Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Chapter Four

She survived. Thank goodness she survived! Having taken a snappy bath together in that amazing shower with several showerheads, which felt as good as fingers giving a massage, both women were now dressed for the day. The tattoo covered with a bandage that she could remove in a few hours was sore, but Chase expected to live. Too bad when she returned to her life it wouldn't exist any longer. Chase shook her head. She didn’t want to think about going back to reality because it was depressing.

"Ready, love?" Micah asked with car keys swinging from her fingers. She used her free hand to link her fingers with the blonde’s.

Chase gave the warm and slightly calloused palm pressed against hers a squeeze. "I’m ready, Mic."

　

One word could describe their day together and that word was stupendous. Chase admitted to herself that it would have been stupendous if they had just stayed home and watched television since she had Micah back in her life, even if only for a little while.

During the day, she surreptitiously discovered information about their family. She had been correct about Samantha. They had custody of her and had since nine years ago when she was seven after Micah’s older brother passed away, having suffered a major heart attack. Sam’s godmother as well as her aunt, it was apparent that she and Chase would get custody. Since the girl’s maternal side of her family wasn’t in contact with her, gaining custody hadn’t been a problem.

As for Caitlin and Russell, Micah was indeed Caitlin’s biological mother with sperm she and her partner selected at a bank after many hours of research. Two years later, Chase used the same sperm donor for the conception of Russell. That way the two children were blood related siblings.

Speaking of their children, most of what they saw when they ventured to the movie theater involved animated characters, so their first stop after leaving the house was to watch a more adult appropriate movie. Chase couldn’t remember the last time she went to the movies and everything about the trip there was excellent. Holding hands with her wife while they watched what turned out to be an enjoyable film, eating buttery popcorn with just the perfect amount of salt, and occasionally leaning toward each other for a kiss in the dark, their mouths tasting like butter. It being 10:30 on a Thursday morning, they practically had the stadium to themselves.

Chase hadn’t come close to finishing her breakfast, so despite eating a significant amount of their medium tub of popcorn she was hungry by the time the credits rolled. Driving to a park near the theater, Micah surprised her with a picnic style lunch, which she put together earlier that morning. As they ate the lovingly prepared and delicious meal, Chase asked Micah to tell her about the first time they met. She began to speak about how they met at that busy restaurant.

"Oh, I mean the second time." Chase smiled while dipping an apple slice in a rich caramel sauce. "At the nightclub."

"Oh!" Micah returned her smile as she scooted back to lean against a tree. Crooking a finger at the younger woman, she waited until Chase settled between her parted legs with her back pressed against her front, to start. "I was seated at the bar nursing a martini when I felt eyes on me. I looked around the room and soon found you seated in a booth with your friends and El. Our eyes connected and before I knew it, you were headed in my direction." Pausing, she softly chuckled. "My heart was beating so fast. I couldn’t believe my fortune--I found you again.

"I lost sight of you when my ex-girlfriend tapped me on the shoulder. We had broken up six months ago, but she couldn’t accept that it was over. As politely as I could, I told her to leave me alone but of course, she wouldn’t listen. She was still bothering me when you arrived at my side. I formed an idea and I hoped that you would play along. Wrapping my arm around your shoulders I pretended that you were my girlfriend. You smoothly put your arm around my waist and stepped into the role as my girl.