Chapter Eleven
Begin Again
Unlike the last time, the cafe around Diantha was quiet. The location was likely the cause, along with it being a Wednesday afternoon. Instead of Crema, the two had agreed to meet at a coffee shop that was closer to the middle of them. Everett was a lovely town, in Diantha's opinion. Had she not got the job at Easton High School, she would have considered the area.
Soft piano music played over the speakers. With a book on her phone to keep herself busy, a fresh blueberry scone, and a hot coffee, all that was missing was Cynthia. Though, if she thought about it all too hard, she would find a nervous shake in her hands.
Their last coffee date hadn't gone over well. She could only hope that this one wouldn't go the same way. Thankfully, there weren't many painful conversations they were likely to have.
Fifteen minutes after their agreed meeting time, Diantha looked to the clock on her phone, worry crossing her features. It wasn't like her to ever be late to something.
With no message, she tapped the home button to return to her book, only to then see Cynthia walk in the door. She looked around for a second before spotting Diantha.
"So sorry I'm late," She apologized as she stopped by the table.
"You had me worried for a second. Is it a new thing for you to be late?" She teased.
Cynthia breathed a laugh. "Hardly. I'll explain after I get my coffee."
Watching her leave, Diantha noted tension in her shoulders. She hoped the drive over hadn't been too stressful.
Finishing the last few lines of the page she was on, she then hit the power button, placing it on the chair next to her.
Cynthia returned with a coffee in hand, taking her seat across from Diantha. Setting the drink down, she folded her hands atop the table and took a deep breath.
Diantha sat back, almost amused; and not just about her whole demeanor. There was a part of her that still found it amusing to see her without most of her face covered by her bangs.
"So, again, I'm sorry for being late, however," she began, now talking with her hands. "I just want it to known that I was actually here before you. I've just been stuck on a phone call for the last thirty minutes," she explained.
"Oh my goodness, what for? If you don't mind me asking," She amended.
She took a ship of her drink before answering. It was not nearly as hot as she thought it was going to be. "The director of the Oakridge museum loves to regularly harass me by reminding me that he has the exhibit I'm dying to get my hands on."
"Oh dear. Sounds like an absolute charmer," she commented, sipping her own drink. It was still too warm.
She just shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "He drives me insane."
Diantha leaned back in her seat. "So, was it just thirty minutes of him gloating, or…?" She hoped for Cynthia's sake not. Though, being unfamiliar with the field, she wondered what two curators could possibly talk about for half an hour.
"It was partially that, but then it was him trying to get me to take back the bees."
Whether she meant to or not, the way she had said 'the bees' left Diantha laughing. "The bees?" She said in a question.
"The bees," She confirmed. "It was an exhibit we borrowed about…five years ago, I think? It was a really neat exhibit, but it took way too much work to setup, and the staff that comes with it…I just…don't want to deal with again."
Despite the years apart from one another, judging her body language and tone, Diantha only needed one guess as to why she didn't want to deal with them. "I take it they're an ex?" She guessed, trying to refrain from looking too amused.
At least she wasn't the only ex on thin ice.
She nodded, almost reluctantly. This was starting to feel like an odd conversation to have with Diantha of all people, but she decided to put it aside. While the nonsense with the bees may involve an ex, the whole situation was at least amusing enough in hindsight.
"Probably sad to say that she's the most recent person I've dated, and that was, yeah, over three years ago."
Diantha shrugged. "Cynthia, I am in no position to judge." It had only been a few days since she slept with Augustine, after all. Not dating in a few years wasn't even something to be ashamed of in her mind.
"But, anyways," She said, leaning back in her seat. "It was around the time when Steven first took over as owner, and he and I were determined to get rid of all the old exhibits. Like…Diantha, most of the exhibits in that place were over fifty years old. It was awful."
She put a hand over her mouth. "Goodness."
Cynthia began to talk with her hands once again, amusing Diantha. "It's taking every ounce of restraint I have to not sidetrack on how much I hated the old body-quest exhibit."
"The what now?" She was beginning to get the feeling that she could listen to Cynthia talk about everything in the museum. While it wasn't something she might have normally been interested in hearing about, she had forgotten how easily Cynthia could capture her attention.
She took a long sip of her drink, then sat it down with a distinct sense of purpose. "It wasn't the exhibit as a whole I hated. It was the stupid heart." She didn't look Diantha in the eye, not wanting her to see how much the memory of it all could work her up. "We had this big fake heart. Kids could crawl through it, and it would simulate a heart attack about every forty-five minutes by shaking and lights on the interior going off. It was just the worst. It was old, it was gross, and I hated cleaning it more than anything."
Diantha was grinning at that point. "Didn't enjoy squeezing your—let's see if I remember— six-foot-two self into something so small?"
She gave her a pointed, but still amused, look. "I'm glad you remember. The heart actually came apart, in case a kid got suck or started getting claustrophobic, so no. Thankfully I never had to do that. It's just that taking apart the damn thing was a chore, and no matter how much cleaning agent I used, it just never got clean enough. It always felt like it had this gross film on it." She visibly shuddered for effect, to which Diantha laughed.
"I'm sorry to have brought up such a painful memory for you." Her grin betrayed her words. "I'm almost afraid to ask about the bees, now." That was a lie. She was dying to know about the bees.
She watched Diantha take a bit of her scone. "You know…if I had to compare them, talking about the bees is just a little more embarrassing, whereas body-quest was just annoying. So, like I was saying, as part of getting rid of old exhibits, we have a huge wave of visiting exhibits until we could get our hands on things permanently. The bees was one of our longer visitors."
"And came with an attractive person, I assume," she teased.
She laughed lightly. "I mean, yeah. Cheryl was stunning, and she loved to distract me. I couldn't give a single tour without her trying to distract me when we got towards the bees. There were more than enough times when I would just lose my train of thought thanks to her. It was incredibly embarrassing."
Diantha could only laugh in turn, having a perfect mental image of it all. After all, she had been guilty of doing the same to Cynthia many years ago. If memory served right, all she ever had to do was bat her eyes a little too purposefully at her and Cynthia would all but short-circuit. Though, she at least had refrained from distracting her in such ways when they were around other people.
"I do feel bad that she would interrupt your work, but I also find that terribly amusing."
She sipped her coffee. "For two years she found it amusing, and I just…put up with it." In hindsight, she wasn't sure why she did. "But when the bees finally left, she went with them, and we just drifted apart. She was a free spirit, and I realized my attraction to her stemmed from the fact that I saw her five to six days a week."
"I know how that goes." Admittedly, that was likely where her attraction to Augustine came from. Sure, he was at least a good friend, but the physical attraction came from spending so much time together.
"So, listening to Mitchell insist on us taking the bees back in the spring was not fun. Especially combined with him gloating about having the exhibit I want." She rolled her eyes, before refocusing on Diantha.
She had been so worked up over her conversation with Mitchell she had failed to really take Diantha's whole visage. She seemed to be favoring pink for their coffee dates.
"What exhibit is it?" Diantha asked as a followup.
"Oh, right." That might have helped. "Really, it's pointless until we get more space, but it's this really neat archaeological dig replica. It's a ton of work to set up and maintain. Once everything has been 'excavated' it then has to be refilled in, and —yeah. It would be a lot of work, but it would be amazing to have."
"That does sound fascinating." Though, without being familiar with the museum, it left her confused on the scale of things. At the very least, it wasn't something that mattered all that much, and could be left to curiosity and nothing more.
"Random question," Cynthia followed up, figuring it was best to get away from the topic of the bees. "While I'm flattered you remember my height, do you remember my middle name?"
She was well aware she just wanted to change subjects. "Cynthia Elizabeth Jenness, who do you take me for?" She asked in mock offense.
Cynthia leaned back with laughter. "Right, right. You never forget people's middle names."
"No, I never forget a person's 'little' name after they tell me," she said with a small grin. Hopefully Cynthia would catch her reference.
Cynthia paused for a second, but before she could ask for clarification, the memory came back to her. "I forgot that's what Avery used to call middle names." The memory of how small her niece used to be tugged at her heart.
"That one stuck with me, though, I'm sure it helps that she used to ask me what my 'little name' was about ten times a day." If not more.
The remembrance melded into laughter as she leaned forward. "She only asked you ten times a day because you would answer ten times a day."
It got a laugh from Diantha. "Maybe so, but I couldn't resist! It was too cute the way she would ask." She paused for a moment, placing her arms on the table to lean forward. Her voice was much softer now. "While I understand the passage of time perfectly, it's so incredible to me that she's sixteen now. Anytime I see her it just amazes me. I mean, the last time I had seen her, she was three and still spoke mostly broken sentences. Despite everything stacked against her, Kay did a wonderful job raising her."
Cynthia nodded, resting her head in her palm. "Yeah. Avery has a lot of anxiety, but I do believe Kay has done the best she can all things considered. I am sad I missed out on so much of it, though. Kay and I stopped talking when Avery was five or six, and I didn't see them again until she was fifteen."
"Oh my." She remembered that Cynthia had mentioned not talking to Kay for a long time. She didn't realize she meant ten years. "I…" She wasn't sure what to say. "Cynthia, I am so very glad for you that they're back in your life."
She leaned back again, crossing her arms. "Me too, but okay. What about you? You still talk to anyone from Wisteria?"
She laughed a bit, looking off to the side. "Oh, no—I mean, I still talk to Siebold of course. He's married now, and I just adore his husband, and his husband's brothers. Apart from them, I speak with my father, and that's it. I basically left everything behind."
Cynthia found herself surprised by the answer. "No longer talk to your mother?"
She shook her head. "No. She and my father divorced, and I haven't spoken to her in over six years now. Just before I divorced Mel —without going into too much detail since it's a bit of a heavy story— I told her and Kathi Lee to fuck off and stay out of my life. All in the same breath." She noted the look of surprise on her face.
She tried her hardest to refrain from laughing, but more than anything she wished she could have been there for that conversation. "Diantha, I am so proud of you."
A smile worked its way on her face. "Are you now?"
"While I've inferred you at least ditched Kathi Lee, I never in my wildest dreams would have imaged you telling her to fuck off. Much less your own mother." They were both a piece of work, and damn did she wish she could have at least seen the looks on their faces.
Diantha's shoulders rose in a shrug. "It was already the worst time in my life. I just reasoned nothing could make it worse than it already was. So, I said my piece, stormed out, and ran away out here within the month."
Cynthia gave her a sympathetic nod. "We both had a few rough years after we split, didn't we?"
While she agreed, the phrasing didn't sit right with Diantha. "Actually, this is probably worth mentioning now I guess." It had been something she thought of while mentally going over their last conversation. "I feel as though I owe you an apology." Cynthia looked at her, confused. "I set the tone for that phrasing last time. I said things like 'we split', but when we both know it was me who left. I want to take responsibility for that."
Save the faint sounds of the cafe around them, they fell into silence. Diantha worried that the apology had been too much, or that maybe Cynthia hadn't even thought much of the phrasing.
However, to her surprise, Cynthia uncrossed her arms, and gave a bit of a shrug.
"I accept your apology, Diantha, but…I don't want you to think you were entirely at fault for our relationship ending." It wasn't something she wanted to admit, but she couldn't deny it.
Diantha gave a nervous laugh. "I would say I did a pretty good job of being the one to wreck things."
She shook her head. "Diantha, I recognized well in advance something was wrong. I'm talking at least six months, in advance, if not longer. I just never said anything, and that was a big component of us falling apart. If I had said something?" She shrugged again. "If I had at least acknowledged I knew something was wrong? Who knows where we would be right now."
"Who knows indeed." She took a sip of her drink before adding, "Probably would have at least seen that silly ring I got you."
It sparked a memory. "Which reminds me!" She began a little too eagerly. She forced herself to lean back in her seat. "I asked Kay about the whole her stopping you from seeing me after grandma passed because I wanted to know her reasoning. She said something like 'Because her showing up out of nowhere with that ugly-ass rock on her hand would have made you feel so much better'." Diantha laughed, covering her mouth. At least the tension of the previous topic was gone. "I know this is off topic, but I need to know, Diantha. Kay said it like the image of it was burned in the back of her mind."
She continued laughing, leaning herself forward again, this time an amused grin on her face. "Darling, it's burned on the back of my eyelids! Kay was not exaggerating in any way! It was hideous! Absolutely hideous!" She held her hand out a bit. "Every day I am thankful I don't have to try to accessorize with that ugly thing anymore!"
"How bad?" She asked between laughs.
She brought her other hand up, making a circle with her fingers to try to gauge the size. Roughly a twenty-five cent piece. "I would always stand on his right side, that way I could put my hand behind him, hiding the ring. Otherwise I would always cover it with my other hand."
"No," Cynthia said in full disbelief.
"Yes," She answered, bringing her hands back to her person. "You know, I think I was actually within seconds of puling the damn thing off my hand before Kay opened the door. I didn't want anyone seeing it, but…well…" She shrugged, still afflicted with giggles.
"A diamond?"
She nodded. "A gross display of wealth is what it was." She shook her head again, looking down at her left hand. "Golden band, white diamond." She made a face of disgust. "I would say I don't know what he was thinking, but it was more like a clear indication that he didn't know me at all."
Cynthia couldn't resist. "Out of curiosity, the engagement ring you picked out…?"
She laughed, more shy this time. "In hindsight, it was tacky as hell, but…I'm confident even now you would have liked it back then. I can't say it would be in your taste now, but, at the time, yes. It was Steven approved."
That didn't leave Cynthia confident. "You trusted Steven, a fashion disaster, to pick a ring I would like?" The day just kept getting better.
She rolled her eyes. "He wasn't that much of a disaster. He was like you and tended to only wear one color."
"Exactly. I don't know what you were thinking. I mean, I'm pretty positive his husband, Wallace, basically dresses him now." It was a bit of an exaggeration, but not far off the mark. Since they had gotten together his sense of fashion expanded, at the very least.
Diantha looked down at the remainder of her scone. It was long cold by now, and no longer appealing with the anxiety that was working its way into her stomach. "It was an obsidian ring with a gold interlay. If I'm being embarrassingly honest, I think the set is probably somewhere up in my attic, sitting in a box I told myself I would go through one day."
Cynthia looked at her. "An obsidian —Diantha Ann Ruston." She then broke into laughter, covering her mouth to not cause a scene.
Diantha felt no need to correct her on her last name. "What?" She asked, feeling her face get a little warm.
"I'm sorry —I'm laughing because, yeah, you did know me. You knew me so fucking well, and that's what's so funny to me," she said between laughs. She forced herself to stop laughing, but it hurt to hold in.
Diantha, on the other hand, while still embarrassed, was unable to tear her eyes away from Cynthia's smile. She'd gladly relive an embarrassing ring story if it means she got to see it.
"I can't believe you would have worn a black ring for the rest of your life because of me." There was a part of her that was oddly touched. It was easier to focus on than the part of her that knew she would have also gladly worn the ring at the time.
She shrugged. "Apart from talking, apparently, there was a lot I was willing to do for you at the time, Cynthia."
Laughing over the black ring some more, they moved onto other conversation as they finished their drinks.
By the time Cynthia had taken her last sip, they both were coming to the conclusion that they weren't ready for the coffee date to be over. But with nothing else planned for the day, neither was sure what to do.
Diantha briefly looked at her phone on the chair next to her for the time. "Well, Cynthia, I'm tired of sitting here, but I don't know that I'm ready to say goodbye to you just yet. Would you want to take a walk around the square? It's a nice day." It was the only thing she could come up with on the spot.
Thankfully, Cynthia was on board. "I'd like that."
They spent another hour together, wandering around the city square of Everett. During the walk, even though she was laughing in response to something Diantha had said, Cynthia realized there was something more defeated in the notion.
She watched Diantha point out something in a store front, leading her into a story from teaching. As she spoke, Cynthia realized she was catching herself about to unconsciously put a hand on her in some way. She moved as if she were going to put a hand on her back while they continued down the street, but stopped herself.
Instead, she nodded along, forcing her hands into her jacket pockets.
Not long ago she hadn't wanted any of this. She hadn't wanted to be around Diantha, laughing along with her, and much less enjoying the way it was all making her feel. But she couldn't fight the truth any longer.
Not when the truth looked up at her with those blue eyes that just seemed to shimmer as she looked to her for a response. Not when the truth laughed in a honeyed way she had forgotten she adored.
The truth was she wanted more Wednesday's in cafes with her.
Walking Diantha to her car, they stood beside it for a moment.
Cynthia spoke first. "You're on break this week and next, right?"
"Correct," she said, keeping a loose hold of the keys in her peacoat pockets.
"Want to see each other again? We don't have to get coffee for a third time," she suggested.
Diantha smiled. "I was about to suggest the same thing, Cynthia." She almost added her endearment, but something kept her from saying it just yet.
"I'm off Friday if you want to get dinner out here." She looked around casually. "It seems like there's plenty to choose from."
She wanted to say yes, but the word was trapped within her. Instead, she gave a small laugh, looking away from Cynthia. "I'm sorry, it's just…" she trailed off.
It worried Cynthia. She was suddenly unsure if Diantha was as into the day as she was. "Too much?" She asked.
Diantha shook her head. "No, no, Cynthia. It's just…" She looked her in the eyes, taking in the image for just a selfish second. "I just want to…commit the look your giving me to memory." As she said it, her expression changed to confusion.
"What do you mean?" It was an odd compliment at best.
She shrugged, pulling her keys out of her pocket. "When I think about the look you first gave me when we saw each other for the first time after so long…it's hard to imagine that we would ever be this friendly again."
She took a causal step forward. "I…yeah, I'm sorry about that."
She shook her head again, catching herself stepping closer as well. "I don't hold it against you, Cynthia. Neither of us were expecting to see one another, and after everything that had happened, well, I wouldn't have been too happy to see me either."
Without fully thinking everything she was going to say though, she responded. "If it means anything, I'm at least happy to be seeing you now." She ignored the feeling in her chest of her heart skipping a beat when Diantha smiled at her again.
"It means more than you will ever know, Cynthia." Again, the temptation to add the endearment was strong, but she refrained.
"So…see you again sometime?"
Diantha held her gaze for a few more seconds before stepping to half-face her car. "I'll call you."
With a quick goodbye, Cynthia walked away, suddenly unsure of where she had even parked her car in the first place.
Diantha sat in her car for a moment, staring at the steering wheel.
Both women found themselves stuck on the exact same thought.
"What just happened?"
Tugging at her red scarf, Avery was regretting the decision to even wear it. Every muscle in her body was anxious, leaving no room for cold despite the temperature around them.
She had been looking forward to her trip with Maggie up to Lake Paige since she brought it up after the competition, but now that they were there, almost a week later, she found herself unable to say or do much of anything. All the mental prep she had done was as good as worthless.
"You sure you're warm enough?" Maggie asked her as they walked the trail around the lake. Brightly colored leaves would fall from the trees now and then, and the leaf-covered trail crunched below them.
She nodded, struggling to find her voice. "Yeah! I'm fine, I'm just…I'm fine." She might have slapped her own face out of embarrassment had she been alone.
Maggie laughed lightly, putting her arm through hers. "Here, I'll keep you warm."
While she may have been internally screaming at that point, it only worsened the heat surrounding her.
"I'm so glad I got to bring you here! It's one of my absolute favorite places," Maggie began. She had been working her hardest to keep conversation going all day.
"Really?" Avery asked, looking at her shorter friend.
They had walked into a patch of sun, letting her really take notice of the freckles on her tanned face.
She went on some lengthy story about spending her summers at the lake with her family. Every detail Avery committed to memory, enjoying taking everything in as Maggie saw it. Eventually, her voice found her, allowing her to say more than a few words at a time.
"So, you're probably going to stay at Easton, right?" She asked.
Avery nodded, adjusting her glasses as she spoke with her free hand. "Oh, yeah, definitely. I don't want to move schools, at least. My mom hasn't said anything about moving again, so you'll probably have to put up with me for at least another year before you graduate." She had almost forgotten about potentially leaving. With things working out so well with her mother's job, the possibility was practically nonexistent.
She was about to say something in response, but stopped short. "Oh, oh! Up here!" She said, taking her arm back so she could pull Avery along with her. The trail grew steeper, eventually leading them to a small overlook. The sight of the valley out in front of them nearly stole Avery's breath.
The vibrant shades of red and yellow became more apparent than ever. It was amazing to see just how different an hour north could be. Easton's fall colors weren't nearly as noticeable. The wind moved across Lake Paige below them, rippling the water, and carrying with it the distant sound of people talking.
Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on Maggie's hand. "Oh, wow," was all she could manage.
Maggie pulled her forward, up to the stone wall the lined the outlook. Together, they sat on the wall, taking in the scenery around them, talking about how the marching season had been. Both brought up favorite marching shows they had seen throughout the season, and talked about areas where they hoped their sections would improve for the following year. All while never letting go of the other's hand.
A natural silence fell over their conversation. Avery looked to her side, gazing out over the lake again, and Maggie just watched as the wind blew her blonde hair around. "Hey, Avery," She said, waiting for her attention. Once she had it, she continued. "Can I ask you—" she trailed off. Voices of people about to walk by distracted her, making her lose her nerve.
She looked over for a quick glance of who was interrupting their conversation, Avery following her eyes. Both girls fell silent again as they watched the other women pass.
They were too absorbed in their conversation with one another to even notice them, for which Avery was most thankful.
Maggie leaned in closer, making Avery hyperaware of how closer her face was to hers. "Okay, hold that thought, wasn't that Mrs. Gardner? And Elesa?"
"Definitely was Mrs. Gardner. Don't know the other lady though," she admitted.
"Oh, right! Elesa went to our school, she graduated with my sister, and she's a model now! Morgan always makes sure to grab magazines with her in them," she explained.
Avery felt it odd to be seeing her in a non-school setting.
Having completely lost her nerve for her previous question, Maggie moved on to a different one she had. One that had been bugging her for a good while now. "You know," she continued, resting her shoulder against Avery's. "I know you already said you were moved to Mr. Morrison's because your aunt knew her, but…" she trailed off.
"But…?" Avery echoed, resisting the urge to tug at her scarf. By this point she was sure her anxiety was going to overheat her by the end of the day.
"Well, I've just been wondering if there was…more to the story."
Avery took a deep breath, putting more of her weight against Maggie, and debating on whether or not to actually tell her. Keeping the absurdity of the situation all to herself had been eating at her ever since sitting in the car with her aunt that night. "I…what makes you think there's more? I mean, like I said, Mrs. Gardner and my aunt knew each other from when we lived in Wevok, way back when I was, like, three. She didn't want to risk the accusation of grading bias, or whatever."
Maggie shrugged, pulling herself away from Avery so she could stand in front of her. It wasn't often she got to be taller than her. "If you say so," she said.
Avery shifted in her spot, temptation eating at her. "You're giving me a look," she observed.
The grin on her face was going to be Avery's undoing.
"It's just that you're all anxious talking about it, like you're hiding something," She observed, putting her hands in her pockets.
She tried to laugh it off, looking away from the other girl. "You know I'm a nervous wreck all the time." It wasn't an untrue statement anyways.
Maggie giggled. "Yeah, but…I don't know! It's different." She paused for a second, reconsidering her approach. She figured she was coming off too strong. "I mean, I don't want to, like, force you to talk or anything. I'm just telling you what I'm thinking."
Crossing her arms, Avery looked back to the lake for a second. "Can you keep a secret?" Surely she could. She figured there couldn't be any harm in telling just one person. Especially if that person was Maggie.
"For you? Of course!"
She looked back up at her. "I'm serious, Margaret. You gotta keep it a secret."
She laughed lightly, stepping closer towards her. "Oh, breaking out my real name. Must be good," she teased.
Avery forced down the fluttery feeling in her chest as Maggie tapped her nose. A habit she secretly couldn't get enough of. "Mrs. Gardner is my aunt's ex girlfriend, and my mom told me she's pretty sure they were going to get married, but she ran off with some guy. I'm assuming whoever Mr. Gardner is."
She was quick with a followup. "Was she really an actress? Because that's, like…the number one rumor with her." She had the desire to grab her hands again, to express her excitement. And because she regretted letting go in the first place.
She nodded. "I've never asked too much about it, but yeah. She was in movies back in Wisteria. Her actual name is Diantha." If anything would get her in trouble, it would probably be revealing that information, but the desire to share something so secret with Maggie outweighed rationality.
Maggie was silent for a moment, seeming to take in everything Avery and said.
Avery wondered if she had said too much, or maybe even not enough. "I know it's not this huge, discovery or anything. It was mostly my aunt who didn't want me—"
"Are you kidding?" She cut off, "I'm so happy you told me! I've been dying to know since Ashton told me the rumors my freshmen year!" She gave in to grabbing her hands, pulling her to her feet.
Avery found herself laughing. "If you knew the rumors then why'd you ask?"
She shrugged, unable to keep the grin from her face. "Rumors are rumors. You had like…not quite, but closer to first-hand knowledge."
She laughed, "I have two biased accounts from my mom and aunt, and my mom seems to hate her, so…"
Maggie let go of one of her hands, and began to lead her back down the path so they could finish their walk around the lake.
"A bad breakup would have to be the only way your mom could hate her. Other than being a tough grader, I've only ever heard nice things about her."
"I mean, I made good grades in her class, so," she said, laughing a bit. Mostly, she just wanted off the subject, and to get back to just enjoying her time with Maggie.
Maggie laughed along, squeezing Avery's hand. "Do you still wanna go get lunch, smartypants?"
"Of course!" As if that was even a question.
Diantha kept stride with Elesa as they walked the path around Lake Paige. Earlier in the week, Elesa had asked Diantha to accompany her to a photoshoot as moral support. It was a simple enough request that she couldn't find a reason to deny. It was only half an hour from Everett, so it wouldn't impede on her plans with Cynthia either.
"I don't think I've been this nervous for a shoot since my very first one," Elesa commented, running a hand through her long hair.
The walking around the lake before the shoot was supposed to help with that, but it only seemed to be aggravating it. At the very least, they still had an half an hour before they had to be at the main pavilion. "It's natural, Elesa. This is a bit of a big deal. Your first cover!" To say she was proud of her would have been an understatement.
"That's why I'm so nervous!" She was about ready to tear out her hair. "What if I'm so awful they decide to put someone else on the cover?"
"What do you think is going to actually happen, Elesa? And not based on your feelings, based on past experience." It was something Kathi Lee had asked her when she would get nervous before an audition. Despite how much she resented the woman, she couldn't deny that the question always helped ground her.
Elesa grumbled. "They're going to do my makeup, throw some clothes at me, take a million photos and then send me home. Worst case, the photographer might get grumpy with me, but it won't be that bad."
Diantha smiled. "I promise you, dear, everything will be alright. I'll stay with you through the whole shoot if you want me to."
"Only if you're okay with it. I know these things can take a few hours," she said, putting her hands in her hoodie's pocket.
She laughed lightly in response. "Elesa, at best, filming was a twelve hour day. A few hours is nothing." At most she figured it would take about four hours, and even if it went longer, she wasn't meeting Cynthia until six, so there was plenty of time.
"Still have no clue how you did that." When she only shrugged in response, it was her final tip that something was off. Ever since they had met she noticed something was off with her, but she couldn't quite place it. She wasn't giving enough indication of what was bothering her. "Can I ask you what's up? You seem out of it," she asked.
She laugh in a defeated way. There wasn't any use hiding it. Not from Elesa, anyways. If there was anyone to tell, she wouldn't. "I'll be honest. To put it simply, I have an ex back in my life, and I'm having…mixed feelings on the matter." Mixed might not have been the exact term, but she didn't bother to correct herself.
Elesa couldn't keep the smile from her face, nor could she resist the followup. "An ex from when you moved out here, or from when you were in the spotlight?" She asked. "If then, the reporter or Cynthia?" Though, she was confident in the answer.
Again, she laughed. It was still a strange feeling for Elesa to know so much about who she used to be. "Cynthia." She then caught the grin on her face, withholding a sigh. "Care to share what's so funny?"
She shrugged, but there was a giggle somewhere in her voice. "Just been wondering for the past two years or so if you two would ever reconnect."
As always, Diantha found herself in awe of the young woman ability —and willingness— to keep a secret. "Explain."
"She's Skyla's boss." To put it simply.
Diantha just shook her head. "Elesa Lynn, your ability to keep secrets is borderline terrifying. You could be harboring national secrets and none of us would be the wiser," she joked, but for a split second, she entertained the idea at least, but then decided that even that would be too far-fetched. Maybe.
She laughed, unable to contain it to giggles. "Not even gonna lie to you though, I almost blew that one. The very first time I saw her I almost said out lout, 'Oh, shit! It's Vanilla Ice!', and I've probably almost called her that when talking about her with Skyla."
Finally, Diantha laughed along genuinely. "Dear lord, I had forgotten about that awful nickname." It was only ever used in gaudy tabloids, and it had been a long time since she last paid attention to them.
Again, Elesa failed to resist. "Can I please ask you how she got that nickname? Because, while I totally have the sudden desire to listen to the song whenever I see her, it's only because that was her awful nickname."
Diantha gave her a pointed look.
"It'll totally calm me down before this shoot." While maybe not the entire truth, it would give her something to think about at the very least.
She rolled her eyes, but gave in nonetheless. Besides, who was she going to tell, and what did it matter if it was old tabloid knowledge? "During the summers we would always go on dates along the river, and we would always stop at a specific bakery that had ice cream. I would get a pastry, and she would usually get ice cream. When it became known that it was an area I frequented, the paparazzi showed up as usual, and every time she happened to be in a picture with me, she always had ice cream."
"So…Vanilla Ice." The nickname reeked of tabloids, and also made her curious as to how famous the song was in Wisteria for the nickname to catch on.
The pavilion came into view, bringing the two of them to a stop.
"I just might have to remind her of it, because she hated it," she joked. She figured she wouldn't, but on the off chance she ever got called "phony" ever again, she at least had retaliation.
Pulling into a visitors spot, Maggie put her car in park, giving them time to finish up their conversation.
"Like I said, I'm gunning for guard captain, but I just don't know if I'll actually get it," Maggie said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
Avery turned to face her. "I keep telling you, I think you have a pretty good shot at it. It's you, Jade, and Taylor going for guard captain next year, right?"
She nodded.
"I think you have the best chance at it," she said, figuring it wouldn't directly insult anyone. While it wasn't as if she had anything against the other girls, she didn't think they had the necessary take charge attitude the guard captains always had. Though, at best, her opinion was biased.
Maggie shrugged. "You and Ashton keep saying the same thing."
She laughed lightly. "Ashton's opinion probably means more. I mean, she is the guard captain right now, so…she probably understands better of who would be the best leader. I want you to be guard captain because you're my friend and I know how much it all means to you."
She smiled at her. "Thanks."
"Plus, if we're being honest, you're the only one who can toss a rifle, and that's just super impressive to me," she added, earning a laugh from Maggie.
"I'm telling you, you could learn to toss one, too! It just takes work."
She laughed in turn, more mockingly. "I can barely toss a small flag without worrying it's going to land on my face."
Maggie snort-laughed in response. "Literally, that's why I wear contacts now. The very first time I tossed the rifle up it landed straight on my face, broke my glasses and nose."
Avery put her hands over her nose, sympathy pain shooting through her chest. "No," she dragged out.
She just nodded stoically before resolving back to laughter. "Anyways, it was great hanging out today."
"Yeah, definitely!" She agreed, taking her hands off her face. "We need to hangout again over break, okay?"
"Definitely!" Leaning over the console, she pulled her into a hug that didn't last long enough for either of their liking.
"I'll text you later," Avery said, reaching around her seat to grab her scarf before getting out of the car. Door closed behind her, an excited energy filled her every step. The day had gone so much better than she had even hoped it would.
Maggie kept her car in park, watching Avery in her rearview mirror. Gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles were white, something about the sound of her text tone going off broke her nerve. She had talked herself out of it the entire day, but now she refused to miss another opportunity.
All in a split-second decision, she got out of her car, not even bothering to take her keys out of the ignition. "Avery, wait!
She turned around, her blonde hair whipping around. She didn't have a chance to get a word out as Maggie ran up to her, meeting her at the sidewalk. A bright blush warmed her cheeks as she barely thought over what she was doing.
"Look," she began, grabbing her hands. "I've been chickening out all day, and I just refuse to wait until I see you again. I'm going to be really mad at myself if I don't." The more she talked, the quicker she was losing confidence. Letting go of her hands, she moved them to grab her scarf, pulling her down for a long overdue kiss…
