Chapter 149
They decided as a family it would be nice to go out and do something to distract themselves from their inability to do proper cases. They invited Myra along, who happily accepted, but Ghastly stayed back with Laila as her parents worried she would overheat in the seriously hot Arizona temperatures. It was silly, and the parents knew it, because it was November and the weather girl on television promised it would only go as high as twenty-three degrees Celsius and that was unlikely at any rate, but Ghastly and Laila remained home anyway. Tanith was certainly pleased to be out of the house. Fletcher was working nonstop so he couldn't come.
They took the minibus and drove out to a town nearby, parking at the little diner. They didn't go to eat straight away but rather split up so they could enjoy the little town instead. Nadia and Tanith giggled in whispered voices a few steps ahead of Valkyrie. She smiled as she watched them. Nadia was wearing shorts. She was more than happy to be a part of their nefarious, giggle plans if she got to keep staring at Nadia's butt and legs.
They went into a little thrift store, a really nice little place, and had a look around. None of it was Valkyrie's size, but Nadia found a bunch of things she liked while Tanith looked over the baby clothes area as well as at a few of the tops that would fit her. Valkyrie got to hold their shopping, smile and tell Nadia if something was the correct colour for her skin or not, like the good girlfriend she was. She didn't actually know half of the time, just went off of how much Nadia seemed to like the item and told her whether it was nice or not based on that. It seemed to work.
"You're in a really good mood," Nadia commented, smiling at her. There was a dusty smell in the air, something old and woody. "I thought you would be upset after earlier."
"No, I'm alright," she smiled, sidling a little closer. "They fixed me up on scene, so I just had hurt feelings really. But if I get to spend my time with you instead of working, I don't think that's really a loss. Do you?"
Nadia giggled. "Well, that was why you quit your job, wasn't it? To spend time with me?"
"Of course," Valkyrie giggled back and went in to kiss her when there was coughing behind her.
She turned and saw a pudgy, narrow-eyed woman with her hands on her hips. Valkyrie smiled brightly at her. "Hello," she grinned.
The woman pursed her lips but did relax slightly. "Do you girls need anythin'?" She asked with a slight drawl to her voice.
"No, we're just looking thank you," Nadia said sweetly, flashing her big eyes at the woman. She shop keeper hmphed but was satisfied enough to walk away and over to Tanith who seemed to have pulled apart the entire baby section.
"Maybe we shouldn't do that here," Nadia whispered quietly, looking back at the clothing rack with a little less enthusiasm.
Valkyrie frowned. "No, we can do what we want."
"Yeah, but this isn't really our home or anything Val," Nadia whispered back, looking over a modest, three-layered shirt with disgust. "This might be one of those really conservative places. I don't want to get thrown out, okay?"
"It's none of their–"
"Valkyrie," Nadia interrupted, turning to look at her. "I know. I know, okay? But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to not make a scene. I'm just asking you to respect that."
Valkyrie pouted because she knew she'd been bested. Nadia continued shopping and got her enthusiasm back when they met back with an excited Tanith. The lady had pulled some new drop off's from the back of the store from the brand she had bought Laila in Ireland, but in all different designs since in America, the company produced some different things. She was showing off how soft the sleeping onesie was when the lady came back over.
"Is this alright for you?" She asked, looking between them. She seemed a little less suspicious but no less stern.
"Yes, it's lovely," Valkyrie said, looking it over as well. She'd heard Tanith go on and on about all sorts of clothes brands for Laila. She didn't want to have to do this again. Pre-baby Tanith had never gone on about clothes before and she'd like to get that back. "How much is it for the box?"
The lady raised an eyebrow and told her a stupid price, so Valkyrie tried to bargain it down. She had to fight it but managed to get it down quite a lot so they were paying thrift store prices rather than more than if they'd gotten the box new like the woman originally asked. Even Tanith had rolled her eyes, and she'd have probably bought it out of excitement.
"And what about this here?" The woman asked, reaching for the three things Nadia had settled on. The woman looked them over. "You don't think they're a little revealing, dear?"
She had gotten a very sickly sweet tone to her voice, but Nadia remained cool. "No, I quite like them thank you."
The lady didn't like it, but a sale was a sale and Valkyrie paid for their purchases, getting a few off looks from the woman for doing so.
They left that shop and went for a nice walk until they ran into the Idiots who desperately wanted to watch a movie at the little theatre in town. They went for a long walk with the boys until they found the others and, after buying a few treats at the local sweet shop, went to the theatre.
As luck would have it, there was only one movie showing and it was a really bad horror. Valkyrie grinned and persuaded Nadia to watch it by showing that there was almost no one else there but them and that she, the big strong protector, would look after her if the movie was actually scary. She'd also got her a chocolate bar to sweeten the deal.
They all sat together, taking up a whole row, and Valkyrie held Nadia's hand the whole time. There was mostly blood and bad acting, but there were a few well-placed jump scares that got Nadia badly. Valkyrie had just laughed.
They left the movie theatre laughing at the awful ending, throwing leftover popcorn at each other and having a really good time. There were more people around town now, more parents with children as the school day seemed to have finished, and they decided they'd go and get a really late lunch at the little diner they parked next to.
They had to be seated across two large tables as they were all bolted to the floor and the staff couldn't make one large table, but they were fine to split up. Because of the number of parents and children that were in the restaurant, they had to sit across the entire floor from each other, but they made the best of it and laughed. Valkyrie, Nadia and Myra were split off to sit on one table and the others got to stay together.
"So, how was your day?" Valkyrie asked as she looked over the menu.
"Oh, it was great!" Myra said immediately and started rambling on about the things she and the men had done, walking around town with Solomon and Anton before going to the movie. The waitress took their order and said they'd be a wait on the food because of the rush, but they just nodded and smiled.
"How was your day then?" Myra asked after a moment of silent, elbows on the table, chin on hands.
"It was good," Valkyrie said, looking at her girlfriend who was sat next to her. "We went to a thrift store and the lady was eyeing us up I think, but she had some really nice stuff."
"Oh yeah? What did you get?" Myra asked with a little smile.
Nadia smiled back and showed off the new tops, getting them out of the bag since it was going to be a wait. It ended up being a nice conversation and Valkyrie found she liked Myra a little more over the time she spent talking with her. The way she mostly looked at and spoke with Valkyrie was still a little annoying, but she was forever sweet with them both so Valkyrie found herself dismissing the feelings of irritation. Some personalities didn't mesh well, but that didn't mean Myra had done anything wrong and Valkyrie would be being mean if she acted badly towards her. Their lunches came, burgers with fries, and the three girls tucked in. Valkyrie stuck her tongue out at her brothers and they did the same back every once in a while.
The lunch was lovely and they ordered ice creams as the rush started to die down and customers started the pay and leave. They were simple sundaes, just two scoops of vanilla with chocolate sauce, but nothing could beat a simple ice cream in Valkyrie's eyes. It turned out Myra enjoyed going to comedy shows also, so they joked around some, although mostly she just wanted to talk about Fletcher and the weather and about family. It was really nice.
As the ice creams came to an end, Myra excused herself to the bathroom, giving Valkyrie a moment alone with Nadia.
"This is really nice," Valkyrie said genuinely.
"It is. I'm glad we're here actually," Nadia said back, licking the chocolate sauce from her spoon. "I know it's not ideal and all, being made to come to America, but it's really nice. Even considering this morning."
"Well, they'll be a lot more of this morning," Valkyrie said, looking at Nadia. "I sort of wished we had a room for our own though."
"Val," Nadia said, warning her but also smiling secretively. "I'm sure we can find time alone, like right now. This is nice, isn't it?"
"Of course it is," Valkyrie told her, knowing full well she'd live a happy life just holding Nadia's hand and getting nothing else. "But that doesn't mean I won't want more later."
Nadia rolled her eyes, but let Valkyrie take her hand and kiss her knuckles lovingly.
"You know, I'd like to take you out soon," Valkyrie said.
"What do you mean?" Nadia asked, putting her spoon down.
"Well, it's almost your birthday, and I wanted to take you on a date for it. It'll be a surprise location, but I thought I'd ask," Valkyrie said, kissing her knuckles once more.
"I'd like that," Nadia nodded, blushing.
Valkyrie leaned in and pecked Nadia on the lips quickly, nothing gory or loud, but when she heard the shattering of plates behind her head, she knew exactly why without having to look.
"What on earth!" A woman shouted shrilly. Valkyrie took a deep breath as Nadia's sagged her shoulders and tried to disappear. "Oh my! What on earth do you think you are doing?! Do you – did you know there are children right here?"
Valkyrie turned in her place at the booth to look at the lady and block an obviously embarrassed Nadia from view. "Ma'am–" she got out before she was interrupted again.
"I have never seen such disrespectful behaviour!" The lady started again. Behind her, two waitresses were gesturing for someone to come and all of the mentioned children were either looking away out of shock and embarrassment or looking on very curiously. The adults were either glaring at her or the woman but did nothing. She couldn't see her family from this angle but she knew they would be angry. "To do such vile things in public! I've heard about people like you, but shame! Shame on you for your indecency. What would your parents think of this? I dread to think what God will do to you for your actions."
"I'm not Christian," she snapped out, but that was a mistake.
"Well, I can see that!" The woman snapped. She had a little black bob of hair with blonde highlights, was more than a little chubby and was very short but wore little shorts that were riding up into a disgusting camel-toe and an oversized t-shirt she was sweating through. "God can forgive a lot of things, but kissing in front of children like horny, satanic monkeys is another thing! How dare you!"
"How dare you?" Valkyrie snapped back, glaring at the woman and standing quickly, towering over her. She was in jeans and t-shirt herself, but her bare arms showed just how badly she could hurt this woman right now, and, oh, did she want to. "It is none of your business what I do. What type of example are you trying to be to these children anyway? That they can scream at things they don't like when they feel like it?"
"Don't you raise your voice at me!" The woman shouted, becoming very angry even though Valkyrie had not shouted. "I am your elder, and you don't get to tell me what to do! Where are your parents? You obviously need a good telling off. And where are hers? Do they know where you are, sweetheart? Kissing other girls like a homo? That's not how they raised you, I'll bet! I'll set them straight on what you get up to."
A manager had come out of the back but was just looking on, his waitresses looking on with more compassion but an unwillingness to get involved. Anton had stood to act his part, but this time, Solomon beat him to it and was standing behind the woman before Valkyrie could say anything.
"I am her father," Solomon gritted out from between his teeth. He was seething mad. More seething mad that yesterday. "How dare you talk to my daughter in that tone."
"You did this?" The woman asked, pointing her little finger at him and leaning back to take in his full height. "Did you know these two females are as kissing like little homosexual hussies in here?"
"Don't. You. Dare. Insult. My. Daughter. Again." Solomon glared at the woman, and Valkyrie felt as the building went cold, reacting to his magic. The mortals were no wiser as to why, but she'd have expected a 'god-fearing' woman like her to take the hint.
"Don't you get in my face, mister! They were being indecent in front of children, it is my right as an American tax-paying citizen to use my free speech and say if something indecent, grotesque and ungodly happens in front of the children! Did you hear me when I said these girls were kissing? Did you know that?"
"My daughter is having a meal with her girlfriend," Solomon said, his voice rising. "You have no such right to tell them not to kiss, so long as they are not rolling around on the seats. They have been dating for years, and I am fully aware of that. They are in a loving relationship. I support them, as do the rest of my family, including her other father."
"Well, no wonder she's like this!" The woman said, throwing her hands in the air. "This is what happens when people divorce. Broken homes make broken children. She needs to go to Church and be set straight, and you need to come and see how you are hurting her soul, condemning her to Hell, by letting her do these gross things."
"How dare you," Solomon hissed, and Valkyrie really wasn't sure what he planned on doing next and was mostly just watching with wide eyes, when Anton came up behind Solomon, backing him up.
"Step away," Anton said, and Valkyrie saw the woman turn white and begin to get flustered, but she was too far up on her horse to back down. Valkyrie turned to see if Nadia was ready to bolt, but she was pale and had a look in her eyes that said she was frozen stiff. Valkyrie's disgust at the woman rose.
"This is my table here!" She said, gesturing to the table behind Valkyrie and Nadia. "And anyway, I can't eat now! Not after seeing that."
Valkyrie's eyes narrowed dangerously and she wondered if this was a good time to punch her or not. It didn't seem to matter because she moved without really thinking and pushed the woman roughly towards her seat, Solomon and Anton jumping out of the way so they wouldn't have to touch the woman. She screamed like she'd been shot and threw herself to the floor like an idiot.
"Don't be so stupid!" Valkyrie snapped before the woman could start accusing her again. "I barely touched you, you threw yourself down there. We'll be leaving anyway, you've ruined our day as it is. Bitch."
Valkyrie grabbed Nadia's hand and she got out of the booth with her bag and Myra materialised and grabbed her things. She and her family left without another word as the crowds muttered and the woman screamed bloody murder about how she'd sue her and how she'd go to Hell for being a dirty homosexual.
They got in the minivan and drove off. No one said a word but they didn't have to. They were all mad, mad enough to hurt someone, so they stayed quiet. Even Nadia's fear and anxiety left and she was almost shaking with how mad she was. It was nice to not see her cry at the least. They'd both done too much of that in the last few weeks.
They got home and Ghastly asked what happened right as Dexter punched a hole in the wall of the house. Laila woke up at the sound and started crying, and while her family broke out in argument and explanation over what happened, Valkyrie grabbed Nadia and pulled her outside.
"Right," she said, looking at Nadia critically. "You need to learn to fight. If that ever happens again, it might not be that woman. It might be someone worse, someone with a vendetta or a gun, or someone willing to kill you. You need to learn to fight properly."
"I can fight," Nadia said moodily, crossing her arms.
"You can Shock people, but you're almost eighteen Nadia," Valkyrie said back in a hard voice. "You'll Surge soon and you very well may lose that magic and you don't have the best handle on it as it is. You said so yourself, you can only use it sparingly and not even well enough to really knock someone out. You need to learn to defend yourself with actual physical defence."
Nadia shuffled from foot to foot as the light breeze in the late afternoon sun brushed over their skin. "I don't want to fight, Valkyrie. That's you, not me."
"I didn't say fight. I said defend. Imagine right now–" Valkyrie threw her fist in Nadia's face, stopping just millimetres away from her left eye. Nadia flinched back. "You'd let it hit you and you'd fall over and get hit again and again. They could kill you Nadia! I just want you to know how to fight someone off of you long enough to run away. Is that too much? God, don't you remember what happened to me at the swimming competition a few years ago? I couldn't use magic then, I didn't even get a chance to defend myself with my training! I don't want that for you."
Nadia looked at the ground before answering her. "I guess. I just want to go to bed and never think about it, Val. Do I have to do this right now?"
"Yes, you do," Valkyrie said softer, hugging her tightly. "And anyway, I think the boys are arguing. We'll never get any sleep even if we went to bed. At least the weather is nice."
She got a small smile out of Nadia before she began teaching Nadia how to look after herself. They did basic punches and kicks, how to get out of it if someone caught her before she could hit them. They focused on muscle memory and worked out there until Nadia was sweaty and unable to move anymore from exhaustion. Only then, Valkyrie let them go back inside and upstairs.
They shared the bathroom, washing off in the bath to get off the sweat and dust from their skin, draining and washing out the tub, filling it with clean water, and soaking together with a healing stone to help their sore muscles. It had been a long day. Valkyrie washed Nadia's hair and Nadia washed Valkyrie's before they had to use sink water to rinse their hair out with the toothbrush cup to make sure their hair was actually clean of bubbles. They ended up laughing and at the end, Nadia dried them both and they got into their pyjamas, more than happy to skip dinner and just fall into each other's arms and sleep till morning.
I think we can call her Karen.
P.S. I bought my wedding ring two days ago! Super excited, the only issue is how long I have to wait to get married to wear it! It's a white band with a diamond star! It's very sparkly, I called it flashy and extra in the shop and the assistant laughed at me and said I was not extra compared to most people. Apparently it was hilarious I thought that. I guess jewellery shops see crazier requests than mine. It is really sparkily though, I'm in love with it! :D