Knitmare
Emily didn't often take up new hobbies. From her youth she had found drinking, bar-hopping, cards, and games of luck to be the highest form of entertainment. Crafts, art, and exercise beyond what she needed to stay in regulation shape were an abomination.
Elle had slowly changed that. Instead of her weekly gym date, she went jogging with Elle twice a week. Together they had repainted her den in warm honey tones, getting a good part of it on each other. And now, coming home from work, she found her girlfriend in the middle of several balls of yarn, swearing in her atypical fashion.
"Goddam, ugly, frigging, bastard, jackass," was the running commentary. Emily plopped down on the floor beside her.
"What are you making?"
"Nothing. Son of a bitch in a beech tree."
"What are you going to make?" she amended. The yarn was tangled six ways around the needles. Emily reached over and began untangling.
"A scarf," Elle let her have the source of her frustration. "With six colors."
"Wouldn't it be easier to just use one or two colors?"
"Yes."
"I see. There, all free."
The separate threads cluttered the floor as Emily revealed the needles. Elle smiled.
"Thanks, beautiful."
"Anytime. Now, if you're finished with your knitmare, I have a surprise for you."
Elle leaned forward, waiting, the light gathering at her neck.
"This," she had heard Elle talking about a band she'd heard as a kid in Brooklyn, a group she'd never been able to identify. Emily, with her vast connections, had tracked down their one album.
Elle took it lovingly. "You-wow, Em. Just wow."
"What are girlfriends for?"
They played it as they went to bed that night, deep dark beats and heavenly guitar.
Author's Note: I never knit. Otherwise, it all looks like a huge knitmare.