“Partita No. 1 for Solo Violin in B Minor,” I say.
El laughs.
“Hang on,” she says and walks back to where she was when we came here. A minute later, my favorite Bach piece resounds through the speaker, and it calms me immediately.
Amelie returns with three glasses and a bottle of champagne from the table.
“Are we in the lab today?” she asks with a chuckle. She, of course, recognizes the song I have always played.
I have to snigger a bit.
“Here,” she says and hands me and the returning El a glass of champagne.
“A toast to the girl who lives her life from now on,” says Amelie with a wink at El.
“To the girl who chooses freedom,” says El.
“To the birthday girl,” I say. I still feel like an intruder.
Half an hour later, I don’t.
Half an hour later, I laugh hard because El is by far the funniest person I have ever met. Not in a fake way, but with her utterly dry humor. She also knows how to take the edge off someone. She has wit. She laughs richly and affectingly. And I can see why Amelie is so fond of her.
“O. M. G. I love this song,” she says, getting up to dance in front of Amelie and me, dancing to Enjoy The Silence by Anberlin.
“Come on, let’s join her,” says Amelie, get up, and hold out her hand.
I hesitate one moment before I take it to let myself get into dancing.
No one here judges. No one cares. It’s just us girls.
So I dance.
We dance.
We drink.
At some point, Amelie dances so close to me, grabs around me, and opens my ponytail. Grasps my face, kisses me, and I bring one arm around her back. We kiss more. So close. And I feel so good. So, so good as we dance with our hands exploring our bodies.
More alcohol.
More dancing.
I close my eyes as I just take in the sensation of freedom. My body feels light rather than the typical tension. I feel so much and yet nothing at all.
Amelie has her arms around me. I lean slightly into her touch while I dance; she is holding me. And I trust her to do so.
Suddenly, a touch behind me. El.
Her hands wander around me as we dance. One wanders around my throat as she pushes my head back into her.
And I let her.
Because I have never felt any better in my life.
20
AMELIE & ELISE
