mercy ; peter ballard

13. w h e r e i s m y m i n d ?

july 23, 1985

"jeez, til, i don't think i should go," bea complained, looking in the mirror. tilly sat in the doorway and watched bea as she fixed her makeup. bea looked to tilly like she could talk back. tilly tilted her head as if to reply.

"i know! it would be good for me to get out there and stuff and it's what aunt lila would've wanted, but i don't even think he's my type," bea said, brushing her hair back with her hand.

"you're right. don't judge a book by its cover...even if it's the weird guy from the police station who asked me out after i reported that my car's tire got stolen by saying 'since your car is out, we should go out sometime.' like it's not even a freaking pickup line!"

she looked to tilly again. "jesus, i am talking to the goddamn dog. i need to go."

tilly's tail wagged as bea walked past her to get out of the bathroom. tilly followed bea as she made her way around the small trailer. bea scoops some dog food into tilly's bowl with a plastic cup before she grabs her keys.

she squatted down to tilly's level, giving her a pat and a kiss on the top of her head. "be good, tilly. love you!"

bea unlocked her door and walked out, relocking the doors before going to her car. she sighed before starting up the car.

"to enzo's, i guess."

as she drove, she tapped along to this charming man on her steering wheel. she hummed along to the vocals, debating on turning back home.

she thought he was a pretty okay guy. pretty standard for hawkins men. he was a little older than her. she tried to look over the fact that he seemed like the kind of guy to live in his mother's basement.

she finally pulled into a parking spot at enzo's. she hesitated before turning the car off. she fixed her black dress and she crept inside. she walked in, spotting him at a table for two.

"beatrice!" he beckoned, waving at her.

she plastered a forced smile and awkwardly waved back. she hobbled her way over to the table. she pulled her chair out to sit down.

"hi, phil," she said, brushing down the wrinkles in her dress. "sorry, i'm late my dog made a mess and it was a whole ordeal to clean," she lied.

"that's quite alright! i was only here for a couple minutes anyway," he replies, picking up his menu. beatrice does the same.

the waiter walks up to the table. "good evening, my name is quinn and i'll be your server today. can i start you out with something to drink? wine?" the man asks, holding a notepad in his hand.

"we'll have two glasses of chardonnay, please, and i'll take a water too," officer callahan gestured to bea to allow her to order her other drink.

"i'll also take a water, please. thank you," she spoke, gently.

"alright," he said, jotting down the order. "any appetizers?"

"no, thank you," she smiled at the waiter.

"alright, i'll be right back."

beatrice studies callahan. he wore a white button-down and black dress pants, a change from his usual blue uniform.

"so, how's the diner?" callahan asks, looking up from his menu.

"it's pretty good. we are adding new stuff to the menu for fall. crazy stuff."

"that's interesting."

"anyway, how's the station holding up without chief hopper?" she asked as her eyes focused on the fettuccine cream pesto on her menu.