Just a little idea that wouldn't leave my mind.
Delphine hums with delight as the sweetness of the cherry pie invades her taste buds. She closes her eyes and basks in the sensation and memories the flavor evokes, forgetting for a moment the chatter and clattering coming from the relatives sitting at the huge dining table in the usual cold Cormier household. After all, this family gathering is here to celebrate her getting her professional license so she may as well enjoy herself, she concludes as she takes another bite of her favorite American dessert.
She can feel more than see the judgmental glare her mother is throwing her way from across the table at her choice of celebratory cake. Under different circumstances her mother's hostility would've made her squirm and sink in her seat but not today, she's way too thrilled to even care. Delphine looks up locking eyes with her mother; she takes a giant chunk of the sweet with her fork, shoves it into her mouth forcefully and moans loudly with eyes closed, effectively causing the older woman to look away in disgust.
Oh Delphine is ecstatic! She can barely wait for the right time to drop the bomb and witness the disastrous consequences it will cause but she's patient; she has already waited four years. What are a few minutes more? Luckily she doesn't have to wait too long, as the opportunity presents itself in the form of a nosy aunt.
"So Delphine" the older woman asks as she makes a show out of cleaning her mouth with a napkin "have you decided already what you are going to do now? Are you going after your masters? You staying here, going abroad …?"
"Well…" Delphine lets out in suspense, placing the fork to the side and leaning her elbows on the table; barely containing the energy that runs through her veins at the chance of finally revealing the secret she has been hiding. "I'll take a break for a couple of months probably, then pursue my master's degree…"
Everyone at the table either nods with approval or lets out a brief praising comment.
"… in the States" she completes the sentence.
At this both her parents crane their necks sharply with eyes bulging in her direction. The rest of the family seems oblivious to their reaction as they resume their eating and talking.
After seeing the defiance in her daughter's eyes, and her indifference when she turned to continue talking to her aunt, Delphine's mother clears her throat in an exaggerated manner in order to get everyone's attention.
"Delphine darling" the woman lets out stiffly "this is not the time or place to discuss these issues; we will do it tomorrow in the tranquility of the afternoon" she ends condescendingly.
'This is it' Delphine thinks, this is the moment she has been waiting for, the chance to let it all out and finally be free. She straightens up in her chair, licking her lips in preparation for what she's about to disclose.
"Actually, mother" Delphine doesn't bother to hide the bitterness in her tone "there's nothing to discuss, it's already decided; I'm moving to America" she lifts her chin challengingly.
There's a brief moment of silence followed seconds later by the clattering of the crockery, the screeching of chairs and hurried goodbyes as her relatives stand up to leave the premises having already taken in the heavy mood.
Completely caught up in a staring contest, Delphine and her mother don't dare to move one inch, leaving the task of giving the farewells to Mr. Cormier.
He comes back a few minutes later, a perplexed expression on his face "Delphine, what on earth was that?"
Delphine lets out a long sigh, letting go of her mother's gaze to address her father "what you heard, I'm leaving; I'm going to America."
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Cormier yells slamming the table with her hands, rising to her feet "you're not going anywhere!"
"Mother" Delphine rolls her eyes "you can't stop me really, I'm an adult."
"Oh yeah? An adult!" The woman scoffs "well then if you want to go and live your adult life in that… place, you better start thinking where you are going to get the money since your father and I won't be paying for it anymore."
Mr. Cormier turns his head abruptly toward his wife ready to say something but deciding against it at the last second.
Delphine feels the beginning of a smirk forming on her lips as she speaks her next words "don't worry it won't be necessary anymore either way, remember I have grandma's trust fund for that."
The older woman clenches her teeth at the challenge her daughter is presenting but she's not willing to lose this fight. "Oh no, no; you're crazy if you think we are gonna let you put your hands on that money, Lucien!" She counteracts addressing her husband "I want you to call the lawyer this instant to alert him on any action regarding that fund."
The man just opens his mouth unable to move.
"Oh my God" Delphine pinches the bridge of her nose, exasperated. "Again, I'm an adult; I don't need your permission to deal with my own legal issues." She laces her fingers and supports her hands on the table as she proceeds to explain "grandma's will stipulated clearly the funds will be mine as soon as I obtained my license, which I technically did last week. So I went to her former lawyer's office with the necessary documentation and he guided me through the entire process." She shrugs "the money was transferred to my account yesterday actually" then unable to hold herself back, she adds mockingly "and let me tell you, grandma was very generous. There's enough in there for me to pay tuition and rent an apartment to share it with… whoever I want."
"How dare you!" Mrs. Cormier walks toward Delphine but stops midway turning to her husband "she can't do this Lucien, you have to do something; you have to stop this madness."
"I…" Mr. Cormier finally finds his voice although hesitantly "I can't, it's… it's done" he shrugs defeated.
Mrs. Cormier was ready to argue when the voice of Delphine interrupts her train of thought.
"Do you know why cherry pie is my favorite dessert?" She states out loud as she takes the last bite of her piece of pie. She chews slowly savoring every ingredient until she swallows and continues with a hint of malevolence "cause that was the dessert we had in her room the night I lost my virginity to Cosima."
It is fair to say that Delphine never had seen her mother so enraged in her life: face flushed, nostrils flaring, trembling with fury.
"Delphine!" It's the only thing her father managed to let out as an admonition before he had to sprint and get a hold of his wife who was about to jump on Delphine.
'Huh! And to think I omitted the cherry jokes that followed after the sex' Delphine muses internally, shaking her head unimpressed by her mother's outburst.
"Who…" Mrs. Cormier verbalizes through gritted teeth, still restrained "who are you?!"
"Who am I?" Delphine chuckles humorlessly "I'm half the woman I used to be; I'm half the person I was four years ago" she voices suppressing the real fury she's feeling deep inside in favor of getting her message across clearly "the other half of me stayed there in San Francisco and despite your worst attempts I'll be reuniting with myself very soon; so I can finally be complete again."
The older woman swallows, eyes red with fury, spitting with venom. "You are no longer my daughter, get out of my house!"
"Gladly" It's the only response she gets from Delphine who stands up elegantly and walks to the front door.
"What? no… Del…" The man lets go of his wife and runs behind his daughter, ignoring the screams of the older woman.
Delphine is unlocking her car door when her father catches up with her, breathless.
"Honey, wait" He grabs her arm to stop her. She turns to face him, and what he sees in her eyes feels like a stab in his heart. There are no traces of the tenderness he used to see in those hazel orbs when she was a kid, they are empty.
"Yes?" Delphine inquires impassively.
The man stares at her, wanting to say "you don't have to go; stay, lets talk" but the determination she oozes is overwhelming. He knows she has already made a decision –who knows for how long- and that nothing will change her mind. So he opts to ask a simple question instead "when?"
She clears her throat softly before replying "Tomorrow morning."
Mr. Cormier almost gasps at the news but – as a good Cormier – he succeeds at masking his shock. He debates internally until a plea leaves his lips "Can I go… say goodbye?"
Her first instinct was to say no. No, because he was always a passive observer to everything her mother did to her. He never came to her defense or at least console her whenever her mother made choices about her life without taking into account her opinion, claiming it was "for her own good." He never stood by her, he always chose to look the other way; he never really acted like a father and that created the resentment that she carries bitterly within her. But right now his face showed if anything, regret; not enough to forgive him but it was better than nothing. And that is perhaps what motivates her to offer "you don't have to."
"I want to" he quickly counters, eagerly.
She nods seriously, adding in the process "I'll send you the schedule later" with that she opens the car door and tries to climb in, but her father continues to hold onto her arm. She observes him expectantly.
Making a big effort to swallow the knot that formed in his throat, the man attempts to express more remorse "I'm sorry."
Delphine's jaw tenses because she knows what he means 'at least he admits it' the thought is a consolation but not an absolution. No matter how sincere he might be, it's still too early to let her resentment go; someday maybe, but not today, not right now. "Yeah, me too" is her sole response and with that she drives away from the house that felt like a prison and from the two people that were her jailers.
XXXXXXX
It didn't seem real to Delphine until she actually stood on the tarmac at the San Francisco airport. The realization that she was indeed there brought a familiar current of nerves she hadn't felt in a while. Feelings; she was actually feeling something in her heart after all those years, making her realize she wasn't living until then, she was just surviving. Delphine takes a deep breath as she walks to the airport terminal, schooling herself to be cool and take it easy; dying inside to see the smile that made her lose sleep for so many nights. Luckily she doesn't need to look around as the first thing her eyes land on as soon as she passes through the gates is the face that sports that same smile, looking just as charming and eager as she remembers. Delphine can't suppress the grin that overtakes her own lips as she approaches the person she has been longing to see.
"Hey" Cosima greets with a sly wave of her hand once they are close to each other.
"Hi" Delphine replies biting her lip.
They remain quiet for a second, not knowing exactly what to do.
Then as if she couldn't help it, Cosima reaches out and envelopes Delphine into a hug.
Both sigh in unison as their bodies come into contact holding each other tightly, smelling the scent of the other and staying that way a little longer than necessary. When they part they do it with shy smiles, giggling like nervous school girls.
"Uh" Cosima is the first to speak "How... how are you?"
The question may seem too standard or even silly to other people, but not to Delphine for she knows the real sentiment behind it. "I'm great" she answers with honesty, even feeling contented to add a little more "better than I've been in a while." And she's glad she decided to disclose that little detail because now she is rewarded with the toothy grin and dimples she missed so much.
Cosima, overjoyed by the way she's making Delphine feel, finally seems to notice something else "let me help you with..." She grabs the handle of the single bag Delphine is carrying besides her hand bag.
"Oh that's..." Delphine starts to protest but Cosima is fast and moves the bag away from the blonde, sticking her tongue out cheekily as she starts walking.
"Brat!" Delphine accuses jokingly, joining Cosima at her side.
"Yeah," Cosima shrugs "some things never change."
"And thank God for that."
They turn at the same time and their eyes meet, but rapidly turn away as it becomes too much.
They slowly stride toward the exit in silence for a minute until Cosima comments. "By the way, I like the new style." She gives Delphine a quick appreciative once over "makes you look hotter."
Delphine laughs out loud blushing; subtlety has never been Cosima's forte. Even though the compliment has her heart beating faster she is not willing to let Cosima win this one and quickly considers a nice come back. "Merci" she starts nonchalantly. "You're not doing so bad yourself, I mean I'm liking the new curves" she makes sure the once over she sends Cosima's way is more than just being appreciative.
Cosima stumbles on her own feet almost knocking the bag down.
And Delphine wasn't lying. At first she thought she was imagining things or it was her subconscious desire that tricked her into believing she saw Cosima's hips wider or her bust more prominent but taking into account the brunette's reaction the changes were very real and yeah, she liked them.
"Oh um…" Cosima fixes her glasses nervously "thanks."
It gave a sense of pride to Delphine to be able to cause these reactions in Cosima still. It meant everything was going in the right direction. Everything that WAS, was still THERE; and for now, that knowledge is enough.
They don't say anything else until they climb into Cosima's car. There in the comfort of the front seat Delphine engages them in small talk.
"And how's your girlfriend?" She probes in what she believes is a tactful strategy "Shay right?"
Cosima groans trying to mask her embarrassment "she's not… my girlfriend" she states a little annoyed but continues nonetheless. "I told her that you were coming, I mean she always knew how things were; so I guess it didn't come as a surprise. She took it really well actually" she shrugs.
"OK" Delphine nods understandingly. "So I don't have to worry about her showing up at your door at 3 am declaring how much she loves you like… what was her name?"
"Oh my God" Cosima cringes "Emi."
"Right Emi."
"No, no you have nothing to worry about with Shay, she's very sweet and cool and…"
Delphine glares at her with a brow lifted.
"But it's over I swear…I…" Cosima stops herself before saying something stupid, instead she finds a way to turn the tables "enough about me. How's Antoine?" She has to admit she took some joy in watching Delphine's features change.
"Uh um" Delphine squirms in her seat uncomfortably. "He… he didn't take it as good as Shay unfortunately."
"Really?" It's Cosima's turn to lift a brow at the blonde.
"Yeah well" Delphine sighs "He actually wanted to come with me."
"What! No way" Cosima laughs shaking her head. "And how did you get rid of him?"
"I… I had to tell him the truth that someone else was already expecting me here so…"
"Awww I feel so especial now" Cosima, still smirking, remarks half-jokingly.
"Well, you should cause you are" Delphine emphasizes her statement with a serious expression on her face.
That works in sobering Cosima up. She turns briefly to the side to meet Delphine's gaze and then focuses her attention back to the road. She sighs slowly; swallowing before asserting "I know" with that she places a hand on top of Delphine's.
The rest of the ride was spent talking amenably with joined hands.
XXXXXXXXX
Three days later, in a room illuminated by candles, moans and groans can be heard coming from the bed.
Cosima, who's straddling Delphine, rides the blonde's fingers like there's no tomorrow while Delphine sinks said fingers as deep as she can and at the same time sucking her lover's neck.
Sensing the brunette is close and overcome with her own feelings Delphine leans her head so her lips grace the side of Cosima's ear "Cosima" she murmurs. At the feel of the extra pressure on her digits she closes her eyes, holds the other girl tightly and lets out in a soft blow "Je t'aime."
It's all Cosima needs to come undone; her orgasm intense and long. Delphine pampers the contours of her jaw with soft kisses to help her come down from her high.
Finally Cosima falls limp onto Delphine's arms breathing heavily. Still dizzied by pleasure and with her heart full of emotion she whispers "I love you."
Delphine responds by searching her mouth and joining their lips in a searing kiss.
When they pull apart Cosima leans her forehead onto Delphine's and with a tremble in her voice she mumbles "promise me you're never going to leave me."
The heavy exhale Delphine lets out is proof of her own emotional state. She swallows the sob that threatens to leave her lips and answers with as much conviction as her heart allows "Je te le promets; my love."
There's no more need for words or to hold back tears any longer, they both embrace and cry together; silently vowing this time they will never be apart again.