Chapter 4
Chloe put the spatula aside and cursed a hundred times in her mind.
She didn't get the stencil ready in time and the customer had jumped off. Great!
Now lunch was in danger of getting burnt.
Chloe hastily poured the rest of the bottle of wine into the pot and let the roast stew a little more.
Yes baby it would taste so good.
She stirred in the pot and thought of the taste of that same wine on Rachel's lips, thought of how Rachel had previously pressed her body to Chloe's in the bathtub, thought of how she had grabbed Rachel's hips and pulled her in close, thought of how Rachel had kissed her neck over and over and the way she rubbed against Chloe's thighs.
Chloe closed her eyes and thought about how they laughed together, how they lathered each other, how different Rachel's moans sounded when she was a little drunk and how Rachel's eyelids fluttered when Chloe gave her oral pleasure.
The hissing of the boiling pot ripped Chloe out of her thoughts, she turned the heat regulator and took care of lunch again, she missed her wife.
It was getting cooler outside. Her gaze wandered through the kitchen, she stepped to the doorstep and examined the living room extensively.
For a moment she left the food to itself and went into the bedroom. She went to the bed, close to Rachel's side, and picked up her pillow. Chloe pressed it firmly into her face, sniffing in the scent of her wife that had fascinated her for years.
She loved it and she loved Rachel.
She looked out of the window, from here she could see exactly the start of the jogging route. How much longer would Rachel work out today?
Her gaze fell on Rachel's bedside table. Her cell phone was there. She hadn't taken it with her. Maybe to avoid having to talk to her wife?
Chloe picked up the cell phone and went back to the kitchen.
She opened the last chat with Rose. It was about when Rachel's parents would finally visit them again in their home and whether Chloe and Rachel wouldn’t feel like coming with them to the small holiday home in Brittany to spend a few days together.
Chloe only knew the house from pictures so far, so far the two women had successfully avoided vacationing with the Ambers, but they hadn't gone on vacation for a long time.
Maybe they both needed a little distance from this apartment, from this area, maybe ...
Chloe checked the roast one last time, then looked out the window when she couldn't see Rachel anywhere, tapped the contact with the name "Rose Amber / Mom" and waited until her mother-in-law on the other end answered it.
Rachel put her wedding ring in the space provided in a small glass bowl in the bathroom and washed her hands, then her face, and then put some cream on before brushing her hair.
Every now and then her gaze slid over her wife's face in the mirror. The whole time she seemed to be looking at them without saying a word.
"Aren't you tired yet," Rachel asked, her mouth full of toothpaste, toothbrush in hand.
Chloe shook her head wordlessly and waited for Rachel to rinse her mouth and then put on her wedding ring again.
"Babe, what's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing is going on. I like to look at you. Are you coming to bed?"
"I intend to, yes," Rachel replied, taking Chloe's hand.
Snuggled into the blankets, spooning in the dim light of a single street lamp, Chloe finally spoke up.
"So, ... so I've been thinking."
"Yeah?"
Chloe stroked her fingertips very gently over Rachel's arm.
"You know ... I really think we should move. I think ... yes. We could afford a house, even a big one, if you don't insist on living in a metropolis. I don't mean a suburb, but one City with parks, churches and playgrounds but also great restaurants, clubs and movie theaters.
We could move a little closer to your parents, or maybe mine, I don't know. If you want, they are not getting any younger but you might want to spend a little more time with them. "
"Chloe ... what? Where is that coming from?"
"I- oh I don't know but ..."
"What's wrong with our apartment?"
"Nothing at all, it's awesome, we could afford a house though, our own, one big enough to fill it with life."
"With life?"
"That's just a thought."
"Oh my poor baby," Rachel said, stroking Chloe's cheek in the dark. "Do you miss the cat?"
They had to have Daisy put to sleep a while ago, her pain had simply become too unbearable in the old days, for both humans and animal.
"Or are you thinking of Otto and Ollie? It could have been really nice if you hadn't developed an allergy to them."
Chloe sniffed, thinking of how many pets they already had together in this apartment, a small hole burned in her heart, but not one that could not be filled otherwise.
"No, it's okay," Chloe whispered and pulled Rachel tighter, putting her hand on Rachel's stomach.
Rachel put her hand on Chloe's and crossed her two hands.
"Don't you like L.A. anymore? That's our dream."
"Oh babe, I like Los Angeles, but that was the dream when we were much younger and dumber than we are now.
Everything is so expensive here. I mean come on, you're not a model anymore, you don't have that many roles and we spend a lot of our time in the home office or on call anyway. "
Rachel resisted Chloe's hand for a moment, gave in then though, when she felt Chloe's gaze on her in the dark.
She was serious.
Rachel was silent for a moment.
"A small house in a bigger city with a pool and maybe ... someday another cat..."
Chloe swallowed, then cleared her throat.
"I was actually thinking of uhm, a medium-sized house, in a somewhat quieter but not dead town, with a big backyard and maybe ... someday a swing... for our ... child."
The street lamp flickered and Chloe saw Rachel's face turn from semi-darkness into total darkness. But she would never forget the expression on her face.
"Can you at least think about it? Please?"
Rachel didn't answer right away.
"Rachel please."
"Okay."
"Promise?"
"Sure"