Carol woke to a delicate kiss on the lips. This was Therese's morning greeting to her every day, since Carol refused to have an alarm clock. "They're far too jarring in the morning." Opening her eyes, Carol found Therese's face inches from her own, a gleaming smile on her face. "Do you have to be so close right when I wake up, dearest? Isn't it Saturday?"

"Sorry." Therese chuckled. "Happy move in-versary!" Carol had almost forgotten. It was two years since the night at the Oak Room. They had decided to consider this their anniversary, they couldn't decide on the day they had first met, Carol insisted it was the 17th of December, while Therese insisted that it had been the 18th, and to consider a date within their first whirlwind of time together wouldn't make any sense to either of them. Carol sat up and kissed her beloved.

"Happy move in-versary darling." Carol said. Therese produced a tray from behind her, with two of Carol's favorite omelets and cups of coffee. "What's this?"

"Breakfast in bed." Therese responded, setting the tray on her bedside table and hopping in bed. Carol lifted the covers for Therese to get underneath, they got comfortable, with their backs against the headboard and Therese placed the tray between them.

"How do we celebrate this year?" Carol asked, diving into her omelet. She tried hard to focus on the significance of the morning. She tried to put the idea that she had not seen Rindy all this time, out of her mind. Any reminder of how much time had passed always came with a reminder of how much Carol had missed. Not that she'd had a choice, she hadn't heard from Harge since her last day in their old house, and the dozens times she had tried to call, there had never been an answer.

"Mmm… Met?" Therese's response came from what felt like miles away. Carol nearly tipped the tray over as she jolted back into reality.

"Sure, if you want." Carol responded.

"This is our day, not just mine."

"No, that'd be nice," Carol said, absently.

"Ok, great." They sat in silence for some time, the clink of cutlery on plates and sips of coffee the only sound. Carol lit a cigarette. "Are you alright?" Therese asked, seemingly surprised by Carol's choice to break her rule about smoking in bed.

"No dream last night." Carol said, without looking at her.

"I know. Did You sleep well? I certainly did." Therese said, attempting to lighten Carol's mood.

"I slept fine," Carol replied. They finished their breakfast in silence, their usual routine. It was rare for Carol to be talkative for the first hour or so after she woke up, and Therese had quickly learned the perfect number of cups of coffee, with the perfect amount of cream and sugar that Carol required to function, no matter how late in the morning it was.

All that day, Carol tried, hard, to be her warm, loving self for Therese. She wanted to be, truly, but the passing time was an ever constant reminder of the days she had missed with her daughter. Therese had done everything she could, calling lawyer after lawyer on Carol's behalf, she couldn't bring herself to keep fighting. If this was how it was meant to be, she would have to accept it, after all, she had her Therese, who would never go anywhere, so she said.

It was a glorious summer day, the kind that made Carol want to rip her clothes off and let the gentle wind whisk over her body as the sun's gentle warmth warmed it. It was funny how different her life was now that Therese was the one who's opinion she worried about, rather than Harge and his family. They had been the only family she had left, as her parents had died before Rindy was born. And now, there was no one to worry about. Therese had no one to looking over her shoulder, she knew she had grown up in a catholic boarding school, but that was basically all she was aware of. She had guessed that her parents were also deceased, but Therese had not said yes or no to questions about her parent's whereabouts.

There were, however, the outsider's opinions. Carol had never been phased by it, she had found herself longing to kiss her Therese passionately on the lips in the glow of this summer sun, but Therese was the more conservative on this front. She was always the one to be looking around as they walked through Central Park hand and hand, eyeing any potential assailants. There was the night that she had worked late at the Times, and walking home from her train realized that there was a man following her. Carol recalled in striking detail greeting a frantic, tearful Therese come bolting through the door, pulling her into her arms and feeling how fast her heart was beating.

"Breathe along with me darling. You're alright now, you're home. You're safe, I've got you." She had whispered these words gently in Therese's ear for nearly twenty minutes until she was finally able to get her to calm down. It was no wonder Therese never really trusted the world, after these experiences, she was sure it was not the only one. She'd had her own fair share of creeps come into the shop, knowing there were only two women working there at any time. But she'd dealt with Harge long enough to feel comfortable in front of any man.

Now, as they stood together in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, admiring great works of past and present masters, it was a simple reminder of how far they had come that Therese gently grabbed Carol's hand, retrieving her from the mental insanity she was journeying through. The warmth and stability of this simple hand had always been enough to keep her grounded. She chastised herself for not being fully present and made an active attempt as they went to lunch after a couple hours with the art. Carol refused to let go of their hands, walking down the street, into their favorite neighborhood café and sitting at a small, white table clothed table, they remained hand in hand.

"I got a promotion." Therese said, casually.

"When?" Carol asked.

"Earlier this week." Therese replied, a soft smile creeping onto her lips.

"What will you be doing?" Carol asked.

"Assisting the head of the photography department." Therese said. She had told Carol about this head of her department. A good man, fair and determined to let young artists into the spotlight at every chance he could get.

"He's lucky to have you. You'll do well with that." Carol said.

"No 'congratulations'?" Therese asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Alright, alright. I don't think they're in order, it's really about time he did that for you. But congratulations, darling." Therese laughed as she set her cup back down, a coffee mustache forming on her top lip. Chuckling, Carol leaned forward cautiously, kissing the liquid away. Instinctively, Therese looked around, towards the front window, where a young mother dragged her toddler down the street. The Café itself was empty, and Carol set a gentle hand on Therese's knee.

"We're alright." She said.

"I know. Old instinct."

"Defense. There's nothing wrong with it, dearest." Carol often thought about when she had first started seeing Harge. How easily he was able to throw a hard arm around her shoulders, and kiss her on the cheek to claim her as his own. It was never comfortable for Carol. She was always aware of this now that she was the one who was most comfortable out in public. She was aware of making Therese as comfortable as possible and making sure she never felt like an object at her side like she had at Harge's side.

They finished the day with a movie, and then dinner at their favorite French restaurant. It was a long day, but the pure exhaustion that they had been exerting all this time didn't hit them until they arrived at their front door. Carol crashed onto the couch, kicking off her heels. Therese took her and Carol's shoes and brought them into the bedroom.

"You don't always have to clean up after me darling," Carol called after her.

"If it were up to me, you'd leave them there until the next time you used them." Therese said as she came back into the living room, snuggling up next to Carol on the couch and watching the sun go down.

"That's why I want to hire a maid."

"You've got me."

"Mmm… I guess you'll do." Carol kissed Therese on top of the head as she giggled at the remark. They must have sat for a long time because they both fell asleep. They were awoken by the phone ringing.

"Whatimeisit?" Therese yawned. Carol ignored her and answered the phone.

"Aird residence?"

"Carol." Harge's voice came through the phone.

"Harge. Hello, what does me the honor?" Carol responded respectfully, but with a touch of sarcasm.

"Well, I don't have much time to talk. Can you take Rindy next weekend?"

"I- yes! Yes, of course!"

"I'll drop her off on Friday at ten."

"Wonderful." Was the only thing Carol could say, excitement was clogging up her throat.

"Ok." The line went dead. Carol turned to Therese, still half asleep on the couch. She ran to her, picking her up in her arms and spinning her around, something she had never done before.

"Carol!" Therese said in surprise. Carol set Therese down, still barely able to believe what had just happened, after two long years.

"Rindy's staying with us next weekend." A smile exploded onto Therese's lips, and Carol began to cry, for the first time since that first morning that Therese had spent in this apartment, but this time, they were happy tears.