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At 3:30am, Agatha’s eyes flew open, but Rio remained fast asleep.
She had been training for this for three weeks, shifting her circadian rhythms backwards just to wake up before Rio on this one day:
Valentine’s Day.
Agatha grabbed the corner of the blanket and peeled it off of herself. Her eyes remained fixed on Rio, willing her to stay asleep, and she held her breath the entire time as she slid out of bed and then crept out of the room.
Once in the hallway, she managed to silently close the bedroom door, then leaned her back against it and released a soft sigh. She held a hand over her heart, trying to calm its exertion.
A few quiet thuds coming from the bathroom distracted her, and she let out another – this time less relieved – sigh before opening the door and releasing Señor Scratchy from his prison.
“Are you going to help me cook momma breakfast?” she whispered to him.
He promptly turned away and hopped off to his bed in the living room to fall back asleep. Agatha rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen.
“Let’s do this,” she said to herself as she began tiptoeing around the kitchen and carefully picking up dishes. This had to be perfect – it was their first Valentine’s Day together.
They spent the weeks leading up to it arguing about what to do before deciding to split the day in half and plan something each.
Agatha got the morning and early afternoon, and she intended to make the most of it; and if part of her was secretly motivated by the idea of outdoing whatever Rio had planned later, then so be it!
First up was breakfast for her beloved.
She didn’t realize until she was turning the stove on that she had never actually cooked anything at Rio’s house before.
But a stove was a stove no matter where you went, right?
Not right. This was not the stove Agatha knew.
While the heart-shaped pancakes came out burnt, the eggs were slightly undercooked and watery, and the toast came out too dry and crumbling. The bacon was mostly okay, but a large majority of the slices were far too fatty – a pro to Agatha, sure, but a con to Rio.
The coffee was okay, though. That was a win.
She stared at the monstrosity with tears in her eyes, then moved to dump it in the trash and start again.
Unfortunately, Señor Scratchy sprung to his feet and binkied, a sign that his current favorite mother was approaching. Agatha let out an anguished cry just before she heard the bedroom door open.
“It smells great out here,” Rio called as Agatha placed the food and coffee on the table. Rio sat down with a tired smile, then tilted her face up so Agatha could lean down to kiss her.
“You weren’t supposed to be up yet. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed,” Agatha said with a pout. She sat across from Rio and bit her nails.
Rio choked a bit on the dryness of the toast but then flashed a supportive smile through a grimace at Agatha. She reached for her coffee and took a sip; it was far too sweet. When she bit into the eggs, Agatha leaned forward on her elbows, chin in her hands.
“It’s very good,” Rio said, smiling at her again. A bit of liquid egg flicked off her lip as she spoke.
Agatha sighed and buried her face into her hands. “The settings are so much different than my stove!”
Rio laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
Now, Agatha looked up with a cheeky grin. “Oh? Are you planning on asking me to move in already?”
She cackled as Rio choked on her food.
When Rio finally settled, she sighed and leaned back in her seat, a smile spreading across her face as she stared at Agatha.
“What?” Agatha asked.
“You’re just so beautiful,” Rio answered before reaching her hand across the table. Agatha took it in her own. “This was so sweet of you, Agatha, thank you.”
Agatha blushed, feeling shy under her intense gaze and the weight of her genuine gratitude. “You’re welcome,” she said, thumb rubbing against the back of Rio’s hand.
“So, is this the best you got? If so, I think I’ve got you beat,” Rio said with an annoying smirk that made Agatha roll her eyes.
“I’m only getting started.”
“Yeah? What’s next for your Valentine’s Day extravaganza?”
Agatha yawned and looked at the clock. 4:33am . “First,” she said through another yawn, “a nap.”
***
“Are we there yet?”
“I’m going to glue your lips shut,” Agatha warned.
Rio grinned. “But then I couldn’t make you laugh and call you pretty.”
“Do you want me to turn this car around?”
Rio slumped back in her seat, still grinning. She stared at Agatha like that for the rest of the car ride, until they pulled up to a vast, nearly empty parking lot. Agatha was so happy Valentine’s Day fell on a weekday this year for what she had planned.
When she looked over at her, Rio had her palms pressed up against the window and her face smushed between them. She turned to Agatha with a wide smile.
“What possessed you to take me here ?” Rio asked, looking back out to the trampoline park building. “I mean – I’m not complaining, but this absolutely does not seem like something you chose out of your own interest.”
“I was going through your old photo albums and found one that was filled with pictures of you on multiple trampolines. I figured you had an affinity,” Agath said as she casually picked at her nails.
She let out a soft oomph! when Rio slammed into her side to wrap her in a tight hug. “This is awesome,” she said before placing a kiss against Agatha’s cheek. “I love you.”
“I love y–”
Rio was already out of the car and running across the parking lot without checking for cars. “Come watch me do a flip!” she called behind her.
Agatha shook her head and smiled.
The place was void of children, thankfully; only the staff tittered about disinterestedly. None of them even made eye contact with Agatha or Rio – they may as well not have existed. Agatha was fine with that, though.
Rio would not have cared either way.
“Agatha! Watch this!” Rio shouted from one of the trampolines.
She held up a finger, to which Rio groaned loudly and dramatically, and then took off her shoes and switched her socks to the grippy ones that the staff provided. As soon as she stood and turned to face Rio again, she launched off into a string of front flips.
“Did you see that?” she asked, breathless, when she finally landed the last flip.
Agatha grinned at her messy hair and worked to flatten it once she was in front of Rio. “That was impressive,” she said.
“Let’s see you do that on the ice,” Rio challenged.
Agatha laughed. “You got me there.”
“Finally!” Rio cheered before taking Agatha’s hands. She began to hop on the trampoline, pulling Agatha up with her.
“You’re going to get us in trouble,” Agatha chastised. As expected, one of the employees began to approach from the other side of the trampoline section. Rio’s face fell with disappointment, and Agatha immediately turned to point a finger directly at the staff member. “Don’t even,” she warned.
There were no children around to follow their example and suffer the consequences, so who even cared?
Clearly not the employee, because he gave a slight shrug and walked away with the dead look in his eyes never shifting.
Rio beamed at her. “I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day,” she said as she began to jump with more ferocity. She held onto Agatha’s hands, forcing her to follow pace and height or get her shoulder jerked out of its socket.
“Oh, yeah? I bet you’re one of those people who gets a girlfriend every winter just to have someone to spend Valentine’s Day with,” Agatha teased, though the taunt was mostly lost to interrupting pants as Agatha realized this was the first cardio workout she had had in months.
Rio schooled her face to attempt to appear serious. “Absolutely. I plan on breaking up with you tomorrow. Exactly at midnight.” Seeing the amount of effort Agatha was putting into breathing, Rio slowed until they were bouncing softly, their feet just barely lifting.
Agatha swatted her shoulder. “You’re awful,” she laughed.
***
“So,” Agatha began as they drove to her last planned activity before she handed the day over to Rio, “do you think your plans will beat mine?”
“I’m taking you to New York. My plans will absolutely beat yours,” Rio said with a smug smile.
Though it was technically true, Agatha was the one who planned the transport.
They took the final turn down an uneven, dirt road, pivoting away from the thick cover of trees that hid their view up until that point.
Rio gasped as soon as she caught a glimpse of the inflated hot air balloon in the field before them, and Agatha smiled smugly at her. “You still sure about that?” she asked.
“How did you even – like, what ?”
“I got my license a few years back as part of research for a novel, and kind of just fell in love with it. A friend of mine lets me rent his from time to time,” she explained. She scowled as she added, “Charged me up the asshole for Valentine’s Day.”
Rio looked at her. “You’re incredible.”
Agatha smiled. “I know.” When Rio rolled her eyes, she leaned over to kiss her cheek. “So are you.” They smiled at each other before getting out of the car.
Rio stretched for an obscenely long time, and Agatha pulled out a picnic basket from the backseat before both of them made their way to the balloon.
“What did you bring?” Rio asked as she pointed to the basket.
Agatha grinned at her. “Strawberries and champagne.”
“We’ll need protein if we’re going to fight off the condors. Let’s save the strawberry tops to catch some seagulls,” Rio said, eyes scanning the sky.
“New Jersey doesn’t have condors, and I never should have introduced you to American Dad,” Agatha said with a roll of her eyes as she prepared their takeoff.
Something that would have been fun for Rio to know prior to their flight (aside from the fact that hot air balloon gondolas swing erratically after the initial takeoff) was that Agatha never actually mastered landings.
The bar for licensing was surprisingly low when it came to bringing a hot air balloon down. As long as you landed away from people and didn’t kill your license exam proctor, you were pretty much good.
Rio swore they were going to topple over at how rough they landed.
Once safely upon the ground, Agatha cleared her throat, opened the panel of the gondola, tossed her hair over one shoulder, said, “Nailed it,” and took her walk of shame past the few people scattered about to judge them.
Rio watched after her in complete adoration.
***
“So…do I have a foot in the race?” Rio asked, grinning. Agatha grabbed the ship railing and looked out over the water, the waves sparkling with the last dip of sunlight.
Agatha hummed thoughtfully and tried to school her expression, but Rio saw right through her. “I’m not sure. This is a pretty big opener, so now you’ll have to hope that the finish doesn’t fall flat.”
Rio shook her head with a laugh and wrapped her arms around Agatha to stare out at the passing city.
The ship chugged by the Statue of Liberty in all its oxidizing beauty, and together they briefly wondered what the words ‘learn the worst of history so it may not be repeated’ were supposed to mean if no one gave them meaning.
…but, anyway.
“Everything’s a mess right now,” Rio mumbled as she buried her face into the crook of Agatha’s neck.
“Yeah,” Agatha agreed, “but I wouldn’t want to sort it out with anyone else.”
Rio lifted her head and smiled before pressing a kiss to Agatha’s cheek. “Ditto.” Then, with an even wider grin, she asked, “Do you want to know why I chose this particular dinner cruise?”
“Why?” Agatha leaned back into her and closed her eyes as freezing air whipped across her face.
Rio’s lips were dangerously close to her ear as she whispered, “Unlimited dessert bar.”
Suddenly, Agatha was hot all over. She spun around in Rio’s arms, eyes wide open now, and claimed, “That is the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
(After that night, the cruise shut down their unlimited dessert bar forever. The horrors were unspeakable; Agatha was covered in melted chocolate and Rio was nowhere to be found. They were, at least, polite enough to allow Agatha to shower and change clothes before they threatened to sue. Agatha’s threats, though, held a lot more weight, and were even more unspeakable than the horrors.)
***
Agatha and Rio left the cruise ship laughing hand-in-hand. When she smacked her lips together, Agatha still tasted chocolate, and her hair smelled of it for the rest of the night.
“You definitely have me beat,” Agatha admitted as they continued down the street. Rio stopped to look at her with a huge smile.
“Even with the potential lawsuit?” Rio asked.
“ Especially with the potential lawsuit. I’ll destroy them in court. They shouldn’t have put the chocolate cake so high up and right above the chocolate fountain if they only had a flimsy chair around for reach,” she argued.
Rio laughed and pressed into her side as they walked. “That’s a very sound argument.”
“Damn right it is,” Agatha muttered.
They continued walking until Agatha realized she was looking around a quaint little neighborhood she didn’t recognize.
“Quaint” was perhaps an understatement to the stretching, sky-high buildings lining the streets, but Agatha had frequented the city many times and was accustomed to the even busier, larger areas.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Close!” Rio told her with a wide grin. “I think you’ll like this one. It’s a pottery class!”
They passed by a small little French bakery, and Rio stopped to peer through the glass. Her mouth watered immediately, and she pointed at something that Agatha couldn’t pinpoint while bouncing excitedly.
“We have to come back here after,” Rio said.
Agatha smiled at her, admiring the beautiful light of excitement in her eyes, the way her lips curved into such a wide grin – she loved this woman, especially in these small moments. “Of course, my love,” Agatha told her, knowing she would be unable to deny her anything.
After all, she was about to go to a pottery class for her. While they were in New York City. A pottery class.
I do love her, right ? Agatha asked herself as they trudged along.
“It’s this one, I think,” Rio said, eyes bouncing between the building and the description open on her phone screen.
Agatha hopped from foot to foot, trying to warm herself. She barely felt her fingers. Who thought it was a good idea to walk around New York City in winter?
“It is!” Rio cried happily.
Oh, right.
“Of all the things we could be doing in the city…” Agatha muttered as they pushed through the doors and relished in the brief blast of warm air. They walked to the elevator, only to find an “Out of Service” note posted. “What floor is it on?”
“Okay, so – it’s not just any pottery class. It’s rooftop skyline pottery!” Rio explained, causing Agatha to slap a hand to her face.
“Rooftop sk – that sounds ridiculous! You’re going to make me walk up to the roof of this place? Rio, I’m going to die – you’re going to die,” Agatha argued.
The lobby guard, reading a newspaper at his small desk, said without looking up, “There’s a service elevator ‘round back. Tell ‘em I sent ya.”
“ Thank you,” Agatha said to him as she passed his desk and knocked on the surface for emphasis. He muttered an insult that she pretended not to hear.
It turned out that rooftop skyline pottery was not ridiculous, and Agatha ate her words begrudgingly. The city was beautiful, with lights sprawling blindingly and sharp angled shadows forming the silhouettes of buildings.
For a long while, they watched the city breathe.
“Come on,” Rio said finally. “I want a fruit bowl for my kitchen.”
Agatha rolled her eyes. “What about a fruit bowl for my kitchen?”
“We can make two. You can have the first,” Rio told her as she sat behind her and wrapped her arms around her, hands sliding over Agatha’s.
Agatha leaned back against her, about to agree, before shooting upright and swiveling her head around. “That’s only so you’ll know what mistakes not to make the second time!” she cried.
Rio laughed and kissed her cheek. “Fine, fine. You can have the second one.”
“You only paid to make one piece,” came the class instructor’s voice.
Agatha waved her away with a scowl, then leaned back into Rio heavily and with a loud huff. “ ‘You only paid for one piece ,’” she mocked quietly, making Rio laugh.
Together, they moved forward to crowd around the wheel.
***
The bowl came out terrible, and they weren’t even allowed to take it home that night. It was to be shipped to them in six to eight weeks. What a waste.
And yet, it was probably one of the best experiences of Agatha’s entire life – the whole day was, really. Rio would have voiced similar thoughts, if asked. However, rather than speak, the two of them were huddled together overlooking the river.
They munched on vol-au-vent from the French bakery that Rio did not forget about – and they were both immensely pleased that she didn’t as sweet, flaky goodness crumbled on their tongues.
“I love you,” Agatha said through a mouthful of the puff pastry. Rio laughed at her and wiped crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
“I love you, too,” Rio told her.
They looked back out to the water, lights sparkling and splashing among the surface, and came to the silent, simultaneous consideration that this was the best Valentine’s Day of their entire lives –
– not because of the boisterous plans, but only because they spent it with each other.
“So, where do we go to get air-lifted back home?” Rio asked.
Agatha paused, her hand halfway to her mouth with the vol-au-vent. “I…I thought that transportation back home was on
your
agenda…”