Chapter 6
Jennie was 17 years old when she knew with certainty that she was going to spend the rest of her life with Lisa…
Jennie was woken up from her sleep by a loud excited yelp. She had barely opened her eyes when she felt hands squeezing her cheeks as her face was peppered with kisses. Her hands flailed around, trying to get her attacker of off her. She heard Lisa chuckling as she finally let go of her face, standing up from the bed to grab a tray that she had left on the desk. She grabbed it and went to sit on Jennie’s bed, setting the tray on Jennie’s lap, who was sitting up against the headboard. “Happy Birthday firefly”, she told her.
Jennie blinked the last of her sleep away and looked down at the contents of the tray. There was a huge stack of strawberry and Banana pancakes which were Jennie’s favorite. Next to the pancakes stood the biggest cup filled to the brim with coffee. Normally, Lisa was against Jennie’s severe addiction to coffee but since it was special occasion, she was letting it slip this time. “Do you like it? It took me a long time to perfect the pancakes”, Lisa asked the birthday girl. Jennie looked down at the perfectly cooked pancakes and then turned back to Lisa, arching an eyebrow at her doubtfully, knowing Lisa's ability to burn even water in the kitchen.
She shivered as memories of the last time Lisa tried to cook invaded her mind. It had taken a whole month before they could use the kitchen again.
Lisa simply laughed at the doubt in Jennie’s eyes. “Fine, your mom cooked. But I woke up early to come here and accompany her. Plus, the drawing was all me.” She pointed at the edge of the plate where a crude drawing of a firefly done with whipped cream sat. Jennie rolled her eyes, fighting back a smile at Lisa's antics. “Shut up and eat”, she told her, grabbing one of the forks that sat on the tray. Lisa smiled at her before grabbing the other one and digging in.
After they had finished eating, Jennie looked up at Lisa. “So, how about we spend the day in watching movies?” she asked her. Lisa starred at her in disbelief. “You mean like we do every weekend? I don’t think so. I already have the whole day planned.” She told her. Lisa knew Jennie well enough to know that her birthday wasn’t usually a happy occasion ever since they were outcast by their peers. It made Jennie feel alone, knowing no one else wanted anything to do with her even on this special day and so she’d rather pretend like it was any other day. Lisa, however, refused to let the special day pass without celebration. “And no, before you ask. You don’t have a choice”, she added when she saw her pout.
Lisa took the tray from Jennie’s lap. “I’m going to wash this up, you get dressed for the next part of your birthday”, she told the Jennie, who simply ignored her and continued gulping down her coffee. Lisa rolled her eyes and waited for her to finish before taking the cup away. “Get dressed”, she ordered before leaving the room with the empty dishes.
Jennie reluctantly got up from her warm bed and made her way to her closet. She starred at her clothes for a few minutes before realizing she had no idea what she was dressing for. Lisa returned to see Jennie still starring at her closet. “You never told me where exactly are we going”, she told her, without turning to look at her. Lisa strode up to Jennie, pointedly ignoring her remark. She grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a white shirt before pairing it with a blue flannel and shoving all of it into Jennie’s hands. “Wear this”, she told her as she pushed her towards the bathroom.
Jennie wordlessly let herself be shoved into the bathroom, the door closing behind her with one last shout telling her to hurry up. She quickly changed into the outfit Lisa had chosen for her and put on some light makeup and brushed her teeth. She took one last look at the mirror before pulling her hair up into a ponytail and making her way outside, where Lisa wasted no time before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her downstairs, barely giving her time to grab her phone beforehand.
Both girls entered the kitchen where Jennie was greeted with a big hug and a kiss on her forehead by her mother. “Happy Birthday Jen.” She told her. Jennie started thanking her mom for the pancakes when she was interrupted by a loud groan. Lisa grabbed Jennie’s hand with one hand and her mothers with the other before proceeding to drag them both out of the house. Jennie and her mom simply laughed and let themselves be dragged along, used to Lisa's impatience.
Jennie sat in the backseat, letting Lisa seat upfront while her mom drove. “So, are either of you going to tell me where we’re going?” She was once again ignored as Lisa turned on the radio and started changing the stations, looking for one she liked. Jennie sighted and sat back, deciding to simply enjoy the mystery of the day.
About ten minutes later, Jennie opened her eyes as she felt the car coming to a stop. She looked outside the window and recognized the park they were at. It was one of the only parks in their small town and a place where Jennie and Lisa often rode their bicycles. She got out of the car and finally understood when she saw her mom taking a picnic basket out of the trunk of the car. Lisa smiled excitedly at her before taking her hand and making their way to a large tree in the middle of the park. Since it was early the park was rather empty. They sat in she shade offered by the tree. Her mom started unpacking the basket. There were sandwiches and pasta along with apple juice to drink and a few bars of Jennie’s favorite chocolate for dessert.
“I know how much you love picnics so this is the first part of today”, Lisa told Jennie. She was smiling but Jennie could see the nervousness in her eyes as she waited for her reaction. Jennie smiled at the sweet gesture and leaned in to peck her lips, conscious of her mom sitting right next to them. “I love it, thank you both.”
They spent a few hours in the park, eating and talking and Lisa eventually brought out the soccer ball she had brought and they played a few rounds, even managing to convince her mom to join in for a small, two on one game. It didn’t surprise anyone when Lisa won against both of them. After a while, Jennie’s mom told her she was going to walk back home before leaving the car keys to Lisa. After a few more rounds, Jennie got tired of losing and they both sat down again, Lisa leaning against the tree with Jennie laying on the ground, her head lying on Lisa's lap. They laid there for a while in silence, enjoying the other’s presence. Before long, the park started filling up and Lisa sat up before helping Jennie to her feet. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”
Jennie didn’t know what they were going to be late for but didn’t bother questioning her girlfriend, knowing she would get no answers from her. She followed her back to the car and got into the passenger’s seat. Lisa started the car and started driving towards an unknown destination as Jennie turned on the radio. They held hands over the partition, Lisa driving with one hand. Before long, they arrived at their destination. Jennie immediately recognized the small cinema which usually showed old movies. It was a small place with almost no customers. It was one of the two cinemas in their town and most people preferred the more modern one located inside the mall.
Jennie and Lisa loved the place and where regular customers. “What are we watching”. Jennie asked as they got out of the car and started walking towards the building. “You’ll see”, Lisa answered. They made their way to the counter where Lisa proceeded to make Jennie stand a few feet away as she brough both their tickets so she couldn’t overhear the movie’s name. Afterwards, they went to the candy counter and brought their usual order of one large bucket of popcorn to share with a large lemon soda and a packet of twizzlers, which Lisa was obsessed with, much to Jennie’s disgust. Lisa insisted on paying once again and they quickly got their stuff and walked into the screening room, which was almost empty. Jennie counted 4 people there besides them. They sat in their usual seats up front. Lisa had never understood Jennie’s insistence on sitting so close to the screen but simply went along with it. After the trailers ended, the opening music started and Jennie immediately recognized the movie. It was the breakfast club, her all time favorite movie and the movie they had watched during their first date almost two years ago. She turned to smile at Lisa before taking her hand in hers and turning back to watch the movie.
An hour and a half later, the ending credits started rolling around. Lisa and Jennie made their way outside, throwing their trash away in the trashcan outside the cinema. They walked outside where the air had started getting colder. They quickly got into the car. “Ready for the last part of today?” Lisa asked her. Jennie simply smiled and nodded, excited to see what else Lisa had planned. The car ride lasted a little longer this time and it was already 7:30 by the time the car came to a stop. Jennie was surprised to see Lisa had driven them to a hill. She had never been there before. She got out and got closer to the edge, wanting to see the view. The hill overlooked their whole town and since it was already getting dark, all that could be seen where little twinkling lights far below. It was the most beautiful view Jennie had ever seen. “How did you find this place?”, she asked Lisa, who she just noticed was holding the picnic blanket and a bunch of pillows she hadn’t noticed before.
“I actually found it by accident”, she confessed. “I was walking in the woods one day and kind of got lost and I ended up finding this place. I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Jennie laughed at the thought of Lisa managing to get lost in their small town.
Lisa spread the blanket and pillows on the ground before laying down and pulling Jennie down with her. Jennie laid her head on Lisa's chest and Lisa automatically responded by wrapping and arm around her waist, pulling her even closer.
Jennie breathed in the fresh nigh air as she looked up at the night sky. In that moment, she was overcome with how much she loved Lisa. She turned in her arms and leaned up to lay a kiss on her lips, trying to convey how much she meant to her. After a few seconds, she pulled away and rolled her eyes at the smirk Lisa shot her before laying back down and cuddling closer to her. “Thank you for today. I had an amazing time.” She told her. Lisa responded by tightening her grip on Jennie’s waist. “You know I love you, right?” Lisa asked her after a few seconds. Jennie was confused at her shaky voice. It wasn’t like they didn’t tell each other that at least a few times a day. “Of course I do. I love you too.” She said.
Lisa sat up, making Jennie sit up too. She sat cross legged, facing Jennie. Jennie quickly noticed her shaking hands. She was starting to get worried. It was unlike Lisa to be nervous. She was the most confident person Jennie had ever met.
“What’s wrong”, Jennie asked her. “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to give you your birthday gift”, she told her. Jennie laughed. “You mean this whole day wasn’t my gift?”, she questioned, jokingly. Lisa took out a small, gift-wrapped box and handed it to her.
Jennie ripped the wrapping off and opened the small box. She gasped at the sight of the two small, gold rings that laid in the box. She took one out of the box to take a closer look and saw there was an engraving on the side of the ring. The letters J+L were engraved on one side while a small infinity sign was engraved on the other side. She looked up at Lisa, still shocked into silence.
“I know we are still young and we still have the rest of our lives ahead of us. I’m not proposing we get married anytime soon or anything like that. This is just a promise. The future is uncertain but one thing I know for a fact is that whatever comes next, I want you by my side and that’s something that’s never going to change. So I promise to always be there for you, in whichever way you want me to be, and to always protect you. And one day, when we’re both ready, I will exchange that ring for a more official one.”
Jennie was taken aback by Lisa's gesture. She was overwhelmed by how much she loved Lisa. She threw herself at Lisa, throwing her arms around her and bringing her into a hug. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” She told her. Lisa responded by tightening her arms around Jennie. After a few minutes, Jennie broke the hug and pulled Lisa into a kiss. Jennie smiled against Lisa's lips, loving the way every kiss still felt like their first.
Once the lack of air became a problem, they finally pulled away. Lisa took out one of the rings. “May I?”, she asked, signaling towards Jennie’s hand. Jennie nodded and Lisa took her hand and placed the ring on her fore finger with a smile. Jennie took a few seconds to admire it before taking the other one and placing it on the same finger on Lisa's hand.
She looked into Lisa's eyes, wondering what great deed she must have done in a past life to deserve this. “I love you Lili”, she told her. Lisa smiled back at her. “I love you too firefly.”
Lisa threw an arm over Jennie’s shoulder before pulling her back down to their previous position. Conversation was unnecessary as they just wanted to enjoy each other’s presence. They laid there in a comfortable silence watching the stars. It wasn’t until Jennie’s eyes were starting to close and she started to drift off that Lisa woke her and told her it was time to go. They picked up their belongings before making their way back to the car.
They made casual talk in the car. Talking about some book Jennie had been reading and a movie Lisa wanted them to go see next weekend. Before long, they had reached Jennie’s house. They walked towards the house, Lisa using her key to unlock the door. Jennie was surprised to hear a lot of racket coming from the kitchen. Lisa however, looked like she had been expecting it.
She took her hand and together, they walked into the kitchen. The whole kitchen looked like the aftermath of a hurricane. Flour was everywhere and there were a few eggs dripping of the counter. In the middle stood her mother holding a red velvet cake. Jennie’s favorite flavor. Lisa let go of her hand and walked over to stand next to her mother. She grabbed a lighter and lit the candles that sat on top of the cake. “Happy birthday Jen”, her mom told her, smiling. With that, they both started singing happy birthday. Jennie looked at the mess in the kitchen and then looked at the cake her mother had clearly spent a long time making.
It may have just been Lisa and her mother singing her happy birthday in their messy kitchen, but looking down at the ring that sat on her finger and at the huge smiles on both their faces as they both sang horribly off key, Jennie knew she couldn’t have asked for more in that moment.