"You've got the 'we need to talk' face on." Eleanor dropped her bag in the entry, hands on hips as Caroline kissed her cheek in greeting. "That's not at all what I was hoping for."
Caroline squinted at the bright morning sun. She closed the door behind her disappointed girlfriend. "Actually, I've got the 'ten hours traveling with a toddler with a sinus infection all day yesterday' face on."
"Oh no. Oh no no no. You mentioned sniffles - but it's escalated?"
"It has. She's fine. She'll be fine. She's with Greg and nurse Jenny. They've missed her so much they didn't even balk at our little bundle of crying, flying phlegm." Caroline sighed and chuckled.
"But it still broke your heart when they took her home."
"Yep." Caroline held out her arms out for a much needed hug, and admitted to herself the enormous relief it was to see Eleanor. She felt lighter. "But I'm not going to complain about the peace and quiet."
"You don't know how happy I am to see you. I've missed you terribly. More than I ever have, I think."
She turned her face into Eleanor's hair, drinking in the soft texture and familiar lavender smell of it. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
Eleanor stepped back and stared at Caroline. "It's easy to forget how blue your eyes are." She picked up a lock of hair resting past Caroline's shoulders. "Long summer-blonde hair and a touch of sun. You look positively American. So much fresher than the somber Londoners I spent the month with. I wish I'd been with you. Whatever we need to talk about Caroline – " she paused. "Scratch that. I know what it is we're going to talk about. But it's going to wait. First, we're going to relax and do nothing. I'm going to stare adoringly at you, and you're going to tell me delightful anecdotes from your trip. And I'm going to make up wildly amusing stories about London that make it all seem impossibly exotic."
Caroline turned and walked into the living room smiling to herself. Eleanor followed her. She plunked onto the couch, and Eleanor folded herself directly next to her.
"And somewhere, before, after, or even during the course of those other insignificant events, we are going to mate like rabbits in springtime."
Caroline leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. "Is that what it's called, then? What we do, you and I? Mating? Is this an obscure lesbian code word I haven't yet learned?"
"I don't know. I don't care. I was simply being direct."
"I like that about you."
"Tell me what I can do for you, right at this moment, my travel-weary mum."
"Tell me how much you love me."
"I'd rather show you."
Caroline smirked and barely shook her head, not wanting to provoke the tiny headache lurking at the base of her skull. "Never stop, Eleanor. Never stop."
Eleanor snuggled up under her arm. "I've reserved us two nights at Willow Farm – the B and B, just out of town, if you're up for it. Less than twenty minutes away and the deepest soaking tubs in Harrogate. We can go both nights, one night, or neither."
Caroline, still in her pajamas and still tired from jet lag, closed her eyes. Her thoughts were hazy - luxuriating in Eleanor's presence and voice pouring all over her, just as she'd been anticipating. "You're the only person in the world who could tear me away from my own bed tonight, and I'll go willingly."
"Well I think a space outside of our everyday is going to be a lot more conducive to this conversation you think we need to have."
Caroline frowned. Eleanor reached up and ran a finger over the wrinkles on her brow. "We also need to do something about this."
"I have some ideas."
"So do I." Eleanor untucked herself and stood, walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle. "Jasmine green. The only thing for it."
"I'm so desperate for a decent cup of tea, I'll drink your green swill."
Eleanor twirled and pouted at Caroline, who smiled. She'd tucked her legs up under her on the couch and turned against the corner to watch Eleanor making tea and plating biscuits. She took her in, loving that Eleanor knew where everything was, comfortable in the space. Eleanor turned back to face Caroline as she waited for the water to boil.
She caught Caroline's eye, watched her for a moment. She raised an eyebrow. Then, she smiled and sprinted across the kitchen. She threw herself on top of Caroline and began to cover her in kisses. "I did tell you how desperately I missed you, didn't I?"
"You did. But I definitely prefer you showing me." Caroline began to laugh as Eleanor moved down from her face, raised up her thermal and began pecking her midriff.
"I've missed every inch of you."
They smiled and laughed together. The water finally boiled and the kettle whistled. Eleanor extricated herself and stood. "Don't move."
Caroline crossed her legs and her arms, still turned on the couch to watch Eleanor. 'This is what I missed. This is what I thought about the whole time I've been gone. This.' Her heart continued to lighten. The separation had magnified her fear and skepticism. With Eleanor here, she felt anything might be possible.
Eleanor returned with two cups of tea and two biscuits. She sat cross legged at Caroline's feet, nestled between her legs and leaned her head back. "Ginika's well?"
"She is. She's content with her life. I suppose she's happy with it. And she's a very happy grandmother. She's a good woman to spend time with. Smart. Wise. I'm lucky." Caroline rested her tea mug against her stomach and passed a hand through Eleanor's soft hair. She teased up a long lock of it and ran it through her fingers. "Come with me, next year?"
Eleanor didn't respond immediately, but when she did turn to look at Caroline her eyes were bright. "That would be lovely."
"Good." She leaned forward, over Eleanor, and took a biscuit from the plate on the coffee table. Eleanor smiled up at Caroline as she smooshed her.
'Everyday, I've missed this.'
They took Eleanor's car that afternoon, though Caroline drove. Truthfully, she really enjoyed the Land Rover. The handling, acceleration and transmission were far superior, smoother than the Jeep, and it hadn't taken her long to appreciate it.
"During a moment of weakness Lily convinced me that she and June would be perfectly fine – for one night – out in London. No pubs. And home by 9pm, of course."
"And?"
"They made it back at 9.05. I let it slide. I barely made it back myself, from the office."
"How magnanimous of you."
"Magnanimous is letting you drive my grown-up car." Eleanor reached into the console for her mobile. "I haven't had time to perfect our musical selection for the weekend. I'm counting on a lot of bath time, and if we muck up the music it'll all be for naught."
"I don't think a bath is ever wasted."
"Mmmmm. Not when they're spent with you. I'll give you that." Eleanor studied her mobile. She held it further away, then closer.
"Yep. Magnanimous." Caroline chuckled, her attention on the road. They'd arrived. She pulled through into the drive. It was perfectly summer, perfectly warm and pleasant. Lush green gardens and hedges, manicured grounds that were far from sterile.
She pulled into a spot at the front that seemed to be waiting for them. They grabbed their bags. Everything was comfortable all of a sudden, from the way they held hands to the fit of their jeans. Nothing had changed in the last day, really, for either of them, but the presence of the other. An instant effect that soothed and invigorated.
Eleanor left Caroline in a chair in the lobby, breezed up and checked them in. She turned back and flashed the keys along with a wide, mischievous smile. She walked back over and took Caroline's hand as she stood. "Let's go do what we came to do, then."
"Right."
"The light is still fine. Should we walk?" Caroline fidgeted with her earrings at the bureau, finally just took them out. She pulled up her hair, off her neck against the summer humidity.
"Yes. And after, I demand you provide me wine and cheese."
"It's a deal."
Eleanor came up behind her, hair already back and up, and cool enough in a tank top. She rarely wore them without a cardigan over, and Caroline wished she did. She ran her hands down Caroline's arms, and Caroline could see the heavy waiting in her eyes. She forced a smile, then let it become genuine, indulgence at Eleanor's silent persistence.
"Come on."
