Page 27 of Paradigm

“You look great. Don’t forget to do that hair thing you do. I swear, I’ve seen, like, ten women actually swoon when you run your hand through it. Make her see what she’s been missing all these years.”

Arlowe laughed and said, “Will do. Now, I’ve got to run. You okay?”

“I’m good. I’m just going to work.”

“You should take advantage of being alone in the house, Enya. Now that we have no other roommates, it will happen more often, but if you wanted to run around naked or something, go for it. I’ll just text you when I’m on my way home so that I don’t see anything I don’t want to.”

“Get out of here,” Enya replied with a laugh.

Arlowe grabbed her phone, wallet, and keys off the table and headed to the front door. She’d decided to drive instead of getting a car because that was one very easy way of keeping her from getting drunk or even remotely tipsy, which she did not want to do in front of Eline, and she’d chosen a bar that was a little more on the classy side than she was used to or preferred because she didn’t want to take Eline to the same bar where she usually met and then made out with random women. Arlowe definitely didn’t want to take Eline to a club where she’d done the same.

When she arrived, instead of parking her own car, she gave her keys to the valet, loving the fact that she could actually do that now. They weren’t rich, her and her friends, but they were better off than they’d been a few years ago, when they’d nearly had to close up shop, so she could splurge on things like valet and expensive drinks every now and then.

The bar she’d chosen was a typical place that catered to people who were in town for business-type stuff. It had blues and purples on the walls and in the lighting, and there were more tables than booths. Some of those were the standing-only type next to the bar, while others were still tall but had chairs, and the outer rim of the tables was of the normal two-seater and four-seater variety. Arlowe scanned the room, trying to figure out where to sit, and she also looked for Eline, whom she expected to have arrived early. Eline had done so for their coffee shop meeting, but then again, she used to always be early or on time, which she viewed as late, so Arlowe wasn’t surprised at all when she found her sitting at the table in the corner. It was a two-seater, and there was a tea candle with a blue candle holder around it, giving her a glow about her face that only served to bring out her blue eyes even more.

“Fuck. She’s still– Yeah…” Arlowe took a deep breath and walked over toward her. “Hey. Early as usual, huh?”

“Oh, hi,” Eline replied, looking up and sizing her up and down. “You look nice. Sorry. Should I have said that? I don’t know what the rules are.”

“There aren’t any,” she said. “And you look nice, too.”

“I’m in a sweater and a pair of jeans. You’re…” Eline pointed her index finger at her and moved it up and down. “Is this how you dress now? Jackets over everything?”

“Why? Do you not like it?” Arlowe asked and sat down across from her.

“No, I do. I just… You used to wear sweatpants and hooded sweatshirts everywhere.”

“I was in college.” She chuckled. “And I’m pretty sure if I rolled up to this place in sweats, they’d kick me out.”

“Yes, about that…” Eline said and looked around. “Do you come here a lot?”

“Not really. Why?”

“It’s nice,” Eline noted.

“It is, yeah.”

“It’s just not where I thought we’d go.”

“No? Where did you think we’d go?”

“A pub. Like the ones we went to in Amsterdam, where we would both order cheap beer and talk about anything and everything.”

“You wanted to go to a pub crowded with tourists and have to yell at each other?”

Eline nodded and said, “I guess not.”

“Is this place not okay?” Arlowe asked. “We can go somewhere else if you haven’t ordered anything yet.”

“I haven’t yet, no, but it’s fine. I guess when you knew someone before, you have this idea of them in your mind that might not necessarily be the reality of them today. Like, you wear blazers and button-downs now and come to places like this.”

“Sometimes. I wear clothes like this and come to places like this sometimes.”

“It’s good, though. It’s a change, but it’s a good change. You’re like the person you were supposed to be, you know?”

“And what about you? What’s different about you?”

“Not much, I don’t think.” Eline chuckled.