Fortitude

"Saint Jude, most faithful servant and friend of Jesus, I ask for your assistance in my time of need, that I be blessed with my student teacher as a loving helpmeet and suitable companion. I ask that you grant me patience if my Lord sees it in his plan to happen. Blessed Jude, I will be forever mindful of this great favor and to always honor you through selfless devotion to my students. Amen."

From that moment, Jude Horst was determined to be patient. If Kristin had any interest, she would show it if and when the time was right.

*****

Over the next few weeks, things were business as usual. Kristin proceeded with her solo teaching while Jude caught up on paperwork and occasionally observed the student teacher. Dr. Dahlgren appeared a few times to observe and evaluate Kristin's progress. And while it was obvious that Jude really liked Kristin, she began to develop a genuine respect for the girl as she established her reputation with the students as a firm but fair teacher.

It was on Friday during the last week of interpretive dance when Jude sat on the sidelines in the auxiliary gym observing the 3rd hour class. Kristin had already finished taking attendance when she started barking orders for the girls to partner with a classmate for calisthenics and light stretching.

The girls were busy doing sit-ups and one girl, Sylvia Johnson, was holding Lois Burlend's feet. Lois is a nice quiet sort of girl, but she's a bit on the chubby side. She has a cute face with a pug nose and brassy blond shoulder length hair held in place with a wide headband. Lois was busy doing her reps when this kid, Bruce Pratt, wandered over and started talking to Sylvia. Bruce, like Lois and Sylvia, is also in 7th grade, but he doesn't have PE this hour. He must have been out in the hall and saw Sylvia through the open doors.

Jude was about to say something to the boy when tragedy suddenly struck. Lois was working on her second set of sit-ups when she farted so loud, they probably heard it down in the cafeteria! The sound was obnoxious; like a faulty motorcycle engine. It caught Sylvia and Bruce completely off guard and everyone else was pretty shocked too.

Things went immediately from bad to worse when Kristin came stomping over to yell at Bruce to leave the gym and get back to his class. But the second she got close enough, the student teacher let out an involuntary howl and jerked backwards as if she'd been impacted by a strong blast. She suppressed the sudden urge to gag and then started wildly snapping her fingers at Bruce like he was a dog who just had an accident on the good carpet. Bruce looked completely stunned.

"Young man, what do you think you're doing here?" Kristin demanded. "Lois and Sylvia are busy. Get back to class!"

From Jude's perspective, it looked like Kristin thought that Bruce was the source of the offending smell so of course the boy spouted off at her.

"Aw come on, Miss—Miss...who are you anyway?"

It was obvious that the kid didn't know her name. There was a burst of laughter from the other girls and it made Kristin's cheeks turn bright pink.

"It's Miss Bishoff. She's our student teacher this semester." Sylvia said.

"I wasn't the one who farted!" The boy protested. "It was that girl!"

Bruce pointed an accusatory finger at Lois Burlend. This was followed by another outburst of uproarious laughter from the class. Lois looked like she wanted to hurl herself in front of a fleet of fast moving buses. Kristen began to look a little worried when she suddenly locked eyes with Jude. She didn't want to lose control of the situation and risk getting a bad evaluation. The student teacher put her hands on her hips and glared at the boy.

"Get to class, young man, or I will have a talk with Mr. Lindstrom after school and he can deal with you!" She was referring to the PE department head.

"Okay okay, jeez!" The boy huffed and retreated out of the gym.

Now Jude heard one of the girls say: "Jesus Lois, what the hell did you eat?" The chubby girl scrambled up off the floor and bolted for the girls' locker room door while the student teacher started blowing her whistle and barking orders for the girls to group up for sequence exercises.

When the end of the day rolled around, Kristin sat in the girls' PE office across from Jude, listening as her mentor went over her latest evaluation. This time the veteran gym teacher seemed interested in assessing Kristin's professional dispositions.

"Today seemed to go pretty smoothly." Jude observed. "Things got a bit out of hand 3rd hour, but you took control and redirected young Mr. Pratt."

Kristin watched as Jude jotted down some comments on her evaluation form. "...demonstrated standards of professional conduct...excellent interpersonal skills; is firm and assertive..." Several more seconds passed before Jude stopped writing. The butch gym teacher looked up at her protégé and the faintest hint of a smile spread across her lips. "I didn't think you had it in you, kid. I'm impressed!"

"If that impressed you, then you'll be blown away by my cooking—at least I hope you'll be." Kristin replied sheepishly.

Last week Jude agreed to come to Kristin's place for dinner this evening. The girl seemed anxious about asking; claiming she needed help writing her lesson plans. As for Jude, she was reluctant to accept the invitation. A part of her wanted to keep the beautiful redhead at arm's length. Her skill in writing lesson plans was passable and with practice, she'd get better. But one look at Kristin's gorgeous face made the old dyke's heart race and before she knew it, caution became a distant stranger. A familiar fluttery sensation welled up in the pit of the butch woman's stomach, reminding her how badly she wanted this girl.

"I'm sure whatever you're fixing this evening will be fine." Jude replied dismissively. "After we're finished here, I'll stop by my house to change into something a little nicer."

"Oh you don't have to do that, Miss H!" Kristin said. "It's a casual date. Come as you are."

Date. That was the second time Kristin used that word. Jude dismissed the Freudian slip and glanced at her student teacher with a furrowed brow.

"I noticed you've been calling me Miss H instead of Miss Horst lately...what gives?"

Kristin shifted from side to side and replied with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah...I guess it's because you really do look like that actress who plays Miss Hathaway. My parents watched the 'Bob Cummings Show' a lot. I forgot her name. It's not a bad thing really! I mean—I always loved watching her on TV—she's a really attractive woman..." The girl's voice trailed off and she looked away.

"Well stop it." Jude said. "My name is Jude and it's Miss Horst when we're around students. I'm my own person. I'd like to keep it that way."

Jude signed the evaluation form and then shoved it into a file folder which she kept in one of the desk drawers.

"I guess Dr. Dahlgren will be by sometime on Monday to pick this up." Jude said. "Go on home for now. I've got to talk with Mr. Lindstrom about something before I leave. See you in a couple hours, kid."

*****

Jude Horst didn't arrive at Kristin's apartment until nearly 7:30. She had some difficulty trying to find an acceptable spot to park her car. Most of the spots along the main street were metered so she had to settle on parking along a side street several blocks away. The gym teacher paused at the door leading up to Kristin Bishoff's apartment. The building block was over 100 years old; neat and well-maintained. By the looks of the mailboxes, there were 4 apartments located above the stores. She saw the name Bishoff on the 2nd mailbox, and with a burst of energy contradicting her 44 years, Jude dashed up the stairs to a hall with 4 doors and stopped at number 2.

Since Kristin invited her for dinner, Jude figured she ought to bring something along in return. On her way downtown, she picked up a nice bottle of wine. She held the bottle in the crook of her arm and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Kristin appeared to greet her. The student teacher stood to one side and the butch woman entered. Instantly she was distracted by how different her protégé looked outside the classroom.

Kristin Bishoff looked so beautiful—like a princess straight out of a modern day fairytale! She had traded her t-shirt and track pants for a short sleeved blouse and mini skirt with matching dress flats. Her fiery tresses cascaded freely past her small shoulders, and for a brief moment, Jude imagined taking the girl in her arms and running her fingers through her hair.

"Hey there, kid." Jude said. "Hope I'm not too late—had a hard time trying to find a place to park!" She offered the wine bottle to her young protégé. "Hope you don't mind. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me over for dinner."

Kristin rolled her eyes and groaned. "Ugh...you didn't have to do that, Miss H—I mean—Jude!"

Kristin looked visibly upset about something and suddenly Jude began to feel very self-conscious. She had a quick bath before leaving the house. And since Kristin insisted the dinner would be casual, she chose a flannel plaid button-down shirt, dark jeans and her old penny loafers. She was clean, but the old dyke couldn't shake the feeling that her underling was probably expecting a prince tonight, but instead got stuck with the frog.

"You seem to be upset about something." Jude observed. "Hope it isn't me...maybe this is a bad time..."

Kristin set the wine bottle on her small kitchen table. The table was in front of a window that was part of the way opened, admitting a blast of chilly night air into the modestly furnished interior. Jude wrinkled her nose disapprovingly as she sniffed the air. What on earth is that, she wondered. The tell-tale odor of something burning invaded her nostrils. Kristin must've opened the window to dissipate the smell.

"No, it isn't you!" Kristin said. The girl's voice had an obvious edge. "It's just that...Roger called earlier. We started arguing, and...we broke up for good this time."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jude replied.

"Well I'm not!" Kristin scoffed. "But we were arguing for so long, I forgot about the casserole I made." That explained the smell in the room, Jude thought. "It's totally ruined! Hope you don't mind that I called out for pizza instead."

The girl told Jude to have a seat. The butch woman expelled a sigh of relief and went over to the sofa. "That's okay; I'm not much of a cook myself." Jude said. She sat down. "You know how we PE teachers are. Pizza sounds just fine."

Kristin emerged from the tiny kitchen holding a large pizza box. "Wasn't sure if you liked pizza or not so I just ordered cheese." She said. Now the girl set the box on the coffee table in front of Jude. "Just a second; I'll be right back." She went over to the window and closed it before going to the fridge. She took out a couple cans of beer and handed one to her mentor. "Thanks for the wine, but I figure beer goes a lot better with pizza."

Jude grinned at the beautiful redhead. "Well, I can't argue with you there." She popped her can open and held it up in a toast. "Cheers!"

Kristin responded with a girlish giggle. She took a seat beside her mentor, and just like that, the last remains of their initial tension melted away.

They spent an hour or so talking and drinking. Before Jude knew it, the pizza was reduced to a couple half-eaten slices and they'd consumed the entire 6 pack of beer in Kristin's fridge. They started on the wine and both women drifted from blissful intoxication to drunken rowdiness. Jude went off to use the bathroom for the nth time. When she returned, it was Kristin's turn. As she waited for the girl to return, the old dyke became aware of an intense tingling sensation overwhelming her body. The feeling strongly resembled the slow steady build of static electricity. By the looks of things, Kristin felt it too.

The wine bottle was nearly empty when the conversation began to dwindle to a trickle. Suddenly Jude remembered the reason Kristin asked her to dinner in the first place. "So...how're your lesson plans coming along?" The old dyke's speech was a bit slurred. "Lemmie see what you've got so far."

"Uhh...okay." It was obvious the girl was faring no better. She left the room and returned with the familiar spiral bound book.

"You should've written them out on loose leaf paper first." Jude cautioned as she took the book from her protégé. She opened it and skimmed the contents. After a second or two, the butch woman arched an eyebrow and nodded approvingly. "I'm impressed, kid! Agenda for next week looks good." She continued reading. "Short term goals seem reasonable. Good job!"

"Thanks." Kristin replied softly. "I got some help from Miss Dowd the other day during last planning period. I didn't think you'd mind too much."

Jude handed the lesson planner back to Kristin. "So let me get this straight...you didn't really need me to help you tonight?"

Kristin tossed the book aside and sat beside her mentor. "I really did need help, but Miss Dowd offered to look at what I had so far and I desperately want an 'A.' It's my last semester. I guess she wanted to help out because I've been so fed up with Roger."

Roger. She was so sick of hearing that name! A surge of anger mixed with jealousy filled the pit of Jude's stomach. She reached for the nearly empty wine bottle and gulped down the remains. "Well, it's getting late. I better head on home." The butch woman started to get up, but instantly realized that was a bad idea. Her mind was foggy and her vision was a little blurry. A strange feeling like vertigo came over her and she plopped back down on the sofa beside her young protégé.

"Don't go." Kristin pleaded. "You've had too much to drink. Besides, I like your company. Can't we just talk for a little while longer?"

Jude sensed she was drifting towards dangerous water, but the liquid courage inside her compelled her to stay. A small part of her was still suspicious of the girl's intentions. Was she telling the truth about breaking up with her boyfriend, or was she just trying to play up to her for an "A" in student teaching? Either way, Jude was curious to see where it might lead.

"Sure, I guess so." Jude replied. "As long as you promise not to bring up Robert or whatever his name is." She glanced over at the girl. She was staring down at her lap as if she was trying to avoid making eye contact with the butch gym teacher. "Is everything okay?" Jude asked.

Kristin nodded. "Yeah, um...hope you don't mind me asking this, but...your bible study group...are there other women like you?"

An awkward moment of silence passed while Jude tried to think of an answer. The girl was looking at her intently, like she was staring directly into her soul. The old dyke swallowed hard. She had an idea of where this was going.

"Yes, all the women in the group are teachers except for Reverend Kling...or do you mean lesbian?" For a split second, Kristin looked shocked; like a deer caught in the headlights. She responded with a silent nod. "Does—does that bother you?"

"So, um...do you have a girlfriend, or...?"

Jude shook her head no. "Went on a few dates with a woman who works in this store near Mt. Percy. That was over a year ago...I don't want to talk about it." Several more awkward seconds passed, and then Jude turned to face the gorgeous redhead and their eyes met.

"Miss H...what's it like?" Kristin asked. Her voice was much softer than it had been earlier; barely above a whisper. "I mean what do women do together?"

It was then when Jude realized she'd reached the point of no return. She was completely lost in the moment, entranced by the girl's icy blue eyes. She gently grasped Kristin's chin and leaned forward until their lips came together in a chaste kiss.

Kristin's lips were full and soft; exactly the way Jude imagined they'd feel. She leaned in for another kiss and the girl didn't resist. This time, the kiss was deeper and more insistent. As they kissed, Jude slipped her tongue in the girl's mouth. She tasted the fruity remnants of the wine they'd been drinking as their tongues collided. She wrapped her arms around her beautiful young protégé, drawing her closer. As they embraced, Jude's nearly flat chest mashed against the girl's plump little breasts.

Jude broke the kiss and slowly pulled away. "Does that answer your question?"

Kristin stared down at her lap and nodded slowly. The girl's cheeks were red and the expression on her face conveyed a mixture of embarrassment and desire. It was obvious she was unsure of how to process what just happened. Jude grasped the girl's chin again, gently lifting her face up to meet her gaze. "You okay, Kristin?"

The girl replied with another silent nod. "I—I don't..." She starts. "I've never been with a woman before. I don't know what to do."

Now Jude took Kristin's hand in hers. The old dyke planted a reverent kiss on her knuckles. The girl's sudden shyness was so sweet, so sexy! Jude's excitement was quickly building. She drew the gorgeous redhead in for another kiss. After a minute or so, Jude's hands began to wander. She stopped as she felt Kristin's body suddenly go rigid.

"No? Too much, honey?" Jude asked.

"I want to, but...you're so much older, and..." Her voice trailed off.

Jude gently placed her finger over the girl's lips. "That's an easy fix." She said reassuringly. "Want me to turn the light off?"

Kristin nodded. Jude went over to the main light switch and flipped it off. The only light that remained poured in from the tiny kitchen, and although they could still clearly see each other, Kristin seemed to relax.

Jude kissed her once more. "I think it would be wise to take things slow, don't you? Just relax; honey...let me take care of you."

"Okay." Kristin softly replied.

"If you start to feel uncomfortable about anything, you tell me and I'll stop. No questions asked." She gave the girl's hand a firm squeeze. "And if I do something you do like...don't be afraid to let me know...I aim to please."

Kristin nodded and heaved a ragged sigh. Jude could tell the girl was still very nervous. They came together once more for another tender kiss. Kristin was trembling in the old dyke's embrace and a soft moan escaped her lips.

Jude embraced the girl and drew her close. Kristin leaned her head back now, exposing her slender neck. Unable to resist temptation, the old dyke pressed her lips against the girl's creamy white skin. After a few seconds, she began to drag her tongue upwards and began to gently kiss and nibble the girl's earlobe. She heard a soft moan. "Mmm...I like that..." Kristin whispered.

Jude paused to nuzzle the girl's neck. "You smell wonderful." She whispered.

"It's nothing special...gardenia, that's all." Kristin softly replied. Jude returned to the girl's earlobe, drawing it between her lips. For a minute or so, the old dyke sucked and gently nibbled while Kristin squirmed in her embrace. It was obvious that the girl was quickly beginning to lose herself, and this excited Jude. She wanted more! "Oh, Jude...I—I've never been touched like this before. Roger's so—so..." Her voice trailed off again and her breath was ragged.

"Well, a woman should know what another woman wants...at least that's what I've been told." Jude teased. Kristin let out a long, heavy sigh and suddenly she melted in the butch woman's arms. Jude's hands began to wander, skimming against the softness of the girl's blouse. "This feel okay, honey?" She asked as she brought a hand to Kristin's breasts, tenderly caressing first the right, then the left.

"Mmm-hmm..." The beautiful girl's eyelids fluttered as another soft whimper escaped her lips. Her body felt so warm and taut under her hands. Slowly Jude's fingers settled on the buttons on Kristin's blouse.