You look so wonderful in your dress
I love your hair like that
The way it falls on the side of your neck
Down your shoulders and back
Gail danced around in a circle with Abby, their hands joined at arms length as the pranced around, not a care in the world. Gail's hair warmed by the orange hue from the setting sun, giving it an extra shine, the blonde waves swaying from side to side in time with their dance.
Should this be the last thing I see
I want you to know it's enough for me
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need
The little girl let go and began dancing on her own, twirling and jumping to her own tune, encouraging Gail to do the same. Gail then began to spin, her arms spread as far as they went, her smile as big as Holly had ever seen it.
I'm so in love, so in love
So in love, so in love
Gail had been I invited to the Stewart family day, not as a plus one to her favourite Stewart, but as just herself, just Gail Peck. It wasn't out if pity, Susan -Holly's mom- had reassured her of that many times, and so did Holly and the rest of the house. They actually liked her and felt she was part of the family, so she should be there for the big Stewart Family Day. Family Day was a day filled with competition, good family bonding competition, most of which was physical activity seeing as it took place on the last day of a week long camping trip. There was horse shoes, bocce ball, water balloon toss, egg on a spoon race, three legged race, and any sport you could get enough people to join in. It was an all day fight.
Holly talked fondly of previous years, it was one of her favourite holidays growing up. Her musical, Uncle Wolf, was one you always wanted on your team. He was a master of all games and he always came up with a catchy tune for his team, cheering on by ways of yelling the song on his guitar, loud enough to be heard all throughout the camp ground. Her Aunt Barb was the best out of all of them at horse shoes, gaining dozens of points for her team in no time. The list went on, each member had their best game and usually stuck pretty closely to that one, but Uncle Wolf and Aunt Barb were never on the same team as their talents were about even.
She laughed and grew bright red as she recalled stories, how one year she face planted in a mud puddle in a potato sack race, and the year she finally beat one of her older cousins at horse shoes -also the first year she didn't have to cheat and throw from half the yard-, how one year it down poured the entire day but they didn't let that stop them. They still played and laughed, sure they had to change a few games and run for cover when lightening hit but it was one of Holly's favourite years, that year they danced in the rain and created a mud slide, they sang and cuddled and played black jack with candy as the chips.
Gail had grown excited to experience a day like the ones her girlfriend was describing, a day of total togetherness with the people you love, and no matter the weather or the injuries, it was a memorable day. And she had been invited to one. Gail couldn't go for the week camping, because she didn't like camping so she didn't bother getting the time off work for it and used it as an excuse. Holly didn't mind, she tried to convince her but gave up pretty quickly, Gail in the woods -even if there were showers and other amenities- would be quite insufferable and getting her there for two days was tough enough.
"What's this?" A little voiced inquired from under the table.
Gail and Holly let go of each other and peeked under the picnic table at the same time, finding a petite blonde with a bag as big as herself fit between her legs. Holly let out a harsh breath.
"That's a camera, and it's not nice to go snooping in people's bags, Abby. Put it back and apologize to Gail."
Gail watched in amusement as her girlfriend reprimanded the little girl. She could hear the adoration Holly had for the girl, but it was mixed with annoyance as this had interrupted their greeting each other after almost a week apart.
Abby shoved the camera and various other things -including a few tampons- back into Gail's backpack, and wiggled out from under the table. Once out and dusted off she glanced up at the two and smiled innocently.
"I'm sorry Gail." Her r's and l's making more of a w sound. Then Abby looked to Holly and shaded her eyes so she see, "who's Gail?"
Gail and Holly laughed in unison, Gail lasted longer as Holly settled and told her cousin that she was her girlfriend, which Abby shrugged to and asked of they could go back to the park. And so began their day of entertaining children.
They took the handful of kids too young to go alone, and went to the park, the beach, mini golfing -which was a horrible idea and ended in Holly having to call a few of her cousins her age to help. They got one minute together, one moment to themselves amidst the chaos of laughing and crying children, and it was spent just looking at one another. The kids were playing leap frog as Gail and Holly took a break on either side of the line of 'frogs'.
Then once dinner rolled around it was time to properly meet the teens and adults of Holly's family, Gail was nervous and was glued to Holly the entire time. Thankfully she didn't have to talk much, a few questions and a few comments to correct Holly's story and then she sat and listened to everyone else chatter. It was nice, a complete turn around from her own family get togethers, this was a family, not hers. The Stewarts were funny too, had Gail almost snorting pop out of her nose she laughed so hard. But the thing she loved most of all was how Holly fit into it all, how at ease she was with each person, how soft and giggly she was with the kids and then barked laughter at teasing the ones her age, how she commanded the adults to sit and relax and have the teens help her clean up instead, how she glowed warmly with utter love and affection with every encounter. Gail didn't even notice the bugs because she got so lost in watching the Stewarts, in joining the jests and tickle fights, it took virtually no time at all to find a place, to find her dynamic with the group.
"You know, I've never actually had s'mores before, and holy have I been missing out." Gail admitted around half a s'more.
There were a few gasps around the fire pit, some more dramatic than others.
"How have you never had a s'more before?" Isaac almost yelled. He was shushed by a few parents immediately after.
"My parents weren't as cool as yours are and my camping didn't involve many sweets, but I of course knew of s'mores and their popularity so I once made microwave ones. They sucked and I thought this was all hyped up, but I was wrong." Gail told the tale as she licked her sticky fingers.
"You poor girl." Uncle Rick cooed from across the fire, the sky too dark to fully make him out in the distance but that didn't stop her from sticking her tongue out into the abyss. Earning her a few chuckles.
A truck then drove up beside them and many got up excitedly, leaving Gail confused and with the bag of marshmallows. She slowly put one onto the roasting stick as she watched the small gathering at the pickup.
"Who's that?" Gail whispered to Isaac.
"I think that's Uncle Wolf and Aunt Nancy, if not then it's Charles and Ali, they are the only ones left to get here." The twelve year old informed Gail, not a care in the world other than the marshmallow he was roasting.
She hummed in reply, she had no idea who Charles and Ali were, but knew Wolf and Nancy were two of Holly's favourites.
After a few more minutes of greetings from the truck, they pulled out and found a empty space for them to set up, everyone but a few sat back around the fire.
Suddenly Gail's eyes were covered and a familiar whisper of 'guess who' hummed into her ear, she smiled from ear to ear. She hadn't seen Holly in a half hour, something about needing to go into town with a few others for last minute present shopping, -Gail hadn't been told anything about presents. She didn't even notice the headlights of their arrival.
"By the smell of dirt and lack of bug spray, and freezing fingers I'm going to guess it's my nerd." Gail teased.
Holly let go, giving Gail her eyesight back, she laid her head on the back of her chair and came a breath away from her girlfriend, the proximity sent her stomach into a frenzy. She knew Holly was close, the heat from her breath tickled her ear, but she hadn't guessed she was that close.
"No one needs as much bug spray as you are wearing right now." Holly laughed, her eyes dancing in the light of the crackling fire, giving her a warm glow.
"But you're forgetting I'm not a regular camper like the rest of you, I don't have the years of practice, plus my blood tastes better than yours." Gail teased, tracing finger delicately across Holly's cheek.
Holly hummed and leaned in closer, their lips almost meeting before she stopped. "Am I allowed to kiss you right now?"
Gail opened her eyes, having fallen closed in anticipation, and took in the hesitation in the almost black eyes staring back at her. She gave a small smile, filled with love that Holly stopped and asked no matter how much she wanted to just take.
Gail replied by pulling her the rest of the way in, her hand easily getting tangled in the dark hair that now formed a curtain for them. She sighed into Holly's mouth, completely melting into her chapped lips, and she could feel Holly do the same. God it'd been too long since she last tasted that smile.
It was over all too soon, Gail was about to protest when they heard a man bellow out a big hello, stealing both of their attention.
Holly smiled widely, a smile reserved for childlike glee, and Gail knew from that look it must have been her Uncle and Aunt who had arrived earlier. She looked down at Gail and grabbed her hand, pulling her from her chair and dropping the roasting stick -mallow still on.
Holly waited patiently as the crowed died out, as everyone else greeted the new arrivals with hugs and quick chit chat, and Gail watched the brunette practically bounce in place with an adoring grin. Holly was cute, acting like a child would for their parents to hurry so they could begin opening presents on Christmas morning, and all for greeting her Uncle. Wolf was tall, really really tall, and well built, someone definitely worthy of the name wolf. Gail on the other hand was grateful for the delay, she had time to prepare, to get a feel of who these people were. She was nervous to say the least, Holly loved these people endlessly and had shared many beloved memories, they were Holly's version of her Uncle Jake and Uncle Charlie. Their impression of her was important and Gail didn't want to screw it up. Plus there was the added pressure of 'Holly broke up with her boyfriend for this girl, so she must be special', how does one live up to that in a first meeting?
Once the last person began walking away Holly let go of Gail's hand and jumped into a hug with her Uncle, throwing him a bit off balance.
"And hello to you too, Bug." He chuckled as he squeezed the brunette in his arms.
Holly let go and hugged her Aunt. "How was the trip?"
"It would have been better if, Wolf, hadn't stopped a billion times to pee." The petite brunette jested a thumb towards her husband, she had a lovely French ascent that clouded each word. Gail noted to use her French skills at some point, finally learning it came into good use.
"Well excuse me for staying properly hydrated."
Holly giggled at their banter. Holly's aunt caught Gail's eye then, meeting her gaze and bringing Gail back to realize that she wasn't invisible.
"And who's this?" She questioned Holly, smiling welcomely at Gail.
Holly turned around and pulled her girlfriend to her side, keeping her hand on Gail's hip she meets the waiting gazes.
"This is Gail, my girlfriend." Then she looked to the blonde, "Gail, this is Uncle Wolf and Aunt Nancy."
"It's nice to meet you both, Holly's told me a lot about you." Gail tried for causal but ended up sounding as nervous as she felt. As nervous as she had been when seeing Susan for the first time as Holly's girlfriend, all shaky hands and trembling lips.
Holly gave her side a comforting squeeze, which eased a small chip off. Nancy and Wolf gave warm smiles, their eyes giving off an excited glimmer.
"It's nice to meet you too, Gail."
The following day was long and exhausting from starting to finish. Gail was woken by a rush of cold air, some rustling and then the tent zipper. Holly had been trying to quietly sneak out, having gotten used to waking at 5:30 for a run and then coffee at the morning fire before anyone else woke.
"How am I supposed to keep warm all by myself?" Gail whined.
"As long as you stay under the blankets and don't open them you should be okay until I get back." Holly replied, her voice low and rumbling as sleep still laced her lungs.
"But you're going to be forever."
Holly cracked a grin. "Just go back to sleep and I'll be back in an hour, okay?"
"Fine, but you owe me."
Breakfast was much earlier than Gail had anticipated, apparently camp time ran earlier than normal time and everyone was on the same page, in bed by 12 and up by 7. Luckily Holly knew how to bribe her girlfriend out of bed so early, kisses and promises and coffee. Irish coffee to Gail's delight, apparently family day also meant all day drink fest -and was indeed one of the games.
Everyone was divided into teams right after breakfast, red and blue, and each had to put on their Family Day 2015 shirt. And so the games begun.
Gail and Holly were on opposite teams, much to Gail's delight, now she could trash talk her girlfriend all day and listen to the brunette get more and more competitive as time passed. It was one of Gail's favourite things to witness, Holly's competitive side, it turned her on more than anything else -which Holly found out during a Mario-Go-Cart tournament with a bunch of their friends.
She started out light, a bocce ball game against Nicole, a cousin a few years younger than Holly. Then was a few other rounds against a few others, a dozen thumb wars against Isaac, darts with Liam, highest jump off of the swings with Hannah, and it was lunch.
Lunch consisted of pity games against Holly. Staring contests, arm wrestling, catching food with their mouths, and who could keep the straightest face while saying ridiculous things the kids told them to say. Charles, Ali, Liam, Trish, Nancy, Will and Gail all started a drinking competition that would last the whole day. Everyone had to have so many drinks in an hour, you puke you're out, and whoever was the last stand won.
After lunch, Holly dragged her out to the field to hit some baseballs under the promise that each she hit would be two points instead of her one. That lead to making out -long enough for someone to go looking for them- on the account that Holly tried to teach her in the clichéd way.
Gail continued the afternoon watching and playing the games, she was overwhelmed with how well she got along with the Stewarts, how easy it was to be on her own with the new people, how her cheeks hurt from all the smiling and laughing. This was how a family get together should feel, she thought many times throughout the day.
The balloon toss was a mistake, she ended up soaked by Danny tossing the biggest balloon from the bucket at her. She passed on the potato sack race, she knew she'd end up on her face and besides, watching Holly do it was much more fulfilling. In the late afternoon Abby approached Gail, her cheeks rose from the heat of the day and her little shirt tied off to the side.
"Gail will you have a twirling contest with me?" She asked, twisting from side to side.
And that was how Gail got roped into wearing a borrowed black, knee length, flowing dress, twirling in circles in a field with a two year old. They counted the first couple twirls, judging by who's skirt caught the most air and looked the prettiest, Abby's was better made for such an activity but that didn't stop Gail from arguing her case. If she had been more prepared she had the perfect dress at home for the contest, which lit up Abby's eyes as she challenged Gail to a redo someday.
Gail fell to the freshly cut grass, her head spinning a mile a minute, and giggles falling off her tongue as she listens to Abby do the same.
"I think Abby won that round."
Gail sat up straight, her head rushing even more, leaving her blind for a second. Holly laughed and shook her head.
"Well of course she won, she was prepared with a very aerodynamic skirt." Gail folded her arms in protest.
"That doesn't make sense." Holly pointed out as she sat next to the blonde. She looked to her cousin, "your mom's looking for you Abby."
Abby shot up off the ground, leaving her invisible snow angel half made. "Bye Gail, bye Holly!"
"You look like you're having a good time." Holly spoke softly, pulling her attention away from the girl.
Gail nodded slowly, contently. "I like this."
She leaned into Holly, resting her head on her shoulder and sighing happily. Yeah, she could definitely get used to this kind of family reunion.