Violet scooped Luke off the ground, running to catch up with Clementine who was swearing as she angrily shoved towels into the beach bag. Violet hated how Clementine could go from mad to sad back to mad in under a second. Dealing with her when she was in one of these moods was always a precarious situation.
"What are you doing Clem? I thought you wanted to have dinner on the beach, you packed sandwiches..." Violet said, watching as Clementine grabbed the picnic basket and dumped the contents onto the sand. "Maybe you can share it with Minnie" Clementine spat, taking Luke from her arms and walking towards the hotel. Violet watched as her wife awkwardly stomped through the soft sand until she walked over the dunes and out of sight.
Violet looked back at the mess on the sand. Some family vacation this was turning out to be. She knelt down frustrated and began picking the scattered food off the beach, throwing the sandy packages back into the basket.
"Quite the temper... I don't know why you let her treat you that way." Minerva knelt down next to Violet, one hand holding an ice pack to her face, the other she used to help Violet pick up packages. Violet noticed as Minerva brushed her bare arm against hers and quickly scooted over.
"That level of anger is reserved only for you." Violet sighed, grabbing the towels Clementine had crammed in the bag and started folding them neatly before returning them. She pulled her t-shirt back on and stood. Minerva standing with her. "Where's Sophie?"
"She went up to the pool." Minerva answered, eyeing Violet as she bent over to pick up the loaded down beach bag as well as her and Clementine's forgotten flip flops. "Need help?"
"No, I got it." Violet sighed, walking to the hotel. Minerva followed. Violet knew she shouldn't still be talking to Minerva, that Clementine would be furious if she found out, but she didn't know how to shake her without being rude.
"I could at least carry the flip flops until we reach the pool deck." Minerva reached for the shoes, only to have Violet move them out of her reach.
"Clem won't want to wear them anymore if you touch them, sorry." Violet said, only partially joking.
Minerva shrugged, pulling the ice pack away from her cheek, "What's her deal anyway?" They had reached the pool deck, Violet set the bag down and rinsed her feet and shoes off at a little knee high spout.
"What do you mean 'what's her deal?'" Violet asked, scowling as she slipped her flip flops on, "She's not fond of you is her 'deal', she's not so quick to forgive people that have hurt me, my Clem." Violet smiled at the last part. Thinking of how protective Clementine was of her. How she would give the very hat off her head to keep the sun out of Violet's face, even though it would mean her having to squint into the sun herself.
"That was years ago. Shouldn't she get over that by now? I was dumb back then, weren't we all?" Minerva shrugged, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"Clementine wasn't dumb, she was always nice to me, even when I was dating you and her heart was broken. Which she didn't let me know about until after by the way. She never once tried to break us up." Violet smiled at the memory of Clementine confessing her feelings to her. Minerva had stood her up for the dance, never had Violet felt happier to be stood up for something. Clementine pulled her outside of the gym, letting her cry into her shoulder until she calmed down and then she did it. She told her that she loved her, that she had for a long time and the next thing she knew, they were dancing together outside of the gym, where no one else could see. Just the two of them together, best friends, becoming something more.
Violet was about to pick up the beach bag and move up to the room, but Minerva grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear, stopping her dead in her tracts. "Sophie and I have separate rooms, I'm in 201, in case you get tired of playing house for one night. You've gotta be getting bored of the same old thing afte-"
The crack of Violet's hand slapping Minerva's face echoed through the pool area, drawing the attention of several patrons. "Don't come near my family again." Her face was unmistakably serious.
"Violet!" Clementine rushed over to her, dripping wet and holding Luke in her arms.
"Clem? I thought you were in the room..." Violet massaged her stinging hand. "What are you doing here?"
Clementine flushed, looking embarrassed, "I forgot the room key in the beach bag and I couldn't come back for it after I stomped off like that..."
Violet grinned at her wife, leaning in to peck her on the lips, both girls now ignoring Minerva still standing there, mouth agape. "You call that stomping? It was more like slipping and sliding."
Clementine shoved Violet softly as Luke started shivering in her arms. "Oh mama's sorry Luke, let's get you wrapped up." Clementine reached into the bag, pulling out a beach towel, attempting to wrap Luke in it one handed. Violet took the towel from her, held it out with both arms and wrapped Luke up like a baby burrito before taking him into her own arms.
"Wet baby in a towel is the best." Violet smiled, rubbing her nose against Luke's as only his face was visible, everything else was wrapped up tight in the fluffy towel. Violet then nodded her head towards the beach bag, "Your flip flops are over there and can you grab the bag? I got the boy." Violet led the way to the elevators, Clementine slipping on her flip flops and throwing the bag over her shoulder. They left Minerva behind, not bothering to give her any more attention.
When they entered the room, Clementine started up a bath to warm Luke up and get off all the sand and sunscreen, "I'm sorry I got mad at you... Minerva just riles me up. And...I hate it... I absolutely hate it when you call her Minnie..." Clementine grimaced as she said the name, like the word itself left a bad taste in her mouth, "It takes me back to Chemistry every time. The two of you holding hands under the lab table. You asking 'Minnie' to hand you the beaker... I know it's stupid... we graduated such a long time ago but Vi... that year was torture for me..." She leaned on the frame of the bathroom door, fiddling with her wedding band.
"I know Clem... I'm sorry..." Violet undressed Luke, tested the water by dipping her hand in to make sure it wasn't too hot before plopping him in the bath, "If I could turn back time, I would never have wasted that year with her. It was torture for me too. I know it looked like everything was great, but it wasn't Clem. I was never happy with Minni-erva, with Minerva." Violet coughed as she caught herself almost saying Minerva's nickname.
"What did Minerva say to you?" asked Violet as she soaped up Luke's hair, trying to get all the sand out. "That made you so mad that you punched her." Violet clarified.
"I don't know if I should say..." Clementine looked down at Luke, splashing him with water as he played with his wash rag, "I never thought I'd say this, but I think she's had enough for one day, if I tell you what she said, you may want to go give her a punch too."
"Please?" Violet whined. "If you tell me why you punched her, I'll tell you why I slapped her."
Clementine's eyes widened and she grinned, "Deal." Then her face got serious, remembering Minerva's two faced sneer, "She kept talking to you and then she'd whisper so that only I could hear her and she said that it was my fault you two broke up and that now she was going to push me out and then... then..." Clementine looked at Violet, making sure that she had the blonde's full attention. Violet took her eyes off Luke, but kept her hands on him to make sure he didn't fall over while she wasn't looking, "she said that Luke would be her son and call her mom and I just snapped." Clementine chuckled slightly, holding up her right hand, showing off the mild bruising to Violet.
"It was a good punch," Violet smiled, kissing her wife's knuckles, "Don't listen to her though, she could never take me away from you and Luke, nothing could ever take me away from you two."
They sat in silence for a minute, both knelt next to the tub, rinsing Luke off and pulling him out, wrapping him in a new clean towel. "What did Minerva say to you?" Clementine asked as she dried Luke's hair, making it stick out in every direction.
"She uh, gave me her room number..." Violet said, immediately regretting it as Clementine shoved a diapered but otherwise naked Luke into her arms, fire in her eyes.
"What's her room number? I want to know." Clementine seethed, slipping her flip flops on and making to leave the room, "What is it? I'm going."
Violet laughed, dressing Luke in his pajamas, "There's no way I'm telling you, you'd just go on a murderous rampage."
"Violet." Clementine said warningly, but Violet stood her ground.
"No. You go take a shower while I feed Luke his dinner." Violet pulled Clementine away from the front door, nudging her into the bathroom. Clementine glared but did as Violet recommended.
Clementine turned the water on hot, disrobed and climbed in. After the long stressful drive down with a screaming baby and the mess with Minerva, the warm water felt like heaven. She basked in the warmth of the shower, allowing it to ease her tense muscles, closing her eyes as it ran through her hair. It felt all the better after having been cold, wet, and sandy from the beach. As Clementine listened, she could just make out the sound of Violet singing to Luke in the other room, a content smile spread across her face at the sound.
Moments later Violet poked her head into the bathroom, "You're going to use all the hot water." she smiled, still wearing her bathing suit, "I've been shivering out here for thirty minutes because you insist on cranking the air conditioning all the way down."
"I'm not going to use all the hot water," Clementine stuck her head out of the curtain, "but I'm sorry for taking so long, it just feels so nice in here."
"I'm coming in then." Violet said matter of factly.
Clementine stood partially hidden behind the shower curtain, "What about Luke? He can't be out there alone."
"Luke had a long day," Violet said as she climbed into the shower, swim suit still on, "He's sleeping safely in his pack and play."
Clementine folded her arms over her chest as Violet moved under the warm water, pulling Clementine into an embrace, kissing her on the lips.
Clementine kissed back briefly, "Could you at least shower first? You're getting me all sandy." Violet rolled her eyes before removing her swimsuit and showering off.
Clementine exited the bathroom, towel wrapped around her chest, hair up in a damp bun, she flopped onto the bed. Violet fell down next to her. Already dressed in a tank top and boxers, wet hair loose around her head.
"Does this mean you're ready for round two?" Violet asked, hand on Clementine's thigh, touching the hem of the towel as Violet laid on her side facing Clementine who was sprawled out on her back.
"The towel means I'm lazy and hungry..." Violet opened her mouth, "for pizza." Clementine clarified, cutting off her predictable wife.
"Fine..." Violet stood and grabbed the hotel telephone, looking at the number for room service and hitting the button. As Violet ordered the pizza, Clementine put her pajamas on and climbed into the big bed, glancing over at Luke, watching his chest rise and fall in his sleep.
When the pizza arrived Violet paid and tipped the man at the door, closing and locking it behind her. "Did you answer the door wearing that?" Clementine raised her eyebrows.
"Maybe." Violet shrugged.
"Show some decency woman," Clementine joked as Violet joined her in the bed, bringing the pizza in with her.
"No." Violet said as she propped the pillows up behind her, leaning back comfortably as she opened the pizza box. "Anything good on tv?" Clementine eyed Violet with a smile. She never would allow food to be brought into the bed at home, but at a hotel, anything was game and Violet took advantage of it.
Clementine grabbed the remote, clicking through some channels, "There's a documentary on Paris?" Violet boo'd so Clementine continued clicking before landing on one, "Oh! Cutthroat Kitchen is on, I think it's a new episode too."
"Perfect," Violet said, grabbing a slice of pizza and taking a huge bite, Clementine shook her head at the blonde, laughing and grabbing a slice for herself. "You know you love me." Violet leaned in, pressing her greasy lips on Clementine's cheek, leaving residue behind, causing Clementine to burst into a fit of giggles and push her away.
"I do not." Clementine couldn't keep the smile off her face as she leaned in, placing her own kiss on Violet's cheek. She snuggled contentedly into Violet's side, watching the tv on low volume so as to not disturb Luke and eating pizza straight from the box. "Okay... I do."