Scarf- Dorlene
“Marlene, where are we even going?” Dorcas laughs as her girlfriend pulls her along the street, darting around everyone else, racing to some unknown location. It’s cold, and their breath is fogging up as they exhale, the tips of Dorcas’ ears are frozen and the hand that isn’t clasped with Marlene’s is numb from the freezing air.
“Just trust me,” Marlene smiled back at her and she would follow her to the ends of the earth, Dorcas would do anything if it made Marlene happy.
Christmas is right around the corner and the street is filled with Christmas stalls, handmade baubles and mince pies, knitted hats and mittens, steaming hot chocolate and fresh churros. It’s lit up, a large tree in the centre with strings of lights reaching down to attach to the top of the stalls.
It’s beautiful, and Dorcas thinks this is where Marlene is taking her, but they simply slow down to walk through the crowds that surround them.
“Are we not stopping here?” Dorcas questions, looking around and trying to take everything in, it’s their first Christmas living here, they have never celebrated in this town before and Dorcas doesn’t want to miss a thing.
“We’ll come back, I have something better for us first.” She leans over and kisses Dorcas quickly, nearly walking into someone in the process.
When they reach the end of the street, Marlene takes them left, down a road Dorcas has never been down before. It’s also lit up, with angles, trees and stars shaped in the twinkling white and blue. Dorcas turns her head up to look at them in awe, trusting Marlene to lead her and not let her fall.
Her teeth start chattering and she drags her gaze away from the lights, tucking herself closer to Marlene’s side to try and warm them both. It’s in the minuses today and no amount of layers can keep them warm in the cold, biting wind.
“We’re nearly there, it’s right around the corner,” Marlene unravels her scarf slightly as she speaks and throws it around Dorcas’ shoulder, keeping them as close as possible.
Less than 5 minutes later they turn a corner and Dorcas gasps. They’re standing in front of a building, a large sign reading ‘ice rink’ glowing blue above them. Through the glass, Dorcas can see the ice, couples and families gliding along, trying to stay upright in the unfamiliar setting.
“You remembered!” Dorcas exclaims excitedly, moving towards the glass to get a better look, the scarf Marlene had draped over her shoulder falling as she moved away.
“Yeah, of course I did, how could I ever forget the way you lit up talking about it, you were so happy.”
Dorcas had loved ice skating as a kid, her mum had taken her every year until she was 10 and they had moved, and she’d never been able to go again. She had spoken about it, just once, one meaningless mention in a conversation years ago that she never would have expected Marlene to remember, hell she barely remembered.
Marlene grabs her hand and leads her through the doors, it's still cold in here but the lack of wind makes Dorcas shiver as the warmth rushes through her body. This time it’s Dorcas dragging Marlene with her over to the wall of hire skates.
Marlene pays no attention to where they’re going and lets Dorcas talk animatedly to the worker, simply staring at her wonderful girlfriend as if she’s the only thing in the world, nothing else matters but the joy on her face.
“Come on! I want to get on the ice,”
They step onto the ice, Dorcas tentatively sliding as she gets used to being back in skates. Quickly, she gains more confidence and lets go of the barrier, laughing with pure unfiltered joy, turning just in time to watch Marlene slip and hit the ice despite her grip on the barrier.
“I don’t think I'm made for ice skating,” Marlene grins up, sat on the ice, looking around like she isn’t sure how to get back up. Dorcas offers her hand, pulling Marlene up to stand with her.
“This is perfect, thank you.” Dorcas pulls on the ends of Marlene’s scarf, dragging her closer and kissing her softly.