Looking back, many of their dates had involved drinking, so this time around Irene decided a date at the museum might be a good start. They were walking hand in hand, looking at the art pieces, quietly content and calm, when Irene noticed Eve wasn’t paying much attention to the art on the walls - she was gazing at Irene. 

“Stop!”, Irene giggled, gently slapping her arm. 

“What?”, Eve chuckled, an overly incredulous expression on her face.

“Stop looking at me, we’re here to see the art!”, Irene gestured with her free hand towards the paintings. 

“I am looking at the art!”, Eve argued with a laugh.

“No, you’re not! You’ve been staring at me this whole time.”, Irene narrowed her eyes in mock anger, pretending to tell her off, but she wasn’t able to keep the smile that spread on her face off long enough to make it convincing. 

“I am looking at a work of art, because I’m looking at you. You’re a masterpiece, baby.”, Eve joked as Irene knew she would, Irene rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face as she shook her head at Eve’s cheesy line. Eve pulled her closer as she squeezed her hand and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. They laughed together, but tried to keep quiet so that they wouldn’t disturb the other visitors at the museum too much, which of course made them want to laugh even more. 

After wandering around for some time they sat down on a bench in a dark, quiet corner of the museum, one of those rooms where they play a silent video on repeat, and Eve leaned her head on Irene’s shoulder as they sat side by side. Irene rested her head on top of Eve’s, gently massaging Eve’s hand that was still in hers, rubbing circles and drawing hearts with her fingertips on her hand. Eve smiled softly and wished for the moment to never end. 

On the way back from the museum they stopped at a cute little cafe for some pastries and coffee. As they sat across from each other at a table waiting for their orders, their fingers intertwined on the table, lovingly gazing at one another, Irene found that Eve’s eyes were clearer than they had been for a long time - no redness, abnormal pupils or unfocused look. 

“Beautiful.”, Irene breathed out quietly, “You have such pretty eyes, my love.”, she told Eve with a tender smile. Usually, Eve liked to play off compliments in a lighthearted manner, making a joke of it, but this time she didn’t want to break the calm and lovely moment they had going on and so Eve quietly thanked her and guided Irene’s hand up towards her face and turned Irene’s palm towards her so she could gently kiss it before placing it against her cheek. “I love you.”, Eve said and she hoped Irene could see how much she loved her through the eyes she had just complimented. 

.

Effort, effort, effort. Some days felt so long and hard. Eve was home alone for the first time in a while, her parents had left for some party and Irene had work to do so she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to visit tonight. Eve was left alone and she had dismissed the staff for the night as dinner was already over. It took a lot of effort to maintain her routines when no one was keeping her in check. Usually, her parents' watchful eyes or Irene’s calming presence was enough for Eve to be on her best behavior, as their presence reminded her who she was staying sober for, other than herself.  Eve didn’t want to disappoint the people who were rooting for her, but when she was left alone her thoughts were more difficult to control. Being around other people worked as motivation, but also as a distraction from temptations. 

Eve decided to call Audrey, she missed living in the same city. Phone calls were nice, but not as nice as meeting up in real life. 

“Hii!”, Eve said cheerfully as Audrey picked up.

“Hey, what’s up?”, Audrey answered loudly, Eve could hear that she was in a noisy environment, clearly trying to be heard over the noise.

“Nothing much, just calling to chat…”, Eve replied as she lay down on the living room couch. 

“Is everything alright? If it’s not something important, can I call you back later, sweetie? I’m out with Wyatt right now.”, Audrey half-shouted over the phone. 

“Yeah, yeah, everythings fine! Go have fun with your man, tell him I said hi.”, Eve rushed out. 

“I will! We miss you! Bye, talk to you later!”, Audrey shouted her goodbye and the phone call hung up, leaving Eve alone once again. 

Eve lay on the couch for a bit, then wandered around the house looking for something to do. She had already eaten so she wasn’t hungry, she had already exercised so she didn’t feel like pulling on her fencing gear again… No one to call, nothing to do… Too lazy to pick up a book, too indecisive to turn on the TV… Eve got her guitar from her room and a notebook, and brought them downstairs, thinking she could maybe get some songwriting done. But as Eve halfheartedly strummed her guitar, her focus was elsewhere. Her eyes had been wandering around the room and she had noticed that the door leading to the wine cellar looked a bit off somehow… Did it always look like that? Something was different about it, Eve was sure, but it took her a while to figure out what. Then it struck her. It was unlocked. The padlock her parents had installed when she got sober had been left unlocked. Normally, Eve’s mother locked it after every visit down there and she was the only one with the key, but they had left in such a rush today to the party, they must have forgotten to lock it after getting a bottle to give to the host. Couldn’t show up empty handed, now could they. 

Eve’s heart sank. Her hand had stopped midstrum on the guitar. No, she was better than this, just because it was unlocked didn’t mean she couldn’t control herself. Just because she had access to a room full of alcohol for the first time since she got sober, didn’t mean she would immediately rush down there and chug a bottle of expensive wine. Did she even like wine? Eve wasn’t sure. While drinking, she hadn’t ever been too concerned about the taste, mostly going for the substance that got her drunk the fastest or whatever was around. Maybe she could start anew and become one of those classy people who knew a bunch of things about wine, who could differentiate between complex aromas and textures or whatever they did. Before she knew it she was on her feet walking towards the unlocked door. At the door she hesitated, waging a war inside her head, as she reached out and touched the padlock. It was indeed unlocked. Eve held it in her hand, weighing it, lost in thought. 

Eve felt a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. She jumped, letting the lock go, startled as she hadn’t been aware anyone was around. Immediately ashamed she had been caught contemplating going down a road she knew wouldn’t lead anywhere good. It was Irene standing next to her. Irene looked at her with concern written all over her face. Eve’s first instinct was to deny anything had happened, to clarify that she hadn’t done anything bad, to convince Irene that she was completely fine. Instead one caring squeeze from Irene’s hand on her shoulder made her break down. Eve fell into Irene’s embrace, burying her face in the crook of her neck, holding on for dear life. 

“I almost went down there, I’m sorry.”, Eve confessed quietly, face still pressed against Irene’s neck. Irene just hugged her tightly. 

“I know, honey, I know.”, Irene murmured, “It’s okay. You didn’t, that’s all that matters. You’re so strong. I’m proud of you.”. Irene’s encouraging words and trust meant everything to Eve. After they parted, Irene cupped Eve’s face, softly kissing away the tears that had escaped. She gently turned Eve towards the door, motioning towards the lock. Eve took the padlock in her hands and she breathed out a shaky breath as the lock clicked, indicating it was now locked. 

“That’s my girl.”, Irene whispered and led Eve away. 

. 

Eve felt she needed to get away for a bit, a change of scenery, and Irene agreed that it would do her good. They started planning a trip to the mountains, a camping trip for just the two of them. Irene had wanted to go on this sort of trip for a long time, but it had just never been the right time. She really wanted to see her favorite flower, the glacier lily, in real life and this was the perfect time for it. The fresh air, early spring sunshine and quality time they would spend together sounded like the perfect plan for them right now.

It was easy for them to go on a spontaneous trip like this, as Eve didn’t have a job and Irene owned her own shop, so taking time off wasn’t a problem. Money also wasn’t a problem as Irene had more than enough to cover both of their travel expenses now that Eve didn’t have access to her own accounts. All in all it didn’t take many days to get their travel plans sorted out. 

They bought and packed everything needed for a camping trip in the mountains. Irene was in high spirits, really looking forward to it, and Eve was excited to get away for a bit. Hiking in the mountains with the love of her life, was exactly what she needed right now. Eve was also slowly starting to wonder if she might need a change of scenery more permanently as well… living with her parents was great, but maybe moving closer to Audrey and away from this city would be good for her?