One Time Thing [Wattys 2021 Shortlist] ✔️

Chapter 17: The movies

MIA

"So, did you talk to Jeff at all?" Lucy asked, downing another shot of vodka. Her dark skin and her burgundy, tight dress went so well with the interior of that same bar.

What Mia found most surprising was that she actually managed to find it again. And the atmosphere was still the same, the privacy and the calmness of the lonesome tables offered a sense of shelter. But this time, Mia and Lucy sat at the bar, while that same bartender, whose name was Frederick, served them shots. Some of those were free, Frederick remembered the hundred dollars Xander gave him.

"It's been five days and we haven't spoken a word. Well, besides 'good morning' and 'how was work.'" Mia was becoming tipsy quickly and she had to slow down.

"How was work, though?" Lucy asked, her knowing, hazel eyes penetrating Mia's soul.

"Hm, let's see. If Mathilda says one more word against me, I swear I will push her through that fourth-story window." Mia downed a shot, the hard liquor burning her throat.

"Another drink, ladies?" Frederick asked.

"Keep them coming, Fred." Mia murmured, turning to Lucy fully.

"So, you're on the verge of quitting your job and ending your relationship. I'm pretty sure it's not advised to do those things at the same time." Lucy smiled, the look on her face bordering on pity.

"You know me, I can't destroy only one thing in my life. Jeff's right, it's one of my whims. The same thing happened in that final year of college. And you remember my high school graduation outburst very well." Mia sighed.

"When you straight out refused to study for the finals and broke up with See-through Tim in the same night. Yes, I remember that." Lucy laughed.

"Tim wasn't that pale."

"He was extremely pale."

"Fun times." Mia leaned onto her elbows.

"But you managed to get back on track every time. Without any serious consequences." Lucy shrugged, playing with the glass.

"I guess I've never crossed the point of no return."

"Yes, but you're not eighteen anymore and Jeff isn't a high school romance." When it came to real advice, Lucy was the only one worth coming to. "I'm trying to find middle ground between Sam and Christa here and it's difficult."

"I know and I'm grateful. I really am."

"Just tell me, is this all because of Xander?" Lucy's voice softened. Mia knew she could say anything and would receive no judgement on her part.

"I feel like my entire life and my sense of self were standing on two pillars. One of them being law and the other Jeff, both of which were already shaking. When I met Xander, the Jeff pillar began to collapse. Not entirely because of Xander but because of what Xander represented. And he represented change. With the Jeff pillar collapsing, everything else became unstable." Mia felt her heart beat in her chest, partly because of the booze and partly because she knew the aforementioned point of no return rested somewhere between those words.

"And why was the Jeff pillar shaking in the first place?" Lucy asked, accepting the metaphor, causing Mia to sigh again.

"When I began working for Mathilda, I realised that is what my life would look like from now on. Wake up, go to work, work, work, work, go home, Jeff. I guess it freaked me out." She knew she wasn't the only one waking up to this, but it seemed to bother her more than it bothered some people.

"Okay, I understand that. But tell me, why do you think Xander would be any different?" Lucy read her mind, apparently. That was something Mia wasn't willing to admit up to this point. She actually believed Xander would be different.