Chapter XXXVIII
When Callie stepped into the bar close to the Robbins-Herman Center, her eyes instantly locked onto familiar blue ones. Arizona's lips curled into a bright smile as she waved at Callie. She shook off the raindrops before taking off her coat and walking over to Arizona. The day after tomorrow would be the big opening for the Center and when the blonde had called her to ask if she wanted to go for celebratory drinks tonight, the word 'yes' had escaped her lips before she even realized what she was saying.
"Hey," Arizona said, still wearing her bright smile when Callie sat down at the bar next to her.
"Hey yourself," Callie replied, mirroring the bright smile she was receiving. "I see you got a head start," she continued, nodding at the half-empty glass of wine in front of Arizona.
"I was cold," she replied casually while she shrugged. The slight blush that had crept up Arizona's cheek gave away that Callie's teasing remark had hit its mark.
"Do you want another one?" Callie asked while signaling for the bartender. Arizona just nodded before downing her glass. "So, how was your day?" She asked after placing her order.
"It was extremely busy," Arizona started before she animatedly started telling Callie about the last-minute preparations. It gave her the chance to really observe her ex-wife. Not that Callie needed a reminder of what Arizona looked like. It was just that Arizona looked different. Not physically, but just different. Happy. Arizona looked happy. And it suited her. She listened intently and smiled and nodded.
"So….," Arizona started after they had ordered their second round of wine. Arizona's third. "We are friends, right?"
She had not expected the conversation to flip from Arizona's work to this. "Huh?" She replied not-so-eloquently. She then nodded and cleared her throat, glad that it gave her two seconds to regain her bearings. "Special friends, if I have to believe our daughter," she replied, proud of her own comeback.
Arizona chuckled and nodded. "So, as special friends we can ask each other questions, right?" She looked at Callie expectantly, her blue eyes almost piercing through her ex-wife's soul. It was that look that got Callie every time. Whenever Arizona wanted something of her, she got that look. Once upon a time, it was one of the sexiest things on the planet and even now it reached deep into Callie's core. She would tell Arizona everything she wanted to know. "So…ah...Since Penny….has there been….you know….have you been dating?"
The question startled Callie. She had not expected the conversation to flip from Arizona's work to her personal life. And there was no smooth introduction either, Arizona just went straight for the million-dollar question. She was not sure if she wanted Arizona to know that.
"After Penny….not really," Callie replied, her mind racing. Where was this conversation going and how much was she going to say? She was so happy that Arizona and Emma seemed to be getting along, she did not want things to be awkward between them. She had every intention of keeping them both around. Emma as a friend and Arizona as….well, that was still to be determined.
"There was someone, but we didn't really date. It was just..," her voice trailed off and she waved her hand in the air to indicate it was nothing serious. And even though whatever she had with Emma was nothing serious and certainly not a relationship, somehow it felt unfair to dismiss her like this. Because even though it had been just sex, they had built a very good friendship over the past two years and she cared for Emma. As a friend. The sex had been good, very good, but she preferred the green-eyed blonde as a friend and confidant.
"Sex?" Arizona apparently could not help finishing Callie's sentence. She was listening intently and all her focus was on Callie, which made the dark-haired woman feel quite self-conscious.
"Yeah," she chuckled uncomfortably. "As I told you, I needed to be just me for a while. These past two years have been….," lonely, her mind filled in, but she did not say the word. "I needed to be on my own, but it was nice to have….companionship."
"I get it," Arizona replied with a nod. She took a sip of her wine and for some reason, Callie's eyes trained onto the blonde's soft, pink lips.
"You do?"
"It's not like you have to justify yourself to me, Callie," Arizona continued. Her eyes caught Callie's staring, but she did not seem to react to it.
She smiled at Arizona and nodded. "What…what about you?"
This time it was Arizona that chuckled. "I've been here for all of three minutes, I haven't had the time to even re-install Tinder on my phone."
Her response was met with a raised eyebrow. "You used Tinder?"
"Who doesn't?" Arizona shot back with a grin.
"Fair point," Callie replied. She knew for a fact that Arizona knew she had been on Tinder. It was where she met some of the women she dated after their marriage ended. Arizona had literally had to watch her do that.
"Well, you know about Carina. When I decided that I needed to come to New York with Sofia, I broke things off with her," Arizona's voice trailed off a little in the end and it made Callie realize once more the things the blonde had given up on to get their family back together.
She reached out for Arizona's arm and gently put her hand there. "Arizona," her voice was soft and gentle, "I…I don't think I've told you how much I appreciate what you've done for our…." She stopped and pursed her lips. It was not really their family anymore. It was them co-parenting. "What you've done to make Sofia happy." She swallowed, her eyes slowly making their way up to meet Arizona's. "If there's anything I can do for you….just…you know…..let me know. I'm here."
Arizona raised her eyebrow and gave Callie a questioning look. She could feel the blonde go over her words again. Maybe it sounded like a double entendre? Callie had not meant it to sound like that, it was an honest show of gratitude. She realized she had been thanking Arizona a lot, but it had been genuine every single time. Callie felt the atmosphere between them change and she wondered if Arizona felt it too or if she was just imagining it.
"Well…." Arizona paused and flashed Callie a dimpled smile. "There is something you could do for me."
Callie leaned in closer. "And that is?" She was pretty sure by now that Arizona did feel the change between them. They were getting comfortable with each other again and the bad tension seemed to just dissipate with every time they spent time together.
"I could really use another glass of wine."
The dark-haired woman chuckled and let out a short breath she had unconsciously been holding. For a second there she thought Arizona was going to flirt with her. Her mind sometimes really got the better of her.
After their next order arrived, they spent the rest of the time chatting about all kinds of things. Callie found herself once again thoroughly enjoying Arizona's company. It was amazing how easy things seemed to be right now, almost like there had not been a long and painful road full of heartbreak behind them. Like they were just Callie and Arizona, having a few drinks together. Without the history of their eventful and powerful relationship or the painful divorce. It was refreshing.
###
"Mama, I want to wear make-up too," Sofia whined. "It's a party and you are wearing make-up."
Callie shook her head. "We talked about this, Sofia," she said simply. "How about I paint your nails?"
That seemed to be a good compromise as the little girl immediately sat down and held out her hands. "I want pink, please," she said with a sweet smile.
This earned her a chuckle from her mother, who started painting Sofia's nails. "Are you excited about your game tomorrow?" She asked. After their visit to the Yankees, they had signed Sofia up for T-ball and tomorrow would be her first-ever game. Sofia had been to two training sessions and absolutely loved learning a new game. According to Alex Perez, she was a fast learner. Even hearing about it made Callie so proud, she was looking forward to watching her daughter play.
"Yes!" Sofia replied excitedly. "I get to wear my team jersey and Elena said her dad is bringing candy! Everyone that gets a hit, gets candy."
Callie chuckled. "I can't wait to see you play," she replied. She blew on Sofia's fingers to fasten the drying process on the nail polish. "Okay, baby, I'm going to finish getting ready, you sit here and don't move your hands. The nail polish still needs to dry properly."
She had opted for a simple, yet elegant black dress that she knew looked good on her. It had been a while she had dressed up for Arizona. Well, she was not really dressing up for Arizona per se, but it kind of felt like that.
A little while later, Callie and Sofia arrived at the Robbins-Herman Center. Upon entering the building, Callie felt a sense of pride. With everything she had seen Arizona go through in the past few years, it was admirable that she had battled through it and managed to come out on top like this. No matter what had happened between them and no matter how much Arizona had hurt her in the past, she could not help but feel love and pride for her ex-wife right now.
The blonde in question was standing in the reception area, wearing a beautiful cornflower blue dress Callie had not seen on her before. She looked stunning and was beaming with pride as she welcomed the guests.
"Look at mommy," Sofia said.
"I know, baby," Callie replied, gently squeezing her daughter's hand. "She is pretty, isn't she?"
"Like a princess!"
Yes, like a princess. They walked over to the reception area and when Arizona noticed them, she flashed Callie a bright smile.
"Thank you for coming," she said quietly as Callie wrapped her into a hug. Callie could smell that blend of perfume and shampoo that was uniquely Arizona. She had smelled it so many times over the past decade that it had become something normal and it was not until now that she was aware of it again. Without thinking she turned her head and planted a soft kiss on Arizona's cheek.
"Congratulations, Arizona," she said proudly. "You look amazing," she added, the admiration evident in her voice. It caused a pink blush to creep up Arizona's cheeks.
"Mommy, you look like a princess," Sofia said while wrapping her arms around her mother.
"Thank you, little Miss, so do you," Arizona replied. "And look at you, your nails are painted!"
Sofia held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Mama did them."
After chatting with Arizona a bit, the blonde had to tend to the other guests. Callie found herself talking to Emma while she watched Sofia play with a few other children at the designated children's table. Her co-worker was wearing a black asymmetrical cocktail dress that was simple, yet elegant. She looked super excited while talking about an interesting surgery she had performed the day before. While Emma continued her story, Callie watched Arizona come over to Sofia to give her a hug. She watched how they talked, her eyes trained on her ex-wife.
Emma lightly touched her arm. "Can I get you another drink?" She asked, derailing Callie's train of thought while locking eyes with her.
"Ahhh…," Callie replied, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. She had just gotten caught staring at Arizona and she knew it. And she knew Emma knew. "You know what…I'll get it, what can I get you?"
"Red wine, please," Emma replied, winking at Callie. Her blonde friend let her off easy and Callie was grateful for it.
When she walked over to the bar, she let out a breath. She leaned against the bar, waiting for the bartender to come over.
"It's her, isn't it?" Arizona's voice came from behind her and Callie spun around to face the woman she had been staring at before. Just when she thought she was getting some relief, the next challenge was there. She could ask Arizona what she meant, but she knew. "Your thing, it was with Emma, wasn't it?"
She swallowed hard. This was definitely going to be the moment that a fight would start. And she could not even blame Arizona for it. Callie had chosen not to tell Arizona who she had seen after Penny. It had been to protect Emma and the friendship they had developed, or maybe even herself. But she had not expected to have it blow up in her face like this.
Arizona must have noticed the deer in the headlights look Callie was giving her right now because she smiled at her. "I just…I saw you two talk to each other…"
She sighed and pressed her lips together. "Yes, it was her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you last night. It...it ended before you told me you were coming to New York. It was just...It didn't mean anything. She and I are better as friends." Her inner voice was chastising her. Way to go. Hiding things from Arizona was a great way to start building their friendship again. She needed to explain herself better. "I just didn't want things to be weird."
"It's fine," Arizona said. "As I told you last night, you don't have to justify yourself. It's…." her voice trailed off. Callie looked deep into the blonde's eyes, trying to gauge what she was feeling. She could simply not read Arizona right now.
"You can see whomever you want, we are not together anymore," the blonde added quietly. And right at that moment, something clicked for Callie and she could read Arizona. She was lying. Her ex-wife did not lie a lot, but when she did, Callie could see it. And she saw it now.