Chapter Text
“Vacation time is almost here,” Behrad all but sung as he placed his lunch tray on the table in the staff cafeteria at the Metropolis Arts Centre, sliding into the chair opposite Sara. They had only two shows to go before the end of the season and a very welcome break before they started rehearsing for fall season which started in September.
“Go on, B,” Sara chuckled, cutting up her chicken schnitzel. It was only her and Behrad at their regular table for the moment, the rest of their friends caught up in various pre-performance tasks. Sara was Stage Manager for the in-house productions on the Main Stage, and her girlfriend Ava was conductor for the Metropolis Opera and Ballet Orchestra. “You can tell me your plans one more time.”
“Monday - fly to Seattle,” Behrad said, excited to be going home for once. After encouragement from Nate in particular, Behrad had finally started, and just recently completed, his diploma in music production, which also saw him receive a pay rise in his position as the operations assistant for the Metropolis Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Though it wasn’t the business or engineering degree his parents had wanted him to study, they pleased all the same that Behrad had some sort of further education all the same. “Spend a week with maman and baba, getting free food, free laundry, probably free clothes because maman will insist on taking me shopping like a little kid. You know, all the perks of home.”
Sara chuckled. “And then?” she asked, despite knowing exactly what was next.
“Hire a classic 1980s VW camper van, fully kitted out a sink, stove, fridge, cabinets, everything I need for a three week slow drive all the way up to Anchorage, camping through Canada. It is going to be great,” Behrad beamed.
Sara smiled. “You have got to send lots of photos. I’m gunna be stuck on the couch for six weeks, so I need all the vicarious vacations I can get,” she said, not about to let her own less than ideal summer plans ruin Behrad’s excitement. She’d be returning to work a little bit later than everyone else, but hoped it would be before the first tech-and-dress rehearsal for the season.
“When I have reception, I’ll send photos,” Behrad promised. “Do you have Netflix marathon plans? Book binge-reads? Gunna buy a PS5?”
“Ava has a binder all prepared,” Sara said.
“For Netflix recommendations?”
“For the whole summer,” Sara said, proud of her overly-organised girlfriend. Sometimes it was hard to believe that she and Ava had been together for over two years, as it simultaneously felt like forever and no time at all. They’d bought a two-bedroom apartment together in a multi-story building in a nice part of Metropolis at the beginning of the year, and were very happily settled in together, along with Ava’s cat Kitty Parker.
“Why am I not surprised,” Behrad chuckled, getting stuck into his tacos.
“You know what she’s like,” Sara smiled, taking a bite of her lunch and glad that she had Ava by her side. Around twelve months ago, Sara had started having pain in her knee. After six months of physio with no improvement, Sara had had a scan which showed a small injury which wouldn’t heal without surgery. It was this, thankfully covered by the workplace health insurance as Gideon had wrangled Sara’s contract to include the same level of insurance as the ballet dancers themselves, that meant Sara and Ava were spending the summer in Metropolis, Sara on the couch recovering, and Ava filling the time with the detailed plans in her binder. “Plus this is stressful for her too.”
“I know. But you guys’ll be right,” Behrad said with a mouthful of taco.
“I know,” Sara said with a small smile. She hated the idea of needed surgery again, though her nerves and frustration were slightly alleviated by the knowledge that this time she had Ava. “And there’s something else,” she said, nonchalantly scraping up another forkful of lunch.
“Hmm?”
“Most of the time the pain is minimal. It’s annoying more than anything and will come on suddenly for seemingly no reason. Right now, nothing. Earlier this morning, kinda bad. But…” she inhaled, trying to play it cool. “I want to propose to Ava.”
Behrad almost dropped his taco as he was bringing it to his mouth for another bite. “What!? Sara, that - that’s brilliant! Congratulations.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep it down,” Sara said, unable to stop grinning as she looked around the mostly empty cafeteria. “But I - surgery sucks. This summer is going to suck. But… I want to be able to get down on one knee in front of the woman I love, and I don’t want any twinge of pain or discomfort or to wobble or need help getting up like a little old lady or whatever. I want to ask Ava to marry me the old fashioned way. I wanna do this right, and to do that, I need the surgery.”
“Sara Lance, you old-school romantic,” Behrad beamed. “So, does Ava know?”
“Absolutely not,” Sara said, butterflies in her stomach.
“Does anyone?”
“A couple of jewellers.”
“You’ve bought a ring?”
“Nah,” Sara said. “Just made some inquiries and looked at some designs, but I haven’t found anything that feels quite right, and I - it’s got to be right, you know? If I can bring myself to have bloody knee surgery again, I can be patient on finding the perfect ring.”
Behrad grinned. “So this is a secret?”
“The biggest secret,” Sara said.
“And the only people who know are a couple of jewellers and me?”
“Yes. So if word gets out around this crazy den of gossip we call a workplace, I will hunt you down.”
“Secret’s safe with me,” Behrad said, miming locking his lips shut. He picked up his taco again and took a bite, “So,” he said, mouth full of food. “I think Ava’s list-making has been rubbing off on me. Wanna hear all about the off-the-beaten-track places I’m going to visit on my trip?”
“Go for it,” Sara said. “Also I hope you see lots of bears. Send me pictures and videos of bears, please.”
“Oh, I plan to see bears eating salmon straight from the river. Ok, you ready?” Behrad said, pulling out his phone and opening the Notes app. “So, first up, cool places on Vancouver Island…”
…
“Kitty Parker, it’s one night, all right? Sara and I will back back tomorrow afternoon. You’ll sleep most of the time we’re gone. At least you don’t have to go to the cattery. It’s not like we’re going to Europe, or even California,” Ava said, feeling guilty for leaving her cat behind. Kitty Parker was perched on the back of the couch, looking at Ava with big eyes as she and Sara prepared for their one night’s vacation at fancy winery an hour out of Metropolis.
“Babe, come on. Time to go,” said Sara. This booking had been very last minute, but she was excited all the same. The previous night they’d finished the season at the Arts Centre, tonight they’d stay in a suite generally used for wedding receptions at a very nice winery, tomorrow they’d be back at home, and the day after that, Sara would be in surgery, though she tried not to dwell on that part. “You ready?”
“One moment,” said Ava, giving Kitty Parker a kiss on the top of the head. This overnight stay had thrown her a little bit, but she understood Sara’s need to escape. She raced into their large, bright bedroom for one final check and to grab her bag and sunglasses.
“Good girl, Kitty,” Sara said quietly, giving Kitty a rub under the chin. “You’ll keep the house in order for us, won’t you? Yes. You’re a good cat. Good girl, Kitty Parker,” she cooed quietly, and gave Kitty a little kiss, fonder for the cat than she generally let on, though Ava saw through her cool.
“Ok, we ready?” Ava asked a minute later, reappearing from the bedroom. “Do you think Kitty needs a cat-sibling? To keep her company?”
“Babe, it’s one night,” Sara said, though this was far from the first time a cat-sibling for Kitty had been brought up. Ever since they’d moved in together, it had been something one or the other had mentioned almost every time they’d both left the house. “We’ve given her extra kibble, an extra litter tray, an extra bowl of water, and two breakfasts, which she thinks is amazing. She’ll be fine, but we will miss our lunch reservation if we don’t get going.”
Ava took a deep breath.
“You’ve been talking to Zari about the whole second cat thing again, right?” Sara asked, having spoken to Zari, their good friend an chief milliner for the Opera and Ballet companies, about it herself.
Ava chewed her lip and caught Sara’s eye. “Maybe.”
Sara chuckled, holding her bag in one hand and Ava’s hand with the other. “Come on, babe. The countryside awaits. See you tomorrow, Kitty Parker.”
“Bye, Kitty, have a good day. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kitty remained on the back of the couch, watching as Sara and Ava left with their overnight bags, not phased in the slightest.
…
As Sara and Ava thoroughly enjoyed their three-course lunch at the Italian restaurant on the premises of the winery, taking their time as they worked their way through the antipasto board showcasing some of the best cheeses and cured meats from the region, wood-fire oven pizza, and chocolate panna cotta with local summer berries for dessert, all washed down with some of the best wines from the estate. Afterwards, they checked in to the hotel adjoining the restaurant, happy to retreat to their room after the huge meal.
“Babe! Have you seen the fluffy dressing gowns in the bathroom?” Sara called as she explored their room, feeling very full and a little light-headed from their lunch.
“I’m still in awe of the view,” Ava said, looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of views over the vineyards and rolling hills.
“What do you want to do now?” Sara asked, coming out of the bathroom, a dressing-gown on over her clothes.
Ava looked at her and laughed. “Quick nap followed by a long walk? I’m so glad we didn’t plan dinner because I think I’ll be good just with a little bit of room service.”
“And considering that the room service comes from the same kitchen as our lunch, I can get on board with that,” Sara said, flopping down on the bed. She picked up a card by the pillows. “Huh. Pillow menu. This place is fancy.”
Ava smiled and kicked off her shoes before joining Sara on the bed. “I’m glad you found it and I’m glad we came. I am a little worried about Kitty Parker being lonely all by herself.”
“Babe, it’s one night,” Sara said, pulling Ava into her arms. “She’ll be fine. From the time I get home from the hospital, she’s going to have me home with her for weeks, which will definitely make up for leaving her home alone for one night.”
“She’ll be sad when we go back to work,” Ava pouted.
Sara decided not to say anything, sure that Ava was edging towards the ‘do we need a second cat?’ discussion. She interlaced her fingers with Ava’s. “Can I show you something?”
“Sure,” Ava said.
Still holding Ava’s hand, Sara reached over and grabbed her phone from the bedside table where she’d left it. She opened up the videos. “I haven’t looked at these in years. This one is from nearly a decade ago. So many little kids want to dance professionally, and I don’t regret that I got to, even if my career wasn’t nearly as long or as successful as I would have liked,” she said, pressing play on one of the videos. “That’s me, there,” she said, pointing herself out from the other dancers.
Ava rearranged how she was sitting to better see the screen. She’d seen a few videos and photos of Sara dancing, but for reason had never asked Sara if she had any more. “It’s beautiful.”
Sara managed a small smile and rested her head against Ava’s arm. “I know I could have ended up injured even if I didn’t pursue ballet professionally. I would have done some sort of dancing or other sport, and… I don’t know. For a long time I did blame the ballet, but now… I know I’m about to have surgery again, and I know the surgeon said hopefully this will be the last one on this knee for 20 years, but… I miss it.”
“Ballet?”
“Yeah,” Sara smiled wistfully, watching the old video of herself dancing. “It’s taken, what, six years? Or longer, I guess. The last couple of years I was dancing I don’t think my heart was really in it. But I miss it now.”
Ava wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t know if Sara had brought this up with Sophie the physio at the Metropolis Ballet Company, or even Gideon, Artistic Director of the Metropolis Ballet Company, and their good friend. It was too much to ask, less the 48 hours from when Sara was due to have another surgery, if she thought it was possible she might try dancing again in some small way, so Ava changed the topic ever so slightly.
“What are you most looking forward to this coming season?”
“Well, we’re opening with Coppélia which I love, and everyone loves annual showing of The Nutcracker,” Sara said, quite aware that Ava had changed the conversation, and grateful for it, not knowing how she would have answered if Ava had pressed her more about missing dancing. There was something she was looking forward to more than any upcoming performance, too; her intention of making the beautiful woman by her side her wife, and though she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to stage the proposal quite yet, Sara knew that their workplace would somehow provide the backdrop. “What about you?” she asked, loving to hear Ava talk passionately about music, or the true-crime books and murder-mystery novels she also loved.
Ava grinned and rolled onto her elbow, completely unaware of what Sara had planned for them before the year was out. “You ready for my musical thoughts on every show between now and Christmas?” she asked, speaking very quickly thanks to all the alcohol and the chance to speak at length on one of her favourite topics.
“Go for it,” Sara smiled, feeling full and content and wanting little more than to see Ava happy.