Tipping Point

by Maisie Johansson

  “And I’m yours, baby,” Rhetta swore, her heart was so full that she felt like it could burst.

  A few moments passed before the officiant spoke again. She held up the rings and said, “Now that vows have been exchanged, Caroline and Rhetta will also exchange rings as a physical reminder of the promises that they have made. Rhetta, do you want to begin?”

  Rhetta nodded and took Caroline’s ring from the pillow, closing it in her fist until the cool metal warmed.

  “Caroline Sarabelle Williams, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity,” Rhetta said shakily as she took Caroline’s hand and slowly placed the ring on her finger. “With this ring, I make you my wife. I ask that you wear it to remind you that the love I have for you can never end, just like a ring has no start and no end.”

  “Rhetta Anna Morsten, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity,” Caroline repeated, trembling as she took Rhetta’s ring and placed it on her finger with a hand newly heavy with one of her own. “With this ring, I make you my wife. I ask that you wear it so that you will remember that like these rings, our souls are one and the same. One soul, that can never be parted. One love that can only grow and flourish as we live our lives together.”

  A moment of silence passed between them as they took in the magnitude of what they had just done.

  “Now that vows and rings have been exchanged, I, by the power vested in me by the state of Florida, declare that you are legally married.”

  Around them, the room burst into applause and the music began again. Rhetta didn’t waste a moment before she stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed her new wife with everything that she had.

  * * *

  They exited the room on a hail of rose petals. Rhetta was giggling and clinging to Caroline’s hand like she was afraid that Caroline might float away if she let go. That was how she felt. That none of it could be real because she’d just signed a register that has officially made her Caroline’s wife. And right after she was done, Caroline picked up the pen and became hers.

  The next couple of hours were a whirlwind. One moment she was plucking a petal from Caroline’s hair, then they were kissing on a beach as the sun set and camera bulbs flashed around them. Next they were set beside each other at the head table, listening to their loved ones give speeches and sipping at a shared glass of champagne as Sam’s montage of their airport meetings made tears stream down both of their faces. Finally, they had a moment alone, swaying to a slow, romantic beat; Rhetta held gently in Caroline’s arms, her heart full and content.

  “Hey, R. Guess what?” Caroline whispered in her ear, the tip of her nose brushing against Rhetta’s neck, making her shiver.

  Rhetta lifted her head and gave Caroline a gentle, dreamy smile. “What, baby?”

  “We’re married!” Caroline whispered conspiratorially.

  Rhetta’s eyes filled up with tears and she leaned up to share a slow, passionate kiss with her wife. She moaned softly when they pulled apart. Caroline leant down to kiss her nose before gazing at her quizzically when Rhetta took her arm and twisted it until she could see the face of her watch.

  “Ten o’clock. That’s a respectable time to slip off together, right?” she purred, sliding Caroline’s hands further down her waist so that she could feel the garter belt hiding beneath her dress. “I want to show you just how much I appreciate my gift.”

  A lusty smile rose to Caroline’s lips. “You going to give me a lap dance so that I can get a proper look?”

  “I think I could be persuaded,” Rhetta teased. “As long as you make sure to live up to your nickname, Stud.”

  “Oh, I’m planning on it,” Caroline said smoothly.

  * * *

  Rhetta fell onto her back, exhausted and happy. Her eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath. She heard Caroline pottering around the room for a moment before the bed beside her dipped and she was pulled into Caroline’s arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she curled into Caroline’s body, seeking her warmth even on the balmy Florida night.

  A yawn overtook her and reached up to rub her tired eyes. “What time is it, baby?”

  Caroline shifted beneath her as she twisted to reach her phone, her own yawn coming a moment after Rhetta’s. “Just gone midnight.”

  Rhetta smiled contentedly. “Today’s the day then.”

  Caroline moved again, this time shuffling down on her pillow until they were face to face, and Rhetta mewled in protest at being moved from her comfy cuddling position.

  “Are you sure about this, R? I just… need to make sure that you’re sure. You know that if you want to change your mind, you can. I won’t be offended or angry.” Deep lines appeared between Caroline’s brows as she said it and Rhetta reached over to smooth them away.

  “I know. And I’m sure. I’m ready. Are you?” It was a question that they had asked each other again and again over the last couple of months. For Rhetta, the decision had been made the moment that they knew for sure that Caroline was going to the Pride, but she knew that Caroline had struggled a little more. She didn’t like that a change in her circumstances had prompted Rhetta to make such a big decision. They had talked about it before it had happened, and Rhetta had assured her that they could make being apart work for a little while. It had eased Caroline’s guilt for finally going after what she wanted, instead of always putting Rhetta’s needs first. But then, only days later, Rhetta had changed her mind.

  “I’m completely ready,” Caroline promised. “I just wish that you didn’t have to give up-”

  “Hey,” Rhetta interrupted, running the backs of her fingers over Caroline’s clenched jaw. “I’m not giving up anything. I can’t live my whole life letting football dictate things. I have to live for me too. For us.”

  She smiled and pressed a kiss to Caroline’s swollen lips. “I just wish that we could do it tonight. It would be so romantic.”

  Caroline smiled and relaxed. “Me too.”

  At the exact same moment, both Caroline’s and Rhetta’s phones chimed on opposite nightstands. Rhetta – a woman who had never been good at ignoring her phone – rolled over to reach for hers.

  “A message from Sam – surprise, surprise. Oooh, it’s a photo!” she said eagerly, wiggling back into Caroline’s arms before opening it. An image of them on the beach popped up. Their foreheads were pressed together and they were looking into each other’s eyes with so much love and happiness. Behind them, the sun was setting and soft pink light peaked out from behind their barely parted lips. A second later, another photo appeared, this one with no space between them. It was the perfect moment. The moment right at the start of a kiss where you could still see the dreamy smile on Rhetta’s face as Caroline leant in to kiss her. It was the most beautiful photograph that Rhetta had ever seen and looking at it brought tears to Rhetta’s eyes for the millionth time that day.

  She turned in Caroline’s arms and recaptured the moment. She brought her right hand up to cup Caroline’s jaw and kissed her just as softly and lovingly as Caroline had kissed her in the photo.

  “I love you, Caroline Williams,” she breathed between their lips.

  “And I love you, Rhetta Williams.”

  * * *

  They were sat in the waiting room by the time that the clock struck 6am the next morning. Caroline had been twitching nervously ever since they had been rudely awoken by their alarm – placed on Caroline’s side to avoid the famous Morsten ‘sleep’ reflex – an hour earlier. Currently, she was tapping her knee with her fingers, the beat getting faster and faster until Rhetta snatched up the hand and pulled it into her lap.

  “Relax, baby,” she whispered. “You’re not the one about to be poked with a giant needle.”

  “Yeah, not this time,” Caroline grumbled.

  “No, not this time,” Rhetta agreed, thinking back guiltily to their three previous appointments.

  Unsurprisingly, at 6am they were the only two people in the waiting room. They had paid a premium for such an e
arly appointment so that they could be back at their hotel for breakfast at 8.30am, with none of their guests even knowing that they had been gone. So when a nurse walked into the room at 6.05am, both of their heads snapped up.

  “Mrs Rhetta Williams?”

  It was the first time that Rhetta had heard anyone but Caroline call her that and it made her heart do a somersault.

  “Yes,” she answered quickly, getting to her feet. “That’s me.”

  “Wonderful,” the nurse smiled. “Come on through.”

  Caroline looked up at her meekly as the nurse began to walk away, asking silently whether she was allowed to follow. Rhetta rolled her eyes affectionately and tugged at Caroline’s hand that was still cradled between both of hers.

  “Well I’m not getting pregnant without you,” Rhetta quipped as Caroline fumbled to her feet and they hurried to catch up with the nurse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Rhetta had never felt more awkward in her life than she did sat in a hospital gown on a reclining bed, waiting to get pregnant. She had tried to romanticise it in her head. They had moved heaven and earth to schedule the appointment for the morning after their wedding. All because Rhetta loved the thought of starting their marriage with a little life that Caroline had sparked and that she would nurture and protect. She just hadn’t imagined that it’s beginning would feel so clinical.

  “You okay?” Caroline asked in the silence, her voice high and pitchy. Rhetta could tell from just two words that she was afraid. She knew every nuance of Caroline’s voice, every single one of its moods and inflections. Right now she was afraid that Rhetta wanted to pull out.

  “I’m fine, Love,” she said as soothingly as she could. “I’m just a bit nervous, that’s all.”

  She reached over and took Caroline’s hand. “Come closer. I don’t like you all the way over there.”

  It seemed that Caroline could read her too, because a flash of worry came and went on her features before she complied, moving to stand by Rhetta’s side instead of by the window. “It’s okay to be nervous. It’s scary. You’re allowed to be scared, Als.”

  Rhetta blew out a frustrated breath. “You weren’t scared or nervous and what you had to go through was way worse than this.”

  When they first began the process of having a baby, neither of them had anticipated the toll that it would take on Caroline. Carrying Caroline’s child had been so important to Rhetta that she hadn’t stopped to think about the logistics. She’d had no idea that it would mean weeks and weeks of shots that and a procedure that made Rhetta feel faint just standing by Caroline’s side, holding her hand as it twitched with pain and discomfort. All Rhetta had to do was take hormones for a week, lie back for a few minutes and that would be it. She felt like she was cheating. She told Caroline as much.

  “Because the next 9 months will be so damn easy for you.” Caroline chuckled as she leaned down to kiss Rhetta’s forehead. “It was all worth it, Princess. Though, I might have to stop calling you that soon. We might have a new little princess.”

  The worry in Rhetta’s expression melted into a cautious smile. “We might, huh?”

  Caroline nodded and squeezed into the bed beside Rhetta, taking her in her arms. “Then you’ll be my Queen.”

  Rhetta smiled. “I can be your Princess for a little bit longer though, right? Until its… I don’t even know what to call it. Official?”

  “You can be my Princess for as long as you like, babe. Nothing will ever change that if you don’t want it to. And even if I don’t call you my princess, it doesn’t mean that I’ll treat you any less like one.”

  “Even when I can’t see my own feet?” Rhetta asked plaintively.

  “Maybe I can make sure that I’m extra attentive then, what do you think?” Caroline asked, running her fingers through Rhetta’s long, silky ponytail. “Lots of foot rubs. Waiting on you hand and foot. Running out to the store at 3am for whatever your latest craving will be.” Her voice dropped. “Not to mention worshipping every single glorious inch of my beautiful pregnant wife.”

  A blush coloured Rhetta’s cheeks. “Caro! What if they can hear us? Or see us?”

  Caroline chuckled. “You do know what people are usually doing right now?”

  Rhetta’s confused expression was absolutely adorable.

  “Well, it’s supposed to go easier and be more likely to take if you’ve just cum,” Caroline said softly, mindful of Rhetta’s shyness in public.

  Rhetta’s mouth fell open. “People actually do that!?”

  “People totally do it. But don’t worry, I know that you’re far too uptight for that.” Caroline anticipated the swat to her arm and she laughed as she moved out of Rhetta’s reach at the perfect moment.

  “I didn’t hear you complaining last night,” Rhetta said boldly. “In fact, I’m pretty sure all that you said was ‘fuck’ and ‘R’ over and over again.”

  It wasn’t quite true. Caroline had said other things. Things made Rhetta blush, even in the heat of the moment. But Rhetta was by no means uptight and Caroline knew it, especially if their wedding night was anything to go by.

  …

  Their attempt to escape to their room unnoticed was foiled when Rhetta realised that the keycard in her clutch was not the card for the honeymoon suite. Which meant that she had handed the right key in at reception that morning and the one in her hand was the key for the bridal suite. The bridal suite which was just a thin, thin wall away from her Mom’s room. Definitely not happening.

  “Noooooooooo,” Rhetta whined, banging her forehead lightly on the resolutely locked door. “I can’t believe that we have to go to reception and ask for the key to our room so we can have sex on our wedding night.”

  Caroline chuckled. “Come on, Princess. The faster we get to reception, the faster I can get you out of that dress.”

  Rhetta bit her lip and grabbed Caroline’s hand, tugging her down the hall almost at a jog. She was so single-mindedly focused on her goal that she careened right around the corner and into a couple making out heatedly against the wall.

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” Rhetta mumbled, taking a step back and only then seeing who they had interrupted. “Natalie!”

  Her mouth fell open as she realised that Natalie wasn’t the only half of the couple she knew. The other was her very quiet, very conservative and very, very straight – at least as far as she knew – cousin Charlotte. The last time Rhetta had seen her had been the party that Charlotte’s family had thrown for her college graduation just a few months before. Charlotte had been standing demurely by her college boyfriend – his arm possessively around her waist – as the two had made less than quiet comments about the inappropriateness of Sam and Caroline playing with Charlotte’s kid sister. Now that same judgemental cousin was pressed up against a wall with Natalie’s lip gloss all over her neck and the shoulder of her dress pushed so far down her arm that Rhetta had to avert her eyes before she saw something that she would never be able to un-see.

  “Oh God,” Charlotte gasped, turning her blushing face away from the newlyweds and pulling up her dress.

  Natalie smirked and shrugged her shoulders at her friends. “Sorry, Morsten.”

  She was clearly not sorry at all. Drunk Natalie rarely was.

  “You’re sharing a room with Janine right?” Caroline asked.

  Natalie nodded, her arm still around Charlotte’s waist. “And Lottie here is sharing with her little sister. Hence the hallway.”

  Rhetta kept her eyes fixed on Charlotte. She looked mortified. Which was exactly how Rhetta felt. She didn’t even move when Caroline plucked the bridal suite keycard from her grasp and held it out for Natalie to take.

  “Bridal suite,” she explained, her smirk matching Natalie’s. “Now get out of the hallway before anyone else catches you.”

  And then Caroline was pulling a horrified Rhetta away from the scene.

  “Oh my God,” Rhetta choked, her mortification giving way to horrified laughter once they were
out of earshot. “My Aunt May is going to kill me!”

  “Right?!” Caroline snorted. “She’s going to do her nut if she ever finds out. You’re such a bad influence!”

  “I’m a bad influence? Natalie was the one who was practically fucking her in her hallway!” They rounded the corner and Rhetta had to bite her tongue as two of Caroline’s little cousins ran past, trailing balloons behind them. “Besides, she’s probably about to have the night of her life.”

  It took half an hour to navigate their guests, grab the right keycard from reception and make their way back to the honeymoon suite. Including an incredibly awkward conversation with Aunt May about the whereabouts of her darling daughter. But eventually they made it back and Rhetta managed to get them into the room, a feat that wasn’t helped by the fact that Caroline’s lips were working on her neck the whole time she was trying to get the damn keycard to cooperate.

  As soon as they were inside, Rhetta found herself pressed up against the door.

  “So, does this mean that I finally get my lapdance?” Caroline said huskily.