By rights, the sex should have knocked them both out for hours. Jules’s rest was uneasy, though, and when she woke at six, she saw that Vivian was awake too, thumbs flying over her phone.
“Who’re you texting?” she mumbled.
“It’s an email.” Vivian put her phone down without further clarification.
“You can’t sleep either?”
“What do you expect? This mattress feels older than both of us combined.” She shifted and winced. “My back hurts.”
Jules sat up with a grunt. She pushed a lock of hair out of her face and looked at Vivian, at her blue eyes and messy blonde hair right here in Jules’s bed. And in spite of the complaints, Jules’s face split into a grin.
“Since we’re both up, I’ll make us some coffee,” she offered. “It’s not as good as La Colombe, but I can bring you a cup in bed.”
Vivian regarded her, and sudden hunger flashed in her eyes. She reached out, cupped Jules’s face, and pulled her in for a kiss.
Her mouth was soft and warm, and Jules hummed softly when they parted. “Good morning to you too.”
“Forget the coffee,” Vivian said. “We can get some on the way.”
“Huh?” Jules looked at the clock. Yep, it was 6:02 a.m., all right. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. You choose. I want to go somewhere, I want to move. I can’t keep still. I want to go somewhere with you.”
The way Vivian’s gaze kept darting around the bedroom told the story too. She didn’t look scared exactly, more like someone who was champing at the bit. Strange for someone who so often sat in icy stillness, letting the world orbit around her.
But Vivian’s mind never stopped moving, and today her body seemed to be following suit. If it weren’t six in the morning, Jules would be able to relate.
Her sluggish mind came up with exactly one solution, inspiration like a bolt from the blue: “What do you think of Domino Park?”
* * *
Plumes of fog curled up behind Jules, and the first rays of sunrise limned their edges. In the background rose the outline of the massive syrup tanks that belonged to the old Domino Sugar factory.
This early in the morning, Jules and Vivian were alone except for the occasional runner who paid them no mind. It was just past seven. They’d taken an Uber here with a La Colombe stop on the way, and now steam curled from their coffee cups.
They meandered down the paths in silence for a while, Jules in comfy sweats, Vivian in yesterday’s clothes. It was probably sloppier than either of them had looked in public for years, even if a lot was hidden beneath their coats.
The thought made Jules grin, and she drifted a smidgen closer to Vivian as they walked, almost enough to jostle her shoulder.
“Feeling better now?” she asked.
“Yes.” Vivian looked around. “I went to a party here once, but I didn’t pay much attention to the place.”
“It’s beautiful,” Jules said. “I wish it wasn’t so far away. I appreciate you agreeing to come out here.”
The unintentional choice of words landed between them, and Jules couldn’t help a grimace.
“Well, if we don’t come out here, we’ll have to do it somewhere else,” Vivian said dryly.
“You know what I meant.” Jules dared to link her arm through Vivian’s, hoping to reassure her for what she said next. “I think we should wait a while for that.”
Thankfully, Vivian didn’t seem offended. In fact, she said, “Of course we should” in her familiar don’t-state-the-obvious tone.
It would do no good to ask how long they should wait; even Vivian wouldn’t know the answer. Wait until after the divorce was finalized, certainly. After Vivian’s job was secure, probably. After the baby was born, possibly. Too many variables. It made Jules’s head hurt.
And if today was the first day of the rest of their lives, she didn’t want to spend it with aching temples, especially not when a familiar bench came into view.
“Want to sit down?” She nodded at the bench. “Right there.”
Something in Jules’s voice clearly caught Vivian’s attention. As they sat on the bench, Vivian asked, “What’s so special about ‘right there’?”
Right there was where Jules had seen two women holding hands. She’d dreamed of doing the same thing with Vivian and told herself that was ridiculous, that it would never happen.
Jules looked toward the East River’s smooth expanse, at the shining resoluteness of Manhattan’s skyscrapers on the other side. They were pink and gold in the dawn. Her breath clouded the air as she exhaled.
She took out her phone. “Here.”
Then she showed Vivian the photo she’d taken of Bomber Jacket and Pink Lipstick—it seemed like a lifetime ago. In spite of the cold, her face warmed as she looked at their smiles, the way they were unapologetically themselves.
“I was walking out here trying to figure out what I’d write for Salon,” she said. “I saw them sitting here, and it started to click. They’re…” She didn’t have the words, so she waved the phone uselessly.
Vivian took the phone,, her lips pursed in thought. After a moment, she said, “Yes. I get it.”
If Vivian said she got it, she got it, but Jules kept talking anyway. “They seemed so happy, just sitting there holding hands. They really got me thinking about my topic, about…”
Vivian looked at her, clearly waiting.
“About you,” Jules admitted. Even now, confession was embarrassing. “I was thinking about what it would be like to be here with you. And here we are.”
“Don’t get sentimental on me, Julia.”
But then she took Jules’s hand. Her thumb rubbed over the knuckles. The morning light softened her eyes.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Jules whispered. The sudden warmth in her chest was enough to banish the cold, no matter what she wore. Together, their hands came to rest against the curve of Vivian’s belly.
“Good.” Vivian squeezed Jules’s hand. “That’s the last thing I need.”
“I think we’ve already got what we need.”
“Do we? This isn’t going to be easy.” Vivian’s tone left no room for argument. “This is going to be the furthest thing from easy.”
“I know,” Jules said. “I’m ready if you are.”
Though upon reflection, that might not be totally true. As she leaned forward, Jules wondered if she’d ever be ready for Vivian Carlisle.
I sure hope not. She pressed her lips gently to Vivian’s in the full glow of sunrise.
* * *
END BOOK ONE
The Story Continues In:
ABOVE ALL THINGS