Prompt #13:Kara and Cat take a journey by themselves a few months after Lexie's birth.
With summer coming soon,Cat had decided they needed some time to themselves,before fully diving into the experience of a bigger family. She had had to do some serious arrangement,with their friends to make sure they could've kept an eye on both the kids,but at the end of the day they had been nothing but open to abiding to every request from them,so that this could've become the perfect journey for them. After all it had taken them some serious time to convince themselves that the time was right,and Lexie could be left with somebody else for a bit. They were basically gonna take the honeymoon they hadn't taken after the wedding. Which was the reason why they had hopped on a plane and left the States for one of the most romantic cities in the world,after Paris,which was the place where she had taken up the courage to propose..a place which was perfect for them...Venice.
It was scorching hot,being already may,but sitting on that gond,they were the happiest people in the universe.
It was one of those old fashioned gondola,with the gondolier rowing and singing to old tunes they could only half pick up.
Romantic nonetheless,and the view was spectacular. Tall,old buildings standing around them,slightly wet by the water of the lagoon.
Kara could only imagine what it must have been like to live into one of those,when the water rised with the rain,how new they must have looked when they had been built,and the fanciness of the many rich women who must have inhabited those when not even she,or her wife had been born.
"Can you imagine what it must have been like to live in here in the past?"
"How far in the past?"
"A lot,centuries in the past"
"Sure it must have been cool,but think about tight corsets and long endless skirts,you'll prefer your wardrobe choices"laughed out Cat.
"I feel like you just said it on porpuse"she added,smiling back.
"But you won't budge I know"
"You love it"
"I just might…you don't dress half as bad after all"
Cat kissed her as the gondola came to an halt in front of San Marco square.
"Siamo arrivati"(We're here)
Cat went first,and then two men helped Kara out of it and back on her wheelchair,before the two women could resume their round all by themselves.
It was full of tourists coming in and out of the cathedral,or grabbing a coffee in one of the bars spread all around the square. From their point of view they could see for miles in front of themselves,a long stream of water,a line of tall buildings and bridges they had passed under,with shops selling masks even in the middle of summer,months in advance of the famous carnival.
They took a full round of it,drank coffee in the most expensive place and visited the cathedral,in wonder of how long many men,who were tiny compared to that,had had to work for it. It must have been frightening to stand so high over the city and look down trying not to fall.
In the midst of the evening,with the sun setting behind the clouds of a very blue sky they had dinner at "Quadri",to the most beautiful restaurant they had been at,yes,even more than Paris.
It was the first night in Venice. They didn't want one moment to be wasted or pass them by.
"Do you remember the second time we went out?"
"I do"
A waiter came to them,carrying a few well known things to Kara.
"Red roses and white wine"
"You gave me those and relaunched with a third date,very passionate Mrs. Grant."
It had been a night at Noonan's,which they both loved a lot,the first one just the two of them. The first time they had dated instead,Kara had wanted Carter to be with them. She would've never forgotten the boy's face when she had said so. Out for a movie,then dinner together. Nobody had ever asked him. Kara could never forget how they had laughed the night away.
"I love you,more than this world,thank you for it"
"I thought it was about time that I exchanged the favour"
Their hands entertwined,their eyes locked.
They wished upon the future to come back here someday,and actually have all this again,maybe in the same place,and be reminded of what had been today,under the light of the moon coming from the open windows.
When you have somebody you love so much it's easy to look into them,and spot what they want,or need,see them for who they really are,and truly accept them. Even when things get rough,through good and bad.
They had sworn a long time ago,at their wedding,to make sure this journey could be the most wonderful ever,and this trip was making their spirits soar. Whatever they had seen in the following days would've somehow thought them something new they needed to know. It was like a constant work in progress,to learn about the wonders the world had to offer them.
It took coming out of their boundaries sometimes to understand everything better or look at it from another perspective. Indeed,Venice,was the perfect place to think about it. A city whose time and appareance were built over the action of water,raising and falling,destroying and rebuilding,changing and keeping things the same way. Kara and Cat dreamed with their story living through it all,being like a source of love that waters couldn't turn off,or overwhelm.
It was the biggest power of all to have surrounded them. With the strength their love gave them,they would've gone far,leaving behind a bit of themselves in that city as well,with the vow to set back foot in it someday and live through this memory once more,as well. Tomorrow?Another day of fun,being like newly-weds again,and this time,knowing they had all the time in the world to enjoy it.
