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It was nearing dawn and Charlie was driving back to Michigan, stereo blaring. Katrina & The Waves had always been a go to for her whenever she needed a boost.
"♪ I said baby I just want you back and I want you to stay ♪ "
But Charlie didn't feel good. She wasn't sure if she would ever feel good again. Leaving Kansas for the last time was not something that had been easy for her. She had her mom's remains cremated and interred with her dad's, broke the lease on her apartment in Topeka, rented a U-haul cargo trailer, packed it up with all her things and left. Charlie called a storage rental company in Michigan; she'd drop everything off there and deal with going through it all -- later.
Right now, she'd give just about anything to be home in her bed with a pint of ice cream and a Xena: Warrior Princess marathon. Farmington Hills 33 miles. She pulled into the exit lane for a rest stop. Bathrooms & Food.
"Might as well get something to eat." She sighed, glancing over at the copy of The Hobbit laying in the passenger's seat. Tolkien's portrait stared into the distance stoically. Charlie tossed it into the backseat with a trembling hand, took a deep breath and got out of the car.
After narrowly avoiding a public show of tears, she ordered a pumpkin spice chai tea latte and a blueberry muffin. Hopefully Starbucks won't let me down. The barista who handed Charlie her drink was cute -- Sandra, a petite brunette with gorgeous curls -- and Charlie flashed her a grin, but she just wasn't feeling it. She took her breakfast to the outdoor eating area and decided to watch the sunrise over the woods. Walking on sunshine is easier during the day, anyway.
She saw Sandy's number scrawled onto her cup -- call me, maybe? ♥ -- in neat cursive. She finished her latte and tossed it without a second thought. Maybe Charlie was bitter because Gilda never had called her. Maybe she was just depressed.
"I meant to come sooner." Charlie almost jumped out of her skin when Gilda appeared, seated next to her without a sound.
"Um… I uh… what are y…?" Charlie spluttered. So not smooth, I really am off my game. Gilda smiled softly and took Charlie's hand in hers.
"I apologize for my lateness, but I could not leave before the trial of Baldur was decided." Gilda looked down and Charlie thought she looked almost ashamed.
"It's no problem, I just -- that was months ago." Charlie squeezed Gilda's hand reassuringly and tipped her chin up so Gilda could meet her eyes.
"Time passes differently in the fairy court. A trial for crimes against my kind is punished depending on its severity. The trial itself is a punishment." Gilda turned her head away, staring at the tree line. "I was punished, as well." Charlie held onto Gilda more tightly.
"How long has it been for you?" Charlie smoothed her fingers down Gilda's back, rubbing small circles between her shoulders at the nape of her neck. Gilda closed her eyes and relaxed into Charlie's touch.
"Three years." Gilda's face was neutral, but her lips were pressed together thinly. She was scared.
"Did they hurt you?" Charlie wrapped one arm around Gilda's waist and pulled her close with the other.
"No. Not really." Gilda smiled at her and stroked her cheek. "My punishment was detention to the fairy realm. I was forced to remain there with my family."
Charlie felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. "I'm so sorry, Gilda. I didn't know."
"It's not your fault. You saved me and helped bring Baldur to justice." Gilda kissed her softly on the mouth. "For that I am eternally grateful."
"Hey, that's what heroines do right? Save the day, get the girl…" Charlie couldn't keep up her bravado anymore. She started to cry and Gilda held her, confused and concerned while she gently rocked Charlie back and forth.
"What happened while I was away?" Gilda smoothed Charlie's hair away from her face and, with a small wave of her wrist, dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief she willed into being.
"Oh, you know." Charlie wiped at her eyes and tried to regain her composure. Just breathe. "I kind of sort of became a hunter-in-training and helped take down a djinn a couple of days ago and then let my mom…" Charlie's eyes were swimming in saline again.
"I'm here, Charlie." Gilda tried to smile reassuringly; she held Charlie tightly and gently rubbed her shoulders, letting Charlie tell her whatever she needed to in her own time.
"My mom passed away." Charlie said quietly, tears escaping the confines of her lashes and landing on Gilda's delicate fingers. Gilda paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. She settled for wrapping Charlie in her arms and letting her cry into her shoulder. There was nothing she could say that would make it hurt Charlie any less, she could only respect Charlie's grief.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Charlie nodded, sniffling.
"But my car is parked over there with all my things, so I'll have to drive." Charlie could tell Gilda didn't quite understand what she meant, so she stood up and led her by the hand over to her yellow station wagon smiling brightly. "Come on, it'll be fun since you've never been in a car before."
* * *
For the most part the car ride was uneventful, Charlie chattered away showing Gilda the sights. Gilda was mostly impressed that the human-made machine did not operate on any form of magic and played music with no instruments or musicians.
"Car stereos are a pretty big deal, I have to agree." Charlie smiled. It was great to have someone along for the last 45 minutes of the trip. Especially when it's a gorgeous fairy. She rested her hand on Gilda's knee and, when Gilda smiled shyly, she grinned.
"But how does it work? How is this possible without magic?" The mystique was very intriguing to Gilda; life without magic was unknown to her as a centuries old fairy.
"Ah, well… there's a whole lot that goes into it, but basically humans discovered electricity and through that we've managed to do a whole bunch of other things, like cure diseases, invent cars and other modes of transportation, and record sound for playback at your leisure. So, instead of a concert being the only place you could ever listen to music, you can now listen to whatever you want, whenever you want and wherever you want. It's kind of a great thing." Gilda nodded, though she still looked a little confused.
"I don't fully understand. You can create a record of music to listen to at a later point in time?"
"Yeah, recording music is a huge cultural industry for us humans, haha." Charlie's face fell a little when Gilda didn't laugh. I mean, I guess that joke was a little flat.
"I've never heard music quite like this before, the rhythm is quite erratic."
"I can change it if you don't like it." Charlie reached for her phone, but Gilda stopped her with a gentle touch.
"No, it's all right. It's just very different from anything I've ever heard before." Charlie tore her eyes away from the ridiculously pretty fairy's face just as she pulled up to her apartment building.
"Well, this is us." Charlie put it in park and led Gilda up to her apartment. If Janelle Monae was unlike anything Gilda had ever heard before, then Charlie was morbidly curious what she'd think of her apartment, decked out as it was with geek pop culture.
"This is your home." Gilda looked around slowly and Charlie held her breath, admiring how graceful her movements were. Gilda stopped once she was facing Charlie again and smiled broadly. "It's lively -- like you."
Charlie grinned mischievously. "If you think this is lively, wait until you see the bedroom. Some say it's the most happening place in Michigan."
"Whom?" Gilda looked a bit puzzled.
"No worries, Top Gear isn't for everyone." When Gilda just looked even more confused Charlie grinned and kissed her. "I'm so glad you're here."