Holly slid the key into the slot in the front door. It was barely morning, the sun just cresting over the horizon, leaving it quiet enough to hear the scraping of the metal key against the lock. She heard the soft click of the deadbolt sliding back and pushed the door open. There was no sign as to whether or not Gail had accepted her invitation. No bag, or keys, or jacket, or any of the usual mess that littered the entryway. Holly pushed down her slight feelings of disappointment, knowing Gail probably needed some space after the crazy day they both had. So, determined to move past, Holly dumped her stuff on the couch and strode into the kitchen to make herself a quick breakfast before depositing herself into bed for a few hours.
A left behind pair of Gail's headphones sat on the edge of the kitchen counter. Holly pulled her phone from her back pocket, slipped the cord into place, and set herself to work with music full volume. It was still too early to be blasting music out loud. Her walls were thick, but she really didn't want to test that theory right now. So, she took a leaf out of Gail's book and starting to prepare breakfast, headphones in, music loud, and almost carefree.
She was finishing up some pancake batter when she felt strong arms reach around her middle. Holly instantly rushed forward and out of the grip. In one motion she reached out for the spatula she had set aside for her pancakes, turned around, and swung back for a full force blow to the face of her attacker. She could hear the crack as the spatula made contact, and was mid-back-swing for a second blow before she realized who she just hit.
The spatula was dropped to the floor, forgotten completely as Holly rushed forward in a surge of apologies, desperately trying to simultaneously calm her adrenaline and check on her girlfriend's face.
"Gail, I didn't know you were here! I'm so sorry!"
"Ou old me oo ome!" Gail said into the hands covering her mouth and nose, her eyes watering heavily.
"I know I told you to come, I just didn't see your stuff anywhere. Oh my god Gail, I am so sorry. Are you okay? Let me look at it."
Holly reached out to pry Gail's fingers away, noticing a slight drip of blood starting from behind her palm. Gail, however, wanted none of that. She had always been wary to let people dress her wounds, and she had no intention of voluntarily letting Holly be the first. She knew it was a complete accident, and Holly would be feeling unbearably guilty. The last thing she needed was for Holly to see the extent of the damage she did to her now possibly broken nose.
Holly felt Gail slip out of her grip and walk quickly into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She felt absolutely horrendous. She couldn't tell if Gail was furious, or a bit upset, or if she just didn't want help. Regardless, she couldn't help but suddenly feel like an intruder in her own home. She felt like she should leave, that somehow she wasn't quite welcome anymore. The sting of tears found her eyes. She didn't even bother trying to hold them back; instead she let them run down her checks as she picked the spatula up off the floor and placed it delicately onto the counter.
A few minutes passed before the door to the bathroom unlocked and opened. Gail didn't step out, but Holly heard her name whispered from the room. She adjusted her glasses nervously and walked in to meet Gail, who was sat cross legged on the toilet seat cover, with a bloody towel against her face. She reached out with one hand towards Holly, trying to ease her into the room. Holly reluctantly accepted the proffered hand and lowered herself down on her knees in order to get eye level with her injured girlfriend. Gail let her hand go and raised her arm up so she could wipe the tears from Holly's cheeks.
"It's ok Hols; I know you didn't know it was me. Look I can even talk normal now. You didn't break anything. Well I don't think you did…" Gail said, lowering the bloody towel down. "But it won't stop bleeding, so I figured it would be best to see a doctor."
"Right, of course. I can take you." Holly said, eyes glued to the already bruising and still bleeding mess that was her girlfriend's face.
"Uh, babe…I meant you." Gail said through a gritted smile.
"Oh. Right. Okay." Holly replied. She shook herself out of her stupor and tried to set aside her worry and shock at what had just happened, and pull herself together so she could properly examine Gail. Gail gave her a moment to compose herself and when she felt ready Holly rose from her spot to wash her hands toughly before taking a closer look at Gail.
She gingerly placed her fingers on the ridge of Gail's jaw, manipulating her head at all directions to access the damage. "Well, you are right, not broken, but you have a really bad laceration to the side of your nose, and based on all of this blood, you definitely need stitches. Are you bleeding anywhere else?" Gail nodded and opened her mouth to point and the cut on the inside of her bottom lip. Holly pulled Gail's lip back to reveal the cut and winced slightly, a fresh pang of guilt flushing through her. "Well, that one isn't too bad, it will bleed for a bit because of the location, but it should heal okay." She took a moment to check the surrounding teeth, feeling thankful she hadn't knocked one loose.
When she finished her inventory, she placed her hands, palm down on Gail's knees and hung her head low. "Baby, I am so sorry."
"Hey, look at me." A soft hand met Holly's chin, dragging her vision up to meet. "I forgive you. Besides, I kinda had this coming. I made fun of you so bad for that night you tried to fight off ghosts with the spatula, remember. This is like karma or something."
A light laugh slipped from Holly's lips, remembering the night perfectly, as well as the seemingly endless remarks she had received in return since then.
"And I guess you proved your point too."
"Huh?" Holly tried to think of what point she had to prove to Gail that could possibly apply.
"That morning I came over while you were asleep and made breakfast. Actually, now that I think about it, very similar situation, sans kitchenware."
Suddenly a memory popped into Holly's head. "Oh, yeah, I said I could take you if I wanted."
"Yeah. So, I guess we know you aren't all talk." Gail winked at her. "That was actually quite impressive for a plastic spatula."
"Yeah, well, I played a lot of softball as a kid."
"You, woman, are a walking cliché." A soft chuckle escaped from Gail, quickly cut short from the pain.
"I know." Holly replied, feeling a bit better now that she remembered that the tables had been turned before, and knew that Gail had completely forgiven her. She still felt terrible about it, but there wasn't much to do about that now. "Do you want me to take you to get that stitched up or are you okay with doing it here?"
"I would rather you do it, if you don't mind of course."
"Not at all. Just sit tight, I will be back in a minute."
Holly got up from her spot and made her way into the kitchen to get supplies. She returned a couple minutes later with everything she would need, and a bottle of bourbon for Gail as a peace offering. She made fast work of cleaning the wound and stitching her up. It wasn't as good as it would be if a plastic surgeon did it, but she would like to think it was better work than what would have been done at an ER or urgent care clinic. When she was finished, she gathered her stuff back up and went to put it back in place.
Gail followed her out into the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast bar. "So, now that my face is all fixed, how about we make those pancakes. I'm starving, and a little tipsy."
"Deal. Go lay on the couch and I'll bring you a plate over when it's ready."
Gail stood from the chair and made a quick pit stop to kiss Holly on the cheek before heading back out towards the living room. "Thanks babe."
"Anytime."
Holly had found a few left over pain killers from when Gail had last been to the hospital and gave them to Gail before ushering them both to bed, full of pancakes, and completely exhausted. When the two of them woke again it was early afternoon. They lay curled up in Holly's bed, content to just spend a few minutes in each other's embrace before Gail finally rose to go the bathroom.
When she came back out, Holly was stretched out across the sheets, on the edge of sleep again.
"Hols?"
The Holly sized lump on the bed shifted slightly, only emitting the slightest of sounds in reply. Gail took it as her cue to continue.
"What happened yesterday when I left your office?"
Gail patiently waited for Holly to struggle back into the world of the waking and sit up.
"Oh, uh, actually nothing. She just kind of stared at me for a few moments and then left. It was really weird."
Holly rose from the bed and walked over to Gail's position to pull her into a hug. "Hey, I am sure it will be okay. I think we just took her by surprise. Give her a bit of time to come to terms, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." Gail tugged Holly closer. "Maybe I won't have to deal with it until we get back from our trip?"
"Maybe. I got everything booked by the way."
Gail pulled out of the hug to search Holly's eyes. "Oh, you did, did you? Any chance of finding out where we are going?"
"Nope. You will just have to wait. But I stayed true to my promise, there will be sun."
"There better be, otherwise you will be stuck inside with me the whole time."
Holly laughed at Gail's grumbling and tugged her in tighter. "Yeah, that would be terrible, imagine all of the sex we would have to have to keep warm and busy. That would just be no fun at all."
Gail snorted into Holly's hair. "I know, how awful. I think we would lose our minds, having to resort to that. After all, we both know how terrible the sex is."
"Oh, it is horrendous." Holly deadpanned.
"The worst."
The two remained stoic for a moment before busting into a wave of laughter.
Holly pulled out of Gail's embrace and tugged at her t-shirt. "Come on; let's go find something to eat."
"Now we are talking!"
They ate a quick lunch and decided to play out the rest of their lazy day in on Holly's couch. Gail had stretched herself out, feet up on the coffee table, hands running idly through Holly's hair. Every so often Holly would turn her attention from the T.V. and look up at Gail. She couldn't help herself. It was moments like this that made Holly realize just how invested she was. She kept stealing glances while Gail was distracted by the movie, looking at her longingly, thinking about how nice it would be to have her as a permanent fixture here. Holly let herself toy with the thought of Gail moving in with her. If they were being honest, she just about did live there. There were only a few instances where Gail would stay at her own place, and the amount of stuff she had here was only growing. But Holly knew it was too soon to ask, or hint at the possibility. Maybe she would think about it some more after they got back from vacation.
"Do I have a booger or something?"
"Huh?" Holly pulled herself back into the present, realizing she had been caught staring.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Just thinking."
Gail smiled knowingly, but couldn't resist the urge to tease. "What, plotting my murder already Hols?"
"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous Gail…I've had that planned since we met."
"Of course you have." Her response came with a smile though. She was pretty sure whatever Holly had been thinking about had nothing to do with her death and everything to do with the two of them as a couple. In fact, it only led Gail to think things through herself. They were great together, and she had never in her life felt so comfortable with someone, so willing to let her walls down and be true to herself. While her past relationships may have had their light at points, it was brief. The men she dated would be a source of light at times, but they did nothing to better her. Holly, Holly didn't bring light with her, she encouraged Gail to be her own light source. She made her a better person, a happier person. She was different in the best ways possible, and Gail couldn't help but think how much in love she had fallen with the amazing woman curled up in her lap.
"Now who is staring?"
Gail smirked down at Holly. "Yeah, yeah."
They stared at each other for a bit longer, content just to be in each other's company. It was the sound of Holly's phone buzzing that finally pulled them back. She rose up from her spot on Gail's lap and slid her phone across the table to grasp it easier.
"I don't recognize this number." Holly said, looking at her still ringing phone. She shrugged to herself and answered the call. "Hello?"
Gail sat back, still smiling at her girlfriend. Holly's face contorted into one of hesitation and confusion. Gail's interest peaked and her patience ran thin as the call went on, Holly only responding with a 'yes' or 'okay' every so often. Obviously it was not a wrong number, but who could it be that called Holly that was not a contact in her phone, and left that weird look on her face, and kept her from actually conversing…
"Oh shit." Gail swore under her breath. There was really only one person she could think of that would have access to Holly's cell phone number without her knowing, who would demand her submissive attention for this long in a conversation. It had to be her mother.
Gail watched as Holly hung up and turned to Gail, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"What, what did she say?" Gail demanded.
Holly didn't bother asking who, she had a good enough idea that Gail had deduced exactly who it was that phoned her. "She uh, she wants us to come to dinner."
"What, when?"
"Next Friday night."
Gail swallowed loudly. "Did she say anything else?"
"Yes, and no. She said that we were expected to attend. That she already verified our work schedules to ensure we were available. She said something about appropriate attire and that's about it."
Gail ran her hands through her hair. "Nothing about us, like as a couple?"
"No. Not outright at least. All she said was that we, as in you and I both, are expected. She didn't really ask as much as she just told me to ensure we would be there." Holly said still staring at her phone. "I really have no idea Gail."
"Dammit. Son of a bitch. Motherfucking…ughh. This is bad Holly. Very fucking bad."
"Gail, you are freaking me out. It can't be that bad."
"No, it is. You don't know my mom Hols, and I was really hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible." She buried her head in her palms for a moment before continuing. "This can only end two ways. One, she will flip her shit, freak out over this, and make a huge scene. Two, she doesn't care and ends up loving you and your fucking impressive, career driven, doctor mumbo jumbo and we will suddenly find ourselves with weekly invitations to dinner. I'm honestly not sure which is worse."
"Um, well, I think I'm going to with the first. I'd much prefer your mother not hating me and making a big deal over this and instead just have to find believable excuses for why we can't attend her dinners."
"Yeah. Okay. Just wait."
"Well, the good news is, at least we get to run away together in two weeks. And then you will have me all to yourself, no crazy mothers to deal with."
Gail visibly relaxed and pulled Holly back down into her prior position. "Thank god for that."
