Chapter Text
Waking up to the smell of pancakes and coffee in the morning is a luxury Therese might never get used to. Mornings are the only respite both Carol and Therese got from the absolute madness that is pre-Christmas work. As holidays get closer, everyone starts rushing to get stuff done so that they can enjoy their time away from work without a worry. Therese loosely ties her robe around her body and walks out of their bedroom. The apartment is nice and warm and filled with the smell of fresh breakfast being prepared. Therese watches Carol; hair immaculate, the smile in her eyes, how she sways a little as if there is music playing in her head, she can’t help but smile at her love.
“Morning Carol”
“Good Morning, Sleepyhead. Are you hungry?”
Therese sits at their dinner table, dreamily looking at Carol bringing her breakfast. She tilts her head back and motions for Carol to kiss her. She can feel her smile on her lips and sighs contently into the kiss. She happily munches on her pancakes, prepared with fresh strawberries and cream. In these moments, Therese revels the most, the simple act of sharing a breakfast with the one she loves brings her so much joy that she thinks she might explode.
“I can’t wait for Christmas. I don’t think I can handle another family asking me to replicate whatever centuries old furniture they sold off in hopes that it would be worth more than it looked” Carol said perusing through the newspaper, sipping her coffee absentmindedly. Carol had left her job as a buyer and now was the store manager. She had more work to do but the pay rise didn’t hurt.
“I wouldn’t mind doing absolutely nothing after this week. Work’s been a pain. I might ask for that month’s break after all”
“It should do you good, after all, all work no play makes jack a dull boy”
Therese laughed. The telephone blared through the apartment and Carol got up to get it. Therese carries her plate to sink and starts making a mental list of the things that needed to be done today. Files to be reorganised, photos to be developed, talking to her boss about a possible vacation. Carol flits past her to grab her coat.
“Darling, I just got a call from the store and I need to be in. See you tonight” Carol pressed her lips to Therese’s cheek.
“I have to work late tonight so don’t wait up for me,” said Therese.
“When will I get to spend a proper evening with you I wonder” And with that Carol went out the door and their day was set into motion.
Lunchtime rolled around, it was the only time Therese had to herself. She walked up to Mr. Cage’s office and waved to Julie. Julie was his assistant; short, blonde, walked with a twist in her step and had a near-permanent grin on her face. Her and Therese had gotten close, being the only women in the office and sharing a common love for literature.
“Hey Julie, Is the boss in?”
“Yeah, you need something?”
“Finally going to ask him about that vacation”
“Well, whadaya know even Therese Belivet can get sick of her job.”
“There is hardly any good company around to keep me entertained”
“Oh hush, I am a delight. Go right in, he’s in a good mood so I like your chances”
Therese enjoyed Julie’s company. She might be a bit peculiar but Therese liked having someone interesting like her to talk to. Her boss had promised her time off but assigned some extra work she needed to do beforehand to compensate. This would mean working overtime till Christmas Eve but it would be worth it in the end she thought.
Work had come to a close and Therese made her way home. She entered the apartment slowly, trying not to make a sound in case Carol had already gone to bed. She walked in to see Carol on the couch with her head back, blowing smoke rings to the ceiling, two beers on the coffee table and the fireplace roaring.
“I told you not to wait up, you have to work tomorrow”
“Work can wait, my dear but my heart can’t, get over here” She patted the space next to her to usher her over.
Therese hung her coat on the coat rack, knocked her shoes off, grabbed her beer and sat next to Carol on the couch. She put her head in her lap and her feet on the couch. The soothing circles Carol drew on her scalp sent her into a sleepy haze. Therese finally realised how truly tired she was and started to melt into the couch.
“I got the time off. Mr. Cage agreed but I’ll have to work overtime till Christmas Eve to make up for it.”
“Normally I would be more opposed to a man keeping you from me but if that means I get to have you all to myself for a month then it’ll be worth the trouble” Carol brought her head down to kiss Therese, slow and needy, as if they had all their lives to just lay there and kiss but that still wouldn’t be enough. Therese reluctantly pulled back and started to get up. Carol wrapped her arms around her hips, holding her there, resting her head on the curve of her waist and let out a low whine.
“I need to sleep Carol. I am sorry” Therese almost whispered, trying to pull Carol to her feet by tugging at her arms. She hated saying no to her but she could barely stand. Both of them sluggishly got ready for bed, Therese felt as though her bones were burning, she needed to be close to Carol but hadn’t the energy to do anything but drop to bed like a brick. Therese clung to her as she fell into a dreamless sleep.
The days leading up to Christmas had been its own type of hell. Carol would leave early so they no longer shared their breakfast, just goodbyes said across the apartment and quick pecks to the lips. Therese came back late every night; she could tell Carol tried to stay up for her since she usually found her asleep on the couch with her glass of rye on the table. Some nights she would gently try to wake her up and get her to bed but on other nights she would drag the comforter off the bed and just sleep on the couch; Work nights were tough and she knew she wouldn’t fall asleep without Carol by her side. Holidays got closer and Therese grew more and more anxious because she had a pile of work left to finish but after this she got to spend Christmas at home and she could recover in her time off. She sped through all the paperwork she had to sort and collapsed in a chair next to Julie.
“You look like you have been running on a steam engine the way you are guzzling down cigarettes.” Julie had sounded concerned but Therese was not one to care at that moment.
“I think I have seen enough of this place for a lifetime.” The walls seemed smaller to Therese now and she was trying to focus on the wallpaper as if trying to find colour in the now muted brown walls.
“Cheer up Belivet, only a little bit till you get to go home and get into the holiday cheer”
At that, Therese’s mind went straight to thinking about how she and Carol would spend tonight. She wondered if Dannie had got her present yet, which she sent well in advance in fear that it would arrive late. Dannie had moved to California after getting a chance to write column in the Los Angeles Times. Despite being Richard’s friends first, both Phil and Dannie kept in touch. She thought of the potential of a visit from Rindy on the 27th, how happy Carol would be with that. She was giddily excited about the holidays now and couldn’t wait to get back home.
Her first apartment here never felt like home, neither did her mother’s house after she remarried. Richard’s house felt like home for a while, when she saw everyone dancing, enjoying each other’s company, drinking and spilling pink eggnog during her Christmas visits but that was her trying to convince herself that this is what home should be. Who knew that she would find home in an apartment on Madison Avenue, where she knew that the most beautiful woman in the world waited for her, with glasses of champagne out and music playing on their phonograph. How could she have ever imagined this being her life? She burst through her apartment door and immediately jumped into Carol’s arms, her perfume capturing her senses as if it were a spell.
“Someone’s happy to see me. You had a good day?” Carol said into her hair, holding her close.
“I am always happy to see you. My day was appalling but that doesn’t matter right now”
Carol threw her head back and laughed. It was like hearing it for the first time again, loud and crystalline, resonating through the apartment.
“Well come on then let’s go decorate the tree”
They decorated the small tree in their apartment with the ridiculous amount of decorations Carol bought, in spite of which she still insisted Therese cut angels out of tissue. They had a simple dinner with bourbon then proceeded to dance around like what Carol called love struck morons. The clock had struck 12 an hour ago and now they sat outside under a pile of blankets, huddled close together on a lounger in their balcony. Snow had just started to fall and they looked out on the skyline of New York together, the lack of cars at night never seemed to make this city look empty. Neither one said anything, the only sound between them being the radio softly playing Nat King Cole.
“I have missed you” Therese suddenly said.
“We live in the same apartment, Therese” Carol sounded a bit incredulous but amused all the same.
“I know but I just have” She looked at her now. Her grey eyes sparkling, the red tinge on her nose and cheeks, the glow of her blonde hair, illuminated by the light of their apartment. She watched her brows knit together and her eyes shift for a minute.
“I know you want to relax for the month that you have off work but I was thinking maybe you’d like to see Los Angeles. I think it would do you good, a change of scenery to inspire your photography perhaps. I thought you might enjoy it.”
“Would you?”
Even after nearly a year of living together, Therese still heard the nervousness in Carol’s voice. A road trip across the country was the last thing on Therese’s mind but now she wanted nothing more.
“Yes. Yes I would” Therese said with the utmost excitement. She grabbed Carol’s face and kissed her hard. She felt like she would burst with the love she had for this woman.
“I love you”
“I love you too, my angel”