Chapter 9
Elmira heard the knock but absolutely did not want to move.
“Come in!” She yelled from the comfortable place she had on her bed. She knew it was Sven anyway. It’s not like he was going to kill her.
“Seriously? You need to lock your doors!” She could hear him from the doorway as he walked his way back to her room.
“I knew it would be you.”
“Doesn’t matter. You should lock your doors, Elmira. This is New York City.” Sven paused and looked at her tucked into her bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve definitely felt better. That’s for sure. I felt so miserable and listless I didn’t even get back up when I realized I had left my phone in the other room.”
Sven chuckled as he sat down on her bed. “Well that would explain why you never called me back. I brought you some soup if you want it.”
“Did you make it?”
“Yes. My meeting ended early and I couldn’t get a hold of you. So I went home and threw something together.”
“Well if you made it then of course I will eat it!”
“Want me to help you to the lounge?”
“Why can’t you just bring it in here? You know I love any excuse to eat in bed,” Elmira said as she curled further into her blankets as if to signal that she wasn’t moving.
Sven shook his head and sighed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll go heat it up for you in the microwave.”
“Hey! On your way back in, can you grab my phone for me? The world must be so concerned that I haven’t been on it in hours.”
“Yeah I’m sure they are. This is unheard of. Considering you live tweeted your shower the other day.”
“Hey! Your shower is the most phenomenal thing I have ever seen. Nobody can blame me for that. Okay? Stop calling my professionalism into question.”
“Yes, Dear.”
“Ugh, just go make me some soup.”
“Yes, Dear,” Sven said with a chuckle.
As he got back to her, he handed her the phone and then put down the bowl of hot soup. He knew better than to try to feed it to her.
Elmira was clicking around on her phone when she saw a voicemail from Sven. “Oh I need to hear this. I want to hear the desperation in your voice when you couldn’t get a hold of me. You must have thought I’d died or something. This is gonna be good.” Then she clicked on the play button and tossed the phone down on the bed as she turned to the soup.
As the sound started playing, she heard a very unconcerned Sven say, “Hey Elly, it’s me. I bet you’re asleep. Why else would you not answer your phone? Anyway, my meeting ended sooner than I expected. I’m on my way over with some soup for you. Call me back if you want anything else. Bye.”
As she spooned hot soup into her mouth, she glared at Sven over the bowl.
“Seriously? That’s it? I haven’t been at shows all day and you hadn’t heard from me in hours and that’s all the emotion you pour into that? I’m very disappointed, Sven. I thought I meant more to you,” Elmira said, trying to lay the guilt on pretty thickly.
“Sorry, Babe. But it’s not like you’re dying of the plague or anything. You just caught some stomach bug. I promise you that if you were dying I would sound more distraught,” Sven said with a placating pat on her knee.
“That’s really all I wanted.”
“I’m glad.”
“Ugh, I need to sit up more. Here, hold my bowl.” Sven grabbed the bowl of soup from her as she repositioned herself on her bed. As she was bracing herself, she tapped the next voicemail on her phone and it started playing for the room. Sven grabbed her phone out of her way as he heard a woman speaking through it.
“Hello, Elmira. It’s your mother again. I know you said you were busy with the shows, but I just wanted to remind you that your father and I are throwing a party this coming Friday and we would really love to have you be there. It will be friends and family and people who know you and want to see you as much as we do. Please consider coming. You could even bring a friend if you needed to. Whatever gets you here to Brooklyn. Let me know, okay? Goodbye.”
There was a long pause between the two of them. Sven shook her phone in his hand a little, as he asked, “What was that about?”
“Eh. It’s nothing. Just a stupid party my parents are having. I can’t go though.”
“Yeah, you don’t have a show to attend on Friday night. I remember because I just checked the schedule today.”
“I just don’t want to go, Sven. Being on assignment is a good excuse for not going,” Elmira said, trying to end the conversation. Sven, for some reason though, wouldn’t let it go.
“I’d go with you. You know, if you wanted me to. Your mom said you could bring a friend…”
“That’s sweet. But no. Besides, I’m pretty sure she meant like Sascha or someone.”
“What, do you not want me to meet your parents?” Sven laughed out. He stopped laughing when he saw the guilty appearing look on her face. “Elmira, do you not want me to meet your parents?”
“What? No of course not, Sven!” Elmira replied, though not convincing him.
“What other reason would you have for not wanting to go, though? Do you not get along with your parents? Is it me?”
“No, Sven. It’s not you. It’s not. My family is just…I don’t know how to describe them to you. But I just don’t want to go and I definitely don’t want to go with you.”
Sven seemed a bit taken aback by her phrasing. He decided to just drop it. She certainly wasn’t going to answer any of his questions. “Okay. But you know, sometime, I would like to meet your parents. It doesn’t have to be Friday, but at some point. I mean we are dating, aren’t we? And I do know that part of dating is meeting each other’s families. But I guess I get it. It’s too soon. How’s the soup?”
Elmira sighed, realizing that Sven really was going to drop it. She took another bite of soup and licked her lips, smiling, “The soup is delicious.”
Sven kissed her forehead before he moved to settle in beside her. When she finished eating, she curled into his side as they watched a movie on her laptop. Sven had no clue what was going on in it though. All he could think about was whatever it might be that Elmira wasn’t telling him.
*****
Sascha finally reappeared from her days long disappearance. Ever since she’d met Atalia she’d been MIA. She’d sent Elmira a vague text on the third day after Elmira had made five missed calls, to say that she was fine and that her friend shouldn’t worry. It wasn’t the first time that Sascha had gone off with some chick but it was the first time it had lasted so long.
“Glad to see you’re alive,” Elmira called from the bathroom.
“I’m more than alive! I’m fantastic.”
Elmira could hear the happiness in her friend’s voice and couldn’t help the raised eyebrow. “Huh.” She said.
“Huh is right.”
“So Atalia huh?”
“Atalia, Atalia, my love,” Sascha was performing pirouettes around the lounge area.
“Wow. You gonna see her again?”
Sascha stopped dancing to glare at Elmira, “I actually just came to get my clothes. Atalia and I are off to Paris.”
“What?!?”
“Yeah girl. Me and my gal are off to the city of lights.”
“You cannot be serious. You just met her!”
“And?”
“Aaand…you don’t do shit like this. You don’t go off half cocked with some chick you hardly know…”
“Don’t I though?” Sascha asked even as she was gathering her clothes that were strewn all over the place.
“You don’t run off to Paris with them.”
Sascha straightened up, “Look. Elmira. I know things are changing and it’s all scary and shit but me and Atalia….man.” She flopped down on the couch, eyes dreaming, “She’s…”
Her voice trailed off and she had a smile on her face. Elmira wasn’t sure she was even aware of it.
“She’s…perfect.” Sascha sprang to her feet and resumed gathering her clothes, “We’re going to Paris. Deal with it.”
“Wow. Ultimatums.”
“Not ultimatums honey. Facts. I’m spreadin’ my wings and flyin’” Sascha spread out her hands to demonstrate.
“But…my mom's havin’ a dinner party Friday! I was kinda relyin’ on you to come with me.”
“Ask your big and tall. I’m sure he’d go.”
“Yeah well I don’t think we're there yet. I wanna keep him as far away from my mom as possible.”
“Why? You’re mother’s good people.”
“Yeah but…”
“But what?”
“But Sven is kinda a white guy y’know?”
“So what?”
“I mean he’s
a real white, white guy you know? Ain’t nothin’ hood
about him at all.”
“You afraid he won’t fit in?”
“I know he won’t.”
“So…what? You gonna hide him forever?”
Elmira shrugged, “It’s a plan.”
Sascha laughed, “The way you guys make googly eyes at each other…? I would not count on that plan.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s not the kind who’s gonna wanna stay in the closet. I bet he already offered to go with you right?”
Elmira shrugged and Sascha snorted in reply, “Toldja,” she said.
“Is it just me or is this whole situation crazy?”
“Crazier than college?”
“Yeah, much crazier than college. You expect crazy things to happen. Keggers, one night stands…and that’s just you. But this. Meeting some guy…getting so close so fast…it’s real crazy. Goes for you too.” Elmira said throwing a glare at Sascha.
“Maybe it’s something in the air at fashion week,” she said with a shrug, stuffing clothes into a bag, “Whatever it is, I’m gonna go with it.”
“Famous last words.”
Sascha kicked her ankle, “Come on El, don’t be the cowardly lion. Let the witch give you some courage.”
“Oh har har.” Elmira replied.
Sascha finished packing and then she came over to her friend and hugged her.
“In the words of the great philosopher, Kendrick Lamar, ‘we’re gonna be alright’” she said.
Elmira smiled though her heart wasn’t in it.
*****
"Get up, bitch, we're going shopping."
Sascha blinked blearily and made her body go limp so it was harder for Atalia to pull her up. Atalia looked way too cheerful for - Sascha glanced at the clock - oh, she slept through lunch again.
"Come on, let's go," Atalia said, tugging at Sascha's arm, and Sascha bid her Saturday adieu.
"Are we hitting the duty free shops?" Sascha asked, stubbornly ignoring the luggage Atalia was happily tagging along. "Atalia, we can get better deals in the city."
Sascha had fallen back asleep the moment she settled into Atalia's car, after Atalia sleep walked her through washing up and spoon-fed her a few bites of cereal. Somehow, she hadn't noticed the luggage in the backseat. Or realized that her passport had been missing from her hand luggage. They’d been in Paris for three days while Atalia spoke with suppliers. They were supposed to go down to the South of France to taste wine but Sascha didn’t think they needed passports for that.
"Relax, it’s just Japan. Easy two day trip."
Sascha stopped in her tracks, back going rigid as the situation finally sunk in.
"Japan?" She didn't even pack or exchange currency. Granted, she’d pretty much been following Atalia around like some besotted puppy. Okay, she was a besotted puppy, and if Atalia wanted to take her to Japan, then she was going to Japan.
"We have time," Atalia said soothingly and she was gently rubbing circles into the back of Sascha's hand while lowering her voice on purpose so Sascha let herself be led to the boarding gates.
And they do have time. Sascha was stuck in that period after grad school, with the slow realization that she was overqualified for entry-level jobs and under-qualified for a proper managerial position.
Atalia had flexible work hours and she was in between projects after completing her summer collection for NYFW. She was taking time off to get some inspiration for her next collection.
When the plane was going down the runway, Atalia laced their fingers together and brought their locked hands up to her lips for a reassuring kiss. "Hey, don't worry, I've got you."
"Thank you," Sascha said sincerely. "I love this."
*****
From the Tokyo Skytree observation deck, they could see past the glittering city below as the city readied itself for a busy night. All those lighted buildings are symbols of someone pulling an all-nighter, and Sascha had never been more grateful to be unemployed.
They spent the day fooling around in Harajuku and Shibuya, taking far too many silly purikuras and hitting up Alcatraz ER, the prison themed restaurant.
"Just to check it out," Sascha claimed but anyone could see how she lit up when they found out they could stir their drinks with dildos. The vagina shaped cakes were a bonus.
"Come on, we should take a picture to commemorate," Atalia urged as she watched Sascha press herself against the sky deck’s glass windows to drink in the darkening skyline. She fumbled in her bag to pull out her phone and tugged Sascha closer.
Sascha obediently struck a quick V, giggling when Atalia leaned forward to nip at her fingers and then steal a quick kiss at the corner of her mouth. The photo came out funny, with Sascha's face half distorted because she was turning her face away to avoid Atalia's kiss. They were in public, after all. Who knew how tolerant the Japanese were?
"I almost don't want to go home," Sascha sighed, leaning into Atalia's chest and ignoring the tittering tourists around them.
"Good, because tomorrow we're going to Taiwan."
Luckily, the windows of the observation deck were fortified, but if you squinted closely enough, you might have seen the soft imprints of where Sascha pushed Atalia's face into the glass.
*****
Taiwan was dizzying.
If Sascha was comfortable in the bustling streets of Hongdae, Shi Lin night market caught her off guard with the sheer number of young people pushing around the place.
"Dick waffles." Atalia pointed out the stall, having a keen eye for these sorts of things.
"We're stumbling upon a lot of phallic objects in our travels," Sascha mused but they stood in line anyway. It was penis shaped waffles and they never claimed to be the most mature.
They join everyone else in taking inappropriate selfies and Atalia choked while pretending to deep throat the waffle.
"Come on, you can take it. Work that gag reflex girl, you know it’s your last chance," Sascha laughed and the camera in her hand slipped, almost crashing to the ground before Sascha dove to save it.
Atalia hummed non-committally and shuffled off to check out a bubble tea place, leaving Sascha standing there and wondering if she was just shaded.
"Hey!" she cried a minute too late, pulling her lips into a pout and stamping her right foot for good measure. She bumped Atalia's hip with her own and sniped back huffily, "What? My vag not good enough for you?"
"You're cute," Atalia laughed and swept Sascha's bangs aside to brush her lips against Sascha's forehead, an unspoken apology.
Sascha let out a tiny contented murmur and they both knew Atalia was forgiven.
They landed in Hong Kong at noon and Sascha was far too sleepy for anything that required her to move. They decide to skip Disneyland and Disney Sea and just spend the day lounging around in the hotel room watching b-flick movies on the TV.
Sascha took everything she said about Shi Lin market in Taiwan back. The night market was crowded but nothing compared to their destination for dinner, Mongkok, where their senses were bombarded with so much stimuli Sascha had to cling to Atalia to find her ground and not be swept away by the moving crowd. Atalia was very pleased at this new development.
Atalia nudged Sascha in the side and cocked her head to draw Sascha's attention. The street was lined with photographers offering to capture instant memories in film, promising great shots for a low price.
To their left, a young couple wearing matching baseball jackets lay on the ground with their chins propped up, smiling at each other. The photographer crouched on one knee and with a few shouted directions that Sascha and Atalia couldn’t understand, the flash went off, and the photo was instantly printed on the spot. Even from so far away, Sascha could see that the photo came out well, and the happy couple walked away with bright smiles.
They were actually so adorable Sascha felt her jaw hurt.
She turned to Atalia to complain about the sheer amount of cute and found Atalia grinning at her expectantly.
"No," Sascha said, so horrified she let go of Atalia's hand.
"Why not?" Atalia widened her eyes and blinked rapidly in an attempt at being cute. It was really not appealing but Sascha had to stamp down the little curl of adoration anyway.
"Closer," the photographer directed in hesitant English, gesturing for them to cut out the awkward posing.
Sascha peeked up at Atalia just when she heard the click of the shutter and that turned out to be Atalia's favorite shot- Sascha staring up at Atalia like Atalia was her anchor while Atalia's smile was so soft and indulgent.
Secretly, Sascha liked the last two shots the most. In a fit of playful impulse, Atalia had lifted Sascha off her feet and the first shot showed Sascha's arms wrapped around Atalia's neck, head thrown back in gleeful joy. In the second, Sascha improvised by planting a playful kiss on Atalia's nose and Atalia's eyes were scrunched shut mid-laugh.
They may have drawn a fairly large crowd of curious onlookers, but as they went through the photographs again later in the hotel room, Sascha thought it was all worth it.
*****
"Isn't this fun?" Atalia yelled. Her voice sounded distant, even if they were strapped together, Sascha against Atalia's chest.
Yeah, Sascha wanted to reply, but her answer was swallowed up by a scream as they went hurtling down the Macau tower together.
Atalia covered Sascha’s screams with kisses so fleeting it felt like the wind whipping up their hair. It was entirely unromantic because Sascha could acutely sense the rapidly approaching ground and the safety harness was digging painfully into her thigh, but if Sascha ignored the fight with vertigo, kissing Atalia always did feel a little like falling off a cliff, all racing heartbeats and breathless gasps.
The bungee jump
attendant smiled knowingly at them when they'd safely planted both
feet on the ground and Atalia cheerfully said, "I hope that was
caught on camera!"
Vietnam proved to be a welcome retreat
after days of rushing through crowds and concrete jungles.
They wanted to head to Halong Bay but the date they were arriving in Vietnam happened to coincide with the 14th day of the lunar month, so they ended up in Hoi An instead.
Sascha bought her first hanbok in a tiny tailor shop for a fraction of the price in Korea, a graduation present for herself and a symbol of her new life. It took only one day for the traditional Korean outfit to be ready for the first fitting and it fit Sascha like a glove, the workmanship outstanding for the price. Sascha couldn’t thank the seamstress enough and she beamed, pleased with Sascha's attempts at broken Vietnamese.
"Well?" Sascha stepped out from the fitting room in her newly bought clothes and asked, giving a small twirl for Atalia.
Atalia didn't answer but merely stared, drinking in the sight of Sascha until Sascha felt oddly self-conscious. "Is it... too small?"
"You look amazing." When Atalia finally spoke, Sascha felt her stomach swoop with desire. Atalia's voice was but a throaty whisper, low and dark with promise.
It only took two steps into their chalet before Atalia had Sascha pushed against the wall in a rough and searing kiss, mouthing hungrily down the side of Sascha's neck and across her collarbones.
They christen the outfit in a very different way, and with all the memories clinging to the dress, Sascha definitely wouldn't be able to return it anytime soon.
At night, after they had tired themselves out and ordered dinner in bed, they took a stroll in town and finally saw the hype of the lantern town for themselves.
It was a breath taking experience sipping on beer among hundreds of lanterns and their soft reflections in the calm river. Sascha’s life had been one fuck fest after another ever since she’d left her crime lord family to seek her fortune on her own. Staying one step ahead of her father, keeping up with school and trying to keep her real identity under wraps meant that she barely had time to just take a breath and relax. This holiday with Atalia was exactly the break she didn’t know she needed.
For kicks, Atalia ordered a cocktail with a shot of iced Vietnamese coffee despite Sascha's protests and let Sascha take the honor of first sip.
"This tastes like poison," Sascha blanched, pushing the glass away from her.
"Baby," Atalia said fondly, tapping Sascha's nose and laughing when Sascha tried to bite her finger. She brought the glass up for a sip and immediately started coughing, the strong alcohol and bitter coffee taking her by surprise.
Atalia was generous enough to let Sascha bask in the satisfaction of the unspoken 'I told you so'.
They spent another two nights relaxing in Hoi An and Danang before they flew to their last destination, Koh Samui, Thailand.
The island was thronging with too many tourists but it didn’t stop Koh Samui from being absolutely beautiful. They splurged on a villa with a stretch of private beach and it was there that they took their dinner, simple sandwiches on a picnic mat taken from their room.
Sascha had seen many sunsets by beach but none as beautiful as this one; and she watched the dip of the horizon quietly, too enthralled to look away. She didn’t even notice that Atalia had disappeared until she felt the mat move.
Atalia offered her, her hand and smiled, "I have something to show you."
"Close your eyes," Atalia told her and Sascha played along, amused by her girlfriend's antics. Sascha concentrated instead on the soft slip of the sand beneath her toes and the steady warmth of Atalia's palm.
It didn’t take long before Atalia stopped them both and asked Sascha to open her eyes.
The first thing Sascha saw was a sandcastle, a small fort with carved in doors and even a moat.
Then she noticed it. A simple ring peeked on the top of the castle and Sascha's breath hitched in her throat, suddenly hearing nothing but the rhythmic crashing of the waves.
Only then did she pick up on how nervous Atalia looked, or how she was dressed too finely for the beach in her Wicking maxi dress. Atalia's palms were sweaty as she held Sascha's hand again, this time cradled carefully with both hands.
"The sandcastle may crumble, but my love for you won't."
It almost drew a
laugh from Sascha but as soon as the urge came, it was replaced with
a heady rush, and Sascha managed to choke out, "I can't believe
you said that."
Atalia dropped Sascha's hands to pull out her
phone, already set to a video and she held it out shakily, pressing
play.
The video was a slideshow of pictures, all taken by Atalia along their three week long getaway- the Eiffel tower and Champs-Elysees in Paris, on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, outside a ramen store in Xi Men Ding, Taiwan, on the elephant in Hoi An, but all of them shared something in common.
While Sascha was admiring the scenery or caught up in an interesting souvenir at the stores, Atalia was watching Sascha intensely in all of the pictures. Sascha immediately understood what romantic comedy heroines mean when they say to find someone who treats you as if you're their world, because Atalia's gaze was so raw and open there was no mistaking the emotion burning in her eyes.
The slideshow stopped on the final shot of them on the beach. Atalia's hand was long enough that the camera captured half of their bodies and Sascha had her head thrown back in a laugh. This time, Atalia was not looking at Sascha but staring straight into the camera with a bright grin, her other arm stretched by her side to hold out a card hidden in her palm.
"When did you do this?" Sascha gasped, eyes starting to feel a little wet. She was right next to Atalia and she didn't even notice-
Because the card read in Atalia's signature scrawl, will you marry me?
“Sascha," Atalia said, voice sounding stronger and more confident now. She plucked the ring from the sandcastle and dropped to one knee, head turned up at with this goofy smile.
"You've made the past month of my life the most blissful I've ever had. You curse in Spanish when watching police dramas and you’re always so vocal about your opinions; and you do that thing with your tongue that absolutely blows my mind. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met, you have a mind of your own but you’re willing to take my interests into account. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I hope we can have these treasured moments for the rest of our lives.” She took a deep breath and continued, voice dropping low, “Will you marry me?"
Sascha sniffed, tears spilling over now. "You're stupid."
Atalia was off her knees in a flash, reaching out to embrace Sascha and fitting her snugly in her arms. She rested her chin on the crown of Sascha's head and closed her eyes. "I love you."
Sascha buried her nose into Atalia's collar and gripped the back of Atalia's shirt, clinging on tight. "So stupid."
Yes.