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The train barreled down the tracks with a screech under its wheels. Carmilla had her headphones at the perfect volume to hear both Monteverdi and the pounding rain. The day would be rained out, she knew that very well. The emergency ponchos she picked up at the convenience store would only effectively cover her and Laura for a few moments. After that they’d be drenched, their shoes covered in mud, and everything would be as dreary as the sky.
Well, Carmilla thought, everything but one ray of sunshine. Laura was to her right and every so often, the train would shake, and Laura would tug at her hand. Carmilla would give her a gentle kiss on the side of the head, as if to whisper everything would be okay. Laura would give a weak smile, then go back to her gaze through the surrounding trees. Laura was too excited for the trip to go wrong in any way. Carmilla simply wouldn’t have it.
Carmilla tossed the magazine that had kept her busy for the last hour to the seat across from her. She then took out her earbuds and leaned over, touching her shoulder to Laura’s.
“What exhibit are you most excited about?” she asked in a soft voice.
Laura’s lips tugged into a gentle smile. “The women of World War 1 collection. I’m hoping to get some great inspiration for an article I’m writing.”
“Oh yeah? What article is that?”
Laura’s smile grew wider. She looked away from the window and her earthy eyes shined as they looked at Carmilla. “An article on women saving the world, you know, the thing they always do.”
“Fair enough,” Carmilla said.
“What are you most excited for?”
“Getting off this train and into a warm, dry building.”
“There’s no museum you’d like to see?”
“Wouldn’t that break your perfectly planned itinerary?”
Laura’s cheeks slowly turned pink, but she smiled on anyway. That was it, that was what Carmilla wanted to see. Laura smiling on.
“Well, I can always rearrange it if you think of anything.”
“I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”
Laura chuckled and rested her head against Carmilla’s. She sank down with a yawn and Carmilla knew she’d sleep the rest of the trip, though a bit uneasily. The train shook against the tracks and Laura clutched Carmilla’s hand. Carmilla simply smirked and closed her eyes, ready for the adventure that awaited them.
-
The sprint through the rain was rough and unreasonably blinding. Carmilla could see about two inches in front of her face and she knew Laura was completely lost. They stopped at a bright green neon sign that read “Hot Coffee and Cool Vibes.” It was a quaint cafe, a bit dingy, yet Carmilla was sure they kept an interdimensional portal somewhere in the back. Laura was sure the coffee would grow cold against her hands as she sipped it slowly between arrhythmic breaths.
“So where to first?” Carmilla asked, her eyes trained on a fly buzzing around the baked goods.
“Air and Space, it’s right around the corner,” Laura replied.
“Ready for another round of cardio then?” Carmilla asked.
Laura looked out the large window and frowned. It was still pouring, still dreary, still the opposite of what she wanted for the day. Still, the coffee was warm, the emergency poncho still fended off what it could, and Carmilla was still there with her. That’s what mattered the most. In fact, if you ask Laura, the moment she looked back at Carmilla was the moment it stopped raining.
-
Laura spent half of the Air and Space museum grumbling about the fact that she met the height requirements for the children’s exhibits but wasn’t actually allowed to use some of them. She was even more disgruntled by Carmilla’s assurance that she’d probably do something clumsy and break them anyway. Her annoyance mostly came from the fact that Carmilla was right.
“Oh look! A mini wind tunnel!”
Carmilla watched as Laura found things she actually could mess with and learn from. Laura would take out her notepad and write things down. She also look plenty of pictures for LaFontaine to see upon their return. One picture she took just for herself to have, one of Carmilla watching a video on their galaxy and all the constellations in it. She snapped the photo right as she saw a smile creep across Carmilla’s lips. Oh yes, definitely saved for another rainy day, Laura thought.
“Did ya get my good side, darling?” Carmilla asked. She made a suggestive pose and bounced her hair with her palm.
“Oh hush,” Laura said as she put her camera away. She pulled out her itinerary and a map of the city. “Looks like we should be heading to the next place on my list!”
Carmilla nodded and gave a last, longing glance at the map of the stars. She listened as a dull voice droned on about the Little Dipper and the stars that gave it life. She then let the sound fade as she locked her fingers with Laura and they made their way for the exit. They stopped though, right outside the gift shop. Laura saw a different kind of look on Carmilla’s face. A look of deep interest.
Laura followed her gaze to a brown bomber jacket, designed to look like that of a fighter pilot. She already saw it covered in patches that would display the names of grunge bands Laura had never heard of.
“You wanna try it on?” Laura asked.
“Perhaps,” Carmilla said with a hidden smile.
Laura didn’t reply. She pulled Carmilla with her into the shop, immediately she found a neat stack of jackets and handed one over. Carmilla shrugged it onto her shoulders and smirked at Laura’s hanging jaw. The jacket was a bit of a loose fit, but personality-wise it fit Carmilla perfectly. The open zipper showed off her body, while the rest of it rested around her in such a casual way. Laura loved it on her.
“I’ll take your expression as a hint that we’re getting this,” Carmilla said.
“Can we buy multiple? In different colors?”
“Just one,” Carmilla said. “Are you getting anything?”
“The same thing I always get,” Laura said.
Carmilla expected a shirt, maybe a postcard, a toy plane to sit on the shelf and collect dust. Nope. Laura instead walked out with an arm full of various flavors of astronaut ice cream. The chocolate were her favorite, she told Carmilla. But that didn’t mean everything else needed to be left behind.
-
The walk to the Natural History museum was short and ultimately a disappointment. The museum was overcrowded by hordes of children who went rabid over taxidermy animals and dinosaur bones. Carmilla had a rule about children, they needed to be at least a hundred feet from her at all times. Instead they were swarmed around her and she didn’t appreciate it one bit. Laura didn’t appreciate that she couldn’t get a single good photo.
Carmilla finally found solace in the room that held the Hope Diamond. The children didn’t seem to care for the delightfully cursed object. Most of them shuffled along silently which allowed Carmilla room to breathe.
“We can go if you want,” Laura said.
Carmilla nodded quietly. Laura wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s and held on tightly, which Carmilla very much appreciated. She focused on the warmth around her bicep and smiled to herself. Maybe not as much of a disappointment after all.
-
Their next stop was the History Museum for Laura’s article, though Carmilla found herself enjoying the stories on the walls just as much as her wife. They found a certain ambiance in the sound of audio tours and quiet conversation. It soothed them after the earlier stampedes. Laura snapped photos of various war posters, Carmilla read plaques and learned new stories of old heroes.
“You wanna check out the pop culture wing?” Carmilla asked after a while, realizing she was reading some things twice.
“Oh, yes! They have some really neat stuff up there,” Laura said with a certain excitement. She focused her lens on a painting of a war nurse. She wanted to capture one last stoic expression before she left. Once she had stolen the moment, she laced her fingers with Carmilla’s and lead the way.
They hid kisses in the empty elevator. Gentle on the lips, invasive in the right ways. They hadn’t even realized they’d stopped at their floor until a woman with a stroller started coughing at them. Carmilla simply chuckled, low and husky. Laura nervously laughed, but darted for the doors as quick as she could. They made their escape down a yellow corridor covered in posters from various movies. Laura wanted to stop for photos, but knew she couldn’t stand to hear any jokes from Carmilla about her blush.
She escaped the awkward feeling in her stomach by power walking through the exhibits. Butterflies soared from her belly to her chest, thinking of taking the elevator back down, just to ride it right back up. She wasn’t even paying attention to her surroundings until she stopped dead in her tracks at a glass case. Carmilla had to catch up to her, slightly winded from the uncontrollable laughter.
“I can’t believe-”
“Don’t.”
“Oh, come on, babe. It was funny.”
“It was actually the opposite of funny,” Laura corrected.
“Agree to disagree.”
Laura huffed which nearly made Carmilla smirk. The smirk made Laura frown, which led Carmilla to leave a soft kiss on the top of her head. That, okay, it made Laura smile a little bit. She’d admit that.
Laura turned her attention to the glass case in front of her. The famous ruby slippers sat before her, glittering under the light. Fond memories drifted in her ears as she thought of one of her first halloween costumes. She remembered being arm and arm with her friends, a song in their souls about being off to see the wizard. She immediately brought up her camera and snapped several shots.
“If you could click your heels and wish for anything, what would it be?” Carmilla asked.
Laura thought of her memories, of her desire to be a kid again, when she was so small and the world seemed so much brighter. Then again, she had this life now. This life where she and her wife spent time sharing kisses in elevators, wandering far off towns, and holding each other through the more disastrous of times.
“I’m all set, actually,” Laura said.
“Really?” Carmilla asked.
“I’d maybe wish for a new coffee mug,” Laura replied with a shrug. “What about you?”
“I’m quite content myself,” Carmilla nodded with a yawn. “Though a nap sounds nice.”
“Well,” Laura started. Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth. “There’s just one more place to stop, then we can head home.”
“Wasn’t this the last place on your itinerary?”
“The last place I wrote down.”
“Did you somehow decide to be less organized or is there something I’m missing here?”
“You’ll see,” Laura promised. She let her camera fall to her chest and waved for Carmilla to follow her. Carm cocked one of her eyebrows but still rolled with whatever it was that was going on. She couldn’t possibly be that surprised, right?
-
Carmilla walked by Laura’s side through the evening drizzle. The traffic on the street whirred by them as everyone made their way home for the day. They’d tucked away the ponchos and had embraced the rain on their faces. Laura pointed at a building to their right with a large smile on her face, but Carmilla only seemed more confused.
“They’re closed,” Carmilla said. The building loomed over her with great stone lions prowling before her. Still, Laura made her way up the stairs. “Cupcake, are you hearing me?”
“Just because I didn’t write this down on my itinerary doesn’t mean I didn’t have a plan,” Laura said. She stopped at the locked door and knocked on it three times.
A portly security officer with a half-smile and tired eyes opened the door. Laura reached into her bookbag and pulled out a press pass. He took it, stared it down, then looked back at Laura.
“You must be Charlie’s friend,” he said. “Come on in.”
“Thank you!” Laura said.
Carmilla was impressed, to say the least. She assumed there must have been some sort of conference or interview going on. They followed the security guard through several dim hallways under the scrutinizing eyes of monarchs whose cheeks were filled with oil paint. They reached the end of the hall to a white sheet with a sign beside it that said ‘New Exhibit Coming Soon!”
“It’s all yours for the next hour,” the security officer said.
Laura thanked him yet again as he lifted the sheet for them to walk through. They did and immediately Carmilla was star struck. She was surrounded by the works of Charles Angrand and there wasn’t a single other patron in sight.
“How did you manage this?” Carmilla asked.
“You remember Charlie from work? The one who brought his cat to the office Christmas party? Well, he was assigned an article on this new addition. Only, the article got scrapped, and we still had the space reserved. So, I talked Charlie out of his spot, and here we are.”
“Wow,” Carmilla whispered, barely audible. She couldn’t stop looking around her. She allowed her body to follow her gaze. She was drawn to one painting in particular,
Le Pont De Pierre
. It was one of her favorites, the way the street contrasted the sky, the glimmering street lights against the silhouette of the city. She could practically see the shadowy figures making their way through the foggy streets.
“Wow.” It was all she could say at first. She couldn’t think of anything else. “You really know how to please, Laura.”
“I’m taking that to mean you like the surprise.”
“I love it.”
Carmilla wandered from painting to painting in the small room. She found herself lost in each of them, swimming the tides of the paint to entirely new shores. Every so often she’d call for Laura and point to a detail she loved or a perfect brush stroke.
Laura loved to see the expressions Carmilla made, the smiles that pulled at her cheeks, the sighs of relaxation, the love of the peace and quiet. Laura eventually came up behind Carmilla, leaned against her back, and wrapped her arms around her waist. She yawned against Carmilla’s jacket.
“I’m almost done,” Carmilla said.
“No, no, take your time,” Laura replied. “I just wanted to enjoy this with you.”
Carmilla turned herself around to be face to face with Laura. She smiled down at her wife, the half-open eyes and the weak smile. She adored cheeks tinted with raindrops and blush. She marveled at frizzed honey hair and the sweet smell of flowers from her perfume.
“What’s your favorite work of art that you saw today?”
“You.”
Laura laughed. She leaned back into Carmilla, into the warmth of her arms, burrowing her head into her chest. They stood, stoic as stone, happy as bumblebees kissing dandelions.
“I love you,” Laura whispered.
“I love you too.”
Carmilla knew the security guard would come for them soon, and if he didn’t, the exhaustion would. Still, she took joy in this moment. She drowned herself in Laura’s tender embrace. For a day of wandering aimlessly, she couldn’t have imagined such a perfect destination. She didn’t even spend the rest of her time looking at art or trying to convince Laura to sneak off somewhere they shouldn’t be. She just stayed there, as still as the world seemed around her. Because she was drenched, and her shoes were covered in mud, and damn was the day as dreary as the sky.
So all she wanted to do was hold her little ray of sunshine.
And so she did.
-End-