Cosima manages to sleep in until 10am Sunday morning, most likely as a result of being completely engrossed in her dreams. When she gets up, she shuffles into the kitchen, finding a tray of pastries and a note from Marie saying that she stocked her fridge with fruit, eggs, and milk. Cosima helps herself to some food and, with breakfast no longer a viable excuse to go up to the main house, she tries to think of another reason to go up there and spend time with Delphine.
After taking a shower and getting dressed, Cosima decides she'll go the house to thank Marie for the food. She exits the cottage and starts walking up the path.
"She's not home," a familiar voice calls out, causing Cosima to turn around.
"Who's not where?"
"Delphine. She and Pierre went to visit a breeder in Boston."
"They went to Massachusetts?"
Felix laughs, "No, there's also a Boston in Virginia. It's an hour from here. They probably won't be home for a while."
"Oh, okay, well I was actually going to thank Marie for picking up some food for me at the Farmer's Market yesterday."
"Sure you were."
"I was."
"You weren't hoping to see Delphine?"
"No, I mean, I assumed I might see her, but I wasn't, like, dreaming of it or anything," she lies.
"Okay. And what was the deal with the two of you going off together alone yesterday? You seemed pretty proud when I saw you drive off in her car."
"Oh that, yeah she showed me around a bit yesterday. We also went to see Krystal. Look," Cosima shows him her manicure.
"Ooh lovely."
"She's coming by tonight for dinner."
"Nice, I look forward to seeing her. Now don't try to change the subject. I hope you don't actually think anything is going to happen between you and Delphine. You're a nice girl, Cosima, I don't want to see you get hurt when she doesn't return your affections."
"Felix, come on, she's pretty and, yeah, of course I'd want to date her, but I heard you, she doesn't like girls like I like girls. Doesn't mean we can't be friends."
Felix looks at her skeptically, "Darling, I know it's practically impossible to be just friends with someone you lust after."
"I'm not lusting and we can totally just be friends."
"Whatever you say, just don't let this get in the way of the job you're here to do."
"Come on, I know why I'm here. Nothing, and nobody, is going to get in the way of that."
"Good, because starting tomorrow, we're amping up our training to get you and Leda ready for Arkansas. Now go thank Marie and I'll see you tonight."
— — —
"Maman," Delphine shouts several hours later as she opens the front door to the house, "we're back and look who we ran into on the driveway." Delphine enters the kitchen to find Cosima in an apron. "Oh, Cosima, you're in our kitchen. Again. What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Delphine, I was just helping your mom prepare dinner. She went upstairs to change."
Krystal walks in behind Delphine, "Hi there, Miss order and decency."
"Hey Krystal, nice to see you again."
"You too. How's the manicure holding up?"
"Great," Cosima flashes her nails at Krystal.
"Krystal!" Marie exclaims as she enters the kitchen. "How are you ma minette?"
"I'm amazing, especially now that Del is home and I get to spend time with all of you. It smells incredible in here, by the way. Thanks for having me."
"You know you're always welcome here, whether Delphine is home or not," she gives Krystal a hug.
"What's for dinner?" Delphine asks.
"Coq au Vin. Cosima was kind enough to be my sous-chef for the day."
"So she mentioned. I'm starving."
"Where's your father?"
"Right here, my dear," Pierre announces as he enters the kitchen and gives his wife a kiss.
"Good, let's eat," Delphine starts heading towards the dining room.
"Delphine, we're still waiting on Felix," Marie admonishes her daughter.
"Have no fear, Felix is in the house," the trainer announces as he enters the home.
"Feeeee!" Krystal squeals as she runs into his arms.
"Hello, darling," Felix says tenderly as they hug. "You look fab, as usual."
"So do you and you smell ah-mazing. Is that a new cologne?"
"Why yes it is, thank you for noticing."
"Is the lovefest over?" Delphine asks. "Can we eat now?"
Felix rolls his eyes at Delphine and leads Krystal into the dining room. Felix and Krystal sit on one side of the table, Pierre and Marie take the ends, leaving Cosima and Delphine to take the two seats opposite Felix and Krystal.
They begin passing the salad bowl around. "You should all be aware that Cosima made the salad," Marie states.
"Yeah, so if it sucks, don't blame Marie," Cosima adds.
Pierre takes a bite, "This dressing is sublime."
"It's an old family recipe," Cosima states.
"It really is good," Delphine agrees, causing Cosima to smile broadly.
After everyone has finished their salad, dinner is served.
Felix digs in, "Mmm, this is divine, Marie."
"Thank you, Felix."
"Delicious as always, mon amour," Pierre compliments his wife, who smiles lovingly back at him.
"How are things at the salon, Krystal? You did a wonderful job on Delphine and Cosima's nails."
"Thank you, Marie, things are great. But, oh em gee, this morning this guy came in for a pedicure and I have never seen feet as horrendous as his in all my life. I mean, I'm a professional, so I had to act like everything was totally normal. Meanwhile, I'm scrubbing these feet that I swear belonged on a hobbit. I mean the toe hair and dirt alone."
"Eww, stop," Felix pleads. "We're eating."
"Anyway, by the end of the pedicure this man's feet were so pristine, they could have been featured in a magazine. His girlfriend came to pick him up and when she got a load of his tootsies, she hugged me so tightly I thought I was gonna need CPR. They left me a tip the likes of which I have never seen before."
"Sounds like you earned it and then some," Cosima observes.
"You know, I actually always wondered why they were called pedicure and manicure, because you're not actually curing anything, but, after today, I feel like I really did cure that man's foot problem."
"That's beautiful, Krystal." Felix says facetiously. "Hey, Delphine, maybe you should consider opening a horse nail salon and hiring Krystal to work for you. You two could make a lot of horses feel better about their godawful hoofs."
"Be quiet, Felix," Krystal slaps his arm playfully. "Really, though, I feel like what I do is a healing art, not unlike being a doctor."
"Do you agree, Delphine?" Felix asks.
"I think that while doctors are recognized as healers, there are many professions which offer people a sense of betterment, whether mind, body, or spirit. Manicurists chief among them. I know Krystal made me feel better yesterday."
"Aww, thanks, Del," Krystal smiles.
"Delphine, have you thought about looking around town at where you want to open your practice?" Pierre asks.
"Papa, I think it's way too early for that. I still have another year of school. Who knows if I'll even earn my doctorate."
"Nonsense," he scoffs. "There is a location off Leeds Manor Road for sale with a small stable and the house can easily be converted into office space. We should take a look during the week."
"No!" Delphine shouts.
"Delphine, what has gotten into you?" her father asks as everyone looks at the angry blonde.
"I don't want to think about any of that now. I haven't finished school yet, I don't even know if I passed my exams this semester. Just drop it and please let me enjoy the summer."
"What do you mean you don't know if you passed your exams?" Pierre inquires with alarm.
"Merde!" Delphine slams her napkin down, pushes her chair out, and storms out of the house.
"Well that was dramatic," Felix says as he takes another bite of his dinner.
"What has gotten into her?" Pierre looks to his wife for answers.
"I have no idea," Marie responds.
"I think she's just stressed out," Krystal offers. "School isn't easy and she just needs a break. Give her some space, let her decompress, she'll be alright."
As they continue dinner in silence, Cosima glances towards the door, torn between wanting to make sure Delphine is okay, but worrying that it's not her place. Eventually she excuses herself under the pretense of being tired.
Cosima walks around the property and notices the door to the stables is slightly ajar. After a slight internal debate, she quietly enters the dark space. Only the sound of sleeping horses fills the air until she hears a whimper coming from Leda's stall. She quietly tiptoes back there, then glances inside, finding Delphine petting a sleepy Leda with her right hand, while wiping at tears falling slowly from her eyes with her left.
"Are you okay?" Cosima whispers, trying not to startle the girl, who jumps slightly anyway.
When she notices it's Cosima, she nods, "I'm fine."
"Yeah? You don't seem fine."
"I am," Delphine insists as she wipes at a few errant tears.
Cosima enters the stall and slowly lowers herself to the ground. "I know you don't know me very well, but I'm a pretty good listener."
"Thanks, but I don't really want to talk about it."
"Okay." Cosima starts petting Leda, "She's really a beautiful horse, isn't she? And so smart."
Delphine nods her agreement, "She's a special girl. She's lucky to have survived in the womb. Twin births in horses are very rare."
"How do two horses even fit in there?" Cosima asks.
"That's the thing, there really isn't enough room. And typically, when it does occur, because of the lack of sufficient nutrition, the smaller of the two usually doesn't survive. Only 1 in 10,000 twin births end with both horses living."
"Wow, girl, you sure beat those odds, didn't you?" Cosima coos.
"Yes, she did." Delphine smiles. "You should have seen her, she was so small, it was the cutest sight. She was this wobbly little thing, but when it came time for feeding, she pushed her way in there, right past her big brother, Castor, like she was in charge. Such a feisty girl."
"How did their mother do?"
"She did great, thankfully. She was exhausted though."
"Yeah, I bet. Pushing two of these out of you can't be easy."
"No, it's not. It was so amazing to witness. I actually did a paper on it my first year of veterinary school. The professor hadn't even seen a twin birth in person."
"How'd you do on it?"
"I aced it, actually."
"Nice!" Cosima holds up her hand and Delphine returns the high five. "See, Leda, you got Delphine an A."
Delphine laughs, "Yes, she did. Thank you, Leda."
"You sound really passionate about all of this, and it's something you've wanted since you were young, so why'd you get so upset in there?"
"Ugh, I don't know, it's just hard. I guess I was so used to always doing well in school and not really being challenged, but this semester, it was just tougher than I thought. And the final… I don't know, Krystal said not to stress about it, and I tried not to, but then Papa brought it all up again and I couldn't help it."
"I get it. It means a lot to you to do well and the thought of maybe not having done well scares you. I was like you in school, it was easy for me, I studied and I did well. But this, being a jockey, doing what I really love, this is pressure, this is hard work. This is my career and I want to be successful at it. The horses, they're the real athletes, but when you lose, nobody is gonna blame the horse, they're gonna look to me for answers, they're going to want me to explain what went wrong. And, look, winning isn't everything, but losing is hard. I've been in both positions and I know which I prefer, but it took me a long time to be okay with not being the best in every race, hell not even being 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best. I'm sure, for you, school is like that now because this is what will determine your future. I can see that you really want this, but you have to give yourself a break. You may not always be the best, but you can always give it your best. And if you fuck up, you fuck up. You move on and try not to fuck up again."
Delphine chuckles, "Eloquently stated."
"I try," Cosima grins.
"You're right, though, and so was Krystal yesterday. I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself and let stuff go, allow myself to fuck up once in a while."
"That's the spirit. Here's to fucking up," Cosima holds up her fist and Delphine pounds it with hers.
They bust out into hysterical laughter, causing Leda to raise her head, glare at them, huff, and lay back down.
"I think she wants us to leave," Delphine whispers through her giggles.
"I think so, too," Cosima jumps up and offers her hand to Delphine, who grasps it and allows herself to be pulled to her feet.
"Thank you for the pep talk."
"Anytime," Cosima grins.
They walk towards the door, unable to contain their laughter as they exit the stables.
"Well, this is not at all what I expected to find," Felix eyes the two girls, who immediately unclasp their joined hands.
"But it's a most welcome sight," Krystal adds from beside him.
"I'm sorry, my behavior at dinner was uncalled for. Cosima helped me see the error of my ways and I'm feeling much better. I should go apologize to Papa. Krystal, will you spend the night? It's been far too long since we had a sleepover."
"Hell yeah I will."
"Great!" Delphine turns to Cosima, taking and gently rubbing her hand, "Thank you."
Cosima looks at the point of contact then up at Delphine, "Yeah, no problem."
"Well, I better go tell Papa I fucked up."
Cosima snort laughs, "Maybe phrase it better than that."
"You think?" Delphine winks at her and then heads up to the house.
"Well, that was odd," Felix notes.
"What was odd?" Cosima asks.
"Are you like the tantrum soother or something?"
Cosima shrugs, "I just listened and talked and I guess helped her to calm down."
"Where were you when she was 11? You could have saved me a lot of pain and suffering."
"Oh, Felix, stop. Thank you for helping her, Cosima."
"It was nothing, really. I was happy to help."
"I'm sure you were," Felix snickers, causing Cosima to glare at him. "What? I meant you're very helpful, your altruism should be lauded."
Krystal looks from Felix to Cosima, "What am I missing?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Trust me," Cosima assures her.
"Okay, I don't know if I believe you, but I have a slumber party to attend."
"Krystal, I bet Cosima would appreciate an invite to this party in Delphine's room." Cosima quickly elbows Felix in the ribs.
"Do you want to join us Cosima?"
"No, don't mind him, he's just kidding. I have training tomorrow, I better not stay up too late tonight."
"Okay, then, goodnight." Krystal turns and walks towards the house.
"What the fuck, Felix?"
"Relax, I'm just messing around, but I do see your misguided crush on Delphine is still going strong."
"Dude, I told you, just friends."
"Okay, whatever you say, now go get some sleep. I have a big day planned for you and Leda tomorrow."
— — —
"Everything all smoothed out with your dad?" Krystal asks as she enters Delphine's bedroom.
"Yeah, I apologized and explained that I'm stressed out from school and he promised to wait until I'm ready to bring up anything career related again."
"Great. So what was all that with Cosima?"
"What was all what with Cosima?"
"Whatever went on in the stables."
"We were just talking. She's actually quite charming when you get to know her."
"Charming?"
"Yeah, she's funny and easy to talk to."
"Hmm."
"Krystal, what's your problem, yesterday you thought I was being too harsh with her and today what?"
"I still think she's a nice girl, but it's just, Felix made some comments after you left."
"Felix is always running his mouth about something."
"Yeah, but this was different, I was getting some serious vibes." Krystal eyes suddenly brighten, like a lightbulb has gone off in her head, "Do you know if she likes women?"
"I don't know. Vibes?" Delphine laughs, "Krystal, do you think Cosima has a thing for you?"
"No, sweetheart, I think she has a thing for you."
Delphine's eyes widen, "What?"
"I think that's what Felix was implying. And now that I think about it, she hardly took her eyes off you all through dinner."
"You're insane."
"Am I? All I know is one minute she says she's tired and the next we find her coming out of the stables with you."
"She was just being kind."
"I don't doubt that, but I also think she likes you, like, like likes you." Delphine scoffs at her friend. "Hey, I have intuition about these things and I'm rarely ever wrong. Maybe you should find out."
"What am I going to do, ask her, hey, do you have a thing for me?"
"Do you want her to have a thing for you?"
"What? No. I hardly know her."
"She's kinda cute, though."
"You think?"
"Aha."
"Aha what?"
"Why do you care if I think she's cute unless you think she's cute?"
"I don't care if you think she's cute. And I didn't say I thought she was cute. I just… Krystal, why are we even discussing this?"
"We're discussing it because maybe it's something to consider."
"I'm not interested in considering it," Delphine insists. "Let's stop talking about this."
"Fine, but let me say one last thing."
Delphine rolls her eyes, "Go on."
"Sometimes the best things in life come from the most unexpected places. Even your stables."
Delphine shakes her head and smacks Krystal with a pillow.
Later that night, with Krystal fast asleep beside her, Delphine stares at the ceiling, thinking about what her friend said. And when she pictures Cosima's face, she can't help the smile that creeps onto her lips. A smile she immediately forces into a straight line, unwilling to entertain the idea that she could be interested in another woman, let alone that the other woman is interested in her, a woman who she wasn't even very nice to when they first met. There's no way there's something more there than the start of a friendship. Besides, she's not even interested in something more. It's then that she resolves to keep things strictly platonic with Cosima.