agent rogers returns • j.thompson

mirrorball.

shimmering beautiful
and when i break it's in a million pieces

C A L I F O R N I A
—
C H A R L O T T E

"He asked me to go to dinner with him this Saturday night, Charlotte."

"Well, Peg, that's great!" I said tiredly. I was laying on my bed at the Stark mansion, my bullet wound now treated and sewn up.

"And... and dancing, too."

She looked away from me at this.

"It's been almost two years since Steve died."

"Charlotte —"

"It's okay, Peggy. You aren't betraying him or me by going dancing. I know it's what Steve wanted to do before he died, but you know what he'd want even more than a dance with you? He'd want you to be happy."

She sighed and turned back to me. "You're right, I know. But I told Jason that I don't socialise with persons of interest."

"Oh, Peggy! Why would you do that?!"

"Then, afterward, I asked Daniel if he wanted to go get a drink. And he told me he couldn't tonight..."

I frowned at this. Of course I knew about Daniel's girlfriend. She was a very lovely woman. But I also knew Daniel was still caught up on Peggy.

I couldn't be the one to tell Peg about Violet, though.

"Well, we can have a drink right here!"

"I saw him go out and kiss a woman. Why didn't you tell me he had a girlfriend?"

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"

She gave me a look that told me 'absolutely not' and I sighed.

"I'll go get some whiskey," she sighed.

Peggy quickly returned with a couple glasses and a bottle of expensive whiskey — one of the many benefits of being best friends with a billionaire — with a smirk on her face.

"I almost forgot... Daniel told me about your phone call with Jack."

"I told him not to — he didn't say what I said after did he?"

"No, but now that you mention it, you have to tell me."

I sighed and drank some whiskey. It didn't do much, now that I had the serum coursing through my veins.

"Sometimes I miss Jack, okay?"

"I understand, Charlotte. Feelings don't disappear so easily when you break up with someone you love."

"Yuck! Don't use the 'L' word!" I downed the rest of my drink and frowned. "I need Howard to get me something much stronger than this."

—

The following morning, I sat out by the pool reading in a pair of high wasted blue shorts with buttons down each side and a blue-stripped top.

Mr. Jarvis was lifting weights under the canopy. He was in the middle of a lift when Peggy approached.

"Good lord man!"

"Ah, yes," Jarvis grunted while I snickered. "The attire is a touch... primitive, but I've found that free range of motion is imperative."

"I had no idea your interests were so diverse!"

I closed my book and watched the two carefully as Jarvis informed her of his routine of physical fitness and the 'deadly arts.'