Work Text:
Didi wouldn't say that she dated a lot of women. A reasonable amount, perhaps, for someone in their late 30s. She'd been on a handful of dates and had a few serious relationships with women throughout her adult life.
But none of them stuck around. Most of them viewed Didi’s job as a burden to a relationship. And frankly, none of those women seemed worth the hassle for Didi. She was thoroughly convinced that the only long-term relationship she was meant to be in, was the one with her job.
So when she and Julie started dating, Didi found herself wanting to pinch herself on multiple occasions. She just couldn't believe, couldn't fathom, that someone not only understood her - but respected her job and what it meant to her. And as unhealthy as it may have seemed, Didi was grateful to have a partner who was equally a workaholic.
And of course… who was also smoking hot.
Well, a smoking hot, weirdo, girlfriend.
Didi thought she knew what she was getting herself into. She had an idea about the other woman’s “quirks.” There were things that set Julie apart from other people, and Didi knew this, accepted it. Prepared for it.
But Julie always found a way to surprise her.
Like that one morning. It was almost two months into making their relationship official when Didi woke up in her own bed after feeling her girlfriend stir against her. When she looked up, Julie was completely awake and was sitting up straight in bed.
“Jules?” Didi rubbed her eyes open. “How are you already awake?” she asked, looking around her room. Didi noticed the bathroom light was on.
Julie didn't respond and instead, slid down to meet Didi face to face and placed a kiss on her nose. Didi raised an eyebrow when she caught a whiff of mint on the other woman's breath.
“Julie, did you… brush your teeth before I woke up?”
Didi noticed the blush that spread across her girlfriend's face. Julie nodded, bit her bottom lip, and then laughed at herself.
“I've sort of been trying to avoid this situation for the past couple weeks,” Julie's voice was muffled as she buried her face into Didi's chest.
Julie told her that she’d been getting up before Didi so that she could brush her teeth and spare both of them an awkward and uncomfortable situation.
Didi sat up and placed both her hands on her girlfriend’s face.
“Jules, I really don't care about your morning breath,” she whispered, running a thumb across Julie's cheek. “I mean c’mon. It's not like I wake up smelling like roses,” Didi chuckled.
Julie wasn't amused. But she leaned forward, crashing her lips onto Didi’s.
She opened her mouth against Didi’s and slipped her tongue inside, soliciting a moan from Didi. Their tongues battled against each other. Julie’s, frantic, like an incessant explorer. Desperate to taste every corner of Didi’s mouth.
As much as she didn’t want to, Didi pulled away and complained, “That’s not fair. You got to brush first!”
This time, Julie laughed and responded, “There’s always tomorrow.” She pressed another kiss to Didi’s nose.
Didi pressed her forehead against Julie’s and continued, “But seriously, Jules. We’re both human. I don’t expect either of us to be perfect. Also, now that I think about it - where are you keeping this toothbrush you've apparently been using?” Didi tilted her head. “I’ve never seen an extra one in my bathroom,” she said.
“I… keep one in my purse.”
Didi rolled her eyes, affectionately. She placed a kiss on Julie's knuckles as she told her, “Just leave it here.” She raised an eyebrow before adding, “But you can’t sneak off anymore to brush before I wake up.”
The next morning, Julie kept her promise. She stayed in bed to cuddle when they both woke up in each other’s arms. It started with Didi waking up to her face pressed against the warmest and softest chest. She slowly worked her way up, placing kisses across Julie’s neck and up to her jaw until their lips met. Julie didn’t pull away and without any hesitation, opened her mouth against Didi’s and pulled her tightly closer.
Another weird-Julie thing happened two months later when the bluetooth in Didi’s car suddenly connected to her girlfriend’s phone. She was parked outside Kovalenko Investigation's office, waiting for Julie to come down so she could take them to dinner.
Didi jumped in the driver’s seat when the music from her car’s speakers abruptly changed to the sound of her girlfriend clearing her throat.
“Didi, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you. I think about you a lot. Like all the fucking tim-
No, no. That’s weird.”
Julie cleared her throat again and let out a sigh.
Meanwhile, Didi had the widest grin on her face and tightened her grasp on the steering wheel, internally scolding herself to get a grip. She wouldn’t get her hopes up.
For several weeks, Didi found herself biting her tongue around her girlfriend. There was an indescribable pressure building within her that she found more and more difficult to contain each day. Especially when Julie lingered a little too long when they had to say their goodbyes. Or in those quiet, intimate moments when they were both satiated in bed, when Didi’s chest burst with so much joy and gratitude.
She convinced herself to hold back from saying those three scary words out loud to her girlfriend. Well, they might be scary to Julie. But to Didi, they would be the truest words she’d ever utter to another woman. She just had to be… patient. And Didi had a lot of patience.
Didi brought a hand to cover her mouth at the sound of her girlfriend’s next words.
“Di, you’re one of the kindest people I know. Everyone calls you a saint because of your patience. Personally? I think it’s because of you’re mind blowingly good at sex-
Oh my god, Kovalenko, what is wrong with you? Ugh.”
Didi let out a full body laugh. But she forced herself to shut up because Julie kept going.
“Okay, okay. We can do this. Just fucking say it.
Didi, I love you.
I’m in love with you.
There. Now, just tell her without immediately running away.”
Didi had to force back tears from falling from sheer amusement and disbelief. She placed a hand over her heart as if to keep it from pounding straight through her chest. She laughed to herself thinking about how her girlfriend could be both ridiculously charming and a complete idiot. But she was Didi’s idiot. And she loved her.
And apparently, Julie loved her back.
Julie finally made her way into Didi’s car and gave her the strangest look while holding onto her phone.
“Are you okay?” Julie asked her.
Didi pressed a finger against the corner of her eye, dabbing away a tear before it fell. She pressed her lips and shook her head, denying that anything was wrong. “No yeah, I’m totally fine. How are you? How was work?” she croaked. Didi heard the high pitch of her tone and failed to fight the grin that wanted to stay on her face.
Julie kept staring at her, confused. But she let it go and replied, “Work was fine. But my phone’s being weird. I uhm… tried making a call but the audio isn’t working?”
Didi cleared her throat and glanced at her girlfriend as she replied, “Huh. Try it again. Might just be some kind of glitch.” She was having the hardest time fighting against a smile.
Julie took her advice and tested the audio on her phone by playing a song on Spotify.
Didi didn’t dare to take her eyes off her girlfriend and savored every moment witnessing Julie finally connect the dots. She also saw the gulp that her girlfriend swallowed and tension that was now held in her jaw.
“You know, I’ve been called a saint before,” Didi smirked. “But definitely not because of how amazing I am at sex,” she teased.
Julie let out a groan and placed both palms against her face and asked, “How much of the recording did you hear?”
Didi sat up in her seat and reached towards Julie, grabbing her hand. “It doesn’t matter, Jules. Whatever it was you were rehearsing, you’ll say it when you’re ready,” she squeezed her girlfriend’s hand.
Julie stared at her with a questioning look in her eye, but didn’t say anything else.
Didi drove them to their destination, a small and wealthy town north of San Francisco just across the Golden Gate Bridge. She’d only been to Sausalito a handful of times. Like many locals from San Francisco, Didi avoided it because it felt like a different planet. But since being with Julie, she was more open to exploring. Especially if it meant getting to explore more of it with Julie.
Traffic driving up north was awful, but it flew by with their easy conversation about work. She talked about the recent drama between her very sexually active residents. Julie was always amused at the never-ending sex scandals at Pacific View. Didi was relieved to see that Julie had forgotten about the incident with her phone.
They had reservations at a small but cozy restaurant with outdoor seating, warmed by numerous patio heaters. Being on the other side of the bridge at night, they were treated to spectacular views of their city. Didi admired the city lights glimmering from afar. The only thing worthy of distracting her from the gorgeous scenery was her very restless girlfriend, blankly staring at the menu across from her.
When the waitress came back to take their orders, Didi took over. She started with their drinks, a sparkling water for Julie as well as a glass of red wine. For herself, a moscato and water.
Next, she requested their appetizer. Calamari, and if possible, extra crispy.
Finally, their main courses. Didi ordered her own dish first. The hamburger and fries with no onions. And for Julie, the steak frites, medium well with extra crispy fries.
Didi thanked the waitress but before the other woman stepped away, Didi heard her girlfriend blurt out, “I love you.”
Their waitress went still for a moment and then pressed her lips. Before walking away, she replied, “I’m going to assume you’re not talking to me... I’ll get those right out for you.”
Didi shouldn’t have been shocked at her girlfriend’s words since she heard Julie’s voice recordings just an hour earlier. But hearing Julie say those words out loud, and in person, well it knocked the wind out of her.
“Just to clarify. You were talking to me - not our waitress… right?”
Julie rolled her eyes but took Didi’s hand across the table and replied, “Di, you know me so fucking well. It’s scary.” Julie's eyes were wide. “I’m not just talking about my dinner order. You know how to push me and when to pull back. You also somehow know when I’m too fatigued to make a small decision like what to eat for dinner,” she continued, despite a small crack in her voice.
“I never told you explicitly how I feel about texture with my food… but you just picked up on it,” Julie scanned her eyes.
“Di, I know you’re the all-knowing presence at Pacific View. And it should scare me that you know this much about me. But it doesn’t,” Julie said.
Didi waited patiently for her girlfriend to finish. She held Julie’s warm gaze, and noticed the slow pull at the corner of the other woman’s lips.
“Maybe I've avoided being seen by other people my whole life… so that I could really feel how good it is to be seen by someone like you,” Julie whispered.
At first glance, most people probably wouldn't peg Julie as a romantic. Most people saw Julie as cold and distant. But Didi wasn't like most people. And neither was her girlfriend.
They were mirrors of each other, Didi thought.
Both of them cared intensely and fiercely. They just had very different ways of showing it. And that was okay.
No, most people wouldn’t think Julie was romantic. And Didi was selfishly grateful that she was the one who got a peak into this side of her girlfriend. Especially when Julie uttered her next words.
“I’m so in love with you, Di,” Julie breathed. Both her hands covered Didi’s own on the table. And she wished they were anywhere but a fucking restaurant right in that moment.
But Didi wasn’t the type to let anyone stop her from being herself. Or to shy away from expressing how she felt. So she brought Julie’s hands to her lips, and kissed them without tearing her eyes off the other woman.
“Jules, do you remember last week when you left my apartment really late at night? Because you insisted that you really needed to sleep at yours? That you didn’t want to overstay your welcome because you’d already slept over three nights in a row?” Didi asked. When Julie nodded her head, Didi continued, “But then you called me halfway back up to my place because you ‘forgot’ your non-existent beanie and then just ended up sleeping over anyway?”
Julie slowly nodded her head and gave a confused look.
“I wanted to say it then. When you finally fell asleep in my arms. I wanted to tell you how much I love you. As crazy and as clueless as you are sometimes. I love you, Jules,” Didi declared.
Julie didn’t respond. She just stared at Didi with her lips slightly parted.
She waited a beat before asking Didi, “Were there other times… you wanted to tell me?”
Didi hesitated. She didn’t want to overwhelm Julie. So she asked, “Are you sure you want to know?”
Julie smirked and asked, “On second thought, no. Definitely don’t tell me, a detective, the truth when I’m asking for it.”
Didi rolled her eyes and retorted, “Fine. Remember last week when you unexpectedly had to babysit your niece?”
Julie nodded.
“You bent down to her level and told her that it’s okay to be different. That being the same as other people is boring. And then she gave you a hug and told her she loved you. I wanted to tell you then,” Didi said.
Her girlfriend didn’t say anything. Julie kept her gaze on Didi who could’ve sworn she saw tears forming in the other woman’s eyes. Didi didn’t mind having to keep in what she was feeling and what she wanted to say all those times. Because even though Julie hadn’t said the words out loud just yet, it showed through her actions.
“Don’t hold back anymore, okay?” Julie said.
“What do you mean?”
Julie shrugged and responded, “When you want to tell me something but you’re afraid it’ll scare me off. Just tell me.”
Didi raised an eyebrow and interpreted her girlfriend's words as a challenge, “You sure about that, Froggy?”
Julie squinted at her and said dryly, “Yes. I'm sure.” She let out a sigh and said, “I'm not going to run away when things get hard, Di.”
Didi leaned forward and placed her chin in her hand as she said, “Okay. No holding back? You're going to come so hard tonight you won't be able to feel your legs tomorrow.”
Seeing all the blood rush to her girlfriend's face was entirely worth it. Especially when the waitress set down their drinks at that exact moment.
Didi couldn't remember how she got home that night. But she remembered how loud Julie screamed her name while Didi was between her thighs. And especially the way her girlfriend said those three words again before dozing off to sleep.
There were other weird things her girlfriend did.
Like when Didi walked into Kovalenko Investigations and found Megan typing away at her desk while Julie hovered over her assistant.
“I just don't get why people believe in this stuff,” Julie held a small fabric pouch in her hand.
Megan didn’t take her eyes off her computer as she replied, “I don’t know, boss.” The red-head shrugged, “Why do people believe in anything? I do it because it’s fun! And Haight-Ashbury is such an iconic neighborhood. They have the best metaphysical shops. I still can’t believe you’ve never been.”
As Didi approached her girlfriend, she got a closer look at the item in her hand. The pouch was transparent and she could see a variety of colored stones held inside.
Julie scanned it with her fingers and eyes, staring at it with a scandalized look on her face.
“She’s right, Jules,” Didi said, startling her girlfriend.
Julie looked up at her and Didi noticed her girlfriend’s shoulders instantly relaxed. But Julie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and asked, “About the hippie neighborhood I’ve never been to or about the alleged powers a piece of rock can hold?”
Didi let out a soft chuckle at her girlfriend. God she was so infuriatingly witty.
“Both. I have several of my own stones and crystals at home. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed or at least commented on them,” Didi raised an eyebrow.
“I did, I just… assumed maybe your residents gave them to you or something,” Julie replied, crossing her arms.
When she was within arms reach, Didi wrapped her girlfriend in a warm embrace. She pulled away but kept her hold on Julie as she said, “You’re not wrong. Some of them are from residents. But I also collected them in college and when my mom got sick.”
Julie’s gaze softened at Didi’s words. They stayed staring at one another for several moments, neither of them saying a word. Didi could sense Julie wanting to say something, but hesitated. Instead, she placed the most gentle kiss against Didi's lips.
Megan cleared her throat.
“You guys do remember I’m here, right?” the red-head interrupted.
“Isn’t it time for your lunch break, Megan?” Julie countered without taking her eyes off Didi.
Julie’s assistant instantly stood up, grabbed her coat and purse, and left the building.
The next evening, Didi was sitting at her work desk mulling through an endless amount of paperwork when her girlfriend barged into her office.
Without even greeting her, Julie stood across Didi’s desk and fished something out of her purse.
“Okay so since you mentioned you already have a bunch of amethyst, tigers eye, and jade stones, I figured you just need these,” she stretched her hand out towards Didi, revealing a transparent shimmery bag filled to the brim with crystals. “They’re for protection,” Julie said as she sat down.
Didi didn't realize she was staring at her girlfriend and the little pouch that now occupied her desk.
“Jules, first of all, when did you even get the chance to buy these?” Didi was legitimately confused. She just saw her girlfriend yesterday during their lunch breaks. By the time Julie would've been done with work, most crystal shops were already closed.
“Second of all, how do you know these are for protection?”
Didi’s curiosity peaked when she caught the article wrapped around Julie’s wrist. It was barely hiding underneath the cuff of her blazer. If she were to guess, it was a garnet bracelet. From what Didi knew about the garnet stone, it supposedly had many benefits. Like increasing one’s commitment to romance and love.
“Well, after you left my office to go back to work, I may have cut my work day a little short,” Julie replied.
Huh. That was weird. Julie never called off work or left work early. Only in really exceptional cases.
Julie shrugged, “Hearing you share about the meaningful things that got you through your grief got me curious, I guess.” The other woman leaned forward and opened the pouch, completely ignoring Didi’s dumbfoundedness. Julie took a blue stone in between her fingers and curiously scanned it with her eyes as she explained, “This one’s lapiz lazuli. Wait.” She took out her phone from her pocket and pulled up the notes app.
“Okay. Lapiz lazuli is for enhancing connection with ancestors. And these…” she picked up two black stones. “Are black tourmaline and obsidian, for protection. I got you another amethyst stone too. You’re keeping these three in your car by the way,” she demanded.
Didi’s eyebrows shot up at the same time she sat up in her chair and asked, “I am?”
Julie ignored her question and took out another item from the pouch. It was a light pink bracelet. If she weren’t mistaken, it was a rose quartz stone.
“And if you want, you can wear this one,” Julie said softly, less demanding.
Didi played dumb and asked Julie what kind of stone the bracelet was. This time, her girlfriend didn’t need to pull up her notes when she replied, “It’s a rose quartz bracelet. Apparently, it’s supposed to uhm-” She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, “It attracts love and deepens emotional connection in relationships.” Julie opened and then closed her mouth, as if hesitating to keep going. She reached towards the bracelet and said, “You don’t have to wear it-”
Didi took the item and immediately slipped her hand through the bracelet. She took Julie’s hand and said, “I love it, baby. Thank you so much.”
After that day, Julie checked Didi’s car every time she climbed into the passenger’s seat for the little bag of protection. Didi was scolded by her girlfriend when she had to remove them in a rare effort to clean her car.
The more Didi thought about it, the more she questioned if Julie was actually weird, or if she was just a very awkward, romantic, lesbian that had her very unique ways of showing her love.
About a week later, Didi proved herself right.
It was a tough week at work. Didi was having to manage a new resident at Pacific View who was having a difficult time adjusting. She had typical complaints. Nothing Didi and her capable team couldn’t handle.
The towels weren’t soft enough, the building temperature was too cold and not good for her arthritis, or blaming Didi’s staff for her disappearing articles of clothing after laundry day. Didi’s new resident was letting her very assertive, very vocal adult daughter know about it. Unfortunately, for Didi, she had to deal with said daughter. Mostly over the phone.
Until one day, the daughter came in blazing hot.
Unsurprisingly, it caused a scene and grabbed the attention of nearly every resident. Because this daughter was not only complaining about the facility, she was attacking Didi’s character.
To Didi’s surprise, Elliott appeared out of nowhere and barked at the woman, “Hey. You got a problem with Didi, you got a problem with all of us. Didi’s the best this place could ever get. Now you settle down or you’re going to have a real proble-”
Didi interrupted the old man and convinced the contentious family member to discuss her grievances in her office. But before she closed her office door, she caught Charles’ concerned eye from across the room.
Needless to say, it was an emotionally exhausting day. Didi could only manage a Facetime check-in with her girlfriend later that night. She spilled all the details while her girlfriend stayed silent on the other line. Didi was halfway asleep so she wasn’t entirely sure if she was hallucinating. But she swore she heard Julie say, “I’ll take care of it.”
Two days later, silence spread from the entrance of Pacific View and throughout the dining room when the exasperating woman set foot inside the building. The residents were clearly waiting for another scandal, but the woman’s mood was drastically different. Instead of her usual beeline to Didi’s office, she signed in, and went straight to the elevators.
Shortly after, she and her mom joined everyone in the dining room for breakfast. Didi watched the strangeness of it all unfold before her and was even more surprised when the new resident and her passionate daughter approached her after their meal to apologize for all their trouble.
Didi she had a strong feeling that her girlfriend - and maybe even Charles, had something to do with this.
Whatever it was, Didi didn’t want to know. She took the win with grace and of course, gratitude for her girlfriend’s peculiar way of looking out for her.
It didn't take too long into their relationship for Didi to discover that Julie loved rapid fire questions. Over text. Usually during work.
Wednesday
Julie: You're a ghost. Who are you haunting?
Didi: ?
Julie: Just answer the question, Di.
Didi: My high school bully
Julie: You don't need to wait til you die to do that. What's their name?
Didi: Jesus. You're not looking them up, Jules
Julie: Fine
Thursday
Julie: Folded or crumpled?
Didi: Crumpled. You?
Julie: Folded. I'm not a crazy person
Friday
Julie: Very important question
Julie: Pineapple on pizza. Yes or no?
Didi: Yes, duh
Julie: Sorry, Di… we have to break up. It's been great knowing you.
Monday
Julie: Superpower?
Didi: Whatever lets me see through your clothes at anytime.
Julie: 🙄
Didi noticed that Julie had a very particular method of staying neat and organized. At work, all her files and notes were clean and color-coded. Her desk was always neat. Even the tabs on her internet browser stayed organized by whatever task she was doing or searching.
At home, her closet was also color-coordinated. Her kitchen was spotless, but that was because it was hardly ever used. Those weren’t the things that Didi found bizarre. It was Julie’s bookshelf that was strange.
Because Didi’s girlfriend had the most spotless and systematized library she’d ever seen. What was fascinating, Didi thought, was that there was a range of children’s to adult books all from the same genres: thrillers and mysteries. But that wasn’t what was weird.
What was weird, was that Julie hadn’t read any of the books.
“I just don’t have the time to read them,” her girlfriend argued.
“But you have time to buy them, unpack them, and then categorize them very carefully onto your shelf?” Didi crossed her arms.
“People collect things all the time, Di. It’s not that strange,” Julie replied, defensiveness in her tone.
She learned that Julie loved reading as a kid. But since becoming a workaholic and having her own private practice, she just couldn’t “find” the time or let herself indulge in a good book. Didi backed down. Her intention wasn’t to shame her girlfriend about her collection. She just wished Julie could actually make time to enjoy the books she bought.
The following week, Didi borrowed one of Julie’s books, with her permission of course.
“Why do you want to read my books? This isn’t you trying to reverse-psychologize me into reading them, is it?”
Didi scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Really, Jules? You think I’d do something like that?”
Julie squinted at her and dropped the issue.
Didi read the book everyday. And it was really good. No wonder it was a best seller. Didi made sure to flaunt her gratification of solving the twist before she finished the book. To her complete humor, Megan also started reading the book. It was a matter of time before Charles bought the book too.
Didi placed the Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides back on Julie’s bookshelf after finishing it. The next day, she found Julie sitting up in bed with her face buried in the book. But she knew better than to tease her girlfriend about it.
It wasn’t long until Julie’s fervor for reading was reignited. Her home library was overflowing with more unread books. But there was a growing balance of ones that were finally given some attention.
Emily started feeling left out on all the reading and insisted on forming a book club. As much as Julie resisted it, she chose the first two books and hosted them at her apartment.
Their one-year anniversary was approaching and Didi was brainstorming plans to celebrate their milestone. She had a few ideas in mind for a gift. Apparently, her girlfriend’s mind was on the same track. Because Julie sat eagerly across from Didi over their takeout dinner one night, urging her to open a neatly wrapped gift.
“I know it’s not until next month, but I really want to give this anniversary gift to you now,” Julie was beaming with excitement.
Hesitant but curious, Didi slowly unraveled the wrapping paper and chuckled at Julie’s impatience.
“Jules, this is such a thoughtful gift. Thank you,” Didi placed her new Kindle on the dinner table to reach towards her girlfriend and pull her in for a hug. But Julie’s mind was somewhere else because she pulled away from their hug so fast and shoved the unopened box in Didi’s face.
“You have to open it. Now. Like take it out of the box. I want to see it,” Julie insisted.
Didi should’ve picked up on the signs right there. Because Didi hardly got to use her own Kindle. It was basically Julie’s, even though her girlfriend would never admit it. On their actual anniversary, Didi bought Julie her own Kindle - which she refused to use.
“But I like yours,” Julie argued.
“I’m sorry, when was it ever mine?” Didi sneered.
Her girlfriend had nothing to say.
One of the strangest things happened to Didi one morning when she was dropping off Julie at work. It was arguably one of the most stressful days she’d ever experienced as a driver.
Didi waited at a red light and had her right turn signal on. Even though she was notorious for her fast driving, she was careful making turns. Living in San Francisco, there were always pedestrians. She had way too many close-calls and couldn’t risk ruining her good driving record. She could always argue that she had a clean record whenever her passengers worried irrationally about her driving.
After checking for traffic on her right, she checked to her left. Didi barely lifted her foot off the brake and her car inched closer into the pedestrian crosswalk when she heard Julie shout, “What the-”
First, she heard another woman’s screams which was followed by a thud against Didi’s car.
Didi rammed her foot deeper into her brakes and immediately felt all the blood drain from her face. What the hell was that?
She turned to see Julie was okay. But she had the most upsetting look on her face.
Julie turned to her, “Baby, are you okay?”
Didi looked down at her own hands to see they were shaking uncontrollably. She nodded her head at Julie and stepped out from her car to find a bicyclist on the ground, grabbing her leg.
“Oh my god, I’m so so sorry” her voice was trembling. “Are you okay?” Didi asked as she bent down to speak to the other woman, scanning her injury.
No blood. That was good. But the front wheel of her bike was completely busted and the woman was contorting her face from some kind of pain. Didi’s stomach sank. She was overcome with so much guilt and fear.
But that fear was washed over with confusion when her girlfriend stepped out of her car wearing an even more confusing smirk on her face.
“Interesting stunt you pulled there,” Julie said and crossed her arms as she looked down on the bicyclist.
“Excuse me?” the woman replied, incredulity in her tone.
“Didi, call 911. We need to make sure our friend here is okay,” Julie demanded. She continued staring down at the woman as she continued, “Because we're going to need all the evidence we can get if she tries to pull anything else here.”
The police and ambulance came shortly after. Fortunately, no bones were broken and the woman was able to walk away without having to be taken in the ambulance. Didi and Julie stayed until the other woman was able to be picked up by a friend. Julie helped Didi take photos of the scene, including photos of the other woman’s injuries. Julie also helped her make a statement with law enforcement. Didi was so shaken up. And so confused.
In an effort to ease some of the tension, she told Julie, “You were right. I should’ve never removed those protection stones you gave me from my car.”
She debated about going into work for the rest of the day. But Julie said something that helped Didi make the decision for her.
“Go to work, Di. We both know you’ll need the distraction,” Julie encouraged her. “But just so you know, you have nothing to worry about. I’ve got it handled,” her voice now firm.
Didi was still in shock, but she needed to know what the hell her girlfriend was talking about.
“Jules, what the hell do you mean you’ve got it handled?”
They were back in Didi’s car, but Julie was in the driver’s seat. “Look, it's all still fresh. So I know you’re probably running on adrenaline and I know you’re so worried about that woman,” Julie replied softly. “But I know what I saw. The whole thing was staged. She must’ve not seen me because I had my seat reclined. So she thought she could get away with this,” she turned her whole body towards Didi before saying her next words.
“That woman ran herself into your car, Di. If you think about it, her bike took most if not all of the impact. You heard it yourself from the EMTs, she’s okay,” Julie squeezed her hand. “Unfortunately, staged accidents are a common thing these days,” she sighed.
“So you’re saying… she did that shit on purpose?”
Julie turned to face forward in the driver's seat and turned the keys in the ignition. She waited a beat before replying, “Well, it’s a good thing your girlfriend is a detective, isn’t it?”
It was a good thing. It was, in fact, an incredible life changing thing. Because three months after that incident, Didi received a demand letter from a personal injury law firm. Didi was grateful to have a girlfriend who was already building a case against the woman and her string of staged accidents across the state of California. Without her detective girlfriend, Didi wouldn’t have known how she could’ve managed such a stressful incident.
Not only did Julie save Didi so much money from a skyrocketing auto insurance premium, she helped ease her self-doubts and so much anxiety. Didi couldn’t bear the thought of hurting anyone else, even if it was unintentional. Julie was right there with her every step of the way.
Two days after the incident, Didi was struck with a crushing weight of guilt. Involuntary flashbacks attacked her during the day and especially when she tried to sleep. Exhausted from an unexpected full body cry, Didi lay her head on her girlfriend’s lap as they sat on the couch of Julie’s living room.
“You’re a good person, Di. You’re the best one I know,” Julie’s voice was as gentle as her touch. Didi could’ve fallen asleep with her girlfriend running her soft fingers through her hair. “It’s awful people like her who should be feeling guilty, not you,” Julie said and placed a kiss to Didi’s temple. Didi did fall asleep eventually.
She dreamt of a mind blowingly gorgeous brunette hero who swooped in to save Didi from shapeshifting monsters.
Didi had a vague idea that her girlfriend was a little weirdo when she was a kid. But she loved nothing more than having those suspicions confirmed by none other than Julie’s own mom.
It usually came up when they were talking about Julie’s niece. And Vanessa would be reminded about Julie as a young child. Like when they were at dinner with Julie’s family and her niece talked about her fascination with butterflies.
Vanessa commented, “Did you know your aunt Julie loved insects and also had chickens when she was a little girl?”
“Did she, now?” Didi leaned forward over the dining table and rested her chin on her hand. “Please tell us more,” Didi requested.
She saw the eye roll that her girlfriend was fighting to suppress and Didi couldn't help but grin like a crazy person.
Vanessa went on about seven-year old Julie scavenging the backyard for different types of bugs. Apparently, her usual victim was the roly-pollie. She'd gather them into a water bottle or jar with ventilation and just watch them.
Her grandparents' house had the chickens. And Julie made sure she collected her chickens’ eggs at every visit.
“Hold on. Did these chickens have names?” Didi asked, a wicked smile plastered on her face.
Julie’s niece sat up in her chair and repeated Didi's question, “Yeah did they have names?!”
Julie shifted in her seat and replied, “I actually don't remember, sweethear-”
“Of course they had names! I gave it to them,” Julie’s sister interjected with a proud smile on her face.
Vanessa started snapping her fingers in an effort to recall something, “Ohh! What were their names again?”
“Nugget,” Julie’s sister snickered.
“That’s right! Oh and Wings. I remember that one,” Vanessa laughed.
Surprisingly, Julie added, “How could you guys forget about Pollo? Also, all those names were stupid.”
“Were they?” Julie's sister asked and squinted her eyes. “Because I vividly remember you proudly introducing our cousins to each chicken by their beloved names,” her sister raised an eyebrow.
Didi sat back and watched the whole exchange, completely bewildered.
“Pollo is the BEST chicken name! Mom, we HAVE to get our own chickens,” Julie's niece practically jumped in her seat.
Later that night as they were winding down for bed, Didi slipped her arms around her girlfriend's waist. She tucked her chin on Julie’s shoulder as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, watching her wipe off her makeup.
Didi stared at their reflection and was reminded how incredibly lucky she was.
“You know what I was thinking about earlier at dinner?” she asked Julie, her eyes held Julie’s gaze in the mirror.
Julie continued wiping her face and replied, “No Didi, we are not getting our own chickens.”
Didi laughed and pinched Julie’s side, resulting in the most adorable shriek.
“I mean we should definitely get chickens in the future for our old lesbian retirement ranch,” Didi chuckled. And then she froze when she realized what she just said.
Didi stammered, “O-oh, I didn't mean to be presumptuous.” She almost apologized but stopped herself and instead said, “But you know what, I'm not going to take that back. Because I really do see myself growing old with you.”
There was only warmth in Julie's gaze as she stared back at Didi's reflection and replied, “Good. Don't apologize. Because I've been thinking a lot about it too.”
Julie turned around to face Didi directly.
“You have?”
“I want to grow old with you too,” Julie smiled and cupped Didi's face with one hand.
Didi closed her eyes and pressed their foreheads together. “You make me so fucking happy, Jules,” she let out a soft sob.
“Would you still be happy if I told you that I'd rather live in Pacific View than a ranch?” Julie asked.
Didi pulled away and replied, “There's still time to change your mind.”
“Is this what you were thinking about over dinner tonight?” Julie furrowed her eyebrows.
Didi laughed and shook her head, “No, actually. I was thinking over dinner how relieved I am to know that you come from a family of weirdos.”
Julie’s jaw was on the floor.
“I mean it in the most loving way, baby. I love you and your weird family,” Didi crashed her lips against Julie's, nearly knocking both of them off their feet.
Julie pulled away and asked, “If you love me and my weird family, what does that say about you?” Julie smirked.
“I guess that makes me a weirdo too,” Didi replied and smiled into their kiss.