Love Happens Here

by Clare Lydon

  “It’s just so wonderful you’re back,” Sylvia added.

  Caitlin was transfixed. She couldn’t look at Dot and she couldn’t look away.

  “Seeing you both together, you just fit so well, too.” Sylvia had a far off look in her eye, before she put a hand on Terry’s knee. “You remind me of us, way back when. We were married by the time we’d hit our one-year anniversary, because that was the done thing back then. But we worked well together, just like you two.”

  When Caitlin did eventually look her way, Dot was shoving Battenburg into her mouth and staring straight ahead. After some flower chat, she stood up, brushing herself down.

  “We better get going. Plus, you look a bit cold, Sylvia. Time to get you back inside.”

  Sylvia waved a hand, pulling her coat tighter. “I don’t worry about that. It’s just lovely having some company.” She paused. “But we understand, you want to go home and be together. This whole pandemic is terrible, but it’s really brought home what matters most, hasn’t it? People, and especially the people you love.”

  Dot nodded, still not looking directly at Caitlin as she took their plates and mugs into the kitchen.

  They said their goodbyes and left.

  They walked towards the flat along the main road, more people on the street than Caitlin had seen in a while. Socially distanced queues outside the post office and the Co-op stretched along the pavement, and a woman on crutches hobbled in front of them, slowing them down. Caitlin didn’t mind. That was the pace of life now.

  Caitlin glanced at Dot, warmth flowing through her veins. After what Sylvia had said, and what Caitlin had told Dot last week, was there still a chance? She hadn’t pushed it, knowing Dot had to get there in her own sweet time.

  The vibe she was getting from Dot right now was distinctly prickly. Like the roses she’d nurtured so beautifully in Sylvia and Terry’s garden.

  They were two minutes from home when they drew up alongside Best Burgers, their favourite burger joint. Dot still wasn’t meeting her eye.

  “Shall we get a takeaway from here?” Dot studied the menu in the window like her life depended on it.

  Caitlin nodded, getting out her wallet. She gave Dot her card, insisting she pay. “Order my usual. I’ll nip to the corner shop and get some wine.”

  Caitlin chose a bottle of Spanish red she knew they liked. On a whim she picked up a bunch of yellow long-stemmed roses, too. Once you’d smelled the flowers, you couldn’t stop. She wanted to let Dot know she saw her now. She saw her life. She saw what was important. Would a bunch of roses communicate that enough?

  Caitlin had no idea. But she had to start somewhere.

  Chapter 10

  Back at the flat, Dot’s insides were in knots. She hadn’t expected Sylvia to say what she had earlier. She fiddled with Spotify on her phone, selecting a familiar playlist. One they’d put together two years ago in happier times. Was Dot happy now? There were flickers of something on the horizon. Janelle Monáe began to sing from their Bluetooth speaker.

  Caitlin smiled. “I love this one.”

  “I know,” Dot said, the intensity of Caitlin’s stare stripping her bare. Janelle Monáe had been a feature of their early dating life. They’d danced to her. Fucked to her. Was Caitlin thinking about those times, too?

  “How are you feeling?” Dot shifted her internal dialogue. “I remember the first time I did some gardening, I was aching in places I didn’t know existed.”

  Outside, the sun had set. It’d rained after they got home, and a waft of wet tarmac seeped through the kitchen window. It was one of Dot’s favourite smells, because it happened when the temperature had reached a peak and needed to be cooled. It signalled a reset. Perhaps mirroring what was happening inside this flat, too. They were at a tipping point.

  Caitlin licked burger juice from her fingers.

  Dot did her best not to stare.

  “I’m the happiest I’ve been in ages. Fresh air, Battenburg, wine and now a burger. Who knew lockdown could be so freeing?” Caitlin finished her mouthful of food, before lassoing Dot with her gaze. “I enjoyed today. Working with you. Being in the community. These past few days, working out my future. It’s like I’ve been given time away from my real life to stop and truly evaluate what I want. When does that ever happen?”

  “Never.”

  “Exactly. I’m looking on it as a positive rather than a negative.”

  Dot knew what Caitlin meant. Like it or not, the pandemic had been a pause button on their lives. Part of her didn’t want it to unpause. “I’d even say, once I got over the shock of seeing you and slamming the door in your face, it’s been nice having company.” She held Caitlin’s stare. “Having you as company. The real you. Not the version who was here those last nine months.”

  Caitlin shivered. “I’m glad to be back. Being here with you has made me remember why we worked.” She paused for added emphasis. “Why we still do.”

  Dot’s stomach fizzed.

  “And before you say I had everything and I threw it away, I know.” Caitlin’s tone was weighed down. “I can self-sabotage with quite some style.” She put a finger to her chest. “I could write books on it. Stage a West End show.”

  “After lockdown,” Dot added.

  Caitlin gave her a grin. “Perhaps online. Zoom classes in the art of fucking up a perfectly good relationship with the chaos master.”

  She could say that again. Dot sat back. “I’d write that down if I were you. It could have legs.”

  “Nice to see you’re disagreeing with me.” Caitlin gave her a rueful grin. “But I know what I did. I stepped away from making us the top priority in my life. That was a mistake. But if you’ll let me, I’d love to try to make it up to you. Show you we could work again.”

  Dot ground her teeth together. Her head was battling her heart. “I don’t know.” She waved a hand in Caitlin’s direction. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it this week. You’re still you, still gorgeous.” She paused, her heart booming once more. “But what happens when the next job comes along?”

  Caitlin went to say something, then stopped.

  Maybe she was learning.

  Caitlin took a deep breath, then recomposed. “If it happens, we talk about it. We make a decision together. I won’t make the same mistake twice.” She gave Dot a look that melted her insides. “I’m not going to lie to you and say I didn’t want that job. I did. But I could have had it and you. They say you can’t have it all. Lockdown has taught me that I want it all.”

  Caitlin slid her hand across the table, palm upturned.

  Dot stared at it. Her breath caught in her chest. When she looked up, Caitlin’s gaze was on her, willing her to take it.

  A few more seconds passed before Dot slid her hand into Caitlin’s.

  Caitlin tightened her fingers around Dot’s, then squeezed.

  Dot closed her eyes, as the familiar honey-drip of emotion ran through her. Caitlin always had her in the palm of her hand. But she couldn’t be that person anymore. Dot was standing up for her love rights. Caitlin wasn’t going to run over her again.

  When she opened her eyes, Caitlin’s conker-brown gaze was on her. “I know I can’t expect everything to just click back into place. But this pandemic has given me room to think about what’s important in my life. The answer is you. It was always you. I just forgot for a while. When I was at Sasha’s, I missed the shape of you. The smell of you. You.” She gripped Dot’s hand tighter still. “And if that doesn’t convince you, Sylvia and Terry thought we were a great match.”

  That made Dot grin. “Yeah, but Sylvia also thinks Michael Bublé is the best singer ever.”

  “Isn’t he?”

  A smile of reconnection lit up Caitlin’s face, landing on Dot’s in seconds. Something caught in Dot’s chest.

  She wasn’t ready to give this up. Caitlin was still in her heart. Dot took a deep breath. “You talk a good game. I’m almost believing you.” She so wanted to believe her.


  “I know I have to show you how sorry I am. If you’ll let me, I will.”

  Dot sucked on the inside of her cheek, then gave Caitlin a slight nod. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  A firmer nod this time. “Show me.”

  The Bluetooth speaker pumped out an old Florence and the Machine track. They’d danced and kissed to it at a summer festival with not a care in the world.

  Dot’s gaze snagged Caitlin’s. “Remember this?”

  A slow nod. “Of course.” Caitlin’s sensual tone lounged on her lips.

  Dot’s chest tightened. Her eyes could go nowhere else but there.

  In response, Caitlin stood and held out a hand.

  Dot’s eyebrows knitted together. “You want me to dance with you? In the kitchen?”

  Caitlin nodded. “Yep. I do.”

  A few seconds went by before Dot got up, putting a hand into Caitlin’s once again. Caitlin pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her waist. Dot’s pulse swayed to the rhythm. Her head was telling her to slow down. However, her heart was soaring high in the sky, waving her to follow. “Look at the weather!” it was saying. “Blue skies all the way!”

  The chorus kicked in and Dot’s body pressed against Caitlin’s almost of its own volition. A hand stroked up and down her back. Dot’s pulse accelerated. Desire coated her bones. Her muscles tensed. When the next verse started, the music ramped up. At that moment, they both ground their hips together in time, then pulled back a little.

  Dot’s breath hitched in her throat.

  Caitlin licked her lips.

  Dot followed her wet tongue.

  Caitlin moved a hand under Dot’s black T-shirt, grazing her flat stomach, before cupping one of her breasts.

  Dot closed her eyes as a steady beat began between her legs, and the room wobbled.

  Tonight was already a foregone conclusion. She might have wanted to be strong, but she and Caitlin getting back together was written in the stars.

  A gentle kiss on her neck made Dot’s eyelids flutter open.

  Caitlin kissed her way upwards, until her lips were inches from Dot, her breath hot on her face. Caitlin eyed her, as if asking for permission.

  Dot’s eyes were two green lights.

  The second chorus kicked in just as their lips connected.

  Dot slid into the kiss as if the past few months had never happened. As if she’d known Caitlin was the one for her all along. Kissing Caitlin wasn’t just easy. It was who she was.

  She pulled Caitlin closer as she sank deeper, the temperature rising, her mind blissed. How had she survived the past few months without Caitlin’s lips?

  Caitlin pressed into her, urging them on.

  Dot gripped Caitlin’s waist harder, never wanting to let go.

  Moments later, the song ended, but it took a few seconds more for their lips to part.

  Dot flinched as if her whole world view had suddenly been altered. In a way, it had. She’d got used to not kissing Caitlin. Had resigned herself to never kissing her ever again. But now she’d broken the rules, she wanted to break them all. She wanted to kiss Caitlin all night long.

  The object of her affection eyed her with a hooded gaze, her stare lit.

  Dot’s chest heaved, every cell in her body singing.

  She wanted Caitlin, and Caitlin wanted her. Plus, their kiss had Dot at the edge of her rational thinking. It had her wondering what it would be like to carry this on. To slowly undress Caitlin. To run the pad of her thumb across her taut nipple. To taste her again. She wanted that now more than she ever had before.

  What had once been off-limits was now within reach.

  “Shall we take this to the bedroom?” Dot’s voice scratched the air as it emerged.

  Caitlin’s gaze dropped to her lips once more. “God, yes.”

  Dot brushed a hand over her arse, then grasped Caitlin’s hand and pulled her towards the door.

  Chapter 11

  When Dot woke up around eight hours later, she was alone. She rolled over and reached for her phone on the bedside table. 8am. Her first clients were expecting her in two hours. It was going to be a long day after the tiny amount of sleep she’d had last night. Five hours of epic make-up sex. Sex that spoke to every fibre of Dot’s being. Sex that had made her orgasm again and again.

  Dot had no regrets. Some future fears, yes. But no regrets. Life was too fleeting. If the pandemic had taught them anything, it was that. Caitlin was worth taking another chance on. If Dot could find her first.

  Dot got out of bed and shrugged on her jeans, then rummaged in her drawers for a fresh sweatshirt. She chose an orange one and pulled it over her head. She was just about to go in search of Caitlin when there was a banging on the front door. Dot took the stairs two at a time and reached it in seconds.

  When she swung it open, Caitlin was on the other side, in a scene reminiscent of two weeks earlier.

  This time though, Dot didn’t slam the door.

  “Where have you been?”

  Caitlin’s hair was pristine, and she was wearing denim dungarees. She was beyond cute. Dot leaned forward and kissed her lips before pulling her inside.

  “I went to get supplies so I can fill you up before you go to work.” Caitlin held up a Co-op bag, giving her a grin. “I thought you might have worked up an appetite after last night.”

  Dot’s stomach grumbled. “You’re not wrong.”

  Caitlin pulled out a Twix and gave it to Dot, pressing it to her chest with a kiss. “I got your fave. Never let it be said I don’t know how to woo a woman.”

  Dot closed the door, then followed her up the stairs and through to the kitchen. The scene of last night’s dancing and seduction. Florence and the Machine were always going to be significant to them now.

  Caitlin put the bag of food on the side and turned to Dot, pulling her into her arms. “Did you think I’d run off?”

  “It crossed my mind.”

  “We’re in a pandemic, it’s almost impossible.” Caitlin closed the gap between them and kissed Dot, slow and sure.

  All Dot’s doubts melted away. Caitlin’s kisses really were that good. After a few scorched moments, she stepped back.

  “Are you okay? I know how you like to overthink things. Not catastrophising about us already?”

  Dot shook her head. “Surprisingly not. But give it time. If I don’t overthink things, what else am I going to do?”

  “Give us a chance.”

  That made Dot laugh out loud. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at Caitlin. She’d missed this view.

  “I promise to give us a chance.”

  Caitlin’s liquid brown eyes held her. “That’s all I can ask.”

  * * *

  THE END

  World’s Greatest

  World’s Greatest

  Steph’s hurried gaze scanned the photos, her fingers turning the flimsy pages far quicker than her vision could cope with. It was always the same when the brochure dropped onto their thick doormat every month: impatience took over. Yes, all the information and more was available online, but there was something about looking at the photos in your hand.

  She jiggled her leg up and down as she took in the mugshots and brief bios, squinting as the morning sunshine hit their freshly stained wooden deck like a slice of lemon. The sweet scent of the nearby camellia bush drifted by on the breeze, and she pushed her Ray-Bans up her nose. Did she need sun cream so early in the morning? She decided she didn’t and hoped she wouldn’t regret it later, her T-shirt and cut-off jeans leaving her pale skin open to the elements.

  Karen had done a great job of their garden, and one of Steph’s greatest pleasures was to have her morning toast and coffee at their new round wooden table big enough for six, their white patio doors flung open behind her. It had rained overnight and the grass looked good enough to eat. The fresh, sweet smell of the dewy lawn in the morning never failed to make her smile.

  It reminded her of her mum, who’d spent many hours tending to her
plants throughout Steph’s childhood, while she sat cross-legged on the lawn beside her. When Steph glanced over at the box hedges along their whitewashed back wall, the same type her Mum had, she could still hear her mum asking her to bring some cool orange juice from the fridge. The memory of Mum’s voice made her taste liquorice, like always.

  She still missed her so much. Especially when she was looking at this brochure, when she knew that whoever she chose would never know just what a fantastic grandmother they could have had. Steph was so ready to become a mother herself, but the flipside was that her mother was now gone. Her stomach lurched, but she was determined not to be sad this morning. Because this morning could hold hope. If hope was about, Steph was going to cling on to it.

  She took a swig of coffee from her ‘World’s Greatest Wife!’ mug and winced. She’d made it too strong again, the tobacco-like aftertaste coating her mouth. Plus, she was pretty sure she hadn’t been the world’s greatest wife much lately, but it didn’t stop Karen telling her she was. Steph had won the wife lottery when she’d married Karen. Now they just needed to win the child lottery and their family would be complete.

  She turned her attention back to the brochure, the caffeine surging through her veins. That’s when she saw him. Matching porcelain skin, neat, clipped bright red hair, a blue T-shirt just like she was wearing, a shy smile on his lips. He was nearly six. She couldn’t fathom how someone so young could be so unwanted. It went against everything she knew. They could offer him something. Steph believed in kindness, believed there was good in the world around her, believed in better days. The glass was never half empty, it was always half full.

  Could he be the one? Steph’s heart thumped as she gripped the edges of the brochure, bringing it closer to her face. She clenched her teeth together in contemplation as she stared at the page: Darius. Could Darius be the one to make their dreams come true? He might be. ‘Happy Christmas, love Steph, Karen & Darius’. It sounded perfect.