Chapter 13 : When a Woman Loves a Woman

Callie's POV

We both got into a small taxi which took us directly in front of a small building, in front of a very cute little restaurant: "Le Petit Paris". When we arrived in front of it, I immediately understood that it was truly a magical place.

As I entered the terrace, I understood in less than a second why she had chosen this place among all those that the city had to offer. It was the cutest, most charming, warmest and most elegant place.

One of the waiters guided us to the table that Arizona had booked.

It was a table that was a bit apart from the rest of the customers. It would give us the privacy we needed to talk with open hearts.

We sat down and began to go through the menu to try to find the dish of our dreams. This also had the added benefit of distracting us and allowing us to determine how to start that conversation.

"Well," I ended up saying, "I think I will go for the black truffle soup with autumn vegetables. I don't really know what 'autumn vegetables' means but it sounds fancy so it must be good."

"I have to admit that I had the same reasoning as you and I put all my trust in the names of the dishes." Arizona said with a big smile. "As a result, I'm going to pick the fish with potato scales."

"Would you like us to order some wine?"

"If you want," Arizona suggested, "we can ask the sommelier to make a selection for us. I read on the Internet that they've hired a real prodigy."

"Can you really be an alcohol prodigy?"

"Let's call him, we'll see if he lives up to his reputation."

We raised our hand and a waiter arrived to take our order. He was followed a few moments later by the famous sommelier. This young man spoke to us about the wines he had to offer us with such poetry that we both wished we could have bought them all.

In the end, we decided to opt for a bottle of Italian red wine at a prohibitively high price and with "complex forest and raspberry aromas".

"As you have taken care of the preparations for this whole evening," I said to Arizona once we've placed our entire order, "tonight everything is on me."

"If that's what you want, I can grant you that privilege."

"While waiting for our food to arrive," I continued as I got up, "I'm going to go to the toilet to freshen up my face. I will be back in less than two minutes."

"All right, even though objectively you don't need it. You are already the most beautiful woman here and the rest of the women are already jealous of you."

Arizona's POV

As soon as Callie left the table to go inside to the toilet, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I was suddenly very worried that something had happened to our daughter but as I took my phone out, I realized it was a call from Carina.

"Hi Arizona," my ex-girlfriend started, "how is your new life in New York going?"

"It's going perfect." I replied in a disinterested manner. "But I suppose you are not calling to see how my project with Nicole is going, are you? What's going on Carina?"

"Arizona, I'm just trying to make this situation a little less uncomfortable or awkward for the two of us! I just wanted to tell you that in the last few weeks I have really realized that I miss you. I really miss you, Arizona."

I remained silent so as not to say things that would hurt her too much.

"I really miss you from the bottom of my heart and would like us to try again. I would like us to give ourselves another chance."

"Carina, it is not going to work between you and me!"

"I am ready to make a lot of effort. I am ready to change my life for you. I am ready to turn my life upside down, to stop my study on female pleasure, to join you in New York. I really want to be part of your family."

"Carina, I really like you but nothing more! I do not see myself ending my life with you! You deserve better than fighting for something that will never work. You deserve a woman who will love you and love only you. I love Callie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her and our daughter."

"I thought you were in the middle of a war for custody of your daughter. I thought you were fighting."

"We fought against each other, but now we are both trying to make our family work. These two girls are the only two things that matter to me. I love them both and want to be with them. The rest doesn't matter, doesn't matter anymore."

"Well, in that case, I guess there's nothing I could say that would convince you to give me a second chance, is there?"

"You're right. There is not. Bye, Carina!"

"Bye Arizona, wish you all the best!"

I hung up and as I looked up, I saw Callie come closer to our table. I could see directly in her eyes that she was worried.

"Was that Sofia calling you?" She asked as she sat down at the table. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"Don't worry," I reassured her by placing my hand on hers, "our daughter is fine!"

"In this case, am I allowed to ask you who you were calling?"

"It was Carina, a girl I had some kind of relationship with when I was in Seattle."

"What do you mean? Some kind of ex?"

"Exactly! Some kind of ex!"

At the suggestion that I might have had a love affair with a woman other than her, I felt Callie's eyes darken. I could read in her eyes a mixture of fear, sadness and anger.

"Calliope, baby," I said to console her while looking her in the eyes and placing my hand on hers, "I have indeed been involved in relationships with women other than you. However, I can ensure you one thing: none of these women made me feel the kind of feelings I feel for you today. Calliope, you are the first and only woman I have ever loved like I love you."

"I know about it," Callie replied with her eyes filled with emotion, "I know all these things, but I don't like the idea that you might have had feelings or lived stuffs for a woman other than me."

"My love, I don't know what more I can say to make you feel better. The only thing I can say is you are the woman I have always loved, that I love and that I will love forever. It's as simple as that!"

"Arizona, I don't know if this is the best thing to do, but we agreed we had to be sincere with each other. I wish we could talk about the relationships we've both had since we split up."

"I agree it's a good idea. However, this is a discussion we should have at my house, in a place where we both feel secure, isn't it?"

"It suits me impeccably!"

Once we had passed this turbulent area, we were ultimately able to immerse ourselves one hundred percent into this dinner.

It was an incredible moment, we were gradually regaining our complicity and this connection. I had the impression that we had returned to the first moments of our relationship. After dinner we returned to Arizona and prepared to have a potentially unpleasant discussion.