Signals

Signals: EPILOGUE

Winter sat on the bed, watching as Karina paced around the room with a deep frown as she talked to the person on the phone. Whatever the issue was, it was upsetting the girl and Winter was waiting for the phone call to end because it was late at night and they were supposed to go to sleep early since they had to go out early the next morning.

When the call finally ended, Karina all but threw the phone on the bed, and ran her hands through her hair.

"You wanna talk about it?" Winter had to ask, even though most of the time, Karina didn't care to elaborate when it was work-related.

Fiddling with her wedding ring habitually, her wife looked at her wearily.

"Just some issues with the clients," Karina said with a sigh.

They did end up moving to Canada— it was too good of an opportunity for Karina to pass on but the older girl had negotiated with her management and agreed to give it 2 years before deciding on settling down there permanently. With a promotion, came with a lot more responsibilities that, occasionally, stressed out the girl to the brink of burning out. Winter had learned to pick up on the signs and knew when to step in to help comfort her or push for them to go on a short break together.

They had gotten married just in the midst of relocating to Canada. With a small intimate reception with just their families and close friends, it was more than enough for the both of them. Their honeymoon overlapped with the time they had settling down in a new country. They took some time to explore the city and nearby tourist sites before Karina had to officially start work.

Winter managed to secure a job teaching Korean in a small private language school, but it was good enough to bring home extra income. All in all, even with the struggle to overcome a few hitches along the way, they learned to depend on themselves and each other. They made a few friends, but they still found themselves missing their families and close friends, and made it a point to keep in regular contact with them via calls or texts.

Winter observed Karina's tensed posture as the girl stayed standing by the bed, staring into nothing. She sighed softly, she wished she could take some of the stress away from her. It had only been a little more than 6 months since Karina had started her new role, Winter could only hope that it would get easier for her.

"Come here," she told Karina softly, patting the space on the bed in front of her. "You need a massage."

That seemed to have snapped the older girl out of her thoughts, and Karina gave her a tired, appreciative smile. When her wife sat down in front of her, Winter moved her hair away and started to knead her shoulders, pressing into them with her thumbs firmly to work through the knots along the way.

"It's a good thing you're on leave tomorrow till next week," Winter said to her.

Karina sighed heavily. "I guess."

"I'll drive to the airport tomorrow, okay? You can get some extra sleep in the car."

"It's fine, I can drive," her wife tried to say but she knew Karina hadn't been sleeping well lately— often waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep again until an hour or two later.

"Karina, you need to rest. I'll drive," she reasoned.

When Karina turned to look at her, Winter gave her a deadpanned stare, daring her to argue about something as minor as this. They stared at each other for a moment, and she could almost see Karina stopping herself from saying otherwise.

"Ugh, you're always scolding me," Karina whined, now sulking. Moving to her side of the bed, she laid down and stared at the ceiling with a pout.

She laughed at that. "I wouldn't have to if you'd just let me take care of you without trying to stop me."