“I was in a car accident when I was little. It was just after my twelfth birthday. My mother was driving and she… she was severely injured. And well, I was too young to care for myself, you know? While she was in and out of the hospital, and then after really. She can care for herself well enough now. It’s a struggle, but she does her best.” Anna swallowed uncomfortably.
Brooke tightened her grip around Anna’s hand and pulled the other woman in tighter to her side as they walked.
“I had never met my father before the wreck, but I guess someone figured out how to contact him. I was in a coma for that part. He was there when I woke up a few days later.”
“Oh, Anna,” Brooke whispered.
Anna shot her a sad glance.“It’ll get happier, I promise. My father, Victor–well, Vick really–is not a terrible guy. Maybe not so great of a father. Had been a worse boyfriend to my mom, but he stepped up when I really needed him to. I had to go through a lot of physical therapy. Nothing like my mom’s had to do, but it wasn’t great. I guess, it just made me realize how everything can change. In an instant. One car wreck can completely alter the whole trajectory of your life.”
She smiled, this was a real smile, full of warmth and depth, one laced with triumph.“It wasn’t all bad though. I spent a lot of time in the hospital with my mom there in the beginning. Have you heard of MedAi?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of MedAi,” Brooke said, impressed.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say I exchange Christmas Cards with MedAi’s founder, Dr. Rachel and her whole family at this point. She personally handled my mother’s case. Something about being a single mother herself and hating it that we suddenly relied on my father for anything.”
Brooke wanted nothing more than to wrap Anna up in a massive hug.
“Things are great now though. My mom is able to have her own apartment in the city. I go check in on her at least once a week. And my father, well, I mean, he didn’t get good at fathering overnight. But he calls on my birthday every year and invites me over for the superbowl,” Anna said the last part with a little laugh like she was more than a little aware that the superbowl wasn’t a family holiday.
Brooke knew that other people had complicated family dynamics. She had never thought that her family drama had made her special or interesting, but it had often made her feel quite alone. There was something in knowing Anna’s childhood trauma, something about the depth of Anna’s understanding of challenging family dynamics that made Brooke all the more thankful that Anna had agreed to come with her on this ridiculous journey.
Brooke realized she had never responded. She squeezed Anna’s hand again, hoping the gesture was reassuring.“I suppose that’s kind of him.” Brooke paused, realizing that by Anna joining her on this trip, she wouldn’t be there for her mother.“Is leaving your mother for the week going to be a problem?”
Anna quickly shook her head, no.“Another by-product of the accident is that my mom would absolutely never let me miss anything on her behalf.” Anna let out a little laugh.“I talked to her earlier this week. She expects lots of photos.” Anna squeezed Brooke’s hand, returning her reassuring gesture.“I promise it’s going to be fine. One of my friends is going to go check on her for me. And my mom… honestly she just wants me to do everything. She always tells me to skip for her.” Anna hopped a little as she walked, returning their conversation to where it began.
“Well then by all means, we should skip,” Brooke said, matching Anna’s jump-step.
They skipped the last block to the bookstore and arrived a laughing mess, the weight of their conversation and of Anna’s history was lightened with each hop. Brooke quickly opened the front door for Anna.“After you, M’lady.”
Anna curtsied, watching Brooke closely.“How’d I do?”
Brooke chuckled.“Fit for a queen, darling.”
“Vivienne showed me,” Anna said, noticeably blushing as she stepped past Brooke and into the bookshop.“So, just how little information are we giving each other?” Changing the subject to their fake bookstore date.
Brooke hummed.“I don’t know. The one time I suggested this, the girl actually laughed at me. Not with me, at me. So, this is definitely the farthest I’ve gotten.”
Anna opened her mouth to say something, her dark eyebrows furrowed comically in a rage, but she clearly thought better of whatever was about to come out of her mouth and let it go.“How about we exchange our favorite genres?”
“Fantasy/adventure,” Brooke said easily.
“Romance,” Anna responded just as fast.
Brooke nodded.“Should we show each other what we’ve selected before we buy it?”
“No, absolutely not. We’re committing to our choices right out of the gate,” Anna answered.
Brooke was completely gone. If she hadn’t already had a ridiculous crush on Anna before tonight, she sure as hell did now. She licked her lips and nodded.“Okay, well then. Good luck, Anna. I’ll meet you over in the little cafe area when you’re done.” Brooke gestured toward the bookstore’s small attached coffee shop.
Anna’s smile brightened the whole store. Brooke’s heart stuttered at the sight. Anna rocked up on her toes and pressed the softest of kisses to Brooke’s cheek.“Good luck, B,” she said, barely above a whisper before shooting Brooke a wink, turning, and sashaying towards the fantasy section.
Brooke had no way of knowing how long she stood, rooted to the spot. Time had ceased to exist. All she knew at this point was that Anna Fourchette smelled incredible, her lips were softer than a feather against her cheek, and the more she got to know about the woman, the more she wanted to learn. Finally, she dragged herself away from staring after a long since disappeared Anna.
Brooke had read a few cute sapphic romance novels over the past year. She wondered how Anna would feel about Brooke getting her something queer. Brooke knew that Anna was straight, but there was a good chance that Anna would be cute and bring whatever book Brooke got her on the trip with them. It would help their cover if Anna was reading something sapphic. Plus, Brooke had never read a heterosexual romance novel. She really didn’t have a clue which ones might be worth Anna’s time. She paced the aisles, looking for a book in particular,Delilah Green Doesn’t Care.
She smiled at the cover when she found it, hoping her plan was a good one. She headed for the check out register, her eyes scanning her surroundings, wanting to make sure that Anna didn’t get a look at her selection before she had paid for it and written in it. She didn’t see Anna anywhere, so she checked out quickly and headed towards the little cafe corner. Her nerves built and built as she found a seat and tried to think of something clever and witty to write inside the front cover of Anna’s book.
Christine had given her a random life advice book for Christmas years ago. All of the advice had been silly, but catchy. One little phrase had always stuck with her. She pulled her favorite fountain pen out of its daytime home in her front right pocket and opened the book.
