Cat had agreed to go out to eat with Jade, even offered to drive them there since Jade didn't have a ride at the moment. They quickly made their way out of the parking lot after stopping by Cat's work station to pick up her things and went out into the busy streets in her car while having small talk. Most of it was just simple questions about work and other uninteresting topics people used to pass the time or to build up to what they wanted to talk about. "So where are you taking me?"
Cat glanced over to her with a smile and said, "There's this little Spanish place not too far away that I've been going to a lot with my friends from Blackhawk, you'll love it!"
"Sounds alright, just hope we can get a private space to talk. I don't want people coming up to chat and interrupting us," Jade said. "I had this one time in New York, I was meeting a coworker for dinner to just have a night out and relax but the table got surrounded by people asking for an autograph and hounding me with questions. Ever since then, I've either ordered in or just requested a private area."
"I think they'll have something that'll work!" Cat said with a bright smile, "I'm just glad I get to hang out with you after so long!"
"Really? Last time we talked you nearly chewed my head off," Jade said as she looked at her curiously, "and when I talked with Beck it wasn't much better, you all sounded like you were ready to pounce on me if I stepped out of line."
"I'm sorry…it's just been really hard over the last few years and when you said you were coming back, we all kind of went into high alert," Cat said as she pulled off a busy road down a one-way street towards a series of smaller two-story buildings. "We all really did miss you. I just wish it was easier."
"I missed you all too, but I had to go," Jade said as she watched Cat pull into a parking lot of a restaurant called Angio's Diner in complete silence. Angio's was a two-story brick building with two small balconies on the front with plants twisting and tangling along the railings and down the sides of the building, giving it a more rundown yet mysterious appearance for a restaurant. In several places there were faded paintings and murals of people and dates painted underneath them, all with marigolds twisting around the numbers. "Looks nice. Rundown but nice."
Cat laughed and slapped her arm as she got out of the car and said, "Come on, let's go! I'm starving!"
Jade had to practically jog after Cat as she skipped towards the doors of the building and quickly entered inside. As Jade caught the door before it closed, she heard Cat squeal and laugh! The darker-haired woman opened the door, confused by Cat's outburst, and saw her friend being spun around in a hug by a giant of a woman. The woman was older than both of them, possibly in her mid to late thirties, tanned skin with tattoos peeking out from under her short sleeves and an apron tied around her waist and a shaved head. She towered over both of them, standing around six and a half feet, and was rather strong as she effortlessly twirled with Cat as she held her in a tight embrace. "Cat! It's been too long! You never come to visit anymore!"
"Angie I was here two weeks ago!" Cat said with a laugh as she was set down, "I'm sorry I've been busy."
The large woman put on a fake frown and crossed her arms and said, "Too busy to even call and chat? That's disappointing Cat, and to think, I was going to invite you to come dress shopping for my daughters' quinceanera."
Cat gasped and swatted at the large woman's arm which made her laugh as Cat said, "Dress shopping?! But you said I could make her dress! Angie that's mean! I already got the fabric and everything!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding Cat, don't worry," she patted Cat's head and looked over to Jade and said, "Need one more chair for that reservation you had?"
Cat quickly shook her head and said, "No we're fine. I was coming with a coworker but they canceled. This is my friend Jade! We went to school together before she moved!"
"Ah…" the woman said as she approached Jade and looked her over. "Well, a friend of Cat is a friend of mine. I'm Angie, I own the place, nice to meet you."
She offered Jade her hand which she took and said, "Right…nice to meet you too. You that chummy with all your customers?"
"Jade be nice!" Cat said as she reached behind the counter and grabbed some menus.
Angie laughed and said, "Only with the ones I like. Cat's been coming for a while and is practically part of the extended family. Anyway, enough chatter, you came to eat!"
The large woman walked around them both and placed her hand on their backs and ushered them forward into the small restaurant and towards a staircase that led to seating on the upper floor. "Go ahead and take that table tucked near the balcony. I'll have one of the boys bring you water and get your order."
They walked over to the table and Cat looked back over her shoulder and said, "Oh Angie! One sec!" she handed Jade the menus and said, "Go sit, I'll be right back. I have to talk to her about her daughter's dress!"
Jade took the menus and didn't question it and walked over to the small table and took a seat that was near the open balcony that offered her a nice breeze and a few of some towering buildings off in the distance. Cat disappeared down the stairs with Angie and was talking to her in hushed tones, leaving Jade completely alone on the second floor. There had been a couple of patrons on the bottom floor but not many since they managed to beat the lunchtime rush. Jade didn't think much of the place, it was nice, strange but nice and with an owner like Angie, she could see why Cat liked coming here. She sat there and looked through the menu for a little bit to see what they had and messed around on her phone while she waited for Cat to return, thinking about how to address the elephant in the room.
"Hello?" Tori said as she picked up her phone off the seat next to her.
"Hey, hey!" Cat said excitedly on the other end.
"What's up Cat?" Tori asked as she put the phone on speaker and continued to drive.
"Nothing much! Are you still coming to lunch?" Cat asked.
"Yeah, I'm already on my way, why did something happen?" Tori asked.
"No! Nothing happened," Cat said, "But I might be a little late so just grab the table and I'll meet you there! Angie already knows you're coming. I just have to take designs and drop them off before I can come out!"
"Oh, that's no big deal, just don't keep me waiting too long," Tori playfully said back as she pulled off the highway and went straight for Angio's.
"Kay, kay! I'll see you soon Tori!" Cat said and quickly hung up. The redhead looked back at the restaurant and took a breath before quickly making her way to her car and got in and pulled away as fast as she could before Tori arrived. She knew the others would kill her for pulling such a stunt but if no one was going to take initiative to try and mend things, she would!
Around twenty minutes later, Tori eventually made it to their usual lunch spot and pulled into her spot in the back of the lot and grabbed her large brown purse she carried around since high school, and got out of the beat-up van. This place held so many memories for her dating back to her early childhood when her grandparents would take her and Trina here to celebrate any minor achievement. Her soft smiled faded a little bit as she veered off to the side of the building and looked across the murals painted across the brink and traced her finger along the stem of a flower, retracing her steps until she found the brick she was looking for. She dragged her finger across the stonework and brought it up and looked to the three small names and dates all painted in black, hidden in plain sight amongst the faded bright colors and busy imagery. Angie had painted them on for her when she heard what had happened and even lit some candles in their honor, a gesture Tori was always thankful for since she was unable to properly grieve at the time. Tori kissed two of her fingertips and placed them over the names and closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, letting the soft breeze blow her loose hair over her shoulder before she stepped back and opened her eyes, and marched off towards the entrance. As she got close, an older couple quickly exited and held the door for her, and gestured her inside with a worried look on their faces as Tori started to hear voices yelling.
"What the fuck do you mean she left?! Where the hell did she go?!"
Just like yesterday, Jade's voice made Tori's entire body tense up as she heard the gothic beauty scream. The door closed behind her as she entered and shouldered her large bag and watch as Angie looked down at Jade from across the counter, glaring at her with the same frustration the paler woman displayed and said, "She said she had to go do something. I don't know when she'll be back but said to sit tight."
Jade was about to speak but Angie cut her off as she caught sight of Tori and said, "Cariño, me alegro de verte."
Jade followed Angie's gaze and turned around to see who was drawing the woman's attention away from her and paused as the world around her came to a halt. To both women, it felt as if time stopped. The sounds of traffic outside faded away, the smells coming from the kitchen disappeared and the people around them faded into the background, leaving only each other in their sights.
Tori had seen pictures and some interviews featuring Jade in the past so she knew what she looked like but for Jade, this was the first time after all of these years. Her eyes focused on every detail as she scanned her from head to toe taking note of every aspect of her being. Her long dark brown hair was longer and hanging around her shoulders, framing her beautiful face. She noticed that she was wearing simple stud earrings as opposed to the usual more elegant ones that she wore in the past. Her makeup was very minimal but highlighted her natural exotic features that drew Jade in when they started to fall for one another. Her once vibrant and beautiful eyes were darkened and obscured behind a pair of reading glasses and carried deep bags under them, indicating a lack of sleep.
Her fashion sense seemed to have changed as well which surprised Jade as she looked at the large faded UCLA sweatshirt Tori wore instead of something more flattering that complimented her. The sleeves were rolled up just past the elbow and allowed Jade to see all of the scars littered across the once flawless caramel skin. She remembered all the nights they spent cuddled in each other's arms and would drag a finger up and down the length of Tori's forearm as they stayed up late and talked about everything and nothing. Seeing all of those marks made the reality of Beck's words on the plane come crashing in all at once as she felt a torrent of emotions well up inside of her that she couldn't even begin to process. Her stomach twisted and turned over on itself, her blood pumped and sent her into overdrive while her heart broke yet beat stronger than ever as it echoed in her ears. Her resolve allowed her to push through it all and kept her emotions in check, somewhat, as she trailed her eyes down Tori's long legs that once drove her crazy and saw she was wearing a pair of jean shorts and on her left thigh was a tattoo of flowers like the ones outside on the building tied with cloth along the stems. Tori had never come across, to her at least, as a tattoo kind of person and it added another level of intrigue and curiosity that beckoned Jade to try and unravel the mystery behind it. The woman before her was the one she had fallen for, it was her Tori, the beautiful and caring, sometimes stubborn, songstress that made her heart melt every time she was with her. But it was also someone entirely new. This new person, this new Tori, was darker and more guarded as she held her monstrous purse close to her side and looked ready to flee at the first sign of danger. Everything about her felt so foreign yet familiar at the same time, like returning to a home after moving out years before. The foundation and rooms were all the same but the small details that made it into a home had all been altered and changed.
The two women stood there for what felt like an eternity until Jade broke the silence with a low growl and said, "I'm going to kill Cat next time I see her."
Author's Notes:
Here we are! After seven years they are finally seeing each other in person for the first time due to some trickery from Cat. I'm excited to move forward and dive into the lingering feelings each of them are dealing with while expanding on the more recent traumatic events. Hopefully Jade will be able to get Tori to open up and finally talk about what happened and maybe they can work past it, only time will tell.
Thank you again for leaving your reviews and sharing your thoughts, I love seeing your reactions and reading through them when I'm in a creative slump. I'm curious if anyone pieced together some of the details about what has happened to Tori over the last few years. Anyway, leave your reviews if you would like to, feel free to share the story with a friend if you feel so inclined. Have a good evening!
Cariño, me alegro de verte = Sweetheart, it's good to see you
Songs Used for Inspiration:
1. ?
2. "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs
3. "Miss Missing You" by Fall Out Boy
4. ?