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It felt so strange to walk into the pub alone on Christmas Eve, but Annabelle calmed her nerves by focusing on the music. The holiday songs were interspersed with hits from the nineties, songs she remembered vaguely from her childhood. It filled her with nostalgia and that warm, fuzzy feeling managed to mitigate at least some of her anxiety.
She hesitated just inside the door and smoothed her long, silky waves of chestnut brown hair. The black hadn’t been too difficult to tone down close to her natural hair color. Everyone said it flattered her much more. Annabelle would have to take her friends’ word for it. She was still getting used to the change.
It’d been a pretty full week for her. After her visit with Grandma Georgina, the rest of the week had passed in a whirlwind of paperwork and phone calls. She still couldn’t believe it was Sunday night, already the night before Christmas, and Annabelle held her breath as she searched the room. Everyone was celebrating, enjoying the party, but she couldn’t relax until she found Elizabeth. They’d agreed to meet there and Annabelle was not only on time, she was early.
After another moment, her body unfroze and she made her way around the room. At least she wasn’t the only person dressed up tonight. She’d thought the vintage-style red dress with bow tied at the back might be too much, but it was perfect for tonight’s crowd. Heck, there were even “elves” getting drunk at the bar.
Danny was behind it, serving up drinks and looking positively joyful. Annabelle hid her own smile by dipping her head and continuing around the throngs of people until she saw her.
Elizabeth looked gorgeous, of course. She wore black pants and a silver blouse that gave her skin a glow. Not that the redhead needed any help in the beauty department. Annabelle was awestruck all over again at how her girlfriend managed to be the most captivating woman in the room.
Their eyes met and Elizabeth turned to thread her way through the crowd. Annabelle met her halfway, hands clasped behind her, even though what she really wanted to do was reach out and pull Elizabeth to her.
“Wow,” Elizabeth said, looking her up and down. “The hair.”
Self-consciously, Annabelle reached up to tousle it, but Elizabeth curled her long, slender fingers around her wrist and drew her hand away from the locks. Then she pressed a kiss to the back of Annabelle’s hand. The contact sent a thrill through Annabelle’s entire body.
“My lady,” Elizabeth whispered. “I am at your service.”
“No, I’m at yours,” Annabelle answered, her voice shaking. “Isn’t that how it works between the queen and her lady-in-waiting?”
Elizabeth seemed to think for a moment, then she winked and said, “Actually, yes, and I know exactly how you can service me later tonight, if you’re up for it.”
That was all it took to break the ice. Annabelle laughed before putting her arms around Elizabeth’s shoulders and offering her lips for a kiss. Their mouths and then their bodies molded together, fingers curling hard against each other’s arms, clinging. It wasn’t an inordinate amount of affection for the pub, but Annabelle was still mindful that they were in public. With some reluctance, she ended the kiss. However, she kept her arms around Elizabeth and smiled up at her.
Danny grinned from ear to ear when they approached the bar to order drinks. As they settled in with their Dirty Shirleys, Annabelle held hers up and said, “I think this is going to be our thing.”
“Definitely,” Elizabeth agreed. “Well, we’ve spent a week apart, figuring things out, so I guess the question is did you figure out what you need to figure out?”
With a slow nod of her head, Annabelle said, “Definitely. I worked a lot of things out with my family. Oh, and had my hair done.” A few moments passed and Elizabeth held up both hands as if to ask if that was all she had to say. “What? I mean, really, that’s all that happened!”
It was an over-simplification, but Annabelle didn’t want to get into everything at the moment. They were here to celebrate. There would be time later to elaborate on the most recent part of her journey. A lot of time, because she had no intention of letting Elizabeth go after tonight.
“Okay then, I can dig that. So how about I tell you mine, then?” Elizabeth asked.
“Are you saying you didn’t just ask me to meet you here so we could have amazing sex later?”
“Ah, nice guess and true, I do want that, but that’s not the only thing I want to tell you. I quit my job. I mean, totally dropped it. No two-week notice, nothing. Just done.”
Annabelle did a double-take and worried at her lower lip with her teeth. “Was that what you wanted to do? I know you had your doubts, but you also loved your career. I hope you didn’t quit because of me or George.”
“Oh, please! You know I’ve been looking to do something different for a while now. So here’s the other thing – I have something amazing to tell you and I think you’re going to be as excited about it as I am.”
Now Annabelle had to fight the smile that threatened to lift her lips. In the sweetest voice possible, she asked, “And what would that be?”
Elizabeth gestured to the bar. “Danny wants to open a new place, one where we can basically have the ren faire year-round. It’ll be a combination restaurant and pub with renaissance entertainment. If he can get the place next door, he might even demolish the wall between here and there. And he will need players, so if you want to do what you said and be able to perform all the time, guess what? You can!” Elizabeth clapped her hands together beneath her chin and smiled down at Annabelle.
Before Annabelle could think of the best way to respond, the music had turned off and the voices around them quieted. She turned to see Danny standing on top of the bar.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?” He held a pint of beer in front of him and looked like a jolly old elf himself, a wide grin tugging up both corners of his mouth. “I wanted to wait until we were in a festive mood to tell you, so here it is: an anonymous donor has put up the capital to purchase the place next door for our new medieval-themed restaurant. We close on it just after the New Year.”
A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd, followed by cheers. When Annabelle turned to look at Elizabeth, her eyes were sparkling, and she was applauding like mad.
“Oh my god! Can you believe it?” Elizabeth cried, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Yeah, I can.” Annabelle dipped her head once again, fighting the blush rising to her own face. Amid the triumphant hooting and hollering, she felt Elizabeth’s fingers slip around her arms and draw her toward the back. It wasn’t any less noisy there, but it was a little more isolated.
“Annabelle. Did you hear that? This is actually going to happen for us. It’s real!”
She looked up at her girlfriend, surprised to see her eyes shining with tears. “I know,” she said, her voice barely audible over the cheering.
“Wait.” Elizabeth reached out and stroked Annabelle’s hair with both hands, pulling it away from her face. “Did you do this?”
“I love you,” was Annabelle’s answer as she rose up on tiptoe to kiss Elizabeth once more.
When she finally stepped away, she was pleased to see Elizabeth’s skin was just as flushed as hers. “Can we get out of here?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course.” Annabelle let Elizabeth guide her back the way they’d come, drinks forgotten as they walked out the front door and down the street. The pizza place they’d visited twice before was cozy, not crowded this time, and smelled wonderful. After ordering their pizza, they sat at one of the tables, holding hands across it.
“Will you tell me what happened?” Elizabeth asked gently.
Annabelle laughed. “It’s a long story, but my Grandma Georgina happened. I went to her and we had a talk about, well, everything.”
“That’s a broad topic.”
“It is and it was a pretty long talk. Anyway, she took my side on everything – not just you, but all of the choices I’ve made since high school. She thought what George did to us at the gala was outrageous and she also agreed the terms of my trust fund were on the strict side. So she went to the family lawyer, scared the hell out of him, and then gave me the money free and clear with one stipulation.”
“Which was what?”
“Trust me when I say, it’s something I could live with.” Annabelle squirmed a bit in her seat, excitement finally hitting her in waves. “The one caveat was that I do something worthwhile with at least half of it, so I did.”
Elizabeth’s gentle smile was full of love. “Well, you sure did,” she said. “How did you even know about the restaurant?”
“Please, do you think you’re the only person who stays in touch with Danny? I’m an official rennie, so he included me on his phone calls when he started reaching out to see who was interested in helping.” Annabelle reluctantly let go of Elizabeth’s hands as the server placed the pizza on the table. As soon as he was gone, she said, “I told him what I was willing to do, but that I didn’t want to be included in any of the meetings just yet.”
The way her girlfriend shook her head made Annabelle giggle. “Oh, you sneaky, sneaky little thing,” Elizabeth accused her, also laughing.
“But wait, there’s more. Since I’m going to be a silent partner, I did have one request for Danny.”
As they divvied up the paper plates, napkins, and slices, Elizabeth said, “I can’t wait to hear this.”
“Well, I wanted him to host a free re-enactment day one day a month for children in need. Whether they love history or want to be actors, or just play dress-up, I want to be able to do something good for others. We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but we’ve definitely brainstormed a lot of the logistics.”
Elizabeth’s smile widened even more. “Have I told you lately how amazing you are?”
“No, but you can tell me tonight and tomorrow night, and the next night.” Annabelle chuckled and picked up her slice of pizza. Before she bit into it, she said, “Oh, I quit my job, too.”
“No more working at the evil monument to capitalist consumerism?”
“Nope. But now I’m thinking of trying to find ways to consolidate my expenses. I mean, until the restaurant is up and running, we won’t be earning an income. And even then, we don’t know if things will go well. It’s important to find a way to keep going until then, so if you have any ideas, I’m open to them.”
The only response Elizabeth offered her was a low murmur of agreement. It wasn’t quite what Annabelle had been expecting, but then Elizabeth looked up at her and smiled.
“I have an idea...”
It wasn’t long before pizza and ideas ran out, but there was so much more to do when they arrived at Annabelle’s apartment. They kissed their way out of the car. They kissed their way up the stairs. They even kissed their way into the apartment, which was lit only by the multi-colored lights on the small tree in the corner.
“Wait.” Elizabeth took a step back, gasping for breath, while Annabelle stared at her. “I forgot something,” she said, and turned to run back outside.
Annabelle blinked and then dashed over to her tree, stopping only to turn on a floor lamp for extra light. There was just one item under the tree. All the rest of the gifts were already at her father’s place and she would go tomorrow to see her family open them.
For now, though, the only gift that mattered was the one she picked up from beneath the tree. Elizabeth returned a moment later, closing and locking the apartment door behind her.
“So, I had a heck of a time this year,” Elizabeth said, unslinging the large shopping bag from over her shoulder. “I mean, what do you get for someone you love so much, but are still just getting to know?”
“Right? I had the same problem,” Annabelle agreed. To her surprise, her hands trembled around the small package in her hands. It was nothing like what Elizabeth had dragged into the apartment and she wondered if she’d made a mistake.
Uncertainty flashed across Elizabeth’s face, too, and then it was gone. “We’re both nervous,” she said with a laugh.
“We are, but we shouldn’t be.” Annabelle finally thrust her gift forward with both hands. “It’s just a little thing, but I thought about you when I saw it.”
“And it’s just a, well, a big thing, but same here.”
Elizabeth finally accepted the wrapped gift out of Annabelle’s hands, and Annabelle approached the bag sitting on the sofa. She parted the opening of the bag and her breath whooshed from between her lips.
“Oh... Elizabeth...” Annabelle reached into the bag, her hands closing around the crisp brown and gold fabric.
Drawing the dress out, she let it unfurl completely. It was the gown she’d worn throughout the renaissance faire, the one she’d donned three days a week from September to November. She didn’t get to keep it, because it was property of the faire organizers. Holding it now filled her with nostalgia and she pressed it to her body, hardly believing it was hers.
“I thought you’d want it when the restaurant opens,” Elizabeth said. “I mean, I didn’t know when I got it if we’d make any progress on the venture, but... That is... I wanted to ask you...”
It was something Annabelle had never seen before – Elizabeth, nervous. Even more nervous than when she’d offered her the gift. “What is it?” she asked, touched by her girlfriend’s apprehension.
“What I mean to say is...” Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her gaze met Annabelle’s and she seemed to have composed herself. “Annabelle, will you be my lady-in-waiting?”
Annabelle pressed her hand over her mouth and nodded, aware tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes. “Absolutely,” she answered through her fingers.
“Great. Yeah, great.” Elizabeth looked absolutely delighted with her response, and she finally tore open the wrapping paper on her own gift. “Ohh, Annabelle, this is wonderful.” She hugged the book to her chest.
“I thought you’d like it. It’s Carrie Fisher’s autobiography and since you’re such a fan of hers, it seemed like the perfect present.”
“Sweetie.” Elizabeth closed the distance between them and Annabelle had to tilt her head to look up at her. “You’re the perfect present.”
Annabelle agreed with the sentiment as Elizabeth kissed her. Things were just as they should be – the queen and her lady-in-waiting, together.