on the town
The morning starts early and slow. Jade is alone, stretched across the couch with a pillow under her head and book in hand. Tranquil silence is briefly broken when one of the bedroom doors swings open. Kit emerges in her long sleeve shirt and a pair of loose boxers. She wordlessly makes her way to the couch and lays entirely on top of the current occupant. Sliding between the girl and her book, Kit buries her head into the crook of Jade’s neck. Adjusting to the new obstacle, Jade maneuvers her arm to read over the shoulder now blocking her view.
Kit speaks into her neck after a few quiet minutes, “Hi.”
“Morning, love. Sleep alright?”
“Mm-hmm. How long have you been up?”
“Not long.”
More quiet passes before Jade gives up on her reading. She gently pushes at Kit’s shoulder to get her out of the way, placing the book on the coffee table. Kit now sits upright, straddling her hips.
“These are mine, I’ve been looking for them.” Jade snaps the elastic waistband of the purple boxers that the brunette must have slept in.
Kit ignores the comment and slaps at the offending hand, “What kind of coffee maker does she have?”
“Go dig around, there should be a French press somewhere.”
The brunette climbs off and makes her way to the kitchen area, “You want one?”
“Please.”
Kit is situated on a stool with her mug cradled in both hands. She’s waiting while Jade gets ready for the day when Scorpia makes her entrance.
She puts the kettle on, drags a stool to the opposite side of the table, and sits to address the girl, voice extra gravely from sleep, “Where are you two off to today?”
“Grand tour, apparently.” Kit replies before taking a sip.
“What’s on the docket?”
“Breakfast or brunch somewhere, some shops she misses, Ballentine’s gym, that park I don’t remember the name of, and probably something else.”
“Busy busy. You guys should eat at Lori’s spot. Coffee’s shit, but foods out of this world.”
Kit nods. The two don’t really know what to do with each other, an uncomfortable beat passing. Kit throws a bone, “Where’s beard man?”
“Thraxus and his gorgeous beard had a job this morning.”
“His name’s been Thraxus this whole time?”
“Well rested, yet still relentless this morning, are we?” Scorpia can’t stop a small smirk from forming.
Kit grins into her mug and finishes her coffee before asking, “What does he do?”
“Loads of stuff, odd jobs all over town.”
“Cool, cool.” The conversation fizzles again, slightly less awkward this time.
The kettle screeches and the older woman moves to make her tea.
Kit once again brings them back, “So this Lori guy, he used to watch Jade when you were working?”
“Yeah. I was a cashier at the bakery for a couple years when I was finishing school. Then when our mum died I needed more money and he couldn’t afford to pay me more, so he helped me get a job at the pub. He would stay with her when I had late shifts. Plus, his husband was one of her primary school teachers.”
“So, an important one then.”
“Saved our asses plenty of times. Whole town loves him, he’s a big leather daddy type but add on an apron.” She pauses and seems to think something over before speaking again, “At some point, if you’re chatting with him today, ask to see pictures of Jade from his wedding.”
“Noted.” Kit smirks a bit, excited to have a tiny secret together.
At this moment Jade returns to the kitchen, smiling at the sight of her two favorite people interacting.
“Babe, your baker-caretaker-uncle-figure-man has a husband and I’m just now hearing about it?”
“Just wait until I take you to Hubert’s later. Her and her wife own the outdoorsy store I told you about. So much backpacking gear your head’ll explode.”
“Hubert’s a woman and a lesbian? How many queer people live in this town?”
“More than you’d think.” Scorpia answers.
“You want to come get breakfast with us?” Jade offers to her sister.
“Who am I to say no to enjoying one of the old boy’s scones? Oh yeah, and keep the evening free. He invited a bunch of people over to the house when I told him you were coming to town.”
“It’s not a big deal, I don’t need a party.”
“Small one.” Scorpia brushes it off.
“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to get dressed real quick.” Kit rises to make her way to their room.
The oldest woman does a double take when catching a glimpse of what the girl is wearing. She gestures to the purple bottoms, “Those are mine.”
Kit rolls her eyes, “Of course they are.”
The group eventually make their way to Sweet Toth Bakery. A large man with a well-kept beard and short mohawk is at the register when they enter. Lori’s face lights up when Jade walks through the door. He makes his way around the counter and laughs as he leans down to envelop the girl in a massive hug. His voice is low and gruff, “Finally!”
“Hey Lor, I missed you.”
“We’ve all missed you, whole town is off balance without you around, darling.”
“I’m sure you’ve been getting along just fine.”
“How you been, love?”
“I’m alright, almost done with university.”
“Too smart for us round here, just had to go so far away.”
“Lori, this is my partner, Kit.” Jade places a hand on the small of Kit’s back.
He looks the new girl up and down, “Like her enough to bring her home, huh?”
“Yeah, be nice, I think I’ll keep her.”
“Really nice to meet you.” Kit extends a hand to shake.
He takes it, “If this one adores you enough, must be a good one.”
Kit smiles. She then quickly exchanges a look with Scorpia who gives a quick prompting nod, eyebrows raised. Kit’s smile turns smirk as she speaks, “Now Lori, I hate to ask a favor right away. However, I was told there were some pictures from a wedding that it was crucial I get a look at.”
Jade whips her head around to face her sister. “I can’t believe you.”
“Sorry, gorgeous. It had to be done.”
Jade can’t stay mad. The idea of her sister and girlfriend chatting for long enough this morning to plot this behind her back, while brutal, does make her happy. Scorpia must like the girl if she’s handing out this information. That alone brings Jade joy, especially after seeing how nervous Kit had been coming into this trip.
“How’s about I break out the photo album tonight at the party?”
“Deal.” Kit shakes his hand one more time.
“Really?” Jade jumps in.
Lori at leasts looks a bit guilty, “Sorry, darling. You brought her.”
Jade runs her hands down her face, exasperated, Kit laughs at her and bumps her hip.
“Now, what can I get for you girls? Your timing is perfect, Elora and I are trying a new recipe this week, need some taste testers.”
They settle in with treats and cups of bad coffee. Kit fully gags at her first sip, Jade shoving her shoulder to shut her up.
“So what do you do, little one?” Lori asks.
Kit doesn’t love the nickname, but answers, “I make coffee, I work at a café.”
“Kit’s assistant manager, got a promotion not long ago.” Jade pats her thigh with pride.
Lori nods at the information. “We’ve been talking about getting some real coffee in here soon. Still figuring it out.”
“You’ve been saying that for years, you really mean it this time?” Scorpia questions.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Lori challenges her.
They talk and enjoy their baked goods, drinks remain mostly untouched. Elora even comes out from the back to watch them try the new concoction. Arms crossed, she stares each of them down as they try it, taking in every bit of their reactions.
“Is it too sweet? We’ve been trying to figure out the right amount of filling, so tell me if it’s too much. Be honest, we can take it.”
“You made this?” Kit looks at her incredulously after one bite.
“She invented it.” Lori boasts, puffing out his chest.
“Dude this is so good, what the hell?” Kit is still taken aback by the flavors.
“But the filling?” Elora furrows her eyebrows.
“Seriously, Elora, don’t change a thing this is incredible. Oh my god. Can we get a few to-go?” Jade asks.
“They’re right, sweet cheeks, this is it.” Scorpia nods with a serious look, eyes boring into the blonde’s.
They all talk about the evening’s party plans a bit, getting the run down for start time and if they can bring anything. Jade warns Kit and Elora how crazy the bunch can get at these events. Elora asks if she can bring a guest, Kit and Jade silently communicate through looks that they bet it will be the American boy.
Jade checks the time and they have stayed longer than she had planned and the party is starting relatively early this evening. “Kit, can we cut down the tour? Maybe just hit the shops today. I don’t want to rush, I can tell Ballentine we’ll come by tomorrow.”
“Yeah, whatever you want to do.”
The two split from Scorpia and walk the long way to the center of town. Taking their time with detours down side streets and through neighborhoods, Jade shares memories and stories at every turn. Both are enjoying watching the other take in their surroundings, one with familiarity, the other for the first time.
Once they reach the main stretch, Jade points out Wildwood across the street.
“That’s Scorpia’s bar?” Kit asks.
“Best pub around, yeah, pretty much runs the whole place now. She’s kind of a big deal in the community, everyone knows her. So many people helped us when we were on our own at the beginning and she’s helped a lot of them too over the years. Lots of the pub folk will be there tonight, I assume.”
“She said this morning that she started working there right after your mom died.”
“Mm-hmm, she was eighteen and I was eight, so fifteen years now. I spent far too much time in a pub as a kid.”
They walk around the whole square looking in shop windows before looping back to Nelwyn Bookstore.
They pause out front a moment, while Jade shares, “Willow, the man who runs it, is a bit grumpy at times, but brilliant. I was good friends with his daughter in school so we would do homework here sometimes.”
The bell above the door is drowned out by the hinges squeaking as they enter.
“Welcome in, welcome in. Looking for anything specific today, folks?” The small man at the register doesn’t look up when addressing the patrons.
“Hi, Willow. Looks great in here, did you reorganize?” Jade addresses him.
He looks up and recognizes the familiar face that looks back at him. “Mims forced me to.”
“That explains it.”
“I heard you were coming, the Toth’s invited me to the party this evening.”
“You coming?” She questions.
“I’ll pop by. How’ve you been then?” The man grumbles as he carries on fretting with the register.
“I’m alright, happy to be back here for a bit. This is my girlfriend, Kit, I’ve been showing her around.”
“Very nice. How do you like it so far?” He asks.
“So far, so good, this town really is beautiful.” Kit joins the conversation.
“Yes, good. Do you read?”
“I do. Not as much as this one though.” She nudges Jade.
“Well, have a look around if you like. I need to call that Boorman bloke to come fix this register.
“You know Boorman, Willow?” Jade questions.
“He helps out from time to time. Hasn’t managed to stop my bloody door from squeaking though.”
“What do you think of him?”
“I think your sister is not a foolish person.”
Jade likes the answer. The couple takes their time, each picking out a couple of new books. They join forces to see if they could find anything that could be good for Airk, but ultimately come up short.
Hubert’s shop is a few blocks away and is glorious. Kit is overwhelmed by the shear amount of gear surrounding her, taking her time to check out every pair of boots available.
“I wanted to work here so badly when I was in school.” Jade says as she looks through the hat selection.
“Yeah, why didn’t you? This place is insane.”
They catch a glimpse of a tall blonde woman walking towards the register.
“Alright, Hubert?” Jade calls out.
The woman looks Jade up and down, shaking her head. “That can’t be. See, you look like our prodigious little Claymore, but she went off to America years back. And last time she was in town she neglected to give us ample warning, and we went off on a poorly timed holiday. Missed her entire visit. Ain’t that right, Anne?”
Another woman, presumably Anne, nods from where she’s restocking shelves nearby.
“You coming to Lori’s tonight?” Jade questions the pair.
“Wouldn’t miss it, darling.” Hubert winks. “Who do we have here then?”
“You know who this is, you sent me four emails after Scorpia told you I was moving in with her. Plus, I told you in advance that I was coming this time.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Tanthalos. My, my, you are a looker, aren’t you? Prepossessing appearance, I do see the appeal. However, if you hurt our girl, we will cut you down like a tree.”
“Hubert.” Jade says with a heavy sigh.
“You email people about me?” Kit tilts her head as she asks the redhead.
“She doesn’t do phones.” Jade shrugs.
“I don’t do phones.” Hubert echoes.
“She’s alright, I promise. Please don’t threaten my girlfriend.” Jade chides the older woman.
“I will make no such guarantee, Anne and I are devoted to our duty to assess and scrutinize any and all potential suitors.”
“Ew, do I count as a suitor?” Kit questions.
“No, you’re not a suitor, no one is courting me. We’re in a committed relationship already.” Jade tilts her head back slightly frustrated.
“Do you have these in a seven and a half?” Kit holds up a boot to show the woman at the counter.
Hubert looks at it and motions for Anne to go check in the back. “Bloody hell, you have exquisite taste.”
Jade shakes her head with a silent laugh to herself. She steps closer Kit and shoulder checks her as she comes up to stand next to her. The brunette turns and winks at her.
They stay in the store for a long while, everyone eventually relaxing and chatting about hiking and backpacking, exchanging stories and suggesting trails. Kit tries on the boots, long overdue for a new pair, she instantly falls in love with them and can’t bring herself to take them off. Jade has to talk her out of buying them, “Kit, we have to fly back, we are not checking a bag, you don’t have room for them.”
“Babe, I am walking on clouds. These are fucking pillows strapped to my feet.”
Jade does win in the end, but Kit promises the shopkeep that she will be back to make a real purchase sometime soon.
They part ways and what’s left of the afternoon is spent at the nearby park. Taking some time to recharge a bit before the soirée in the evening, they settle quietly for a while together under a favorite tree. Jade lays with her head in Kit’s lap, Kit plays with red curls as they people watch and enjoy the last of the sunshine.
The bus drops them a few streets away from their destination. They’re a bit later than intended, having stopped at the market to pick up a beverage contribution, but they walk slowly, Kit swinging their joint hands between them.
Jade points with her free hand, “We used to live down there. That building with the green door. That one was my window, third up. Scorpia and I shared a room and when mum died we kept sharing. We moved a few streets away after eight or ten months.”
Kit pulls her closer and lets go of her hand to wrap an arm around her waist, Jade’s going around her shoulders.
“I like your town.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I like seeing you somewhere that’s yours, and where so many people know you and love you. You seem comfortable.”
“I guess when a place is so familiar.”
“It’s more, you’re so grounded here, it’s like you belong.”
“Maybe.” She pauses, “I think I want to come back some day.”
“To live?”
“Maybe.”
“I could see that.”
It’s quiet for a minute. The British girl seems to be working up to saying something and Kit lets her.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, actually.”
“I know.”
“What do you know?”
“I know lots of things, but we’re about to go do something that’s supposed to be fun, so we can talk about it for real tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Kit shrugs and squeezes her.
Jade squeezes back.
They walk the rest of the way, but Kit stops them on the path in front of the house. “Can we trade jackets?”
“What?”
“He called me Peter Pan last night. I’m not giving him more ammo with the green.”
“You’re ridiculous. Don’t act like you didn’t like it.” Jade drops her backpack and removes her own sweatshirt, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend.
“He doesn’t need to know that!” Kit places the six-pack on the ground.
Once both are snug in their new layers, Kit pulls her in close with two fistfuls of army green fabric. “I love you.”
Jade wraps her arms around the girls neck and leans in close, foreheads touching, nose to nose. “Yeah?”
“Uh huh.”
Jade grabs the hood and pulls it over the brunette’s head, covering most of her face, she then grips the strings and tugs them tight. She quickly turns the girl by her shoulders and reaches around to trap her in her arms.
“No, dammit! Jade!” Kit can’t move her own arms, they’re constrained by her sides in the hold. She is wiggling and wrestling in the grip before being lifted off the ground and swung in a big circle.
“Ridiculous, I tell you!” Jade’s laugh is loud and unabashed.
Her hold loosens when someone shouts from the front door. It’s Scorpia.
“Oi! Guest of honor! Quit causing a ruckus out here and join the fucking party!”
“Just a second!”
Scorpia goes back inside.
Kit frees her head from the hood and turns to face her attacker, “That was so unfair. And you think I fight dirty?”
Jade’s smile remains toothy and contagious, a matching one reluctantly forms on Kit’s face. Jade leans in to kiss her. It lasts a few moments before being broken by their smiles, teeth hitting teeth, they pull apart and Jade cups Kit’s face in her hands, “I love you too.” She places one more kiss on the girl’s lips, this one long and slow. Kit's hands come up to hold her forearms as she melts into it.
The party is definitely not small. The first floor of the house is filled with people, and it spills out across the back yard around a fire pit. Almost everyone lights up at the sight of Jade. Hugs and kisses on cheeks, miss you and how are you? from every direction. She introduces Kit as her partner to several people and groups, everyone welcoming the new girl with offers of drinks and snacks.
“Oi! Everyone shut up a second!” Scorpia stands on a chair in the middle of the party and shouts. The whole place quiets, people shushing each other until she speaks again. “Alright you filthy outlaws. My baby sister is back in town for the first time in a couple years. I will forever be grateful to all of you who helped us over the years. Raised us while we raised each other. You are our family. Now look at her, all grown up. Jade, babes, I speak for us all when I say, we miss you, we love you, and you will always have a family with this bunch.”
Jade tears up and hugs her sister tight when she sets foot back on the ground.
There is a lot of mingling to be done. The couple is separated after a period, but Jade knows Kit will hold her own in the rowdy crowd.
It’s starting to get a bit exhausting, so Jade makes her way to the yard for some air. There are still plenty of people outside, but it’s less all-consuming with more space to breath.
“Jade! I feel like I haven’t spoken to anyone my age all night, come sit with me.”
Elora guides Jade with a hand around her wrist and sits them down at the picnic table across from each other.
The two talk easily, getting to know each other and expressing their states of being overwhelmed from so much party happening around them.
“How’d you end up out here then?” Jade eventually asks.
“I was in this pastry school program thing in London. Lori came to do a guest lecture one week and we kind of hit it off. The rest of the class was kind of quiet but we got to chatting, and I guess liked me enough ‘cause he offered me a job when the course ended. Now I’ve been working here for, like… ten months.”
“You must be good if Lori wanted you, that place has been here long as I remember.”
“Graydon! Over here!” Elora waves over Graydon who approaches carrying two cans and sits next to the blonde on the bench.
“There weren’t any ciders left, either of these look alright?” He holds the cans out.
“Don’t worry about it, these look great, can I try this one?” She picks one of the seltzers and gives it a taste, “No, yeah, this is perfect. Thanks.” They smile at each other briefly.
“Sorry, Jade. I didn’t know you were over here, do you want this? I can go grab another for myself.”
“No, no. I’m fine. Kit will find us eventually and I’ll just steal whatever she has.”
Graydon nods with a small smile. He opens his can and takes a sip, grimacing at the taste.
“Mine’s actually good, Gray, do you want to split with me?” She slides the can back over and makes sure he seems to like it before focusing back on Jade to continue the conversation. “I love it here. Baking is all I really know how to do, so the opportunity to come out here and do it for a living is just mind-blowing. I never thought I’d end up in a town like this, but something about it just hooks you in.”
“It has that effect yeah.” Jade smiles wide.
“How long have you been gone? You must miss it.”
“I do, yeah. It’s my fifth year away. I was supposed to finish school last Spring, but I bumped a minor up to another major, so now I’ll be done come May. Thought it might give me some time to figure out what’s next.”
“Have you figured out what’s next?” Graydon asks.
She lets out a big sigh at the question, “Working on it.”
“I say take your time. I let my parents pressure me into graduating with a degree I didn’t want and now I work a job I despise. I’m grateful the job brought me here, but now I’m more determined than ever to start from scratch. Figuring it out is overrated, I think it’s more about doing things that you can right now that don’t crush your spirit.” Graydon sprinkles a bit of wisdom and both girls give him an impressed look.
Kit makes her appearance at this moment. She crosses the yard and stands at the end of the table. Her smile is wide when she meets Jade’s eyes, excited energy radiating off of her and almost out of breath.
“Hi, you okay?” She checks in with the redhead.
“I’m great, you alright in there or are they eating you alive?” Jade motions for Kit to lean down closer and fixes her slightly tousled hair.
“No this is so fun, your family kind of rocks. I arm wrestled four different people, including your sister. I did shots with all her coworkers. Boorman let me punch him in the stomach. And I saw pictures of you in a tux at ten years old.”
“I was the ring bearer.”
“Just a tiny little baby butch, all cute and dapper.”
“Boorman alright?”
“I got him pretty good.” Kit says with pride.
“You still going strong in there, or you want to sit with us?” Jade offers.
“I’m just gonna grab another drink and then I’ll join. You want anything?”
“Sure, whatever looks good and a water.”
“Don’t get this kind!” Elora reaches in front of Graydon to show off the label of the reject flavor. Kit gives a thumbs up and retreats back to the house.
“You two are sweet together.” Elora smiles.
Jade blushes in response, “That’s nice of you to say.”
“It’s like you can feel all the love buzzing around you guys. It’s electric.”
“We got lucky, I think. We were best friends first for a while.”
Kit quickly joins them again, placing a couple of drinks and a bottle of water down and sitting close to Jade and resting a hand on her thigh. Jade moves the water back onto Kit’s side, “That’s for you.” Kit rolls her eyes, but does take a few sips.
“How long have you two been together, then?” Elora directs at them.
“We met four- I guess closer to five years ago. But we didn’t start dating until about two years into knowing each other.” Jade answers.
“Three-ish years we’ve been together. We can’t decide on what counts as our anniversary.” Kit adds.
“There’s a story I want to hear.”
Jade releases a sigh, “It was brutal.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Kit.”