The Final Part
Carol bustles hurriedly through her apartment, sputtering and batting away the prickly green garland that hangs down from a doorway, into her face. She checks her appearance once in the mirror before swinging the door open dramatically.
Maria sighs, rolling her eyes at the frazzled blonde. “What is it now?” She purses her lips, and Carol groans, pecking the red mouth obediently.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, you’re ten minutes late! We only have,” she glances at the brown leather watch around her wrist, “twenty minutes before we have to leave for your parents’ house!” Her voice gets tighter, and Maria steps inside, shutting the door behind her.
“Carol, babe, relax. Remember what I said about them loving you? They will, I promise.” She smooths a hand down Carol’s sweater sleeve, the light blue wool bunching around her wrist. Carol smiles, and nods, turning to shuffle into the living room, where a few gift bags are resting on the coffee table.
“What’s all this?” Maria leans against the doorframe, and Carol wrings her hands.
“Tell me honestly,” She rifles through a mound of tissue paper, eventually pulling up a few assorted items, each one looking even more Christmas-sy than the last, “Would your parents like any of these?” She continues to reveal more gifts, and Maria walks over to peer at the growing pile. She starts selecting a few that stick out.
“This, and this, and ooh- this,” Carol peers at her girlfriend as she scrutinizes the trinkets, and eventually settles down on the couch.
“For mom,” Carol nods, sitting down beside her. “She would like the scarf and mittens, as well as the tree ornament and the angel.” The blonde raises her eyebrows.
“Religious?”
“We all are, babe, get used to it.” Carol’s eyebrows raise further, and Maria chuckles.
“Christian doesn’t exclusively mean asshole, honey.” She smirks, and Carol scoffs.
“No, I know, I know but- you’re sure they’ll be okay with,” Her fingers swish between them, gesturing a connection, and Maria catches them, lacing them with her own.
“Trust me, they love me, they’ll love you, they’re gonna love us.” Carol smacks a short kiss on her full lips, smiling.
“You’re right. Now, on to your dad.” Maria reveals her picks- a holiday themed sweater, a coffee mug, and a pair of socks striped red and green. Carol thanks her and slips the gifts into their respective bags.
“Now, how do I look?” She stands and spins once, and Maria giggles.
“You look great, honey.” She pokes the big white snowflake on Carol’s sweater. Carol swats the hand, and runs her fingers through her hair, blowing out a long breath.
“Alright, you ready?”
- - -
Carol’s hand is clammy in her own as they make their way up the driveway. She subconsciously tries to tug it away when they reach the front door, but Maria holds fast, smiling softly at the blonde.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s gonna be fine-” The door swings open, and there’s a rush of warm air that hits them both in the face.
“Maria, honey, we’re so glad you’re home!” Her mother almost cries the last few syllables, squeezing her arms around the brunette. Maria’s father waits for the embrace to end, swooping in with his own when the two women break apart. Maria’s mother has short brown curls, stopping just above her shoulder, and the two of them are so short that Carol wonders where Maria’s height comes from.
“And you must be Carol,” the older woman turns, and immediately launches into another hug, her head barely reaching the underside of Carol’s chin.
“Yes, I am, and I’m so glad to finally meet you, I-” She’s cut off by two slightly arthritic hands cupping her face.
“Oh honey, Maria talks so much about you, we feel like we’ve known you for years!” And Carol smiles at that, her eyes darting to Maria, who looks down, blushing.
“Let’s get out of this cold, girls?” Maria’s father smiles warmly at the blonde, and she nods, pulling the two bags from the backseat of her Mustang.
“Now that’s a car! How would you feel about taking me for a ride in that later?” He runs a finger over the hood.
“Feel free to take it out yourself, I don’t mind.” Carol grins, and Maria’s father chuckles. They step inside the doorway, the scent of pine needles and cinnamon surrounding them. Family pictures and framed quotes line the walls, and Carol points to one of Maria as a toddler, her chubby cheeks and eyes rounder and darker than they are now.
“Ah yes, you’re sure to be seeing more of those, as the night goes on. My parents horde pictures like there’s no tomorrow.” Maria sidles up beside her, stealing the presents and walking over to set them under the Christmas tree, which is already littered with boxes and bags. Carol trails after her, straining to take in Maria’s childhood home.
“You’re not embarrassed?” Carol teases, and Maria pulls her down onto the couch in the living room.
“Oh no, not about my baby pictures. I was cute as hell.”
“Still are.” Maria smiles, pausing her sentence to peck Carol’s cheek.
“I still am, but middle school through senior year is locked down, no exceptions. Maybe my graduation, but you’d be damn lucky.” Carol whines, and creases her eyebrows downwards.
“Oh, Carol, what’s the matter?” Maria’s mom steps in from the kitchen, steaming mugs in her hands, setting them down in front of the two women.
“Maria has refused to let me see her middle school pictures, Mrs. Rambeau.” She flicks on her puppy dog eyes, full force, and Maria can see her mom slipping.
“Mom, no.” The older woman’s eyes are drawn back, and Maria sighs.
“Alright, fine! But sixth and twelfth grade only! She does not need to see my feathered curls!” Maria’s mother scurries to her bedroom to look for the albums, and Carol leans close to the brunette’s ear.
“But I wanted so badly to see your feathered curls,” She whispers, voice sultry. Maria gasps, eyes darting to the doorway.
“Carol, we are at my parents’ house! Have you no shame?” She whisper-shouts dramatically. The blonde grins, and pulls Maria’s hand into her lap.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Maria’s mom bustles in again, arms overflowing with mismatched brown leather photo albums and paper mâché scrapbooks.
“Here, let me help you with those.” Carol catches a few albums, setting them lightly on the coffee table in a neat stack.
“Thank you, Carol baby.” Maria’s mother settles in on the other side of Maria, and immediately cracks open the first one, showing Maria’s wrinkly little newborn face. Maria watches Carol’s eyes glimmer, her coos and laughter- at the surprising abundance of pictures her parents took- light, like windchimes on a breezy day. The brunette finally looks back to the albums, where her mother has gone farther into the stack, fourth-grade Maria smiling back at her, two front teeth knocked out from falling off a swing set.
“Oh my gosh,” is all Carol breathes, mirth leaking through her awestruck tone, looking back up at her current, (teeth including) face.
“Yep, like I told you. Adorable.” Maria crosses her arms, leaning back, and she lets her mother finish the rest of the photo-biography.
- - -
“Look at the time!” Maria’s mother exclaims, darting up from the couch. Maria’s father startles, pulling the baseball cap off of his eyes.
“Oh, yeah, Carol,” Maria starts, turning to the relaxed blonde. “We have Christmas mass in a half-hour, if you’d like to tag along?” She turns the end of the word upwards in question, but her eyes are hopeful, so Carol nods, smiling.
“Of course, I’d love to.” Maria grins, and tugs her up off of the couch.
“Here, you can wear something of mine.” She pulls the blonde towards her room.
“Something from before the growth spurt, hopefully!” Maria’s mom calls, smirking slightly at the two women.
Maria rolls her eyes and shuts her bedroom door, and Carol does a quick once-over of the childhood room.
“Wow, you sure did like Pink Floyd.” Carol whistles, noting the larger posters, and Maria blushes.
“Whatever, it’s not like I’ve forgotten about Dirty Dancing, so keep this one in your back pocket.” Maria grumbles, thumbing through her closet hangers.
“You should wear this!” She pulls out a dark green dress, the skirt swishing in the fan’s artificial breeze. Carol pinches the fabric in between her thumb and forefinger. It looks about her size, and Maria’s confident glance is enough to have her nodding.
“Thanks, I will,” She takes the hanger from Maria’s light grip, quickly shedding her jeans and sweater to pull the dress over her head.
“What are you gonna wear?” She asks, muffled, as her golden curls emerge from the material.
“Oh, I brought something.” Maria says over her shoulder, pulling a maroon dress from her bag, the hem a little longer than Carol’s mid-thigh length. She slips it over her own figure, and throws Carol a pair of black tights from her dresser drawer.
“It’s cold,” She supplies, and Carol rolls her eyes.
“Why don’t you have to wear tights?” She whines.
“My dress is longer than yours, and I’ve started getting hot flashes because of the fetus inside me, Carol. Stop whining.” She smooths her curls back into bobby pins, and glazes her lips in a dark berry color.
“Damn, forget I asked.” Carol yanks the sheer fabric over her legs, hopping around to stretch them to her waist. She drops down next to Maria in front of her mirror, kissing the brunette on the cheek.
“You look beautiful.” She states, and Maria leans her head on Carol’s shoulder.
“So do you.” She looks up at the blonde, and almost as an afterthought, adds, “I’ll tell them tonight,” Carol tilts her head in confusion. “About us.” Maria confirms, and Carol dips her neck to touch their foreheads.
“Whenever you feel comfortable, baby.” Carol cracks a grin, pecking her quickly, and bends at the waist to slip her feet into a pair of strappy black heels. Maria smiles at the plum stain on her lips, and opts for some slightly-wedged flats.
“Ready to head out?” Her father shouts from the living room.
- - -
Mass feels different, more special, with Carol sitting beside her, in the almost magical atmosphere of the dim, glowy lights, and the reverberating sound of the organ behind them. Carol sings the hymns beautifully, yet quietly, smiling when they get to Silent Night, or Away in a Manger. She listens to the sermon, nodding every once in a while, and bows her head to pray when everyone else does.
Carol smiles at her when the service is over, and Maria links their arms, rubbing the blonde’s arm as they walk outside in the cold wind.
“You were surprisingly, how do I put this… good at that. At going to church.” Maria says as they walk to Mr. Rambeau’s car.
“It’s your religion, Maria, did you think I wasn’t going to respect it?” Carol chuckles lightly, and Maria shakes her head.
“No, that’s not what I meant, I just- It felt nice, having you there.” Maria murmurs, and Carol bumps their shoulders.
“I felt nice being there with you too.” It’s not an I love you, but in the moonlight, on Christmas Eve, it feels a lot similar to one.
- - -
“Alright, present time!” Maria’s mom claps her hands, placing a few last wrapped gifts under the tree, and the rest of them meander lazily towards her, plopping unceremoniously down next to the boxes.
“Okay, Carol, you first!” Mrs. Rambeau places two gifts on the blonde’s lap, one chunky and soft, the other flat and hard. She smiles graciously, and starts to carefully unwrap the soft one.
“Thank you, Mrs. Rambeau, you didn’t have to.” The older woman just winks and pulls out her camera, snapping pictures of the three of them.
The soft package turns out to be a knitted pair of mittens with a matching scarf and hat, the print light blue and simple, and Carol grins in surprise.
“I love them, thank you so much, really,” Maria’s mom smiles with pride, and Carol knows she made them herself.
“Do the next one!” She urges, and Carol throws her hands up in surrender.
“Okay, okay, I’m going!” She giggles, but suddenly grows silent on unwrapping the black and white framed photograph. Her eyes well up, and she turns her gaze to Maria, flipping the frame for her to see.
“Is this real?” Her voice wavers slightly, and Maria nods, swallowing thickly.
“Got it last week, it’s, um- it’s a girl.” Carol’s eyes widen, and she gently sets the picture down on the carpet before throwing her arms around the brunette, tears dampening the sweater beneath.
“I knew it.” Carol laughs wetly into her shoulder, and Maria chuckles as well. She stays silent for a moment, breathing in Maria’s sharp perfume.
“You two make a beautiful couple.” Maria’s mother remarks warmly, sitting back in her chair.
“Wha- I- we-” Carol stammers, lifting her head and wiping her eyes quickly, cheeks reddening.
“Thank you, mom.” Maria replies, and entangles her hand with the blonde’s. Carol looks over to her in happy surprise, and Maria would shout their relationship status from the rooftops every day, if it meant Carol would look at her like that again. Like she hung the stars.
- - -
It’s not long before they’re saying their goodbyes to Maria’s parents, exchanging thanks for the gifts given. Maria’s mom gives both of them bear hugs that last at least 30 seconds each, and suddenly they’re alone again.
“Actually,” Maria says, playing with the tips of Carol’s fingers in the driveway, “I have another gift for you.”
Carol raises her eyebrows, but leans against the hood of her car, grinning happily.
“I do too, surprisingly.” Carol huffs a laugh, her breath visible in the cold air. Maria emerges from the backseat of Carol’s Mustang, and stands in front of the blonde, between her denim-clad thighs.
“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but, um-” Maria holds the velvet box out, a slight tremor in her hand. Carol takes the box, glancing quizzically at her girlfriend. She lifts the lid off of the box, and her breath catches in her throat.
It’s a gold necklace, and Carol immediately recognizes the dainty figure hanging from the chain.
“Cassiopeia, um, for beauty. It reminded me of you, and I thought you’d like it, since it’s subtle.” Maria supplies nervously, and Carol tugs her closer by the front of her blouse.
“I love it, Maria,” The brunette exhales in relief. “Help me put it on?” Maria nods, lifting the golden chain from the pillowed bed, and clasping it to hang lightly over Carol’s collarbones.
She turns her head to face Maria, stretching up on her toes to press their lips together.
When Carol opens her eyes, there’s white flakes atop Maria’s dark hair. She pulls back and laughs, tilting her head towards the sky, and Maria smiles as the cold specks land in Carol’s eyelashes, leaving droplets on her cheeks.
“Here, uh, here’s my gift.” Carol says, placing a pink bag into Maria’s hands. The brunette reaches through the tissue paper and touches something soft.
“Go ahead,” Carol coaxes, and Maria pulls it out.
“A baby blanket?” She mumbles, eyes crinkling with the full force of her beaming smile, and she begins to wonder if she’s ever smiled this much in one night.
“Look on the corner.” Maria turns the fabric over, and giggles at the embroidered Venus symbol, shaking her head.
“Already forcing feminism ideas in my child’s head, Danvers?” She wraps her arms around the blonde’s waist.
“Don’t act like you don’t love it.” Carol grins, leaning her head on Maria’s chest. A gentle heartbeat thrums warmly in her ear, and she snuggles closer to the warmth.
“Come on, baby, let’s go home.”