CHAPTER ONE
It wasn't the best time. It was not even by far the best time for that. Delphine was so pissed at the whole fucking universe. It should only be a bloody conspiracy against her. It had no other explanation. Why did everything have to go wrong for her?
Sitting by her window pane she looked down to her beeping mobile phone. It was Cosima again, and what could she possibly want now? They were over, weren't they? Delphine took six months to heal her broken heart, and now it has been four days in a row that Cosima keeps calling her. It is too much bad luck for a single person.
It was clear for Delphine that she didn't feel anything for Cosima anymore, which was good, but still she didn't feel like picking up her mobile and taking that call. Whatever Cosima wanted, it could wait. Or she could get her help somewhere else from somebody else. Like, for instance, that professor Blackwood who totally wrecked their relationship.
Delphine breathed in, and breathed out calmly. Then she stood up and made her way to the bathtub. She turned on the hot water, and went on to take a bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass, and placed down next to the bathtub while she undressed and got in.
It was so relaxing to just spend time doing this kind of nothing. She closed her eyes, and imagined her house in Budapest, her amazing view from the top of the hills. The bridges, the Parliament building, the giant wheel… Everything was so far away, and maybe that was just what she needed, was it not?
Delphine then suddenly came up with this brilliant idea: she had to go there. She had to go to Europe. She needed a break, she needed holidays, and she needed to be as far as possible from all this Cosima and DYAD bullshit.
Of course she would have to make some calls, and leave someone in her position while she was away, but she did not really care. What time is it, by the way? The pointers of her timepiece showed 10 p.m. Whatever.
Delphine got out from the bathtub, put on a robe and walked into her bedroom to get ahold of her mobile. She was about to dial Rachel's number, but there was an incoming call. Cosima again. Wait, what? It might actually be just what I need right now.
"Hello, Cosima," she answered the call.
"Delphine," Cosima's voice sounded like letters in italic.
"What do you want? Why are you calling me?"
"Um…" Cosima paused. "I have been trying to reach you for days… There are some things I would like to say to you. About us. About everything that happened, maybe you would like to-"
"Cosima, don't," Delphine interrupted. "I don't want to hear anything from you. In fact, I am actually going to quit DYAD, and I think I can even use this call to tell you that if you want, maybe you can take my place, be in my position."
"You're quitting DYAD? Why is that?" Cosima sounded surprised enough.
"I have other priorities right now."
A one-minute awkward silence took over the call.
"Right," Cosima stated.
"So should I get the papers ready and pass them forward? Regarding your taking over?"
"Sure," Cosima said, automatically.
"Deal, then. I think I should go now."
"Of course," Cosima said, and hung up.
Delphine felt a huge relief taking over her body, then she threw her mobile over her bed, and came back to the bathtub. A smile started growing slowly on her face, and she could already feel free from all of her obligations.
. . .
"I still can't believe we're going!" said Louise while she stepped into Delphine's flat, carrying a big baby-pink travel bag.
Louise has known Delphine for ages. They met when Delphine first moved from Lyon to Paris, to study medicine, and they became friends really quick. Their friendship evolved into something more, and eventually their differences torn them apart, but friendship remained.
When Delphine moved to Canada to work for DYAD they were still together, though, and that is why Louise still lives in Canada now, since she came with Delphine. They got separate flats after they split, but Louise still spends 70% of her free time at Delphine's place.
"You already packed?!" Delphine shocked.
"OF COURSE!" Louise said, walking to the bedroom and leaving her travel bag there. "I got everything ready already, including cards and paper money."
"Girl, you're loving it," Delphine smiled.
"Absolutely!" Said Louise, poking Delphine's cheeks.
Delphine smiled, and pulled back, turning the sound system on via her mobile, and making her way to the counter to pour two glasses of wine.
"So… Did she stop calling you?" Louise asked out of the blue.
"After I told her I would put her in charge of DYAD because I was leaving? No."
"And is that good? Do you feel relieved?" Louise came near Delphine, taking her glass of wine and drinking a bit.
"A lot," Delphine started drinking her wine and walked to the couch and sit.
Louise observed Delphine from the counter. The way her hair fell down her shoulders, the way she bit her lips while thinking. It would be a great trip, and nice holidays. Life was sweet.
While she rested on her couch, she could barely listen to the song that was playing. She could only picture European beaches and downtown alleys. Maybe it was really a good idea after all.
. . .
The sun was shining, the water was blue, people were speaking in lots of different languages, and the menus were not only in Greek. That was perfection. Last time Delphine was in Greece she was 9. It was her parents' anniversary. So she didn't have many memories or whatever of Greece.
"Oh, gosh," started Louise. "I could live here. Mykonos is perfect. Why don't I live here? Why do Greeks ever leave Greece?"
Delphine didn't care to answer. She knew Louise was simply being rhetoric.
Louise was sunbathing fully naked, while Delphine was only topless, with sunhat and sunglasses, reading a book. The beach was really crowded, but they had managed to lay down somewhere a bit far from the madding crowd, next to the other naked people.
"Do you mind?" Someone asked, taking Delphine off of her book.
She turned right to see a wavy-haired blond girl completely naked willing to put her towel down next to them.
"Not at all," Delphine replied with a smile, and quickly coming back to her book. What is this?! She looked left, but Louise seemed to have fallen asleep during sunbathing.
Delphine tried to concentrate in her reading, but every second she found herself bothered by the presence of this girl next to her. It was not because the girl was excessively hot, and her breasts looked perfect, and her eyes were as blue as the ocean nor anything. It was just that she lost her concentration.
"Um, excuse me," Delphine looked at her.
"Yes?" The girl raised her eyebrows.
"Do you mind looking out for my belongings while I go get something to drink?"
"Not at all," she replied with a smile.
"Thank you," Delphine said, standing up. Wait, wait. After a few steps, she turned back to look at the girl agin.
"Do you want me to bring something for you?"
"Oh, never mind!" She replied with a wink.
Okay, she is really sexy.
At the bar, Delphine asked for two piña coladas, and looked back, to check on Louise, but the moment she did that he heard someone talking to her.
"Wow, look what we have here," said a blond girl in green bikinis, and sunglasses. She put her bangs out of her face and smiled, taking her glasses off.
"Excuse me?" Delphine said, a bit pissed. She had never been hit like that by a younger woman on a Greek beach.
"You don't want people to say things, you should cover them," said the girl, winking and making a gesture, like grabbing her own breasts.
OMG! Delphine had totally forgotten she was topless.
"Two piña coladas!" Said the bartender.
"Thank you," said Delphine, getting ahold of the drinks and quickly walking away from that bar and that girl. OMG! She was so embarrassed.
She sit down, placed her drinks over her towel and thanked the gorgeous blondie for looking out for her belongings.
"Louise, wake up," Delphine said, touching Louise's arm. "Got us some alcohol, darling."
"OH GOSH I HEARD ALCOHOL?" She sit up, taking a big sip from one of the drinks. "Oh, so good!" She closed her eyes, and when she opened them up… She raised her eyebrows, making eye movements to the blonde girl next to Delphine.
"Who is she?" She spoke on mute, moving her lips and pointing.
"Just a girl," made Delphine with her mouth.
"She has perfect boobs and a gorgeous-"
"Shut up!" Delphine snapped.
Louise laughed out loud.
"Okay," She kept laughing.
Delphine looked to the girl and said, "I am sorry, my friend is really noisy."
"That's okay," the girl replied. "Mine is noisy, too."
"Yours?" Delphine was confused.
"Yup," answered the blonde girl from the bar, sitting down next to the girl Delphine was talking to.
Oh, my.
END OF CHAPTER ONE