Season's Meetings

by Amy Dunne

  Catherine looked down and met Kimmy’s dark eyes. Her grey, furry face was rumpled from sleep, and she looked more dishevelled than usual. Catherine gave her an extra long fuss behind her ears and across her chest. She’d slept beside Catherine’s feet all evening, as if she’d also sensed her sadness. “Good night, girl. Sleep well.”

  After one last lick of Catherine’s hand, Kimmy toddled after Holly.

  Catherine stood and headed to the bathroom. She was tired but doubted sleep would come easily. After brushing her teeth, she carefully removed the earrings and returned them to the box, then changed into pyjamas. Kinky sex, no matter how enjoyable, was not on the cards tonight. She got into bed and watched as Holly disappeared into the bathroom. Alone with her thoughts, she tried to pinpoint exactly what was getting her down. She’d had a wonderful day and enjoyed it. Perhaps that was the problem? She’d built herself up for this day, and although it’d gone above and beyond her expectations, it was now over. Was it possible to mourn the passing of a day? Because that’s how it felt. She felt like she was grieving.

  Holly emerged wearing a pair of baby blue linen shorts and a pink strap top. She climbed into bed, switched the bedside light off, and gently took hold of one of Catherine’s hands. Although the room was dark, Catherine could make out Holly’s outline from the corner of her eye. Her perfume lingered in the air, the sound of her breathing was light, and the warmth from her body was radiating across the gap between them.

  Without speaking a word, Holly moved in closer until her body was pressed softly against Catherine’s side. She placed the gentlest of kisses on Catherine’s forehead and trailed them slowly down until she reached her mouth.

  Catherine was turned on but in a completely different way from the previous night. She needed to be touched, held close, and…loved? Before the thought could fully register, she kissed Holly back.

  This kiss was slow and tender. It invoked a torrent of emotion. As if sensing exactly what she needed, Holly wrapped her arms around Catherine, surrounding her with warmth, and drew her closer.

  For the first time in years, Catherine felt safe enough to be emotionally vulnerable. Last night had been about sizzling passion and sexual fulfilment. This situation was entirely different. There was no bravado as she opened herself up, laying bare her thoughts, emotions, dreams, and aspirations. Each caress provided more than physical pleasure; there was emotion and meaning behind them. Their fingertips told intimate truths, skin upon skin, creating its own memory. Breath mixing with breath through each gasping kiss and moan.

  Their connection deepened, tethering them together in body, mind, and soul. They shared an orgasm. It tore through Catherine’s body, leaving her trembling in its wake. Hot, salty tears spilled down her cheeks, and with a shaky breath, she succumbed to relief. Holly had taken all of her broken pieces and miraculously fitted them back together. Each kiss and touch mended her, and now she felt whole.

  Holly kissed the tears away and cuddled closer, providing the reassurance Catherine desperately craved. And there it was, as clear as day: the difference between having sex and making love. It had never been so startlingly clear.

  There could be no denying it now. Catherine had fallen in love with Holly. She sensed Holly felt the same. No words had been spoken, but they didn’t have to be.

  Was she ready to commit to more than just a festive fling? What did Holly expect from her? Things were happening too quickly. And how the hell was she going to tell Beth she’d betrayed her trust and broke her promise?

  Their situation had become a million times more complicated.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Boxing Day dawned gloriously sunny. After sharing a shower, getting ready, and eating breakfast, they headed out on a long walk with Kimmy. They intended to make the most of their last day. Neither Catherine nor Holly broached the subject of what had happened last night or what it meant in the great scheme of things. It hung over them all the same, but for the time being, ignorance was key. The need to touch was almost a compulsion, and it seemed they were always conjoined in some physical way, whether by holding hands, hugging, or brushing past each other.

  They wandered aimlessly and it didn’t take long for them to border on the outskirts of the village. They came to a closed fence that had a vast snowy field beyond it. A group of four boys climbed the fence and ran onto the field excitedly. They made their way to the farthest end and launched a snowball fight. Catherine and Holly watched with amusement.

  “We should head back,” Catherine said, gesturing to the dead end.

  “It’s such a beautiful day. It’d be a shame to go back already.” Holly squeezed Catherine’s arm and smiled brightly. “Let’s go explore.”

  “I don’t think we should trespass.” Catherine pointed to the weathered sign that read Private Property Keep Out, in faded red paint.

  “That sign looks ancient. It’s Boxing Day, and other than those boys, there’s no one else around. We’re only going to have a walk around. We’re not doing any harm. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “I don’t have one,” Catherine said honestly. “Rules are made for a reason.”

  “I thought rules were made to be broken?” Holly pointed to Kimmy. “Even Kimmy wants to go.” Kimmy was stood on her hind legs, with her front paws rested on the lower bars of the fence, as she looked out at the boys playing. Her tail wagged and little excited whimpers escaped.

  Catherine felt awkward. She didn’t want to come across as boring or dull, but the thought of trespassing went against her better judgment. “I just don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

  “What risk? Catherine, we’re talking about walking around a field, not doing a bank heist or a bungee jump. Don’t you ever just act on impulse? Go with the flow?”

  “Spontaneity isn’t one of my strengths.” Catherine looked away from Holly’s disapproving gaze. It reminded her of the look Paula used to give—the “you’re so boring and why am I even with you” look.

  A young girl, perhaps seven or eight, trotted up to the fence, gave a shy smile, and didn’t hesitate in climbing it. Once in the field, she made her way up to the boys. Although they weren’t close enough to hear the exchange, Catherine gathered the gist. The boys didn’t want the younger girl cramping their style. Her small shoulders slumped, the little girl turned back and made her way to the centre of the field. She bent down and scooped up a handful of snow.

  “Forget it,” Holly said. She turned away from the fence and gave a gentle tug to get Kimmy to heel. “Let’s head back.”

  “Wait,” Catherine said. She didn’t want to be a spoilsport and ruin Holly’s day. The children showed no sign of apprehension and the sign did look old. “We’ll do it, but only once and around. Then we head back. Okay?”

  With an exuberant laugh, Holly hugged Catherine. “Check you out, living life on the edge.” She pulled away and handed the lead to Catherine. In one fluid motion, she leapt up and over the fence. She held her hands out and Catherine passed Kimmy’s squirming body over.

  Looking around self-consciously, Catherine climbed the fence and struggled to get her leg over. Swearing, she landed painfully on the frozen ground. She took hold of Kimmy’s lead and they began walking around the perimeter, which was cordoned off with hedgerow. Catherine kept her eye on the young girl. She was trying to pat snow onto the snowball in her hand, but ended up dropping it. Next, she put half of the broken snowball onto the ground and started gathering snow around it.

  “Do you want to go see what she’s doing?” Holly asked, her expression all-knowing.

  “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. I was the youngest and my sisters never let me join in with anything.”

  They made their way up to the little girl and the strange-shaped mound of snow she was cultivating.

  “Hello,” Catherine said. She passed the dog lead to Holly.

  “Hello,” the little girl said, looking up. Her face was rosy and a tuft of black hair stuck out of one
side of her pink hood. She smiled when her eyes fell on Kimmy. “Is that your dog?”

  “We’re kind of looking after her for a little while,” Catherine said.

  “Like babysitting, but for a dog. What’s her name?” the girl asked. She burst into a fit of giggles as Kimmy showered her in kisses.

  “Kimmy. I’m Catherine and this is Holly.” Catherine pointed to herself and then to Holly.

  “I’m Lydia.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Lydia. What are you making?” Holly asked.

  “It’s supposed to be a snowman, but I’m not good at it. My mammy told Ben and Matty they had to help me, but they wanna throw snowballs instead.” Lydia sniffed and shot a sad look in the direction of the boys.

  “I can help you make one if you’d like?” Catherine asked, hoping Lydia might take her up on the offer.

  “Oh, aye. Please.” Lydia’s face brightened instantly.

  “How about making a snowwoman instead?” Holly suggested.

  Lydia thought about it for a few seconds and nodded vigorously.

  “Right, well first of all, we need to make a snowball.” Catherine squatted down. She glanced at Holly and saw she was watching her intently.

  Lydia presented the snowball.

  “Excellent. Now we need to make it tight,” Catherine said. She demonstrated how to compact the snow. After a minute or so Lydia handed the snowball back. “You’re a natural at this. Now this is the important bit. We have to roll the snowball on the ground.” Catherine rolled it along and Lydia followed enthusiastically at her side. The ball quickly grew bigger, and Catherine felt an ache settle in her lower back. She was too old for this. “Do you think you can take over for a while?”

  “Aye,” Lydia said, practically shoving Catherine out of the way.

  Catherine watched as Lydia took on the job of rolling the snowball. Her pink tongue popped out of the side of her mouth and her expression was of steely determination. Kimmy followed at Lydia’s side, giving the snowball an occasional wary sniff. As the snowball grew, Kimmy would pounce near it and then run away. A moment later, she’d go back.

  “Do you have any kids?” Lydia asked, wiping her nose on her sleeve. She started rolling the snowball again.

  “No,” Catherine said, not entirely sure if the question was directed at her or both of them.

  “Me neither,” Holly said.

  “Do you want kids?” Lydia asked, without looking up.

  “In the future, yes,” Catherine said, feeling uncomfortable with the topic.

  “What about you?” Lydia asked Holly.

  “I’ve never given it much thought, to be honest.” Holly blushed. “I’m not sure I’m really cut out for being a parent. I think maybe I’m better as an aunty.”

  Catherine felt her stomach drop. Holly was looking at her, so she tried to mask the barrage of emotions. Holly’s answer had been like a kick to the gut. She’d never considered asking Holly about whether she wanted children in the future. They’d only known each other for a few days, and the prospect of their newly formed relationship having a future remained uncertain. There wasn’t really a way to broach the subject without sounding like a blatant bunny boiler.

  “You’ve got to have a baby soon, or else you’ll be too old,” Lydia said to Catherine, her tone serious. “My mammy is too old now.”

  Catherine blanched.

  Holly touched Catherine’s arm. “Are you o—”

  “Should I roll for a bit?” Catherine asked weakly, flinching away from Holly’s hand. She felt nauseous.

  “Aye,” Lydia said, skipping to the side. She remained oblivious to the bombshell she’d dropped and the aftermath that would come.

  The snowball was now as big as a bowling ball, and Catherine rolled it along the ground, glad she didn’t have to face Holly. As her body worked hard physically, her mind raced at a million miles an hour. Holly didn’t want children. She reeled from the shock. She was in no doubt, if she found the right person, that she definitely wanted to raise a family. Lydia was right; her biological clock was running out. The sense of déjà vu that had hounded Catherine since she’d met Holly now made sense. Although a seemingly much nicer person overall, Holly was similar to Paula in many ways. How had she not made the connection before? Holly was artistic, career driven, fun, passionate, and spontaneous, and didn’t want children. Basically everything that Catherine wasn’t. She’d never considered that she might be attracted to a specific type of partner before, but the similarities were too obvious to ignore. She was attracted to her opposite. But the issues from her relationship with Paula were already manifesting themselves again with Holly. It didn’t bode well.

  The ball was nearly up to Catherine’s thigh in size and Holly insisted on taking over. Eventually, the ball was nearly too big and heavy to move.

  “That’s big enough for her body, now let’s start on her head,” Catherine said. They set to work on a new snowball.

  As Lydia was rolling it, Catherine felt a nudge. Holly nodded to the side and Catherine turned to see the four boys walking over to them. They approached a little shyly and gave awkward smiles.

  “Lydia, do you want us to help you make the snowman?” one of the boys asked.

  Lydia stood and a host of emotions flickered across her face. Catherine imagined it was tempting to tell the boys they weren’t allowed to join in, but her eagerness for them to actually play with her proved too strong to resist.

  “Aye, but it’s a snowwoman, not a snowman,” she said, her tone matter-of-fact.

  The boys grumbled but seemed to soon accept it. They began rolling the ball in turns and it quickly tripled in size.

  “Lydia, do you think that’s big enough?” Catherine asked. She hoped Lydia would agree. If it got much bigger there was no way they’d be able to lift it on top.

  Lydia brushed her gloved hands together and nodded. “Aye.”

  In the end, Catherine and Holly had to lift it together in order to get it on top.

  “That’s too big for a head,” one of the boys said.

  “Aye, she’ll look stupid,” another boy added.

  “Nay, it’s not. It’s her top half and now we do the head. Don’t we, Catherine?” Lydia asked a little desperately.

  “That’s right. But the head has to be a lot smaller.” Catherine had only ever used one ball for the body, but if it meant saving face for Lydia, then so be it.

  Fifteen minutes later, the snowwoman’s body and head were all assembled. The boys and Lydia searched around for things to decorate her with. She ended up with one short and stumpy branch arm, and another long and thin one. Her eyes were different coloured and shaped thanks to the different rocks. Her nose and mouth were made from sticks. Her eyebrows were bright green holly leaves. Apparently, she was happy to be bald, as none of them saw fit to find hair.

  “I think she’s great,” Catherine said, trying to ward off a chill and wishing she’d worn more layers.

  “Aye. Just one more thing,” Lydia said. She made two big snowballs.

  Confused, Catherine looked at Holly who shrugged. They watched as Lydia moulded the first snowball onto the snowwoman.

  Holly grasped what was happening a few seconds before Catherine. Her eyebrows shot up and she muffled a laugh. The boys began to giggle and blush.

  “Lydia, what exactly are those?” Catherine asked. The realisation dawned on her a moment later. She immediately regretted asking the question, as it was fairly obvious now.

  “Boobies,” Lydia said. “She can’t be a snowwoman without boobies.”

  “Oh,” Catherine said lamely. She tore her eyes away from the misshapen and wonky snow breasts and looked to Holly for some kind of guidance. Holly’s shoulders shook as she tried to unsuccessfully muffle her laughter.

  “Oh no!” One of the boys pointed up the field.

  They turned in unison and saw a figure of a man at the other end walking toward them.

  “Oh no, what?” Holly asked.

  “Th
at’s Farmer Kerry. He doesn’t like us on his land,” Lydia said. “Run!” She and the boys sped off in the opposite direction, running for the gate and the safety of the village.

  “I told you we shouldn’t have trespassed,” Catherine said, panicked. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain the topless snowwoman to this Farmer Kerry person. The way he was purposely marching toward them was a little daunting. “Now what?”

  “You heard the girl. We run,” Holly said with a grin.

  “Don’t be daft. We’re not childr—”

  “Suit yourself.” Holly ran off with Kimmy.

  Catherine glanced back. Farmer Kerry had started to jog. “Shit,” she said under her breath and bolted after Holly.

  *

  They returned to the cabin, and while Catherine dried Kimmy’s paws Holly brewed a fresh pot of coffee. She disappeared out of the room with her coat only to return a moment later holding a slip of paper.

  “What’s that?” Catherine asked, wobbling while stepping out of her wellies.

  “It’s a note from the garage. The car will be ready first thing tomorrow morning. There’s nothing stopping us from making it to Katie’s now. The weather forecast for tomorrow is great.”

  Catherine didn’t know what to say, and so sat at the table. Since Lydia had asked the question, the atmosphere had changed between them. Awkwardness filled the air.

  “Here you go,” Holly said. She handed over a steaming mug of coffee and sat in her usual chair.

  “Thanks.”

  They both blew steam and cradled their cups in silence. The ticking of the kitchen clock and Kimmy cleaning herself were the only sounds.

  “I think we probably need to talk.” Holly placed her cup down so she could hug herself.

  Catherine’s guts squirmed. This conversation had always been inevitable, but after thinking it through until her brain hurt, she still wasn’t sure of her thoughts and feelings.

  “I’ll start,” Holly said quietly. “I like you, Catherine. More than I’ve liked anyone in a long time. You’re sweet, thoughtful, and funny. You’re also sexy as hell and great in bed.”