i get by with a little help from my friends Who: Gabe & Aurora. What: Two old friends catch up. Where:The Beachcomber Cafe. When: Backdated to lunch on April 3.
Gabe scrolled through his phone, glancing up every so often toward the host stand to see if he could note his friend's appearance before she did him. He'd managed to snag a table at this little beachfront cafe simply because it was a Monday; sunshine poured down from the heavens above, making the ocean waves sparkle in the distance. They were right up against the glass, the table situated neatly in a pool of light that kept the area warm but not overtly bright. Overall, it seemed like a fantastic place for lunch; it was off the beaten path, the kind of place hipsters might've overrun had they known about it. Instead, it was quiet, peaceful, soft beach music playing in the background.
He glanced up again, this time pleased to see Rora enter and stop at the host stand, presumably looking for him. He stood, waving a hand to catch her attention.
Things were really coming together for Aurora, or perhaps they were just coming full circle in an odd sort of way. Either way, she was pleased with it. Willow was moving into her building, something she had been wanting to happen within a few days of meeting the other woman, and now she had convinced Gabe to move in as well. Aurora did fine on her own, but she flourished with people, she had never gone through a ‘loner’ phase, and that seemed okay with the world as many had noted her inherent magnetism since she was a child.
Speaking of which--”Gabe!” Her face lit up, even though she had to walk away from the lovely hostess, and she made a mental note to leave a card with her on her way out even as she made her way to her friend, heels clacking on the tile but never slipping even though she was distracted. Aurora opened her arms for a hug, unwilling to sit until she had one from her dear friend, feeling both calmer and lighter in his presence as she always had, “I’ve missed you!”
Gabe had no issue returning the embrace; he wrapped her up tight, then pulled back with his hands still on her upper arms as though to drink in the sight of her.
"It's been too long," he agreed, then stepped back to pull out her chair. Once they were both seated again, he glanced at her with an eager smile.
"So how've things been? What are you working on? And what is this apartment building you've dragged me into?" The last question was asked with a bit of a laugh, though he was certainly ready for some answers in regard to both the completely empty floor and the strange gifts.
“It always is.” Smile all warmth and relaxed joy as she reached out to ruffle his hair fondly before sitting down. Aurora was good at respecting the space of those who disliked touch, but with her close friends and family she drew comfort from little bits of affection like that.
Legs crossed, elbows on the table and hand resting in her hands uncaring of her makeup, she paid the menus already on the table only half a glance, “Oh, the usual, campaigning to fight the power of the ignorant the greedy, in talks to do half a season? I believe? In season two of Westworld. You?” It had only been a scant two weeks since their last phone conversation, but it always seemed like things could be missed in their busy lives.
But on the note of the building she leaned forward like they were sharing a secret, “Oh it’s a building of mystery and coincidences, many more and I’ll start looking for faerie rings, but for now I think it’s delightful.”
Gabe's head bobbed, the smile streaking across his face rounding his cheeks. He folded his hands on the table. "Delightful's one word for it, I'll say," he replied, his response interrupted by the arrival of their waiter. He ordered a glass of Chardonnay, then nodded at Alice to give hers. Once the waiter had taken their drink orders and left again, Gabe brought his gaze back to Aurora.
"Westworld, though, that's amazing! That show's great. So, are you a robot or a human, or are you going to make me guess?" His elbows were nearly on the table, but he leaned back in his chair, hands falling to his lap. "I've got a book series sold with Random House; other than that, I'm keeping it simple. Doesn't help to burn oneself out, you know? Nothing good comes of overextending oneself, as I've learned many, many times in the past."
Red wine, a deep a dark one to contradict her soft pink lips and blouse that day, if Aurora ever went broke she was up a creek without a paddle because of her tastes without a doubt.
There was more than one reason she had accompanied Gabe to a premier or three, it wasn’t just because of private, whispered sometimes catty insults or ridiculous over the top theories about strangers, but also because he made good arm candy. Hey, she was only human.
“They shoved an NDA at me before even shaking my hand sadly,” Aurora gave a pout, but they both knew she was never one to break her word but it quickly changed to excitement that transformed her face to look younger and altogether less restrained, “Oh? I saw something about that on a mailing list, but since I was sure my signed copies would be in the mail once they were out I didn’t want to spoil myself.” She raised a well sculpted eyebrow in teasing challenge, voice belying no sarcasm, “That’s true, I try not to do that because I think my mother has, but it’s tempting. I want so very much in life sometimes.” A wistful sigh at that, even as their waiter brought their drinks.
Gabe chuckled. "Don't we all? And you can't even give me a hint?" He shook his head. "I don't want to talk the books up too much, and it might be awhile. First one's not due out for a year and I'm still working through the first draft, but I'll probably be turning that into my editor soon.
"But," he straightened in his seat, "this building. The weird gifts aside, did you know... I don't know if this name will even ring a bell, it's been a really long time, but did you know Rafe lives there? Rafael Atala?" He wouldn't put it past Aurora to attempt to play matchmaker, but his and Rafe's split was nearly two decades old. Coincidence would soothe him, albeit still strike him as strange, but he felt like it was a question that needed answering.
Aurora shook her head, opening her mouth to reply something about classified when the waiter showed back up with their drinks. She took a moment to order some bruschetta politely for them to share before returning to their conversation, “Well, definitely let me know if I can help at all, sometimes a second pair of eyes can help.” Aurora had never written a book, and truly had no aspirations of doing so, but she was good with words and had written a number of excellent papers in college. Hell, if nothing else she would try for her friend.
At the familiar name her head tilted to the side, “I am ace at remembering names, you should know that, he’s your ex right? No I wasn’t--” But then something clicked in her head, BB’s excited voice asking if she knew a porn star who was living in their building. The name hadn’t struck her then, probably because it seemed so unlikely, but now the memory was back and sharp, “Oh! Another woman told me about him actually! I just didn’t make the connection, if I had then I would have warned you, I’m sorry Gabe.” Her voice was sincere, it was an old wound but she was clearly worried she had roundabout been the source of an accidental reopening of it.
But she leaned in over the table, “But you know what’s weird? Daniel just moved here too, isn’t that strange?” Aurora provided no clarification on who she meant, the context and look in her eyes would be enough, surely.
Gabe's brows rose, though he was kept from replying for a few short minutes with the arrival of their drinks. He put in an order for the fish of the day before following up on their odd line of inquiry.
"Really? When's the last time you spoke with him?"
Aurora sipped at her wine as she thought over the past few months, her mind still chewing on this development with Rafe and how it would impact her friend.
“Only a month or so before he moved in here, and he didn’t say anything about moving. Isn’t that odd? Oh, but I know it’s so very different from your situation, I don’t mean to distract from it.” She reached out to touch his hand lightly as they spoke, “Ah, I’ve had one other odd coincidence as well.”
His hand turned palm up, lacing fingers with hers; Gabe shook his head. "It's not a problem at all; I know Daniel is important to you. Do you think there's a reason why he didn't say anything?" His brow furrowed as he drank from his glass. He was always more than happy to suss through a problem with others; his own issues could be dealt with elsewhere, whether it was inside his mind or within his writing.
A twitch as her face twisted into a scowl that only lingered for a few beats before she sighed, “I don’t know. I went to him when a man berated me into tears in the elevator but he doesn’t seem to confide in me like he once did. I’m glad you and Willow are here now.” Her hand squeezed his as she gave him a grateful smile, fingers caressing his fondly with the motion.
“I confess. I don’t handle loneliness very well.” Not that such a thing was a secret.
"I don't think many people do, Rora," he replied, one side of his mouth curving up in response to hers. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, and it's good to rely on more than just one person. Which floor is Willow on?"
“The fifth.” She rattled it off without much thought, having already memorized her friend’s apartment number and easily the day her lease was assigned. Nosy some people called her, curious she would retort, or if she was feeling particularly ornery--Slytherin.
“So what do you think, or rather how do you feel about Rafael living here?”
His thumb moved over the back of her hand, then withdrew to switch his wine glass from one palm to the other. He shrugged, which belied his true feelings, though in truth he was still sorting himself out.
"Good, I think," he said, after some thought. "I always wanted to talk to him, but it seemed awkward after letting so much time pass. I'm sure he must think I'm an asshole for not reaching out after we broke up." Part of him would feel better if Rafe held some frustration toward him, though their brief meeting on the first said otherwise. If anything, it seemed very little of Rafe had changed, which was both reassuring and confounding. Gabe sipped his drink. "I think I might invite him over for dinner, and... honestly I don't know." He laughed quietly. "What would you do in my situation?"
Aurora chewed on that question for a moment before answering. There were times that she carried on a conversation blithely, not really caring about what she said, the only important thing being the rhythm and flow of the interaction. Not with Gabe though, he was not the Elphaba to her Galinda, luckily.
“That depends,” She took a sip of her own drink before levelling him with a serious look, “Are you still in love with him, somewhere inside of your heart?” Aurora was approaching thirty one, but there were times when her thoughts and perspective on love was much more whimsical than her age would usually indicate. Optimistic in that respect, and without the cynicism of many unmarried women her age, she was one of the few who could say something like that with absolute sincerity.
If Gabe had been drinking, he would have choked. But he knew he could be honest with her.
"I think I might be," he admitted. "Which... I'm seeing someone right now, Rora, I'm not, I can't do anything about these feelings. And I don't know if he cares about me like that anymore. It wouldn't be fair to even suggest such a thing." The old hurt from Rafe's seeming rejection of him was all too easily brought back; the fact that Rafe had stuck with the escort work for as long as he had, plus the addition of porn, made Gabe wonder if anything would ever be enough for the other man, but then he immediately squashed that judgement for the ill thought that it was. "You think I should leave well enough alone?"
Aurora scoffed, “Since when have I ever thought anyone should leave well enough alone?” But her words were stopped after that by the arrival of their waiter again with their food and a charming smile for both of them. Oh, wasn’t that fun? But she stopped her mind from wandering down that path quickly.
“I think you can’t ignore gifts that are presented to you, and opportunities are a gift.” She moved the bruschetta around so it was easily accessible for both of them, “I also think you need to take a good long look at yourself and how you feel about potential with Rafe and your current paramour. You can’t take the choice from Raphael, and we’re adults, surely he won’t slap you just for bringing it up.” Hopefully. Not that Aurora’s behavior was always properly adult, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.
That image put a grin on his face; Rafe was the last person to strike anyone, for any reason. Or, at least, the Rafe he remembered wouldn't hurt a fly. He'd give the fly his last piece of bread, rather than even imagine he'd done the thing harm. His heart contracted, and Gabe covered the emotion with another sip of wine, before settling into his meal.
"I figured I'll see how dinner goes. I'm not expecting anything," he offered, taking a bite and chewing, swallowing before continuing. "It would just be nice to reconnect. But you're right. I need to...take stock. Even if this is just coincidence, I still want to make good use of it." He and Rafe had been good friends, even more, once upon a time. He was curious to see if they could recapture such a thing.
"And you, Rora? Aside from Willow and I here to run amuck in your social life, I can't imagine you've been keeping entirely to yourself."
Gabe’s smile was a welcome sight, and had always been able to pull her from her worst moods. There were some people whose smiles were disconcerting, or somehow always seemed to be hiding something from the world, but his gave her a comforting warmth in her gut like hot cocoa.
In a platonic way of course, she was years past the point of feeling any semblance of a crush on him. Hard not to at first, but that had passed.
She was satisfied with that response, as lacking in whimsical expressions of love and hope as it was, there was still some underlying hope there and bravery to take what could be a risky step. Not all of her friend’s love lives could be as romantic and riveting as she wanted them to be she supposed, “You let me know if I can help, whatever you need.” She said it with the sort of solemn intensity that would normally indicate he was going to war, not possibly professing his feelings.
“Oh you know me,” A dismissive hand gesture as she cut herself off with a bite of the appetizer that was her meal, taking her time before answering, “Playing solitaire 'til dawn with a deck of fifty one.” Aurora grinned at her own silly joke for a moment, “Usual, I’m displeased with Daniel, accidentally slept with another resident, trying to decide if my mind keeps going back to this new person just because he’s being a bit of a challenge or if there is actually something there.” Speaking of which, it had been two months of her bed being cold, she needed to fix that.
Gabe's head nodded, glad to hear some things didn't change. There was comfort in it; not stagnancy, but the knowledge that something left would be as it had been upon return. He speared another piece of fish and chewed it before responding.
"Tell me about this tenant. Hopefully things don't sour with him as they have with others in the past. Not everyone appreciates having a good suit burned, Rora." His eyes twinkled with mirth as he sipped more of his wine.