It was another peaceful evening for Anna Wayne. She was currently sat in a very quiet little bar on the other side of town, finally getting a chance to get some time to herself. Her little girl, Ellie, had just started school and as such, was very excitable. Anna didn't mind this, but she had gotten quite exhausted. Her best friend, Ariel, had agreed to watch her child for tonight and Anna had been more than grateful. Now she was sat on a bar stool, beer in hand and feeling peace at last.
The bartender, a young British girl named Lena, smiled at her. "You alright, love?" she asked. Lena was an old friend of Anna's who owned this little bar in the city. They had gone to school together and she had been very supporitve of Anna's motherhood.
"I'm fine thanks Lena," Anna replied, taking an easy breath. "Just sobering up before heading home, I wouldn't wanna be drunk in front of Ellie now would I?"
"Guess being a mother has its ups and downs huh?" Lena remarked, polishing a beer glass.
"You could say that," Anna told her. "I just wish Kristoff had at least stayed before she was born..." She looked down, her thoughts dwelling on memories she wished she could move on from.
"Hey, that bastard didn't deserve you," Lena said to her in attempt to cheer her up. "You are amazing, Anna. It wasn't your fault what happened with him."
Anna sighed. "Sometimes...I can't help but blame myself for him leaving. If I had just taken the damn birth control..."
"Hey, hey, don't blame yourself okay?," Lena responded, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're a great mother to Ellie. Don't forget that."
Anna looked at her friend and smiled. "I won't, hon."
Just then, a woman in a pale blue blouse and dark blue skirt sat down beside her. "Tequila, Lena," she said, rubbing her temples, a low groan emanating from her throat. She took off her pair of black glasses and rubbed her eyes as well. She was clearly exhausted from what she'd been doing.
"Oh, evening Elsa," Lena greeted her. "Rough night?"
"You could say that," the woman replied.
Lena poured Elsa the drink and smiled at her. "Here, have it on me."
"Thanks, Lena, you're the best."
"I'm not just the best, love," Lena stated. "I'm fan-frickin-tastic."
Anna glanced at the woman now seated beside her. She was pretty; more so than any man or woman she'd ever laid eyes on. Anna was hesitant to even think of dating again, but at least saying hello to her wouldn't hurt.
"Ummm Hi," Anna spoke, trying her best to get the woman's attention.
Elsa looked at Anna, confused. "H-Hi me? Are you talking to me?"
"Yes," Anna confessed. "Sorry, I'll let you get back to your drink. I'm clearly bothering you."
"No, no, not at all," Elsa replied, before taking a drink. "You seem a bit down... is something wrong?"
"I'm alright, but you look a bit weary," Anna commented.
Elsa shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she told her. "I just had to work a bit later than normal. Damn these late shifts."
"Oh, where do you work?"
"At a school," Elsa told her. "It's not far from here. I teach the younger kids there and boy are they hard to handle sometimes, but I also have to be the one marking exams for the older kids and that can be… even more stressful."
Anna chuckled. "Funny, I've got a kid myself."
"I don't have any kids," Elsa stated. "I love looking after them, but I don't wanna have one myself, you know? Too much hard work."
"Well my girl was a bit of an... unplanned pregnancy," Anna told her.
"Ah, I get ya," Elsa accepted. "I figured you seemed a bit young to be a mother. How old are you?"
"Twenty," Anna replied. "Twenty-one is three months."
"Wow... I didn't think you were that young," Elsa remarked. "I could've sworn you were at least twenty-five."
"No, I just look a bit old for my age," Anna told her. "Someone once thought I was about thirty once." She sighed and began to tell Elsa her story. "I was so dumb. I fell in love with a boy back in high school. He said he'd be mine forever. But then he...he got me pregnant...and I couldn't afford an abortion. I thought if I just put the child up for adoption, it'd be okay. But when I held her for the first time...I just couldn't go through with it." She sniffled. "This was my baby girl. And I didn't want her to make the same mistakes that I did. So I got my high school diploma, and I moved out and got a place of my own. I'm saving up to go to the community college soon."
"That's good. At least then you can get a good job that will hopefully give you enough to provide for your kid."
"Me too," Anna said. "But right now I'm more concerned with getting my little girl through school... she's just started you see."
"What's her name?" Elsa inquired.
"Elizabeth Joy," Anna answered. "I named her after my grandma, and because she's my little bundle of joy." She chuckled. "Yeesh, how corny can I get?"
Elsa smiled. "I like corny." Elsa then thought for a moment. The name Anna had given her was slightly familiar, but in her slightly tipsy state, she couldn't remember.
Anna blushed slightly. "So..." she gulped. "Are you... single?"
"As a Pringle," Elsa confirmed.
"Well... I was thinking that maybe you and I could..." Anna put her fingers together. "See each other again. I mean I haven't dated in a while, but you seem really sweet to me."
Elsa smiled. "Are you asking me out? Because… I'm actually looking for a relationship right now."
"Ummm... maybe?" Anna hinted. She was a clueless dork when it came to romantic advances.
Elsa giggled. "Alright. It's a date then." She leaned close and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Shall we say tomorrow night? Here? At around… Eight?"
"Sounds good to me." Anna checked her watch. "I gotta go and make sure my kid is in sleepy land."
"Awww, okay," Elsa accepted, sadly. "Still, it was nice meeting you um..."
"Anna, Anna Wayne."
Elsa smiled, adjusting her black-rimmed glasses. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Ms. Wayne."
Anna blushed. "I'll... see you soon." And with that she headed off home.
xXx
The next morning, Anna was giving her little girl a lift to school, something she didn't usually do. Ellie, despite being a little girl, was quite good at doing things for herself. Anna felt her own independence was rubbing off on her.
Ellie herself looked very similar to Anna, albeit her hair looking a mix of blonde and the strawberry colour that Anna's hair was. She was wearing her favourite dress, a small red outfit that Anna's mother had given to her, even if Anna herself thought her daughter looked a little too small in it.
"Hey, Mommy," Ellie wondered, sitting in the passenger seat of Anna's hatchback. "Why are you giving me a lift to school?"
"Mommy has to go see your teachers today, Ellie," Anna replied.
Ellie looked down. "Am I in trouble? Because all the kids say if your parents go to the teacher, you're in big trouble."
"No, no, I just have to see them, that's all," Anna comforted her. "You aren't in any trouble, I promise."
"Okay, Mommy," Ellie accepted, playing with her feet in the car.
Anna smiled. "So.. have you been playing with your new friend lately?"
"Olaf?" Ellie wondered.
"Yes, him."
"He's funny," Ellie said with a little giggle. "He gave me a hug yesterday."
"Awww, he sounds really nice," Anna accepted. "I bet you and him will best friends forever."
"Would you be okay if he came to play with me?" Ellie wondered.
"Oh sure, you can bring any friend you want home, Ellie, provided his mommy and daddy say it's okay," Anna said. "You don't want your mommy getting in trouble do you?"
"Yay! I mean um… no." Ellie then smiled at her mother proudly. "You're the best mommy EVER!"
Anna smiled proudly. "Oh, I know."
Soon they arrived at Ellie's school, Anna seeing her little one off to see her friends. After she had made sure Ellie got to class safely, Anna walked to the principal's office.
The principal, an elderly Arab woman named Mrs. Amari, smiled at Anna from across her desk. "Hello, Ms. Wayne. Thank you for coming in today," she greeted her in a thick Egyptian accent.
"You're welcome," Anna replied. "Sorry I couldn't wear anything a bit more... smart. I don't exactly have much in terms of clothes."
"It's quite alright," the principal said, sipping a cup of tea. "This isn't a formal situation by any means."
"I know, I know... but my dad told me, always dress to impress," Anna stated.
"Good words to live by," the principal agreed. "Well, I'll go get Miss Hayman and then I'll leave you to it."
As the principal walked out of the room, Anna became nervous. She didn't want to look like a bad parent in front of her daughter's teacher.
She took a deep breath. "Easy, Anna," she murmured to herself. "They know you're a young single mother. They understand it's not easy. Just stay calm. Do it for Ellie."
Soon the door opened and the principal walked in. "She's here, Miss Hayman."
Ellie's teacher walked in, and Anna's eyes widened in shock. It was none ofther than Elsa, the woman she had met in the bar the night before.
"Ms Wayne, this is Miss Elsa Hayman," The principal introduced Elsa. "She teaches the class that your daughter is in. I'm sure you two will get along very well."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Elsa greeted her with a warm smile, the same smile Anna remembered from the night before.
"It's uhhh a pleasure to meet you too," Anna stuttered, very embarrassed by this situation.
"Well, I'll leave you two in peace," the principal agreed. "I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."
Once Mrs. Amari had left, Anna blurted out, "You're my daughter's teacher?!"
"I was just as surprised as you are," Elsa admitted. "But yes, I am."
"Oh man..." Anna groaned. "And I asked you out last night." She started to laugh. "This is sooooo embarrassing."
"Hey, it's alright," Elsa told her, sitting behind the desk. "It's not everyday the girl I meet in a bar is one of the mothers of the kids I teach." She smiled. "I think it's just a funny coincidence."
"So... how come you didn't come out and say it right away?" Anna wondered. "Were you, like secretly testing me to see how good of a parent I was?"
"No, I was just a bit tipsy," Elsa informed her. "My memory isn't so great when alcohol is going through it. I honestly didn't realise it until I woke up this morning."
"Jesus, this is gonna be a nightmare," Anna groaned. "I mean if we actually do start dating, what will people think?"
Elsa smiled. "No, it won't. I'll help you through it, not just as your girlfriend, but as Ellie's teacher too." She looked at her. "And about your daughter; Ellie is one of the best behaved children in my class. She's a real joy to be around.
Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... she is?"
Elsa nodded. "Oh yes." She then held Anna's hand in a reassuring manner. "Would you like to hear more?"
Anna's face beamed. "Oh, I would love to." and in that moment, all of Anna's fears and doubts simply went away.
xXx
Author's note: Now, I got the idea for this fic from a post I saw on Tumblr. I don't remember which blog it was on, but I have a gut feeling it might have been cani. But in any case, I hope you liked (and laughed at) this fic.
See you next time!