February 15, 2013
Wisps of smoke drifted in the air, leisurely cycling from corner to corner along the path given to it by the vents. An unknown rock song filtered through an aged set of speakers above the jukebox, soft light glowing from the music player. The windows accumulated moisture along the edges, warm air from the inside worming its way through the cracks in the sealant in an effort to escape the cold outside.
A crack sounded from down the bar. Meghan's neck swiveled toward the sound, gaze fixing on the ceramic balls bouncing along the felt surface of the pool table. She turned her attention back to the glass of whiskey in front of her, swirling the ice around before taking a sip. The liquid bit at her tongue, and she pushed an exhale through her nose as she swallowed. The red tinted tubing lights on the walled spelled something she couldn't read.
The door swung inwards, howling wind shoving the metal frame against the wall. The worn bell jingled incessantly until the newcomer shoved the door closed again. Meghan did not look away from the wall, keeping her stare until the barstool next to her creaked.
"Nie byłem pewien, czy przyjdziesz (I wasn't sure if you would come)," Meghan spoke before knocking back the remainder of her glass. The bartender wordlessly took it and replaced its contents. She spun to her side, eyes running up and down her guest.
"Really diggin' the new look. Just screams 'middle school drama queen.'"
Ela rolled her eyes, and pointed to the glass in front of Meghan when the bartender asked what she wanted. Her green-dyed hair, shorter than Meghan remembered it, shone in the light of the overhead lamps.
"I see the years have not changed your sense of humor."
Meghan waited, but when a follow-up didn't come she turned back to her own drink.
Minutes passed with no conversation. Meghan looked sidelong at the woman next to her, studying her compatriot's face. Creases beyond her years were in places they definitely weren't six years prior, and her skin was noticeably duller than it had been.
When Meghan caught herself staring she tilted her chin at Ela. "The years don't seem to have been kind to you."
Ela hummed and drank from her glass. When she put it down, half the whiskey remained. "You would be right." Again, she left the short statement alone.
Meghan sighed, reaching into her back pocket. She retrieved a pack of cigarettes and pulled one from the box, offering it to Ela. Her eyes shifted from it, to Meghan, and back to the stick of tobacco, before taking it between her fingers. Meghan flicked open a lighter and sparked it. She held it to the cigarette before sheathing the chrome plated tinderbox and setting it aside, next to the pack.
Ela took a long drag, closing her eyes as the smoke filled her lungs, and exhaled. "Didn't know you smoked."
Meghan gave a dry chuckle. "Didn't know you did, either. Honestly, there's probably quite a few things we don't know about each other these days."
Another pull, the filter glowing orange. "I suppose so. Such is life, when two people spend so long apart."
Meghan's fingers curled, briefly digging into her palm. She leaned her elbow on the bar, looking fully at Ela. "You talk like we hardly knew each other. We weren't strangers, a few years back. Sure, we weren't exactly sending each other Christmas cards, but I got used to hearing from you every now and again. Then you basically dropped off the face of the earth!"
Not once did Ela turn to her, switching between whiskey and cigarette with reckless purpose. "How did you find me?"
It wasn't a question so much as it was a demand, laced with ice and short on patience.
Meghan shifted on her seat. "Your sister-"
Ela ripped off a growl, animal and angry, "Always forcing her way into my life, no matter the point in our lives. You would think she has better things to do."
Meghan set down her glass, resting her arm on the bar. "She was worried about you-"
"She puts up a convincing façade. I've seen it before." She snapped at Meghan, biting the words off with as much force as she could muster.
"I was worried about you—"
Ela rolled her eyes and scoffed before pulling another drag on the cigarette. She huffed, refusing to look at Meghan.
"Why are you so hostile towards her all the time, and why are you so short with me right now?"
Ela's head snapped to meet Meghan's gaze so violently that it made her neck hurt.
"Because what I am now is different than I was when you knew me!" The bartender looked to the two women, wiping a glass in the meanwhile.
"My life is different than it was, and it will never again be like what I had before. Zofia only ever seems to twist whatever knife finds itself buried in me with her judgmental scolding. I know she does not mean it to be like that, but she knows that her meddling bothers me, and she never makes an effort to change."
The outburst had drawn the attention of the bar patrons, until a fiery glare from Meghan persuaded them to resume their activities. When she looked back to her accomplice, she found that Ela had resumed her focus-drained stare at the bar's stock of liquor.
"If you didn't want to be found, by me or anyone else, then why even meet me here?"
The prolonged silence that followed nearly convinced Meghan that Ela didn't hear her, but she was determined to allow her friend the time to think about her answer. Finally, Ela spared Meghan a look, one she held while speaking, and Meghan could see the shimmering moisture lining her eyes.
"Maybe I wanted a bit of my old life back."
It was Meghan's turn to be at a loss for words. Her gaze softened, shoulders sagging. "What happened to you?"
A pause, as Ela put down the nearly empty glass. "After our operation in Ukraine, I returned to the PMC in Iraq that I was taking jobs from. It was fulfilling work, work that I learned from. I was happy." She wavered at the final syllable. "But, a few months later, I learned that my father had taken his own life."
Meghan leaned back, silently stammering as she searched for the right words. "That's fucking horrible, I'm so sorry… but I'm confused, I thought you hated your dad? Something about playing favorites?"
Ela's glass was swiftly collected and refilled, and she nodded at the barkeep. The filter on her smoke burned orange again. "Yes, well… I have always tried to make him proud. As a child I would try to outdo the other children at everything, and as a teenager I would beg him to take me to the firing range to prove I could handle a gun. He never showed outward affection for my efforts. It frustrated me greatly, but I vowed to make him smile with pride, even if just once. Now I'll never get the chance-"
Her voice cracked on the last word. A tear splashed on the scarred wood as Meghan watched on with pursed lips. Ela swiped at her cheek with a sleeve.
"All I can do now is try to make amends after the fact, but that serves only me. And, the real trouble is, it doesn't even make me feel better..." She trailed off, staring at the teardrop. In one motion she balled her fist and slammed it on the bar. "I hate myself for being so weak. I wish you were not seeing me like this."
She felt a hand rest on her now stinging skin, and spared a glance at the source of the sensation. Meghan stayed as she was for a minute, maybe more, she couldn't tell. No words left Ela's mouth.
"You are anything but weak. I've seen enough to know that isn't true. Everyone gets the occasional crack in the armor; it's how we deal with it that defines us. What you're going through is normal, and you shouldn't be ashamed. I've been through similar things when the situation with my dad comes up."
Meghan removed her hand, but remained fixed on her friend as a storm of telegraphed thoughts flashed across Ela's face. A shuddering exhale left her.
"So what have you been up to?"
Ela took a deep breath, collecting herself. "I joined with my father's unit, the GROM, as a civilian. They contacted me some time after his death, apparently Orange Sky grabbed the attention of more than just your government. I've been working as something of an interrogator, pulling information from people who would rather I didn't."
Meghan's lips tugged into a smile. "I don't know about you, but I'd say that's a pretty good start at patching things up with your father. Living his work, helping your country."
A shrug from Ela. "Maybe. I can only hope." She paused to drink. "Tell me about your last couple of years, Meghan."
She hummed as she crossed her legs. "Well, I took leave from the Navy to go to college. Spent four years there studying communications, earned a fancy certificate to show for it. I'll be starting SEAL training in a couple months, but in the interim they stationed me at Redzikowo," Meghan took a swig of whiskey. "'S why I decided to look you up."
Ela stared at her, unspoken thoughts joining the smoke in the air. "I would say your years have been far superior to mine."
Meghan huffed. "It isn't a contest, Ela, everyone's got their own mountains to climb. Your life isn't any less worthy than mine, not by a long shot."
Ela couldn't stop her eyebrows from knitting together as a wary look crossed her features. "Why are you trying so hard to cheer me up, what does it get you?" Her words had the same frigid edge she'd used before, and Meghan adjusted her approach.
"I'm doing it because you're my friend. Even if you weren't, we were comrades, teammates. You get to be happy too, you know."
She turned back toward the bar, and the two entered a silence that, despite its length, held the most comfortable air of the night. Ela extended her glass in an outstretched hand, and Meghan clinked hers with it before they drank to the bottom.
"You will make a great SEAL."
"And you will make a great GROM agent."
Wood banged into ceramic as a pool player broke a formation of balls, pulling their awareness to the table.
"Hey," Meghan lightly slapped Ela's forearm. "Wanna go hustle those guys for all they're worth?"
A predatory grin beamed beneath hooded eyes. "You read my mind, Meghan."
This chapter wasn't originally planned when I first drew up the outline, but it was suggested to me by a little bird (shoutout to Precursor), and I loved the idea! So, here we are - an aside before Meghan's jump into BUD/S training, in which we explore the friendship between Ela and our blonde MC. These two could potentially have so much rich story to see, and I had so much fun putting it in writing! Hope you enjoyed!