Two Fish

forty eight || elver

Elver turned off the motorway and into the rolling Devon countryside that he so loved. Alaska stared out of the window, resting her head against the cold glass. Elver glanced at her. The two hadn’t spoken in twenty minutes and the atmosphere was tense: it had been an hour since their last stop and both were sick of being in the car.

“I’m sorry,” Elver said, putting his hand on her elbow, though he wasn’t sure what he was apologising for.

“It’s fine,” she said shortly. Elver sighed, determined for their break to be a success but with Alaska in such a foul mood, he wasn’t sure if that was possible. The silence returned for the last five minutes of the journey but his spirits lifted as he drove down  bumpy farm track and pulled up outside a small cottage.

“We’re here,” he said proudly, jumping out of the car to soak in the fresh sea air. Alaska sighed but said nothing, opening her door and stalking off to the house. Elver frowned but he breathed in deeply and took the spare key from under the welcome mat. His aunt had made sure he knew exactly where everything was so now he unlocked the door and led Alaska through to the kitchen.

“What do you want to do? Unpack and then eat? Or do you want to eat first?” he asked, opening the fridge. His aunt had stocked them up on things to eat, the fridge full of aromatic dishes and a ready-made lasagne.

“I’d like to have a bath,” she said at last, running her hand through her hair. Her fingers caught in the knots. “Where is it?”

“I’ll run it for you,” he offered hopelessly

“No thanks. I’ll be fine.” She took her suitcase and wandered off up the stairs before Elver could help her. He muddled around in the kitchen, opening and closing the fridge a few times out of boredom. A few minutes later he heard a shout. He rushed up the cream-carpeted stair case to find Alaska in the bathroom, staring down at the taps in disgust. She had already undressed, a blue towel tied around her chest, her hair caught in the back.

“What?” he asked.

“There’s no hot water,” she said, hoisting her towel up higher.

“Oh. Are you sure? Let me check.” He turned on the tap and put his hand under it. The water came out in a confident jet and sprayed all over the room when it hit Elver’s palm. His hand recoiled back to his side, soaking Alaska. She shrieked and he jerked back at the sound, stumbling over his own feet until he crashed onto the floor. The tap was still spurting.  For the first time in what felt like more than just an hour or two, Elver could have sworn that he saw the faintest hint of a smile play on Alaska’s lips.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get you wet,” Elver said. Alaska snorted and despite the situation, Elver felt like laughing too. He stood up and his shoulders shook slightly in an attempt to contain his amusement. Then, to his shock, Alaska burst out in a fit of giggles. Both of them were soaked from head to toe. Elver’s clothes stuck to his skin and Alaska’s sodden towel was heavy as the tap continued to spray. She leant over and kissed him, short and sweet, keeping a tight grip on her towel.

“Where did that come from?” Elver asked. He pushed her wet hair over her shoulder, glad that she’d snapped out of her temper.

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have been so grumpy. That’s what car journeys do to me,” she murmured, gently tugging at the hem of Elver’s drenched shirt.

“Guess what?” he said, wringing out his shirt onto the carpet.

“What?”

“It’s our second kiss in the rain.”

Alaska laughed. “You’re kind of right,” she said, holding up her hand against the water.

“Obviously. I’m always kind of right,” Elver said. He kissed the tip of her nose and she giggled. “Though, I should fix this.” He glanced at the tap and frowned. He was not a handyman by far. It felt good to be back to how they usually were, but he was a bit bewildered by how fast Alaska snapped in and out of her various moods.

“I’ll help you unpack,” he said. “To make things quicker. I can’t wait to get down to the beach, if the rain goes away.” Outside, the sky was still grey and the rain had turned into a pathetic drizzle that trickled down the window panes.

“You want to go to the beach?” Alaska asked. She switched her towel for a dry one when Elver had his back to her.

“I like the beach. It’s the sea I hate,” he said.

“Ok. Well, yeah, let’s pack”

Elver opened various doors to find a bedroom. It had been a long time since he had last stayed in his aunt’s house and she was a constant redecorator. He came to a tiny room with a double bed and laughed.

“Bagsy this room. I bet the other one’s a single bed,” he said, dumping his own suitcase on the bed.  “Come on then, off to yours.” He opened a door: bathroom. He opened another: second sitting room. He frowned and opened the last door on the landing. It was a storage room. His stomach spun.

“Uh oh. Um, Alaska? I think that double bed is the only bedroom,” he said unsurely. He hadn’t thought to ask his aunt about beds and she was rather a vague woman.

“What?” Alaska blushed. “Um, Elver, I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a prude or anything, but I really don’t want to share a bed yet.”

“Me neither,” Elver said, though he noticed the yet. “My aunt must have thought we’re really together. This is not good.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you, because I do. Well, I love you, but I need space when I’m sleeping.” She shuffled from one foot to another, careful not to drop her towel.

“Alaska, there is no way that we’re sharing that bed. We’ll find another way,” he said, sounding more confident than he felt. A burst of inspiration nearly knocked him over. “I bet there’s a sofa bed.” He found the sitting room and tried to pull out the small sofa. It didn’t budge so he tried the same thing in the sitting room on the first floor with no result. He was beginning to worry about what they’d do until he felt a bit sick. If there was no other bed, Alaska would surely want to go home and he needed a couple of days’ rest before he drove her back, and he wanted to enjoy Devon. He needed to find something, anything, that would pass as a place to sleep.

“I’m sorry if this sounds awful, but is there any chance we could get a blow-up bed?” Alaska asked, her eyes wide with worry. Elver jumped up and grinned and she nearly dropped her towel at the sudden movement.

“Of course! Yeah, that’s it. We’ll go and get one now.” In a flurry he grabbed Alaska’s hand and took her out of the house but she resisted. “What?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not going out like this,” Alaska said. Elver laughed. He hadn’t noticed.

“Sorry. You get changed and we’ll wander down.” The rambling house wasn’t even a ten minute walk from the waterfront town and Elver chanced his luck by curling his little finger around Alaska’s. Neither had an umbrella but he had found a couple of anoraks, the sleeves pulled over their entwined fingers and they couldn’t see each other past their hoods. It was hardly beach weather and a warm bath would have been nice, but Elver was happy.