Chapter 28
Glinda had fallen asleep again. Two more hours had gone by when she woke up with Elphaba still in her arms. Their positions had changed so that Elphaba was now turned towards her with her head comfortably lying on her shoulder. Glinda stayed just where she was for a long while, holding her sleeping love in her arms, and relishing the contact. She could still smell the lemongrass tea scent from the bath gel eminating from Elphaba, and she closed her eyes to the memories that scent evoked. Eventually, her mind returned to the stack of dossiers she'd left on the chair in front of the fireplace.
Reluctantly, she eased Elphaba off of her, and began to tuck the blanket back around her. Before she finished, however, she eyed the bedclothes Elphaba was sleeping in. Plain, black, and uninteresting. Glinda had an idea. Still in her robe, Glinda ambled towards a small desk in the corner of her room opposite from the bed. She took a key out of a jewelry box placed on top of her bureau, unlocked the desk, and took out some currency. She wrote down some information on a piece of notepaper, then headed downstairs and flagged down one of the maids.
"Bersilla, I have a tremendous favor to ask," she said to a very small, but husky woman.
"Yes, Miss Glinda."
"I need you to go to the local boutique and pick up some items for me."
"Of course, what is it you need?"
"I need a bathrobe and some bedwear. I've written down the types, style and sizes for you. Here's some money."
"Miss Glinda, don't you just want to put this on your account?"
"Absolutely not!" Glinda declared. "I need you to be very discreet about this. No one can know that you're buying it for me. In fact, get something for yourself as well. If anyone asks, tell them you're buying it for your sister or aunt or whatever."
"I understand Miss Glinda. I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Thank you Bersilla. I really appreciate it."
Bersilla nodded and left to get her coat and umbrella. In the meantime, Glinda returned upstairs to her bedroom. Once back inside, she sauntered over to the fireplace. It was still raining outside, and the room still developed a chill when the fire wasn't roaring, so Glinda set about rekindling it once again. Once her task was complete, she sat down, smiling broadly and proud of herself for being able to surprise Elphie.
A few more hours went by without incident and without Elphaba having any more bad dreams. Glinda was halfway through her dossiers, setting aside those she thought deserved more consideration from the rest. A soft knock on the door disturbed her concentration, but she was glad for it. She rubbed her tired eyes, then walked over to answer the door.
"Yes, what is it?...Oh, Bersilla, did everything go alright?"
"Yes indeed Miss Glinda. Here are the items you requested, and here is your change." Bersilla handed Glinda a bag and the rest of her money.
"Did you get something for yourself?"
Bersilla smiled. "Uhm, yes, and I hope you don't mind. I bought myself a new dress. It was a little bit on the pricier side. If you disapprove, I'll return it immediately."
"Don't be silly. I'm glad you were able to buy something you really liked. Did anyone give you any problems?"
"No problems, Miss Glinda, but the clerk at the checkout counter did seem a little nosey. She was asking who I was buying for. I did as you suggested and told her it was for my sister. That seemed to placate her."
Glinda smiled. "Very good Bersilla. I knew I could count on you."
"Would you like something to eat Miss Glinda? They tell me you've been up here all day without so much as a scrap of food."
"No, I'm not very hungry right now. Elphaba should be waking up soon though. I'll eat when she does."
"In that case, do you have any requests as to what the two of you would like for dinner?"
"Hmmnn, I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it, I think a nice vegetable soup would be a nice treat. Especially on a day like today."
"I agree. I'll make it and have it ready when you request it."
"I think we should be ready around seven-ish. Maybe a little later."
"Very good."
"Thank you Bersilla. I appreciate everything you've done for me today."
"It's always a pleasure to serve you Miss Glinda." Bersilla smiled and left.
Glinda closed the door and took the package to her bureau. She had a look inside and was extremely pleased at the selections Bersilla had made. She giggled to herself, then tip-toed back to her chair in front of the fireplace. She sat down and picked up the next dossier, but found it increasingly difficult to concentrate now. She kept thinking about Elphie and how she was going to react to her surprise.
Glinda mentally scolded herself because she needed to get her work done. This time, she made a more concerted effort to focus on the business at hand. After another hour, she'd gone through most of the stack and had those dossiers she needed to revisit set aside for further review. Pouring over the paperwork was necessary, but it gave Glinda a slight headache. She rubbed her eyes again and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to find some relief. After only a few moments, she heard Elphaba begin to stir.
With the headache all but forgotten, Glinda hurried back to the bed and climbed up next to Elphie. She propped herself up on her elbow and began to stroke Elphaba's hair. Elphaba turned her head slightly, took a big breath, and began to open her eyes. Glinda smiled and began stroking her cheek with her thumb.
Elphaba looked over at Glinda, straining to remember where she was and what she was doing there. It only took a brief moment for her memory to clear. She smiled back at Glinda.
"Hi," was all she could muster at the moment. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Good evening sweetness," Glinda said softly.
"Evening? What time is it?" Elphaba asked.
"Ohhhh, about twenty tick tocks past six. How do you feel?" Glinda asked, still stroking her cheek.
Elphaba opened her eyes, blinked a few times and looked at Glinda. "Like I always feel after I take one of those pills. Like I'm made of lead. I'm still a little tired too."
"Do you want to go back to sleep? To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting you to wake up for a while yet. Dinner won't be ready for at least another hour."
"No. I want to get up. I just need to clear my head a bit."
"Here, let me get you some water." Glinda got up from the bed retrieved a glass from the nightstand. She poured water from the pitcher into it, then climbed back up on the bed and handed it to Elphaba. "Come on, I'll help you sit up." Glinda wrapped her arm around Elphie's shoulder and lifted her up.
Elphaba drank greedily from the glass, draining its contents. Glinda eased her back down, then took the glass from her and placed it back on the nightstand.
"Feel better?" Glinda asked.
"Better. Still foggy and tired though."
"Well, maybe this will help," Glinda said. She leaned down and kissed Elphaba lightly on the lips, then a bit more firmly, and finally a full, deep kiss.
Elphaba lifted her arms and wrapped them around her love. Glinda ran her hand through Elphaba's hair as they continued to kiss. Feeling the powerful jolt that kissing Glinda carried with it, Elphaba ran her hands up and down the petite woman's back then pulled her closer. They kissed each other enthusiastically until Elphaba was fully awake.
"Now that's a wake up call," Elphaba said with a chuckle.
"I do my best," Glinda returned. She kissed Elphaba again.
"Mmmm, that was nice," Elphaba said after the last kiss. "Thank you for being here when I woke up."
"I said I would be. I always want to be from now on," Glinda said while stroking Elphaba's hair.
"I want that too," Elphaba replied stroking Glinda's cheek in return.
They kissed again. This time, Elphaba rolled over and placed herself over Glinda. Their lips never parted during the smooth position exchange. They kissed profoundly, immersing themselves in one another until Elphaba pulled back, staring into Glinda's sparkling blue eyes.
It was the sight of those blue eyes smiling back at her that caused an emotional surge within. She brushed Glinda's hair back with the tips of her fingers, and stroked her cheek with her knuckles. Holding her love in her arms, Elphaba took in Glinda's beautiful features. She held out against her own rising upsurge in passion, letting the emotions build up in her until Glinda licked her own lips in anticipation. That did it. The green woman couldn't hold out any longer.
She kissed Glinda with a fiery persistence. Glinda returned the kiss with equal passion. Equanimity was lost as a carnal need asserted itself. Glinda grabbed handfuls of Elphaba's hair as their kisses deepened in passion and intensity.
With one hand, Elphaba undid Glinda's robe and unbuttoned the top buttons of Glinda's silk nightshirt, slipping her hand underneath the opening. Glinda closed her eyes, tilted her head back and took a deep, tremulous breath as she felt Elphaba's kisses trail down her neck and collarbone, then lower to where her hand was involved in its own exploration.
A pleasurable moan escaped Glinda's lips as she responded to the sensuous contact. She dug her fingers into Elphaba's lower back then pulled her hands upwards, scratching the green woman's back and pulling up her nightshirt as she did so.
Elphaba allowed Glinda to slip her nightshirt off of her while she simultaneously unfastened the rest of the buttons on Glinda's top. She moved her hands up to Glinda's shoulders and easily slid her top and robe off by sliding her hands down Glinda's arms, taking the garments with her. The women quickly finished undressing one another then intertwined their bodies while sensually immersing themselves in the passionate encounter.
Long, deep kisses, enthusiastic explorations, the feel of warm breath against an ear all marked the loving convergence of emotion and contact. After nearly an hour, the women lay breathless in each other's arms.
Glinda held Elphie close for a long while, then she began to place light kisses on her shoulder and collarbone. Elphaba kept her eyes closed, accepting Glinda's kisses and gently stroking her fingers against her back. As Glinda's kisses persisted, she slowly turned her head and met her loves lips with a long, gentle kiss.
"Well….that's one way to kill time before dinner," Glinda said with a smile.
Elphaba chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"I guess those pills are really working their magic on you. You look much better, and you're definitely getting your strength back."
"And on that same line of thought…" Elphaba added. "You seem fully healed from your ordeal as well. Am I right?" She eyed Glinda.
"You are. I feel great. Especially since you're here, and we're together. This is the best I've felt in a very long time."
Elphaba smiled, cupped Glinda's cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Elphie, are you hungry? Dinner should be ready soon."
"Actually, now that you mention it, I'm starving. I haven't eaten in days."
"Well then, let's get cleaned up and head on downstairs. I'll draw us a bath."
"Us?"
"I promise, I'll be good."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Elphaba chided.
"Well, I'd say after what just happened here, you're safely off the hook……for now."
Elphaba laughed. "Alright then. Let's get cleaned up for dinner."
Glinda never fully intended to keep her promise. Their bath took longer than anticipated, but eventually, they emerged and dried off.
"Elphie, come here. I have something for you," Glinda said with a hint of mischief in her voice and eyes.
Elphaba eyed her suspiciously. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing. I just have a present for you." She eagerly went to retrieve her bag, and gave it to Elphaba.
Elphaba took the bag from her and opened to top to peak inside, then pulled out a large, white all cotton robe. "Glinda, this is beautiful." She said, running her hands over the fabric.
"Now you don't have to squeeze into one of mine. It's your size."
"I can't wait to try it on." Elphaba stood and began to grab the towel wrapped around her, but was stopped by Glinda.
"Wait just a minute. There's something else for you in there."
Elphaba sat back down and peeked inside the bag again. She removed the tissue paper that was covering the item that was underneath the robe, looked into the bag, then back up at Glinda again.
"Glinda!" She said in a tone that conveyed her skepticism.
"Do you like it?" Glinda said smiling widely.
Elphaba pulled out the new set of bedclothes that Glinda had bought for her. "Well, they're……..".
"Yes?"
Elphaba shrugged her shoulders. "Pink!"
"I know. Isn't it great?"
"Glinda…..they're pink."
"Now Elphie, we've already established that pink goes good with green."
"I don't wear pink."
"Yes you do. I have your pink nightshirt to prove it."
Elphaba chuckled. "Glinda, it's the only article of pink clothing I have, and I only have it because…" she stopped herself short.
"Because what?"
Elphaba looked at Glinda sheepishly. "Because it reminded me of you."
"Oh, Elphie," Glinda said with an endearing smile meant for her love. "That's so touching."
Elphaba waved her off, then smiled at the gift Glinda had given her. "And because this is so…..you, I do love it."
"You mean you'll wear it?"
"I will. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Glinda squealed with delight and gave Elphaba a hug. They each got dressed in a new set of bedclothes and robes as Elphaba knew she had one more set of pills to take not long after their dinner was finished. Glinda sauntered over to the bedroom doors and opened them as Elphaba finished cinching up her robe.
"Come on Elphie, let's get something to eat." Glinda held out her hand towards her love.
"Oh, uhhhm…." Elphaba hesitated taking Glinda's hand.
"Elphie!" Glinda dropped her hand to her side. "We are free to express ourselves here. This is my house, and by extension it is your house. Trust me when I tell you that it's perfectly alright with everyone here." She held out her hand again.
Elphaba smiled, and shook her head. "You're right. I'm just being paranoid." She walked over to her love and took her hand.
Glinda beamed as their fingers intertwined. Hand in hand, they walked downstairs and headed for the kitchen.
"Hello Miss Glinda, Miss Elphaba. Dinner should be ready momentarily," Bersilla said brightly.
"Thank you Bersilla. We'll take our dinner in the breakfast nook if you don't mind," Glinda replied.
She lead Elphaba into a small nook in the back of the kitchen. They sat at a small, round table next to a beveled wall of windows with the shade drawn. A small fireplace was set between the breakfast nook and the more formal dining room on the other side.
Bersilla brought tea and water to the women before placing their steaming vegetable soup and fresh, hot baguettes in front of them.
"Glinda, this looks wonderful, and it smells great," Elphaba remarked.
"I wanted you to have something that would fill you up, but wouldn't be to hard on your system. I know you haven't eaten in a while, and I didn't want to throw a lot of solids at you."
"Well I thank you, and I'm sure my stomach thanks you," Elphie said as she blew on a spoonful of the soup.
Bersilla was pleased that her soup was going over so well with the women. She truly enjoyed working for Glinda, and took a lot of pride in her work. The women chatted and joked with one another while they enjoyed their meal. Every once in a while, Glinda would reach out and grab Elphaba's hand for no reason in particular. Just to hold it and feel the contact.
When they finished their meal, they sat for a while, sipping their tea and continuing with the idle conversations. Finally, they decided to head on back upstairs. Elphaba stood up and began to gather her soup bowl, but was quickly intercepted by Bersilla.
"Don't you worry about that Miss Elphaba. I'll take care of the dishes," She said.
"Thank you Bersilla. That was a wonderful meal," Glinda said cheerily.
"Yes thank you. I really enjoyed it," Elphaba added.
Bersilla smiled, thanked the women for their compliments, then shooed them out of the kitchen. Glinda wrapped her arm around Elphaba's waist while Elphaba draped her arm around Glinda's shoulder. As they reached the foot of the stairs, Tanon walked by.
"Hey you two. Is everything going ok tonight?" he said with a smile.
"It is, thank you Tanon," Glinda replied.
"Uh, Elphaba, I was wondering if I could have a word with you," Tanon said.
Elphaba looked a bit confused, as did Glinda.
"I promise, I won't take much of your time," he said, seeing the looks on their faces.
"Ok, sure," Elphaba replied.
"I guess I'll head on upstairs," Glinda said. "Tanon, make sure you don't keep her too long," she winked.
He smiled at her as she headed up the stairs. "Please Elphaba, come in here." He lead her to the living room and ushered her to the couch, then he took the seat opposite of her, across the coffee table.
"Listen, Elphaba, the reason I wanted to talk to you is because I'm concerned about Glinda."
"Why, is there something I should know?"
"Well, yes and no. She's not in any imminent danger or anything like that."
Elphaba felt relieved to hear that.
"I'm not quite sure how to approach this subject with you, so I'll just come out and say it. Glinda was very, very hurt when you rebuffed her back at the prison."
Elphaba cocked her head a little and furrowed her brows, but she continued to listen.
"I guess I'm just worried about the possibility of it happening again. You see, she loves you with all her heart. So much of her is tied to you now, and I think always was."
"What do you mean?" Elphaba asked.
"Well, when I saw her at the prison, she had a look in her eyes that I haven't seen in a long time. The last time I saw that vacant stare was about six years ago."
Elphaba looked at Tanon with innate understanding.
"The news that The Wicked Witch of the West was dead had spread throughout the land. In public, Glinda was everything she was expected to be. She smiled, and waved and told people what they wanted to hear, but every night, when she came home, she turned into a different person. She retreated inside herself. Her social obligations began to suffer, and she only did the bare minimum of state business. For the most part, she stayed right here, staring out at the moon at night, keeping to herself. I could tell she was hurting, but I could never figure out why. Now I know. She was in love with you back then, and you were cruelly ripped from her world. She couldn't deal with it effectively because she loved you so much, and the hurt was so deep, that she just stopped functioning."
Elphaba's eyes began to tear up as she listened to Tanon.
"Elphaba, I saw that lost look again when I was at the prison. I found out recently what had happened between you two while you were in there. When she came back, and you were upstairs sleeping off your wounds, she confided in me. She was scared to death that you were going to reject her when you woke up, but she still wanted…..no, needed to fight for you because she has such a deep and abiding love for you."
Elphaba wiped a tear from her eye.
"I'm not saying this to make you feel bad. I'm telling you this because I care about Glinda, and I don't want to see her go through anything like what she went through the first time she thought she lost you. She's like a sister to me, and all I want is to make sure she's happy and protected. I want some assurances from you that you won't put her through anything like that again. Please Elphaba. I need to know that you're always going to be there for her."
Elphaba looked at Tanon and nodded. "I'm sorry. I know that I hurt her, but I had no idea to what extent."
"She loves you Elphaba, and I can see why. I'm just trying to look out for her, that's all."
"I understand, and to be honest with you, I'm glad that she has someone like you looking out for her. It makes me feel better knowing that if anything happens to me, she has people like you around her."
"Thank you Elphaba, and I want you to know that if Glinda loves and cares about you, then so do I. I'm glad she was able to find you again. You've made her a whole person. You've filled a part of her that's been missing these last six years, and I'm very grateful to you for that. Please, just think about what I said. I just want Glinda to be happy."
"So do I, and I promise I'll do everything in my power to make sure she is," Elphaba replied.
"Thank you," Tanon smiled.
Both he and Elphaba stood up, then he walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Now get upstairs. I think someone is waiting for you."
Elphaba smiled and nodded as she left Tanon in the living room. She ascended the stairs slowly, going over Tanon's words in her mind. She'd made it about halfway up the stairs when Glinda appeared at her bedroom door.
"Elphie? What's wrong?"
Elphaba looked up at Glinda, then back down again.
"Elphie, what did Tanon say to you?"
Elphaba reached the top of the steps and walked straight up to the distraught looking blonde. She took her hands in her own and stared into her eyes.
"Glinda, you know how much I love you don't you?"
"Of course Elphie."
"Tanon was worried about you. He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to hurt you again like I did at the prison."
"Oh Elphie, I'm so sorry. He had no right…."
"No,……he did. He had every right. He cares about you Glinda. He's just looking out for you, and that makes me feel good. Back in prison, I knew you were hurting, but I honestly had no idea how deeply that hurt you. I'm so sorry."
Glinda placed her finger on Elphaba's lips to keep her from saying another word. "Come back in the bedroom. I need to talk to you," she said pulling Elphaba back inside.
She quickly closed the doors, walked over to Elphaba, wrapped her arms around the green woman's neck and pulled her down for a deep, soft kiss. Glinda pushed herself against Elphaba, willing her backwards until they reached the bed. The women continued kissing as they fell softly onto the bed with Elphaba on her back and Glinda over her, but off to the side. They kissed deeply and passionately until Elphaba pulled back.
"I thought you wanted to talk to me," she said breathlessly.
"I am," Glinda replied. "Can't you hear what I'm saying?"
She lowered he head and captured Elphaba's lips once again. Their tongues danced with one anothers in a soft, slow motion. Elphaba caught the conveyed 'I love you' from the woman she adored. After more a few more kisses, Elphaba pulled back once again.
"Listen, Glinda, there's something I want to say to you."
"What is it Elphie?" Glinda said as she stoked her love's hair.
Elphaba sat up and moved herself so that she was now positioned over Glinda while Glinda acquiesced and rolled onto her back.
"I love you Glinda. I love you more than I have words to express," Elphaba began as she stared into her love's eyes and gently caressed her cheek. "I've never been very good with words anyway. So I try to show you what I can't tell you. I just hope you understand the message I'm trying to send, and I hope to send that message to your heart every day for the rest of our lives."
Glinda's eyes began to tear up. It was the first time Elphaba had defined their relationship in terms of forever. "Oh Elphie. I do feel how much you love me. I love you back equally as much. I hope you know that. And you would make me the happiest woman in Oz if I could wake up next to you every morning and kiss you goodnight every evening……for the rest of our lives."
Elphaba smiled adoringly at her love. Glinda wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and pulled her down to her as they engaged in another long, slow, passionate kiss. Glinda pulled back and stared at the beautiful brown eyes in front of her, then sighed.
"Is it that time again?" Elphaba said somewhat disconsolately.
Glinda nodded. "You have to take your pills. It's the last dose though. That's the good thing."
"Mmmhmmm!" Elphaba agreed unenthusiastically. She reluctantly let Glinda out of her embrace and sat on the edge of the bed while Glinda retrieved her pills and a glass of water for her.
Elphaba sighed as she was handed the pills and the water. "Here we go again," she said, then she put both pills in her mouth and swallowed some water to help ease them down her throat.
"Ugh! I hate taking pills," Elphaba said with a screwed up expression.
Glinda chuckled and took the glass of water from her. "Come on, let's get these robes off," she said.
Elphaba tried to stand but was overcome by a bout of light-headedness, and quickly sat back down on the bed.
"Careful Elphie. Those pills are really potent."
"You don't have to remind me of that," Elphaba replied.
Glinda helped her with her robe, then placed both of theirs over the arm of one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. She had put some more logs on the fire and stoked the flames while Elphaba had been occupied with Tanon, so the fire was burning brightly and filling the room. Glinda returned to the bed.
"Let's get you under the covers this time." She said as she pulled back the covers and sheets from her side of the bed.
Elphaba crawled under the covers, just as Glinda had instructed her to do. Glinda doused all the lights in the room which now had only the glow from the fireplace illuminating it. She quickly crawled into the bed next to Elphaba and could see that the pills were already having an effect.
"I hate this," Elphaba said sleepily.
"I know sweetness, but this time, we'll be waking up together."
"Mmmm!" was all Elphaba could manage as she smiled wearily and closed her eyes.
"I love you Elphie," Glinda whispered in her ear as Elphaba fell into a deep sleep. "I love you so much. Fresh dreams sweetness." Glinda kissed Elphaba gently on the lips and lowered herself onto the sleeping woman's shoulder. She wrapped her arm around Elphaba's waist and intertwined her legs with Elphie's. As the firelight danced across the room, Glinda began to feel sleepy as well. She was comfortable, content, and completely at peace. It had been a long time since she'd felt that way. A smile played across her face as she relented and allowed sleep to cradle her in its arms.
