Work Text:
Ema had finally managed to pry a vacation from the grasping hands of Khura'in’s grand prosecutor when she found out that she had no one to spend it with.
Apollo was too busy running Khura'in’s first ever law office in 20+ years. While Klavier always made time for Ema (he said that he found her hostility towards him endearing), he was on tour. And although she loved both of them very much, Phoenix and Miles were just too old and their tendency for shop-talk was too strong. When she tried to think of more people she could call, she realized how small her circle was. How it was less of a social 'circle' and more of a mental courthouse: nobody she knew fell outside the profession of 'lawyer', 'prosecutor', or 'detective'.
She went back to her apartment and laid herself out face-down on the couch, slits of dim afternoon light finding their way through the closed curtains. Nobody was cleaning, cooking a meal, lounging around, doing laundry, sprawling on the floor, sprawling on the bed, sprawling anywhere. There was not even the comforting trace of another person living there. At least when a much younger Ema came back from school to a lonely apartment, she could cover herself with Lana's jacket and smell the lingering perfume, clean up her leftovers, see what she was reading on the coffee table, go into the bathroom and see the used bottle of fancy conditioner, one of the singular luxuries Lana allowed herself. Then, when an exhausted Lana came home late to an Ema that had already fallen asleep on the couch, she would carry her to bed, or, when she was too big and too old for that, receive a hug, a smile, a kiss and an extra blanket. Lana always made sure to raise Ema's feet and tuck the blanket under.
Now, it was quiet. So quiet. Not a friend, roommate, pet, family member, lover, or even a plumber around. The fixtures were all perfectly fine. The refrigerator had an easy job. It hummed along, happy to refrigerate an opened pack of deli meat, 4-and-a-half cheese slices, and brown toast. Possibly there was a bottle of champagne in there. Ema bought a set of plates and cutlery in hopes of manifesting a visitor, but they were still in their display-case plastic, just as they were when they were first bought.
Whenever the TV was off, Ema noticed that the apartment had an atmosphere of silence that invited being punctured suddenly. Perhaps a random explosion, a pipe bursting, a gunshot, an intruder, a sleep-paralysis demon that missed the bus and decided to stay: all possibilities Ema found thoroughly disconcerting. Only the sound of the TV would clear the heavy air of potential calamity.
So the TV was never, ever off.
Waking up just before dawn, Ema was surprised that she was on her couch and not in bed. She did not realize how tired she was. She swore she remembered getting up and going to her bed, but that memory was simply the sediment of those dreams one gets in extreme exhaustion. False awakenings where one imagines they've gotten up, dressed up, and made breakfast, only to suddenly find themselves in bed again, over and over.
The menacing silence which usually inhabited the apartment when the TV was off was present. Ema's body was heavy. She felt like she was wriggling in a cocoon. This was because she had not taken off her lab-coat or dress shirt. When she tried to put her feet on the floor, she discovered she was still wearing her kitten heels. Her hair was simply skewed to the side as she had never managed to remove the pins from it before collapsing asleep.
She got up and actually did all the things she dreamed that she did. The sun was rising on her first day of vacation and she did not know where she could go or who she could talk to. What does one do with an overfed bank account? So much of her life had been education, more education, and then working, working, working that she never actually got around to finding out what people who don't pour over grisly crime scenes do with their lives.
Garbage-men outside were hollering at each other, the rhythmic chimes of the truck reversing punctuating their communication. They were bathed in orange, warm streetlight; and from the 5th floor balcony, looked like industrious bees buzzing around the first flowers of the day.
Kay did not occur to Ema as someone she could share her vacation with, even though both of them had backpacked through the Black Forest and trekked the Bavarian Alps together.
The ruthlessly practical mind of Ema did not allow those memories of Kay to rise up to the surface of her awareness, and struck them back down into darkness. Who knew where she was now? What she was doing? It was so long ago and Kay was so far away.
The selfie they took together at the peak of the Wetterstein mountains, featured by sheer algorithmic chance on the “People You Know” album, allowed these precious memories to break the blockade Ema’s mind had tried so carefully to maintain.
Kay… That's right.. Kay! Someone I had a great time with before. Someone who accompanied me on a wild trip to the middle of nowhere. I've always wanted to do that again. Yeah… Kay…
Ema navigated to Kay's number. She was hesitant because it had been so long since she talked to her. What if she had changed her phone number? This was a real concern that almost put Ema off the entire undertaking. What if she reached out but only found a stranger? Even worse, what if it was actually the right number but Kay just wasn't interested? These thoughts attached themselves to the lining of Ema's stomach and sunk their weight down.
"Hi. Is this still Kay Faraday? This is Ema Skye."
She sent the message after worrying herself sick about phrasing.
Ema put down the phone on the table like it was molten hot and the lithium-ion battery was about to explode in her face. She started regretting those words she sent almost immediately. She wanted to turn back time and keep going on with her loneliness just like before. She had forgotten how scary reaching out to people was.
When 10 hours had passed without a reply, Ema wanted to cry like she never had before. She was heartbroken in a way she did not believe was still possible. She went to sleep like a child whose mother never came around to say ‘Goodnight.'
"Hey!!!! Ema omg… this is crazy.. i was just thinking of u.. what the heck….."
"we have 2 chat ASAP, molto pronto!!"
Ema, bleary-eyed, awake since the crack of dawn, stared at the reply with feverish giddy.
Oh my god. Timezone difference, that’s why she took so long to reply. There was no need to go crazy. Rat poison souffle: postponed!
This was going somewhere and Kay was so excited. Still, she put the phone down like a chunk of hot charcoal. Ema was so happy that she fell back asleep immediately, like someone eager to resume a dream. When she woke up 10 hours later, it was in a frenzied panic that she picked up the phone and started yammering about the exact same timezone difference that had previously sent her into a deep despair.
"Hey Kay! Sorry, I just woke up. If you're still in San Kaguya, I think there's an 8 hour difference between us. I’m working in Khura'in nowadays. Are you free now?"
Ema was sitting up in bed, disheveled, and moving stray hair out of her face.
Kay Faraday is typing…
"YEP… can I call?"
This was advancing too fast for Ema. Calling? Voice chat? Talking to a person about something that wasn't a gunshot wound or traces of psychosis-inducing drugs in samples of blood? No. That was too scary.
"Reception spotty. Text me for now."
"ok no problem. how are you? missed hanging out with you so much"
"I'm okay."
Ema felt deeply ashamed that she was dryly texting Kay, someone who had carried her on her back when she got a gash on her ankle and had to hop on one leg for an entire day. The same person who disinfected the wound, bandaged it, and kept checking on it until they got back to the base of the mountain.
"can u stop texting like you’re edgeworth? pls"
Kay was someone who had forgone the filter installation process at the brain factory. If she felt it, she spoke it.
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I'll try."
"UR SUCH A DWEEEEEEB LOL"
"Anyway, I just wanted to know what was going on with you. It's been like 2 years since we last talked. Remember when we visited The Great Badgerlands again together?"
"HAHAHAHA YEPPPP.. it was so good to be there without having to investigate bullshit or whatever.."
Kay had a way of getting to the heart of things. Things are much more fun when you don’t have to recreate crime scenes. So, so true.
Ema was emboldened at this point. She had that recklessness that breaking a long habit endows you with.
"Come to Khura'in. I'm on vacation and I want to see you again."
"OOOOOOOO… ive never thought of it as a place to visit, only a place where things happened. let me see if there's anything i'd like to do there"
5 minutes later, Kay was back with the results of her quick tourism investigation
"LOVE LOVE LOVE… BEACHES? JUNGLES? WATERFALLS? TROPICAL SUN? PLEASSSSEEEE"
Ema had forgotten how enthusiastic and intense Kay was regardless of the topic. She felt like she was warming herself by a cozy campfire. She hadn't felt this way about a person in very long.
"Really? You're interested? I'm so happy!"
This was Ema's attempt at miming Kay's enthusiasm.
"you wont believe this but the newspaper i'm working for wanted someone to go and check out the situation in Khurain anyway. deposed queen, attorneys legal again, they want someone on the ground. i didnt even know you were there. when i tell them i have THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR ON GARAN'S CASE as a source ill be the pick of the lot"
"Okay. Let me know what happens."
"will do!!"
The next day, Ema had been pacing around her apartment. She was restless, antsy. She found sitting down was something her body did not want to do. What was first a blurry intimation in the corner of her eyes as she moved from end to end impressed itself more and more upon Ema: her apartment was extraordinarily beautiful in daytime. How warm and serene it felt for sunlight to fall on the potted orchid, the mauve curtains. That she had very rarely seen her own apartment bathed in the cool tones of Khura'inese sunlight colored her appreciation with sadness. She was waiting for Kay to get back to her. Strange feelings with forgotten names accosted Ema and didn't let her go.
"okay, they've greenlit me as the on-site correspondent. i'm coming!!! but um… very long flight sadly. it's like a whole day + a layover in shangahi. why are you so far away? damn. i'll tell you as soon as im departing from san kaguya"
"Yay!! Okay. I'll pick you up. Can't wait to see you."
Of the 13 days that Ema had snatched out of Nahyuta's hands, the first was spent in stone-like sleep and the miraculous stumbling upon Kay, as arranged by ones and zeros shifting in programmatically opportune ways. The second day of her vacation was an uninterrupted moment of waiting. She couldn't do anything else. The folk wisdom about not observing a pot in the process of boiling water eluded her. She kept checking her phone knowing full well that Kay was in the air and could not receive or send anything. She kept putting her flight number in the airline's tracker, over and over again. Her heart jumped every time the little plane on the screen moved one more dashed line along.
When Ema was shaken awake due to a flood of text messages from Kay, who had just landed, she threw together the most presentable look one can conjure given exactly 3 minutes and was out the door. She wanted to be the first person Kay's tired arms fell around.
Kay stepped out of the arrivals gate with a searching look on her face. The bags of her eyes reached just outside the sunglasses she was wearing. Her hair was a short, root-smudged pixie cut, with chestnut-tipped locks of brown swaying between black ones. She was wearing a washed denim jacket with a furry hoodie, alongside a black, straight-cut shirt and black jeans. Small, golden crows hung from both ears.
"Hey! How are you ohmygod!!" said Kay, continuing to mutter into Ema's shoulder as she hugged her.
"missedyousomuchohhmygod HOW ARE YOU EMA?"
"I'm.. I'm good. Sorry I was late."
A restrained laugh left Ema. She looked down and tucked back the lock of almond-colored hair that had freed itself while she was running through the airport. She was trying to conceal her excitement. She wanted to play it cool in front of Kay so Kay didn't think anything too close to the realm of actuality. Things like Ema being friendless, alone, and sad all the time. She wanted to project the image of a dignified, put-together professional woman with a reasonable amount of close friends. Maybe someone like Lana or Mia (God rest her soul), Ema thought.
That hope was dashed by Ema's long, unkempt hair. It was tired of being tied up into a bun and rebelled by being frizzy on nearly every end. It looked like paper-mache that had been crinkled and affixed to the head of a doll with glue. That, alongside her oversized Green Day t-shirt and checkered cotton sweatpants, gave her the look of a neglected teenager.
This airport is so cold! Brrr.." Kay said, holding both shoulders and shivering in a cartoonish way. "Let's go to the baggage claim, come on. We'll walk and talk and if we walk fast enough maybe I'll regain some of my body heat."
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Ema said, with a little wink and single-shot fingergun, both gestures she regretted immediately after making them but seemed to amuse Kay a lot.
"A fellow gunslinger!" Kay fired off both revolvers and clicked her mouth for each shot. Kay always tried to make people feel good about themselves. She knew Ema struggled with talking to people. She did not want Ema to feel silly for having taken the risk of a playful gesture.
Ema was moving stacks of case files and reports to the backseat of her car, which was already filled with even more case files and reports. Ema's profuse apologies fell on deaf ears, as Kay was too busy considering Ema with fondness. She was moved by how quickly Ema was shoveling things to the back, how rapidly she was picking up littered bits of trash off the car floor and placing them in a plastic bag.
"Kay…..hands…..?"
"What?" Kay, surprised by the sudden appearance of Ema's face into her field of vision. She was not ready for the gaze of her green eyes so up close.
"Sorry, I'm a bit tired," Kay said.
"It's okay. I was asking if I could take your bag off your hands?" Ema said, trying to not pant after she spent so much effort cleaning the car.
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you." Kay said.
When Kay sat down in the passenger seat, she felt like she was a reanimated corpse that finally found rest again after the spell of a necromancer (in Kay's case, 3 double shots of espresso) wore off.
"Sorry again about the mess," Ema said as she turned on the ignition and the tiny car's roar reverberated in the parking lot. Ema found that the very drowsy Kay was already asleep, her eyes closed beneath the sunglasses. She gave a small groan but continued to sleep as Ema put the seatbelt on for her. It was only upon hitting the speedbump before the airport parking's exit gate that she was startled awake.
"Go back to sleep. I'll take you to my apartment," Ema said.
"No, no. I've booked a hotel. Just for my first day here," Kay said, slowly recovering her energy.
"Oh. Well.. I don't mind you staying with me. I have extra space."
"Do you have fresh towels and soap in the shape of cute little clams, Ms. Ema Skye?"
"I.. I have fresh towels," Ema said, her eyes frantically scanning the road. Possibly she had one extra 'towel' that was too short for an adult human being. In all likelihood, she was being generous in her assessment of a clean dish rag she saw in a cupboard. Ema decided to acquire towels and soap with a shape endearing enough to compete with whatever Kay found at the hotel.
Duck-shaped soap… yeah.. that's cute..
Kay's laughter snapped Ema out of her toiletry retrieval plan.
"You're a bad liar! Oh my God," Kay was still catching her breath from all the laughter. "Tell me not to take you with me on poker night."
"I can do a poker face. Look."
Ema proceeded to drive with a look of intense constipation.
"Ohhh.. Yep… That's a poker face right there. Nothing... nothing going on up there at all. I couldn't read you if I tried."
A smile broke Ema's imitation of someone with severe stomach trouble as she laughed.
"Okay, fine. It's true. I can't hide what I'm thinking or feeling for shit."
"It's alright," Kay said, starting a laugh, "I'll take you over to the blackjack table instead and you can get analytical with it. Count cards. Evaluate probabilities, scenarios." Kay imitated the sound of futuristic screens being pulled up with all the beeps and boops. Ema took one hand off the steering wheel to slap Kay's frantic, imaginary-HUD navigating hands, which made Kay laugh even harder.
"You're not Tom Cruise! This isn't Minority Report."
"You're mixing up your Cruise. I was thinking more along the lines of you being the Hoffman to my Cruise and we'd have a little Rain Man kind of thing."
"Kay Faraday is making a joke. It sucks," Ema said.
Ema and Kay continued discussing the merits of Cruise's filmography until they got to The Khura'inese Flower Hotel and Resort.
Ema had never felt any lonelier than when she drove back to her apartment that day.
Ema spent the day preparing the apartment for Kay's stay. She went shopping and was weaving through the aisles searching for something cute when she found cinnamon soap in the shape of a bird.
Brown is close enough to black, right? I'll say it's a raven. Yata- something. She'll get the concept.
She bought seven white cotton towels, more expensive than she thought. Scented candles. A miniature air vaporiser. Essential oil for the vaporiser. A star-shaped candle holder.
Hotels smell like… tea.. yeah.. The Gatewater Hotel smelled like mint tea everywhere, and that place was fancy fancy. She'll love it. What else gives a room that 'hotel feel'?
Ema was pushing along her cart absent-mindedly when she stumbled upon small, orange nightlights.
Warm lighting. Duh. Lampshades. White is clinical and bureaucratic. Orange is calming, inviting… romantic? Ehhh…
Ema tried to analyze away the risk of a terrible misunderstanding
Lots of people go into rooms with warm lighting and nothing happens! It's only suggestive if you want it to be. Yes. Yep.
Ema wheeled her cart out of the aisle faster than usual. The chain of thought she had quickened her pace. She rounded up her collection of 'hotel feel-y' things with a fruit basket.
Perfect. I'm so smart. I'm so clever. Kay will love this. Waldorf Astoria? Nobody will even look at you when I'm done with Skye Suites.
After the extensive room-service treatment Ema gave to her own apartment, she felt very proud of herself. Every time she looked at the folded pile of towels next to the bathtub, she swelled with pride. Her apartment, it turned out, did not have to look and feel like an autopsy room. Her feng shui sensibilities were not all there yet, but not having the sofa partially block the entrance was like the discovery of fire for Ema (in terms of furniture placement and apartment layout, at least).
She was so delighted she didn't even realize that Kay had not texted her anything the past 8 hours. She only noticed this when she tried to send her a sneak peek of Skye Suites.
She must be tired. She's probably sleeping. I don't want to bother her. Maybe in the morning.
Ema was as giddy as a schoolgirl and just about as early to rise the next day.
The sun's head had just crested the horizon. The garbage men were again calling out to each other and hauling off bags of trash. Ema watched them from the balcony. She wondered why she never much stood out here before, even though the balcony was a major factor in her taking the apartment in the first place. Though the air was damp, it was still fresh. This was a Khura'inese morning without the pollutants-of-the-day.
Ema was waiting until an appropriate time to message Kay. She decided that 7:30am was a reasonable (if early) start to a working day.
"Hey! Look at this…"
A picture of the folded towels. Pristine and somehow giving off the feeling that they've been warmed up.
"I told you. I'm a real hotelier"
No response came from Kay, however, and Ema put her phone back into her pocket. It was getting too hot to stay on the balcony. She was hungry too, but decided that it was the perfect excuse to go out for breakfast together.
Ema toured her apartment again and imagined herself as Kay walking in. Everything was in place, which meant there was nothing to do but lay on the couch. She didn't turn on the TV. The morningbird chirps outside mixed with the sound of the trees swaying in the wind was something Ema did not want to interrupt. She closed her eyes with the same lie all nappers tell themselves: I'm not really going to sleep; I'm just resting.
"ema wake up"
"hellooo"
"ema?"
"dude wake up oh my god dont make me call i just woke up too and i dont like calling"
"a"
"a"
"a"
"a"
"princess, good morning. please wake up it's like 10 am."
Ema only woke up to the sound of her phone masterfully imitating a jackhammer. It was vibrating on an oak coffee table with a glass pane on top.
Kay was reserved and quiet on the phone. It seems that she needed more time to reach her peak powerband.
"Good morning, Ema."
"Hi Kay."
"I'm going to check out as soon as you're here. Want to have breakfast with me? I did not like what they had on offer at all. I saw a guy who spent most of his time swatting away flies rather than eating."
"Oh. That sucks. Sorry," Ema said.
"Yeah. Come show me around."
"Alright. I'm heading over to you right away."
"Hey!" Kay said, lunging at Ema as soon as she walked into the lobby.
"Hey you. Sorry I didn't text you back earlier. I was up all night preparing the apartment for you."
"Oh yeah. I saw those towels. You really didn't have to. Thank you so much."
Kay bowed to exaggerate how grateful she was, but it was not much of an exaggeration.
"You're most welcome," Ema bowed back in a convincing mimicry of grace.
Kay's baggage in the car, they both considered the day finally started.
"Okay. First stop is… nowhere in particular," Kay said.
"What.. what does that mean, exactly?"
"It means you will drive around and I will look out the window. It's called gonzo journalism, Ema. Think Hunter S. Thompson."
"Please don't join any biker gangs while you're here."
"No promises there. But listen, my office won't be calling me until later in the afternoon, so I'd like to do as much as we can before I have to start shushing you and saying 'excuse me I need to take this'," Kay said.
She had the determination of those who wanted to be in the good times for as long as they could before the bad times came. She needed this as much as Ema. Ema was surprised that Kay's perpetual cheer could be temporarily suspended at will and replaced with intense focus.
"I get you. I work for a hardass. He's a moralizing fop. Giving sermons is his only hobby," Ema said.
Puffing up her voice and giving it a haughty tone, she began her Nahyuta Sahdmadhi imitation routine: "'Ms. Ema Skye, being late is a sign of a degenerate spirit. Punctuality is a virtue, all the scriptures have said as much. Have you ever heard the story of the monkey who woke up too late? There was once a monkey—"
Ema was attempting to go on with her mock-sermon, but Kay's laughter was cutting her off.
"No, no, I'm serious. He talks like that. 'The monkey slept all day and therefore did not get any food for his little monkey children. His monkey wife began to resent him intensely. He was abandoned by his tribe due to his laziness and left him to die on his own. So, Ms. Ema Skye, do you see now the danger of being late?'"
In between coughs and fits of laughter, Kay managed to ask "How late were you?"
"Five minutes. Five. I was Five. Minutes. Late. And he gave me the whole parable of the monkey."
"Oh man.. that's too good. He sounds really nice, Ema," Kay said, her chuckles coming and going.
TRADITIONAL KHURA'INESE BREAKFAST SERVED HERE
One of the few signs Kay could read. It was written out in broad paintbrush strokes.
"Oooh… that's eye-catching. Let's stop there," Kay said.
"You're such a tourist. You see one sign in English and that's where you want to go." Ema said.
"Dude, if you keep being snarky, I just might tell you the parable of the hungry traveller and the rude elephant rider," Kay said.
Ema laughed but was feeling a bit of panic for having unleashed this comedic paradigm on herself. Now she would be getting made up sermons and parables all day. No matter. At least she would fill up her stomach before the typhoon of nonsense crashed into her.
"This is interesting. Look at this bread. It's so thin and stretchy. I feel like it's going to yank my teeth out. I love it," Kay said.
"I like it but it's honestly too greasy for me," Ema said.
"Oh come on. Live a little. Most people I've seen here are skinny."
"I think that's called poverty, Kay."
Kay dropped her roll of bread back onto the plate. She looked at Ema with blood-chilling seriousness.
"You trying to be funny?"
Ema was flustered. Her off-color joke had gone about as well as an emergency landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
"Kay, I'm joking, ha-ha? You know? Ema Skye is making a joke?" Kay's eyes were frosty.
Ema continued stammering. "I'm— I'm really sorry."
"Where's the joke? You think socio-economic despair is funny? Not having enough to eat is funny? Living on less than 3 dollars a day is a joke to you?"
"N-no. I-I'm…"
"Well, I'm not laughing. And it's not funny in any way," Kay said.
Kay tried to maintain the stern face she had as long as possible. The warmth in her eyes was the first thing to return. She didn't last long until she started smiling ear-to-ear. After that, she could barely stifle her laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOUR FACE… YOU WERE SO SCARED.. I reaaallyy got you." Kay said.
Ema's nervous laughter in response to this little prank had the quality of someone who thought a lion was rustling in the bushes, but was relieved when they saw a cat striding out. Ema was mere seconds away from getting on her knees and begging forgiveness from Kay.
"I'm so sorry Ema. You look like you're about to cry," Kay was still laughing. "The food and coffee are my treat. It's the least I could do after scaring you half to death."
Kay briefly moved to the seat next to Ema. She put her arms behind Ema and stroked her shoulders with both hands a few times. "I didn't know I could scare you that bad! Just a jest. Your forgiveness, my liege?" Kay was still laughing
"N-no. I'm sad now," Ema said, lowering her head and turning her gaze away.
"Aww, nooo, nooo, Emaaa I'm sorryyy" Kay was like a mother who made a bunch of scary faces at her baby and was trying to mollify it. She was trying to catch Ema's eyes, but Ema kept looking away. Kay felt like her stomach had traveled to her throat. "Ema? Come on," Kay removed the sunglasses atop Ema's head and gently reset them.
Ema raised her head and looked at Kay with a mischievous smile.
"Ha! Got you back," Ema said. "'Ohhh~~ Emaa~~ no~~~I'm sooorryy~~'" Ema warbled in imitation of Kay's remorseful voice, after which, she put out her tongue, rolled it back, and beamed with a defiant smile.
"You…" Kay pointed her finger at Ema in forward-wagging motion and chuckling. "You've gotten better at this."
"I'm good aren't I? Yeah, I'm good," Ema said.
"Oh, you'll pay. Yes, you will," Kay said as she got back up to her seat across from Ema. The Khur'ainese porridge was here.
After a full-course meal, Kay ordered Khura'inese coffee. She had an appetite. She loved explaining this to people.
"You know, my thing is…" Kay was plucking stray bits of food with a toothpick. "When you're traveling, you don't hold back. Spend lots of money. Eat lots of food. Take really long showers. Use up all the extra towels for each appendage if you feel like it. Otherwise, what's the point of it all? Anthony Bourdain said..."
Kay's philosophy of abundance was alien to Ema. She had modeled her life after her deeply ascetic sister.
All lights not in use must be turned off. Don't let the tap run when brushing your teeth. When faced between two choices for a fan, take the one that's less kilowatts per hour. Pester the employees on this exact point until the manager has to come out with the spec book for each fan. Don't buy too many clothes or shoes; have a stable rotation of outfits instead. No saturated colors which you can't reliably coordinate. Navy, black, brown, and white are the most adaptable colors. Maybe, if one is pushing it, dark green. If you must add a splash of color, let it be red. No thin fabrics liable to unravel after many wash-and-dry cycles. Nothing that isn't machine-washable. Uniforms are an exception. Always keep your uniform immaculate. Shine your leather shoes and be careful not to scuff them walking up or down curbs and stairs. Keep a lint roller on top of the shoe cupboard and use it whenever you leave or come home. Castile soap is just olive oil and lye, but I don't want you touching the lye. Let me handle it.
Even when Lana got promoted, when they moved to a better apartment, when they could buy fresh vegetables instead of frozen ones, Lana continued buying the frozen ones. Except now, she had smiled with relief thinking how many bags of frozen peas she could buy. That was her idea of abundance.
"…and that's why I'm ordering cheesecake if I happen to like the coffee."
Kay, having finished her sermon, noticed that Ema was somewhere else altogether.
"Hey head-in-the-clouds, I'm trying to tell you something important and life-changing. Are you paying attention? This is good stuff," Kay said.
"W-what? I'm so sorry. I blanked out."
Kay eyed Ema up and down.
"You need to supplement your iron. B12. Vitamin D. Either that or you don't think I'm worthy of your attention," Kay said.
"I do think I'm anemic actually."
"Well, you better be. This time I got your attention verbally, next time I don't know what might happen."
"Are.. are you going to slap me if I zone out again?"
"I didn't say that… but I also did not not say that. Just stay with me and everything will be fine."
"D'you know that you're scary sometimes?" Ema said.
"Good. Now finish your greasy, naan-adjacent sandwich, please."
Kay received a call as soon as she was done with her dessert.
"My handlers. I have to take this. Sorry."
Handlers? Does she think she's a spy? 'Our (Wo)man in Khura'in '. Ha.
Ema was thinking of where she could go next with Kay. They had spent a surprising amount of time in the restaurant; it was already a bit later in the afternoon.
"Ema, let's call it an early day. I need to go back and start working on my piece. You said your apartment is ready, right?"
"Yes. You're going to love it."
Upon entering Ema's apartment, Kay felt a hydrogen bomb compacted with mint had been detonated directly on top of her face. The smell was smart, the kind that almost hurt to breathe in.
"Welcome… to Skye Suites, " Ema said, the timbre of a proprietor inhabiting her words.
"That, or a peppermint farm," Kay said.
"Oh, the place I'm staying at smells too nice, someone help me. Shut the hell up and give me your bag," Ema said.
"Very polite bellboys, too," Kay said.
Ema and Kay shared a laugh as Ema walked over to her room and put down Kay's baggage at the foot of her bed.
"Make yourself at home." Ema's muffled shout came from the hallway.
When Kay saw the table with the potted orchid next to the balcony, where flecks of dust danced in the soft light coming in, she knew exactly where she wanted to work.
"Kay, do you mind If I turn the TV on while you're working? Kay?"
"Oh, uh… yeah. It's okay. Turn it on," Kay said, a pair of reading glasses hung low on the bridge of her nose, her laptop screen reflected two-thirds of the way in the lens.
"I'll put on headphones so I don't bother you," Ema said.
"Alright. Thanks."
Working-Kay was very different from Kay-At-Rest. Ema wondered where she had seen this exact combination of intense concentration and regression to monosyllabic and disyllabic words when trying to work.
Oh, right. Mr. Edgeworth. She did spend a lot of time with him I suppose.
Kay, done with her outline for the piece, had to get up and tap Ema on the shoulder to get her attention
"What are you watching? Scoot over."
Ema paused How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on the moment where Kate Hudson was accusing everyone of thinking she's a mental case just before raining down a plate of cucumbers and carrots on an ongoing poker game.
"I love this film so much. It's very funny," Ema said.
"What's her problem? How far along are you in the film? You mind if we go back?" Kay said.
"Oh no, I don't mind. Won't be the first time I rewatched it. You'll love it. She's a journalist like you."
Khura'inese sunsets filled the sky with magenta, a fact both Ema and Kay missed because Matthew McConaughey had just gotten on his motorcycle for the sake of romance.
True love having prevailed, they stepped out onto the balcony to chat. A cool evening breeze had rolled in, which made Ema go back and retrieve the blankets they had wrapped themselves in just minutes ago.
Kay only began to talk when she had taken in enough of Khura'in at night.
"You know Ema, all love and respect to Kate Hudson, but I'm an actual journalist. I don't write advice columns or horoscope analysis… I do wish I had an office like hers, however. So cute."
"Of course you are. I saw you working. Nobody works that hard to write about kale detox blends or whatever. You're the kind of journalist that gets kidnapped or shot."
Kay's face sunk ever so slightly. Ema hadn't talked to anyone in a non-professional capacity for so long that her judgement in words had wilted.
"…the kinds of journalists that win awards! That are like… like heroes! Topple governments! Expose corruption!" Ema was looking over to see if any of these had landed with Kay.
Kay continued to stare far off into the distance. She occasionally looked at her clasped hands that were hanging over the railing.
"Isn't… Isn't that what 'stealing the truth" is?"
Having heard her calling sign, Kay faced Ema with a smile.
"You.. you remember that? Aw, Ema..." Kay hugged Ema for just a moment. A long, sumptuous moment for Ema.
"But you're right. I am still about stealing the truth, precisamente… Wish I had two beautiful journalists eyeing me for an elaborate prank, though... Kate Hudson is so lucky," Kay said.
Having successfully cheered Kay up, Ema laughed. She also had an idea about how she could help Kay.
"What if… What if I can get you a one-on-one with the man who took down Queen Garan?" Ema said.
"A Phoenix Wright interview is so been-there-done-that. He's been very happy to yap-yap-yap to anyone who asks him," Kay said.
"No, not him. The lead lawyer in the case. The guy who's the adopted son of Dhurke, leader of the rebellion."
"There is just absolutely no way you know someone like that."
Ema pulled out a picture she took on her phone with Apollo, Trucy, and Klavier at Sunshine Coliseum.
"That's him right there. Guy in the red vest. Apollo."
"There are easier ways to brag about having met Klavier Gavin, you know."
"No—what? Just look here."
Ema showed Kay the commemorative photo she took with Apollo and everyone else at the opening of Justice for All Offices.
"Same guy. You see him?"
The realization that Ema was serious and that she did not merely have an angle with the guy who took down Queen Garan, but was actually friends with him hit Kay like a blow to the stomach.
"Ema… If you do this for me… Oh my God… I had laid down an outline today and was essentially writing a fluff piece… but this… no way…"
"I'll call him now, see if he's still in."
"Justice for All Offices, how may I help you?" The voice of a tired young boy was on the other end.
"Hey Ahlbi, it's Ema Skye. Is Apollo still there?"
"Hi Ms. Skye!" Alhbi's voice brightend. "Uhh.. Let me see if he's available. Do you mind if I put you on hold?"
"It's okay, Ahlbi. Go ahead."
Ahlbi, from exhaustion, forgot to put Ema on hold and left the receiver on the desk. She could faintly hear some of Alhbi and Apollo's back and forth.
".....Mr. Justice?....."
"…Alhbi… Datz…handling the phone… go home… you hungry?"
"…Ms. Ema Skye… talk to you."
"…okay…"
The erratically loud sounds of someone fumbling the receiver before picking it up made Ema flinch. The boy's voice came through with the eagerness of someone happy they could help.
"Ms. Skye, sorry to keep you waiting. He's here. I'll transfer you."
"Thank you, Ahlbi."
The small hand badly cupping the speaking end of the receiver did not conceal the boy's pleas for help.
"Mr. Are'bal! Mr. Are'bal! Come here! Please!."
A faint "Whaaaaat is it" is heard from far away.
"Mr. Justice is line 3, but how do I transfer? Quickly… Ms. Ema is on the line."
Ema was awash with love for Alhbi and his devotion to helping her. She chuckled and could not stop smiling. Alhbi was breathing heavily. She could tell he did not want to disappoint her and treated the whole thing as life-or-death.
"Alhbi, like I showed you before, press Transfer and then this button. Okay? You do it. Go on," Datz said.
"O-okay."
Shortly after, Ema heard Apollo's voice.
"Justice speaking."
"The personification of justice itself?"
"Ha-ha. Get new material, Ema," Apollo said.
"Okay, I'll get to the point since you're a busy man."
"Wow. This is something way more serious than a case. I'm feeling a little bit scared."
"Well, don't be. It's just a friend I have. She's a journalist and she wants to talk to you."
"Tabby Lloyd or Lotta Hart kind of journalist or an actual journalist?"
"No, no. Real journalist. The kind that gets imprisoned and wears vests and helmets with the words 'PRESS' on them," Ema said.
"That's exactly the kind of person I've been waiting for. Okay, when's the meet? I'll free up some time."
"Hold on."
Ema gestured over to Kay, who was ironing a white, linen sundress. She tapped the top of her wrist and flicked her hand in semi-circles at Kay.
"10 am. We'll go to a cafe," Kay said
"Apollo, she says 10 am. Cafe of your choice."
"Oh good. We'll get Vietnamese coffee. They also have good food. I know a place. I'll send it to you."
"Thank you so much, Apollo."
"Anything for you, Ema. You mind if I bring Datz along?"
"No, I don't mind at all."
"Thanks, Ema. See you then."
Ema and Kay arrived after Apollo and Datz had already been seated. When they entered the cafe, they both stood up to greet them.
"Apollo, Datz, this is my friend Kay Faraday. She works for the San Kaguya Chronicle," Ema said.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Apollo Justice, managing partner at Justice for All Offices."
"Nice to meet you, Kay. I'm Datz Are'bal. Paralegal and business development executive."
Datz's sudden promotion from 'secretary' to 'executive' had confused Apollo, but the rule of always presenting a united front was unshakeable for Apollo.
"Nice to meet you both. Shall we sit?" Kay said.
"So, you want to get started right away?" Apollo said.
"Not right away. I'll need to prepare a recorder. I'll also need coffee,"
"No problem. Vietnamese coffee or Khura'inese?" Apollo was already searching for a waiter to get their attention.
"I tried Khura'inese earlier… It tasted very… earthy." Kay said.
"Yeah, that's the bit of loam they put in it. Alright, I'll get you some Vietnamese, " Apollo said, just before hailing one of the waiters and addressing them in Khura'inese. The staff seemed to be familiar with Apollo as the waiter smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Apollo when he saw him.
"He's pretending to be a local," Datz said. With that, he had fired the first shot. Although she saw Ema quietly giggling to herself while Apollo was busy ordering, Kay wanted to test the waters before heartily laughing, and decided on a strategic smile for now.
"Oh, I do that wherever I travel," Kay said, turning Datz's joke about Apollo into common ground.
When Apollo was finished, the warm smile he had while he was conversing with the waiter turned into a scowl when he started addressing Datz.
"I was born here. I was raised here," Apollo said, calming down after asserting his nativity to Datz, who was trying (and failing) to contain his laughter after the catty remark successfully landed.
"A fact that will be relevant to a lot of what happened, as you'll see," Apollo continued, addressing Kay.
"That's very interesting. You seem to get around. Ema showed me a picture of you and Klavier Gavin. You're a fan of The Gavinners?"
"Oh, we're close friends. I started my law career at his brother's firm," Apollo said.
Kay turned to Ema in shock. She could not imagine how cool it was to be friends with the lead guitarist of The Gavinners. The part about him starting in Gavin Law Offices and the whole mess involving that office was something Lotta Hart, Tabby Lloyd, et al. had trodden up and down, so Kay ignored it.
"Ema, I didn't know you knew cool people like this," Kay said.
"Oh yeah. Apollo is great. He's a hero."
Apollo was touched by Ema's description.
"How did you and Ema meet?" Kay said.
"Well, it's a long story. Ema was not very friendly at the start. She pelted me with Snackoos whenever she felt like I had said something annoying, which she decided was any time I spoke," Apollo said.
"I was.. uh.. I'd been less than happy about where I landed after college, to say the least. And you make a very funny face when you're irritated, so… But Kay, this isn't about me. Listen to Apollo's story," Ema said.
Kay was still in the middle of remembering the face Apollo made when he responded to Datz, and she had to agree with Ema about it being a funny face.
"It's strange to say, but even though I'm not that much older than I was back then, I feel like ages have passed," Apollo said, his words wistful and sad.
"I used to change his diapers when I was helping his dad," Datz, emotionally tone-deaf, chimed in.
"What does that have to do with anything? What does that have to do with anything?" Apollo planted both elbows on the table and waved his palms back-and-forth.
"Datz, don't embarrass Apollo, come on. Be nice," Ema, after she was done laughing, had said.
"I'm just trying to say that he really did grow up a lot. I'm proud of him. We couldn't have done what we did without him," Datz said.
"Wow…" Kay said, impressed by how low Apollo was brought and how high the pedestal he was put on a millisecond after.
"See? She's impressed. I'm Team Apollo. Just give me a chance," Datz said.
"I really am, Mr. Justice. Do believe him," Kay said.
"It's just Apollo. You're Ema's friend, so you're our friend too."
"Call me Sesame the way I'm opening all these doors for you, Kay," Ema said. Kay slowly swiveled her head to face Ema.
"Good one, Emmster! Down low," Datz said, extending his left palm out across the table, which Ema promptly tapped with a satisfying pop. He saved Ema from another blood-curdling stare from Kay when she made the mental calculus of cutting one dum-dum down being a good use of time, but two being a chore, and turned her attention back to Apollo as a result.
"In any case…." Apollo said, trying to hide his face behind both hands. He put them down on the table before continuing. "I'm happy to discuss anything you'd like in detail, Ms. Faraday. If you need records or transcripts from the cases I've been involved in, I have copies I could give you as well."
"You can call me Kay. Mr. Are'bal and Ms. Skye will call me Ms. Faraday, however."
Even though Ema had lost first-name privileges with Kay, she was happy to see that Kay felt comfortable enough to joke around. At least, she hoped she was joking.
The waiter placed everyone's coffee down. Kay got her recorder out and was ready to start her interview.
"This is Kay Faraday for the San Kaguya Chronicle. I'm here in Khura'in speaking to Mr. Apollo Justice, the lead defense attorney on the case that toppled Queen Garan. He was the one responsible for invalidating her claim to sovereignty in Khura'in's highest court, thus resulting in the coup that turned the entire country on its head."
Datz put one hand up to block Kay's view of his face and gave the 'Ok' gesture to Ema. He raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes in exaggerated approval and nodded. When he leaned back in his seat, he faced Apollo and mouthed "She's good", something which Apollo concurred with. Apollo braced himself for a talk with a real professional.
When Kay had concluded her one-on-one with the revolutionary lawyer, everyone was famished.
"They serve food here? Not croissants or artisan desserts, I mean 'I'm so hungry, I'm seeing people as chicken drumsticks' food," Kay said.
"Yeah, they do. Did you try Khura'inese food yet, Kay?" Apollo said.
"Yea, Ema took me somewhere nice. It was breakfast food, though. Surprise me?"
"You're very brave, Kay. Datz, Ema, what do you guys want?" Apollo said.
"The usual for me," Datz said, with a sly smile.
"You're not even a regular—WHATEVER.. Ema, what do you want?"
"I'll have whatever Kay's having." Ema said.
"That's Ms. Faraday to you," Kay said.
"I'll have whatever Ms. Faraday is having," Ema said.
"Alright, two mystery dishes for the investigative superstars and absolutely nothing for the albatross around my neck," Apollo said, attempting to send steel daggers into Datz with the power of his gaze.
"Hey, how'd you know? I love exotic bird meat. I'll have roasted pigeon."
It was one of Datz's unbreakable habits to regale people while they were eating.
"You know, Ka—, uh, Ms. Faraday, I think you should interview me as well," Datz said with overwhelming sincerity.
Apollo stopped chewing so he could focus all his attention on what Datz was about to say next.
"I've seen things. I've been around," Datz said.
"Really? Anything you'd like to share?" Kay was intrigued. She was excited to hear this man attempt to put together a narrative.
Ema turned her face as if she was about to sneeze but it was really so she could laugh. She knew exactly what was about to happen, as it had happened to her just the same way.
"Serious stuff. Heavy stuff," Datz said.
"Hey Datz, pass me the salt…" Apollo said. It was the agreed-upon sign for "shut the hell up" whenever these two were meeting clients in a restaurant.
Datz knew these weren't clients. They were friends. Family even. Datz had been fighting for so long that he never got around to the 'romance business' (as he described it). He was very fond of Ema and could tell Kay was a trickster just like him. So, he gave Apollo a single, knowing look: I know what you want me to do. I understand your intention completely, but I'm ignoring it entirely.
"When I was fighting a proxy war in China, I got in with some really grizzled mercs." Datz's flow of horseshit always began with a hook.
Ema thought: China, huh? Interesting. I think him discovering he was born in the "Year of The Water Dog" and his obsession with the Chinese Zodiac after that is why he chose it this time.
"China? I've never heard about you fighting in China," Apollo said.
"Of course you wouldn't. You're a civvie. This was some real black ops doodoo, man. They kill people for talking."
"Well, here's hoping," Apollo said.
"That hurts my feelings, you know."
Apollo stared at Datz in silence. He wanted his head on a stick.
Ema choked because she could not manage to drink from her cup of water and suppress her laughter at the same time.
"Here you go, binti. You made the poor girl tense up with all your glaring." Datz said as he handed Ema a napkin.
"Datz, come on. Ema's on vacation and Kay's our guest, they don't want to hear gruesome stuff," Apollo said, appealing to common decency, something which Datz could not abide by at that moment.
Kay was beaming with glee. She could tell that whatever Datz was about to say next would send Apollo into homicidal rage.
"Datz!!~~ I wanna hear this~~~!" Kay said, exaggerating her eagerness and gauging Apollo's reaction. She was so eager to hear from Datz that she returned back his first name. Apollo was not happy about this development.
"Yea, Datz, tell us a war story," Ema, sensing that Kay was no longer trying to hunt her down, decided to hop on the make-Apollo-have-an-aneurysm train.
"No, don't encou—" Apollo deflated as all the air inside of him left with a long sigh.
"You want a war story? I'll tell you a war story. I was 22 years old. I was in the trenches," Datz said.
"Trench warfare has not been a thing since World War 1," Apollo said, exhausted, as if this exact point had to be stated multiple times previously.
"The figurative trenches, obviously." This was Datz's idea of a correction. "And I met this guy who had both his hands blown up by a malfunctioning Kalashnikov. He was not all-right, nor all-left, but he was armed. They said he was a Shaolin monk before he became a soldier… you with me so far? Or is this too much for you ladies?"
"I've heard much worse," Kay said.
"I've seen much worse," Ema said.
Ema and Kay were a team again.
"So, we get some grub and we're all trying to eat, right? But this guy, he had no hands! So how was he supposed to eat?" Datz did not do rhetorical questions. He asked as if this was a real problem to be considered.
"That's a tough one," Kay said. A nodding Ema agreed.
Apollo was in despair.
"You know what he did? You won't believe this. They said he had practiced so much, trained so hard, his Qi was so strong, that he could manipulate chopsticks with his nose. I saw it with my own two eyes. Hand to the Holy Mother. He was cupping little balls of rice and flicking them up in the air so he could catch them with his mouth. He was like a walrus catching fish," Datz said.
"No. Freaking. Way." Kay said.
"I think I saw something like this when doing an autopsy once. Hypertrophy of the nasalis muscle," Ema said.
"Apollo wouldn't hear one word of this story when I told it to him, so I'm thankful you guys believe me."
Apollo was intensely examining the salt shaker, weighing it in his hand. Perhaps measuring its lethality if suddenly broken over someone's head.
"Datz, this is such a coincidence because I was researching Khura'inese folk lore and I wanted to ask you about a similar tale I came across. It was called the parable of the man who told too many lies. You ever heard of it?" Kay said.
Datz was so happy that he had finally met his equal. Datz's father was the village storyteller; He knew for a fact there was no such story. He felt beatific, sacred happiness to see his breed was not a dying one, that peddlers of animal manure still roamed the earth, and that they were amongst the younger generations.
Apollo falsely believed that Kay was out for blood and was about to expose Datz as a fraud, so he wanted to eagerly expedite his demise.
"Is that the one where the village burns a man alive because he told too many lies? I like that story. I think Nahyuta told me a similar one once," Apollo said.
"No, no, Apollo, you're thinking of the parable of man who dyed all his garments red. They behead him for looking too much like a red pepper, a bad omen," Datz said.
Apollo, for his trouble of attempting to add to Kay's made up story, received a fresh heap of bullshit on top of his head.
Kay was at her limit. Suppressing her laughter was almost impossible.
"Have you guys heard the story of—" Ema tried to join in.
"Heyheyheyheyhey Ema ema ema……. Emms… Emmster… shhushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Apollo raised his index finger to his mouth and closed his eyes. "How about… we all finish our food in silence? Just… silence."
Just when Apollo thought the silence he had asked for was granted, the entire table erupted in laughter.
Kay got up early to work on her piece. She was putting together all that Apollo said. The contrast between Apollo, the man of measured words; calm, serene; fighting even with the barrel of the revolutionary guard in his face; and Apollo, living Snackoo target practice dummy to Ema, the most loyal and repeat customer of Datz's speciality animal manure, kept her quietly laughing to herself. She could not believe it was the same person, but she could also see exactly why so many people depended on him, looked up to him.
Kay's hard work was done. Apollo sent over all the transcripts and documents she needed. The story was a cinch. Kay felt the need to reward herself and decided a full day at the beach would be perfect. The forecast said high tide and sun all day, exactly what she liked.
"Heyy… Good morning," Ema said.
"Hi, Emmster, Wanna go to the beach?" Kay said, looking up from her reading glasses.
The recently awakened Ema tilted her head like a confused puppy at Kay.
The beach? The beach….. Hot sand. Sunburns. Ouch.
"Oh.. uh.. how about.. breakfast first?"
Kay gave Ema the disappointed look casino-goers gave timid players. Still. If there was swimming or volleyball involved, it would be a good idea.
"Okay then, here you are."
Kay took out 4 bananas and split them into 2 each.
"Here's breakfast. If you have some eggs, some yogurt, then it's a breakfast so complete, it's food-pyramid worthy. Do you have something to wear?"
"I uh.. I'll have to check," Ema said.
"Alright, go check. And show me," Kay said.
"Woke up a bit excited, eh?" Ema said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm manufacturing this entire scenario so I can have an excuse to see you in a bikini. Whatever."
Ema took one of the bananas and walked back to her room.
Banana in hand, Ema was moving coat hangers left and right to find the single bikini she owned. She hadn't had any occasion to wear it in so long. When she finally did find it, she had to dust it off just so it could return to its original dull white instead of the eggshell color it took on in the years it spent in the closet, untouched. Ema took off her pajama, shivered a bit at how cold it was, and put it on.
"Ta~daa~~. Do you like it?" Ema said, walking into the living room. While her ungraceful twirl was lacking in flair and almost sent her headfirst into a bookshelf, Kay thought all of that could not count one smidgen against how endearing it was.
"Come closer and I'll tell you," Kay said.
When Ema came closer, Kay remained seated and gently grabbed Ema by the arm to spin her around and inspect. She felt the strap holding the bikini top to gauge the quality of the material.
"Alright, go stand over there again so I could take in the fit."
Ema walked over and turned around to face Kay. She started moving through the kinds of poses she believed bikini models did. Kay laughed.
"Stop that. Seriously. You're making me dizzy."
Ema stood stock still, arms straightened out and glued to the side.
"The Dracula-in-his-coffin pose looks great on you. Now just stand normally please."
Ema, by pure instinct, put her hands on her hips. Her usual stance for her usual feeling: annoyance
Finally, enough information had been gathered for Kay to pronounce judgement.
"You look so cute. Rubenesque. I love it. You're very pale, though. It's giving Victorian woman chic." Kay said.
"But not sexy? Pretty? Is all of that the same as sexy?" Ema said.
"Sorry, let me be clear," Kay said in a faint imitation of Obama. "You look very pretty. On the sexy question… the flounced top is cute… boyshorts are hit-and-miss… the overall impression is 'Mother Theresa at the beach', Ema. There are sexier things… if I could find some scissors here…"
"Do I look fat?" Ema said, interrupting Kay's daydream of playing tailor.
Kay broke out in a cold sweat like a diplomat who's been asked a very tough question, and, unfortunately for Kay, she had too much spine to be part of team 'Deny, Deny, Deny'
"I uh.. I think this Q & A session is over."
"Come on, Kay, be honest."
"Honest.. yes.. honest.. we love honesty. Integrity. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité…."
"Kay!"
"Okay, yes, you do, but just a little bit. And… body positivity is The Moment. It's The Thing right now. Come on Ema, you know I don't want to say the wrong thing and hurt your feelings. I think you're beautiful and a few pounds doesn't change that. I have my own reasons to think you're sexy."
"A lot of pounds. What are those 'other reasons'?" Ema said.
"That's confidential. What's your clearance?" Kay said.
"Get the hell up and show me your bikini. It's your turn."
"Your bossy-ness is one of them, pretty-face," Kay said as she walked past Ema and into the room.
When Kay walked in wearing her cherry-red bikini, a bandeau top with a center ring alongside tie-side bottoms, her bronzed skin and her cared-for body had awed Ema into silence. The tapered back and obliques drew one's eyes down to her waist, where her lined curves began and the contour of her thighs demanded your undivided attention. All the snarky comments Ema had been coming up with were stuck in her throat.
"W-wow." The only word Ema managed. Kay threw up her hands and rolled her eyes.
"'Kay, you're so beautiful. Oh my gosh, Kay, you look like a Kardashian without the botched BBL or botox. You're a baddie….' Right Ema? Wasn't that what you were going to say?"
"Y-yes. You look amazing," Ema said.
"I knowwwww. Thank youuuu. The rock climbing gym and pretending I was scaling buildings paid off," Kay said.
"I might join you for that… Maybe…" Ema, in the style of an automatic response to invitations from co-workers, said. She was so entranced by Kay that she only registered that a place and activity were mentioned.
"Oooo, I could finally form the crew I've always wanted if I can teach you to crack a safe," Kay said.
"W-what?" Ema was zapped back to the present.
"Oh.… I get it. You like what you see?" Kay said, exaggerating her curves, swaying her hips, and slowly shuffling towards Ema.
"N-no I—"
"Oh, so you don't like it?" Kay suddenly stopped her bellydancer routine and stood still.
"Yes but I'm—" Ema said.
" 'Yes, I don't like it.' or 'Yes, I do like it'?" Kay said.
Before Ema could recover and say something, Kay had already walked off into the corridor with a laugh. "Just messing with you, Emms!"
The beach wasn't too crowded since it was a workday and early in the morning.
The sand had not been scalding hot like Ema expected it to be. It was a comforting warmth. Like a sauna, but for one's feet.
The shame Ema felt inhabiting her own body felt a more pressing issue than the sun beating down on her head. Kay tried and was as nice as humanly possible, but Ema could not shake the impression that she was mincing words. She knew Kay couldn't even tell a white-lie, she knew that she shouldn't get mad at Kay for giving her what she asked for, but it didn't stop it from hurting.
I have a 'body' or 'cadaver', while Kay has a 'physique'. She would be described as 'athletic', with 'far above-average musculature' in an autopsy.
Ema's morbid comparisons were interrupted by Kay finding the perfect spot.
"Let's sit over here," Kay said, having planted the umbrella into the sand.
"Ema, lay yourself out so I can put on sunscreen for you. This is broad-spectrum 50+ SPF, waterproof. You'll need it." Kay was already rubbing it in both hands, preparing herself for the application.
Ema laid down on her back.
"No, no. Lay on your belly first."
The last and one of the few times she went to the beach was when Lana had been promoted. She was 14. Lana dressed her in a lycra one-piece because she thought it would be simpler than dealing with the perils of shopping for a teenage girl in the midst of puberty. Ema had little experience with the protocols Kay was trying to make her follow.
"Like this?"
"Yeah. Like that," Kay had been caught off-guard by Ema's unfamiliarity, but she thought it was much more important now to help Ema than to ask her inevitably sad questions like "You've never been to the beach before?"
"Unclasp your bra so I could cover your whole back." Kay made a conscious decision to make her instructions crystal-clear. Ema was struggling to reach over.
"It's okay, just relax. I should have done that before I rubbed the sunscreen into my hands. That's a rookie mistake on my part."
Kay applied the sunscreen already on her hands onto her stomach. She deftly unclasped Ema's bra and squeezed a generous amount of sunscreen onto her hands and onto Ema's back.
"Ema?" Kay said, a small pit in her stomach for having made this assumption without checking in the first place.
"Yes?"
"You don't mind if I apply it for you, right? I should have asked earlier."
"No, of course not. Thank you. I really don't want to get sunburnt."
"Okay. I'll start now."
Kay started with the dab she left on the small of Ema's back. She worked from the inside-out in circular motions using both hands. Wherever Ema was flabby, Kay took extra care to carefully knead the sunscreen between the folds. Kay was handling these areas very differently than how Ema handled them. Kay was not pinching Ema's sides, despairing at their size, and letting them flop down. She was gently raising them, anointing them, and gently putting them down. She did not try to bring the skin closer so it would look like there wasn't any cellulite, but traced her hands along and treated it as a guiding line. Nobody had ever touched her like this, nobody got even close.
Kay moved up to Ema's scapula. She reapplied with each section she moved on to. When she got to Ema's shoulders, she rubbed the back of them first and then cupped them with both hands.
"Ema, has anyone ever told you you're a bit tensed up?" Kay said, having moved Ema's long almond-colored hair to either side so she could lotion her nape and ears.
Ema, who was having said tension being released for the first time, was too busy breathing with intense relief to answer any questions. When Kay saw her slowly panting like a dog at rest, she knew to just let her stay in that moment. Kay continued rubbing the back of her arms, only the movement of her hands had become more gentle, slower on account of how sad Kay felt to see that something as simple as this had been denied to Ema. With each tender movement, Ema felt the compassion in Kay's hands unknotting every grievance she had about her body.
"Thank you, Kay," Ema said between the long breaths she was taking.
"It's nothing," Kay said, as she squeezed out more sunscreen and began working Ema's feet. She raised each foot and massaged the ankles with semi-circular motion, like someone fitting a pipe, and moved down to the calves. Kay reached the lower thighs, but did not move up.
"Ema, gimme your hand."
Kay squeezed some sunscreen into her right palm.
"You uh.. you do the no-go zone," Kay said.
"Yes ma'am."
Ema wriggled like a worm trying to apply the cream to her butt.
Kay looked out to the ocean so she could give Ema her privacy.
"Alright, stay like this so it seeps into your skin and then we'll do your other side.
"I'm like a pancake, haha," Ema said with a child-like sincerity that crushed Kay.
"Yes… you are." Kay could not laugh because sadness had her choked up. She felt devastated that Ema had just been soldiering on, alone, just like this. No one to help her. No one to take her anywhere. All by herself, all the time. She felt a lingering guilt that she could not make Ema feel good about her body. Kay did not know that this was the first time Ema felt good about her body.
Kay turned away so Ema would not catch a glimpse of the grief she felt.
"When are you flipping me over, Chef Ramsay?" Ema said.
"Just… Just a bit more, you freakin' donkey…" Kay said. She was still raw with melancholy, so the words came out with softness uncharacteristic of the 17 Michelin star chef.
When Ema flipped over, propped herself up with both arms, and stretched out her feet, she felt like she had dropped a sack full of rocks from her shoulders.
"Woah… I feel great. Thanks, Kay."
"No worries. Put your back against the umbrella and do your front side while I do the same."
Both women were busy applying lotion.
"Don't forget this area, Ema." Kay gestured towards the top of her chest. "Underneath too."
"The clavicle and shoulders are the most likely to get sunburnt," Ema said, as if reading from one of her reports.
"That a professional opinion?" Kay said.
"As a matter of fact, it's actually true," Ema said.
"I see. I defer to the expert."
Ema and Kay were done. They let themselves enjoy the shade, the breeze, and the sounds of the waves crashing. They sat quietly for a while, happy to simply be together. Neither one had anything on their mind but the present. The beautiful and rich present.
"I feel really good, Kay." Ema said. There was a reaching feel to her voice. Kay was afraid some kind of emotional moment was about to take place.
"Oh, me too. This is great. I love the… uh.. sun... Here.. In Khura'in.."
"I'm sorry I got defensive about my body," Ema said.
Kay took off her sunglasses and looked down. She let the waves crash a few times before she spoke.
"I'm really sorry I started blathering like an idiot."
"No, Kay. What you did for me… just now… it meant more than anything. Thank you."
"It's just sunscreen. Don't worry about it."
Kay never wanted to feel anyone was indebted to her, so she always downplayed the beautiful things she did for people. She wanted them to think it was all a coincidence, that she just happened to be nice, rather than the vow of compassion she committed herself to. An everyday bodhisattva.
"No, it isn't. That's not the only thing it was," Ema said.
Ema knew her long enough to not believe that.
Kay laughed. She knew that Ema had seen through her lie and pinpointed her exact intention. Kay was relieved that she was caught making Ema feel better. She wanted her to know that someone cared about her.
"Okay, my turn to be a pancake!" Kay said as she laid herself down on her belly.
After a full day spent swimming, lounging, running around in the sand, and drinking fresh papaya juice, Ema and Kay were totally spent. When they entered Ema's apartment, one went into the bathroom to clean up while the other waited for her turn on the couch.
It was around sunset. When Ema finished showering, she found Kay already in her pajamas and reading a book in bed.
"You're sleeping already?"
"Such a great day today," Kay said, licking the tip of her finger to turn the page on her book.
"You mean you're tired?" Ema said.
"Of course I'm tired. Did you see me in that volleyball match? I crushed them."
"I think those were teenagers, Kay."
"So? I still kicked their ass. I gave everything to that one spike when it was match point."
Ema laughed. She did not realize how seriously Kay had taken that match against a bunch of little girls and their moms.
"Come on, Ema. Just call it a day. If you go out to watch something on the TV, you'll just fall asleep on the couch, and I don't want that. Get in here." Kay tapped the side of the bed next to her with her palm. The cushioned thuds sounded like a bass drum.
"That's true… okay, fine."
"Turn off the light so I can turn on this cute nightlight you have here," Kay said.
When Ema did so and a soft orange glow illuminated the room, Kay was impressed by how comfy it all felt.
Ema wiled away the last waking hours of the day on her phone. Kay read a solid 30 pages through the haze that barely avoiding heat exhaustion inflicts on your brain.
"Okay, that's it for me. Do you mind if I scoot over a bit closer to you? It's very cold in here," Kay said.
"No, it's okay." Ema moved aside to make space.
Kay turned off the nightlight before shuffling over. She came close to Ema, but did not touch her. Ema was resting on her side. Kay laid on her side as well so she could watch whatever Ema was watching on her phone. She did not expect Ema to turn around, grab her left arm, and place it over and down, close to her stomach.
"Kay, you can come closer. It's okay."
"Can I be big spoon to your little spoon?"
Ema laughed.
"I think we're equally-sized spoons, but yes."
Kay placed her head on the locks of Ema's hair fanned out across the pillow like a horse laying down amidst his favorite pile of hay. They kept watching astronomy videos with cute animated birds that get sucked into black holes or crushed by neutrino stars until both fell asleep.
Ema dreamed she was on the ferris wheel at The Great Badgerlands. Opposite to where she was sitting was Lana. She was in her teal police uniform with the bowler hat. This outfit meant a happy Lana dream, instead of the sad, prosecutor outfit ones.
"How are you?"
Lana's voice was always distant and far away in these dreams, but this time she heard her as if she really was sitting across from her.
"I'm okay."
"Is 'okay' just okay or do we want to be good?"
"I'm sorry. I meant to say I'm good."
"Just 'okay' makes me worried about you. Come sit next to me."
When Ema got up, she noticed she was wearing the same clothes she had when she was traveling Europe. Striped leggings, pink newsboy cap. She was 18 again.
"How is my little almond doing?"
"I met someone. They're really nice to me."
"Her?"
Lana pointed to the person across from them. It was Kay with her head slouched against the cabin, sleeping.
"Yes. I really like her."
"She's wonderful. You'll be nice to her?"
"Yes ma'am."
"You won't break her heart?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And you promise that you'll allow her to love you?"
"Y-yes ma'am."
"Alright. Good."
"Lana?"
"Yes?"
"I really miss you."
"Oh, baby. I miss you too."
Ema having buried her head in Lana's chest, Lana leaned over, took off Ema's cap, straightened her hair, and kissed her on the crown of her head.
Ema woke up to the sun letting in a slice of light into the room. She always cried when seeing Lana in a dream, but these were happy tears. It was the smell of fried eggs that made Ema realize Kay was not right behind her. She got up and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Ema. Good morning. I made ~breakfast~," Kay said. She sang the words.
"Thanks, Kay. I love you."
Perhaps because she was still migrating from the world of dreams and to our world, but Ema had said that. After saying it, she looked like she had been tased right in the spine. Kay gave her a confused look.
"Don't be so shocked. It's not headline news… I love you too."