Emily and Paige had been together long enough for Emily pick up on subtle changes in her fiancée's behavior. After Emily proposed, she noticed that, whenever the two of them were together, Paige seemed to have a need to be on Emily's right side. The only exception was when Paige was driving.
Emily had never really paid attention to which side Paige took before, but it struck her as odd that, all of a sudden, it appeared to have become important to Paige.
One night, they were walking to Paige's car, and Paige dropped back for a second, letting Emily get a step ahead so that she could walk behind to get on the right side. Emily laughed to herself and started trying to figure it out. When Paige had positioned herself on Emily's right, she took Emily's hand, and Emily felt the cold metal of Paige's engagement ring between her fingers.
"Oh!" Emily said out loud, before she could catch herself.
"Huh?"
"It's the ring, right? You want me to hold the hand with your ring!"
"I guess," Paige admitted dismissively, shyly dipping her head. Paige had known that Emily would eventually pick up on this new behavioral quirk eventually. She was relieved that Emily had guessed, rather than asked, what the reason behind it was. She wasn't prepared for how she would answer, if Emily had asked her. Even though it was something significant to her, she knew that it was ultimately just a silly little thing. She would have felt foolish having to say it out loud.
"Aw, Paige!" Emily stepped in front of Paige, facing her, and stroked her cheek. "It's sweet!" She gave Paige a kiss and they started walking again, with Emily swinging their hands between them.
A few short weeks after the proposal, Paige and Emily geared up for their next celebration, as Emily's graduation neared. When the day came, Pam sat between her husband and her future daughter-in-law as the Master of Arts degree was conferred on her only daughter on the lawn outside the main academic building at Hollis. She was holding tight to both Wayne and Paige's hands, determined not to cry as she watched her "baby" achieve the milestone.
That afternoon, Emily celebrated with family and friends around their pool. This was Paige and Emily's second summer of entertaining around the pool, going back to the housewarming, and they had the routine down. Pam had been busy in the kitchen the night before, prepping her empanadas. She had Paige by her side, to teach her how it was done, since Emily had never been able to get it quite right. Emily was a little amazed. Pam shared her empanada recipe with no one. It gave Emily a good feeling to see her mother pass down this secret to Paige. It was a sign that Pam saw Paige as part of the family.
In addition to Emily's family, her friends, Paige's friends from work, and the few shared friends they had collected during their time together, the guest list included Emily's faculty adviser, Ezra Fitz. He and Emily had grown close during the time that he worked with her on her master's thesis, but that wasn't the only reason that he had been invited. He was looking to move out of his apartment into a larger space, and Emily mentioned that she and Paige were planning to rent out – and perhaps eventually sell – their house. Ezra was interested in checking it out.
It didn't take long for Aria to catch Ezra's eye. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, Emily nudged Paige with her elbow when she caught the two of them together. Whenever she did, she smiled and tilted her head in their direction. Although Paige rolled her eyes at Emily's constant nudging, she couldn't help smiling. She really admired the way that Emily's friends were always pulling for each other's relationships, and the way that they were concerned for each other's happiness, above what they themselves may have felt. The three of them had supported Emily's relationship with Samara, giving up on it only slightly sooner than Emily did when it became clear to them that it was untenable.
When she saw the way that Emily smiled at seeing Aria and Ezra, Paige couldn't help wonder whether or not the other girls had shared similar smiles in the early days of her relationship with Emily – or, even earlier. She thought back to the things that Hanna had done when Paige flew out to see Emily after the break-up: Getting Emily to the gym and the salon, and making sure that she took time off from work; arranging things so that the two of them ended up sitting on her couch together when they got together for pizza and movies. And she remembered catching Hanna peeking at them through the curtains when Paige walked Emily out to her car. Paige put her arm around Emily's waist and pulled her in from the side, kissing her temple. "You've really got great friends, Em."
Emily smiled and nodded, and said, "Huh?" once she realized that she didn't know where that statement had come from.
"Nothing. Nothing," Paige said, tightening her grip a little. "We're just really lucky, aren't we?"
"We really are," Emily agreed, squeezing Paige around the waist. She may not have known what they were talking about, but she definitely knew that they were lucky.
Pam walked up to them carrying a tray. "Emmy, didn't Paige do a fantastic job on these empanadas?"
Emily heaved out a sigh. "Yes, Mom," she said mechanically, before she laughed and took one. She wasn't hurt that she had been replaced as her mother's hope for passing down the family recipe. She was just amused at how proud her mother was of Paige.
"Well, if by 'fantastic job,' you're referring to the way that I set the temperature and the timer on the microwave, then, yes, you're right," Paige said. "I was pretty amazing."
Pam shook her head at the way that Paige downplayed her kitchen skills. Then, with a smile, she asked, "Have you two decided where you want to go on this graduation trip?"
Since Paige and Emily weren't going to get married for about a year, they decided to take a graduation trip instead of a honeymoon before Emily had to start working for a living. Not that the trip would replace their honeymoon. It was more like a practice-run. Emily had been pushing quite hard to finish up her degree, and she needed a break. Also, they wanted to take some time and celebrate their engagement.
"Well, we were thinking about going to France, but I don't think I could get my passport together in time."
"Also," Paige chimed in, "we thought that we could set aside some of Emily's graduation money and save it for some of the actual honeymoon itself."
"What can I say?" Emily patted Paige's stomach with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Paige's waist. "Marrying an accountant!"
"Anyway_" Paige drawled out, smiling Emily's teasing, "we decided that we'd like to explore Pennsylvania a bit."
"Gettysburg, the Civil War sites…"
"Maybe some Revolutionary War sites…"
"Basically a lot of driving and some charming little inns…"
"Doughnuts and diners…"
Pam couldn't help laughing as she put a hand on each girl's cheek. "Look at the two of you! You're such a cute couple! Already finishing each other's sentences!"
Paige and Emily turned to look at each other and then at Pam as if their necks were being controlled by the same lever. They laughed at the same time when the realization hit that they actually were doing finishing each other's sentences, and, not only that, but that they had gone so far as to mirror each other's movements.
The trip itself turned out to be something of a defining point in Paige and Emily's relationship. They had the experience of seeing each other at their worst, and learning how they would get along with each other in those tough times.
At the end of a long day's trek into the Central Pennsylvania woods, covered in dirt, sweat, and a little blood, they discovered that the charming little bed and breakfast had lost their reservation and didn't have any vacancies. They were desperately in need of a shower, but, instead, they had to pile back in the car and head to the next city. It proved to be too far for them, late at night and both exhausted. They ended up pulling off into a rest stop and sleeping in the car for the night. It was the sort of experience that each of them knew they would laugh about when they told their kids and grandkids about it. That night, though, laughter was the furthest thing from either of their minds.
Still, the last thing that each heard the other say before she fell asleep was, "I love you."
"Paige! Paige!"
Paige woke, disoriented, with Emily tugging at her arm. "What's going on?" she said, still half-asleep, trying to get her bearings.
"Do you hear that?"
Paige stilled herself trying to listen. "Hear what?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"That scratching! It's coming from right outside the car!"
Paige waited silently again. "I don't hear anything," she said. "It's probably just a wild animal. A raccoon, or something, looking for food."
"Or it's a homicidal maniac, scratching on the car the way that it happens in all those urban legends!"
"So, what do you want me to do? Do you want to drive somewhere?"
"I don't know, Paige!" When Paige didn't say anything, Emily answered again. "I want you to keep me safe!"
Paige sleepily patted Emily on the shoulder. "You're safe," she said, and rolled over to go back to sleep.
"Paige!"
"Huh?"
"Don't 'there, there' me! I'm not a little girl!"
"Ugh! Emily, I promise you that there's no homicidal maniac outside. Other than that, tell me what you want me to do to make you feel safe." Before Paige got those words out, she realized what she was doing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Em. Come here." Emily gladly let herself be gathered into Paige's arms across the center console in the front seat. "I'm sorry about today. I really am. I should've had a back-up plan."
"Just hold me," Emily asked. She sighed and relaxed a little, finally beginning to feel safe. "It's not your fault," she said softly. "You couldn't have known that they'd lose our reservations."
As uncomfortable as their position was, Emily had almost fallen asleep when she tensed up, digging her fingers into Paige's shoulder. "Do you hear it? There it goes again." Paige pulled away. "Paige! Don't leave me!"
"I'm just going to go find out what's going on out there, Emily. I'll be right back."
"Paige!"
"It's safe, Em. I promise."
"You're not going out there!"
"You're not going to be able to sleep until we find out what's going on."
"I'm not going to be able to sleep if some deranged killer chops your head off!"
"Jeez, Em," Paige said as she reached for the door handle. "This is what happens when you watch all those horror…"
Before she finished the sentence, she pushed the door open, and they heard a shrill siren go off. Emily screamed and grabbed Paige, both of their heartrates having tripled in the split second that it took them to register that it was just the car's alarm that was going off. Emily gripped her chest and breathed heavily while Paige, laughing, contorted her body to try to find the pocket where her keys were, and then pushed buttons until she figured out how to silence the alarm.
"Well, whatever that was outside," she said with a laugh, "I bet the siren scared it off!"
When the sun came up, Paige adjusted her seat from a full-recline to an upright position and stretched out her back as best she could in the confined space. She got out of the car and walked around it, looking for scratch marks from the raccoon's claws or the homicidal maniac's sickle. Finding none, she was going to tap on the window to let Emily know that she was heading into the rest stop to pick up some coffee, but she caught herself in time. Waking Emily by tapping on the window could have only one result: Another round of screaming at the top of her lungs. She walked around to the driver's side and sat next to Emily, whispering her name and stroking her hand to wake her. Emily was startled, but she didn't freak out. "I'm going to get us some coffee, and then we can get back on the road," Paige said.
Emily nodded and laid her head back down before it hit her and she sprang up, reaching for Paige's arm. "Is it safe?"
Paige nodded. "I checked the car. Everything looks good." She kissed Emily's cheek. "I'll be right back."
When Paige got back to the car and opened the door, the smell that they had spent the night with hit her like a ton of bricks. "Holy shit – it reeks in here!" she said. She and Emily rolled down all the windows and took their coffees to a picnic table, sitting on the table with their feet on the bench, as they gave the car some time to air out. There on the table in the cool of the morning, sipping their coffee, they finally began to relax.
"So, what do you think, Paige?"
"About what?"
"You've seen me at my worst – dirty, sweaty, exhausted, stressed, and, not to mention, scared shitless."
"But not hungover…"
"Not hungover. Not this time." Emily laughed, and Paige did, too. Emily leaned closer to Paige and linked their arms. "Still think you want to get attached to me for the rest of your life?"
Paige whipped out her phone and snapped a quick picture, just before Emily got her hands up in front of her face and squealed, "Paige! I look gross! My hairs all frizzy and I don't have any make-up, and my pores…"
"See this?" Paige said calmly as she flipped the phone around to show Emily the image. "This is the face that I want to lie down in bed next to every night. And the face that I want to wake up next to every morning."
"Aw," Emily said, taking the phone from Paige's hand. "That's sweet… Deleting this!"
"Emily!" Paige grabbed for her phone, but it was too late. "Let me have a picture of you. Just for me. I won't post it."
"Paige!" Paige just pouted. "Why?"
"Because you love me?"
"Ugh. Fine. Take my picture." Emily smoothed her fingers through her hair and rubbed her cheeks, trying to get some color into them.
"Emily!" Paige whined.
"What?" Emily whined back.
Paige captured Emily's hands and moved them into Emily's lap. "You look beautiful."
Emily let out a long sigh. "Well, I'm glad that you think so."
Paige kissed her. "I do." She slid a little closer to Emily and switched her phone to the front camera. "Here," she said, as she leaned her face close to Emily's and snapped the picture. Later, it became one of their favorite pictures of the two of them. That picture captured, in a way that no other picture of them did,the true affection that they had for each other and how natural and unaffected they were with each other.
It was dark by the time they made it back to Rosewood, having decided to push through and drive all the way home, stopping only for lunch, dinner, and the bathroom. They had planned to stop another night in a hotel, but they canceled their reservations. They just wanted to get home – back to their own shower and their own bed.
When Emily got out of the shower, Paige was sitting up in the bed, doing a crossword puzzle on her tablet. Emily walked into the closet and found a swimsuit. "I'm just going to take a quick dip in the pool," she said, resting a hand on Paige's shoulder as she walked past the bed to the sliding door that opened to the pool.
"I'll come sit with you," Paige said with a yawn.
"You don't have to. I mean, you can, if you want, but I'm okay."
"I'll catch up with you,"
Emily took a running jump into the pool and swam a few laps freestyle before she rolled over and swam the backstroke for a while. When she noticed that Paige had settled into one of the poolside chairs, she pulled over to the side, treading water. "I'm going to miss this when we move," she said. Paige nodded. "Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about living in the city, but having this pool was just great."
"I know what you mean," Paige said. "Even if we move into a building with a pool, it won't be just ours. It could get crowded on the days when we really need it to cool off…"
"And it's not going to be as convenient, just walk outside…"
"And run into the kitchen whenever we want to grab a snack."
"But, hey," Emily said as she climbed out of the pool, "We won't have the hassle of having to clean it!"
Paige went over to her with a towel and wrapped it around Emily's shoulders. "I used to love coming home and finding you out here swimming. Remember? Before we lived together?"
"Oh, Paige," Emily said with a demure smile. Paige was puzzled. Emily laughed nervously. "Any excuse to come over here and hang out with you."
Paige pulled the ends of Emily's towel, drawing her in close. "And I thought that you only loved me for my pool!"