Portmanteau: More Than a Feeling: Part 4Conclusion of Sister Golden Hair and Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress. Journeys and choices.

Based on a post by Wendy Trilby, in 4 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.

The

next day, Mary Margaret found herself near the art department of the

Liberal Arts wing. She found Sister Grace's classroom and peered in,

only to see Sister Andrea leading the class. Confused, she entered.

"I'm looking for Sister Grace. She had some notes for me on a project."

"Sister Grace resigned the order this morning, my dear," the older nun replied. "She's leaving us."

Kaylin, a short-haired freshman, added nervously, "I saw her with her bags heading to the main entrance like 10 minutes ago."

Mary Margaret quickly left, hoping to find Sister Grace before she was gone.

On

her way to the main building, she passed the old dorm, where, 24 hours

earlier, she had made love to a woman for the first time. Rather than

continue to the main building, she detoured.

Sister

Grace stood on the steps of St. Magnus with all her worldly possessions

in a single suitcase. She wore jeans, Keds, and a Red Sox sweatshirt,

which made her look more like a student than a young teacher.

A

taxi pulled up. The cabbie stepped out and took her bags to the trunk.

She was about to get in when a tap on the shoulder stopped her.

Turning, she saw Mary Margaret behind her.

"I hear you're leaving."

"I am."

"Not even a goodbye?"

"I didn't want it to get weird."

"You're not leaving because of yesterday?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yes

and no. Not because of what we did. And yes, because of what we did. I

discovered a part of me that I thought was dead and buried. Whatever

drove me into your arms made me throw years of repressing emotion away;

whatever that was, I want more. I won't find it here."

"But I'm here."

"For

a few more weeks, then what? You have a journey ahead of you, and so do

I. Who knows if that means our paths will cross again? I hope they do.

But let's see what time brings," Grace said with a lilt of sadness.

"Where are you off to?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Not sure. Somewhere in New England. Somewhere with open-minded people where I can explore the land and myself."

"I

have something for you. Open it when you get there," Mary Margaret

said, handing Sister Grace a cardboard tube with the ends taped shut.

"Goodbye, Sister."

"Monica. My given name is Monica. Not Sister Grace, Not Sister Lady Gaga, just Monica.

"Goodbye, Monica."

Mary Margaret gave Monica a genial kiss on the cheek and watched her get in the cab and drive away.

A

month later, after stopping in several small towns around New England,

Monica fell in love with Portland, Maine, with its coastal beauty and

quaint downtown.

She

felt free in the vast expanses and ready to start her life anew.

Getting a job in an artist's co-op, she unpacked her bags in her

first-ever apartment.

She finally took the time to open the cardboard tube that Mary Margaret had presented her when she left St. Magnus.

Before

her lay The Peaceable Kingdome painting that had long been ignored at

St. Magnus. She spread it out on the table and she smiled.

Days

later, matted and framed, she hung the purloined painting on a wall

that received warm afternoon daylight. She sat back to appreciate the

painting, the optimism it depicted, her new free life, and the erotic

fond memory of the young woman who gave her all three.