Chapter 14: Room For Two
The rest of the week proceeds with Delphine trying her best to be a convincing girlfriend to Scott, while thinking of nothing else but Cosima. Rehearsals for the musical continue to go well as Delphine channels all of her unresolved feelings into her performance. She also makes headway in tutoring Ramon, who has begun to gawk a little less and learn a little more.
As Friday rolls around, Delphine wakes up feeling nervous, as she and Beth will be presenting their case in Criminal Law later that day. They prepared and practiced for hours after Delphine's rehearsal Thursday night and Beth left confident that they would prevail, but Delphine isn't so sure. Delphine jumps into the shower and gets dressed. She still has time before Beth picks her up for school, so she heads into the kitchen, turns on the coffee pot, and starts whipping up breakfast, all the while trying to remain as quiet as possible so as not to wake the rest of the household.
As she pours her coffee into a mug, she is startled by a poke to her back. She spills coffee on the countertop as she jumps at the touch, spinning around to find a tired looking Cosima behind her.
"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Here, let me help you clean up the spill." Cosima grabs paper towels and starts patting down the coffee before it drips onto the floor.
"Cosima, what are you doing down here, did I wake you?"
"No."
"Wait, are you sleep walking right now?"
"No," Cosima laughs. "I - well, I kinda set my alarm to wake me up early."
"Why would you do that? Do you have somewhere to be?"
"No, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"What do you mean?"
"I know you were worried last night about the trial and I kinda figured you'd still be nervous this morning, so I just thought you might need some encouragement or just someone to talk to."
If Delphine wasn't already crushing on Cosima, she's pretty sure she would be totally gone after that. Not only is she being incredibly sweet and caring, she also looks ridiculously adorable in her pajamas with that sleepy look on her face. It takes all of her strength not to lunge for Cosima and pull her into a kiss.
"That's very kind of you, Cosima. Thank you. And, yes, I am very nervous. A large part of our grade depends on our performance today and it's not just me, I don't want to let Beth down."
"Hey, you won't. Listen to me." Cosima grabs Delphine's hands. "I heard you guys prepping in your room last night and your argument sounded good to me. It was clear, concise, persuasive. You are going to kill it. Beth is one of the most arrogant people I know, and I say that with love, she's gonna go in there and own it and that's what you need to do. You gotta walk in there prepared and confident. You're up against Art and Angie, yeah? Well, they're good, but they're not perfect."
"I'm not perfect either, Cosima," Delphine states, eyes downcast.
"I don't know, I think you're pretty perfect." Delphine glances up at Cosima's words. "You haven't made one misstep since showing up on my door. You basically started with a clean slate, a stranger in a strange land, so to speak, and somehow you've managed to excel at everything thrown at you, whether it's scholastic, athletic, or dramatic. You also put a mega-bitch out of commission and helped bolster Scott's image and confidence as a result. And, hey, you've improved my life dramatically."
Delphine laughs to cover the blush spreading over her face. "Oh yeah, how so?"
"Well, until you appeared, I was planning on spending the whole week my parents were away eating junk food and playing video games."
"You still did those things," Delphine points out.
"Yes, but that's not all I did, and I didn't have to do it all alone. I mean yeah, Scott came over, but his mom would never let him stay on school nights, neither would any of my other friends' parents. Despite what I told my folks, I didn't really want to be alone for a whole week. But I'm practically an adult, I know I should be able to spend a week on my own, so I told them I could handle it. But not 5 minutes after they left, I was on the phone summoning Scotty. Then, hours later, you appeared and you needed a place to stay and, for all intents and purposes, a new life. So you gave me motivation, whether it was going shopping or hacking into the school system, these past two weeks I've been excited to get up in the morning. And yeah, maybe not super early, but, still, you've given me something to look forward to every time I open my eyes. So, yeah, what was my point? Oh yeah, you, Delphine, are perfect. You're a bright light on the gloomiest of San Francisco days."
"Cosima, I-"
"Wait, I'm not finished puffing up your ego. I am so honored and proud that I can call you my friend, my best friend. And, as your best friend, you are obligated to listen to and trust everything I say, and I say you are going to kick ass today. And win or lose, you just gotta do your best, that's all anyone can ask of you."
There is so much Delphine wants to say, needs to say, but just as she opens her mouth, a car horn beeps, signaling Beth's arrival. "That's Beth, I should get going. Cosima, thank you, for everything you said, it means so much to me and as perfect as you think I am, I think you're twice as perfect." She gives Cosima a big hug before grabbing her things and rushing to the door.
"Wait, Delphine." Cosima shouts and Delphine turns back. "Your coffee." Cosima quickly pours the contents of Delphine's mug into a travel mug and rushes to hand it to her. "You don't want to head into the world without a little caffeination."
"Thank you. And please help yourself to some scrambled eggs. I'll see you in a little while," Delphine says as she heads out the door.
Cosima heads back into the kitchen, pours some coffee for herself, piles eggs onto her plate and sits down at the table. As she takes a bite of her breakfast and a sip of her coffee, she has a realization. "Shit, I forget to mention how perfect she is at making coffee and, apparently, at preparing scrambled eggs." She thinks a little more over everything she just said to Delphine. "Damn, Cosima, why didn't you just tell her she's gorgeous and, like, profess your massive fucking crush while you were busy running your mouth. The friend thing was smart though, conceal don't feel, like Elsa would say."
"Cosima, are you having a nice conversation with yourself?" Don asks from the doorway.
Cosima reddens, hoping her dad didn't catch that entire one-sided conversation. "Yup, nobody I'd rather talk to than me. Um, well, I better get ready for school. Delphine made breakfast, help yourself." She rushes out of the kitchen and up the stairs, passing her mom along the way and quickly informing her about breakfast.
Nancy joins Don in the kitchen. "What is with our whirling dervish of a daughter this morning?"
"If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say love."
"You sensed that too, huh?" Nancy smiles.
"Wears her heart on her sleeve, that one does," Don replies. "You think it's one-sided?"
"Are you kidding? I know we haven't known Delphine long, but I'd recognize the look in her eyes anywhere."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it's the same way I looked at you when I started to fall for your quirky charm." Nancy punctuates her statement with a kiss to her husband's lips.
Delphine doesn't say much as Beth drives them to school. After a few minutes of silence, Beth pipes up. "Why so quiet?"
"Sorry, just got a lot on my mind."
"You still nervous about our trial?"
"A little, but Cosima helped calm me down. I was a bit of a mess earlier."
"Cosima's awake already?"
"Yeah, she was concerned, wanted to make sure I was ok."
"Wow, that's thoughtful. Oh, that reminds me, are we still on for the other thing?"
"Yes, it's all set."
"Cool."
They arrive at school and go their separate ways, reuniting an hour later for Psych.
Delphine's eyes remain fixed on the door to their classroom, waiting for Cosima's arrival. Sure enough, if by sheer force of will, Cosima bounds in, a mass of energy, not at all like her usual sleepy self.
She greets the girls. "Good morning, Beth. Hello again, Sunshine."
"Sunshine?" Delphine questions.
"Yeah, like I said, bright light on gloomy day."
"How much coffee have you had?" Delphine wonders.
"Enough. Oh, by the way, that breakfast was eggs-cellent!" Cosima exclaims.
Delphine laughs so loudly that everyone turns around to look at her. She quickly covers her mouth, embarrassed by her outburst, and slaps at Cosima playfully.
Dr. Bowers glares at them before passing back their tests and reviewing the answers. To her surprise, and despite her distracted state the precious day, Delphine earned a B.
When the class ends, Beth gives Delphine a fist bump and tells her she'll see her in a bit and reminds her they're gonna kick ass. Throughout Trig and English, Delphine can hardly concentrate as she keeps checking her notes for the trial. Cosima walks Delphine to Criminal Law, hoping to help calm her frazzled nerves.
"Delphine, you got this. Look at me." She takes her hand and gently tilts Delphine's head from its gaze on the floor up to her eyes. "I'm not a legal expert by any stretch, but can I give you a pro tip?"
Delphine nods.
"From what I heard last night, Rachel is the key witness for the prosecution, right?"
Delphine nods again.
"Ok, so in your cross, you just gotta shake her, do what ever you can to discredit her statement."
"But Rachel is unflappable, almost robotic," Delphine insists.
"I've known Rachel for a while, and while she's most definitely a stone-cold bitch, she has a hard time dealing with confrontation. Her and Sarah once went at it and I'm certain I saw genuine fear in her eyes as Sarah railed at her, her fist thisclose to Rachel's face. Now, I'm not saying to go that far, but just be tough, shake her confidence. Make her question the validity of her own statement. Did she really see your client commit the robbery?"
"Cosima, how much of our prep session did you overhear?"
"All of it," Cosima sheepishly admits. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I just thought it was kinda adorable listening to you in lawyer mode."
Delphine smiles. "That's okay, and thank you, again, for your help. I think I'm ready."
"Think?"
"Non, I am ready."
"That's what I want to hear. Alright, go get 'em, kid," she punctuates with a playful shot in the arm, then leans forward and pulls Delphine into a hug. Just then, Beth peeks her head out of the classroom.
"Delphine, it's go time. Come on."
Cosima pulls out of the embrace, looking Delphine in the eyes. "Go ahead, you don't want the judge to dock you for being late to court, counselor. Good luck."
"Thank you."
Cosima gives her one last thumbs up before heading down the hall. Delphine takes a deep breath and steps into the classroom.
Almost 50 minutes later, Cosima is sitting at the lunch table, eyes on the door, legs bouncing, fingers tapping, eager to find out how Delphine did. Finally, after what seems like forever, but is probably a few minutes, Delphine arrives. She doesn't look happy. Beth's got her arm around her in consolation, Scott following grimly behind. They slowly approach the table.
"Not good?" Cosima asks, once they arrive.
"No, not good," Delphine replies solemnly and Cosima's face saddens in empathy. "It went great!" Delphine exclaims. "We won!"
"What? Did you seriously just fucking play me like that? Et tu, Scotty?"
"Sorry, Cosima, it was Delphine's idea and I was happy to play along."
"I hate all three of you and your phony, sad looking faces," Cosima says in mock anger before her frown turns upside down into a gigantic smile as she looks up at Delphine. "Congratulations! I'm not one to say I told you so, but I told you so."
"Yes, you did. And your advice helped. I was able to discredit Rachel."
"Oh man, you shoulda seen Delphine go after her, firing rapid questions, wearing her down til she started fumbling her witness account. It was amazing," Beth recounts.
Art comes over and congratulates them. "Great job, you two, you bested us. I think Angie is still back there trying to convince Rosen to change his verdict."
"Yeah, Dipshit, you weren't half-bad yourself. I just lucked out with this badass partner," Beth says pointing towards Delphine.
"She was great, but you were damn good yourself, Beth. Hopefully we'll get a chance to partner up one of these days."
"You betcha," Beth responds.
"Cosima, Beth and I are planning to go out after school to celebrate, you're welcome to join," Delphine says.
"Oh, I'd love to celebrate with you, but my mom texted me and asked me to come right home when I'm done here, so I better see what's going on. Don't you have rehearsal?"
"No, the scenes they're running today don't involve Cosette, so I got the afternoon off. Do you think it's serious, whatever your mom needs to see you about? Maybe I should go with you."
"Nah, I'm sure it's nothing. You should go, celebrate your victory."
"Hey, Cos, speaking of celebrating, you excited for your birthday tomorrow, when our little geek monkey turns 18?" Sarah asks.
"Yeah, can't wait," Cosima smiles.
"Your mom is baking that cake, right?"
"Yes, Helena, she is, just like every year," Cosima responds with an eye roll.
"Good," Helena grins, licking her lips.
They finish lunch and proceed through the rest of their classes. At the end of the day, Cosima walks with Beth and Delphine to the parking lot, stopping at Beth's car.
"Ok, you legal eagles, have fun."
"We will," Beth promises.
"Make sure you get her home at a reasonable hour," Cosima jokes.
"Sure thing."
"Cosima, please text Beth if anything serious is going on at home and you need me." Delphine beseeches.
"I will, but don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing to be alarmed about, they probably just want to talk about the party. You go have a good time."
"Ok, bye Cosima, see you later." Delphine gets in the car and Cosima starts walking towards hers.
Beth starts the engine, turning to Delphine. "Earlier, when you asked her to join us, what were you gonna do if she actually agreed? Wouldn't that sorta ruin what we need to do?"
"I don't know, I didn't think that far ahead," Delphine admits.
"Good thing you were a lot more clear headed during our trial or this victory celebration would have been a pity party," Beth kids as she pulls out of the parking lot.
As Cosima approaches her car, she sees a familiar face over by the bike rack and changes course.
"Hey, Ramon," she says tapping the boy on the back.
Ramon swings around. "Hello, Ms. Niehaus. What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon?"
"The usual." She pulls some cash out her bag and hands it to him. He counts it, places it in his pocket and whips a small plastic bag out of his backpack, discreetly looking around before handing it over.
"Thanks, man. That's a nice bike you've got there."
"Yeah, but not really practical for work. I can't wait till I get my license. I've got a sweet, lime green sports car all picked out."
"Lime green, huh, that's subtle. So, I hear you're being tutored in French."
"Oui, by the lovely Ms. Cormier," Ramon smiles.
"Yeah, Delphine is lovely, isn't she?"
"Oh yeah."
"So how much you paying her?"
"$25 an hour."
"Wow, dude, you're getting a hell of a deal, no pun intended. Do you realize how much a true Parisian, such as Delphine, could actually charge for their tutelage? Man, I sure hope you're tipping her properly."
"Tipping?"
"Yeah, you know, extra money for good service. Tipping is especially crucial when the one being tutored is really only getting the tutoring so as to spend an hour with a pretty girl."
"Ms. Niehaus, I would never."
"Yeah, of course not. Anyway, I think a 100% tip is customary in these situations. Surely someone such as yourself with the means and sharp business acumen can understand the importance of fair pay for services rendered. Don't you agree?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess you have a point."
"Good. Nice doing business with you, Ramon. Have a great weekend."
"Thanks, you too."
Cosima turns and strides to her car with a cheshire size grin on her face.
Cosima makes a quick pitstop before making her way home. She walks in the front door to find her parents waiting for her on the living room couch, looking somber.
"Mom? Dad? What's going on? Is something wrong?" She asks worriedly.
"It's about your grandmother," Don says.
"Oh no, what happened?" Cosima screams, voice trembling.
"Nothing," a voice announces. "I'm right here."
Cosima turns to see her grandma standing by the kitchen, then turns back to her parents, who are trying to stifle their laughter.
"Are you kidding me? You nearly gave me a heart attack. What the hell is with people punking me today?" She grabs a couple throw pillows and tosses them at her parents before rushing over to hug her grandma.
"Gram, what are you doing here?"
"You think I'd miss my favorite granddaughter's 18th birthday?"
"I'm your only granddaughter," Cosima reminds.
"Even more of a reason," Gram replies.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"They're called surprises for a reason, Cosima," Don remarks.
"Come, sit, I want to hear all about what's going on in your life," Gram says, leading Cosima to the couch.
"There's not much to tell, same old, same old."
"Nonsense. Tell me about your studies, where you applied to school, if there's anyone special in your life."
Nancy and Don excuse themselves to start preparing dinner, leaving Cosima and Gram alone.
Cosima proceeds to tell Gram all about her classes, about teaching Freshman Bio, and which schools she's applied to.
"Are you going to avoid my last question?" Gram asks.
"What would that be again, I can't remember?"
"Sure you can't. Is there someone special in your life?"
"No, I'm not dating anyone, if that's what you're getting at."
"That's crazy, surely my beautiful granddaughter must be beating admirers off with a stick."
Cosima laughs. "Nope, no beatings taking place in my life."
"Didn't you say you were seeing someone over the summer, what happened with that?"
"Oh, that, that was just a little summer fling, nothing serious."
"So, is there anyone you have your eye on now."
Cosima hesitates, weighing how much, if anything, she wants to reveal. "I'm always looking, just not finding."
"Give it time, I'm sure the right girl will come along," Gram says, with a comforting pat on Cosima's knee.
Just then the front door swings open and in walks Delphine.
"Well, who do we have here? Is there a child my son failed to inform me about?"
Cosima jumps up. "Gram, this is Delphine, she's a French foreign exchange student. She's staying with us while she finishes school here in San Fran. Delphine, this is my grandmother, Hannah, my Dad's mom."
"Hello, Mrs. Niehaus, it's very lovely to meet you." Delphine extends her hand.
Gram shakes her hand. "And you as well, Delphine. Please call me Gram, all Cosima's friends do."
"Ok, Gram."
"So, Delphine, how was the celebration?"
"It was good, we had a lot of fun."
"Celebration?" Gram asks.
"Yeah, Delphine and Beth were paired for a case in Criminal Law which they won today and went out after school to celebrate their victory."
"Ah, how nice. Are you interested in pursuing a career in the law, Delphine?" Gram asks.
"No, actually, like Cosima, I want to be a scientist."
"Oh, really? Any particular area of study?"
"I'm not 100% sure, but I think I'd like to study immunology," Delphine replies, surprising Cosima, who hasn't heard Delphine mention immunology before. In fact, she realizes this is the first time Delphine's been willing to talk about any future plans.
"Well, we should definitely talk more. I don't know if Cosima has mentioned it, but I was an Oncologist at UCSF for over 40 years before I retired and moved down to Miami."
"That's amazing. I'd love to pick your brain, hear all about your career," Delphine says, impressed.
Cosima can't help but marvel at the change in Delphine's demeanor. Just a few days ago she wouldn't even talk about going to college and now she's thinking about a career path.
Nancy announces that dinner is ready and Gram heads into the dining room. Cosima turns to Delphine as they trail behind.
"Immunology, huh? Where'd that come from?" Cosima asks.
"Oh, just something I've been looking into recently. It's a fascinating subject."
"Yeah, it is," Cosima smiles.
Over dinner, Gram regals Delphine with tales of her studies, her career, and some of the interesting and complicated cases she dealt with. Delphine is captivated by it all. A look of wonder on her face at the stories Gram has to tell and Cosima can't help herself from staring at Delphine throughout the meal.
After a while, Gram starts to yawn. "Sorry, I'm still on eastern time. I think I need to get some shut eye."
"Oh, Delphine, I hope you don't mind, but mom will be using the guest room while she's here," Don announces.
"No, of course not," Delphine responds.
"Cosima, you don't mind sharing your room with Delphine this weekend, do you?" Nancy asks.
Cosima's eyes widen. "Um, sure, yeah, I mean no, I don't mind. Uh, come on, Delphine, let's move your stuff over to my room." The girls hurry upstairs.
Gram turns to Nancy and Don. "Delphine is quite a lovely young lady."
Nancy and Don nod in agreement.
"And Cosima seems quite taken with her," Gram continues.
"You noticed?" Nancy asks.
"It's pretty obvious, she hardly took her eyes off Delphine from the moment she entered the house."
"Yes, and you, my dear wife, just put them in the same room together." Don adds. "I wish my mom was that cool when I was a teenager."
"Hey," Gram yells. "I was most certainly 'cool.' "
"Don, unlike your mother, I don't have to worry about my child knocking up, or getting knocked up for that matter, if she shares a bed with her crush," Nancy reminds. "Besides, she's about to turn 18. As much as I hate to admit it, she's not a baby anymore."
Cosima helps Delphine transfers her belongings from the guest room into her room and makes some space in the closet for her clothing. "I'm sorry you're losing your room for the weekend."
"Nonsense, it's not my room, your grandmother is certainly entitled to it."
"Well, I'm sorry my room is such a mess. Here, let me tidy up a bit."
"Cosima, stop, I don't mind the clutter."
"Ok, well, about the sleeping situation, you can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"What? No, Cosima, this is your room. I'll sleep on the floor."
"No way, it won't be comfortable being on the floor all weekend and Alison will kill me if you have a bad back and can't perform to your utmost. Look, uh, my bed is big enough for the both of us, we can just share."
Delphine's mouth drops open. "You want to share the bed?"
"Yeah it'll be fine, really. I hope you don't mind the right side, cause the left is mine."
"No, the right is fine," Delphine smiles.
"Great. Oh, Delphine, before I forget, I got you something." Cosima pulls a package out of her bag and hands it to Delphine.
"You got me a present?"
"Yup. Open it."
Delphine unfurls the package and pulls out the gift. "A cellphone? Cosima, you got me a phone?"
"Yeah, well when you mentioned me texting Beth earlier if there was a problem here, I realized how ridiculous it is that you don't have a phone. What teenager doesn't have a cellphone? So I stopped at the store and got you one."
"Cosima, I can't accept this, it's too much."
"No, Delphine, it's not, really. And I already added you to my plan, it's only $10 more a month than what I was paying and the phone was included, so you really have no excuse not to take it."
"Fine, but I'm giving you that $10 a month." Delphine turns the phone on and starts fiddling with it. "Hmm, looks like I already have one number stored in contacts."
"Yeah, I, um, I programmed mine in," Cosima says shyly. She whips out her own phone, quickly pressing some buttons. A second later Delphine's phone beeps. She glances down at the text message alert.
"Oh, looks like I have a text from someone named Cosima, Hmm, wonder what that could be." Delphine opens up the text message and reads it aloud. "Text me, maybe?" She laughs, "Yes, Cosima, I will definitely text you. Thank you." Delphine pulls Cosima into a hug. They stay in the embrace for a while, neither wanting to be the first to let go. Eventually, Cosima has to sneeze, so she extricates herself, turns, grabs a tissue, and "achoo."
"Bless you." Delphine says while thinking even her sneezes are charming.
"Thanks. Uh, well, I guess we should get ready for bed." Delphine nods her agreement.
Delphine heads to the bathroom, while Cosima rummages though her drawers for pajamas. Delphine soon returns in her nightgown. Cosima's mouth goes dry at the sight and then she quickly excuses herself to the bathroom. Cosima returns in her pajamas, while Delphine is looking at the cork board on Cosima's wall.
Delphine turns when she hears the door shut. "Cosima, I can't believe you actually put the photograph up here."
"What? I told you I would. Come on, it's my favorite and you look totes adorbs."
"Ugh, fine. Keep it up here if you insist." Delphine relents as she walks over to the bed and lays down on the right side.
"So, monkeys, huh?" Delphine says, pointing at Cosima's pajamas.
"Oh, yeah," Cosima responds glancing down at her outfit. "It's childish, I know."
"No, it's cute," Delphine insists.
Cosima feels her cheeks redden so she quickly shuts the lights and then crawls onto her side of the bed.
"Good night, Delphine."
"Good night, Cosima."
They turn their backs to one another, each as close to the edge of the bed as they can get, leaving a large gap between them that could easily fit two more bodies. They lay in silence for a while, neither able to fall asleep, too aware of the other's presence just an arm's length away.
Eventually, Delphine glances at the digital clock.
"Cosima?" Delphine calls out quietly, unsure if she's still awake.
"Yeah?" Cosima answers.
"Happy Birthday!"