Galinda, Elphaba and Tristina were all downstairs for breakfast the next morning, still in their PJ's because they didn't have plans for the day yet. Lani and Jonah were still upstairs, taking their time. Laura and Darol both had work and just recently left. Cook prepared a delicious breakfast as usual. Cheesy scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon.
"I've missed waking up to this. It's so much better than the cafe food at Shiz." Galinda said taking a bite of her bacon.
"I just miss home cooked meals in general." Triss said.
"Elphaba, this is the vegetarian bacon that I was telling you about. Let me know what you think." Cook said as she placed a few strips on Elphie's plate.
"Veggie bacon? That's a real thing?" Galinda asked.
"Yep. It looks like real bacon, but it's completely meatless. Some people refer to it as fakin bacon." Cook chuckled.
"I like it." Elphie said after taking a bite.
"Can I try?" the blonde asked and Elphie nodded and passed her a strip.
"Ew!" she exclaimed after taking bite and had to spit it out in her napkin.
"You're so dramatic." Elphie shook her head. "It's delicious."
"You've never had real bacon so you don't know what you're missing." Galinda said.
"Gally you eat your bacon and Elphaba you eat your fakin and we'll all live in harmony." Triss chuckled.
"Can we have some juice Cook?" Galinda asked.
"Oh of course, I meant to bring you girls some." the woman said and brought back three cups. "I squeezed about 30 oranges so we have plenty of fresh juice to go around."
"Yummy" the blonde said after taking a sip.
"Wow you've really been busy." Triss said.
"Yes but I don't mind at all. You girls enjoy" she smiled. Lani and Jonah came down a few minutes later and Cook brought out their plates.
"So what are we doing today guys?" Galinda asked after a few minutes of random conversation.
"I thought it would be a good idea to go visit Nana for a while." Lani suggested.
"That's a great idea!" Galinda squealed and the others agreed.
"Awesome. Well you guys need to get dressed first, then we can go." Lani said. They put their dishes in the sink for Cook to wash then headed up stairs to get ready.
xxx
"So who's driving?" Triss asked.
"I'll drive." Galinda said. She hadn't driven anywhere in a long time and she missed it.
"Is there gas in your car?" Jonah asked.
"Probably not." she said after thinking for a moment.
"We'll take Lani's car. We filled up the tank the other day."
"Yes, let's take Lani's car. I feel ridiculous riding around in that bright pink Galindamobile." Triss and Galinda laughed.
"I like that. From now on we refer to my car as The Galindamobile."
"What have I done?" Triss shook her head and chuckled. So did Elphie.
"You know you love my car Trissy. You're just jealous." Galinda teased.
"I actually am." Triss admitted.
They took Lani's car. Jonah drove while Lani's gave him direction and also served as a DJ. The windows were down, the music was up and the cousins were having a sing along in the car.
"Oooh! This is our song girls!" Lani said turning it up some more. Galinda squealed when she heard it. It was one of their favorites.
"Uphill battle I look good when I climb. I'm ferocious, precocious I get braggadocious. I'm not gonna stop. I like the the view from the top." Lani sang. "Sing it Gally!"
"You talk that blah blah, that la la that rah rah sh...And I'm so done I'm so over it. Sometimes I mess up I F-up, I hit and miss but it's ok I'm cool with it." Galinda sang enthusiastically with some very animated dancing. Triss joined in.
"I still fall on my face sometimes and I can't color inside the lines 'cause I'm perfectly incomplete. I'm still working on my masterpiece and I, I wanna hang with the greats got a way to go but it's worth the wait. No, you haven't seen the best of me. I'm still working on my masterpiece." The three girls sang in unison. Elphie didn't sing because she wasn't familiar with the song. But she was amused at how passionate the girls were. They were so in sync and were also very entertaining. Galinda was just glad that Lani and Triss were able to put aside their differences and have a good time like they always did.
"Hey Lani, put this in." Galinda said handing her a CD once their song was over. "It's the song Elphie sang that our friend wrote. It's so good!"
"You brought that with you?" Elphie asked surprised.
"Of course." Galinda said as Lani put the CD in. Everyone was amazed at how good it was. They had never heard Elphie sing before.
"Wow Elphaba you can really sing. Slay my life." Triss said when the song ended. Elphie looked confused.
"That means you really impressed her." Galinda translated.
"I had no idea you had that in you." Lani said. "And I can't believe your friend wrote that. It was beautiful. You're both so talented."
"Thanks." Elphie said, modestly as usual.
"Seriously, ya'll should consider actually publishing that as a single. You might make a lot of money." Jonah suggested.
"I need to play it again. I love it." Lani said. It reminded her of her fiance and Jonah felt the same way.
xxx
They arrived at Nana's house and got out of the car. They rang the doorbell and heard Sijo and Sady barking as usual. But there was no answer. They rang again and there was still no answer.
"So...did anyone actually call Nana to make sure she was here before we came all this way?" Triss asked.
"Oh I forgot to do that…" Lani said.
"Great. She's probably not even home." Triss said and rang the doorbell again. Lani was about to pull out her phone to call Nana, when Joslyn opened the door. Joslyn was Nana's housekeeper who came by a couple times a week.
"Hello everyone. I apologize, I was in the basement and didn't hear the door ring until Sijo came and got me. I assume you're here to see Daphne?" she asked. Daphne was Nana's first name. Elphie was not aware of that until now because everyone just called her Nana.
"Hi Joslyn. Yes, is she home?" Lani asked as they came into the foyer and the poodles greeted them enthusiastically. Galinda picked up Sady and hugged her then leaned down to pet Sijo.
"Unfortunately not. She went out with her neighbor Ms. Betty, to the flea market up the street. She may be back in an hour or two. But you're welcome to make yourselves comfortable until then." Joslyn said then headed back downstairs to finish her task.
"So what are we gonna do?" Jonah asked.
"How about we go up to the flea market and surprise Nana?" Lani suggested.
"That would really surprise her. She doesn't even know we're in town." Triss said.
"Maybe we can surprise her twice." Galinda said.
"How?"
"You three go up the street and surprise her at the flea market but don't tell her that I'm home from school yet. Elphie and I will wait here to surprise her when you come back."
"Ah, I like the way you think little cousin." Lani said. "Sound good guys?" She asked and Triss and Jonah agreed. The older three headed out and left them on their own.
"And then there were two." Elphie said once the door shut.
"Four." Galinda giggled referring to Sijo and Sady at their feet."We have plenty of time before they return. Nana loves shopping."
"It must run in the family." Elphie chuckled. "So what are we going to get into while they're gone?"
"I have a few ideas. But first things first. Follow me." Galinda said mischievously taking her girlfriend's hand and guiding her back to one of the bedrooms. Sady followed them but they wouldn't let her in.
xxx
"Well that was a fun way to kill 30 minutes." Elphie said as they emerged from the room. They just had a very interactive make out and hanky panky session.
"Very fun." The blonde giggled. They were headed to the kitchen now. She suggested that they make peanut butter cookies so they'll be ready when everyone else returns. They ran into Joslyn on the way and the woman let them know that she was heading out. They now had the house completely to themselves.
"Lindie, are you sure your Nana is ok with us in her kitchen like this?" Elphie asked as she watched Galinda search through the pantry and cabinets for all the materials and ingredients they needed.
"Of course. Nana's house is everyone's house." She said. "Are you experienced with baking cookies Elphie?"
"Not really."
"Yay!"
"Yay?"
"Yeah! Now it's time for...drum roll please" the blonde said and drummed on the table. "Baking class with Galinda!"
"Oh Oz." Elphie chuckled and shook her head.
"Step one before baking anything is to wash our hands." She said as she turned on the sink. "Oh, wait…"
"I got this." Elphie said as she pulled the small bottle of oil out of her pocket that she used for cleaning her hands. Once their hands were cleaned they got started. Galinda was a very animated teacher so the experience was quite amusing.
"And now we just have to let them bake for 11 minutes." the blonde said as she closed the oven then a set a timer on her phone. They sat down at the table and talked while they waited. Sady came in the kitchen to get a drink of water from her bowl, then jumped up on Galinda's lap.
"Where's Sijo?" Elphie asked.
"Probably in the living room. He's so independent. But Sady here is such a socialite and loves to be apart of everything." Galinda said hugging the dog on her lap. "That's why we're such a good pair."
"Lindie?"
"Hm?"
"Are you going to tell your Nana about...well, us?" Elphie asked.
"I may as well. Everyone else knows at this point." she said as Sady jumped off her lap.
"True." Elphie agreed.
"It seems like the more I come out to people, the easier it gets. I mean, I can't predict their exact reactions but I do tend to hear the same questions. Like how long have you known, etc, etc."
"I've noticed that." Elphie said.
"It's hard to even pinpoint exactly how long I've known. I thought I realized it in high school, but then again I'm pretty sure I had a crush on a girl when I was 9."
"Really?" Elphie asked, intrigued.
"Yes, at summer camp. I thought she was so pretty. I always found myself subconsciously staring at her then when she would ask me about it I would get all defensive. I didn't understand my feelings towards her back then." Galinda explained. "There was one time she forgot her towel when we were taking showers. I saw her naked and I couldn't look away."
"I see you've always had that little voyeur trait about you." The green girl said.
"Elphie!" Galinda giggled with mock offense.
"You were my first actual crush. I initially didn't understand my feelings towards you and it frustrated me." Elphie said.
"I was frustrated too. Thinking back, there was so much sexual tension between us. Then I was so turned on those nights I heard you touching yourself..." Galinda said and Elphie turned dark green.
"I thought we were never speaking of that again."
"Well there's no reason to be embarrassed at this point sweetheart, I've already given you numerous orgasms and vice versa."
"True." Elphie nodded as she returned to her normal shade of green.
"Besides, I thought it was pretty hot." she added with a wink and Elphie blushed again.
"There was another girl at camp too..." Galinda brought up, going back to the original subject.
"Another one? I see summer camp was quite an experience for you, my sweet." Elphie chuckled.
"She was from the teen unit and was much more developed than the girls I was around of coruse. I saw her changing her top once and she didn't have a bra on. I think that was my first time seeing full breasts live in person. I liked what I saw." Galinda said and Elphie couldn't help but laugh. She was picturing a nine year old Galinda secretly watching girls change and shook her head.
"I bet you did."
"Not as much as I like your breasts though. Those are my favorite." The blonde grinned.
"I'm sure you're already aware, but I'm quite fond of your titties as well." Elphie said casually and Galinda burst out laughing as she did the first time she heard Elphie say that word.
"What is so funny about hearing me say titties?" Elphie smirked and Galinda had to catch her breath. She wasn't expecting her to say it again.
"Because you're Elphie... and you usually stick to proper, scientific terms."
"I know. I feel weird saying it anyway. I just did it on purpose to throw you off." she chuckled then noticed a naughty smile on her girlfriend's face. The blonde came over and gently sat on her lap, straddling her waist.
"So does this mean I can refer to your vagina as a 'coocoo roll' every now and then to throw you off?" she asked playfully.
"No you may not. I'm sorry for creating that double standard just now. I regret it." Elphie shook her head and Galinda laughed. "How much longer on the cookies?" she glanced at the oven.
"Three minutes." Galinda said after she checked the timer, then leaned in so her nose was touching Elphie's. "Which is just enough time for a very creative kiss in this very creative position."
"It sure is." Elphie said then brought her lips to Galinda's and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her closer. They shared a very impassioned and creative kiss. They parted briefly and Elphie noticed Sady sitting by her foot watching them.
"I see Sady has some voyeurism in her as well." Elphie said and Galinda laughed.
xxx
"What could possibly be more surprising than my grandchildren from out of town unexpectedly showing up at the flea market?" Nana asked as she walked through the front door with Lani, Jonah and Triss. They had told her that there was another surprise waiting for her at home.
"Hi Nana!" Galinda bubbled as she entered the foyer with Elphie coming in behind her.
"Oh Gally! My precious girl. Are you home for the summer?"
"I am." Galinda grinned and gave her grandmother the biggest hug.
"I had no idea. I am so happy to see you. It has been so long." Nana said and kissed her forehead.
"I'm so happy to see you too Nana. I really missed you." the blonde said and hugged her again. "I love your hair by the way."
Thanks! Lani did it for me." Galinda was wearing her straightened hair up in a perfectly messy ponytail.
"Elphaba! It's so splendid to see you as well." Nana said.
"Hello Nana." The green girl smiled accepting the old woman's warm hug.
"Elphie and I have another surprise for you." Galinda said.
"My, I've had so many pleasant surprises already. What's next?".
"We made cookies! Peanut butter cookies to be exact."
"Nana's recipe?" Triss asked and the blonde nodded. "I haven't had those in forever."
"Oh Gally, how wonderful. We need a snack after all that shopping. Am I right ladies?" Nana said. The girls chuckled and nodded.
"There's plenty to go around." Galinda bounced and grinned. Jonah took the bags from Nana and placed them in the living room while everyone went to the kitchen. The cookies were on a small platter at the center of the table. Galinda found lemonade in the refrigerator and Elphie helped her pour drinks for everyone.
"These are very good. Well done girls" Nana said approving after trying a cookie as everyone was seated at the table. "All of this was so unexpected but I couldn't be happier. You all sure know how to make an old woman feel loved."
"We love you so much Nana." Galinda smiled as she leaned over to hug her, then stuffed her mouth with the rest of the cookie she was currently eating.
"I see you never outgrew your peanut butter obsession Gal." Lani chuckled and her little cousin shook her head.
"She eats it straight from the jar when we're at school." Elphie added.
"Gally always gets hooked on random foods. Remember when she was obsessed with toast?" Triss said.
"Ah yes, the butter and toast phase. She wanted it with every meal, even for snack." Nana chuckled.
"It's not my fault. It's just so tasty." Galinda said.
"Then there was the applesauce phase." Triss continued.
"Oh how could I forget. But she only ate it with cinnamon. Lurline forbid you forget the cinnamon." Nana chuckled.
"Remember when she threw a tantrum because she wanted PB&J for lunch and there was no more peanut butter?" Lani brought up.
"Oz yes." Nana shook her head. "Elphaba, Galinda was as sweet as she could be when she was young but that child could throw a tantrum like you've never seen."
"Elphie, see how they just talk about me like I'm not even here?" Galinda interjected.
"Well Gally, when you're the baby of the family everyone has the most stories about you." Lani laughed.
"Speaking of which. Nana, could you please tell Tristina and Malani to not tell my friends embarrassing stories about me when they come visit." Galinda said, referring to last night.
"Tristina, Malani don't tell embarrassing stories to Gally's friends when they come visit..." Nana said.
"Thank you."
"...that's my job." Nana winked.
"Hey!" Galinda giggled. Elphie chuckled. She was already very fond of Nana. Seeing her interact with her three granddaughters with three different personalities in the same setting was quite amusing. They all caught Nana up on their lives. Galinda and Elphie talked about Shiz and the fun parts of their summer so far. Triss talked a little about ECU and her thoughts on being an upcoming senior, but didn't go into much detail. Jonah told her about his job and Master's program. Lani talked about her jobs as well and also mentioned the fact that she was pregnant. Nana was truly shocked to heard that, but thrilled for Lani. She was already a great-grandmother to their cousin Jasmine's two kids.
"I don't mind having more grans to spoil around here. Everyone is grown up and off to college or work and Jazzy doesn't bring the kids by very often so I've got an empty nest." Nana said.
"We'll bring our baby by all the time. They've got one of the best great-grandmas' waiting for them." Lani smiled. "I'm about 5 weeks in. I have a doctor's appointment next week just to make sure everything is going as it should."
"Great." Nana said.
"Nana, I know that was quite big news, but I have some pretty big news as well." Galinda said.
"Oh Gally, I hope to Lurline you aren't pregnant also."
"No, no, no, no, no. I am definitely not pregnant." She shook her head quickly and Nana sighed in relief. "But I am in a relationship."
"Oh my, I know I must be old when the baby girl has a partner already." Nana said. "Who is it? Someone from school?"
"Yes. My best friend." Galinda said and Nana looked confused.
"I thought Elphaba was your best friend."
"She is...but she's also my girlfriend." she confessed. She wasn't very nervous say it at all. She knew she had Lani and Triss there to back her up if it was necessary.
"Wait. You and Elphaba here are in a relationship?" Nana asked shocked. The girls nodded.
"Oh wow...do your parents know?"
"Yes they know and they approve." Galinda said.
"I'm glad they support you." Nana said. "It's interesting how this is becoming more and more common. In fact, Betty and I were just talking about this earlier today. She told me she had read an article about the uh...oh I forget the acronym."
"LGBT?" Elphie asked.
"Yes that was it. The LGBT community. She said every family has at least one person in and if they don't the person just hasn't made it known yet. To my knowledge we had nobody in our family, so I began wondering who could possibly be hiding it. And well, now I know."
"It's always been me." Galinda said.
"I know I'm old and things like this were tolerated a lot less back in my day, But I honestly have no problem with it. Your teens and twenties are a time for you to experiment, figure out who you are and possibly find that one special person for you. If you two found that in each other then that's wonderful. As long as you're content. You know me, I'm always going to be here and I'm always going to love you."
"Thanks Nana." Galinda smiled and hugged her.
"Anymore big news?" Nana asked.
"Well… I also found out about my sister." Galinda brought up and Nana looked shocked again.
"You know about Chloey? Your parents finally told you?"
"Yes they told me everything."
"Unfortunately I never met her, but I knew of her. I never mentioned it because I didn't know when your parents were going to have that conversation with you. I don't feel that it was right for them to keep it from you the way they did. But I suppose I understand. You don't have any relationship with her anyway." Nana said. Galinda wasn't mad at her parents. Chloey's parents literally lied to her. Her parents just never brought it up. She preferred her situation over the other.
"I actually do." Galinda said.
"How is that possible? Your father hasn't been in touch with her mother for years." Nana said.
"Chloey and I go to Shiz together. She was the first friend I made there. We're super close. Elphie and I were at her house last week and everything. She's going to be visiting me sometime soon as well."
"Well I'll be." Nana said astounded. "You've been going to the same school as your sister all along. When did you realize you were related?"
"Towards the end of the year. Then we finally got explanations from our parents when we came home." Galinda explained.
"This would honestly make a great plot for a novel." Triss said and the others agreed.
"It's amazing how you girls found each other the way you did. I imagine there was quite a bit of confused and mixed emotions and I'm sorry you had to experience that. But I'm glad everyone is aware now." Nana said. "Be sure to bring Chloey over when she's in town. I would love to finally meet her."
"Of course Nana." Galinda said.
They all continued to talk about a variety of different things and enjoyed their time together for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
xxx
That night Galinda took a bath and washed her hair, so it reverted back to its natural curly state. When she was done she stepped out of the tub and pulled out the drain, then grabbed the clean towel that was waiting for her. Janina had only brought her one so after drying her body, she used the same towel to wrap around her wet hair. Elphie was in her own bathroom washing up and they planned to reconvene afterwards. She was looking forward to it. A lot of making out and sensual touching was bound to take place. She brushed her teeth, and let down the towel from her hair to apply some leave in conditioner before heading out toher room to put on some pajamas.
"Triss!" She exclaimed, not expecting to see her cousin sitting on her bed.
"Hi." The older girl said, looking up from her phone the down at Galinda's naked body.
"Sorry." The blonde said, heading towards her dresser.
"I've seen you naked more times then I can count Gally, it's nothing." She chuckled.
"What's up?" Galinda asked as she slipped on one of her thin night gowns.
"Oh not much" Triss said and Galinda came over to hug her.
"Did you take your meds?"
"No mom, but I will before bed." Triss said. She always mockingly called Galinda her mother whenever she asked things like that. But she new her little cousin cared about her and was always concerned. A few years ago she purposely overdosed on different pills. Her mother found her collapsed on the floor in her room that night with several empty pill bottles and they couldn't wake her up. She was rushed to the hospital and unconscious for about two days. When she finally woke up from her coma, all she remembered was that she wanted to die. She had to be hospitalized for over a week and after that she was sent to a mental facility for psychiatric evaluations. The whole event terrified and distressed her entire family. The hardest part for her was facing everyone after they all knew that she tried to take her own life. Her mother couldn't even look at her the same for weeks after. It was hard for things to get back to normal but after a while they all did their best to continue moving forward. From then on for Triss it was a constant cycle of therapy, medication, progress and relapses. She wanted to get to a point in her life where she was normal, happy and didn't have to rely on medicine and counseling in order to remain stable. She has yet to get to that point but until she does, the main thing keeping her from attempting anything like that again was her family. They loved her so much and she couldn't bare to hurt them again.
"Thanks for reminding me though." she added with a small smile. "I originally came in here to ask if I could use your shower since Elphaba was occupying the other bathroom, but then it turned out you were bathing as well."
"Oh yeah. She should be out now. I'm suppose to go over to her room so we can cuddle and... stuff."
"Stuff?" Triss asked suspiciously.
"Yes...but not that kind of stuff… well I mean there might be some of that but not it's like…" Galinda faltered.
"I get it." Triss chuckled. "Can I shower in here or not?"
"I don't mind. I'm gonna go kiss my girlfriend." Galinda said with a grin.
"Thanks. I'm gonna go wash up and think about how I'm going to be single for the rest of my life." Triss said and Galinda realized that Triss was one of the only people in the house not currently in a relationship.
"You won't be single forever Trissy, you're beautiful. If you were a lesbian and you were not my cousin and I was not already dating someone then I would totally date you."
"That's an odd but sweet compliment." Triss laughed.
"But the real question is if you were a lesbian, we weren't cousins and I wasn't already dating someone, would you date me?" Galinda asked playfully.
"I don't know about that."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Galinda said with mock offense.
"Because you're a weirdo and you would get on my nerves." Triss chuckled. "But I love you. Now go do mushy stuff with your Elphie." she said shooing her giggling cousin out of the room.
xxx
She moaned softly when she felt Elphie's warm tongue enter her mouth. Their lips were locked. The blonde tilted her head back as the green girl's kisses trailed down her neck. She sighed when she felt green hands slip beneath her nightgown to feel her bare breasts. She brought her hands down to Elphie's nightgown covered breasts and started massaging her nipples. Elphie let out a breathy sigh then got that adorable flustered look her face when Galinda began to rub them faster. Her private parts were tingling. They were both starting to want more. She pulled down the straps to Elphie's nightgown and slowly revealed her perky little breasts. Elphie did the same to her and they brushed their hard nipples together. Sparks of pleasure shot through their breasts. They moaned as quietly as they could but it was the quiet moans that were turning them on even more. The green girl laid back, pulling Galinda on top of her. The kissing got heavy, the moaning got deep and the pleasure continued to increase.
"Lindie…" Elphie finally said. "We're very aroused right now...should we stop?"
"I don't wanna stop." Galinda said with a desperate look on her face and Elphie kissed her deeply. Galinda pulled back and sighed. "But we should."
They both took a few deep breathes to calm down.
"That was intense." she said.
"It was." Elphie agreed.
"I hope you know we're not going this whole summer without having sex." Galinda said.
"I was hoping that wouldn't be the case."
"We just have to do it at the right time… which unfortunately isn't tonight. Everyone's home." Galinda sighed. She didn't want to lose her parents trust by not respecting boundaries in their house.
"I understand my sweet." Elphie said and softly kissed Galinda's lips. They both jumped when they heard a knock at the door and were thankful they put an end to their amorous activities just in time.
"Come in!" Galinda said even though it was Elphie's room. It was Laura. "Hi Mommy."
"Hi girls. Hope I'm not interrupting. I just wanted to say goodnight." Laura said. She came and gave a hug and kiss on the forehead then did the same to Elphie.
"I love you both. Don't stay up too late. And try to make it back to your room Galinda." she said. Both girls blushed and Laura pretended not to notice. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight Mommy."
"Goodnight Laura." They said in unison as she left.
"Making it back to my room won't be easy." Galinda said, kissing Elphie again once they were alone. It started out passionate then calmed down and they ended up playfully kissing, cuddling and talking.
"You were so cute last night all mumbly and sleepy when I tucked you in." Galinda giggled.
"You tucked me in? I was wondering why I had no recollection of putting my book away and turning the lights out." Elphie said. The were lying face to face and Galinda's legs were resting in between hers.
"Yes, I tucked you in sweetheart. I like being the bigger person too sometimes. We need to take turns."
"What do you mean?"
"You baby me, but sometimes I need a chance to baby you."
"If you say so my sweet. But I feel as though you need to be 'babied' more than I do."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You're more sensitive and higher maintenance than me." Elphie said.
"Well yeah that's true… but that doesn't mean I always have to be the little spoon. Let's switch it up." she suggested and Elphie gave in. The cuddled together in Elphie's bed. Galinda was the big spoon and Elphie was the little spoon. It was an interesting role reversal but they both quite enjoyed it. Galinda liked having Elphie in her arms and Elphie liked the way Galinda made her feel so secure. They stayed that way for almost an hour, then Elphie walked Galinda back to her room and tucked her in.
xxx
The next afternoon, all the girls plus Jonah went to the movies. Darol ordered the tickets for them the night before through an app on his phone so they wouldn't have to stand in line.
After the movie they went to the mall since it was right across the street. They browsed through many different stores. Everyone bought a few things, excerpt Triss. Elphie ended up buying a couple of books because they went into a bookstore and she couldn't resist. Lani and Galinda got several clothing items and accessories. Jonah got headphones a couple other guy things. But all Triss did was browse.
"How do you guys have so much money to spend. My bank account is struggling." Triss said a little embarrassed. She was walking with Galinda and Elphie while Lani and Jonah were several feet ahead. "Well I know your parents give you an exuberantly high allowance for no reason at all, Gally."
"Yes." Galinda chuckled. "And Elphie is the granddaughter of a governor. That should be enough of an explanation."
"His staff is required to provide money to my account as long as I'm in school." Elphie said.
"Oh I see." Triss said.
"Trissy, I can buy you anything you want." Galinda offered.
"No Gally, I don't want you to spend your money on me." Triss said.
"I don't mind cousin, it's nothing." Galinda smiled. "That dress you were looking at in the store window back there was really cute. Let's go check it out."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course." Galinda said. "Hey Lani, we're gonna go look back that way."
"Okay that's fine. I wanted to go check out this maternity store and didn't think you guys would be too interested in that." The older girl said as they parted ways. The girls went into the clothing store and looked around. Triss tried on the dress she saw. It was a black summer dress with a pink and white floral pattern. It looked beautiful on her so Galinda bought it for her along with some shoes to match. They walked aimlessly around the mall and got some soft pretzels while they were at it because they smelled too good not to. They browsed inside the Ozphone store when they came across it. Galinda convinced Elphie to get a new phone and the green girl gave in because she knew it was time for a new one and she could easily afford it. She got the same type of phone that Galinda had, an Ozphone 6+ along with a simple black phone case. Galinda got a new phone case as well but it was the opposite of simple. It was shaped like a pink frappuccino from Ozbucks. The people at the store were able to transfer Elphie's service from her old phone to the new one then she was good to go.
"Do you like it?" Galinda asked once they left the store.
"I do." Elphie smiled. "I don't really know how to work it but I feel like I fit into society a little more now." she chuckled.
"Don't worry, love. I'll help you figure it out when we get home." Galinda said as they went to find Lani and Jonah.
xxx
Back at home, Janina was sitting on the couch in Galinda's room and the blonde was giving her a little fashion show of all the outfits she bought. Elphie had already experienced the fashion show in the fitting rooms. She was sitting on Galinda's bed, exploring her new phone
"Oh, that's very nice Galinda." the woman said. The blonde had on a light denim romper that tied around the waist. The next outfit was an off the should magenta crop top with high waisted white shorts. The last outfit was a one-shoulder mini yellow sundress and it looked absolutely adorable on her.
"I love that one. It would have to be my favorite." Janina said.
"Mine too." Elphie smiled. She had actually helped her girlfriend pick it out. It was between that one and an orange one. The orange was cute but the light yellow helped bring out Galinda's delightfully bright face.
"Thank you." The blonde giggled and twirled, loving the attention. "Now for shoes!"
"You bought shoes too?" Janina asked.
"Of course!
"Galinda, you do realize that you have far over 100 pairs of shoes at this point and we're running out of room." the woman said, referring to the two full shelves in her large walk in closet and the other small shelf outside of the closet that was filling up.
"I know but I couldn't resist. These go so well with this dress." the blonde said as she put of her new pair of light brown lace up sandals that went a few inches past her ankles.
"Don't you have about 10 pairs of lace-up sandals already?" Janina asked.
"15, but who's counting? These are different from the rest." Galinda said then showed her the two pairs of jeweled flip flops she bought. "These were on sale. Buy one get one free! They're so pretty!"
"They're beautiful, Galinda. But may I offer a suggestion?" the woman asked.
"Sure." the blonde said as she started to change back into the clothes she was already wearing.
"Well I think it would be beneficial if perhaps we went through all of your clothes and things to sort out the items that you no longer wear or want. Then we can donate to charity. That way you'll be able to continue updating your wardrobe as you like and still have space to do so." Janina said. Galinda considered it for a moment.
"I think it sounds like a good idea, Lindie. You do seem to have quite a lot of… everything." Elphie said, looking around.
"True...and this isn't even half it." Galinda said.
"It's not?" Elphie asked.
"I'd say it's barely even a quarter." Janina said and Elphie looked very confused.
"Where's the rest?" she asked.
"You've never shown her your other closet?" Janina asked Galinda, who shook her head.
"It's super messy in there so I didn't show her last time she was here." she said.
"I tried straightened up in there a few weeks ago, but it's still pretty packed." Janina said.
"You have another closet?" Elphie asked and the blonde nodded.
"Let's take a field trip, shall we." Janina said and walked Elphie all the way to the end of the hallway with Galinda following. There was an entire extra room that functioned as 'part 2' of Galinda's closet. Elphie's eyes widened when Janina opened the door. Racks, shelves, drawers, bins, piles, baskets, boxes, and bags filled with clothing items, shoes, accessories and all sorts other things. There was barely any space to walk in the room and you almost couldn't see the floor.
"Holy mother of Oz! Lindie, why do we even go shopping if you have this much stuff?" Elphie asked, appalled.
"I don't know… I can't help it." the blonde said, embarrassed. Elphie looked at her seriously for a few moments as everything started to fall into place. Galinda was always compulsively buying things and now it was evident that she never seems to get rid of anything.
"You're a hoarder?"
"No." Galinda shook her head. "Spoiled, yeah. Shopaholic, apparently. But I'm not a hoarder. I can get rid of things if I wanted to. I just never got around to it because it's too much and it all keeps building up."
"That's our goal for the summer. To get rid of at least half the stuff in this room and fix it up." Janina said.
"But it's so much." Galinda whined.
"It's has to get done, dear. You claim you're not a hoarder but it could turn into that if you don't start to improve now. I don't want to have to have a talk with your parents about banning you from shopping until you get rid of a certain amount of things." Janina warned.
"You wouldn't!" Galinda exclaimed. Janina was always on her side, she was shocked she would even say such a thing.
"I don't want to have to."
"Okay." the blonde sighed.
"I'm going to help you and Elphaba has the option to help as well."
"I'll help." Elphie said, putting her arm around her girlfriend to comfort her.
"Good. We'll do a little each week. It won't be so bad." Janina said.
"We don't have to start today, do we?" Galinda asked.
"We won't. You girls have been out and about all day. You deserve some down time." Janina said. Galinda sighed in relief.
"Dinner should be in an hour or so. I need to go mop the foyer and vacuum the living rooms, so I'll see you girls a little later." Janina said and headed down stairs. The girls headed back into Galinda's room.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Galinda said as she plopped down on her bed.
"It's ok Lindie, I've seen a lot of things in my life and that was far from the worst." Elphie sat down beside her.
"Do you still love me even if I'm a hoarder?"
"Are you admitting it?" Elphie asked.
"No… I'm just speaking hypothetically."
"Well of course I love you even if you're hypothetically a hoarder my sweet girl. I love you no matter what." Elphie said as she hugged and kissed her.
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise." Elphie said and kissed her again.
"Good, because...well, maybe I am I little." Galinda said, still embarrassed.
"That's ok my sweet. It's more common than you think. And being able to admit that you have the problem is the first step to overcoming it."
"I guess you're right."
"Do you feel any type of anxiety when it comes to getting rid of things, or is it just the fact that you don't want to?" Elphie asked.
"It does stress me out a bit because I value everything. Everything that people give me and everything that I buy is special and I would feel bad getting rid of it. My second closet may seem like a room full of junk but it's not all useless. There are somethings in there that I've had for a long time that hold a lot for meaning."
"I'm sure there is my sweet. It makes sense to want to hold onto things that are special to you and you're such a gracious girl so you care about everything." Elphie said. "Do you feel the same way when it come to buying things? And have you ever felt out of control?"
"Not really out of control…but sometimes it just feels like I can't help myself. Even if I know I don't need it, I want it anyway. Buying things that I want makes me feel happy. I know not everyone can buy anything that they want so I like to take advantage of the fact that I basically can. I like making other people happy too. Like how I bought Triss a new outfit today since she couldn't afford it. I wanted to buy her more things but she told me that was enough." Galinda said. "Anyway, I know it's not good to always buys so much and hold on to everything. But I wish wanting to keep everything and buy everything that I want wasn't such a bad thing." she sighed.
"I'll admit it's not the healthiest behavior." Elphie said, kissing away her tears. " Janina said we'll separate at least half of your stuff for charity. So you're technically not getting rid of anything, you're donating it to people who can't afford new things and it will make them happy." Elphie said and Galinda nodded. "You'll still have plenty of things to hold on to but you'll also be helping out somebody who doesn't have anything. At the same time, you'll have plenty more room for buying new things. Does looking at it this way take away some of the stress, my sweet?"
"It kinda does. I guess it is selfish of me to have so much stuff that I don't even use."
"It's okay Lindie, we're going to fix that. Do you think you'll be able to do it?"
"I think so."
"It's probably easier said than done, but I believe in you my sweet. You can do it."
"Thanks Elphie. Nobody else really knows that I'm...a hoarder."
"It's okay. We learn new things about each other on regular basis. But I'll always love you. Don't even question that."
"I don't think you understand how much I love you." Galinda hugged her tightly.
"I understand very much." Elphie smiled as they kissed.
xxx
Dinner that evening was very casual and light hearted. Cook made chicken wings, green beans and mac and cheese. She also made cauliflower wings for Elphie. It was basically fried cauliflower coated with the same seasoning and sauce as the chicken wings.
"Cook these wings are delicious. You've really outdone yourself." Darol said.
"Yeah, BHW has some competition now." Lani said after getting seconds and Cook thanked them for the praise then headed back to the kitchen.
"I love them!" Galinda said, licking her fingers.
"Use your napkin. " Laura said giving her a look.
"Sorry Mommy." she said sheepishly. "It 's cool how she made wings out of cauliflower so Elphie could have some too. They look so real."
"It's very clever. What do you think Elphaba?"
"They're very good." Elphie smiled. "I hope it's no inconvenience to Cook making these separate dishes for me."
"Not at all honey, she's enjoying herself." Laura chuckled. "She looked up so many recipes and was anticipating your return so she could make them."
"Do you want to try one Lindie?" Elphie asked when she noticed her girlfriend eyeing her food. The blonde nodded and took one off her plate.
"Hmm… I like it. I'm not even a big fan of cauliflower but it's good prepared this way." she said. The family engaged in a casual conversation for the rest of the meal.
"We have a couple announcements to make." Darol said, once dessert was distributed.
"Ooh announcements." Galinda said, perking up.
"Yes. I'm off work tomorrow so Darol is going to take the day off as well." Laura said. "We thought it would be nice to take a day trip to Gillikin Nation Harbour. Just a little something fun we could all do together before Lani and Jonah have to leave us on Thursday."
"That sounds like a great idea." Lani said. "Jonah hasn't been to harbour here and I assume Elphaba hasn't either."
"I haven't" Elphie confirmed.
"You'll like it. It's really pretty and lots of fun there." Galinda said. "What's the other announcement?"
"Well we were debating whether or not we should keep this a surprise but decided it would be best to put it out there now. You all are such busy bodies these days, but clear your schedule for the second week of August because we have a little vacation planned." Laura said.
"Vacation? Where are we going?" Galinda bubbled excitedly.
"We have a week long reservation for a party of 8 at Coastline Paradise." Darol said and her daughter squealed.
"Oh my Oz, we're going to Coastline Paradise?!"
"Yes. We are." Darol nodded and smiled.
"What is Coastline Paradise?" Elphie asked.
"It's one of the biggest, most expensive beach resorts in all of Gillikin." Lani explained. "We all went there once before years ago to celebrate our cousin Jazzy's graduation."
"It's so awesome! The hotels are huge, the beach is beautiful, the boardwalk is so much fun!" Galinda bubbled. "I'm so excited that we're going back."
"So the second week of August?" Lani asked and Laura nodded. "I'll be sure to put in a vacation request for work as soon as I get back."
"Do you think you can make it Jonah?" Laura asked.
"I doubt it. Summer grad classes are no joke. I'd be screwed if I missed one day, let alone a whole week." Jonah said. "But I'm sure you guys will have a blast."
"Wait…" Galinda said as she finally caught on. "Is it just a coincidence that we're going the second week of August. The week that happens to be my birthday?"
"We thought it would be a great way for a special girl of ours to celebrate her 19th birthday." Darol said. Galinda grinned and squealed.
"You guys are the best parents ever!" She said as she got up to hug them. "Aren't they the best parents ever?"
"They sure are." Triss agreed and the others nodded.
xxx
The song the girls sing in the car is "Masterpiece" by Jessie J.
