Page 36 of Paradigm

“No, I don’t think we did on the count of Violet hating my guts.”

Eline laughed.

“I guess some things have changed. Violet tells me that you two are a couple now.”

“We are.” Stella smiled. “And Violet didn’t tell me that you’d be here.”

“I didn’t know. She and Arlowe were…”

“Hanging out,” Arlowe said quickly.

“Yeah, they had a bet thing going on,” Enya said, finally entering the conversation. “They were supposed to go for a drink, but they’re both even nerdier than me and ended up fixing something all night.”

“Fixing something?” Violet asked.

“Babe, it’s breakfast time. Can work wait until you’re at the office?” Stella asked and held out her hand for Violet to take.

“Right. Sure,” Violet agreed and took Stella’s hand, but then she looked back over her shoulder at Arlowe.

“Everything’s fine,” Arlowe whispered.

“Well, I’m making pancakes, so I should go do that,” Enya said.

The three of them left the office, which meant that Arlowe and Eline were finally alone again.

“Do you have to go?” she asked, wanting the answer to be no.

“If I eat fast enough, I should be okay to get to work on time.”

“You can shower here if you want; wear something of mine.”

“I’d still have to go home to get my computer, but thank you for the offer.”

“Technically, you could even wear something of yours, if you want. I do still have at least three of your shirts that you haven’t seen in a while.”

Eline chuckled and said, “Come on; let’s go. We need to help Violet cover up her secret. By the way, what are you cooking for me?”

“Enya’s making pancakes.”

“Yes, that’s what Enya is cooking. What are you cooking for me?” Eline asked with a smile.

Arlowe smiled back and asked, “Toast with Nutella?”

“Two slices, please,” Eline said, holding up her fingers.

“Well, I guess you did fix my messy hair.”

“For what it’s worth, I liked it when it was messy.”

Eline walked out of the office then, leaving her practically in a puddle. No woman had ever done this to her, made her feel like there was no one else in the world whom she was supposed to be with. And Eline had always managed to make her feel that way with the simplest of gestures, too – taking her hand when they would walk places, making sure that the world knew that she was hers; taking her to practically every café in Amsterdam in search of the best coffee, not giving up until Arlowe had admitted that she’d found it, and stopping their progress to kiss her in the rain or fix her messy hair. Any other woman could’ve done all of those things and more for her, but she didn’t think that she could feel the same for any of them.

“So, Eline, how are you liking it in town so far?” Violet asked. “Arlowe mentioned that you’ve been here for a couple of months.”

They’d all sat down at their kitchen table to have breakfast, and Arlowe had pulled in a folding chair from the garage and had taken it, letting Eline steal her own seat.

“I like it a lot so far,” Eline replied. “It’s different than Holland, and even different from when I lived here the first time.”

Arlowe caught her looking at her then, so she gave her a smile.