The waiter set the long-awaited glass in front of Nicola. She considered it for a beat before using the cocktail straw to swirl its contents. She inhaled its bouquet just before taking her first sip. She winced as it harshly hit her palate; the ice hadn't had time to melt enough into the drink to open up its nuances. She placed it back down and smiled at her wife. That's when the exhaustion truly hit her and started showing in her face.
Watching her intently from across the table, Caroline smiled back. She knew that look. "It's been a day, hasn't it?"
"It certainly has. The jet lag isn't helping but at least we're on the other side of it all," she replied as she took another sip of her scotch. "Are you as tired as I am?"
"Yup, but I think sticking with our plan to go out was a good idea. I'm feeling a little revived already," Caroline said as she raised her wine glass to clink Nicola's.
About nine hours earlier their lives came crashing down, literally. Nicola and Caroline grabbed their robes before dashing to Ginika's room after the sound of her hitting the floor registered with them.
Ginika heard them coming and tried to call out that she was okay but she couldn't quite catch her breath to utter anything audible. She was understandably embarrassed by the fuss they made the instant they saw her. She thought that once she got her wind back she'd be fine.
"Tripped over the cat," she managed to say breathily. As she went down, she hit the corner of her nightstand, scattering everywhere her books and other items Caroline brought from her flat to make her feel more at home. Her Murano glass ring holder lay shattered but she wasn't yet in a position to notice. At least her prized pansy coaster from Kate was unscathed. Pansies were her favorite flower and Kate had made it for her as a Mother's Day present when she was a teen.
Caroline reached the door first and was almost tripped too by the skittish cat bolting out of the room the second she opened the door. "You gave us quite a fright," said Caroline as she and Nicola stepped over the clutter to reach her.
"Don't try to get up yet," cautioned Nicola. "Let's make sure nothing's broken first." She noticed Ginika wince in pain as she tried to roll onto her back. It was then that she saw the look of fear in Ginika's eyes as they met hers. "On second thought, maybe we should just call an ambulance."
"Ginika?" said Caroline, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, as she realized Ginika wasn't breathing quite right.
"Ambulance." It was the only word she could manage as she too realized the wind had fully been knocked out of her and it was growing harder for her catch her breath. From that point, the events of the morning progressed at a head-spinning pace.
When the EMS arrived, they diagnosed a probable cracked rib and punctured lung and whisked her off to A&E. After the ambulance left, Caroline and Nicola threw on some clothes and followed in their car, pausing in the kitchen long enough to notice Ginika had set the table and laid out food to cook for their breakfast. They put everything away and grabbed some drinks and snacks to take to the hospital as they hadn't eaten yet and it was approaching 10 am. They knew they would be in for a long day by her side and didn't want to have to brave the hospital cafeteria.
They called Greg from the car to ask him to keep Flora another night and then stayed by Ginika's side until she was stabilized, formally admitted and tucked away in her semi-private room. For about the third time that day, Ginika insisted they leave her for a proper meal and since it was after 5 pm, they didn't disagree.
"I say dinner out, you say where," Nicola declared as she climbed in behind the wheel and buckled her seat belt. They hadn't identified their romantic destination for that night before Ginika's unfortunate fall. Although Nicola was simply too mentally tired to participate in choosing the restaurant she still wanted to salvage something of their alone time.
Caroline turned to face Nicola, flashing the smile she reserved only for her wife, as she laid her head back against her headrest. The look was the only answer Nicola needed as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed to their special date spot. It was theirs and theirs alone as they never brought anyone else with them so the memories they made there each time were also theirs and theirs alone.
Traffic was light so they arrived at their destination without any delay. As they settled in with their drinks in the small dining room in the back of the cellarette they were pleased to see they were early enough that they had the cozy room to themselves. It was a blessing in disguise because when the room was full sometimes the noise level could make it difficult to talk.
Nicola set her drink down and reached for Caroline's hand in an effort to reestablish the connection they started that morning. Even after all these years she marveled at how their hands fit together so snugly.
"At least it wasn't a broken hip this time," Caroline said in an effort to console her wife as she knew her unspoken fear was that the fall could set back Ginika's timeline to return to her own flat.
"What if that darned cat had tripped her on the stairs?" Nicola noticed her drink seemed to be disappearing quicker than usual so she switched to sipping her glass of water. She always called her 'that darned cat' when she misbehaved.
"Let's not think that way or we'll drive ourselves crazy," Caroline said as she realized the waiter was about to return for their food order. She opened her menu and then wondered why she bothered when she always ordered the same thing. It was part of her date night tradition for this place. Even though their first night there had a rocky ending, it had nothing to do with the food or the wait staff and somehow they made their way back for a second time. That dinner went so smoothly that the bad memories of their first night didn't stop it from becoming 'their place'.
"To think that she was starting to get back to herself and now she's had another setback just seems unfair," Nicola whined.
"My guess is that she'll go to rehab when she's released which will let us give Flora our undivided attention to help her prep this week before the spelling bee next week."
"In the crush of things today I forgot about the Bee," Nicola confessed. "I don't mind admitting I'll be glad when that's over."
"Me too," Caroline commiserated. "Some nights I just see vocabulary words in my dreams. I can't imagine what hers are like."
"She's put so much pressure on herself to do well I'm worried about how she'll handle it all but it's been fun to watch her be so excited," Nicola said as a proud expression replaced her tired one.
At that moment, Caroline noticed Angela and her sister, Jaime, being seated in the front dining room. They hadn't looked into the back dining room as they passed its entrance so she had a moment of hesitation before pointing them out to Nicola. Although she was looking forward to their first dinner alone in months, Caroline suggested to Nicola that she could invite them to join them if she wished.
Taking care of Ginika had left them very little time to comfort Angela as much as they should have. She had been bravely soldiering on since Madeline died from breast cancer months earlier; they were thankful Jaime had been there to keep her from being alone at the weekends and Nicola tried to check in on her regularly at work.
Caroline, on the other hand had been a little distant from the start because watching Angela grieve at the funeral gave her flashbacks to Kate's funeral. It was a time in her life she didn't want to reflect upon, despite all the years that had passed and the happiness she found with Nicola. She hoped Angela hadn't noticed her absence and if she did she had just written it off to the demands of Ginika taking priority. Seeing her from the distance and realizing how thin she had become since the funeral instantly made her feel guilty that she hadn't been there for Angela like she knew she should have been.
Following Nicola's lead, she stood and they walked together to Angela's table. After greetings were exchanged, they extended the offer to come join them.
"I didn't know you two came here," Angela responded. "It's a little out of the way from your hood, isn't it?"
"You told me about it years ago," Nicola nudged her. She watched Angela smile as the penny dropped.
"Ahhh, yes, the scene of the first rejection." Angela couldn't help blurt it out and then felt a little guilty for doing so as she watched Caroline blush and shift uncomfortably about in her stance. She had suggested the place to Nicola as the ideal spot to propose. Suddenly, her newly minted widowhood gave her better insight into why Caroline turned Nikki down a couple of times before finally popping the question herself. She reached out and took Caroline's hand to give it a supportive sisterly squeeze. She had been pretty hard on her for hurting her friend back then but over the years grew to love Caroline just as much as Nicola.
"Why don't you join us for a drink but have dinner on your own?" suggested Angela, cognizant that Nikki had been away for the last two weeks and that before she left she had been struggling to get Caroline's attention. She was pleased to see them out on a date and didn't want to interrupt it, despite how happy she was to have something else to talk about other than how much she missed Madeline.
"Nope. We can have a nightcap on our own at home but we won't take 'no' for answer," Caroline said as she squeezed her hand back in response and gave her a supportive sisterly smile.