Chapter Text
“Where is she?”
Sue had been waiting for Emily in the town square for a while now, outside in the crisp New England autumn.
It has always been this way- Sue finished her sewing lessons half an hour before the end of Emily’s, and they always would go run around in the orchard afterwards. But today, there was no sign of her. Emily had never kept her waiting for so long before.
“Sue!”
She whipped around to find Emily, running as fast as she could in a frumpy dress, sprinting with something grasped tightly in her hands.
“Sue, I’m so sorry! I was ambushed.” Emily was panting, holding herself up by the knees.
“Jeremy Puff cornered me and was trying to woo me”, adding a retching sound at the end of her sentence.
Sue burst into a grin.
“Jeremy Puff? The cobbler’s son? But isn’t he...”
Emily told Sue all about what had happened on the way to the orchard.
“...and it was revolting! Look at this poem he wrote me. He said ‘oh I know you like poems so here I wrote you one’.”
Emily shuddered as if a chill ran down her spine.
“I can’t even bring myself to read it again.”
Sue took the crumpled ball of parchment from Emily, unravelling it carefully to discover chicken scratches of dark purple ink that just barely made out words. Though Sue struggled at first to decipher them, she eventually figured out what it had said.
“Dearest dearest Emily,
Jubilee
would be
you and me....baby."
Sue almost snorted.
“Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.” Emily looked at her incredulously.
“Are you kidding? It’s awful! Look at his handwriting! The lack of any other poetic device? It’s uninspired! The feelings are shallow and the sentiments insincere. I am a poet, not a silly girl who would faint at the thought that a boy could string two words together and somehow impress me.”
“Oh Emily, not all of us can be as bright as you.” Sue shot her a loving look, which always brought her peace, no matter what drama was driving her mad. Emily blushed, and seemed to remember that something was in her pocket.
“Here. You wanna see a real love poem?” Sue smiled even wider as she unfolded the piece of paper that Emily had written “For you” on. She read aloud:
I might never know
the sweet dew
of simple trees
whose roots taste
the age of Earth,
whose life comes from the leaves
Yet all the love
I’ve ever known —
superb, supreme, sublime
is sweet as any other dew.
for Sue,
This is the truth.
Sue looked up at Emily with tender eyes. Emily stared skittishly at the floor, dragging the tip of her toes across the floor in front of her. As if trying to justify herself, she blurted:
“That was a more classic poem style I was trying out, and you’re my best friend so I thought I’d just use you as a subject because...”
“Because?”
“Because...you’re my favourite person in the world.”
The two of them had stopped underneath the arch of branches that was in their secret corner of the orchard. It was secluded and hid behind high hedges adorned with small flowers. Emily had to turn away. This confession had been one she’d been meaning to make, but she couldn’t be sure about how Sue would react. It was hard to look at her as she read the words she had crafted so lovingly.
“And you’re the only who makes this godforsaken place bearable—”
Sue grabbed her and pulled her close. They were suddenly nose to nose. Emily panicked, for the close proximity made her insides scream with anxiety. Then, Sue kissed her.
A volcano of emotion swelled inside her chest, jolting her awake from whatever stupor living had been before this very moment. It was like there were newfound nerve endings all over her body that were activated for the first time. Sue held her tighter, hungrily kissing the lips that had always said such fond words to her. For the both of them, who had never kissed anyone else before, it was as easy as breathing.
“Whoa.”
“Yeah.”
Their foreheads remained together, electrified by this novel connection. She nuzzled into Emily’s neck, just as she always did.
“You’re my favourite person in the world too.”