Disclaimer: I don't own Higher Ground or any of the original characters. I do own Carlene Radzilovich.
It was raining really hard when Sophie came back from her morning run. Plus, it was cold and the woods had been so muddy they seemed to be more of a swamp. She wondered why she went out to run in that weather, immediately scolding herself for showing weakness, even if it was only in her thoughts.
When she came out of the bathroom after a long, hot shower, she heard the phone ringing. "Who the hell calls at that time in the morning?", she muttered under her breath.
She picked up the receiver. "Becker.", she said, trying not to let her bad mood influence her tone of voice.
"Hi Soph! Did you enjoy a nice morning run in the rainy mountains of Washington?"
She recognized the voice immediately.
flashback 6 months earlier
Sophie was at the retirement party the Navy was throwing for her father, Rear Admiral Becker. After all the official speeches she became bored rapidly. She'd never been involved with her fathers professional live. Most people there were soldiers talking shop. She went to several groups, but all they talked about were military operations, technical data on ships, who would be made Captain next…Finally she found herself near a corner of the room, watching everyone else. After a while she noticed that she wasn't the only one doing that. There was a woman who seemed just as bored, although she obviously belonged here, wearing the uniform of a commander. Apparently, the woman had spotted her too, she was coming over.
"Gets kinda boring, huh?" It was more of a statement than a question, though.
"Even for someone who belongs here?" Was that woman patronizing her?
"Well, in some way you must belong, too or you wouldn't be here. Anyway, it is boring. I've been to a lot of these parties lately and everyone always discuss the same topics."
"Oh? And what is the retiree usually doing around this time?"
Shrug. "Some of them discuss their retirement plans. Some just wait for the moment they can leave without being too impolite. This one? I'd guess he's not completely drunk but getting there."
By the mentioning of her fathers drinking problems, the smile was wiped from Sophies face
The other woman noticed that. "Are you family?", she asked softly.
"Daughter.", Sophie replied curtly.
"My frankness will get me in real trouble sometime…. Anyway, I'm really sorry if I hurt you, but it's probably the truth."
"I know – I know…" Sophie sighed.
"Oh, where are my manners, I'm Carlene Radzilovich, you can call me Carla."
End of flashback
"How did you know that?", growled Sophie.
"Well, let's see… weather report tells me it's raining up there and my – admittedly limited – knowledge about you tells me that you probably wouldn't be deterred by that. By the way, here it's sunny, perfect weather to lie on the beach…" Carla teased.
"Why did you call?", Sophie snapped angrily.
"Why, to make your already bad mood worse, of course."
"I'm beginning to believe that, too. Now, seriously, what's up?", Sophie said in a gruff voice, trying to suppress a smile.
There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then:
"Umm… I was wondering… were you serious about inviting me up there?"
Flashback (same time and location as the previous one)
They spent the rest of the evening together. Mostly they talked about their freetime activities, the countries they visited and what they did there. Both liked all kinds of outdoor sports, especially rock climbing.
"I bet I could climb any rock you are able to do. But I could beat you swimming any distance longer than 100 meters.", Carla finally challenged Sophie.
"No way! I bet I can manage to climb our climbing wall a lot faster than you!", Sophie threw the challenge back at her.
"OUR wall? You own some climbing center or what?"
"No. I'm working at a high school for troubled teens, Mt. Horizon." And she explained what the school is all about. "I got an idea. You can come visit me there some time and we'll try who is better. Deal?"
"Deal!"
End of flashback
"Of course I was! We don't have any major problems here at the moment. You can stay in my cabin. I still have to check with Peter, but I don't expect any problems. If he has any objections, I'll call you, though. When will you come here and how long do you want to stay?"
"Does Saturday and one week sound ok to you?"
"Yeah, great. Listen, I have to take care of some things. So, if nothing changes, I'll see you day after tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Alright, I won't keep you from your duties. Bye, Soph." She sounded relieved.
"Bye, Carla." Sophie put down the receiver.
On the way to breakfast she wondered what that was all about. Carla had sounded like something was bothering her, occupying her mind. But she put that thought out of her mind, since she thought that she would find out soon enough. Just then she spotted Peter and went over to him.
"Hi Peter, I got a question for you…"
He turned and smiled at her. "Shoot." he said.
"A while back, I invited a friend of mine. She just called and she is thinking of coming up here this weekend and staying for about a week. Is that ok with you?"
"No problem. But I had a two day hike with the Cliffhangers planned for next week. So she'll either have to come with us or stay on her own."
"I don't think she'll mind a little hike."