“... And that’s why I wanted to start ice skating! Now, about my new routine, I was thinking...” Crystal smiled at her girlfriend, who was waving her hands around wildly, talking about her figure skating routine for her next competition.
“Woah, Aileen, Leen, babe, slow your roll. The competition you’re planning for right now isn’t for another six months. Hey, wait, watch out for that… Pole…” She trailed off as Aileen slammed face-first into the pole. As she rebounded from it, she exclaimed,
“I’m alive! Did it leave a mark?” Crystal ruffled Aileen’s hair, and inspected her face closely.
“Hm, yeah, it did, on your lips. Want me to kiss it better?” Aileen giggled, and slyly replied,
“Yeah, I think that it could help… Could you?” Crystal snorted, and then pulled Aileen in for a quick kiss.
“Hey, Crys, you’re strangely forward when you want to be. You know that, right, la cariña?” Crystal blushed, but quickly retorted.
“Hey, you rubbed off on me! Remember how forward you were when we started dating? Does ‘The Rink Incident’ ring a bell at all?” Aileen flushed quickly.
“Hey, that was an accident! I didn’t mean to run face-first into your face!” Crystal shook her head, and sighed.
“Hon. Babe. The light of my life. You’re, like, three inches taller than me. It would be pretty hard for your lips to just accidentally run into mine. You do realize how weird that sounds, right? Oh, hang on, conversation paused. We’re here!” The two stopped in front of a popular coffee shop, and argued for a few seconds over who got to hold the door for the other. Aileen won, but only because she fake-threatened to not give Crystal any kisses for a whole month.
“I hope that you rot in Hell for that one.” Aileen just grinned victoriously.
“Babe, we’re gay. We’ll already be rotting in Hell according to those idiots who hate our community. Aren't we both atheists anyways?” Crystal grumbled as she walked through the door, fake-complaining about how she wanted to do something nice for Aileen for once, and this is how she repays her.
Aileen walked in, and that’s when it happened. She tripped over something or another that was laying on the ground, and a sickening crack could be heard throughout the café. Everything from then was a blur to Aileen. She faintly remembered Crystal sprinting over to her and calling 911, and one of the baristas grabbing some ice for her ankle, which is what seemed to be the thing that had made the noise. She also faintly remembered Crystal helping haul her into the ambulance, holding Aileen all on her own. She wasn’t all that sure if that one was real.
Her first clear memory after that was just an image of Crystal sitting by her hospital bed. She wasn’t exactly sure how she got there.
“Hey… Crystal?” Crystal perked up, and rubbed her eyes sleepily. She stretched and yawned, loudly.
“Good morning, sunshine. Or, well, midnight, really. How’re you feeling? Want any water? Should I call in your dad? Your mom was here a few minutes ago, but she had to go help with a birth that had a few complications in another wing… Your aunts and grandma will be here in an hour or two. Your family back in Spain sends their love.” Aileen smiled.
“I mean, I’m okay… Water would be nice, and can you call him in? By the way, he told you, he’d prefer if you called him Marco. You’re basically family now, Crys.” Crystal smiled, and held her girlfriend’s hand.
“Just so you know, the aunts mean that we have to be on the down-low. Your dad said that he hated it too, but he knows what it would mean if they knew. Hey, we can always tell them when you aren’t reliant on them for money for lessons anymore. That’ll be soon, while you were knocked out, Sam told me that he got a publishing deal for the first, second, and third part of the story! He also promised to have them look into the fourth one and our little side story once he was done. He promised to share a good portion of the money with us since we helped him with the parts he didn’t remember, and gave him a good romance arc.” Aileen made a pouty face, and sighed.
“Side story? Crystal, it’s going to be pretty long. Listen, as soon as they leave, I want three goodnight kisses! Also, I, uh, want to know how bad my injury was, because I remember a cracking sound, and from then on I was a bit woozy. Did you really carry me to the ambulance on your own, or was I hallucinating? Because I did see a few talking chipmunks that were making fun of me, so I wanted to be sure.” Crystal blushed, and looked at her fidgeting hands.
“Uh, yeah, that was very real. Wait, chipmunks? Anyways, I’m just glad that I didn’t drop you or anything! Man, who knew that trying to carry you bridal-style every week would be useful one day...” Aileen stared at Crystal, incredulous. She then started speaking rapidly enough that Crystal couldn’t really understand.
“¡Esa es mi novia! ¡Soy tan afortunado!” Crystal coughed over in the corner, and Aileen looked at the door nervously. Her dad had entered the room, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“So, should I tell your lovely girlfriend what you said, mija?” Aileen blushed, and started shaking her head rapidly, too embarrassed to speak.
“Hey, Mister Juarez, how are you? Also, please tell me, seriously.” Aileen’s dad smiled gleefully.
“First of all, I told you, call me Marco! Second of all, she said something about how you were her girlfriend in shock, and how she’s very lucky to have you.” Crystal blushed, and Aileen blushed even harder.
“Dad! I told you not to tell her! Also, when are Aunts Emma and Grandma Bethie going to be here?” Crystal made a puzzled expression.
“Ok, you guys never explained why Leen calls them Aunts Emma. I just kind of want to know.” Aileen giggled, and motioned for her dad to tell Crystal.
“Ok, ok, I’ll tell her! Wow, my mija is so demanding, isn’t she? Either way, one of her aunts on her mother’s side is named Emily, and one is named Emmaline. Her mother is the only one that’s actually named Emma. Earlier in her life, she found it hard to separate Emily and Emmaline, so she just called them ‘Aunts Emma’, and it stuck.” A nasal voice rang out from the doorframe.
“No kidding, it stuck. You still call us that, our little daisy flower?” Aileen’s face drooped. The Emmas were her least favorite family members, right up there with her mother. Another, louder voice spoke up.
“So, honey, you a midwife like little Emmie yet or what?” Aileen groaned internally, and shook her head. A creakier voice could be heard from the hall.
“Hey, get out of the way, you two! Let me see my granddaughter! And will you stop calling your sister ‘Little Emmie’? She’s older than you by two years! I’d know, I birthed her, and I went through pure hell doing it! How are you, darling? I heard about the accident in the coffee shop! I also heard that your friend over here managed to carry you to the ambulance. I see that she’s still here.” Crystal nodded, while Aileen spoke up.
“Yeah, she is, Gran. It’s nice to see you again! Thanks for the sweater that you mailed me, I really love it. How’s Mom? I heard that she was here, but I was a bit… Unconscious, as you know. How bad is my injury, anyways? Nobody told me!” Crystal sighed, and looked to Aileen’s dad for help. He shook his head, and they seemed to have a debate with only their eyes. Crystal lost, and turned to Aileen, a miserable expression on her face.
“Leen… Your ankle broke. They said that it would heal quickly, because you live a really healthy lifestyle, but…” A sharp ringing in Aileen’s ears drowned out Crystal’s words. Tears welled up in her eyes. She faintly heard a sigh from Crystal, and her dad asking her aunts and grandma to leave for a while. She heard the door close behind her dad, and she felt Crystal take one of her hands.
“Hey, Leen? You back yet? I know it’s going to be hard, but you will be able to skate again. You just need to rebuild your strength. I’ll be here every day until you’re released. If you’re hurting, then don’t worry, they’re prescribing some pain medication for you. Plus, once you get out of here, they’re changing up your school schedule. I’m your official helper until you’re all healed up, meaning that you’re in all of my classes for the rest of the year. Is that okay with you?” Aileen nodded, and asked her quietly,
“Will I be okay in time for the competition? I want to know, just in case…” Crystal shook her head.
“They don’t know, hon. All I was told was that I’ll be helping you around and that your pain medication has some side effect that you should know about… What was it again? Maybe it was coughing… No, that’s not it… Depression, maybe? Wait! I know, it was dizzy spells! Sometimes you might get dizzy, and wobble a bit, ok?” Aileen nodded. She could manage that. What she couldn’t manage well was introducing herself. But she figured that she’d be fine.