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Dani gets the feeling that Grace always needs to be moving. When Carl suggests that they wait until the afternoon to leave his house, she can feel the antsiness almost radiating off of her, and it takes everything she has not to place a steadying hand on her back. She doesn’t know what stops her, but there is a feeling there that is blossoming that Grace nearly seems afraid of, and she doesn’t want to push.
So, she does what she always does and she gets busy. She helps Alicia find clothes that will fit everybody, and she gets Sarah into a shower and changed. When it’s her and Grace’s turn, she realizes that Grace will only agree if she promises to sit on the toilet until she’s done, and then allow her to do the same, so she relents, and tries not to stare too hard at the glimpses of naked torso that peek through as the curtain waves.
Grace gets ansty again, and Dani decides that she needs food (the woman is always eating), so she is back to Alicia, and rounding up some ingredients that she directs Grace to place on the table. Their closeness flusters Dani again, and she has to remind herself that she only met the woman a few days ago, and she never develops feelings for someone that quickly. Well, almost never. It doesn’t help that Grace is always nearby, and underfoot. She doesn’t ever get in the way, but after Dani struggles for a few moments to reach something on a top shelf, she needs only to turn slightly, and Grace is beside her, reaching it with ease. The soft smell of lilac body wash brushing past her nose, and making her eyes flutter from the closeness. She shakes her head, and looking down finds herself exactly at midriff level, and Grace’s reaching for the high shelf has exposed her bare stomach. Dani takes a step back, and nearly trips on a rug, but before she hits the ground a strong arm encircles her waist, and she opens one eye to find herself face to face with Grace.
“Uh, thanks.” She says, hurrying to right herself.
Grace sets her upright and hands her the bag of masa flour. She gestures to the table, sitting down and beginning to organize ingredients. “Tamales, huh?”
A soft smile plays on Dani’s lips. “Yes, an old family recipe.”
“The Ramos Tamales. Known from Oaxaca to Jalisco.” Grace remembers, returning the smile.
Dani raises an eyebrow. “How do you know about them? I made them for you?”
“Sure!” This is the first real nostalgia that Dani has seen from Grace, and she loves the way it makes the other woman’s face light up. She loves the way her voice lilts and twirls. She gets caught up in the memory that still her future. “We finally had our first good corn crop. Legion had found and destroyed others, but this one made it all the way to harvest. It was the first fresh veg we’d had in forever, and everybody got a share. The first thing you did was dry it and grind it, and make tamales. I think it was the happiest you’d been in a long time. You told me, ‘Grace, this recipe has been in our family for a long time, and you should know it too’, so, you taught me. And we ate them, and it was pretty much the best thing I’d ever had.”
She’s laughing, but Dani was a bit dumbstruck. The recipe was one that had been in their family for generations. It was never taught to just anyone. Whatever they had been in the future-
“Grace, that’s incredible. My dad didn’t even teach me the recipe until I was nearly ten years old. I must have really loved you. I-in the future, I mean.”
Dani’s voice gets soft near the end of that sentence, and she can see that Grace doesn’t want to look at her. After a moment of quiet, she walks over the table, putting a hand on Grace’s arm.
“I can see why I- why she loved you so much. And trusts you. She’s very lucky to have someone like you to look after her.”
Grace turns to Dani suddenly. “It wasn’t just me, she looked out for me too. She took care of me, she listened to me, she supported me. I owe everything to her.”
“Not everything Grace, you have a good heart, and no one can teach that.”
There is a moment of silence as they look into each other’s eyes. Dani can see there is something that Grace wants to say, but she wonders if she’s the Dani that needs to hear it. She interrupts her before Grace can form the words.
“I’m glad you’re here, Grace. I’m really glad.” She places a gentle kiss on Grace’s forehead, and watches as Grace’s eyelids flutter closed.
“Me too, Dani.”
“Thank you for taking care of me.”