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Robin’s lack of coordination wasn’t exactly helped by the fact that Nancy’s fingers were clamped over her eyes, the chunky black stone from her ring digging into Robin’s eyebrows a little. It also wasn’t helped by the fact that Nancy’s coordination was now off, as well, being on her tiptoes in order to see past Robin’s shoulder.
“Nancy, please! I’ve tripped over your feet, like, five times now!” Robin exclaimed.
“It’ll all be worth it, trust me.” Nancy replied.
They’d been taking a walk around the harbour, Nancy pointing out everything she recognised. Robin had only been in Boston for a couple hours now, and she already felt like she knew the place. Or at least, the parts of it that Nancy knew. She liked it better than Chicago, feeling more quaint despite them both being major cities. And plus, Nancy lived here, which meant it was infinitely better than any other place on Earth.
Robin heard a splash of water. Of course, she was surrounded by water, but it felt closer by than the crash of waves against concrete. Nancy’s hands left her eyes, and she couldn’t have possibly predicted what she’d be looking at. Big puppy-dog eyes stared directly at her, and they weren’t Nancy’s.
“It’s a seal.” Nancy stated.
“I can see that!” Robin’s brain whirred around, processing how she’d found herself in front of an actual live seal. She took in the rest of her surroundings, a giant building in front of her which read New England Aquarium in big letters.
“You told me once that-”
“-My dad took me to an aquarium when I was a kid and I’ve always wanted to go back? And you’ve brought me here, and- oh my god- this-” she pulled Nancy into her arms. “-This is the best surprise ever.”
“I’m glad!” Nancy replied. “I’d like to not be dead before we go in, though, so can you maybe hug a little less tight?”
“Right, right, sorry.” Robin pulled away. She turned back to the seal, splashing around, seeming just as excited as Robin did. “Seriously, Nancy. This is… amazing. I love you.”
It slipped out before Robin could catch it. Nancy’s eyes shifted from happiness to worry.
Well, shit.
It had never been said before, by either of them. Robin had always managed to hold back every time it rested on the tip of her tongue. It was never a good idea to say it over the phone, anyway. And on one particularly bad night Nancy had told Robin about everything. The brutal breakup with Steve, her parents’ loveless marriage, the fear of losing someone she loved (again). There was a list of reasons why she couldn’t say it, and Robin never wanted to make the mistake of pressuring her.
But now…
“You don’t have to say it.” Robin whispered. “I’m so sorry. Nancy, I can take it back-”
“-You can’t take that back.” Nancy shook her head, entwining her hand in Robin’s. “And I don’t want you to. I’m glad you feel that way, and I… I…” she trailed off, and Robin could see clear as day that she was trying.
“Nancy, I know.” Robin said, which was almost like finishing her sentence. “I know you do. You don’t have to say it.”
“But how do you know, if I don’t?” Nancy asked.
For someone so smart, she really did ask stupid questions sometimes. Robin grinned, pulling Nancy along into the entrance of the aquarium. “Like this…”
The cool air and aquarium smell hit her as the automatic doors slid open. There were a few tourists, and parents with toddlers, but it was a school day. Robin couldn’t be sure, but something told her Nancy had planned that, too. No crowds meant no Robin crying in the bathroom because someone had accidentally bumped into her.
Nancy paid the entrance fee, a little awkwardly with her left hand still tightly nestled in Robin’s, and then was immediately pulled along by the over-excited girl, weaving through the barriers until she saw a pool of rays.
“Rhinoptera bonasus, cownose ray. They live in coastal waters in the western Atlantic and can sting when they feel threatened.” Robin recited.
“Impressive!” Nancy laughed.
“Not just a pretty face.”
“You read the sign.” Nancy pointed at the ‘cownose ray’ sign standing directly in front of them. “But it’s okay, I like your pretty face.” She touched her nose against Robin’s, Robin letting out an involuntary giggle, before being pulled along by Nancy to the next section.
The hallway opened out into a huge room with a gaping ceiling. Below their floor was a pool, large rocks sitting in the middle, and sitting atop the rocks were-
“-Penguins!” Nancy gasped, running to the edge of the balcony to take a closer look. “They’re so cute!” she squealed.
Robin’s eye caught one particular penguin trip on the slippery rock, regaining it’s balance and sitting back down as if it had never happened. She pointed. “That one’s called Buckley.”
A second penguin sat beside it, checking if it was alright. “And that one’s Wheeler.” Nancy said. “We should take them home.”
“Which home? We live in separate cities, Nancy.” Robin chuckled.
“Oh… yeah. Well, if you take Wheeler and I take Buckley, then we still have each other!” Nancy suggested.
“But then the penguins will be sad. Anyways, I left my penguin stealing tools in Chicago, believe it or not.” Robin moved away from the penguins and further into the aquarium.
In the next room, Robin found herself staring at all the various tanks from afar, feeling like that one donkey from the fable, paralysed with indecision. Nancy made her way to a tank of jellyfish, and the decision became easy.
“I think I’d like to be a jellyfish.” Nancy sighed, tracing her finger against the glass, following one particular one as it floated about aimlessly. “No brain, no cares, just swimming around an empty abyss.”
“Fun!” Robin said. “I think you’re already jellyfish-like. Pretty but dangerous.”
Robin’s hyperactivity met with Nancy’s impatience got the two through the exhibits fairly quickly, arriving at the very top of the aquarium looking down on a vast, deep circular tank that stretched to the very bottom floor. The tank was filled to the brim with different creatures. Fish, sharks, and even a turtle.
“Did you know that in a lot of cultures they believed the world was carried on the back of a turtle?” Robin informed her girlfriend.
“Really?” Nancy replied. “I think that’d be cool, like this world is being protected.”
Nancy stood up, the turtle now gone, and reached down for Robin’s hand. Something Robin had quickly learnt about Nancy was it was almost impossible to read her mind, but incredibly easy to read her face. Nancy’s face currently indicated that whatever was going through her head, she needed to stop thinking about it.
Perhaps it was the same thought as Robin had. That in real life, the world is not protected by a turtle, but instead a jellyfish.
She followed Nancy down the long hallway, getting deeper and deeper down the giant circular tank that sat to their right. Robin got the feeling this was the end, they were circling back to the entrance. She couldn’t let herself forget this. She needed to savour it.
She let Nancy’s hand slip out of her own, sitting beside the glass of the tank. Giant fish swam by, a few momentarily stopping to check out the girl watching them, and then realising there was nothing interesting to see.
She didn’t take her eyes off the fish, but felt a presence sit beside her. “I wish I could live here.” Robin said. “I think the entire world should be one big aquarium.”
“We have until six.” Nancy replied. “Also, the earth is mostly ocean, so it already is one big aquarium.”
“You know what I meant.” Robin watched a few minuscule fish swim in and out of the coral playfully. “Look, Nancy, they’re playing tag.” She glanced at Nancy, who was staring directly at her, and not at the funny fish. “Nancy, look!”
And suddenly, Nancy’s head was in the crook of Robin’s neck, Robin taking in the scent of the shampoo she didn’t realise she had missed so much.
A muffled voice buried in Robin’s shirt said, “I love you.”