Music and a Wayward Elf

"I'm so sorry, Cait."

"It's made me return to therapy and find a better medication." Cat shrugged, surprised at herself for giving anything more to the conversation. What about this elf has me opening up like this? "What about you? You seem way too young to be divorced."

"My ex-wife wanted a wedding, not a marriage. We had this huge fairy-tale wedding, and the marriage lasted six months. It all fell apart when we were turned down for a home loan. That's been three years as of last weekend now. I should really move on eventually." Gia gave a little nervous laugh.

Her wife, did you hear that? The long-dormant bi-sexual portion of Cait's soul perked up. "What? Did you get married as soon as you graduated high school?"

"It was the summer I graduated from college. How old do you think I am?" The elf looked a little offended for a flash but had a knowing smirk.

"Twenty-two or twenty-three, max."

"I'll be twenty-seven on Valentine's Day."

"Oh... Only about two years younger than me then. I'll be thirty this time next year."

"That sounds like three years to me." The elf flashed a teasing smile. "I would have pegged you at twenty-five, max." Gia giggled before finishing off the last of her latte. "You're not really the type of customer we usually get."

"What is your typical client?"

"Guys trying to impress their family, usually after a few years whiffing on presents. Though we get a ton of people trying to make an impression on a loved one, they're more likely to come through our storefront if they are only looking for a single present."

Caitlyn and Gia talked and laughed in an exceedingly rare way since her anxiety had more or less taken over her life a year after college. There was no actual precipitating event, just a slow march into isolation. Her family and Jerome were her only fundamental points of connection to the outside world. Cat's work had won prizes, but she had never once been able to summon up the gumption to make an appearance at the award shows. Composing music let her work alone most of the time.

The more they talked, Cait's impression of Gia's music had morphed from a Christmas carol to something peppier. Maybe the peeks of a vibrant tattoo that covered her shoulder when she moved while telling a particularly animated story were the cause. Caitlyn tried to keep herself from staring at the red and green on the elf's left shoulder. The ink wasn't all there was to it; the petite woman's spunky personality lent more credence to her rocker vibe. She's something with a guitar riff. Cat smiled to herself.

"Oh, shoot. What time is it?" Gia had bought a second round of decaf lattes and scones this time, as she explained they were more dinner-like than another cookie.

"Twelve fifteen."

"I hate the last train. This has been fun, Caitlyn. I gotta go."

"Why don't I take you instead? My cars in the back lot."

"Really? I didn't think this place had public parking."

"You underestimate how much coffee I drink while composing. That and Rosie, the owner, is an old family friend."

"It's okay. You hired me; you don't need to fret over my getting home. I'm a big girl." Gia made a gesture that attempted to wave away the concern.

"The anxiety is rather indiscriminate. I'll sleep better if you let me drive you home." Cait was being truthful. She would toss and turn all night if she let the pixie in that outfit go home on the train with the drunks headed out to the 'burbs.

"Okay, twist my arm."

Gia -- Two days later

"How'd the McPherson account go?" Gia questioned as Holly was dressing into a more mundane outfit. She had been on the dayshift at the storefront. Wayward Elves was a full-time career for Holly. For the rest of the year, the company went under the name Let Us Help and served as a gift-buying service for all occasions.

"Great! That man doesn't really need our help anymore. I think we're just a good luck charm. How was your excursion?"

"I hate you, Holly!" Gia stuck out her tongue.

"That bad, eh?" Holly fell for her words even with the apparent impish gesture.

"It wasn't that. Caitlyn is gorgeous and funny!" Gia threw her hands up. "I'm miffed because someone planted the idea in my head, and now I can't ask the cute woman out."

"Did you two hit it off?"

"Big time. We sat and talked for four hours, and only two of them were getting the presents picked out." Gia shed her top as she got out her holiday-tinged uniform. Her sports bra that she had worn for the walkover was shirked as she got out the push-up varietal that seemed to be a hit with the patrons.

"Gia, you really do have the best boobies." Holly giggled as Gia rolled her eyes. "You just can't ask her out while she's a client."

"I doubt we'll ever cross paths outside this job, Holly."

"How do you think I met Bobby?" The woman reflexively put her new sparkling engagement ring in Gia's line of sight again.

"Here?"

"Yeah, he was just a walk-in wanting to buy the perfect present for his niece. He grew up in a house of all boys and had no clue what to get a five-year-old girl." Holly laced on her boots. "He returned the day after he gave the present to Maria, reporting that he was the favorite uncle now and demanded that I let him take me to dinner."

"And it went well from there?"

"Oh fuck no. He was late to the restaurant and arrived wearing the most disheveled suit I had ever seen. Bobby was out of sorts all night, and there was no kiss at the end of the date. Whatever chemistry we had here at the store was gone." Holly bounced onto her feet.

"Huh, what happened? You two are obviously happy now."

"An apology bouquet appeared a couple days later, and he explained the hellacious day at work that had led to the poor showing. He tried and failed to put on a brave face. Bobby had to fly out for a meeting across the country and back in one day and run a meeting with zero prep time."

"Why didn't he reschedule?"

"Bobby didn't want me to get away." Holly smiled proudly. "Are you sure your client is a lesbian?"

"She's bi, I think."

"You two talked all night. Do you know for sure?"

"No, but I got a good feeling about it."

"Go for it, Gia! Make sure it's after you finish your job for the workshop." Their storefront had a big sign declaring it Wayward Elves Workshop. "It's about time you put yourself out there again."

Holly had been a close friend back in college, but they had lost touch since then. Her co-worker still knew her story. It had been three years since the divorce, and Gia had only gone on a handful of terrible first dates since. She had seen herself as damaged goods since the all too brief marriage.

"Okay, Holly. I will."

"Good, I think it's going to be a busy night out front." Holly waved as she left.

Once she had her uniform on, Gia called Caitlyn from the corporate phone. They were told to use it for all communication with clients as there had been some issues with clients harassing young ladies before establishing the protocol.

"Hello?" The voice on the other side of the line sounded nervous.

"Caitlyn?" The manager came into the room while she was making the call. The elves were also supposed to use their stage names only when contacting the clients. "This is Miss Elle Towe from Wayward Elves. How are you doing this afternoon?"

"Gia? Hi! I just finished writing the theme for a new project proposal, so pretty good."

"That's awesome. I can't wait to hear it sometime. But that wasn't the reason for my call. We neglected to set a time to go shopping for your gifts."

"Excellent. I was worried you had forgotten, which made me a little antsy. What about this Saturday, kinda early before the stores are super busy?"

"That'll work with me. I look forward to seeing you then."

"Can I just pick you up from your apartment building?"

Gia paused for a breath. Their clients weren't supposed to know where they lived, but it was already too late for that concern. "That would be great. Let's say eight am so I can grab us a coffee before stores start opening at nine."

"Looking forward to it, Gia, thank you."

Caitlyn -- Saturday morning

Often punctual to a fault, Cait pulled up to Gia's building at precisely eight in the morning. Once she parked her car, she started to text Gia to let her know that her ride had arrived. The petite blonde skipped out of the building before Cat could open the messaging app.

Gia's looks had been distracting before, but she was positively jaw-dropping this morning. She had on a long pink dress that fell just beyond her knees. It seemed a little too bright for the winter season, but it made the woman pop significantly. Her dirty blonde hair was longer than Caitlyn had expected but mainly had hidden the other night in her elf hat. This morning it was corralled into a ponytail with a pink bow that was the same color as her dress.

A waist-length red coat and pink gloves guarded against the biting morning chill. The pair of red heels that Gia had on didn't look like they would be comfy to walk on all day, but maybe the petite beauty had a better time wearing audacious shoes than Cait.

"Had you been waiting long?" Gia asked as she hopped in.

"I just pulled up. You didn't even give me enough time to text you that I was here." Caitlyn smiled as she put the car in drive.

"Your car was here as I stepped off the elevator."

"We have great rhythm together." Cait blushed. Was that too forward? She probably gets hit on all the time by customers. Stop it, Caitlyn She silently admonished herself. "Where do you want to go get coffee?"

"I think you might be right about a sympathetic cadence." Gia smiled. Her vocabulary had Cait's heart thumping louder. "You had us meet at your favorite. Why don't I show you mine? Unless that doesn't work for you."

"No, that sounds great." Caitlyn felt her heart rate surge a little. It was one of the sure signs that her anxiety was high, but it had fallen since Gia had gotten in the car. "If I don't push myself occasionally, I get worse."

Over the past week, Gia had occupied a ton of Caitlyn's mental bandwidth. This funny, beautiful creature was patient with her; this time, Cait had been upfront about her issues. Yes, she had to fight against a stigma, but it was easier for her than attempting to hide it.

The coffee shop that Gia guided them to had storefront parking and was small and quaint, with a quiet little table. The petite woman insisted on buying beverages and coffee cake for the pair. Gia did let her pay the tip, though.

"Christmas is two weeks away. Are you ready other than the presents on our list?" Gia questioned after she polished off her breakfast.

"Yeah, the last of my brothers' and sisters' gifts all came in last night. We went in together to get my mom and dad presents."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Three brothers and three sisters. I'm the youngest and was a surprise four years after my closest sibling. What about you?"

"Only child with divorced parents."

"That's too bad. What are your plans for Christmas?"

"Something small. I'll probably get together with some of my friends. My mom is Jewish, and my dad hasn't been a big part of my life since I was sixteen."

"Do you even do Christmas then?"

"Yeah, Christmas was huge when I was a kid. It was my favorite holiday. Somewhat to the chagrin of my mother."

"Not anymore, then?"

"My dad's infidelity came to light on a Christmas morning when I was in high school. It kind of put the kibosh on my enthusiasm. My divorce happening between Thanksgiving and Christmas made it worse. My father returning to England means I don't have any family to celebrate with." Gia's body language shifted to a more defensive stance; she crossed her arms and looked away from Caitlyn.

"How about Hannukah?"

"I'll light a menorah, but I live in two worlds. Mom doesn't want anything to do with the holidays anymore. Not even Hannukah."

"That's too bad." Caitlyn loved the holidays. They sat in silence for a minute as Gia pulled out her phone and did some texting. "How did... how did your family take it when you came out?"

"With my mom, she knew already and was happy for me to finally tell her myself. Dad, though, not so well. Why do you ask?" She hardly looked up from her phone. Cait wasn't sure if she had hit a nerve or if it was a story she had shared too often.

"With my anxiety, I always get stuck in a loop of imagining the worst. My first long-term relationship was with a very patient woman named Michelle." Caitlyn confessed. Gia's eyebrows shot up, and Cat had her complete attention again. "We dated for six months, and I got so close to bringing her home with me for Christmas, but... my brain betrayed me. We were three days away from the break, had everything planned, and I freaked out."

Why am I admitting all this? Caitlyn fidgeted in her seat and then took too large of a quaff of hot coffee. I've only known this girl for a couple days. Why is she so special?

"Oof... That's rough for both of you. Is your family really religious or something?"

"No, they're a touch conservative, but they've never been bigoted. It's part of the disease; it doesn't matter how understanding they are. I just keep imagining the worst happening."

"Did you love her?"

"Yes." Cait didn't waste any time thinking. When Cat had figured out the depths of her feelings, Michelle had already met someone else. That someone else now shared a last name, and they were raising a pair of adorable twins.

"I was scared when I came out, but it was never a question for me. I made a minor stir at my prom when I confirmed most of my high school's suspicions with my date." Gia's lip curled up with a little smirk. "That relationship didn't last long, but damn, we had fun."

After their coffees were finished, Gia had planned a route to surgical precision. They had sixteen stops to get what they needed for Cait to wow her family. Of the proposed presents, all but a handful were still in stock. Her personal elf was good at improvising replacements on the list. By early afternoon they had all but three presents in hand.

"Do you want to grab lunch before I take you home?" Caitlyn was surprised that her anxiety hadn't flared a single time out with the adorable and confident young woman.

"I... I shouldn't..." Gia's expression turned morose. Cait's heart dropped. "I'm not supposed to get too close with our clients..." Anger flashed through the blonde's expression. "You know what, fuck it. I'm having a good time, Cait." Her bright smile returned as determination blazed in her hazel eyes.

"I know the perfect little café. Why don't we drop off the presents before, though, so I don't worry about someone messing with my car."

"Okay, but I still need to take them home so they can go through the wrapping station."

Gia -- The next day

It took everything in her power yesterday to not break out in a smile when Caitlyn confessed that she was bi. Cait's anxiety wasn't scaring her away. Maybe it's because you haven't seen anything of it. A logical piece of her brain argued.

Three gifts still needed to be procured, but Gia had to retreat to regroup after lunch yesterday. By the time she had gotten home, her brain had been simmering on possible suitable replacements for Caitlyn's oldest niece and nephew. They were both freshmen in high school. One was a gamer, and the other a budding musician. Since those interests were shared with their aunt, it was where Gia concentrated her energy.

The youngest niece's present was a little easier. A set of books about music written for babies would be an excellent way for her aunt to share something of her life with the six-month-old. Within a couple hours, Gia had to call Caitlyn with a new plan. The demand for the elves to eschew their personal phones was as forgotten as her charge of not getting too close to a client. Like before, Gia had a planned route for the pair. Sunday morning would have to be a later start out of necessity as the mom-and-pop establishments opened later in the day.

Gia showed up at noon with a pair of coffee cups in hand. She had to put one down to knock on Caitlyn's door. She was surprised when the extraordinary brunette wasn't ready for another day together. The elf looked forward to the day she came by with the wrapped presents. I'm going to ask her out when I drop off the gifts.

There was no answer to the knock, so Gia tried again. Her phone chimed in her purse.

'Bad brain day.' Was the simple text from Caitlyn.

'I'm sorry. Do you need me to reschedule?'

'I don't want to disappoint my family.'

'How about I see what I can get from your list and bring it back to you?'

'Okay, sorry. Give me an hour or so, and maybe I'll feel better.'

'No problem, Cat. I'll have my phone if you need anything. I mean anything, even if you want to talk to someone, I'm ready to listen.'

'Thank you so much, Gia.'

'I left a coffee by the door if you want it. If you don't, it's not a big deal.' Gia tried to keep things light to keep from making it worse. The last thing she wanted to do was make the woman feel guilty if she wasted the coffee.

It only took an hour and a half to collect the presents. There were no surprises or missing items this time at any of the little shops. Gia should have gone home and returned to collect the other gifts she needed to wrap to fulfill her contract; they needed to be locked up at the workshop. Wayward Elves didn't want their employees getting too close to their customers, but it was too late. She didn't wish for Cait to go through another lousy brain day in isolation.

The coffee cup wasn't sitting by the door when Gia returned to Cait's apartment. She knocked quietly. "Caitlyn, I was successful getting your gifts. Can I show you what I got?"

"I'm not dressed for visitors." A soft, sad voice floated gently back through the metal door.

"That's fine, Cat. Are you dressed enough for a friend?" Gia replied with a hopeful tone.

There was no verbal response at first, but the lock thunked open, and Caitlyn cracked the door. "Come in, Gia, please."

"Are you doing alright, Cait?"

"A little better. I had a panic attack this morning. It always leaves me exhausted." Caitlyn had retreated into her kitchen. She was wearing a lavender silk robe that Gia felt was the only thing she had on. Her nipples pressed against the fabric; they weren't erect but distracting. The elf did her best not to stare at the woman while she talked.

Even in a disheveled state, the brunette was a beauty. I'm in trouble. Gia searched her feelings, trying to ascertain whether her falling for this woman was genuine or if she was just fangirling over the talented musician. There was not a single iota of doubt in her heart that she had feelings for the incredible woman.

"I'm sorry, Caitlyn. Was going out yesterday the trigger?" Gia set the three packages on the kitchen counter and got closer to the beauty.

"No... No, I think that delayed the panic. I had a ton of fun shopping with you, Gia. Don't... Don't put any blame on you."

"Good, at least the shopping part. I don't want to be the cause of your panic. So, tell me what happened. I don't have experience with it. Unless that's too much, I can just sit with you for a minute."

"I... I wouldn't mind some company." Cait fought to put a smile on her face, but it was fleeting.

"Why don't you come sit with me on the couch?"

"Alright."

They just sat quietly on the sofa for a few minutes. Caitlyn leaned against her; it was their first physical contact. Her warmth was distracting, but Gia pressed forward undaunted. "What happened?"

"I have a presentation tomorrow, and it has me jittery." Caitlyn reached over and grabbed Gia's hand as she spoke as if attempting to ground herself. Gia didn't point out the contact and squeezed back reassuringly.