"Science is so cool!"
Gail felt her heart skip at those four words and the simple adoration that drew them out of the child at her side. She said them like they were a part of a song of praise. Gail's body's reaction took up barely a blip of time, but she still questioned why the reaction happened at all. It came as no shock to her that her daughter loved science. It was why the two of them were spending Gail's first day off in months at the Science Centre.
Sophie excelled when it came to math and science. They were really the only two subjects she enjoyed studying. She once told Gail she used it to fuel her hopes of understanding the world one day. Gail secretively believed her daughter really hoped science could explain her past and offer her a future. So she made it a point to nurture Sophie's interest, doing the exact opposite of what she learned from her own mother during her childhood.
Sophie lead Gail by her hand as they went through the centre's space exhibit. As the child got lost in its imitation of the night sky, Gail just enjoyed being in the energized presence of the 13-year-old. She only had a few more years before the child she knew and love would start to pull away. She was technically already a teenager. Isn't that what everyone told her? Isn't that what happened between her and her own mother?
Gail felt the small hand holding hers loosen its grip before sliding away completely. She mourned its lost but watched silently as Sophie drifted farther into the room on her own. Her daughter wanted to explore, and Gail would try to limit her imagination. She loved that about her.
Gail was not expecting, nor was she ready, for the husky voice that filtered into her ears. Its hush tones drifted from the far left corner. Its distance did nothing to hinder Gail's recognition.
"Jodi, I'm not sure your parents would be able to recreate this for your party?" The first few words nearly got lost behind the whirl of the room's air conditioning. Gail had to perk her ears to hear the rest. While the sentence was nearly lost, the voice could not be any clearer for Gail. She stood frozen, unsure of her next move.
This was not the first time she had thought she recognized a voice and had been horribly wrong. So wrong that one instance in a park actually made Gail question her sanity. She thought to ignore her intense need to turn around, then she heard a small high-pitched response.
"But you can talk them into it. Can't you Aunt Holly? You can talk them into anything."
Once she heard that name, Gail's body whipped to the left even before her mind could understand what was happening. It was the one name that made a change in the force of gravity the only possible force that would have stopped Gail from turning.
Her eyes searched through the dark room until they fell on a woman nearly kneeling before a child. Both of them were partially hidden by the dim lights. Gail could not see her face. And she could only undeniably view about a quarter of her body. But, Gail knew she was watching. Her body temperature spiked upwards. Her mind sharpened. And her heart stilled. She mostly certainly knew.
"Why don't we wait until we've seen all of the exhibits before we talk about ganging up on your parents?" The woman named Holly offered the girl a tilt of her head and a short nod. The girl shrugged as is she had already gotten her way. She seemed to accept the condition. Her attention shifted. Her eyes fell just over Holly's shoulder and she shrilled.
"A rocket!" She squealed as she rushed pass Holly. Holly turned, her body relaxed as she watched the girl rush to her newest fascination. Gail slowly exhaled as Holly stepped into view.
A smile illuminated Holly's face as she watched the girl running away. Gail knew she should not stare, yet she could not order her eyes to look away. They stared. They consumed the sight, savoring it as a sommelier would her favorite wine. Holly must have felt the intensity of her stare. She turned to meet Gail's eyes, and Gail was sure she saw her inhale deeply.
There they were, two women standing on separate sides of one room as children played around them. The echoes of their high pitched conversations filled the air. But for those two women, they stood in a void as quiet as a black hole and as deep. Gail realized the heart skip she felt earlier may not have been at Sophie's words. Maybe her body was acknowledging a presence that Gail had yet to see. A presence that years ago had changed her life before disappearing from it all together.
Neither woman moved as they watched each other. Gail could not decipher the look on Holly's face. She wondered if Holly could tell what she was thinking. Time had the ability of removing all that you confidently knew about a person and making them a virtual stranger.
Only Holly did not feel like a stranger. And the feelings rushing through Gail felt as familiar as they did when Gail last felt them with the person standing in front of her. Apparently time could change a lot, but it could not diminish their connection.
Gail stiffened as Holly made the first move towards her. She stepped slowly with an uncertainty that told of their years of separation. Yet it took only seconds for her to arrive before Gail. Her smile was shy, her glance curious.
"Gail?"
The word floated towards Gail, frail as if any movement could erase them from the atmosphere. Gail nodded, because it was only thing she could think of doing. For years, this woman before her had been a visitor into every single dream. Even now, she sometimes appeared in the night when Gail least expected her. Gail did what she could to let her go, but she could never escape her in her mind.
"Holly, you're in Toronto." Gail cringed inside as the words slip from her in a tone of utter awe, as if Toronto was a fairyland visited by invitation only.
"I'm visiting friends." Holly paused as she let her gaze drift over Gail. Gail knew she was noting the differences. Gail was in simple civilian clothes, jeans and a baseball tee. Her hair no longer clung around her ears. Now it sat lower, just above her shoulders. And she was no longer the bright blonde. Her natural color seemed to peak through darkening her shade of yellow.
Gail was not the only one who had changed. Where her hair was longer, Holly's was more trimmed. Her jet black locs framed her face with a chic casual look. Her clothes were a tad less laid back than Gail's. Her short sleeve light blue blouse fell perfectly on her frame. And her slim black slacks seem to elongate her already model length legs.
It was obvious that San Francisco was treating Holly well. The thought cause the buried anger in Gail to simmer to the surface. Luckily, Gail thought she could contain it.
"You look well." Holly said as her eyes fell back on Gail's face.
"Yeah, I haven't been sick at all today." Gail bit out, then cursed herself for not controlling her emotions better. Holly nodded. Her teeth latched on to a small piece of her inner lips. Gail remembered that she sometimes did that when she was nervous. Gail shifted on her feet, forcing herself to relax.
"You look good, Holly. San Francisco agrees with you."
Holly gave her a sincere smile. "You also look good. Toronto still fits."
"I guess." Gail said with a shrug.
"So… what's new?" Holly gave a tiny groan and visibly recoiled at her own question. Gail stiffened a smile, while admitting it was an adorable sight.
"I don't know where to start Holly? Should I start at the first year after you left or the fifth?"
Holly quickly dropped her smile, but she did not have a chance to respond. She was too surprised by the girl running up to Gail and grabbing her hand.
"Mom! I saw this cool rocket!" Sophie chirped as she pulled on Gail's arm.
"Sophie you know I told you—"
"But I just want one. I can hang from my room and it's only twenty dollars!" Sophie whined. Gail turned firm eyes on the child, but the girl did not relent. So Gail did. She grabbed her wallet and handed the girl her card. In return, Sophie gifted her with a winning smile.
"Just one." Gail ordered as the child rushed away. The child's legs came to a swift stop. She turned and shook her head up and down.
"One for me." She smiled and turned back toward the small shop at the end of the hall. "And one for dad!" She yelled back as she went on her way.
Gail thought the run after her but let her go. This was her day of course. Gail turned back to Holly and saw her staring at her left hand.
"You're married?" She said it like a question although she obviously knew the answer. She gave herself a little shake then met Gail's eyes again.
"Congratulations." The word sounded as hollow as it made Gail feel.
"Yeah, Chris asked me about four years ago. And Sophie is quite taken with him. I guess we all are." Gail looked down at her hand. She never really paid attention to the ring that set on her third finger. Today it seemed to change everything.
"Five years later, you have an entirely new life."
"Time does that." Gail looked away, desperately searching for a new topic. "So you are visiting friends?"
"Yes," Holly chuckled. "An old friend called, begging me to help her with her daughter's birthday party. So here I am."
"Who knew it was that easy to get you to come home?" Gail snarked then groaned internally. This was not going well at all. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw Sophie walking towards her with a big box. She nearly missed the red-haired girl, who looked about Sophie's age, following her carrying another box.
"Mom, Jodi said I can come to her birthday party. It's Saturday. I gave her dad's rocket as a gift." Sophie yelled as she latched onto Gail. Gail watched horrified as the other girl latched onto Holly.
"Can Sophie come to my party, Aunt Holly? She gave me a rocket," the girl begged.
Gail could feel Holly looking at her for assistance, but a reply to her daughter failed to gather in her mouth. Gail was unsure of how she felt about the possibility of spending at least an hour in Holly's presence. Sure, she suspected plenty of people would be around, but Gail did not kid herself. If Holly and Gail were in a room together she doubted they would be able to avoid each other.
But Gail refused to wipe the hopeful look off Sophie's face. Finally Holly spoke up.
"Honey, it's not really up to me. I'm not over the party."
"But they listen to you. Please! She gave me a rocket!"
"A rocket her mother did not say she could buy." Gail reprimanded giving Sophie a stern look.
"You didn't say I couldn't buy one for daddy. That one was his." Sophie rationalized.
Gail frowned at her daughter but she was not exactly wrong. Gail looked to Holly to be the voice of reason. That voice failed her.
"They've got us completely wrapped, don't they?" Holly chucked.
"Yeah. We are absolutely finger size." Gail shook her head in disgust of their weakness. Holly accepted it with a small sigh.
"She should come to the party. You all should come." She immediately corrected herself. "I haven't seen Chris in years."
Gail let the offer marinate in the air. The very idea of spending time with her caused a funny feeling to inch through her body. Gail had no name for it. She felt nervous and anxious at the same time.
"Please mom!" Sophie begged. In a move, Gail was absolutely sure she would regret she pulled out her phone and looked to Holly.
"I guess I need some information."
Gail missed the address to the party the first time it was called out. Holly's voice was drown out by the girl's cheers.