WINTER AND SUMMER
By Sam Caulfield
Winter
"I'm gonna fight em off. Seven nation army couldn't hold me back. They're gonna…" Graham awoke to the sound of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes coming from his alarm clock. He quickly hit the snooze button and sank back into his bed. "I've still got an hour before I have to open the shop," Graham thought. He peaked over at the right side of the bed. It was empty. He saw the bathroom door was closed and the shower running. His fiancé, Lou had always been more of a morning person than he was.
Graham forced himself out of bed just as Lou was putting his socks on. After showering and brushing his teeth with the lemon toothpaste as he always did. He put some clean cloths and sat down at the table for breakfast. Lou was already in there eating a breakfast sandwich and had made one for Graham, which was sitting at the spot where he usually sat. "Thanks," he said as he was pouring his coffee. "How many people are you expecting today?" asked Lou. "It'll probably be pretty quiet. We might get a surge around one though. Some people will probably want to stop for coffee in between shops." Graham noticed the time and decided that he'd better leave. "I'll se you later tonight," he said. "Yeah. Just one more day!" Lou said, stroking Graham's face. "I love you," Graham said as they kissed.
Graham ran to the tube station and managed to catch a train just as it was about to leave. After counting the number of stops, he exited the train and walked up the stairs and found himself in Central London. One of the many giant red busses zoomed past him as he spotted his coffee shop down the street.
Summer
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our decent into London's Heathrow Airport. I'd like to thank all of you for flying British Airways." Lou awoke to the sound of the captain's voice over the intercom. He groggily rubbed his eyes. It was morning, finally. His neck was gonna be sore for a week from this plane trip, but it was worth it, Lou thought. He looked out of his window and saw the airport becoming closer and closer. He sank back into his seat. "Today's the day," he excitedly told himself. Lou lived in Atlanta, Ga. until yesterday, where he worked as part of the crew at Pinewood Studios. Pinewood is a British movie studio, and Lou was just informed last year, that his job had been transferred to their main stages in London, England.
Lou felt more awake as he made his way off the plane and into the bustling terminal of Heathrow Airport. He quickly mad egis way outside and hailed a taxi. "Hi, I'm trying to go to…" Lou couldn't believe that he forgot his new address. He resulted through his wallet, before he finally found it written on a sticky note that had lost it's stick. The trip form Heathrow to Camden was pretty long, but it was the perfect opportunity to take in the atmosphere. The cab didn't pass any of the well known sites, like the London Eye or the palace, but it was still enthralling for Lou. "This is my new home. All the way across the ocean!" he thought to himself.
"So what brings you to London?" asked the cabbie. "Buisness," said Lou.
"Oh, how long are you here for?"
"Indefinately actually. I work at Pinewood Studio's American branch in Atlanta and I was just transferred here."
"Wow, well I'm sure you'll love it. London's an amazing place. I came over here from Scotland ten years ago. I've made some good friends."
Lou enjoyed this talk with the cabbie. Then, almost out of nowhere, they had arrived at Camden. Lou stepped out of the taxi with his bags and looked up at a narrow row house in front of him. Ge took a deep breath. "Here we go," he said.
Winter
Graham awaited as his employes entered the shop one by one. "It's a cold one out there!" Amy exclaimed. "We might be doing better today than I thought, it that case," Graham smiled. "Remember, we'll be closing early tonight," he said. "That's right," Amy smiled. "Tommorow, you'll be a married man! And you're sure this place is big enough for the rehearsal dinner?"
"Oh yeah, definately. We're not having too big of a wedding. Plus, it's a pretty quick engagement."
"You two have been together for three years."
"Yeah, but we've only been engaged for a few months. He asked me the day after they announced on the news that we're allowed to get married."
Graham looked at the ring on his finger with joy. He quickly snapped himself out of it to go help a customer. The day continued as usual, and just as he predicted, there was a significant surge in customers around lunch time. It was finally late afternoon, Graham had his employees hang up their aprons and hung the closing sign on the door. He reminded them of the time of the dinner that night.
He closed the shop's doors and turned around to see Lou standing behind him. "How was your day?" he asked. "We had a steady stream of Christmas shoppers, but not much other than that." Graham answered. He hailed a cab and stepped inside after Lou. "To Heathrow, please," Lou told the cabbie.
Summer
It had been a few days since Lou had started living in London and he was adjusting quite well. His landlord was very nice and his apartment (or flat, as the British call them) was very small, but it was perfect for a single person. He had been fitting in at his job as well. It was really just the same as his old one, just in a different country. On his first weekend off, he decided to explore more of London.
London is an amazing city. It's filled with so many different kinds of people, and it seems like a combination of a small, quaint community and a large, bustling city. He also had a few new favorite spots. He liked to hang out at this coffee shop called Python's right near Piccidilly Circus. They made great coffee and it was decorated with Monty Python and Doctor Who memorabilia (of both of which, Lou is a huge fan).
One day, after finishing work, he and some co-wrokers went out for drinks to celebrate the end of the week. "This has been great guys, but I got to go. I'll see you all on Monday." After saying goodbye to his friends he made his way down the street toward the bus stop. He stopped in front of Python's, where he saw a man locking it's door. "Excuse me, are you the owner?" Lou asked. "That's me," said the man. "Since I've moved here, this has become one of my favorite spots." "Oh, I'm glad to here that. I'm Graham," said the man. "Lou," he said as they shook hands.
Winter
After picking Lou's father up at the airport, they went back to their home before leaving for the rehearsal dinner. The guests quickly arrived one by one, just as the employes at the shop do everyday. The event was small, so Lou and Graham made all the food. Twoards the end of the evening, Lou's father stood up and said, "could I have everyone's attention please?" The guests turned their attention to him. "I would first like to give my congrats to the happy couple. Lou, I know we've had some trouble in the past. I didn't know what to think when you told me you were gay, but when I see you with Graham, I can't believe I was so stupid. I love you." "Love you too," Lou mouthed from the other end of the room.
The next day, it finally took place. It was held in front of the London Eye. Graham's sister, Laura afficiated. Graham and Lou took each other's hands, trying to hold back their tears. Finally, Laura proclaimed "And now that the government has finally come to their senses, I now pronounce you married." Before Laura even fines hid the last syllable of the last word, Graham and Lou kissed. It seemed to be the longest kiss they had ever given each other. They held each other close as the small crowd cheered.
As night fell, Lou and Graham returned to their home. They were tired from the champagne and the standing around, so they sat down on the couch and cuddled up. Lou glanced over at the date on the callander: "December 10, 2014." Just a few more weeks and it will be Christmas. "Compared to today, Christmas is kind of going to suck," Lou joked. The two laughed before cuddling closer together and kissed once more.
Summer
Lou and Graham had become closer over the past month. They seemed to have a lot in common. One night after the shop closed, he reopened it just for the two of them. Lou looked around at the walls. "Hey I just realized something!" he exclaimed. "What's that," asked Graham. "You've got all this Monty Python stuff in here and your name's spelled exactly the same as Graham Chapman's. He's my favorite Python." "Mine too," Graham said. "And not just because we both have the same first name and we're both gay, although that does account for most of it," he joked. The two men laughed together and sipped their coffee, before, Lou put his hand over Graham's they looked at each other, not quite sure what is happening now. Whatever is happening, it must be something good.