Runaways

Waking up happy was something Lydia seldom felt. Often times she started at the ceiling or the wall in something bordering sadness and despair. It always varied in intensity. Some days it was easy to ignore and some days it felt like a crushing weight. Thankfully she was always able to crawl out of bed, be it in a few minutes or five hours. But the main thing was that she got out of bed.

It had always been like this, ever since she could remember.

Jet often contributed it to her harsh upbringing and the works of her mother, but Lydia suspected it was just something she was born with. Things are often passed down through a family line, no matter how much some people hope it does not. So she suspected it was simply inherited. While her mother showed no signs of this or spoke of it, it probably would have been seen as a weakness in her eyes, her Grandmother did. She didn't often show it but she did speak of it on occasion. Especially if she noticed that her granddaughter didn't seem to be feeling quite right.

So when she woke up that morning, her shock almost overrode her own happiness. Once the shock passed, however, she was quick to realize the reason for this sudden surprise. The night before with Paul. While Lydia was a firm believer that all problems couldn't be solved with a relationship or that having one person in your life wasn't a magic cure for all, there was still something to be said about being around someone you cared for deeply.

Sure, she still had bad days and woke up feeling horrible, that hadn't changed just because Paul entered her life, but it was hard not to admit that she at least felt better with him around. And after their first kiss and deciding to start dating? Well, waking up happy the next day was pretty spectacular. So even though she was still going to have plenty of bad days, she knew that her good days were going to be even more special and cherished. Especially those she got to spend with Paul.

After going about her morning routine, eating breakfast, sending a quick good morning text Paul's way, and checking to make sure Jet wasn't doing anything important, she gave her friend a call. Because why not keep the happiness alive?

"And to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Jet laughed into the phone upon answering.

"I have some news," Lydia replied, unable to keep a smile off her face and a certain joyfulness out of her voice.

"Oh? Well don't keep me in suspense, Darling," she promoted. "What is it?"

"I kissed Paul."

"You did what? When? Where? How was it?"

Lydia laughed at her dear friend's enthusiasm and the way her voice got louder and higher with each word. "I kissed him at dinner last night. And it was amazing. Oh, Jet, it was perfect! He was so sweet about everything."

"I'm so happy for you," Jet said. "Who made the first move, you or him?"

"Me," she admitted with a bit of a blush. While it was certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, the thought of kissing him brought back memories from last night and butterflies. It also brought back a pleasant warmth curling in her belly. It wasn’t quite arousal, but it certainly was something.

"That's wonderful, Darling! I'm so proud of you," her friend all but squealed into the phone. "My little girl is growing up!"

Laughter erupted from the American, because of course her friend would say something like that. "I have been in relationships and done things before, ya know. It’s not like I’m a virgin or anything like that.”

"Yeah, well the other moron doesn't count. I think we should be looking at Paul as a complete do over." She certainly needed one, in Jet’s opinion. While Alexander hadn’t been the first boyfriend, he had been the last in a long line of horrible ones. It was about time her friend found someone who was going to treat her right.

"A complete do over? Jet, I don't think I can lose my virginity twice."

"Well, you kind of do when you first take it up the-"

"Jet!" Lydia shrieked. "I am not having that conversation with you!"

She laughed heartily and moved the phone away for a minute in an effort to be considerate with how loud she was being. After finally calming down she said, "what? You don't want to talk about having-"

"No! Absolutely not!" She shook her head vehemently, "I am not doing that and we are not having that sort of conversation." Her ex-husband had attempted to talk her into that once and she fiercely denied him every time. There wasn’t a lot she could get out of in that house, but when it came to their, apparently necessary, sexual relationship he respected her wishes. Even if she did have to repeat herself a few times to get it through his thick skull.

The French woman snickered. "Are you sure? What if Paul likes that sort of thing?"

"Well he can try it first because it certainly won't be me!"

"I believe that's called pegging, dear heart."

"I'm hanging up!" Cackling could be heard through the phone. "I mean it!"

"Okay, okay," Jet conceded, still laughing but at least attempting to stop. "I'm done. I promise."

"You better be," she grumbled, "because I will hang up on you if you start back up again." This certainly was not the type of conversation she planned on having today. Or ever again for that matter.

"I won't," she promised. "In all seriousness, I am very proud of you. And it only took you three months." So she was still teasing her a little bit. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

Lydia rolled her eyes good naturedly and murmured, "It hasn't been three months yet. There's still a couple of days left."

She chuckled, "Alright. Not quite three months. So, did you two just kiss or did you finally make things official?”

"We are dating," she confirmed, a grin apparent in her voice once again.

"I'm really happy for you, dear. You deserve this."

"Thank you. I'm still kind of struggling to realize this isn't a dream." No matter how happy she was, it still didn't feel completely real. It probably wouldn’t for a while. If ever.

"It will start to feel real," Jet promised. "It'll just take a little bit of time." She hoped it would sooner rather than later. Her friend deserved the world and more.

"I hope so,” she sighed. Sometimes it seemed like nothing was ever going to feel real.

“It will, sweetie. Now, I know it’s still a little way’s off, but any ideas as to what you want to do for your birthday?”

“No,” she groaned. It was a little over two weeks away and she still had no clue what to do. She hadn’t even told Paul yet. “I’m clueless this time around.” Though it wasn’t like she’d ever had much of a choice in what she wanted in the past. Her mother always planned her birthday parties. Even after she married and moved out of the house.

“Still getting use to having a choice in the matter?” Her friend guessed.

“Oh yeah. Honestly I’m half tempted to just stay here and have a quiet night in.” It would be a first for her.

“That sounds nice,” Jet hummed. “Well, whatever you decide you decide to do, just let me know and I’ll do my best to clear my schedule enough to come see you.”

“Well I was hoping so,” She chuckled. They normally visited each other for birthdays, only having missed a handful over the years they’ve been friends. “I’ll do my best to let you know a week in advance though.”

“That would be nice,” her friend said. “Oh! Have you told Paul yet?”

“What? About my birthday?” Lydia asked.

“No. About how horrible your German is,” she dead panned. “Of course I’m talking about your birthday!”

Laughter echoed over the line. “My German happens to be coming along just fine, thank you very much. And no, I haven’t told him yet. It almost feels awkward to tell him now. I mean, we just got together.”

“Well you need to tell him some time. And I don’t mean the day before, either. That will probably drive him nuts if you wait that long. And don’t worry about it being awkward. You were friends first, remember?”

“I know. I may still wait a couple of days so that I’m not immediately springing it on him.”

“Alright,” Jet said. “Just don’t wait too long.”

“I won’t,” she promised. “I’ll need to figure out what I want to do for the day too.”

“You’ll figure something out. And I’m always here if you need me.”

“Thank you,” Lydia said. ”I appreciate that.”

A sudden commotion in the background made her friend groan. "Sorry, honey. I have to go. Someone misplaced a very important painting."

Lydia chuckled, "That's okay. I'll talk to you later?"

"Definitely! I'll text you as soon as I can."

"Okay. Good luck finding that painting."

"Thanks, sweetie. I think I'm gonna need it," Jet sighed before ending the call.

Lydia grinned and shook her head in amusement. Oh the joys of owning a famous art gallery. She placed her phone on a couch cushion and glanced towards one of her paintings to eventually fix it with a glare and a sigh. Well, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to try finishing that thing. She'd been working on it before leaving for Paris and was quite frustrated with it at the time. Might as well attempt to start back up again now that she was home. Maybe having that time away would help unblock her brain and her painting skills.

So, after fixing a cup of tea and putting on some music, she grabbed her brushes and some paint to hopefully finish what she started. And if nothing else, she could always pick up a book for a couple hours.