Jennie stopped short, forgetting what she was about to say, and raised her eyebrows at Lisa instead. "Scrabble?"
"Something like that."
"Lisa, you suck at Scrabble."
She smiled back at her crookedly. "Yes," she said, "... but I enjoy getting my ass kicked. I have a masochistic streak."
Jennie chuckled. "So what, then? Honestly. You're never going out again? You're just going to order us a couple Snuggies, and we'll spend all our time at home playing Scrabble?"
Lisa shrugged. "Maybe the occasional Lakers' game."
"I hate basketball."
"Well I hate Snuggies."
Jennie laughed again.
There was a tissue box resting on the bedside table, and Lisa reached out and grabbed a handful of tissues, handing half of them to her and keeping the rest for herself. "Can we just take a mulligan?" Lisa asked, as Jennie sniffled and mopped at her face.
"A mulligan?"
"A do-over," Lisa explained.
"I know what a mulligan is."
"It's a golf thing."
Jennie shook her head at Lisa, but she was smiling softly. "I hate golf."
"Have you ever played golf?"
"No," Jennie replied, her smile widening.
Lisa grinned back at her. "Maybe I should take you golfing. That's a very mature thing to do, right?"
"At least Kendall and Bella can't accuse me of turning you into a golfer."
"What? Bella too? Did she say something about my blazer?"
Jennie shrugged.
"What?"
"Nothing." Jennie rolled her eyes. "They were talking about me. They didn't know I could hear."
"About the blazer?"
"No, about the fact that I'm too old for you."
"Well, that's not really their call, is it?" Lisa looked away, and Jennie saw her eyebrows drawing together in anger. She reached up and touched Lisa's cheek, turning her face back toward her.
"I'm not sure they're wrong, Lisa," she said.
"Of course they're wrong! They know nothing about us!"
Jennie shook her head. "I don't know. I'll give it another chance, ok? But you have to give it more time. You can't keep proposing."
"I don't need more time."
"Well, I do!"
Lisa took a deep breath. "Ok." she nodded. "Ok. So let's just take the next week and..."
"No," Jennie interrupted. "You can't expect me to spend a week and play some golf and pretend like that's going to decide anything."
Lisa felt herself starting to give way to panic. She knew Jennie was right. One week. It wasn't enough time. But a week was all she had before Jennie was going away again. "So how much time are we talking about?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know," Jennie said, shrugging helplessly.
"Six weeks?"
"No!" Jennie exclaimed. "Not six weeks. Maybe six months. Minimum!"
Lisa felt all the air go out of her lungs again. Six months? Jennie may as well have said forever.
"I don't think that's unreasonable," Jennie continued. "Just slow down, and if you still feel this way in six months then maybe - maybe I'll think about it."
Maybe Jennie would think about it. In six months. "Awesome."
"I'm sorry!" Jennie replied. "But you're being crazy! People don't just get engaged after a week or two."
"Yeah." Lisa nodded. "No. That's cool. That's fair. I get it." She was looking away from Jennie again, staring at the half-full suitcase still laid out on the other side of the bed. "Ok," Lisa said to the suitcase. "So let's say, six months from today at the stroke of midnight, if you want to marry me then meet me at the top of the Empire State Building."
"Lisa..."
"No?" Lisa looked back at her.
"This isn't a movie."
"No, no, I've got it," she said, raising a finger and pointing it at Jennie's chest. "Even better. Let's make it a pact. If we're both still single when we turn 35, then we promise to marry each other." Jennie put her hand over Lisa's and gently lowered the finger that she was holding out. Lisa wasn't being serious, was she? She was looking at Jennie so intensely, like she was willing her with her eyes to say yes. Jennie stared back at Lisa, trying to read her expression. She watched with relief as Lisa shifted her eyes away after a moment, breaking into an uncertain laugh.
Lisa was joking, Jennie reassured herself. She was just joking around again. "What movie was that?" Jennie asked.
"My Best Friend's Wedding."
"Oh perfect. That one had Julia and Cameron."
Lisa smirked at Jennie. "Don't forget Rupert Everett as the handsome gay confidant," she said, watching Jennie try and fail to suppress her laughter.
Jennie was smiling up at her. Lisa forced herself to smile back, despite the heavy feeling that had settled into her chest. Six months, she thought. At least Jennie wasn't crying anymore. At least Jennie wasn't packing.
Lisa was going to have to go along with it. Bide her time. Bite her tongue. Somehow figure out a way to cobble together some time - a night here, a weekend there - when their schedules would allow them to be in the same city. Figure out a way to survive all the time apart without Jennie pulling away from her again. Figure out a way to keep breathing and not be crushed to death beneath the unendurable weight of the uncertainty.
"Lisa," Jennie chuckled. "Please tell me you never had a thing with Rupert Everett."
Lisa ducked her head and forced herself to laugh. "No comment."
