Bella had come to realize that the older she got, the faster the seasons changed. She barely blinked her eyes and it was already spring outside. February had turned to March far too quickly for her liking and her joint therapy date with Hermione was right around the corner. She spent many nights contemplating how the session would go and if what she talked about at her session would turn Hermione off but she was hopeful that it would all work out in her favor. She split her time between staying at Hermione's and having some alone nights at her house because Andy had convinced her that it was important for her to ease into the move since she hadn't told her therapists yet. Today was a different beast, she was having brunch at Hermione's grandfather's house. She thought it was going to be at the Rose but when she found out Henry wanted to host them, her nerves started kicking in and she felt an episode coming on but it hadn't broached yet. Pacing her room, she was wearing a bathrobe looking at a couple of outfit choices. "Come in," she shouted when someone knocked at the door. "Finally," she stopped pacing to look at her niece. "I called you like twenty minutes ago."
"I'm sorry," Dora looked like she genuinely meant it. "Mum didn't want me to leave work. You wouldn't tell me what you wanted and she was afraid it was to commit another assault."
Bella smirked, "I haven't assaulted anyone in months. Plus that girl deserved it and we both know that's true."
Dora laughed, "indeed she did. Stupid bitch. What was that?"
"What?"
Dora walked further into the room, "I thought I heard a meow."
"I have no idea what you are insinuating," Bella waved her off. "Now, what should I wear to Henry's house?"
A little meow came from the closet, "there, don't you hear it?" Dora started walking around the room. She went over towards the window seat, sweeping the room with her eyes. She lifted up the duvet and checked under the bed. "I must be hearing things."
"Exactly," Bella walked over and put her hand on Dora's back guiding her over to the bed. "Now," pick," she pointed at the three outfits.
"What's this for?"
"Brunch at Henry's house."
"I thought it was going to be at the Rose," Dora shifted through the outfits. There was her normal skirts and corset look, black slacks paired with a green button up shirt and a black corset, last was a more casual look of jeans and a black sweater. Dora had no idea where the jeans had come from but she thought it was funny that her aunt had included them as a possible outfit selection. "This one," she pointed to the slacks. Just as she was getting ready to say something else, she felt something vibrating and rubbing against her ankle. "Who is this?" She bent over and scooped up the tabby kitten who was getting a little bigger.
"Squeaks," Bella sighed. "You were supposed to stay hidden."
"Squeaks," Dora scratched behind the kitten's ear, "I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to formally meet you, miss."
Squeaks climbed up on Dora's shoulder and started nuzzling in her pink hair, "looks like someone likes you," Bella scratched the kitten's butt.
"Does mum know she's here?"
"No," Bella snatched up her outfit and turned to head to her bathroom. "Play with her all you'd like while I'm gone but don't let Andy find out. Poor little Squeaks doesn't need your mother to tell her she's not wanted here."
"How long has she been?"
"Just a few days," Bella shrugged one shoulder. "I miss her when I'm gone so Hemrione said we could have a sleepover and I just kind of forgot to take her back. I'll take her home after therapy tomorrow."
"Do you think you are going to fully move in with Hermione after that?" Dora sat down on Bella's bed and put Squeaks down next to her. She found a toy on a string and started playing with her.
Bella was already in her bathroom across the hall when she heard Dora ask the question. She hoped she had the all clear to move in with her girlfriend. She wanted nothing more than to live in the bookshop with Hermione and the cats. This was the most emotionally stable she had felt in years and aside from her thoughts starting to get to her today, Hermione helped her stay calm. She helped her want more out of her life. "I hope so," she called back to her niece in her bedroom. She quickly got dressed, putting on the slacks, dress shirt and finishing it with a below the bust black corset. She kept her hair down and put on her usual dark eye makeup and red lip. "Oh," she almost forgot the perfume Hermione had got her for Valentine's Day. She quickly sprayed herself and walked back in to see Dora laying down with Squeaks resting on her chest. "Don't get too attached. I'm taking her with me when I move out. She is Hermione's after all. She might be upset if her kitten goes missing."
"Say she ran away with the circus," Dora closed her eyes and relaxed further into the bed.
"As much as I don't think Hermione would buy that," Bella chuckled, "I'm going to have to say no to that one. Squeaks will be coming with me after therapy. You are welcome to come visit her anytime and you can play with her up here just don't let Andy see her." Dora mumbled a response, "or I can take you to the humane society and get you your own kitten."
"Yeah right," Dora laughed. "Like mum would let that happen."
"You could always move out."
"And give up my rent free residence? No way. Do you know how good I have it here? I basically have the whole second floor to myself. Mum only comes up to yell at me and when you go maybe I'll move up here."
"Oh no," Bella shot that down quickly, "just because I'm moving out doesn't mean this house still won't belong to me. Nobody touches this floor," Dora mumbled again. "Maybe I'll let you keep a kitten up here though."
Dora perked up, "I think Squeaks would like a playmate."
"She loves Crooks. I can't say the feeling is mutual so yes," Bella sat on the edge of her bed and Squeaks crawled over to her and snuggled, "I think she would love that." She picked up the kitten and kissed her head before standing up and putting her back on Dora's chest. "Are you staying here for a while or do you have to go back to work?"
"I'll tell mum I wasn't feeling well. I want more snuggle time," Dora pet the kitten.
"Fair enough," Bella covered her niece and kitten with a crochet throw. "Keep her company Squeaks," she kissed the kitten's head. "Don't let Andy find her," she kissed Dora on the forehead. "Wish me luck," she called and she left the room.
"Good luck Auntie Bella. Henry already loves you!"
*
Hermione and Bella pulled up outside of Henry's small country cottage just past 11am. During the twenty minute car ride, Hermione had noticed her girlfriend becoming quieter and folding into herself. She knew that Bella was over-thinking the brunch today and wanted to try to get her to relax and enjoy herself but didn't press the issue. She had inquired about how Squeaks was finding her accommodations and she was told how Dora had commandeered the small kitten prior to her leaving for the afternoon. They had both agreed that Dora needed to come visit the shop more so she could spend time with the cats and of course them as well. Hermione had noted that talking about the kitten and her niece seemed to loosen Bella up until they pulled up outside of Henry's house. She reached over and touched Bella's thigh. "It's going to be okay, love. I promise. Papa loves you already and he has a rather grande collection of books." She saw Bella's eyebrow raise, "I know you wouldn't think looking at his home but the whole basement is full of books. He will probably even let us take some home."
"You don't always have to bribe me with books, Hermione. I'm not a child," she felt Hermione start to remove her hand from her thigh and realized her tone came out harsher than intended. She quickly seized her hand and turned to look at her girlfriend, "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly for her tone of voice which Hermione instantly waved off. She knew this was hard for Bella and she felt that the old woman was actively trying not to go into an episode so everything was forgiven. "I will never turn down a book bribe. I want to go in there because it's important to you and Henry which means it's important to me. You don't have to provide me with any more incentive than that. I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," she finally let go of Hermione's hand after bringing it up to her lips and kissing each of her knuckles gently. "Let's go."
Hermione nodded once, turned off her car before exiting and walking the short distance over to Bella. She took the older woman's hand and felt her stall at the movement before leading her up the stone pathway. She didn't even have to knock on the door as Henry was already there embracing his granddaughter who reluctantly had to let go of Bella's hand. "I'm so glad the two of you could make it," Henry pulled back from the hug and made a move to embrace Bella when she saw him coming and held out her hand for a shake. He chuckled and shook her hand. "Hello, Bella."
"Henry, thank you for extending the invitation," she smiled and side eyed Hermione before letting go of his hand. "You have a very lovely cottage." Hermione tried to suppress a smile at how formal her girlfriend was acting but just stepped past Henry into the house and waited for Bella on the other side. She quickly shed her jacket and waited for Bella to hand her the blazer she was wearing. She almost faltered when she saw the outfit Bella had chosen to wear to brunch. Her mouth went dry at the slacks and corset combo. She saw Bella smirk just slightly before the older woman turned back to their host. "Is there anything I can help you out with?"
"No," Henry led them into the sitting room. "I have everything under control in the kitchen. Sunshine, would you like to give Bella the official tour?"
"Sure," she smiled at her grandfather as he excused himself from the room. "This is obviously the family room. We would spend a lot of time here watching the telly, reading, chatting or playing games." Hermione reached out and waited for Bella to take her hand but before she did the older woman walked over to the bookshelf which held a dozen picture frames. There were pictures of Hermione, her parents and grandparents all throughout various stages of life. "Mum and dad just brought me home from the hospital here," she pointed to the picture of her mum holding a newborn. "And here was when I wanted to climb a tree playing Swiss Family Treehouse. I fell out and broke my arm," she laughed at the big orange full arm cast.
"I had a broken arm once," Bella mumbled before looking at her girlfriend, "but it's not really a happy story. What's this one?" She pointed to another picture of Hermione resting on the back of Henry's shoulders.
"I think we were at an amusement park and I was tired and full of candy floss."
Bella smiled, "you do have a penchant for candy floss. Seems it started at an early age. And here?"
"Oh," Hermione leaned in to get a closer look. It was a picture she had never seen before but Henry must have snapped the candid and liked it enough to have it printed. It was a photo of Hermione behind the counter of the Rose, elbows resting on the counter, head resting on her palm engaged in conversation with one of the regulars. "That was right after I started at the Rose. Seems Papa like it enough for him to put it on the mantle."
Bella picked up the photo and held it with both hands. She ran a thumb over the Hermione in the photo, "you are a beautiful person inside and out. We are all very lucky to have you."
Hermione couldn't help but fall more in love with her girlfriend when she knew all the right things to say, "should we continue the tour?"
Bella put the picture back down, "do you have a room here?"
"I do," Hermione took her by the hand and laced their fingers together. "Come on through." She had led Bella through the rest of the downstairs but didn't take her into the basement. Henry had called out from the kitchen that he wanted to be there when she took Bella into the library. The older woman noted the photographs that lined the stairs but Hermione didn't let her linger to see all of her embarrassing school pictures. Upstairs housed two bedrooms, a bathroom and a sitting area but Hermione kept walking towards the back of the hallway where a ladder was. "Up you go."
Bella pointed up, "you want me to climb up there?" Hermione nodded. "You always have me going up or down the craziest ladders when I'm wearing a corset," Bella joked before beginning her ascent up the wooden ladder. When she got to the top step and hoisted herself up into the room, she calmed immediately. The smell was inherently Hermione. The bright wooden floors were covered with various rugs, a large bed, and a wall full of different book shelves. There was a small window with a bench under it and in the corner of the room sat a bean bag and a bunch of pillows. Bella could spend hours in this room alone. She slowly walked around and looked at the trinkets that Hermione had managed to collect over the course of her childhood. "Did you spend a lot of time here as a child?" She asked as she made her way over and sat under the window.
"I spent every summer here while my parents traveled. Then I lived with my grandparents after mum and dad died until I went to live in London for work. This room has always been my safe space."
"I can see why," she turned and looked out the window that had a view of the farm outback. She could see a few horses and several sheep. "Can I pet those animals later?"
Hermione laughed while walking over and bending down to see out the window, "of course. The black horse is mine." She grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her to the door, "come on quickly before Papa calls us for dinner." She descended the ladder with Bella following behind before grabbing her girlfriend's hand and pulling her through the house. "We are going to see the horses!" She shouted to her grandfather who told her tea would be ready in ten minutes.
Bella shouted her thanks while the brunette was pulling her out the back of the house, "slow down," she chuckled.
"This is Darcy," she stopped just on the other side of the fence in front of the black horse. She turned and petted the side of her horse's face. "I've had her since I was 12. She's the sweetest girl," she turned to see Bella staring up at the horse with excitement and nervousness in her eyes. "Go on. You can pet her."
"She's bigger than I imagined," Bella took a step closer.
"It's easy," she laced her fingers through the back of Bella's hand and brought them both up to Darcy's face. She showed Bella how to pet her before removing her hand leaving the older woman to pet the horse on her own. "Wow," it came out with more adoration than intended. "She's beautiful." The horse made a soft snort and leaned into Bella's hand. "Hello, Darcy," she gained a little courage and ran her hand down the black mane.
Hermione had climbed the fence and walked over to pet the other two horses. They were brown with white spots and Bella noted that she had addressed them as Barnaby and Rosemary. "I didn't know you had grown up with horses. I've always wanted to pet one."
"Well," Hermione pulled back from the hug she was giving Barnaby, "you can scratch that off of your bucket list."
"Are the sheep friendly as well?"
"Is sheep petting on your bucket list too?" She laughed as she climbed the fence back over to where Bella was standing.
"As of five minutes ago, yes," Bella smiled at her girlfriend, still petting Darcy. "I would also like to feed her an apple sometime. All the books I've read with horses have the owners feeding them apples and I think I would like to try it."
Hermione's heart warmed, "I think that's something I can make happen. Let's see if we can round up the sheep," she started pulling Bella towards the area where the sheep gathered when Henry stuck his head out of the back door.
"Girls, tea is ready!"
"Aww man," Bella looked longingly in the direction of the sheep, "after tea?"
Hermione looped her arm with Bella's and started to pull her back to the cottage, "after tea."
Bella was surprised how easily the conversation flowed over the lovely roast dinner that Henry had prepared. "I was never much of a cook until Emily passed away," he said after the compliment Bella had given him in regards to his delicious dinner. "When life hands you a curveball you learn to deal with it the best way you know how," Bella waited for him to finish his sentence, "by learning."
"Ahh," she nodded before turning to Hermione. "What's a curveball?"
"Baseball? It's an American sport," Hermione shrugged. "It's not important."
"You've never heard of baseball?" Henry asked, almost shocked.
"Not a lot of time for recreational sports watching in the facility," she joked and her eyes went wide waiting with baited breath to see how Henry would respond.
She relaxed when he just laughed, "'No I supposed there wouldn't be."
"You could always let her borrow The Natural," Hermione suggested while she was getting up to load the dishwasher.
"The Natural?"
"A book from the 50s about a baseball player injured by a gunshot. He goes on to coach a team
of characters," Hermione gave the briefest description she could supply.
"I think we have it downstairs," Henry joined his granddaughter with the clean up.
When Bella went to bring her plate over Henry stopped her, "we don't make our guests work in this house. Please," he gave her a warm smile, "let me."
Bella felt a little uncomfortable being waited on by Hermione's grandfather but she didn't want to do anything to upset him so she did as she was told and sat and waited content to listen to the pair of Grangers talk about that baseball book for a while. "So where is this library of yours?" She asked, feeling relaxed enough to join the conversation.
Henry's eyes sparkled as he closed the dishwasher, "should we show her sunshine?"
Hermione put her dishrag down, nodded and pursed her lips, looking over at her girlfriend before smiling brightly, "I think it's time, papa."
"Well now I'm truly intrigued," Bella pushed back from the table and stood. Henry took off first followed by Bella and then Hermione. It wasn't through the last door downstairs where Bella had expected them to go. He led them out of the house and around to the side where doors to a storm cellar resided. "It's down there?"
"I know," Henry looked from the doors to the dark haired woman. "I've read a lot of horror and mysteries. I know what this looks like but you have to trust me."
Bella gave a skeptical look and shrugged one shoulder, "well I've already lived longer than I expected. You say there's books down there so I'm going to go."
"Stop," Hermione laughed and smacked her shoulder playfully. "Fine," she stuck her tongue out as she passed her girlfriend, "I'll go first." She walked down the stairs and Henry motioned for Bella to join her.
"Okay," she started walking, "down into the weird cellar I go." When she got to the last step her eyes widened in amazement. It looked just like a miniature version of The English Rose. The walls were lined with bookshelves, stacks on stacks of book displays, comfortable chairs like in the donation room, a fridge, bathroom blocked off by curtains, and even floating candles. Bella swore she was in some sort of fantasy dreamland. Her mouth hung open as she walked around.
"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Hermione came up beside her.
"Emily and I spent decades curating this room. It was her most favorite place in the world," Henry said when he finally descended. "She spent hours down here every night. If I couldn't find her in the house or with the horses, I knew I could always find her down here. She had dragged me along to so many book sales, yard sales, and estate sales. She was at every library closing so she could get as many books as she could. And the ones she didn't put in the antique section in the bottom floor of The Rose wound up here. There are years of birthday, Christmas, and anniversary gifts down here. Every book has a story to tell. I cherish everything this room has become," he walked over and sat in the big blue chair, closing his eyes and feeling his wife's presence with him.
"I feel her too, papa."
Bella walked around, running her hands over the various books, feeling the age marks, "it's glorious, Henry." Emily hand picked these books for a reason and Bella wanted to know the story behind every single one of the books. "I don't suppose you know why these were hand selected by your wife?"
"Not all of them, no," he shook his head. "Sadly some of the secrets died when my Emily passed but if I do know the story of a book you pick then I'd gladly share it with you. Please look around and you are free to borrow whatever you'd like. You girls are always welcomed here."
Hermione, Bella and Henry spent a few hours down in the basement library sharing stories of books and getting to know each other better. Bella was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to make conversation with the elder Granger. She could sit and listen to him talk about Emily for hours. She only hoped that her relationship with Hermione would be one worth telling stories of one day. She found a couple of books that she wanted to borrow and Henry was more than happy to loan them out. Before leaving for the evening, Hermione took Bella out back to pet the sheep. She was introduced to Casper, Ruby, Henry (named after Henry of course), Pearl, and Milton. The sheep were just as friendly as the horses and Bella smiled when Hermione pulled an apple out of her jumper pocket. "May I?" She reached out for the green apple.
"I hope your dream was to feed her a green apple. Papa didn't have any red ones," she dropped the apple in Bella's hand.
Bella raised an eyebrow, "I don't think it's color specific is it?"
"Darcy will love it. Oh wait," she called out when Bella was approaching the horse. "Here," she handed her a knife. "Cut it into a couple of pieces or else Darcy might try to swallow it whole. She's cute but she's not the brightest."
Bella took the knife and expertly cut the apple into four, "is this all right?" The fact that Hermione just handed her a knife without fear or recoil was something Bella would never forget. Her whole life she had been used to people being afraid of her but this girl wasn't at all.
"Perfect," Hermione watched as she folded the knife and put it in her back pocket.
Bella slowly approached the large animal and she stopped just shy of Darcy, "ma'am. I have a treat for you," she held out a piece of apple. "Go on," the horse tentatively reached out and grabbed the piece of apple from Bella's open palm. She left a trail of slobber on her hand which had the older woman making a funny face but that didn't stop her from feeding the rest of the apple to Darcy. When the horse ate the last piece, Bella looked over as Barnaby and Rosemary approached her, guilt setting in, "oh I fed it all to Darcy."
Hermione came up beside her, producing more apples from her jumper, "if you give to one you have to feed them all." She kissed her girlfriend's cheek before reaching into Bella's back pocket for the knife, letting her hand linger a moment longer than she should've.
Bella gasped when she gave her a slight squeeze, "not in front of the horses," she chuckled.
"Later then," she took the knife and started cutting pieces of the apples, handing them to Bella to feed to the horses. Hermione had fed the horses thousands of times but none of them would ever compare to standing next to her girlfriend who was looking at her horses like they were the most magical thing in the world. Hermione took her phone out and snapped a couple of candid pictures of Bella feeding the horses because she was sure she needed one of them on her mantle. "Today was nice," she said when the last piece of apple had been eaten.
"It truly was," Bella replied honestly. "It was so much more relaxing and enjoyable than whatever my brain was trying to make up. I loved hearing about Emily and your grandfather tells her tale so beautifully."
"He likes you, you know?" Hermione bumped their hips together.
"I do know that now. And I think he's delightful. I would like to come back here often."
Hermione fell more in love at that moment, "as you wish."
"We should probably head out soon," Bella was still petting the horses, "but I don't want to leave."
"We will come back soon," Hermione promised.
"Okay," Bella gave each horse one final pet, "we should probably go make sure Dora hasn't smothered Squeaks with her love."
After saying goodbye to Henry, the women made the short trip back into town. They stopped at The Rose to feed Crookshanks and say hello so Hermione could pack a bag and stay over Bella's for the evening. "I've missed her," she said following Bella up the walkway.
"Squeaks missed you, too." Bella unlocked the back door and grabbed Hermione's bag from her hand, waiting for her to enter first. They were stopped in their tracks immediately by the sound of doors opening and closing and the sound of a cat food bag being shaken. "Dora?"
They heard footsteps running down the stairs that belonged to a frantic looking Dora holding a bag of cat food, "I can explain."
"Dora?" Bella's voice turned into what Hermione could only describe as a motherly warning tone. "Where is Squeaks?"
"Currently?" Dora grimaced, "I don't know. BUT," she shouted when she saw Bella getting angry. "I last saw her on the second floor about ten minutes ago so she couldn't have gotten far."
"What was she doing on the second floor?!" Bella put Hermione's bag on the counter and grabbed the food from Dora.
"I wanted to show her my room," Dora said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"Let's all calm down," Hermione walked over and stood between them. She wanted to stop the situation before it escalated prematurely. "There are three floors right? So we split up, each taking a floor and searching for Squeaks. When we find her, take her back up to Bella's room. Got it?"
"I like Hermione's plan. She seems like she won't kill me tonight so I'm going back to the second floor," Dora slowly backed up the stairs, "I'll text if I find Squeaks!" She shouted as she ran back up the stairs.
"You should go up to my floor," Bella directed Hermione. "In case Andy comes back it'll be better if she catches me snooping around her room than you. Trust me," she laughed and handed Hermione the bag of cat food. "Let me know if you find her?"
"Of course," she kissed Bella and turned running up to the third floor.
"One afternoon with Dora and Squeaks is already misbehaving," she rolled her eyes and took off in the direction of the downstairs bedrooms. She started in the library and made her way through all of the rooms on the first floor coming up empty. "You better not be in here, young lady," Bella said as she stood outside of Andy's bedroom door. Carefully and quietly, she turned the knob and released it, letting the door creak open. She didn't even need to step fully in the room when she spotted the small tabby kitten curled up in a ball on her sister's pillow. She couldn't even be mad at her because she looked so adorable. Somehow the kitten had to have squeezed under the door and climbed up onto the bed. After all that effort, it's no wonder she fell asleep. Bella shook her head and approached the sleeping ball. She scooped the kitten up in her arms with the tiniest meow of protest falling from the sleeping kitten's lips. Squeaks didn't even bother to open her eyes, she just snuggled into the warm and familiar arms of her mum. "Your mummies are home," she kissed the top of her head, "let's get you up to bed before Andy comes home and kills me." She walked over to the intercom and announced that she found the cat and told Hermione she'd be right up and reminded Dora to stay on her floor lest she see something she'll regret for the rest of her life. She could just imagine the pink of Hermione's embarrassment on her cheeks.
"Oh sweetheart," Hermione came rushing over and Bella transferred the sleeping bundle into her arms. "You had quite the adventure today," she walked over and placed Squeaks in her bed that was currently sitting on the window bench. "That was awfully naughty of you to give your auntie Dora a heart attack though."
"She deserved it," Bella laughed, coming up behind Hermione. She circled her arms around the girl's waist and squeezed.
"Today was fun," she sunk back and enjoyed the feeling of being held in Bella's strong arms.
"It was surprisingly enjoyable," she kissed Hermione behind her ear, feeling her girlfriend sigh.
"I'm afraid tomorrow probably isn't going to be as fun," she felt Hermione stiffen slightly before she turned in her arms, resting her forehead on Bella's. "These all day therapy sessions are draining. You can still back out. I won't be offended in the slightest."
"Are you kidding? You asked me to be there. I wouldn't miss it for anything," Hermione tilted her head and brought their lips together in a soft kiss. Her fingers started to play with the ties on the back of Bella's corset. When the kiss broke she stared into onyx eyes, "have I told you how much I love this outfit?"
The thought of therapy could wait. Right now it was just Bella and Hermione and she fully intended to show her just how much she meant to her. "Words are overrated, love. Why don't you show me?"