This was not going well.
Delphine placed two fingers along the bridge of her nose, pinching it as she took a deep breath. The entire point of this was to get back on track with Cosima. Their romance had been haunted by doubts and criticisms of everyone around them. Delphine had specifically planned this weekend to unplug from everyone and just get back on the same page as Cosima. Delphine could feel Cosima slipping through her fingers and was desperate to stop it.
Although it was off season, she booked a luxurious hotel room at the beach. She hadn't told Cosima, wanting to surprise her. Delphine had planned it all, from the schedule to the route to the weekend plans, which were mostly making love and snuggling up.
And yet, now they were on the side of the road. Cosima's car had broken down, a cloud of smoke erupting from under the hood.
"Go ahead, say it," Cosima said, frustration boiling over.
"I will not." Delphine took a breath. She wanted to, but this was not the weekend to fight.
"You were right. There, I said it. We should have taken your stupid, overpriced, yuppie car."
"So what? I'll go back and we can take my car. Is that what you want?"
"Right now, I just want to go home."
"Cosima," Delphine tried to control her emotions. She knew that Cosima had no idea what was at stake.
"I mean it. This entire day is shit."
"Because I said I would rather not go to breakfast?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to order takeout and read my comics. And no, we had to drive to God knows where. And I got a ticket-"
"I told you the light was red and I also said I would pay," Delphine whimpered. Cosima was too frustrated to notice the way her voice trembled.
"Yeah, like I don't have the same job and make my own money. I don't need your French trust fund money."
"Wow." Delphine let the sting of Cosima's words sink in. She knew that Cosima was frustrated, but she was not only being unreasonable, she was being cruel. "Let's just take a few minutes..."
"I'm not going to want to spend the day with you in a few minutes. I just want to go home, wear pajamas and get baked," Cosima scoffed. "Maybe we could meet up tomorrow."
"I see," Delphine whispered, a few tears falling. When Cosima saw her crying, she scoffed in frustration. For Cosima, Delphine was just another thing that went haywire on this awful day. She was trying to think of what to say when Delphine opened the passenger side, getting out of the car.
"Where are you going? You already called for a tow truck!" Cosima yelled, running after her.
"I'm leaving. The car does not work, so I'll walk."
"Delphine, stop. You're acting crazy. Just wait in the car."
Delphine turned, towering over her short girlfriend as she clenched her jaw. "Cosima, I did not want to go to breakfast because I wanted to leave early. As it was, we left 45 minutes later than I planned-"
"I'm always late. You know this-"
"I booked a weekend getaway for us, Cosima. I wasn't trying to keep you from your precious eggs and bacon. I could feel you and I falling apart. I just wanted one weekend with you. Just you and I for one weekend like a normal couple. I'm asking too much and you've made it clear you want to be alone." She flicked away a tear, angry that she was crying when she wanted to yell.
"Delphine, I didn't know," Cosima said, running a hand through her dark dreadlocks.
"If you needed to know I was spoiling you in order to be nice, it was a waste of money." She dug a folded piece of paper. "When they fix your car, feel free to go. The room is already paid for." Delphine dropped the paper on the ground, spun in her leather boots and began walking away. As she walked off, Cosima heard her sniffling and saw the unmistakable hand movement, knowing she was wiping her tears.
Cosima stood, tears falling down her cheeks. She had been cranky, but Delphine hadn't actually done anything to her, so why had she been so cruel to her? Delphine was trying everything to repair the cracks in their relationship. As Cosima watched her walking away, she couldn't help but wonder what she was doing to keep Delphine by her side.