage.
"I figured if I wanted to see you again I had to remember some things" she laughed. Angela looked over at Sara.
"Well you don't have to remember my birthday or my age" she joked.
"You don't have to worry about your age so much. I don't know anyone else who looks as good as you at your age" she smiled. Angela couldn't help but blush again. She couldn't remember the last time she blushed this much. The Symphony started and Angela finally started to relax. Half way through Sara's hand found its way to Angela's bare knee. She couldn't help but tense at the new contact. She looked down at Sara's hand and smiled softly. It was different but she liked it. Sara's hand was so soft and warm. She couldn't help but wish her hand to go higher up her thigh. Angela closed her eyes and cleared her throat. Willing the improper thoughts to leave her mind and focus on the music.
When it was over they walked back to Sara's car and she drove them back to Maura's.
"Well I had a great night. The Symphony was amazing" Angela beamed.
"Anytime. I really enjoyed it" Sara agreed. Angela bit her lower lip.
"Did you want to come around. I kind of don't want the night to end yet" she said softly. Sara took the keys out of the ignition.
"Lead the way". Angela got out of the car and led Sara back to the guest house and let her in.
"Take a seat anywhere you like. Would you like something to drink?" Angela offered as she took her heels off.
"No I am fine" Sara smiled as she sat on the bed. She couldn't help but check out Angela's legs as she took her shoes off.
"I know it's not very big, but it's big enough for me. I sold most of the unimportant things after the divorce" Angela said as she joined Sara on the bed.
"Are you kidding? This is the size of my lounge room. Possibly bigger" she said looking around. She placed her hand back on Angela's knee. Angela looked down and took a deep breath.
"Sara, I have never done this before. I don't even know if I want to do this" she said, not wanting to look at her.
"Angela, I don't want to push you to do something you are uncomfortable with. I have been doing this since I was 18. I know how scary it can be at first. If you just want to be friends, I am okay with that" she smiled softly and gave her knee a gentle squeeze.
"Kiss me" Angela said in a soft voice. So soft Sara didn't know if she heard her right.
"What was that?". This time Angela looked up at Sara.
"Kiss me again" she said. Sara smiled and leaned in slowly. She closed her eyes and kissed Angela softly. Once she felt Angela reciprocating she deepened it. She couldn't help but move her hand further up Angela's leg. She felt Angela's body tense and she stopped.
"Not yet. I…it's just too soon" Angela explained as she pulled out of the kiss. Sara just nodded and gave her thigh a squeeze.
"I understand. Perhaps I should go and I will give you a call or send you an email tomorrow. We can organise perhaps a lunch or something during the week. Angela nodded, not sure her voice was going to work.
"I would like that" she finally said in a small voice.
"Great" Sara stood up and adjusted her dress.
"I had a great night" she bent down and kissed Angela's cheek.
"Sweet dreams" and with that Sara was gone. Angela let out a big sigh as she flopped back onto her bed. She felt like a very confused 18 year old instead of a 55 year old. She enjoyed the kiss she couldn't deny it, but was she really ready to take it to the next level. Perhaps they should just stay friends.