Fallen Elements

by Heather McVea

  “I’m good. I didn’t get any on you, did I?” Ryan scanned near their feet.

  Leah released Ryan’s hand. “Clean as a whistle.” She bent down and picked the now empty cup up from the floor. The majority of the tea was pooled on the condiment counter, and Leah grabbed several napkins from the dispenser and wiped the still hot liquid up.

  Ryan stood mesmerized until she realized what was happening. “Please, don’t. God, let me do that.” She reached for more napkins, and bent down to wipe up the little bit of tea that had spilt on the floor. Tilting her head up, a bright shade of crimson covered Ryan’s face when she realized she was less than a foot from Leah’s crotch.

  Hurriedly standing, Ryan was unable to make eye contact with Leah. The blonde had finished cleaning the spilt tea, and was throwing a large wad of wet napkins in the waste bin.

  “That should about do it.” Leah rubbed her hands together. “Should we get you another tea?”

  Ryan shook her head. “I clearly can’t handle it today, so I’ll pass.”

  Leah smiled, and nervously tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her right ear. “Well - it was nice to see you again.”

  “Why are you here?” Ryan flinched as the pointed question popped out of her mouth.

  Leah grinned. “Since you asked so nicely -”

  Ryan instinctively reached for the woman’s hand. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

  Leah looked down at Ryan’s hand. The redness from earlier was all but gone. To Ryan’s utter delight, she placed her hand over Ryan’s. “You didn’t offend me. So don’t worry.”

  Nodding, Ryan reluctantly removed her hand. “Thank you. Let me try this again.” Ryan made a point of dramatically clearing her throat and squaring her shoulders, something that made Leah smile. “Leah, it’s nice to see you again. What brings you to the Howard County administration building?”

  “The coffee.” Leah said flatly.

  Ryan’s brow arched, and then she laughed. “I’m not much of a fan.”

  Leah frowned and looked down at Ryan’s hand. “No, I imagine you wouldn’t be.” The two women looked at each other for several seconds.

  “Here you go, miss.” The blonde barista from earlier handed Ryan another cup of tea, and then handed Leah a cup. “And your triple tall, non-fat cappuccino.”

  Leah smiled. “Thank you.”

  Ryan looked blankly at the woman. “What’s this?”

  Nodding toward the condiment bar and the scene of Ryan’s calamity, the woman smiled. “That was a bad spill. So the do over is our treat, but be careful with this one.” The woman winked at Ryan, and walked back around the coffee bar.

  “That was nice of her.” Leah took a sip of her coffee. “Well, I should get going.”

  “Wait.” Ryan nearly lunged at the woman, again shocked by the urgency she felt in keeping Leah near her. “Why are you here?”

  Leah took the lid off her coffee, and gently blew on the steaming beverage. “I’m renovating my bookstore, and had to file a load of paperwork for the permits.” She replaced the lid. “What about you?”

  Ryan wanted to add sugar to her Earl Grey, but didn’t trust herself not to repeat her earlier catastrophe. “I just finished up with a job interview.”

  Leah’s brow raised. “That’s great. How did it go?”

  Ryan nodded. “Pretty well. It’s -”

  An elderly man walked up with a venti cup in his hand, and looked impatiently at the two women in front of the condiment bar.

  “Oh, sorry.” Leah took Ryan’s forearm and gently pulled her to the side of the bar.

  Ryan felt a prickling heat in her arm that rapidly travelled down to her wrist. What the hell is that?

  “What’s the job?” Leah asked.

  “It’s a community liaison position. I would work with the director and various businesses and vendors to coordinate county resources around social services.”

  Leah took a sip of her cappuccino. “That sounds right up your alley.”

  Ryan nodded. “It really is; so fingers crossed I get it.”

  Leah grinned. “I’m sure you wowed them.”

  Ryan shrugged. “I was smart enough to turn down the coffee they offered me. Beyond that, who knows?”

  Leah’s green eyes moved from Ryan’s eyes to her lips, and then a flush of red found the blonde woman’s cheeks. “I should get going. Good luck with the job.”

  “Would you like to have an early lunch with me?” Ryan blurted out. Asking the question had taken all of her nerve, and she had no idea how she would manage an actual meal with Leah should the woman accept the invitation.

  Leah glanced at her watch, it was a little after eleven. “Actually, yes. I have about an hour and a half before I have to be back to the store.”

  Ryan had half expected Leah to decline the invitation, but now she was filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. It reminded her of the first time she rode a roller coaster. A friend of hers in undergrad had been shocked to find out Ryan’s family had never so much as taken her to Coney Island.

  One weekend, she was hauled to Six Flags America, east of Washington, D.C. and unceremoniously loaded onto the Mind Eraser. She had been suspended from an overhead track, and hurled through an inverted loop at over fifty miles an hour. Ryan had promptly thrown up upon exiting the ride and now hoped that wasn’t indicative of what was to come with her lunch with Leah.

  “Where do you want to eat?” Leah asked as the two women exited the building.

  Ryan hadn’t thought that far ahead, and suggested the first place that popped into her head. “Don’t laugh, but - Wegmans?”

  Leah smiled. “I love Wegmans.”

  Relieved Leah hadn’t thought her suggestion silly, Ryan nodded. “Perfect. I’ll meet you there?”

  “Sounds good.” Leah turned and walked across the parking lot in the opposite direction from Ryan.

  Once inside the Subaru, Ryan retrieved her phone from the black portfolio and dialed Nicole’s number.

  “Did you get the job? Is my car okay?” Nicole asked abruptly.

  Ryan rolled her eyes. “I won’t know until next week, and yes.”

  “Well, okay then.”

  “Listen, I’m going to grab some lunch and then come home. Are you okay with me keeping the car for another hour or so?”

  “Better idea. Come fetch me, we can have lunch together, and then I can go into the office.” Nicole suggested.

  Ryan hesitated, not wanting to lie to her friend, but she wasn’t really up for any good natured ribbing either. “I, ah - I’m having lunch with someone.”

  “You’re not letting Jenny in my car, are you?” Nicole’s tone hovered between teasing and tense.

  Ryan weighed her options before responding. “No.” She held out little hope that Nicole would let her off with a simple closed ended response.

  “Who are you having lunch with – friend?” Ryan could practically see the mischievous glint in her friend’s eyes.

  Sighing, Ryan decided to take the plunge. “The woman I met in New York.”

  A quiet gasp came from the other end of the phone. “What? You invited her to lunch and didn’t tell me?”

  “No. Nothing like that.” Ryan fastened her seatbelt, and started the car. “We ran into each other after my interview, and are going to get a quick bite to eat.”

  “What are the odds?” Nicole’s tone was contemplative.

  “The odds of what?” Ryan needed this conversation to be over or she would miss the lunch with Leah.

  “Come on! You don’t think it’s strange that you’ve run into her - unplanned - like three times now?”

  Ryan hadn’t thought about it like that. She had been so happy to meet and then see Leah; it hadn’t occurred to her the improbability of the coincidences. “Maybe. I mean, sure, it’s weird.”

  “Stalker.” Nicole sang into the phone.

  “Get off it.” Ryan was done with the conversation.

 
; “Okay, but if you’re not back with my car by two -”

  “Goodbye.” Ryan disconnected the call, a faint smile on her lips as she maneuvered out of the parking lot. No one believes in accidents anymore. Fate. Ryan’s smile turned to a frown as the word flittered through her mind. She had never thought of herself as someone who believed in fate.

  She didn’t pretend to know much at all about the grand scheme of everything, but she had never bought into a master plan and it all meaning something. Nicole had been teasing her, Ryan knew that, but parking in front of Wegmans, Ryan wandered if there was some truth in her friend’s taunting.

  Wegmans was a regional grocery chain who, besides offering a broad selection of organic foods and locally sourced produce, had dedicated an entire portion of the store to an expansive buffet and bar area. Ryan wound her way through the many buffet stations and past the small café and beer garden, to find Leah standing in front of a large display of sliced cake, pie, puddings and pastries.

  “I don’t know anywhere else that it’s encouraged to buy dessert by the pound.” Leah glanced up and smiled at Ryan as she scanned the baked goods.

  “My roommate brought me here for the first time about a year ago. I had meant to get some Indian food, but ended up with a half-pound of cake and pie.”

  Leah’s perfectly manicured brow arched as she looked carefully at Ryan. “Half-pound? You’re just an amateur then.”

  Ryan managed not to laugh, and looked very seriously at the display case. “I’ve stepped my game up. I’m up to three quarters of a pound, and my stretch goal is a full pound by the end of summer.”

  Leah nodded, turning her attention back to the desserts. “Admirable.”

  The two women turned their heads at the same time, and looked at each other. Ryan couldn’t remember ever being so comfortable and excited all at the same time with someone.

  The intensity of Leah’s green eyes brought a rush of heat to Ryan’s face, and she had to clear her throat before she could continue. “Speaking of Indian food, I’m heading over to see what they’re offering today.”

  Leah placed a slice of blueberry pie in the small, clear plastic container on her tray. “I’m going to go see what they’ve got in the way of Asian cuisine.” The blonde glanced toward the escalators behind them. “Meet you upstairs?”

  Ryan nodded and then made her way towards the long buffet case lined with every imaginable curry, rice, and variation on eggplant she could want. In the end, she decided on gobhi aloo, a blend of cauliflower with potatoes sautéed with garam masala, and chapathi bread.

  Ryan clutched her Indian food, bottled water, and yellow cake with chocolate icing laden tray tightly as she rode the escalator to the second floor dining area. She refused to repeat her clumsiness from earlier.

  Scanning the dining area, Ryan quickly spotted Leah, who sat at a table near the railing that lined the far side of the space, allowing the diner to overlook the larger grocery store below.

  “Is this okay?” Leah took a drink of what looked like lemonade through her straw as she looked up at Ryan.

  “It’s good.” Ryan carefully slid her tray onto the table and took a seat across from Leah.

  Ryan carefully removed all of her food and water from the tray. She opened up her food container, and unwrapped the chapathi bread from its aluminum foil. Then she twisted the cap off the bottled water, and opened the utensil pack she had picked up near the registers downstairs. Sensing she was being watched, Ryan looked up at an amused Leah.

  “What?” Ryan scanned her assortment. “Is something wrong?”

  Leah put her drink down, the corner of her mouth turned slightly up. “Not at all. You’re very particular.”

  Ryan squelched the feeling of awkwardness that washed over her. “Not really. You’ve seen the damage I can do with tea. Imagine if an entire lunch got away from me.”

  Leah laughed out loud, and the joyful sound brought a broad grin to Ryan’s face. The blonde opened her own container to reveal a sizable portion of sesame chicken, steamed white rice, and an egg roll. “Don’t judge me if I start with the blueberry pie.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” The two women began eating in a comfortable silence. Ryan kept reminding herself not to stare at Leah. She’s taking a drink from a straw. Since when do I think that’s sexy?

  “Do you think you have a good chance at the liaison position?” Leah took a bite of an egg roll.

  Ryan nodded. “I do. I’m qualified on paper, but more importantly, with my internships over the past three years, I have the work experience they are looking for too.”

  “Why social policy?” Leah dipped the last of her egg roll into the sweet and spicy sesame sauce that covered her chicken.

  Ryan hesitated. An honest answer would require talking about her family, and she had hoped to avoid that on her first outing with Leah. At the same time, Ryan didn’t want to start her friendship with the blonde on a false note.

  “You know my family.” Ryan watched Leah carefully to see if the topic was going to make her uncomfortable. The blonde simply took a bite of the sesame chicken and nodded.

  Taking a deep breath, Ryan felt she could push forward. “The women in the family have always worked closely with non-profits and various philanthropic causes throughout the city.” Taking a drink of her water, Ryan struggled to find the words for what she wanted to say. “I - it wasn’t until I got older that I realized it never was about the causes as much as the socialization and the appearance of doing something. And it was rarely about people.”

  Leah’s brow furrowed. “What was it about?”

  Ryan tore a piece of bread off, and before putting it in her mouth continued. “Gardens, parks, symphonies. That sort of thing.”

  Leah smiled. “Those sorts of things can help people.”

  Ryan nodded, chewing on her bread. “Yes, but if you can’t afford to pay your electricity bill, or replace a broken window in the dead of winter, what the hell do you care if there’s a park three blocks from your house?”

  “Good point.”

  “When I asked my mother why we didn’t put more of our resources toward soup kitchens, or ensuring affordable housing was available, she very quickly replied that the family didn’t provide handouts.”

  Leah paused mid-bite, a distressed look crossing her face. But then she didn’t respond, and Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of it. Leah had been friends with her mother, and maybe she was surprised by the comment.

  “What?” Ryan was alarmed to hear the single syllable utterance exit her mouth. She did not want to talk about her mother with Leah.

  Leah leaned back in her chair, her eyes focused on her nearly empty tray of food. “I agree with you. If basic needs aren’t met, everything else falls by the wayside.”

  Ryan wasn’t convinced that was what Leah meant at all, but she didn’t want to be antagonistic. “Exactly.” Picking her fork up, Ryan ate the last of her gobhi aloo. Glancing up at Leah, Ryan was caught off guard by the sadness that was suddenly shadowing the woman’s face.

  “Leah, are you okay?”

  As if snapping out of a trance, Leah looked up at Ryan and managed a faint smile. “I am. You’ve just given me some stuff to think about.”

  “Like what?” Ryan hoped the conversation was shifting to more sure footing.

  Tossing her napkin in the empty food container, Leah sighed. “Sometimes we - I can take a lot of things for granted. I’m always hopeful people will do the right thing.”

  “We all do.” Ryan slid the slice of cake in front of her.

  Leah nodded. “Doesn’t excuse it.”

  Ryan wasn’t sure what they were talking about. Leah’s tone seemed fatalistic and dire, and disproportional to what they were discussing. Ryan didn’t want to go down that path with Leah; so she pushed her slice of cake to the center of the table. “Want to share?”

  Leah grinned, and patted her stomach. “I’m stuffed, but thank you. Besides, how are you going to reach that one pound
goal if you give it away?”

  Pulling the cake back towards her, Ryan chuckled. “Momentary lapse in judgment.”

  Glancing at her watch, Leah frowned. “I hate to do this, but I have to run.”

  “Oh. Ah, okay.” Ryan stood up as Leah pulled her coat off the back of her chair. Fumbling in her back pocket, Ryan pulled her phone out. “Can I get your number? Maybe we can hang out again?” The simple request had taken more nerve than Ryan had imagined, and she was unable to make eye contact with Leah.

  “Okay.” Leah casually agreed, and rattled off her phone number.

  Ryan furiously typed, and repeated the digits back to Leah. “Got it. Thanks.”

  “What should we do?” Leah picked her tray up.

  Ryan hadn’t expected an immediate invite to be requested, but was thrilled at the prospect of nailing down another outing with the beautiful blonde. “Well - ah, my spring flag football with BSSC is starting next week. Do you want to come out and watch?”

  Leah smiled. “Sounds like fun. Text me the information?”

  Ryan nodded, and quickly gathered her empty containers and half-eaten cake onto her tray so she could leave with Leah.

  “Aren’t you going to finish the cake?” Leah asked as she dumped the contents of the tray into a nearby waste bin.

  “I actually have to get going myself. I’ve got my roommate’s car, and she needs it back.” Ryan emptied her tray and stacked it on top of Leah’s.

  Nodding, Leah walked towards the escalators with Ryan behind her. Standing near the crosswalk that led to the parking garage, Leah turned to Ryan. “I’m glad we ran into each other.”

  “We seem to be good at that.” Ryan joked, thinking about Nicole’s stalker comment from earlier.

  Leah smiled. “There are worse coincidences.”

  Ryan nodded, feeling tongue tied and not sure how to end the interaction. “Well, see you soon.” Against her will, Ryan thrust her right hand out toward Leah.

  The blonde looked down at Ryan’s hand, her eyes narrowing as she took Ryan’s hand in hers. “Ah, absolutely.” Pulling her hand free, Leah walked toward the garage. “Don’t forget to send me the BSSC information.”