by B Anders
"Not for me, but for us together," Harper smiled and continued to hold onto Courtney's hand, "it's our first time here together."
"Elijah, it's their first visit together," she nudged him and laughed. “Isn’t that sweet?”
Harper worried their game might have gone too far when the man’s face darkened as he pointed right straight at Courtney and asked, "You married?"
"Nnnooo, sir." Courtney stuttered and seemed fearful.
"Young woman, don't be an idiot! That friend of yours, she's drop dead gorgeous. If you had any sense in that blonde head of yours, you’ll marry her now. They got a chapel here. You can make it your honeymoon and save some dough."
The old woman was howling with laughter when they exited the elevator.
"What's so funny?" Harper asked unable to follow the meaning of the exchange. “I don’t understand.”
"He brought me here on our first date."
He grumbled, "Fifteen years ago."
The woman could barely compose herself, "He asked me to marry him."
"We’ve known each other since grade school. Should have married her right after high school," the old man explained. "But, I was young and stupid. Figured she would wait. Thing is, I didn't move fast enough and Bennett asked her first, and she said yes. He was a smarter man than I ever was."
"So, he waited until my first husband passed away before whisking me off on a long weekend to Graeme’s World. I had no idea it was a proposal."
"How romantic. So, you got married here?" Courtney asked.
The old man shook his head. "She still hasn’t said yes. I bring her back every year hoping she'll say yes. Maybe I’ll get lucky this year."
"Are, are you together?" Harper asked even though she found it very embarrassing to ask elderly strangers about their private lives.
"Yep," the woman laughed. "I'm making him live in sin for making me wait forty-four years for a marriage proposal."
The old man finally laughed, and his entire face lit up with a radiant smile, "And it’s the best kind of punishment a fella could ask for."
"That's right. If we tie the knot, our social security takes a hit. So, this is kind of a win-win for both of us," the woman replied giggling like a schoolgirl.
"So, take my advice young lady, get married now, so you don't need to worry about losing your social security benefits when you’re old and gray like us," the old man winked. "And, you won't need to worry about losing out on life. Love, it's a rare thing. Snatch it up with both hands when you find it."
As Courtney and Harper watched the elderly couple walk away hand in hand, they slowly looked down and noticed their hands were still entwined.
"What do you suppose this means?" Courtney asked as she lifted their hands up, feeling Harper’s fingers tightening on her own.
Harper shook her head and smiled. "I'm not sure. It started out as a dumb joke. You know to annoy that preacher man and his stuck up wife after having to deal with that homophobe of a vet. But then, something changed."
"When you kissed me."
"Yep, that's when it happened. During that kiss.”
“But, you’ve kissed me before.”
“I know that night at the motel.”
“And in the car when you wanted me to shut up about the vet. So what’s so different about it this time?”
“I don’t know. It felt different, but in a good way. Am I making any sense?”
“Yes. I felt…Something too.”
“I've never kissed anybody romantically before. Was I any good at it?"
They started walking towards the trolley boarding area, holding onto each other’s hands as they moved.
"You did pretty well for a beginner. You could use a few pointers, but I think you have some real potential to be a great kisser."
Harper quietly considered this as they waited in line. "Do you think you might be interested in explaining the finer points of kissing to me?"
Courtney nodded with a smile as they got on the monorail. "Sure. And, maybe after turkey drumsticks, we could practice."
***
"Oh, God," Courtney let out a small cry of pleasure as she slurped. "Oh my God, you’re so good."
Harper rolled her eyes.
"So sweet, so succulent," Courtney moaned before wrapping her lips around the tender meat.
"There are kids ten feet from you," Harper warned. "Could you try, not to orgasm in public over a turkey leg?"
Courtney gave a hard swallow. "This is delicious. I can’t believe I never had one before. Hands down the best food of the trip."
"I’m happy for both of you, but how 'bout we try not getting kicked out of Liberty Square on indecency charges," Harper said. “They’re starting to give us the evil eye.”
"You," Courtney replied pointing the turkey leg at Harper, "Worry too much."
Harper shook her head no. "I just don't want to get kicked out of Graeme’s World yet. We just got here. There's too much to do."
"Agreed. So, what's first on the grand agenda?"
"Glad you asked," Harper smiled. "First, we hit the House of Reflection, then Dr. Troll's Bridge Coaster. After that we'll make our way over to Folk Lore Forrest."
Courtney gestured over her shoulder with the remains of her turkey leg to ask, "What about hitting the Chocolate Wilderness and taking the Whirlwind, the nightmare, Ride?"
"No," Harper was firm. "After that we'll go to Cake Town and ride the cupcakes on Syrup Lake."
"You'll go to Cake Town, and I'll go to the Chocolate Wilderness. Cake Town is for kids under the age of three and their freaked out parents. I want to do Chocolate Wilderness."
"Nope, we have to do the rides together, and in this order," Harper countered. "And, the gift shops, of course."
Courtney was chewing on the last bite of turkey when she nearly choked. "Oh no. No way! You will not, I repeat, you will not be stealing towels at Graeme’s World. I have no intention of getting arrested in Florida."
"I need those towels," Harper tried to reason with Courtney. "I've come too far not to finish this right."
Courtney took a calming breath. The combined smell of popcorn and stagnant water from the Lost Island Swamp was giving her a headache and Harper’s kleptomania was going to push her into a full-blown migraine if she didn't get control of the situation fast.
"Look, you said on the way down, you didn't know if buying the towels would ruin things. So let's buy the towels today. If you feel like it isn't working for you, you can come back tomorrow and steal to your heart's content while I go to my meeting. I'll bail you out when we break for dinner."
Harper bit into her doughboy as she thought Courtney’s proposal through. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Okay, we'll try it your way first, but you're buying the towels."
"Why?"
Harper gave her a wink. "So I can steal them from you, get it?"
Courtney gnawed on the turkey bone for a moment and then replied. "Sadly, I do get it. I finally do."
"If you're finished trying to eat that bone," Harper ignored the intent behind the remark. "Let's get cracking. We've got a lot of walking to do."
Courtney stood and walked to the trash bin. She seemed to hesitate before tossing the turkey bone into the receptacle. There was a loud hollow clunk as it hit the sides. The noise left Harper feeling pensive. Reality, even in Graeme’s world, could be stark and relentless. It was entirely possible to be surrounded by a million people and still be all alone.
"Well? Are you coming or not?"
Courtney's annoyed voice broke through Harper's brooding thoughts. "I'm going. It's you who is headed in the wrong direction."
"What?" Courtney asked as she looked around for a landmark. "Folk Lore Forrest is right over here. It's on the list. Let's go."
"Nope. We have to go to the first House of Reflection," Harper said and turned around to walk toward the creepy location.
"What? There's a sequence? For Christ sakes, these rules of yours are making me nuts!"
&
nbsp; "Me too," Harper grumbled.
***
The evening was magical. With minimal pushing, Harper got Courtney to follow the preplanned stops through the park. By the third gift shop, Courtney was able to pick the perfect towels out all by herself without any prodding from Harper. They also decided that if Harper took the bags from the cashier while Courtney’s back was turned that would constitute theft. So far, the mind games they were playing were enough to satisfy Harper's need to steal and for the first time since the trip began, Harper felt she could walk into a hotel without an overwhelming desire to slip something cotton and absorbent under her coat. The sheer joy of that freedom was matched only by the blurry bliss of a day under the Graeme spell.
“Oh God, I’ve died and gone to heaven.” Courtney moaned as she buried her face into the soft pillow.
Harper grimaced at the hoarseness in Courtney's voice. She dropped the bags filled with towels she was carrying and headed for the bathroom. The bath sundries were beautifully aligned and complimented by a facecloth folded into the shape of a Sugar Glider. Harper settled on filling a glass with water instead of ruining the artwork to make a cold compress.
“You feeling better yet?” Harper asked as she returned to the bedroom with the cold drink. “Here drink this.”
“My throat feels like sandpaper.” Courtney whined.
“Puking will do that to you."
Courtney clarified, "It was just the dry heaves."
"Right. Dry heaves with projectile vomiting. You made Linda Blair look like a rank amateur. Here sit up and sip this before you dry up and die on me.”
“At least, they knew what to do at the first aid center," Courtney said as she sat up. "Heatstroke must be an occupational hazard down here.” Courtney took the glass of water from Harper. “God, my head hurts.”
Harper shook her head. "Too soon for the other two Tylenols. Don’t want you to get even sicker."
"Damn it," Courtney hissed and took a sip of the water. "I want to know the exact second I can take them. It feels like my head is going to fall off."
Harper nodded. "Sure. You have another four hours to go. So, how about settling back into bed and trying to get some sleep."
"Should I sleep? Aren’t you supposed to stay awake with heatstroke?" Courtney propped the pillows behind her indicating she had no intention of napping anytime soon.
"Head injuries need to stay awake. Heatstroke can get some sleep. But, I think it had less to do with the heat and more to do with that second turkey leg you had along with all that popcorn and that corndog and that gallon of mountain dew. You know, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Now, why not try to get some sleep.”
“Yada, yada.” Courtney pulled a face before sipping the cold liquid from the glass. “That corndog was perfect. I should have had another one.”
Harper sat down on the edge of the bed next to Courtney. “Courtney, you know earlier at the trolley station you were saying we could, you know.”
“Huh?” Courtney asked. “What did I say?”
“You know, practice something after the turkey drumsticks.”
“Practice? Football practice? Hockey practice?” Courtney feigned a frown as she recalled the conversation.
Harper was so focused on her question that she missed the verbal cue in Courtney’s tone of voice. “You said you would explain how kissing worked.”
“Oh, kissing. Right, it's easy. You just put your lips together and suck face with preferable someone of the gender you like. End of story.”
“Courtney, please. I'm serious here.”
“Harper, give me a little break here. I have the migraine from hell, and you want me to teach you how to make out. What are you? Some teenage boy who can’t keep it in his pants?”
“I just want to know how it feels like to be kissed by someone.” Harper confessed. “Not an indifferent hello-goodbye kiss, but a real kiss. It's been such a perfect day, I'd like it to end with a perfect kiss. Is that too much to ask for, Courtney?”
Courtney was struck by the disappointment in Harper's voice. “Oh Harp, I’m sorry. No, that’s not too much to ask. I’m just a bear with a sore head.” Courtney said as she reached out gently touching Harper’s cheek. “Okay, it's pretty easy, let me show you.” Feeling Harper tremble under her touch, Courtney tried to ease the tension with humor. "Aren't you glad they had a disposable toothbrush for me at first aid?"
Harper nodded with a small smile, prompting Courtney to lean over lightly cupping Harper's face in the palms of her hands.
“Courtney,” Harper whimpered. “I…”
“Ssssh, it’s going to be okay.” Courtney whispered as she ran her tongue along Harper’s jaw. “Just relax. Don’t fight me. This is what you wanted isn’t it, Harper.”
Harper muttered an unintelligible reply.
“Liar," Courtney smirked.
Harper could feel the heat of Courtney’s mouth. Her lips hungrily descending on Harper’s neck like a wild fire, searing the skin with her touch.
"Oh, Courtney..."
“What, Harper?”
“Please, don’t hurt me.”
"Never, I'd never hurt you," Courtney vowed.
Harper could feel the tension drain out of her body at the sound of the words. The promise had magically lifted a weight off her shoulders. Courtney brushed Harper's hair back and placed feather light kisses wherever her fingers touched. Harper inched forward, closer to Courtney with each kiss.
“Can I kiss you?” Courtney's voice was husky.
“Yes.”
Harper closed her eyes as Courtney leaned forward. Their lips met and gentle parted. Harper could feel the rough edge of Courtney’s tongue as it sought and gained entry into her mouth. There was no power struggle between them. In this instance, Courtney was the teacher and Harper her eager student. They stayed together for what felt like an eternity, before Courtney gently pulled away from the warmth of the embrace.
“Harper, you okay? Was that too much? I could feel you going stiff in my arms.”
"Yah, I'm okay. It's just nothing's happening for me."
Courtney stared unblinking at the other woman.
"I mean, you don't want me to lie to you, right?" Harper stammered defensively. ”I mean I like the feeling of being close to you, you make me feel things I don’t even have the words to say what you make me feel, but my body isn't taking the hint. It’s like it just shut down and went to sleep.”
"Nothing? You didn’t feel anything?" Courtney was dumbfounded. "Come on, not even a tingle down there?"
Harper shrugged. “It’s not that easy for me.”
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you trying to tell me that passionate kiss didn't make you the least bit wet?"
Harper crinkled her nose, "No need to be crude. But, no. Nothing happened for me, and no, you can’t check that fact out yourself."
"It was still nice right?" Courtney was having trouble believing her ears. “I mean, you must at least have felt something. It’s not possible to not feel something, right?”
Harper shrugged. “It was satisfying on an emotional level, but physically nada. Sorry.”
"Wow, I can't believe this. That was a great kiss. I know it's me saying this, but Harper that was at least an eight on the ten point kiss scale." Courtney shook her head. "Got to say, I don't think the problem is me."
Harper gave a nod of resignation. "I know. The problem has always been me."
"Well, at least this solves the bed issue. If that kiss didn't start a fire then sleeping next to me drooling and snoring isn't going to do much to stoke up your dead coals. I’m safer than a vestal virgin in a gay frat house."
"It's good you can look on the bright side," Harper said with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm going to hit the shower. Why don't you get some sleep?"
“Harp, don’t be like this. I didn’t mean for it to come out like a major putdown.”
“It didn’t sound like that. I can’t help being the way I am, and if I had a choice, I would love
to be able to have emotionally and physically satisfying relationships, but I can’t. Is it too much to ask for some acceptance and understanding?”
“No. I’m sorry for being a jerk. I just thought if we tried doing some things, it would kick start your engine. Seems you don’t have an engine. Wow. Have you like tried therapy?”
“All my life. Are you disappointed?”
“Yes and no. I mean we’re not anywhere close to having a physical relationship. But, the possibility was there, now it doesn’t seem like that’s possible. I don’t know how I feel about it, really. But, it could just be the shock talking now. And, sex is really overrated anyway, I guess. Am I babbling like an idiot?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.”
“Courtney, will this get in the way of us? Tell me the truth. I need to know.”
“Being friends? No. I don’t think it will. If firing you didn’t end our friendship before it even began, then this part is a cakewalk. So, what's next on the agenda?"
"Dinner, more Graeme’s World, and Doggie bedtime stories."
Courtney called out to Harper with a grin as the other woman walked away from the bed.
"That brilliant plan almost makes up for the kissing disaster."
***
"... And then the fairy dogmother lead the charming princesses to Doggerella, and they all lived happily ever after," Harper whispered in Boston's ear. “Good night, baby.”
The dog snored deeply. Harper envied the snoozing animal. If she didn't need to walk back to the hotel with Courtney, Harper was sure she could easily fall asleep on the dog bed next to Boston. Instead, she carefully got to her feet and stepped away from the dreaming dog.
"You ready to go?" Courtney whispered as she got up from the chair across the room and reached for Harper’s hand. Her eyes were brilliant blue stars that almost took Harper’s breath away.
Harper nodded and followed Courtney out. She carefully closed the door so the dog would stay asleep. Harper was having a hard time leaving her behind, even though she knew Boston was having a blast at the kennel. They made their way hand in hand to the front desk in silence. There a staff member named Grace greeted them.
