Chapter six

Infinity minus one

It was nice to be back in her old house, for sure. She had room to stretch out like she never had in her apartment back in Cali, and of course the roommate was a nice plus. But it also brought issues you just don't get in an apartment. For one thing, apartments don't have lawns.

Elsa wiped the sweat off her brow as she pushed the mower across their back lawn. It was quite a large lawn, which had been a boon when she was young and only interacted with it by playing in it. Like so much else, that was flipped on its head now that she had grown older.

She glanced back to gauge her progress, judging herself to be about halfway done – with the backyard, at least. The front yard was smaller, but the grass was no shorter, and both had to be completely mowed by the end of the day. The weather forecast showed rain on and off for the next three days, and by the time that the ground had dried up from that, it would be far too long for its own health. So yes, it was imperative that she mow the grass on this, probably the last 80+ degree day of the year. But hey, at least the burning afternoon sun beating down on her had dried out all the grass.

As she reached the end of one row and turned to face the next, she saw color out of the corner of her eye – something small, but clearly distinct from the normal earthen tones of their modest back porch. She didn't know whether to smile or groan as she turned towards it, because she knew exactly what it had to be.

Anna waved at her from the shade of the sun umbrella, reclining in one of their deck chairs. She took a long draw from her ice cold can of lemonade, which was sweating almost as much as Elsa was. Elsa felt a rising tide of irritation, which lowered in a flash once she saw the second can sitting on the table in front of her.

She released her grip on the mower and walked over to the porch. "Enjoying the show?" she asked as she climbed the stairs.

"Hardly," Anna said, stifling a yawn. "Didn't see any hustle."

Elsa offered her middle finger, then opened the can with it and began to drink. The cold lemonade was like nectar of the gods. Her already warm water bottle she'd clipped to the lawnmower couldn't hold a candle to this.

"You're crazy, mowing the lawn at this hour, you know that?" Anna said. "I can hardly sleep, with you making such a racket out here."

Elsa lowered the can with an exhale. "You'll live," she said. She sat down in a chair opposite from Anna. It wasn't in the shade, but that was fine. She already felt her mood recovering with the drink and the shade. Well, not just those two things.

"You know, the leaves are gonna start falling soon enough," Anna pointed out. "Nobody will even see the lawn – it doesn't have to be mowed."

"It's not about how it looks," Elsa said. "Let it get too long, you get all sorts of pests and weeds." She took another draw from the can, which was half empty by now. "Believe me, I'd avoid it if I could. This sucks all kinds of ass."

"Hey, don't sell it too short," Anna said. "You might talk me out of getting the front lawn."

Elsa looked at her. "Come again?"

"Yeah, it's only fair, right?" Anna said. She glanced up at the sky. "Just, uh, take your time, okay? I'd be happy to not start until it cools down a bit."

"Oh, that's not necessary at all," Elsa said. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm happy to do it all. I'm the one who cares, right?"

Anna frowned at her. "You didn't look happy," she said.

Elsa waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine, I've got it handled. I really do appreciate the-"

Anna interrupted her. "Elsa, please," she said seriously. "I need to get off my ass today. Let me help you."

Elsa found herself taken aback by the sudden change in her tone. She had plenty more excuses she could pull out, but the second Anna put in a serious plea, her resistance folded like a house of cards. "Okay," she said. "I'll come get you when I finish the back yard. Thanks, Anna."

Anna seemed surprised at how quickly she gave in, but she smiled warmly. "No problem," she said. Then she transitioned into a smirk, and her jocular tone returned. "I gotta start pulling my weight around here anyway, before you decide to stay charging me rent."

Elsa laughed. "Rent?" she said. "I'm your houseguest, remember? Where would I get the authority to do that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you could figure it out," Anna said. "Eminent domain, or something."

Elsa chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll know for sure at the end of the week."

"Why?" Anna asked. "What's at the…" Her face fell. "Oh yeah," she said. "The will."

Elsa nodded, steeling herself for the sudden change in topic. Despite the heat, a chill seemed to have fallen over Anna.

"You'll have to tell me how that goes," Anna said.

"Oh, you can't just let me do it," Elsa said in an acutely calculated casual voice. "I could say I got 100% of all assets, including your kidneys, and you'd have to take me at my word."

Anna managed a half-smile, which quickly faded. "You wouldn't screw me like that," she said.

"No," Elsa admitted. "I wouldn't."

Anna could no longer be described as reclining in her chair. Now she appeared to be sinking into it.

Elsa stood up abruptly. "Well, that's enough lazing around for me," she said, a little too loudly. "You can't just let me slack off like this, Anna, you're such a bad influence." She mussed Anna's hair, which she noted with dismay was still unwashed, then headed back to the lawnmower.

Anna continued to slouch, remaining motionless as Elsa resumed her journey across the lawn. When the heat of the day finally spurred her into motion, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I'll think about it," she mumbled to herself.

The garage door rolled up, casting a red glow over Elsa's car. She rolled the mower into its usual resting place, then wiped the sweat off her brow. She turned to Anna. "Nothing like a little hard labor to put some hair on your chest, eh?"

Anna didn't respond. Her arms were folded, and her face was screwed up into a classic Stage 1 pout.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Elsa said. "You did a great job on most of the front lawn."

The pout persisted.

"You got 95, maybe even 97% of it," Elsa continued. "The other option was me making you go back and get those last few patches, so when you think about it, I really did you a service, huh?"

Anna still wasn't having any of it. Realizing the futility of trying to talk her out of her pout, Elsa shifted gears. She sank to her knees and laced her fingers together

"Oh, please, your grace," she begged exaggeratedly, "forgive me for my sleight against your honour. I meant only the best for our poor innocent lawn."

Anna tried to keep up her scowl, but rapidly lost the battle. It seemed she still couldn't resist Elsa's faux dramatic voice, and she burst out laughing.

"There it is," Elsa said happily. She strolled into the garage.

"Yeah, I'm letting you off this time," Anna said, wagging her finger. "Don't get cocky."

"I'll try my best," Elsa responded. She reached into the fridge and plucked out two water bottles, tossing one at Anna. Anna opened the bottle, poured a splash of it directly onto her head, and gasped at the shock of the cold water. Elsa chuckled.

"So, how're your arms?" Elsa asked as she entered the house. The stairs she climbed without issue – fortunately, it seemed that particular existential crisis was a one-time thing.

Anna flexed experimentally, then grimaced. "Been better," she said.

"You should work on that," Elsa said. "Guys love fit girls."

"You think so?" Anna asked, stepping inside.

"Oh, totally," Elsa said. "You would not believe how many stares I drew when I started going to the gym full time."

She flexed to demonstrate. Anna hadn't noticed immediately, but Elsa had clearly gotten more toned in her absence, even as her own body had trended in the opposite direction.

"I'll keep that in mind," Anna said. "Does that apply to girls as well?"

She asked this without thinking, then immediately clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Well, sure," Elsa said. "There's tons of girls out there that love…" She paused and turned around.

It could've been a totally innocent remark, just more curiosity from a highly curious girl. But combined with that reaction…

"…uh, why do you ask?" Elsa said casually.

Anna's face was turning red. "No reason," she said.

Now Elsa herself was burning with curiosity, but she had no desire to press the matter and make Anna even more uncomfortable. She shrugged. "Okay," she said, then turned away. Anna had proven she was capable of letting sleeping dogs lie back at the golf course, and now it was her turn.

There's nothing good you'd do with that information, anyway. The best thing you can do now is not think about that question, or any of the implications it might-

"Okay, fine," Anna said, derailing her train of thought. "I knew I'd have to say it at some point. I'm…I'm in the market. For both girls and guys."

Elsa turned around. "You are?" she said. "That's great! Um, for you, I mean. Double the options!" Anna's face was still a deep mauve. "But we don't have to talk about that if you don't want to," she followed up quickly.

"No, it's fine," Anna said. "You kinda helped out with it, actually. When you came out to Mom and Dad, it got me thinking. I've probably been bi this whole time, it's just…you know, Ohio…"

"Oh yeah, I get it," Elsa said. "Not much of a scene around here. Of any kind, really."

She was talking casually, as if they were merely discussing the weather. On the inside, though, her heart was beating in double time. In all the time they'd lived together, Anna hadn't given the impression that she was anything but straight. Anything that could've been an indication to the contrary had been filled away as wishful thinking, but here was direct confirmation. Already, that blithely optimistic part of her brain was rewriting its previous equations.

Shut up, you! This doesn't change a thing, you hear me? There are still countless reasons that it'll never happen. Infinity minus one is still infinity!

"So, anyway," Elsa said, "we should both probably take showers."

Anna looked down at her sweat-drenched clothes. "No kidding," she said.

"So, do you want first shower, or should I take it?" Elsa asked. She drank from her water bottle, feeling more comfortable now that the conversation had drifted back into safer waters.

Anna looked puzzled. "Can't we both shower at the same time?"

Elsa nearly choked on her water. "Come again?" she asked quickly.

Almost instantly, Anna realized the implications of what she'd said. "The guest bathroom downstairs, I mean!" she said quickly. "That's got a shower in it."

Elsa could practically feel her blood pressure dropping. "Oh yeah," she said. "Duh." She felt her face turn a deep red.

Not only did that bathroom have a shower, but so did Mom and Dad's. Three showers in the house, and her mind had immediately jumped to that.

Anna was blushing, too. "You've only got one shower in your apartment back in Cali, I bet," she said. "Sorry, that must've sounded-"

Elsa swiftly cut her off. "No, it's my fault," she said. "I'm the one who…ugh. I'll take the guest bathroom. Let me get a change of clothes." She dashed upstairs, feeling her face and ears burning.

As soon as she was out of sight, Anna thunked herself on the side of the head. "Nice going, genius," she muttered. "Way to make it awkward."

A few seconds later, Elsa descended from the second floor, pajamas in hand. In a futile effort to salvage the conversation, Anna called to her as she reached the basement steps. "Don't use all the hot water!"

Elsa glanced up. "Don't worry about it," she said before shutting the door.

You see, dear sister of mine, I won't be using any hot water for this shower. Not one fucking drop.