“Holy crap!” Meredith exclaimed, “Is that monstrosity of ice cream epicness ours?” She nudged her girlfriend Holly in the ribs as the waiter set in front of them a bowl the size of a small bathtub. Inside the giant bowl were mounds of amaretto-flavored ice cream, a smattering of maraschino cherry halves and a few thick pieces of brownie, all under a generous blanket of chocolate shavings.
Holly’s green eyes shone as she contemplated the dessert in front of them. “You’re damn right it is. Heaven in a bowl. They call it New Bloom.”
The waiter said with a bemused smile, “It’s one of our most ordered sundaes since we put it on the menu. Can I get you anything else for now?”
“We’re good; thanks,” Meredith said. “But if we don’t come out of this alive, my parent’s cell numbers are in my phone.”
She pat her iPhone that rested on the table.
“Duly noted. “ He asked Holly, “I take it that’s your phone?”
The waiter nodded toward the Droid by Holly’s hand, which was slowly closing over a spoon like she didn’t want to spook the dessert before she attacked. The waiter’s latte brown eyes crinkled to match the wry grin spreading across his lips. He watched the petite blond girl move in for the kill on a sundae that was almost bigger than she was.
“Yes, that’s her phone,” Meredith explained. She laid a gentle hand on Holly’s arm. “And please forgive the mad gleam in her eyes. She takes her dessert very seriously.”
With a knowing chuckle, the waiter said, “That’s nothing. I had a couple in here last night who got into a spoon war over the final bit of brownie. So any last requests before you dive in?”
Meredith shook her head and smiled. “Nope. I don’t think there’s anything left to do but to jump right in.”
The waiter nodded and left the couple to their gigantic dessert.
“Problem is, Hol,” Meredith said, gazing at the tower of ice cream in awe, “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Oh, I do. Right here,” Holly replied, resolute, and skimmed her spoon swiftly across the side of the sundae closest to her, picking up ice cream, cherries, shavings, and part of a brownie all in one fell swoop.
“Holly, if you die from dessert, I will be very sad,” said Meredith, trying to keep a straight face while her girlfriend attempted to get the whole spoonful in her mouth. Holly managed, but only just. As soon as she did, her whole body sank back against the booth wall, the picture of utter bliss.
“Don’t worry about me, Merry. I know what I’m doing when it comes to dessert. You gotta try this.” Sitting up again, Holly scooped another, smaller spoonful of the sundae up and held it across the table.
A lascivious smile played on Meredith’s lips. She darted her tongue out to lick at the spoon in front of her mouth. Keeping her eyes on Holly, she arched an eyebrow and skillfully caught a half cherry and some ice cream with a suggestive curl of her tongue.
Holly’s eyes widened and her breath caught, as she was reminded of thoughts far sweeter than ice cream.
She whispered, “You’re being mean…”
“Mean? No, my love,” Meredith whispered back, after swallowing. “This would be mean…”
Without further preamble, Meredith leaned across the table, her short black hair swinging forward. She took Holly’s hand right above the spoon handle and turned it slightly so she could kiss the inside of her girlfriend’s wrist. The shock of cold lips and tongue on her warm skin made Holly gasp.
Satisfied, Meredith sat back and picked up her own spoon.
Holly blinked a few times, still with her hand outstretched and the half empty spoon held gently in her fingers, until she finally brought the spoon to her own mouth and ate what Meredith hadn’t.
“So where is this waitress you want me to meet, love?” Meredith asked as she dug into the ice cream.
Holly took a deep breath and looked around Archetypus. It was her favorite café in New Jersey, with a dim interior molded to look like a cavern with booths and tables carved into the sides. The music was mellow and the waitstaff ran the gamut of sub-cultural ‘deviants. Their waiter tonight, in fact, was sporting guy-liner and a short, blue mohawk and no one in the whole place batted an eye.
But Meredith asked about the waitress. Her waitress. The one Holly’d had a few weeks ago when she came there with a bunch of friends after rehearsal for the spring musical. The one she’d met again at a party a few days later. The one she’d went out to coffee with and dinner with since that party.
“I don’t see her yet. Her shift is supposed to start at nine. She said she’d find us before then.” Holly quickly took another spoonful of the sundae to mask the nervousness she suddenly felt. Would this work? Or was it just too risky? Too much to handle?
“Holly?” A husky female voice called over her shoulder outside the cave booth.
Both Meredith and Holly turned to greet the athletic-looking redhead who stood before them. Once she realized that it was Kaylen, the waitress they were just talking about, Holly slid out of the booth to give her a hug in greeting. Motioning to bench on her side of the booth, Holly beckoned for Kaylen to sit beside her.
With an easy smile, Kaylen sat down and offered her hand to Meredith. “You must be Holly’s girlfriend Meredith. I’m Kaylen. I’m auditioning for the role of her secondary.”
Meredith laughed at Kaylen’s playfully blunt, yet respectful introduction. “Yeah, I’m Meredith,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Kaylen. So, uh, what piece have you provided to audition with?”
“Well, let’s see…” Kaylen began, “I’m also a senior like Holly, but I go to Cliffside Park not Leonia High. I’m a dancer, trained in contemporary, and a gymnast. I’ve just started taking aerial classes in the city. My favorite singers-slash-bands are currently Madeleine Peyroux and Gogol Bordello. Best musical on Broadway right now is ‘Once.’ I came out to my parents four years ago; they said I could start dating at fourteen and I kinda had to tell them they wouldn’t be meeting any Mikes, Toms, or Kevins. Instead, they met a Lydia, two Heathers, and a Rose.”
“How did they take it?” Meredith asked.
“Fairly well. My Aunt Connie became Uncle Keiran a few years ago, and that was my mom’s twin sister, so she was pretty chill by the time I got to her. My dad was relieved, I think. He didn’t have to worry about boys around his little girl. They both said they just wanted me to be happy. So I think in the grand scheme of things, I got really lucky.”
Holly and Meredith nodded, both glad that their coming out stories had been similarly low in the trauma department. The worst thing that happened was when Holly told her mother, who promptly burst into tears. As a single mother raising Holly and her little brother Colby, her mom wondered if it was something she did wrong. After being reminded that her then-sixteen-year-old was on the honor roll, had a part time job, and was in the drama club with lots a friends, Holly’s mom figured that if her daughter liked girls instead of boys, it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
“As for being poly, I haven’t told them about that yet, since it’s only happened within the last year,” Kaylen continued, looking openly at Meredith. “But if Holly and I start dating, then I would definitely want to tell them.”
With a slight nod, Meredith looked over at Holly. This was strange, to be talking to another girl who wanted to date her girlfriend. But she also felt like it was… okay. Instead of cheating on her when she met and felt an attraction to Kaylen, Holly came right to Meredith and asked how she would feel if they dated other people. She mentioned how she felt it might be possible to love more than one person. Not that Holly was in love with Kaylen yet, she had said. But just that Kaylen had suggested that monogamy wasn’t the only type of relationship out there. Holly wanted to explore what that meant and asked Meredith what she thought.
What Meredith had thought was that she knew nothing about making other types of relationships work but some part of her understood it. She knew some friends at college who were in open relationships. Plus hadn’t kids in the Fifties dated a lot of people at once before they, what was it, ‘went steady‘ with just one?
However, it all just seemed so complicated! Could she really share her girlfriend? Sure, she was going back to Vassar once spring break was over next week, to finish out her freshman year, but she’d be back in just a few months for the summer. What would happen then?
Kaylen spoke again, breaking the tension. “As for my audition piece,” she said, brightly, “this is what I’ve got.”
Kaylen stood up from the booth and dropped into a split on the floor. Just as quickly, she pulled herself up and slid into the booth beside Meredith and took a deep breath.
A few other customers hooted and hollered as others clapped.
Kaylen laughed off the appreciation of her gymnastic abilities. She said to Meredith, “I don’t want to freak you out and I don’t expect an answer now. But I wanted us to meet so you can see I’m not some mysterious threat. I don’t want to take your girlfriend away from you. It’s just that I think while you’re away at school and Holly and I are here, we can enjoy each other’s company and date.”
Drawing in her own deep breath, Meredith asked the questions that had been rolling through her mind. “What about when I get back from school this summer?”
Meredith turned to face Holly.
She said, “And will… will you still call me and Skype and everything? You don’t want to break up, Hol?”
She hated the waver at the end of the last question, but she couldn’t control it. Meredith was certain about one thing: she did not want to breakup with Holly.
Kaylen looked at Holly, too, who focused intently on Meredith’s face.
Holly tilted her head and said softly, “Of course I don’t want to breakup, Merry. If I did, I would’ve done that instead of this.” She swept her hand around the table, indicating the three of them. “And yes, we’re definitely calling and texting and emailing and Skyping; don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. When you get back this summer…”
Here, Holly faltered.
Holly sighed. “I guess I was hoping I could still date both of you when the summer came.”
“When you get back this summer, Meredith,” Kaylen jumped in, “you and Holly continue to date. Simple as that. If she and I start dating as well, we’ll work it out. But I know you’re her priority. And hell, I might be doing some summer stock and I have a job. Speaking of which, I hate to split and run, but I do need to start my shift.”
“Oh, right!” Holly exclaimed and scootched out of the booth to give her a hug goodbye. As the two girls embraced, Meredith slid out too and held out her arms when Kaylen turned around.
“It was nice meeting you. I think this might work out just fine, but I need some time to think and talk to Holly,” Meredith said as she gave the younger girl a hug.
“Fair enough. It was great meeting you, too. And I’d be worried, honestly, if you were all yeah, that’s fine; have at my girlfriend!” Kaylen laughed. “Check out some websites and books while you’re thinking and talking. Opening Up by Tristan Taormino is pretty fantastic. G’night!”
Meredith and Holly sat back down as Kaylen walked towards the front of the café to clock in. Both girls picked up their spoons and dug into the slightly melted, yet still grandiose, sundae in front of them. They sat eating in silence for a few moments until Meredith broke the silence, a smile playing at her lips.
“New Bloom, huh?”
Holly’s eyes sparkled and she gave an impish grin back. “Isn’t it delicious?”