Glory Hole Ch. 02

Sara broached the subject, "I think I should be getting back home, Helene."

Helene knew this was coming. She had known this was coming for a long while. But still hearing it was like someone had slapped her on the face. She did not say anything but just stood still.

Sara also halted, looking at Helene having stopped, mid-walk.

Helene wanted to say a million things, she had hundreds of excuses thought of, to coax Sara to stay back; she had mentally built rationale as to why it made sense for Sara to stay. But when it came to saying anything in response, to Sara ... nothing came to her mouth, she could not speak. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she started crying.

She looked at Sara pleading. It made Sara's heart cringe with guilt, and Sara took Helene in her arms.

They sunk into the grass in the middle of the garden, way before they had reached the trees to their favorite spot.

Sitting with their hands around each other, Sara burst out crying, and Sara cried as well, seeing Helene cry.

They sunk further and lay in the grass, and held each other in a bear hug. Their dresses rolled up. They kissed in between crying and even after an hour of their embrace, neither had Helene spoken a word nor did she stop crying.

Sara stopped crying in between sobs and never leaving Helene's eyes as if apologizing.

Helene uttered, "please" just once.

Sara could not hold it together and took Helene in her lips, and they kissed to their heart's content.

Instead of going further up to the trees, they went back to the house and sat in the living room on the ground floor. On an equally plush sofa as the first floor, they held each other in their arms, not speaking much.

In one light moment, Helene offered, "you know I could leave Ernst and you can come to stay with me forever" and then as an afterthought "better still, ..."

Before she completed the sentence, Sara took her lips into hers to silence her.

Another argument, Helene gave later was, "I could come down to stay with you in LA." Almost resolving in her mind to do it, trying to convince herself more than convey it to Sara.

To which, Sara replied, "If you don't, I would know for sure you don't love me enough."

After many hours of sulking, and no effort at lovemaking, Sara reasoned with Helene, who lay in her arms, "If I stay any longer it would be even more difficult for me to leave as much as it would be for you to let me go."

"that does not make sense, as to why do you have to go in the first place," Helene responded, not rationalizing her demand properly.

By the end of the day, Sara had mellowed Helene down somewhat, but Helene and Sara cried their hearts out for the rest of the day, many numbers of times. Only kissing each other to stop from crying. Sara clearly was holding her resolve together for the both of them.

When Ernst came that evening, the girls were still on the ground floor, and the chill in the air was evident.

Ernst tried to soft talk somewhat and offered dinner to both. They had not eaten anything since breakfast, and both ate silently. They all went to the sitting room on the first floor to relax and to talk.

Ernst found something to read, while the girls held each other on the sofa. Ernst could feel something was wrong but did not dare ask. But he kept them company nonetheless.

An hour later, Sara asked him, "Ernst, can you do me a favor, please."

Helene's heart sank again.

Ernst looked at his wife and automatically said, "sure." His wife's expression told him to shoot her request down.

Sara said, "I'd like to fly back tomorrow. If you could possibly book me on a flight to LA."

Ernst knew he should not have returned home that night, or maybe he should have come late. Dumb rationale.

But he did not have any option. He still offered, "Sara, you cannot go just yet. We would love to have you stay with us longer. Please, I insist."

Sara smiled back and said, "Thank you, Ernst. But I must. It's been quite many weeks now."

Ernst was prompt, "so what's a few more days then?"

Sara just nodded and smiled. But insisted, "please."

Helene could not hold back tears and started crying in front of her husband and Sara. A silent tearful cry with no sobbing but nonstop tears flowing like a waterfall.

Sara willed herself to not cry in front of Ernst and hugged Helene, both fell back turning their face into each other, out of sight from Ernst.

Ernst beat a retreat from the room, giving the girls space and realizing what the chill in the air was about, since earlier that evening.

They both slept on the sofa again, not bothering to move to their bedroom or even to Peter's room.

Both of them were in too much pain, they could not make love and just held each other together, and as the night grew Helene held Sara tighter as if there were a possibility that Sara might vanish in the middle of the night.

Sara stroked Helene's head, resting on her breasts all night, and they barely caught a few hours of sleep, that too mostly from exhaustion than willingness.

Their last night together was emotional and loving, sans of any sexual overture on either's part.

The next morning, Ernst brought them breakfast in the sitting room and sat near them to ensure that they ate. He took a holiday from office for the day, and kept them company in the house, even while staying out of sight. Whenever the girls were ready to talk, he wanted to be around so they could find their own pace. He just hung around on the ground floor leaving them upstairs.

Helene and Sara had a short shower together again. Around noon, Sara and Helene came down to check with Ernst, hand in hand.

Ernst before saying anything looked towards Helene and noticed her pain. She did not seem to respond to any signal between them.

They sat opposite Ernst on the sofa, and Sara looked towards Ernst as if asking.

Ernst offered, "Sara, I have organized a private plane to take you to LAX. Whenever you are comfortable, in a day or a week, it shall take you there." He lightened the moment.

Sara smiled at the underlying reference of an offer to extend her stay.

She offered, "later tonight, please. If that's ok?"

Ernst once again looked towards Helene before saying yes or no.

Sara caught this pause and understood what he was doing to remain polite. She let it pass.

He nodded, eventually.

Helene and Sara retreated upstairs arm-in-arm, leaving Ernst alone.

They all had lunch together, which Ernst tried to make and failed miserably. Thankfully there were leftovers from the previous night to help them pass the meal. They drank the rest of the afternoon.

Sara and Helene left Ernst again to stroll in the garden. They sat under the trees, holding each other close until the sun went down.

Their final kiss alone was loving and caring; they did not want the goodbyes to be crying and weepy.

Helene and Ernst accompanied Sara to the airport in their car to Cologne. The ladies without asking sat in the back, in each other's arms, while Ernst drove silently. Helene clung to Sara as if she were a child.

Their kissing in the car was intermittent and ones filled with reassurances to one another.

When the plane took off, Helene cried her heart out again. She cried non-stop on her way back home. Tears did not stop until they were home.

Ernst tried his best to console her and hold her, but she was in pain that he could not mend.

Eight weeks of her life had changed her worldview. Sara had come one day and had stayed for over six weeks. Deep in her heart, she knew Sara would return to LA one day, but she had willed it so much for it not to happen. She wanted it not to happen. Helene tried to wrack her mind, even while in inconsolable pain, what had broken the spell? What had happened that made Sara decide to go back? She wanted a reason, and the more she thought of it, sadder it made her.

She could not sleep the whole night, and lay on her back stone-faced, looking up towards the ceiling.

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