Two Fish

twenty two || elver

A flash of panic spread over Alaska’s face.

“Where are we going?” she asked, taking in the surroundings.

“Surprise,” Elver said. He looked excited.

“Come on, Elver, I don’t like surprises,” she said, somewhat put at ease by his expression. “Mum’ll kill me if I’m not home soon.”

“I already spoke to her. Well, I texted her, when you went to the loo earlier. You’ll like this one,” Elver said knowingly. The two fell silent until Elver pulled up beside a well-lit restaurant, decorated with lilies and honeysuckle.

“What the heck? Where are we?” Alaska said in awe. Elver just gestured towards the gold lettering singing out against a purple background – Roses.

“You’re taking me out to dinner? Why?” she asked.

“As a treat, nothing special,” Elver said as casually as he could. He clambered out of the car and tried to look cool in front of Alaska by giving her a look that said, I come here all the time, no big deal. He opened the door for Alaska and she smiled her thanks.

“Elver, I don’t underst-” Alaska started.

“You don’t need to understand anything, just enjoy yourself,” Elver said. After he led her inside, he took her jacket and put it on the back of her chair. He had booked a  table, the small kind for romantic dates.

“Elver, just to make sure, this isn’t like a, you know,” Alaska mumbled, not sure what she wanted the answer to be. Elver fixed her with an intense stare.

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”

Alaska didn’t reply so Elver picked up a wine menu and passed it to her.

“So, what will it be for you, darling? A pinot grigio? Or a glass of prosecco?” He put on a deep, posh voice. Alaska snorted with laughter.

“Actually, I was thinking about the white wine spritzer,” she replied. In the end, when the waitress arrived, they both had lemonade. Elver had to hold the chair so he could stop laughing and actually givethe order.

They chatted easily as they sipped their drinks and started making up stories about the people around them. They had to stifle their bubbling giggles when the fancy diners began to look their way.

“That’s Dexter from Scotland, and that’s his girlfriend,” Alaska said, gesturing towards an elderly lady sitting next to a man in his thirties. Elver cracked up and could only just manage a “thanks” when the bewildered waitress delivered their food. A hamburger for Elver and double for Alaska. He raised his eyebrows at her as she bit into the enormous gourmet burger.

“That’s a lot of food,” Elver said. Alaska smirked.

“I’m a lot of hungry,” she said, taking another huge bite. Elver finished nearly half the burger in one mouthful. “You should appreciate your food, Elver, you know, you should chew each mouthful forty times,” Alaska said teasingly. Elver snorted.

“It would just taste like cat food.”

“Fair point,” Alaska said, carefully slicing the side salad into pieces and stuffing it inside her burger. Once they had finished eating, Elver asked if she wanted pudding, but she shook her head.

“It’s been great, but if I ate anything else I’d explode,” she said, leaning back in her chair and stretching. It balanced perilously on the back two legs and she nearly toppled over. Elver asked for the bill and it was dutifully delivered. Alaska gasped at the price.

“Elver, you can’t afford that,” she said, opening her purse.

“Alaska, come on, I’m treating you to this, I can’t let you pay,” Elver said, wafting her hand away from her purse..

“Actually, I wasn’t going to pay, I was thinking half and half,” Alaska said curtly, though Elver could see the smile in her eyes. It didn’t stop him from blushing though.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” Elver babbled sliding his card into the chip and pin machine. “Let me pay.” Alaska just raised her eyebrows and tucked her purse back into her bag, nestled amongst a lot of clutter.

“If you’re sure,” she said, yawning.

“Do you want to go?” Elver asked sensing the evening coming to an end.

“Yeah, it’s getting quite hot in here,” Alaska said, flapping an old notebook in front of her face to cool down. Elver stood up and tried to be a real gentlemen by pulling Alaska’s chair out, but the cast iron chairs were heavy and he couldn’t manage more than a couple of inches. Both of them flushing a hot pink.

Alaska stood up and Elver helped with her jacket. She mumbled a quick thank you and rushed off outside. Elver followed her out, joining her where she stood near the edge of the car park, breathing heavily.

“You ok?” he asked, patting back awkwardly. After a couple of minutes, she calmed down.

“Sorry. I felt really sick for a moment, I don’t know why. Maybe it was something to do with the heat,” Alaska said. She glanced back at the crowded restaurant and a wave of nausea crashed over her.

“It’s ok. Do you want to go for a walk, you know, to calm down and cool off?” Elver offered. She hesitated, then nodded cautiously. Elver led her down a beaten track until they reached a clearing. He sat down on a log and patted the spot next to him. Alaska sat down, re-doing the messy explosion on top of her head. They sat together quietly for a couple of minutes. It was getting late and the moon was high in the sky, a stunning orb set out against the curtain of black. Somewhere behind them, an owl was hooting. It was calming.

“Thank you, Elver,” Alaska said at last. “You’ve been so nice to me, and I’ve always been a bit of a cow” she whispered. Before she could do anything, Elver had her hand in his and pulled her up. He looked at their hands locked together; she did too. She didn’t pull away so Elver hugged her. Her hair smelled of nothing but hair, mixed in with her fruity perfume. They started walking back and she gave his hand a squeeze. Elver smiled, his heart thudding in his chest. He daren’t open his mouth in case it jumped right out.

When they reached the car, Alaska sank down onto the leather seats without hesitating at the door. Elver drove slowly back to her house with the radio set to Classic FM. It wasn’t quite ten o’clock and when he pulled up outside her house, he could see her parents and both siblings watching the television. He killed the engine and turned to her, ready to walk her inside, but she was fast asleep.