Shore Leave

Suddenly available

August 6th, 2010

Mia was anxiously waiting in the small restaurant. Rae came with her to meet Ailis and her best friend Beth.

"What if her friend Beth thinks I'm lying?" Mia asked nervously. She was looking at her phone. Rae had helped her find a babysitter, and Mia was compulsively checking it for any messages.

"Then that sucks for them. Besides you already agreed to the maternity test," Rae said with a shrug. She was wearing what she liked to call her 'scary dog' outfit. Which was a beat-up metal shirt, her brown leather jacket that she rescued from a thrift store, and her black pants and combat boots. They both turned to the door opening and Ailis and her friend walking in.

"Oh shit, they're here. Do I look alright?" She was suddenly second-guessing her outfit. A light gray sweater dress that cinched on the sides and had a scoop neck.

"You look hot," Rae waved her off. Ailis spotted her, giving her a wide smile as they started over. Her short blonde hair was pushed back from her face, and she was wearing a black and blue button-up with some jeans and boots. The woman with her was tall and lanky, with long curly brunette hair and brown eyes, scanning over the both of them neutrally.

"Hey, Mia," Ailis greeted softly. She turned to Rae, holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Ailis Catan, it's nice to meet you. This is my friend Beth, if she's a bitch just ignore her it's just her personality."

"Facts," the woman shrugged. She gave Mia a once over. "Damn, it really is you. Chance encounter at a bar seven years ago and you're back."

"More like Ailis' is back," Mia couldn't take her eyes off the woman. Ailis was watching her as well, blue eyes focused on her.

"It's nice to know you're a real person," Rae joked as they all sat down. "I've been traveling with Mia for the last three years, we met in New York when she was on vacation."

"Okay, that's not the whole story. It turned out we used to work together when we both lived in Colorado back in the nineties," Mia said.

"You really just seem to attract reconnections," Ailis chuckled. "It's okay, Beth thought I made up Mia here, too."

"Okay to my defense," Beth started, holding up a finger. She pointed at Mia. "You were this borderline storybook character who just walked up to them at a bar, made them fall head over heels in love with you within a twelve-hour time frame, and that nobody ever saw again. Of course, I thought you were fake."

"Oh my god Beth," Ailis hissed, face bright red and eyes wide.

"And now you say you're raising her kid?" Beth asked with narrowed eyes.

"Which I'm not arguing about right now, Elizabeth, because I believe her," Ailis nudged her friend warningly before turning back to Mia and Rae. "It's super cool that you guys go way back like that. Was that Starbucks or that shitty retail job at the Target knock-off store?"

"Knock-off Target," both Rae and Mia said at the same time. Mia continued. "It was a camping store. We worked at this little place that sold specialty camping gear. So it was a ton of training, but honestly, it was dead most of the year."

"Now I know who to take with me if I need to get camping gear," Ailis joked. "What do you do now, Rae?" Mia felt a soft brush against her leg and glanced down to see the woman offering her hand under the table as she talked. She took it, lacing their fingers together happily.

"I work as security at a dive bar downtown," she said. "What about you Beth?"

"I'm a trauma doctor at the ER near downtown, mostly overnights," Beth responded. That explained the tired look in her eye. "Keeps me on my toes."