"I spoke with your father…" Celine announced as Delphine stormed into the front door.
"Oh? How was that?" Delphine snarked as she kicked off her heels and made a beeline for the bottle of wine she'd started the night before.
"Delphine, talk to me. I can see you are upset but did you have to throw this in his face like that?" Her mother pried as she reached out to place a supportive hand her her shoulder.
Delphine strugged her off before taking a swig right from the bottle of chardonnay.
"Maman! What was I supposed to do? He was beginning his routine of shaming and prodding me into becoming upset and it worked. It's no surprise I spent a year with someone like Olivier, I was raised by a Connard…" She rambled off as her hands flailed in frustration.
"Okay okay, please calm down. I told him to relax. I warned him not to tell your brother in order to avoid it getting around to the whole family…At least until you're ready."
Delphine shrugged off the comment and rolled her eyes. She took a seat at the bar and massaged her temples. She reached for her phone to finally call Thomas and return her messages.
As she scrolled through the list of voicemails she saw a familiar name that made her heart jump into her throat.
"Oh Merde!... Cosima called this morning. It's been hours. She probably thinks I'm ignoring her." She said before panicking and calling Thomas for advice.
"Hey Honeybun! How is France? How's Mama?" Thomas answered cheerfully.
"Um hey Thomas…I have had quite a weekend…and Cosima called. I haven't responded."She all but rambled trying to reach her point.
"Oh what's going on? Run into an ex or something? And Dreads finally called that's good news, no?"
"Actually…I came out to my mother, and father to varying results. And Cosima called this morning and I haven't responded." She replied, with the anxiety in her voice.
"Oh my God! They know you like chatte? Spill girl…" He was overjoyed at this information, feeling as though her coming out meant her feelings for Cosima were validated.
"Ugh Thomas…why so crass? And where did you learn that? Yes they know and my father basically disowned me. He expects me to find my own airfare home. Which means I'll probably need you to pick me up sooner." The frustration in her voice was evident.
"Google to answer your question, and I'm so sorry love…So Mom was more accepting?" He asked delicately hoping the answer was yes.
"Yes actually…Apparently she has suspected it since I was a child. What about Cosima though? What should I do?" She pled, wanting to get back to the point.
"Oh yeah, well you should call her. There's nothing stopping you now…everything is out in the open. Get your girl back Baby because you've been a little sassy since you left her."
"Okay should I give in or should I make her sweat a little? We haven't spoken in a week and a lot has happened to the both of us."
"Look, just talk to her. This separation has been hell on everyone…especially me." He teased as she sat silently on the line.
"Okay I will. Stay by the phone, I need to look for a flight and I'll call you."
She ended the call and stared at the phone in her hand.
She listened to the message five times before her eyes began to well up with tears that she fought back. She had missed her voice and the feeling she got when Cosima was sweet to her.
After this trip into her past, she began to understand some of her fears and reservations that caused her to throw her issues into the way of her relationship with Cosima.
After a deep breath she went to call Cosima back.
"Hello!"
"Allo, is Cosima around?" Delphine replied knowing she didn't recognize the voice on the phone.
"I'm sorry, It's 5AM…We had a party last night so she's dead to the world right now. Wait you're Delphine?" The voice replied with a playful tone.
"Oh okay…Desole. Um yes I'm Delphine. May I ask who you are?" Delphine asked hesitantly as she worried her lip between her teeth. She was sick with worry that this was another woman Cosima was sleeping with.
"I'm her big sister if you must know…I'll tell her you called. She'll be happy to hear that."
The realization that she was speaking to one of Cosima's siblings made her nervous, although the admission that Cosima would be happy to hear from her made her beam.
"Okay, thank you—"Delphine trailed off waiting for the sister to fill in her name.
"Alison…Nice talking to you Delphine. Please give my sister another chance…she's harmless and she seems to really like you. But um…don't tell her I told you, she'll kill me." Alison inserted her trademarked meddling remarks before giggling to herself.
"Okay I won't tell. Thank you Alison." She replied before hanging up.
Although she was initially confused by the fact that Cosima was in the same place as her sister, she realized the time difference meant that Cosima was most likely in California. Since she'd basically been forced to leave her home town before her father made her life miserable, she was going to book a flight to find out for herself.
….
By 9AM Monday Cosima was opening her eyes and attempting sit up on the sofa she'd managed to fall asleep on quite uncomfortably.
She threw her legs off the side of the couch and searched for her crutches. Although she could limp around without them, she knew the hangover symptoms she was experiencing would make her too weak to do so.
Instead of taking her chances she called out for Alison.
"Ali!"
"Oh hello sleeping beauty…Finally back to the land of the living?" Alison said sarcastically as she slammed a glass of water and a bottle of painkillers on the coffee table.
"Thank Al…Vicodin? A little strong for a headache don't you think?" Cosima joked as she took a desperate gulp of the water.
"No…It's not like I gave you Percocet. Drink up so you can help me clean." Alison dismissed Cosima's concerns as she shuffled around the room collecting bottles and trash.
"Alison I can't even walk…"
"That didn't stop you from dancing with Felix's boyfriend all night." Alison scolded as she pulled Cosima up to stand.
"Oh really? I guess I'm healing properly then." Cosima replied with a guilty grin. She had completely forgotten her silliness with Colin.
She proceeded to go the the restroom and wash up and took a place next to the sink to help with the dishes. Out of pure curiosity, Cosima asked if there was anything else that happened that she may have forgotten. That's when Alison came clean about her conversation with Delphine.
"You answered my phone? You spoke to Delphine? What did she say? How did she sound? Did she know you were my sister. Details Ali, Details." Cosima shook Alison as she lost herself momentarily.
"Geez Louise…Someone has lost her marbles…" She said while straightening out her shirt. "She sounded fine, yes she knew who I was and I told her you'd call her back."
"Oh okay…well that's fine I guess. When did she call?"
"At 5 in the morning which is why I answered. She was going to wake the whole house up." Alison retorted, clearly becoming annoyed remembering the incident.
"That's strange…She's never called at that time before. I did call her in the middle of the night though so maybe she was worried something was wrong." She said as she clumsily fiddled with a ceramic plate in the sink.
"Perhaps…either way you need to call her. She sounded distraught."
After the lecture, Cosima searched for her phone that had been graciously plugged into its charger by Alison and called Delphine.
After 4 rings Cosima began to get nervous only to be relieved to hear "Allo" on the other end.
"Delphine?" Cosima asked unsure of who was speaking on the phone.
"Non, this is her mother Celine. Are you the famous Cosima I've heard so much about?"
Cosima swallowed hard, not believing what she was hearing.
"Um yes ma'am. Is she around?" Cosima asked in a shaky tone.
"Oui but she is asleep. She has a flight in a few hours and she needs rest." Celine replied, smiling at the nerves evident in the other woman's voice.
"Oh…do you mind if I ask where she is going? I was hoping to see her while I'm in town." Cosima inquired, hoping Delphine hadn't told her mother too much about their reason for parting.
"Oh really? Well she will be arriving at LAX tomorrow evening. 6PM I believe. You wouldn't be free to retrieve her from the airport would you?" Celine offered, hoping this suggestion would be seen as more of an instruction.
"6PM Tuesday…I'll be there. Thank you Mrs. Cormier…Can you do me a favor and keep this between us? I'd love it to be a surprise?" Cosima asked with a hopeful inflection.
"Oui…I suppose I could keep this between us. Have a good day Cosima and good luck tomorrow." Celine answered before ending the call and smiling broadly at the idea that her daughter would be getting a surprise welcome from her paramour.
…..
After much thought, Cosima settled on what she would do to surprise Delphine. Her first priority however, was to cheer on her team during their match against Germany. With her being out of commission, Theresa was moved to center midfielder. Although not as tough as Brazil, Germany would be a difficult opponent especially when the U.S. team was missing their star.
After the start of the match, Cosima's siblings began to join her in the den to watch with her. They all took the time to acknowledge the fact that this would be hard for her to watch from home but that she was ultimately focused on her teams' success.
After the half the game was 1-0 U.S. and Germany's head coach was getting frustrated. Cosima had called Theresa to warn her about Germany's midfielder Frida before the match and how much she wanted to beat the U.S. team. Frida even stated in an interview that she couldn't care less about the gold as long as she beat the Americans. Theresa took the words into consideration and was being aggressive to the point of arousing rage in the German. She was all over her and focused more on defense than scoring. Coach Kent had instructed her to hover around Frida and keep her off balance.
This strategy was seemingly working and the game was nearing the halfway point in the second half. Cosima was on the edge of her seat watching and praying that they held the lead. There was a part of her that felt very guilty for not being there but she knew the prior night was worth the trip home. She knew her family appreciated her presence and it looked like she would be getting to see Delphine after all.
Just as her mind began to wander, the clock wound down on the match. The Americans managed to pull it out and hold the 1-0 score. The game itself was close but it wasn't as much of a nail biter as the prior matches. It was simply a game that America should've won and did. Cosima stayed to watch the press conference and had a Skype call with her teammates. She also managed to tell her friends on the team what she had planned for Delphine's arrival. They all swooned in unison with 'aww's' and kiss noises before giving up the teasing and wishing her luck.
After the call, Cosima summoned Felix to take her back to her house so she could prepare. She still had plenty of time but she wanted everything to be perfect.
…
Delphine sat in her business class seat with a glass of brandy racking her brain over the reason Cosima hadn't called her back. She was worried her sister may have forgotten to give her the message or simply lied in order to get her off of the phone. Either way she clutched her drink and tried not to overreact to the silence.
Her departure from Lille had been filled with unnecessary tears. She had hugged her mother and apologized incessantly for her quick departure. Rather than dwelling on the money and time she had just lost she tried to be optimistic. She had successfully come out to her parents and had only been shamed by one of them. It was 50 percent better than the outcome she expected. Once she let the drink relax her, she drifted off to sleep and remained asleep until the flight landed.
In L.A., Cosima was going over her plan in her head incessantly like it was a recording. She knew what time the flight would arrive and had even called the airline to see if the flight was on time.
Her ankle was feeling strong enough to get her to where Delphine's terminal was and she waited in a seat nearby. She had her sign, her baggage handler and a text from Celine stating that she'd informed Thomas of her plans so she'd better go through with it.
After arriving an hour early, Cosima's anticipation was mounting. After about 45 minutes there was an announcement that Delphine's flight was landing so she tapped Jamie the baggage handler and stood up with her sign.
It didn't take long for the passengers to begin exiting the plane and reuniting with their loved ones. Cosima's hands began to clam up and she began to get excited. She looked down at her phone for the time before glancing up to see the curls bouncing behind a man a bit shorter than Delphine.
She smiled widely before holding up her sign and waiting for Delphine to notice her.
After struggling with her carry-on Delphine lifted her head to search for Thomas. At first she became annoyed because she assumed he was running late until she saw a short figure holding a sign she knew had to be for her.
Laura Winslow—The sign read and as Delphine took in the figure behind the sign she couldn't help but burst into laughter. Not only was Cosima wearing high waist jeans with the ankles rolled up, she had a plaid shirt tucked into them. The ensemble was topped off by a navy bow tie and suspenders, two tone oxfords and a security strap for her glasses. Overall the look was pretty sexy on Cosima and Delphine was embarrassed to admit it to herself.
Cosima giggled to herself with her patented grin, showcasing her canines as the corners of her eyes wrinkled. Delphine eventually got over the shock and advanced toward Cosima, noticing several people looking in their direction.
"Hey Laura…" Cosima managed to say despite her uneasiness.
"Bonjour Steve…You are not who I was expecting." Delphine replied cheekily as she tilted her head to smile at Cosima.
"Oh really? You were expecting Stefan?" Cosima asked, playing along.
"Um non, I was expecting Thomas but this is a pleasant surprise. Why are you on your feet? Why are you here? I'm very confused Cosima." Delphine replied once she realized that Cosima shouldn't actually be there.
"Um that's long story but I'm sure you're jetlagged, can Jamie here take your bags to my car?" She asked with an outstretched hand to take a bag. Instead Delphine placed her hand in Cosima's and handed the bag to Jamie. They walked to baggage claim to retrieve her suitcase and made the trek to the car hand in hand. They didn't say much but they continued to glance at one another out of the corner of their eyes.
Once they arrived at Cosima's car, Delphine donned a confused look.
"Where is your Jeep?" Delphine asked, apparently not considering that Cosima could have more than one vehicle.
"At home. I can't get in and out of that thing with my ankle so I drove the Tesla today." Cosima replied with pride as she opened the passenger door for Delphine.
"I see, It is…also very you." She conceded while looking at the design.
Jamie finished packing in the luggage before Cosima gave him a very large tip. The young man thanked her incessantly until she shooed him off with a warm 'you're welcome.'
Cosima entered the car and adjusted herself so that she was comfortable enough to drive. Delphine looked on at the obvious pain Cosima was ignoring and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you can drive? I can if you need me to." She offered while lightly stroking Cosima's back.
"No no, I'm fine. I just needed to adjust...So I had a plan for this evening but feel free to say you're tried and we can do it another time, hopefully you know?" Cosima stated rather hesitantly, as she couldn't read Delphine's expression.
Delphine sat in contemplation before deciding that her own exhaustion would have to be ignored. She had wanted to see what Cosima had planned and she was going to have to power through the fatigue.
"Non, I'm not too tired. Please, let me see what other hilarious things you have planned tonight." She joked as she gave the outfit another once over.
"Okay cool. Relax, we have a ways to go so you can nap if you want."
Delphine considered the offer but felt that there was still an elephant in the room. She was thrilled to see Cosima but they did have things to discuss. How long could they sit in this blissfully ignorant silence before it erupted into a shit storm?
"Well I…I would but I think we need to talk, no?" Delphine asked timidly, worried she was going to ruin their peace.
"Yeah definitely, I was hoping we would do that at our next location…That is if you can wait. I don't want you to bottle it up if you need to talk now." Cosima was clearly not trying to be bossy and demand that they wait.
"Oh non, perhaps that's good idea."
….
After a 45 minute drive in traffic, they had finally reached their destination. Delphine had dozed in and out of sleep on the way as Cosima played soothing French music the entire way. Delphine was quite impressed with the playlist and realized the songs were intentional. Hymne à L'Amour was particularly rousing.
Once Cosima parked and exited the car. She then grabbed a few things that were hidden in the back seat. She placed them on the top of the trunk and proceeded to open Delphine's door.
It was obvious that they were at Venice Beach, not far from Cosima's home but what Delphine didn't know was what was in the bags Cosima was trying to carry. She glanced over and saw the struggle before offering a hand.
Cosima gave in begrudgingly, upset that she wasn't able to carry both bags. She warned Delphine not to peek and they proceeded to walk out toward the sand.
Once they got closer to the shore, Delphine began to shiver. Cosima grabbed a wool coat from her bag and offered to her.
"Merci…"
"You're welcome. Would you sit with me?" Cosima offered after placing a blanket on the sand.
"Bien sûr." She replied before taking a seat next to Cosima.
"So I brought something to eat, I don't suppose you're hungry?" Cosima asked as she pulled several items from the bag Delphine was holding.
She pulled out a baguette, several meats and cheeses and filled two disposable coffee cups with red wine.
Delphine simply nodded and took her cup of wine before giving it a funny look.
"Oh yeah, no open containers on the beach. I've gotten tickets before." She snickered as Delphine accepted the explanation and took a sip.
After a moment of silence, Delphine asked the question she was dying to know.
"How did you know I would be arriving? Did you contact Thomas somehow?" She inquired with genuine curiosity.
"Um no…your mom told me actually. She answered your phone when you were sleeping. She kinda helped me set up the surprise. She let Thomas know and everything." Cosima beamed with pride at how sneaky it had all been.
"Oh my…well I guess she really does accept it." She chuckled out before asking her next question. "Why are you home Cosima? Are you more injured than you let on?" She took on a stern tone to portray her feelings if that were to be true.
Cosima picked up on the change in demeanor and shook her head.
"No I came home for my mother's death anniversary. It was Sunday and my sister was having a really tough time with it this year." She paused to make eye contact before continuing, "That and I hoped I'd have a chance at seeing you. You know to talk about things…see where we stood."
Delphine instantly felt bad that she had accused Cosima of lying again. She didn't respond so Cosima continued.
"Okay…Well, I'm dying to catch up and everything but first I want to know how you're feeling. I mean about everything that happened. Are you still upset with me?" Cosima managed to ramble out the question despite the fear that Delphine's answer would be yes.
"Non, I am not." Delphine offered before looking out at the waves that were breaking at the shore. It was nearly 7:30 and the sun was just starting to set.
"Okay… that's good news. So we are okay? You are willing to give me another chance?" Cosima asked in disbelief at how cavalier Delphine was being after she'd left in tears.
Delphine knew she had to be confusing Cosima so she began to explain.
"Cosima…while I was away I went through a series of emotions. First, I was upset…angry that you'd lied to me and angry that you were so overbearing and aggressive. Once I got some perspective, I began to soften and realize you weren't doing any of those things to hurt me. You omitted the truth about that woman to protect my feelings, you went off on that man to defend my honor...and I assume you dominated me in that way in order to prove something to me." She listed, before taking a long sip of her wine and continuing.
"At the time I didn't accept it but after the week I've had I realize I may have overreacted. I was afraid to fall for you. I wanted to believe that there was another shoe to be dropped and I was searching for it. As you may know there are times when searching for problems can lead you to them. I'm so sorry I left you without giving you a chance to explain further." After the speech Delphine was out of breath and looking longingly at Cosima awaiting her reply.
Cosima sat in awe of the speed at which Delphine had just spoken, and was trying to catch up in her head.
Once she finally gathered her thoughts she began her reply.
"Whoa…well that was easy. I assumed I would have to go ahead with the midnight serenade I had planned but phew…" She teased before Delphine gave her side a playful pinch. "I mean I thought there would be this whole rigmarole we would go through only for you to realize that you can't stay mad at this face." She grinned at Delphine's smirk and got serious, "Honestly Delphine, I really missed you this week and regardless of who's wrong or right I want to be with you. I should've told you about Shay, and I shouldn't have spoken for you with that jerk…The rough sex thing, I'll apologize for not warming you up to it but I have to admit I like it from time to time…" Cosima finished with an uneasy look.
"Well I liked it too Cherie, I think it just caught me off guard is all. I went from sweet Cosima to dark Cosima rather abruptly." She managed to giggle in order to diffuse the tension between them.
"Okay…well that's good…we have that in common. Can I ask another question?"
"Of course Cosima, you can just ask me…" Delphine joked as she winked at Cosima for effect.
"Good one…Can I ask what made you come to these conclusions? I only ask because you were so upset. I don't ever want to be the cause of that again." Cosima held Delphine's free hand and caressed it absentmindedly.
Delphine had considered the question herself and was prepared with an answer.
"Honestly, my mother, and my father…and Olivier. They all made me realize why I reacted the way I did to your actions. I was unfair to you but not unwarranted in not liking your snide remarks." She reminded, to let Cosima know that she hadn't forgotten the rude comments she'd had made.
"Oh yeah I was a little asshole-y toward the end. I'm really sorry Baby, you kinda hit me where it hurt. I got extremely defensive. Will you forgive me?" Cosima asked before batting her eyelashes and looking up at Delphine.
If Delphine was having trouble engaging in this serious conversation while Cosima was in that getup, this moment broke her.
She burst into laughter holding her stomach as her abs became weak.
"Desole Cherie, it is just between that outfit and the look you gave me I couldn't hold it in any longer…but oui, I forgive you." She managed after collecting herself and giving a reassuring peck on the cheek.
"Oh good, I thought I'd have to do more to make it up to you but if my job here is done…" Cosima joked as she pretended to get up to leave.
"Non, your job is just beginning Mon Amour, I slept on the plane and my shoulders are tense. I need you to rub them." Delphine answered as she held Cosima's hand tighter, keeping her from getting far.
"Oh so I'm your servant now am I? What will you do to me if I disobey you?" Cosima whispered into her ear as she stood on her knees and rubbed Delphine's shoulders.
Delphine moaned at the first touch, having been yearning for this type of contact since they'd separated.
"Je tu châtierai…I will punish you, but you will like it." She teased back before leaning back into her touch.
"Somehow I agree...I will won't I?" Cosima agreed as she took Delphine's right earlobe between her teeth in an attempt to tease her.
Before Delphine could respond to the touching that was making her melt with affection, she heard a loud whistling sound before a pop. Just as she recognized the sound, she saw a burst of light over the ocean.