Six o'clock rolled around quickly and Helen sat anxiously on the couch in her small living room. She glanced at the clock on the wall nervously, completely unsure of the situation at hand. Why was Edna so enthusiastic all the time? So easily excited or, sometimes, so quiet and morose-looking Helen thought she had done something horrible to her. The way she stared at her sometimes, with such joy or sadness, sometimes Helen thought her costume designer had some sort of personality disorder. Perhaps she was bipolar.
The front door-bell rang out suddenly. Once. Twice. Helen made it to the door on the third ring, swinging it open to reveal the short, black-haired woman on the other side, just about to reach up to ring the bell a fourth time.
"I was coming!" Helen breathed heavily from the sudden rush to the door. Edna stared at her, and a coy little smile played around the corners of her mouth as she stared at how well Helen's supple body filled out the strap-sleeved, fitted red dress she wore.
"Beautiful…" She whispered under her breath.
"What?" Helen reached for her coat on the hanger by the doorway.
"I could make better dresses for you, dahling. You must let me try sometime," She glanced up at the red-head, catching her eye for a split second before quickly looking away, "But that will do. Come along, dear, that car is waiting."
The restaurant was sparsely filled, with small clusters of couples and friends huddled over their small, circular tables, talking quietly among themselves. The ambiance was warm, decorated with dark reds and lit by the flickering flame of candlelight. The waiter led the women to a secluded table in a distant corner, his pinky-fingers sticking up in an almost humorous attempt to appear "high-class". Edna scoffed at the display under her breath as he scurried off to fetch drinks. Helen cleared her throat nervously.
"Well, E. I, uh…thank you very much for inviting me here tonight."
Edna just barely contained a squeal of delight. Her face was just too adorable! The waiter returned and set two glasses of wine down on the table and ran off again. Edna picked up her glass.
"Kampai. Cheers, Helen. To you."
The elastic woman sputtered for a moment as she raised her glass as well. Did she just blush? Mode couldn't really tell with the reddish light of the candles. They clicked their glasses together and drank.
"Hmmm…not a bad vintage." Edna savored the taste for a moment before returning the glass to the table.
"Do you come here often, E?" Helen set her glass back down as well.
"No. No, not in years. Never a point to; no one to go with." Somehow, she instantly regretted saying that. She didn't like for people to know of her weaknesses and…loneliness. She averted her eyes, but she could still feel the woman sitting across from her staring at her curiously.
"Edna?" Helen spoke slowly and softly, "Do-do you…are you…are you okay?"
Suddenly it became hard to speak and Edna could feel her pulse quicken rapidly. How could she have gone and ruined the moment so soon? She just felt so comfortable around Helen…
She swallowed and parted her lips to answer just as—
"Would you ladies like to order now?" The waiter fabricated a pen from an unseen place and placed against his little pad in one smooth gesture, anxious and waiting.
Edna glared at him for a moment before sighing and picking up the menu.
"Well, I'd like the soup and salad. Helen, order whatever you wish, I pay."
"Oh, I can't let you do that, E. I'll pay for half."
"Shush, Helen, I insist. I invited you: my treat." Helen knew better than to try and argue, so she sighed in defeat and ordered a pasta dish. The waiter grinned and scurried away quickly and disappeared into the shadows. Edna fiddled with a fork, twirling it around in her fingers.
"So. How are things with the family lately, Helen? Got any 'jobs'?" She looked at the taller woman through her thick-rimmed glasses, trying to change the subject, "Need any more work done on the costumes?"
Helen flinched and leaned across the table, Edna tried desperately not to look at her soft breasts hanging down in her semi-deeply cut dress. "We don't talk about that stuff in public, Edna, I'm sorry," she whispered uneasily, "Too many risks." She sat back down.
The Japanese-German nodded knowingly. "Of course, how stupid of me," She smacked her forehead, but not in the "oh-I'm-such-an-idiot" way that Helen thought; she hit herself in a desperate attempt to keep herself from making up another excuse to make the woman in the red dress lean over towards her again. Helen frowned.
"E, you always ask me about me, but we never seem to talk about you!" Edna flinched, but tried to cover it up by suddenly adjusting her glasses, which only made the reaction more suspicious. She could feel a panic rise up in her gut; she was losing control of the situation, she couldn't have that! Helen gazed at her intently. Edna laughed nervously and took out a cigarette, lighting it, and placing it in its' holder. She put it in her mouth carefully before speaking:
"Well, you know dahling, I'm just so busy all the time. Don't really have much to say about…" Helen leaned forward in her chair, just a little bit.
"Do you get lonely? What you said before…It made me realize…you live up there all alone, don't you?"
This was it. This is what Edna had been trying to avoid. She responded hurriedly.
"Oh n-no, I don't get…I'm far, far too busy to get lonely!" She took a drag on her cigarette, staring off into a dark corner trying to avoid eye contact. Helen was looking at her, she could feel it. She risked a glance, but what she saw made her stop dead. Helen was looking at her, her eyes filled with sadness, a half smile on her lips. Pity. Edna clenched her fist and bit her lip.
"Don't look at me like that!" She turned away, "Maybe this was a bad idea; I shouldn't have pushed you to come…"
"E…" Helen started softly.
"I didn't come here to have pity party, Helen, I wanted to…" The small woman drifted off, realizing she shouldn't continue on that particular train of thought. Helen reached across the table and took Edna's hand, holding it, she squeezed it gently.
"If you ever need someone to talk to, you can always call me, and I'll come. You're a very, very good friend to us, E. I care about you very much." Now Edna was thankful for the red glow; it hid her blush. She looked down.
A good friend.
"Helen, I—"
"Here you go, ladies, sorry for the wait," the waiter delicately placed the plates of food on the table, an obscene grin plastered across his face. "Enjoy!"
Is that a request or an order? Edna thought to herself. As he turned to leave, he caught sight of Helen's hand, still holding the black-haired woman's tightly. A strange expression passed over his face and he shot Edna an undecipherable look. She quickly realized what her was looking at and snatched her hand back, crossing her arms defensively. Helen was oblivious to the situation as she picked up her fork. The waiter cocked and eyebrow and, just as he was about to walk away, winked at Edna, smiling knowingly. She stared after him, confused. She turned back to face Helen, who was already starting on her pasta, oblivious to whatever it was that just occurred. The sight of her so excited over the food, E couldn't help but smile. It was adorable, the way Helen ate, twirling the noodle so that they hung just so on the fork, before slowly and carefully raising it and eating it gracefully. She licked the sauce from her lips. Edna swallowed, transfixed by the sight of Helen's mouth.
She wanted to kiss her. She wanted to so badly it started to make her chest hurt and her breathing strained. Helen looked up from her food and gave her a puzzled expression.
"Is the salad not good, E?" She asked innocently through a mouthful of food. Edna didn't bother even looking down at it, staring obliviously at the angelic sight of the red-haired woman eating. Helen looked around her, confused, "Is there something somewhere? Do I have something on my face? E, what's wrong?"
And the spell broke, E shuddered and shook her head, "No, no, no…nothing. I was in a daze," she picked up her spoon and started on her soup: butternut squash. It was hot and thick, with a sweetness accented by the sprigs of cilantro that garnished it. It was delicious.
"How is your food?" The smaller woman asked between spoonfuls.
"Oh, it's amazing! I've never tasted anything quite like it, the sauce is really good," she smiled that adorable little smile, "How 'bout yours, is it how you remembered it?"
"Oh. Yes. It hasn't changed much."
"…E?"
"Yes?"
"Who did you used to come here with?"
A pain burst out through her as Edna faltered. She scowled down into her soup. "An acquaintance, no one of importance." She mumbled sternly.
Helen cocked her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. It must have been something personal…I'm sorry for prying." She grinned nervously and innocently.
Edna grumbled to herself; she hadn't meant to make the situation uncomfortable. She sighed.
"A…woman. I used to come here with a woman I used to know in the design industry." She struggled to keep her voice from trembling. The red-head leaned forward in interest.
"In the design industry? Would it be someone I know? Someone famous, like in the magazines?" Edna leaned her elbows on the table, taking a deep breath, relaxing her mind, giving up.
"No. No, nothing like that. It was the coffee girl at the studio I was working. I used to bring her here." She stared down at the table in an absent-minded daze. She could feel Helen's gaze on her, soft but menacing.
"Oh, that's nice. Were you two good friends then?"
"…Yes. I suppose you could say that…"
A long silence. Edna sat motionless in her chair, fiddling idly with her fork. Helen stared at a little clump of sauce on the edge of her plate. The black-haired woman looked up slowly.
"Come on. I'll take you home."
"…Okay…"
Edna paid the waiter and the two women walked out into the nightly chill, a cool breeze blowing gently over them. Helen fidgeted with her coat.
"Thank you for tonight, E. It was really nice."
"Don't mention it…where the hell is that key?" Edna was digging through her little bag desperately as they stood beside the car.
"…Edna?" Helen asked quietly.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
Edna stopped; her breath caught, but she clenched her fist and swung around, just about to pretend to laugh it all off and say something clever about it being "that time of the month", but…
A kiss.
Helen pressed her lips against the small woman's gently, but firmly, half kneeling to the ground. Edna was frozen in shock, but only for a brief moment before she melted into the kiss, lifting up her hand to the elastic woman's soft, smooth face. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes as they embraced. The softness, the warmth. It was beautiful.
They broke off gasping for breath. Helen stood back up, her face blushed.
"…And that's as far as we can go, E. I'm sorry." She spoke warmly but firmly. Edna nodded.
"Me too…"
"I'd like to go out with you again sometime again," she smiled that angelic smile Edna loved so much. Edna forced a grin.
"Anytime's fine for me."
"Let's go home, E."
"Yes…Helen?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Thank you."
The night grew a little warmer.