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“So, I have good news,” Rose announced. Pearl looked at her girlfriend curiously- it was the first thing she had said since the waiter had delivered their meals almost half an hour ago. In truth, she had been wondering if Rose had been waiting to say something to her. Usually, visiting the Crab Shack- the site of their first date almost three years ago- fueled nearly endless conversations and nostalgic remarks. Tonight, however, Rose had been uncharacteristically quiet, and Pearl couldn’t help but feel a bit worried throughout the evening.
“Good news?” Well, that had to be somewhat relieving, right? That’s what Pearl told herself, anyway.
“Mm-hmm,” Rose replied, looking as though she was trying to suppress a smile.
“Alright.” Pearl pursed her lips, waiting for her girlfriend to respond.
“You remember how I sent in my manuscript to that publishing company a little while ago?” Rose said, a tiny star-like twinkle in her eyes.
Pearl gasped. “You heard back?”
Rose finally broke out into a grin then. “They want to publish it.”
“Oh, Rose!” Pearl suddenly clapped a hand to her mouth, remembering that they were in public. Rose giggled at the gesture, and Pearl lowered her hand back down then. “That’s wonderful,” she said, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. “Oh, Rose, I’m so happy for you.”
“Be happy for us,” Rose replied, grinning as she picked up her wine glass. “If the book sells well enough, we might finally get to take that trip to Europe.”
“Or we could replace those moldy tiles in our shower,” Pearl added.
Rose laughed again. “Always so practical, my sweet Pearl.” She raised her wine glass over the middle of the table. “We should make a toast.”
“We should,” Pearl enthusiastically agreed, picking up her glass as well. “To my beautiful, amazing girlfriend, who’s about to get her first book published.”
“And to my wonderful, sweet Pearl, who only wants the best for our bathroom,” Rose teased.
Pearl let out a light laugh. “What can I say, I like to keep tidy.” The women lightly clinked their wine glasses together then.
“That’s not all of it, however,” Rose continued after taking a sip and setting her glass back down.
“Oh?” Pearl peered at her girlfriend over the rim of her wine glass for a moment, intrigued, before setting it down so that she could better focus on what Rose was about to say.
“They mentioned that they actually want to meet me in person, up in their office in Empire City, to talk about it. Apparently, they don’t do that very often, but they said that I ‘intrigued’ them.”
“Really? Well, I daresay I would be intrigued by you, too,” Pearl said, blushing. “So, did they have a date in mind for when they want to meet you?”
“They do, actually. They want to meet me in four days.”
“The fourteenth?” At the realization, Pearl suddenly felt her heart sink a little.
“Yes.”
“Oh.” A silence settled over the table, and Pearl looked down at her plate, almost as if she were studying it.
“Well,” she said finally, awkwardly lacing her fingers together for a moment. “You... do know the fourteenth is Valentine’s Day, right?”
“I know. I’m so sorry, my Pearl,” Rose said, her face crumpling. “It was the only time they had available to meet me. But I promise, as soon as everything’s straightened out, I’ll take the first train home and make it up to you. I promise.”
Even with Rose’s assurance, Pearl didn’t feel much better. Empire City was several hours away by train; even if Rose finished her meeting earlier in the day, there was still a good chance that she would have to stay in the city overnight.
“Pearl?” Rose’s worried voice brought her back to reality, and she saw that her girlfriend’s eyes were full of concern.
“Sorry. I just- well, it’s a lot to take in.” She let out a shaky laugh. “So… you probably won’t be home until the fifteenth then, right?”
“Most likely.” Rose paused for a moment, and then said gently, “I really am sorry, Pearl.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Pearl said quickly, suddenly feeling a deep pang of guilt for making her feel bad. “I’ll be fine. We- we can have our own Valentine’s Day once you get back. I’ll even make your favorite pork-chops.”
“I do love your pork-chops.” Rose’s face softened a bit. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Of course,” Pearl said, trying her best to be reassuring, and she gently placed her hands over Rose’s on the table. “I was just… caught a little off-guard, that’s all. But Rose, I am so happy for you, and so, so proud.” This last part was entirely true, and Pearl could feel her throat thicken slightly.
Rose repositioned her hands so that she could give Pearl’s a reassuring squeeze in response. “Thank you, my Pearl.”
“Of course,” she replied, and she tried her best to push away the uneasy feeling that was beginning to form deep in the pit of her stomach.
***
Valentine’s Day morning, Pearl awoke from a particularly restless night’s sleep to find herself alone in bed. She sighed- she had known that this would be the case, and yet already, Rose’s absence had delivered a punch to the gut.
She didn’t ask for the meeting to be today. She didn’t want to leave you alone on Valentine’s Day. She’s only in Empire City today because she has to be. She’s doing this for us. You know that. She did know that- she knew that all of these things were true, and yet, although she kept telling herself this over and over again, Pearl didn’t feel any better.
Frustrated, she turned on her other side, only to notice a small pink envelope sitting on her nightstand. There was only one person whom that handwriting belonged to.
Grabbing the note, Pearl sat up in bed and, after leaning her body back against the headboard, carefully tore the envelope open, as if it were a precious artifact she didn’t want to damage. The paper inside was from Rose’s stationary- a creamy vanilla, with a small pink rose watermarked in the top right corner.
My Pearl,
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to say goodbye to you in person this morning, but I had an early train and I didn’t want to disrupt your sleep.
I should arrive in Empire City around twelve-thirty, and then my meeting starts at two-thirty. They didn’t give me a set end time- I suppose it will depend on how well it goes! I’ll update you when I can (although I don’t think I’ll be able to call/text you from my hotel until later tonight).
Once again, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to say goodbye to you this morning, but I promise I’ll be thinking of you all day- every single second. I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Love,
Your Rose
Pearl looked over the words again for a moment before gently cradling the card against her chest and closing her eyes. She sat there for what must have been ages, until finally, a slight rumble came from her stomach, bringing her back to reality.
Rose would want her to eat something. Pearl could practically hear her voice, sweetly suggesting that she grab at least a small bite to eat.
She gently placed Rose’s letter back in its envelope and placed the item on her girlfriend’s pillow before getting out of bed. She glanced over at her phone, which was plugged into the wall opposite her.
It was stupid, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself- she quickly went over to the wall and unplugged the device, hastily shoving in into the pocket of her nightgown, almost as if she were ashamed to have succumbed to the idea that maybe, just maybe, Rose would find a moment to contact her earlier than she expected.
Once she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, she began to throw together some sort of breakfast for herself, almost as if in a daze. Pearl had never cared much for breakfast anyway until she’d met Rose. Nearly every morning, the two of them had breakfast together. Deep down, she knew that part of the reason Rose did this was to make sure Pearl was eating enough, but she didn’t mind- she loved having breakfast with Rose. Rose could make even the dreariest breakfast seem wonderful.
Desperate for a distraction, she turned on the small TV that sat across from her on the counter, and was immediately greeted by an image of sobbing breakfast foods. She shuddered and quickly turned the TV back off- even for a children’s cartoon, “Crying Breakfast Friends” could be particularly grating. Pearl silently vowed that if she and Rose ever had children, she would do everything in her power to keep them from watching that show.
She spent the rest of her breakfast locked in a “battle of will,” so-to-speak; with every passing minute, the cell phone felt heavier in her pocket, and once or twice she reached her fingers into the pocket, only to jerk her hand back in shame when her fingers lightly brushed against the surface of the device. By the time she had finished her breakfast, the urge to check her phone had become nearly unbearable, and finally, with great guilt, she went back up to the bedroom and pulled the device out of her pocket, unlocking it with a single swipe, only to find that there were no messages waiting for her, just like she had known deep down.
Directionless, pathetic, clinging thing, she thought angrily, throwing the phone onto the bed. She had to find some other way to keep herself occupied.
The best way to keep herself distracted, she decided, was to do some housework. In all honestly, Pearl enjoyed doing chores; she found the structure of it all to be quite comforting. After quickly getting dressed, she went straight to work- vacuuming the hallways, folding the laundry, watering Rose’s garden in the backyard. The uneasy feeling that had been residing in the pit of her stomach since Rose’s announcement a few days ago still lingered, but it seemed to lessen slightly as she worked, and for that she was grateful.
By late afternoon, Pearl had done nearly every chore she could think of. Exhausted, she trudged back up to the bedroom, only to find the cell phone still lying on the bed from when she’d thrown it hours earlier.
Don’t. Determined not to cave in this time around, Pearl picked up the device and placed it on her bedside table. She then laid down, feeling a small but satisfying sense of pride with herself.
And then the phone rang.
It was stupid, she knew, but Pearl’s heart began to race all the same. She frantically grabbed the phone and accepted the call, placing the device up to her ear, only for her heart to sink when it wasn’t Rose’s voice she heard on the other end.
“Yo.”
Pearl groaned, disappointed. “What is it, Amethyst?”
“Nice to hear from you too,” her friend said sarcastically. “So hey, listen. Ruby and Sapphire told me that they’re planning on going to the club tonight- apparently, there’s a Valentine’s Day special on drinks or something- and they were wondering if you and I would want to come along. I mean, they know that I can never pass up some cheap drinks, and as for you, well, they said that you might as well have some fun on Valentine’s Day with Rose not being here.”
“I don’t know, Amethyst. I have a lot to do-”
“You mean that 1000-piece puzzle?”
“For your information, it’s 612 pieces, and it has no corners.”
Amethyst sighed on the other end of the phone. “C’mon, P. I know this whole ‘Rose not being here for Valentine’s Day’ thing sucks, but you should still get to have a little fun, right? Just hang out with us for a few hours. We can play a drinking game where we take a shot every time Ruby and Sapphire flirt.”
“I’m really not interested in getting alcohol poisoning,” Pearl said, although she couldn’t help but laugh a little at the comment.
“Is that a rare ‘Pearl laugh’ I just heard?” Amethyst exclaimed, feigning shock. “Yep, that settles it. You should definitely come with us.”
Pearl sighed. “Alright, I’ll consider it.”
“Awesome. We’ll pick you up at six. Oh, and wear something pink or red, apparently there’s a theme at the club tonight-”
“Wait, Amethyst, I said that I’d consider it-”
“Bye, P!” With that, her friend hung up, and Pearl groaned. She then looked down at her outfit for the day- fuzzy pajama pants and one of Rose’s old t-shirts.
Resigned, she got off the bed and walked over to the closet to find something pink to wear.
***
In truth, Pearl had never really been one for going to the club. The only times she ever went there were when Rose would insist on taking her, but that hadn’t happened for a while. While she had already felt strange all day without Rose at her side, being at the club without her only felt weirder. It had only been about half an hour, but already, she felt as if she were literally emitting waves of anxiety. She could only hope that her friends weren’t picking up on it. The four of them were currently sitting at the bar counter; Sapphire and Ruby were sitting next to each other, Ruby’s left hand holding Sapphire’s right one underneath the counter, while Amethyst was seated to Sapphire’s left. Pearl had been hastily placed on Amethyst’s left, as if she were a last-minute addition to their group- which, in all honesty, wasn’t too far from the truth.
She sat there silently, half-listening to the conversation the other three were having while slowly scratching away at last week’s manicure, watching with a sort of fascination as the tiny pink flakes fluttered to the floor.
“Hey, Earth to the wonder nerd,” Amethyst called, snapping her out of her state. “You are going to try to have some fun tonight, right?”
“I am having fun,” she protested, albeit weakly.
Amethyst just gave her a look as if to say, Yeah, sure you are.
“I am,” she insisted again, but this time around, she couldn’t even convince herself. She looked over at Ruby and Sapphire apologetically.
“I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have come out tonight.”
“What? No, no! Don’t apologize!” Ruby insisted quickly.
“It’s understandable that you’ve been quiet all night,” Sapphire added. “I mean, I know I wouldn’t be going out tonight if I didn’t have this one-” She gestured towards Ruby then, giving their still-joined hands a squeeze underneath the counter, “-with me.”
Her girlfriend laughed for a moment before turning her attention back to her friend. “Honestly though, Pearl, we’re all really glad you could join us tonight. We weren’t sure if you would come,” she laughed.
“I knew she would,” Sapphire chimed in.
Amethyst just rolled her eyes, while Ruby blushed furiously.
Pearl did her best to give them a small smile. She was sure that Ruby and Sapphire had had only the best intentions when inviting her along, but the truth of the matter was, the two of them never seemed to quite realize how their constant flirting made outsiders feel, especially when those outsiders didn’t have a date of their own.
“Hey, honey,” Ruby said, glancing over at Sapphire with a mischievous grin. “Did you also foresee that I would ask you to dance?”
Almost instantly, her girlfriend’s normally stoic expression broke, her mouth curving into a small but unmistakably warm smile.
“No, but I’d be delighted to.” Grinning, Ruby took her hand and led her over to the dance floor, Sapphire giggling all the while at the gesture.
“What dorks, amirite?” Amethyst commented before promptly taking a large gulp from her beer.
“Mm-hmm.” Already, Pearl’s mind was drifting again, her mind seemingly fixed on the cell phone that was sitting in her clutch.
“Awe, c’mon P, at least lighten up a little.”
Pearl looked up from her martini glass; she had been absentmindedly tracing her fingers around the rim.
“Hmm, I’m sorry, what?”
Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Okay, I see what I have to do here.” She made a sharp turn towards the bartender.
“Yo, Vidalia! Be a dear and hit me up with a vodka shot, won’t you?”
The barmaid turned around to face her and smirked. “Vodka this early in the evening, Amethyst?”
“Okay, first of all, it’s never too early for vodka, and second of all, it’s not for me, it’s for a friend,” Amethyst replied, gesturing to Pearl.
“What? Oh, no,” Pearl started.
“Oh, yes,” Amethyst quickly responded, taking the filled shot glass that Vidalia was holding out towards her. “Thanks, doll.”
“Don’t mention it. Think of it as a little Valentine’s gift, if you know what I mean,” she said, winking at Amethyst.
“Oh, no, I’ll pay for it. I insist-” Pearl said, opening up her clutch.
“Nope!” Amethyst quickly grabbed the small bag from her. “Not necessary.”
“Amethyst, give me back my clutch!”
“Why? You’re only going to keep opening it to try to check your damn phone-”
“Amethyst!”
“I’ll give it back to you if you drink this,” Amethyst replied, nodding her head towards the shot glass.
Pearl sat there for a moment, silently fuming, before letting out an exasperated sigh.
“Fine.” She took a deep breath, then quickly grabbed the glass and took a shot in one fluid motion before uncharacteristically slamming it back down onto the bar counter.
“May I please have my purse now?” She asked, irritated.
Amethyst let out a low whistle. “Whew, Pearl, I didn’t know you had it in you. Congrats, here’s your prize pouch,” she added, lightly tossing it at her.
“Amethyst!”
“What?”
“You really shouldn’t just throw things like that!”
Amethyst just rolled her eyes. “Uh, chill it, dude.”
“Excuse me? I am not going to ‘chill it’-”
“Yo, V, clearly we need another shot over here. That one didn’t work.”
“Okay, just don’t run the place dry,” Vidalia remarked, grabbing a new shot glass to fill. “I’ve got a kid to support, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, I know. Hey, how is the little squirt anyway?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” the bartender grinned. “Lately, he’s been thinking he’s ‘too cool’ to eat his vegetables.” She handed the shot glass over to Pearl. “Here you go.”
Pearl sighed for a moment before deciding to take it from her. After all, did she really have anything better to do anyway?
“Don’t worry, V. There will come a day where he’ll learn to accept all food,” Amethyst said, grinning. “That was certainly the best day of my life, anyway.”
Pearl squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to ignore all the noise and chatter around her, before downing the second shot. Anything that kept her from thinking about the cell phone nestled inside her clutch was surely a good thing, right?
“Like, the other day, I just ate an entire pound of broccoli, no joke. I just saw it sitting in my fridge and I was like, ‘Hey, don’t want that to go bad,’ and then before you know it, I was shoving it down my-”
“Amethyst,” Pearl interrupted, tapping her friend’s shoulder.
“Mmm? What?”
“I want another one.”
Amethyst burst into a wicked grin then. “Aw yeah, about time you came around.” She turned back towards the bartender. “Yo, Vidalia, hit her up!”
***
Pearl wasn’t sure what time it was, or how many drinks she’d had, or if Ruby and Sapphire were still shamelessly flirting on the dance floor (which, in all honesty, they probably were). However, for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t feeling too bothered about this lack of control and order in her life. Rather, it was almost nice, in a way. Rose’s absence was still lingering in the back of her mind, of course, but its impact had softened, almost to the point that Pearl was beginning to feel like maybe she could have a nice night after all.
“Hey, Amethyst. Amethyst,” she repeated, tugging on her friend’s sleeve. “Amethyst, Amethyst.”
“Yeah, P?”
“Did you know you’re my best friend?”
“Yeah, you told me, like, five minutes ago.”
“But do you know?” Pearl whispered.
“Yeah, P, I’m pretty sure I know.”
“Know what?”
“What?”
Pearl let out an uncharacteristic snort.
“Oh my God, did you just let out a snort? I didn’t know you were physically capable of that,” Amethyst remarked, sounding almost impressed.
“I’m capable of… of lots of things,” Pearl slurred.
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm,” Pearl nodded solemnly.
“Okay then.” Amethyst decided to change the subject then. As much fun as it would be to see Pearl’s drunk shenanigans, she knew it would probably be best to let her rest for a bit. “So, how about we take a little break from the bar? We could go over towards the tables in the back and just sit down for a while-”
“No, here.”
“C’mon, Pearl-”
“Here.”
“I know you wanna stay here, but I really think we should-”
“Uh, you’re not the president of this bar. I can do whatever I want,” Pearl argued back. Without warning, she suddenly picked up one of the empty shot glasses in front of her and slammed it back down onto the counter for dramatic effect. “Viva la revolution!”
“Jesus, you really are hammered, aren’t you?”
“I am not a hammer!” Pearl shot back defensively. “I am… a spear…”
“What?”
“Waitress lady,” Pearl called, shifting her attention to the counter.
“Dude, Vidalia’s shift ended like half an hour ago.”
“No it didn’t.”
“Yes it did.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Noooooo-”
“Okay, come on, we’re going.” Amethyst stood up and grabbed Pearl’s arm, trying to get her off the stool.
“No! I have to stay here!”
“Pearl, we have to get you home. Rose is going to wonder where you are when she gets home tomorrow.”
“Rose is never coming home!” Pearl cried back. “Never, never!” Her eyes began to well up with tears. “She’s… she’s a million billion miles away, and… and they aren’t gonna let her come home to me.”
“‘They’? Dude, who are you talking about?”
“You know.” Pearl leaned in close, trying, rather unsuccessfully, to whisper into her friend’s ear. “Them. The sneeple. They’re watching us. Always watching…”
“Pearl, what the hell are sneeple-”
“Shh! You must not speak their name!” Pearl practically yelled in her ear.
“Ah,” Amethyst muttered, her ears ringing. “Okay, well, that’s great. Come on now, P, we seriously have to go.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Pearl whined.
“Well, you gotta.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because, um…” Suddenly, Amethyst caught a glimpse of Pearl’s clutch and got an idea.
“Because we… have to save Rose from the sneeple!”
“What?”
“Yeah! We gotta, um, rescue her! Come on now,” Amethyst said, pulling Pearl off the bar stool, successfully this time.
“O-Okay!”
“Come on, I think they went this way,” Amethyst said, beginning to lead her friend away from the bar.
Smart thinking there, Ame, she thought, pleased with herself. Now, I just gotta lead her to the car, and then I can drive her home-
Suddenly, her thoughts were disrupted by a sharp yank on her arm- Pearl had successfully pulled away from her. Instantly, the young woman began running towards the door.
“I’m coming for you, Rose!” Pearl yelled, almost knocking into people’s tables as she ran past them.
“Pearl!” Amethyst sprinted after her friend. “Pearl, get back here!”
“Get away from me, you snerson!”
“Pearl!”
She ran outside of the club, only to find that Pearl was already sprinting across the street.
Towards the direction of the train station.
“Oh, no. No, no, no…” Amethyst groaned. She continued to run. “Pearl, stop!”
Pearl ignored her, too determined to fulfill her quest.
“Pearl!” Amethyst couldn’t remember the last time she had run so fast. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t fast enough. Pearl slipped through the front doors of the station.
“Ugh! I should have never made her drink that shot,” Amethyst groaned as she entered the final stretch towards the station.
She burst through the door, and immediately scanned the room. No Pearl.
“Pearl!” She yelled towards the crowd, desperate to find her friend before something bad happened. “Pearl, where are you?”
“Yo, lady, shut up!” Someone from the crowd shouted.
“You shut up, man!” Amethyst shot back, frustrated. “Pearl!” Still no response.
“Aw, man. This is bad,” she muttered. Quickly, she made her way over to the ticket counter.
“Excuse me, sir, have you seen a thin, blond woman? Blue eyes, about this tall, and completely wasted? Sir?” Suddenly, she realized that the man behind the counter wasn’t even facing her. Rather, he had his back to her, as if he were playing on his cell phone. “Yo, dude!”
“What?” At the sound of the man’s voice, Amethyst froze.
“Oh my God. Marty, you work here?” She exclaimed. Already, she could feel herself becoming annoyed.
Marty turned around and, upon recognizing her, sneered. “Yeah, so? What, did Vidalia send you to check up on me or something?”
“What? Ew, no, you wish. Listen, dude, I need your help. My friend just ran in here, drunk out of her mind, and I don’t know where she went.”
“That drunk chick? Oh, yeah, I saw her. Looks like you’re a little late, Amethyst,” he smirked. “Her train’s about to leave.”
“What?! You let an obviously intoxicated woman buy a train ticket? Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
He let out a low whistle. “Hon, if you think that selling train tickets is my passion, you’d better think again.”
“Ugh, whatever, I don’t have time for this! Just get me a ticket on that train.” Hastily, Amethyst fished her wallet out of her purse and slammed it onto the counter.
Marty’s eyes opened wide. “Desperate, huh?”
“Just do it!”
“Jeez, jeez, alright, fine,” he muttered. Amethyst handed him her credit card, and, after typing something into his computer, Marty swiped the card and handed it back to her.
Amethyst quickly shoved the card back into her wallet and stuffed the whole ensemble into her purse before running off.
***
It wasn’t hard to find Pearl once getting on the train- nearly the instance she boarded, Amethyst could hear her friend calling for Rose repeatedly.
“Oh my God, Pearl!” She said, quickly making her way over to her friend. She grabbed Pearl’s arm and pulled her closer to her, determined not to let her run off again. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I have to save Rose from the sneeple!”
“No you don’t, you need to calm down. Come on.” Keeping a tight grip on Pearl’s hand, Amethyst led her over to a set of empty seats. After a few minutes, she was successfully able to get Pearl to sit in the window seat, and she quickly sat down in the seat next to her in order to keep her from going anywhere.
“When are we gonna rescue Rose?”
“The train ride to Empire City takes hours, Pearl.”
Pearl began to cry. “This was a dumb plan. Amethyst, your plan is just… just stupid.”
“P, bud, you gotta calm down. Come on now.” Amethyst placed a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “There’s no need to cry, okay? We’re gonna see Rose soon. In fact, we should be getting there around…” Her heart sank as she did the math. “… five in the morning.”
“Is that soon?”
“Sure,” Amethyst muttered. “Hey, Pearl, why don’t you try to get some sleep, okay? Can you do that for me?”
“I don’t wanna sleep. I want Rose,” Pearl whimpered.
“I know you do.”
“No, I mean I want Rose,” she repeated. “I… I didn’t get to see her all day… and… and it’s Valentine’s Day, and…” She let out some sort of combination of a hiccup and a sob then. “I just.... I want my Rose back.”
“Aw, jeez, P,” Amethyst sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. Just… just try to sleep it off, okay? I promise Rose will be there when you wake up.”
“No she won’t. She wasn’t there when I woke up this morning.”
“Yeah, well, she’ll be there this time.”
“How do you know that?”
“Just trust me.”
Pearl was quiet for a minute.
“Do you promise?”
“What?”
“Do you promise she’ll be there when I wake up?”
“Yeah, Pearl, I promise. She’ll be there.”
Pearl bit her lip for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Amethyst watched as Pearl leaned her head back against the seat.
“Amethyst?”
“Yeah, P?”
“You’re my… you’re my best friend,” Pearl muttered, and with that, she closed her eyes.
Amethyst just watched her for a second before chuckling lightly to herself.
“I know, P. I know.”
***
Pearl hadn’t remembered her bed being so comfortable before.
It wasn’t as though her bed wasn’t this comfortable normally- after all, Rose had sprung for a nice mattress a year or two ago- but something was off. Her feeling of bliss quickly turned into one of anxiety, and she suddenly bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide open, only to be met with a throbbing headache.
“Oh!” She quickly squeezed her eyes back shut and collapsed back onto the pillow, applying pressure to her forehead with her fists. She let out a soft groan, confused as ever. “What’s going on?”
Suddenly, she could hear a soft laugh coming from nearby. That voice… it was so familiar, yet Pearl couldn’t quite place it.
“Are you alright, my sweet Pearl?”
My sweet Pearl…
Rose. Rose.
Pearl’s eyes flew open to see her girlfriend sitting next to her on the bed, looking down at her with a caring expression.
“Rose!” Without hesitation, Pearl threw herself into her arms. Rose laughed, while Pearl clung to her, taking in the sweet scent of her perfume and the feeling of her curls brushing softly against her skin.
“I’m glad to see you too, my Pearl.”
Pearl pulled away then and looked up at her.
“Where- where are we?”
Rose smiled and simply gestured towards the window.
“The city’s beautiful in the morning, isn’t it?”
Pearl let out a low gasp as everything began flooding back to her.
“Oh God… oh God,” she said again, and she covered her face in embarrassment.
“Oh sweetheart, please, don’t be embarrassed. It’s okay-”
“No, no, no,” Pearl moaned.
“Pearl. Pearl,” Rose repeated. “Honey, please look at me. It’s okay, I promise.” Gently, she grabbed Pearl’s hands and pried them away from her face, only to reveal that Pearl had begun to cry.
“I did something terrible,” she sobbed.
“Shh, come here,” Rose said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. “Everything’s okay, you did nothing wrong.”
“Nothing wrong? Rose, I got drunk out of my mind last night,” she wailed. “I made a complete fool of myself! I made Amethyst chase me onto a train-” Suddenly she paused and let out a gasp. “Oh, God. Amethyst-”
“My Pearl, relax. Amethyst is fine.” Gently, Rose tucked a lock of peach-colored hair behind her girlfriend’s ear. “She explained everything to me early this morning. Afterwards, I gave her some money for the train ride home. She left a few hours ago.”
“She did?” Pearl asked shakily, letting out a sniff.
“Yes, she did. My Pearl, I promise you, everything’s okay now.” Rose kept her arms wrapped around Pearl and lightly rocked the two of them side to side, a calm, serene silence filling the room.
After a few minutes, Pearl, calmer now, yawned and leaned her head back against Rose’s shoulder, her face tilted upwards so that her eyes met Rose’s.
“I must look so silly right now,” she murmured.
Rose laughed. “Silly? No, never. In fact, I think you look kind of cute.” Teasingly, she planted a soft kiss onto her girlfriend’s forehead.
Pearl sighed. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Her girlfriend laughed once more.
“May I show you something?”
“Okay.” Pearl sat up, allowing Rose to get up off the bed.
“Oh! You have to close your eyes though.”
“Alright.”
Rose scurried over to the hotel room’s desk, shuffling its contents for a few seconds before finding what she wanted. Grinning, she sauntered back over to the bed.
“Open your eyes,” she announced in a sing-song voice.
Pearl did, to find that Rose was holding a thick, brown package in front of her. Her eyes widened.
“Is that-”
“Go on, open it!” Rose encouraged her. Pearl took the book from her girlfriend’s hands and did so, gently ripping off the packaging to reveal a hard copy of Rose’s book.
“Oh, Rose, it’s beautiful,” Pearl breathed, tracing a finger across the front jacket.
Rose was beaming now. “Open it up.”
Intrigued, Pearl opened the book and flipped through the first few pages, suddenly stopping when she saw her name on one of them.
The dedication page.
To my Pearl- my inspiration, my biggest motivator, and my beautiful fiancée.
“What? Rose, we’re not-” Pearl looked up from the book then to find that Rose had gotten down on one knee besides the bed.
There was a small black box in her hand.
Pearl let out a gasp. She tried to say something in response, anything, but no words came out- there was only a stunned silence.
“Pearl,” Rose began, “Ever since I met you, you have been there for me. You’ve been by my side since the very beginning. Every day, you remind me why certain things are worth fighting for. Being with you has taught me how to see the beauty in everything, even in the most seemingly ordinary things. Pearl, I’ve never met anyone like you. You are more strong, caring, and selfless than anyone I know. You inspire me. You are the one who gave me the encouragement and the opportunities that I needed to get my first book published. You are the one who’s shown me what it’s truly like to love someone both completely and selflessly. And, most importantly, you are the person who has made me want to be the best version of myself. I know I can never repay you for any of that, but I do know something I can do, and that is to let you know just how much you mean to me and how your impact on my life hasn’t gone unappreciated. Pearl, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, my dear,” she said, opening the box then to reveal a glittering rose-gold ring, “will you be my Pearl forever?”
Pearl could only stare at the box for a moment, her mouth hung open wide. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she barely noticed them.
“Oh, Rose,” she was finally able to utter. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes!” Her voice renewed, she began to laugh excitedly. “Yes, yes! Yes!”
Rose laughed, her eyes wet with tears of joy as well, and she stood up and took Pearl’s hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. Pearl let out an ecstatic screech and threw her arms around her fiancée once the ring was on her finger, embracing her as tightly as she could.
“I love you,” she giggled, nuzzling her face into Rose’s curls.
“I love you too, my sweet Pearl.” Rose pulled away so that she could see her fiancée’s face clearly, then gently cupped her face in her hands and placed her lips against hers.
Pearl closed her eyes, completely taking in the feeling of Rose’s soft lips pressed against her own. What she was feeling now was indescribable, and she knew that no matter how she hard she tried, she would never be able to sum up in words this feeling that filled her heart at this moment.
When the kiss finally ended and they pulled away from one another, Pearl saw that Rose was smiling harder than she ever had in her life. Pearl began to giggle hysterically, and Rose looked at her with a mix of adoration and curiosity. Pearl’s giggles quickly developed into light laughs, and then into full-on laughter.
“You realize, when we tell people the story of how we got engaged, people are going to find out I was getting over a hangover at the time?” She laughed.
Rose, not expecting such a question, snorted and began to laugh alongside her fiancée.
“Hungover or not, I couldn’t be prouder to have you as my future wife.” And with that, Rose leaned in and gave Pearl another one of the many kisses that were to come.