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“Right. I forget you keep your erotic liaisons to the pretty lady bars around here. Which are amazing to get drunk in, by the way.”
“I know. I'm the one who told you.”
“I don't even care that women are hitting on me. I'm there to get drunk safely.”
“We're forgetting the conversation. Which is about me, Kay.”
“Right! Tell me all about her! The whole scoop, lah!”
Her sister had no idea where to begin. How we met? How we went on our first date? How we’ve been meeting up whenever we can? Flirting on the plane while she proceeds to text me when I’m in the bunk? Arianna was so used to keeping things to herself that she forgot how to share the good stuff with her family. No, not my mom. Just my sister. Her mom could never know. Not unless things were so serious that Arianna was engaged to another woman.
She couldn’t get ahead of herself.
So, she started from the beginning, weaving the romantic tale of encountering the same First Class passenger on both sides of her route. How the flirting went from innocent to planting constant thoughts of one woman in Arianna’s mind. To when they encountered each other at the Los Angeles bar, to the note delivered on Elle’s way off the plane… naturally, Arianna would not share the truly intimate details of what she and Elle had been doing in hotel rooms, but the cute and fun dates, like to Santa Monica and the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Arianna had pictures, and she finally had someone to share them with.
“Aww! You guys are so cute!”
Both sisters paused their bonding over a new girlfriend when they realized a tear was falling down Arianna’s cheek.
“Apa salahnya?” Kaylinn asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ve never had the chance to talk about something like this?”
“Ah… yeah, it’s new for us, isn’t it?”
Arianna didn’t want to look at her sister while she sorted out the tingling in her face. You don’t get it, Kay. Few did. Even the other women like Arianna around Singapore had been in relationships before. Maybe not the best romances, but something. They had friends to talk to, online communities who understood them… while Arianna wouldn’t dismiss Kaylinn’s enthusiasm to know what was going on in her sister’s life, this wasn’t the same. Kaylinn was straight. There was drama no matter who she dated, as was the nature of having a mother who cared way too much, but at least she was dating a man. Any man. If Pearl knew the truth about her oldest, she’d assume that even the worst man was better than the best woman for Arianna. As long as the status quo in society is maintained. Then there was what could happen to her job…
Kaylinn wouldn’t be let go for dating some guy. Arianna risked everything. Let alone a frequent flyer!
“I’m fine.” Arianna turned her phone screen off and turned the device over on the table, eliminating all temptation for them to look at it. “Some of this is so new for me, you know. I can’t even tell if I’m genuinely falling in love with her. Maybe I’m in over my head, you know? What happens in the next few months when the honeymoon phase is over and she doesn’t want to go out of her way to see me anymore? We’re exclusive. She’s confirmed it. This isn’t just a layover friends-with-benefits thing. We’re in a relationship. I… think.”
“One you can’t tell Mom about.”
Arianna shook her head.
“Do any of your girlfriend’s family know?”
“She doesn’t talk about them. I don’t think she has a lot of family. I only know about her ex-girlfriend. Ex-wife? I’m not sure. She calls the woman her ex.”
“Hopefully she has nice things to say. Even among women, you have to be careful how someone talks about their ex. Might say more about them!”
“She never says anything bad. Only that it didn’t work out and they broke up a few months before we met.”
“Huh. So you’re not even a rebound?”
“Guess not. She doesn’t talk about it. We’re always talking about me. Or whatever we’re doing.”
Kaylinn made such a face that Arianna worried her baby sister might choke. “I want to meet her. Next time she’s in Singapore, I wanna meet this Elle Sparrow for myself.”
That garnered a smile out of Arianna. “I bet that could be arranged. I’m not sure when she’ll have time when she’s next here, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll all have dinner, and I’ll tell you what I think of her!”
“A family member? Vetting my relationship?”
“I ain’t Mom!”
