I didn't know- NaNoWriMo project 2015 - Chapter 7

Seven

Fey had spent the rest of her Sunday as she had intended in the first place, by reading and not seeing another living sole, especially not anyone she shared genes with.

When she checked her phone on the way home she'd had the usual messages – Meri, Claire, a few of her going-out-friends – but also a few from Lilian.

--16:34--From Lily--

Hi! Thanks again for yesterday, I had a lot of fun. Do you maybe have time on Tuesday to do something? Lily

--17:06--From Lily--

If not that's totally fine! Lily

--17:47--From Lily--

Sorry, I don't mean to bother you. I just realized I didn't say what time. I have the afternoon and evening off. Lily

--17:54--From Lily--

Wednesday would maybe work too, if that's better for you. Lily

Fey had smiled at the eagerness and quickly typed out a reply to ease Lily's nervous waiting.

~~18:11~~To Lily~~

Hey, sorry I'm only now replying, I was with my parents. Tuesday is great, I get off work at 3:30pm. What did you have in mind? Fey

--18:13--From Lily--

That's fine! I don't know. Do you maybe want to watch a movie together? Or we can just go for a walk. Lily

Just hanging out at home, watching a movie together sounded nice, but you didn't get to talk very much during a movie. There was still so much Fey didn't know about Lilian.

~~18:17~~To Lily~~

The weather is supposed to be good, a walk it is! ^^ Fey

--18:19--From Lily--

Great! Where should we meet? And when? Lily

~~18:21~~To Lily~~

The great fountain by the main entrance to Helena Park? There's a great ice cream shop just around the corner of it, if you don't know it we should definitely stop by there. Is 4pm okay? Fey

--18:24--From Lily--

Perfect. I'm really looking forward to it! See you then! Lily

* * * * * * *

Fey had the early shift for the whole week, forcing her out of bed early, but also giving her the afternoon off. She didn't mind getting up, especially since the weather was uncommonly warm for October. After work on Monday on her way home she stopped by the library to borrow a DVD for Markus's and her weekly bad-movie-day on Wednesday. They weren't always necessarily bad movies, but it had started as such when Markus had discovered to his horror that Fey didn't know a lot of the movies he considered part of basic education. They'd started with classics like 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'Barbarella' but soon also including newer movies like 'Sharknado'. She in turn had introduced him to movie adaptions she loved or despised and they often almost made a contest out of who could mock the evening's feature film the most. This time she opted for 'Goldfinger', a movie she'd heard a lot about but hadn't actually seen. If it was good, she'd enjoy watching it and if it turned out to be bad, she'd enjoy taking it apart with Markus. It really was a win-win situation.

She took the subway home and dropped off the movie and grabbed herself a snack, some water, a warm sweater and a scarf before she headed out again. Her destination was the park not ten minutes from her home. It was somewhat of an experimental landscape with niches and crooks to hide in and many different banks and artistic sculptures that doubled up as comfortable seating. One of them was a flour like structure in which the petals radiating out from the center where made from yellow and orange hammocks. There were still two unoccupied and Fey slid in with her supplies. She dug her phone out of her sweater pocket and popped in her headphones to indulge herself in an audio book she'd started last week.

Many people often neglected audio books, she'd found, or even frowned upon them. She herself had been skeptical before trying it out but was now a fervent advocate for them. Even if she was already familiar with the book, an audio book could provide her with a new insight to the story or characters because of the way the reader would emphasize words or phrases differently. Fey especially liked that she had her hands free to do something else that didn't require much attention like the handiwork she liked to do with her shirts.

Now even books and their stories had merchandise to go with them, but only ten years ago Fey had had a hard time finding anything to do with the classical novels she'd loved at the time. She'd wanted to wear her love on her sleeve and so she had had to get creative. Her first project was a hand-stitched quote from one of her movies onto a shirt she'd never liked anyways. It was clumsy and a bit asymmetrical, but she'd loved it almost as much as her mother had hated it. They had had their disagreements about Fey's wardrobe before that but after Fey took to customizing her clothes on a regular basis it was one of the touchier subjects in the von-Wimmstein-household. One more reason to drown out the world in a soothing voice telling her about other people's adventures when she'd been working on another piece of clothing.

The sun had nearly set and she got out of her hammock. Even with her warm scarf (with the words 'Books=Love' printed on over and over) she was getting chilly, so she headed home.

On Tuesday she met up with Lilian by the great fountain depicting mermaids and various aquatic life in mid-play.

Lily was overly punctual again, so even though Fey had made a point in leaving on time and getting to their meeting point a bit early, Lily was already waiting for her. Even though she must just have come from uni judging from the heavy-looking messenger bag she was carrying she had a relaxed posture as she was looking at the statues in the fountain. She jumped when Fey touched her slightly on the shoulder to get her attention.

“Ah! Oh sorry, I was preoccupied! How are you? Have you seen the detail on these mermaids, it's amazing!” Lily hugged her briefly and stepped back. “Oh you changed your hair! I love it!

“Thank you!” Fey smiled and took a closer look at the fountain. “I haven't noticed them, but now that you mentioned it, they are quite pretty. Have you never been to Helena Park?”

“Uhm, no, I never thought to come here.” She brushed the one loose strand that had escaped her pony tail behind her ear.

“Oh then you haven't been to the 'Ice Cream Dream Team' either?” Fey looked expectantly at her.

“I'm sorry, no.”

Fey grinned excitedly. “Perfect!!”

“Perfect?”

“Yes, perfect! Because then I get to show you! It's awesome, I love sharing it with people. Come on, it's right around here!” Fey grabbed Lily's hand and tugged her along with her. Lily had trouble keeping up with Fey's short steps brimming with anticipation.

Soon they stood before the little shop. The walls were dark blue with thousands of stars and on the bottom of each wall were little sleeping sheep painted on. There was a considerable queue in front of the shop considering that it was October and not exactly the perfect weather for ice cream.

“Ta-dah!” Fey said with a grand gesture, letting go of Lily's hand.

Lily was a bit perplexed and did not immediately grasp what was so special about this shop but when she looked at the menu of different flavors she got an inkling of the reason.

“BBQ-Orange? Chocolate-Eucalyptus? Apple-Pumpkin-Cinnamon? Are these real?”

“Yes they are and they are delicious, each and every one. The choice changes weekly, I think, but there are a few they always have. Come on let's get in line.”

They joined the line and moved quickly along. When it was their turn Fey went ahead and got BBQ-Orange and Prune-Tobacco. Lily ordered chocolate-eucalyptus for herself in a firm voice though she expressed her doubt as soon as she had paid.

“I don't think I would have tried this without you, even if I'd come by here more often.” She looked at her scoop sceptically and took a hesitant lick. Her face lit up with surprise and apparent approval. “Oh this is great!”

Fey giggled at her reaction.

“I'm glad you like it. Here, wanna try mine? I haven't licked it and my spoon is clean.”

Lilian rolled her eyes at her. “I wouldn't mind if you had. I got a little brother, remember? Oh, that's an odd combination, but not bad at all, I'll get that the next time!”

Fey took back her ice cream cone and started walking towards the entrance of the park. When they entered Lilian almost forgot about her ice cream.

Helena Park wasn't named after any famous Helena but for the Greek influence that dominated the landscape. There was a temple not unlike the acropolis but only about half the size in the center of the park overlooking a large pond. It was a popular meeting place in summer, but even now couples and small groups sat on the steps in the rays of the late sun. Lining the paths were Greek statues of athletes and gods in different poses. The temple and statues weren't antique though. That the park was full of them was due to the weird taste of it's founder, who had taken an almost obsessive interest in Greek architecture. The statues were replicas of famous artwork, but where many of the originals lacked an arm or half a torso, Dr. Baster had wished for intact statues and vivid colors. When Lilian entered she was face to face with a group of beautiful young nymphs dancing around a satyr.

“Oh!” She stopped in her tracks.

“They're quite the sight, aren't they?”

“They are. I didn't know these were so... vivid.” Lilian walked slowly around the statues by the entrance. “I mean, I know that there's the park and the statues, they are a big tourist attraction. But I've never been here and I never bothered to look them up. I didn't know they were so pretty.”

Fey smiled at how enchanted Lilian seemed to be by the statues. “There are more along the paths. Come on, let's go look at them.”

They made their way along the path circling around the parks perimeter, Lilian stopping ever so often to take note of a particularly beautiful figure and Fey commenting on what it depicted, both enjoying their weird ice cream and making light conversation.

Lilian turned away from an impressive specimen of a centaur and caught up to Fey who'd continued slowly.

“I never asked how the Sunday with your family was. Did you have a good time?”

“It was better than most of the time because my cousins were there as well.”

“Is it usually bad?” Lilian shot her an interested look as if the concept of a bad family gathering was foreign to her.

“I don't get along too well with my parents. My mom always judges how I dress and disapproves of my weight and my dad is disappointed with me for not doing what he wanted me to do.”

“I'm sorry to hear that!” The taller woman reached out to pat Fey hesitantly on the shoulder to console her.

Fey laughed. “Don't worry about it. It's not your fault and it's nothing new. This has been going on for almost all of my life. My parents and I don't get along, but that doesn't mean I don't love them, you know? It's just a bit more difficult.”

“Still. I'm really sorry you don't get along with them.”

“Yeah, me too.”

For a couple of dozen meters they continued their walk in silence.

“So your cousins are in town?” Lilian finally inquired.

“You're getting good with the small talk!”, Fey joked.

Lilian blushed. Since Fey knew it was only a sign of momentary surprise at her teasing and no real embarrassment she enjoyed the reaction she could so easily raise in her friend.

“Thanks. But that wasn't just to fill the silence. It's never weird with you. Well it sometimes is, but you don't make me feel anxious when you're not talking.”

“I'm glad. Just so you know, I'm really happy I met you.”, Fey said, making Lilian blush an even deeper shade of red. “My cousins are in town, Diana and Noah. Diana is changing unis and Noah is doing an internship in the clinic where my brother works. They're both about our age and really nice. I wanted to go dancing with them some time, would you like to come? I think you'd get along well.”

Lily looked surprised at that.

“You'd want me to meet your cousins?”

“Of course, why wouldn't I?” Fey returned her gaze quizzically.

“Yes, no, of course I would like to meet them! So Noah is a med student?”

Fey's match-making-senses tingled. At this point it was just curiosity on Lily's part, but with her help there might be something there.

“He is. Even as a child he wanted to be a doctor, I don't know where he got that from. His parents are as far from medicine as you could be, they're a physicist and a mechanical engineer. When we played together as children he would patch us up with band aids whenever we would scratch a knee or something. He's so nice and he listens very well, I think you'll like him. This internship will be his first time working with children though and he's kind of nervous about that.”

“It must be really nice for him to be doing what he's always wanted to do.”

Something about the way Lily spoke made Fey turn to look at her inquiringly. She'd sounded almost wistful in her comment on Noah's studies. Fey hesitated, wondering if her question wouldn't be crossing a line, but posed it anyways.

“What is it that you want to do?”

“You know I'm going to be a lawyer. Or maybe a judge, I don't know, there are a lot of possibilities.”

“No, I know that. I know what you're doing right now, but I wanted to know if that's really what you want to do with your life.”

“It's a good life to have.”, Lilian replied stubbornly.

“I'm not saying it's not! I'm just wondering if it's really the life you want!”

Lily had unheedingly sped up her steps and Fey had trouble keeping up without jogging. She stopped dead in her tracks at that last sentence, not looking at Fey.

Fey approached her carefully. Lilian wasn't looking at her and she feared that she had after all crossed a line she shouldn't have come near.

“I'm sorry. I- I... It wasn't my place, I should have backed off, please just forget I ever mentioned-”

“It's not.” Lily's quiet voice was almost drowned in Fey's apology. She turned to Fey, still hunched in on herself as if to shield her from any more uncomfortable inquiries.

Neither of them seemed to know how to continue. They had almost finished their way around the park and where close to where they'd started. The other visitors, residents of the city and tourists alike were heading for the exit. The sun was almost setting and the wind had turned the pleasantly warm afternoon uncomfortably cold.

Finally it was Lilian who spoke, without making eye contact and fiddling with the strap of her bag.

“Nobody's ever asked me that. I probably wouldn't have told them anyways. I don't know why I told you.” There was no menace in the words, only astonishment at the fact.

Fey was at a loss for words to comfort her friend. Words had always come to her and she had worshipped them for their ability to convey the whole of the human experience, but apparently she'd been wrong. Right now they were of little use. Instead of saying the wrong thing, she gently moved closer to Lilian and hugged her, trying to tell through her embrace what she couldn't through words.

Lily hugged back tightly, accepting the non-verbal apology she was being offered.

After a moment she took a deep breath and moved out of their entanglement.

“Thanks. I needed that more than I thought.”

“You're welcome. I am sorry and I apologize for my behavior.”

“Thank you, I accept your apology.” She wiped her eyes. “Don't look at me all wide-eyed like that. You couldn't have known. I'm fine. Really, I am.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Can we please just stop talking about it?” She started walking again.

“Of course, yes.”, Fey agreed readily only to not know what to say once more. Seemingly that was becoming a habit.

Fey stared intensely at her feet as she put one in front of the other, feeling herself turn pinker with each step she took.

“So how's your family?”

The answering giggle surprised her into looking up. Lilian had stopped walking, her giggle now growing into a full out laugh.

Seeing Fey not falling in with her laughter she managed to cool down enough to say, “You're getting good with the small talk!” before being swept up by her giggles once more.

It took Fey a moment to recognize the same words she'd teased Lily with. When she did a smile spread across her face and soon she was laughing almost hysterically, making the people around them turn but not caring in the slightest.