Hydrophilic (OPEN)

[Deleted]

Derek might have several years older than Idalia, that much he already ascertained from a woman of her kind of beauty, but he had also long since passed the mark where the possibility of a ten year age difference was frivolous to think about anymore and to hold him back from enjoying some of the finer moments in life. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, Derek felt that time had already long since passed him by, but he did seek the companionship of a well-adjusted woman. If that’s all he had for a night, then it was a night well spent, especially since the only other thing he had to do was sit alone in his sad excuse for a home and drink.

“I think so too,” he agreed. “Especially when they’re shared with someone more worthwhile than my living room sofa.” Derek pushed up the dark lenses that were covering his eyes with yet another chuckle as they continued to walk. “It’s….a job.” That was the least he could say about it. It wasn’t his dream job. This was nowhere close to where he wanted to be in life, but he had very little choice in the matter. “I have to be honest, the best part is going home.” But if she wanted to hear more about it, Derek was willing to tell a few tales.

It was tough having to argue against certain situations that were against the company’s own policies. Derek knew that many of these customers were just honest people trying to get help, but the company itself had it set up so that being in accordance with their expectations was like pulling teeth then dancing them through a three-ring circus. Now that the pre-existing condition clause was prohibited throughout all the healthcare plans, thanks to ObamaCare, his company was looking for other ways to avoid covering their policy-holders. He didn’t approve of their methods, but…he needed the job.

Once they approached the small shop, Derek held the door open for his companion, motioning for Idalia to enter before him.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia wasn’t even sure she wanted to get married anymore. She’d had her heart broken so many times, and admitted she had broken a few hearts herself, but relationships never really seemed to go her way. She was too much of a workaholic for a lot of people, they didn’t understand why she was so dedicated to her job. She loved it. She didn’t want to have to choose between working or a relationship. Idalia was unfortunately, one of those people that lived to work and loved every minute, even the painful ones. There had never been that one person that gave her enough of a sense of purpose and love that she’d been given something worth fighting for. Honestly, her job was the only constant and it would always be there and it would never cheat on her.

Ida laughed and gave him a dazzling smile. He was definitely flirting, Idalia decided, there was no other explanation. Well, at the very least she knew that she ranked above the sofa, she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that, but she let it slide taking it as a compliment. “Spontaneous movie marathons are hardly the same thing as spontaneous plans,” she countered with a teasing smile. She loved spontaneous movie marathons, and show marathons. She’d caught up on most of the shows she loved via several hours planted on her couch on her days off in sweatpants, sharing a bowl of popcorn with Ike and only moving to resupply her snacks. Those were the days she didn’t put on any make up, didn’t plan on being seen by anyone, occasionally she didn’t even put in her contacts and just chilled in her glasses.

“Oh no,” she said in dismay, “That’s terrible. I couldn’t imagine doing something that I didn’t enjoy.” Well, she could, she’d done so throughout high school. Retail was literally the worst. “So if you could have any job, what would you want to do?” She was curious. If she wasn’t doing meteorology she was pretty sure she would have easily gotten bored and started to hate her job. But she got the best of both worlds. There was the research that she got to do and then she got to talk about the weather to people, not only on television, but at conferences with her peers and at schools to children who were just learning to read. That was the most challenging part of her field. Not the math, not the physics, oh no, it was the communication. Communicating with other scientists was challenging enough, but communicating the same thing that could be understood by her peers in atmospheric science down to the level that children could understand was an ongoing challenge.

“Thank you,” she said slipping in ahead of him and giving him a smile. What a gentleman! She was liking Derek better and better. She walked toward the counter and started looking over the coffee menu. Now there were too many choices. She could get something with mint, or chocolate or… oh! Cinnamon! She smiled as she looked then at the caramel. She could even get something with cookie chunks in it. This was terribly dangerous.

[Deleted]

Derek was under the impression that he already had his chance at love and that was unfortunately thrown spitefully right in his face, after his fiancee found out that he had an illegitimate child. Never mind his reassurances that he never intended for the brat to be born and had no intention of letting the child become an issue between them nor the mother of the child. After all, his relationship with Myndi was only the briefest of things, an event that happened in Seattle and stayed in Seattle he never had any intention of leaving his fiancee when he hooked up with her. And had there not been a child, she never would have found out either. That wasn’t enough for her. After that, and the hell he went through over the years, Derek had decided that a relationship not something he was suited for. Superficial meetings, with no strings attached, as long as they were carried out with the responsibility of an adult, suited him just fine. He didn’t need anything deeper than that.

It was probably for this reason that flirting with a pretty woman came so easy to him. Despite being such a hard worker and academic in his younger days, he was also a very sought-after young man, at least within his demographic. That was one of the changes of the recent society that he was getting used to; mixed partners. In his day, his mother would have had a fit if she knew he was fraternizing with someone not of Korean descent. It was an expectation he was brought up with. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t find a white woman attractive either. “Forgive me, I’ve always been told I can be impulsive. I always pray that it’s not bad trait, but if you’re as generous with me as you are with your movie marathons, then I think I made the right decision in inviting you out.”

Derek sighed in agreement with her opinion. “For a long time I didn’t think so either. But sometimes things happen that you can’t help.” Things that happened to you that you wish didn’t. “If I could, I would go back to practicing medicine,” he said honestly. Idalia was no doubt going to inquire as to the reason why he couldn’t, so he offered it before she could ask. “I used to have a practice, many years ago, there was a poor decision on my part, legal issues; it ended with me losing my license.” And with no hope of getting it back. At least not for a long, long time. “That’s why I work in insurance. My medical knowledge gives me an advantage, more opportunities for advancement…I suppose one thing I do still enjoy is the research.” He had to do a lot of it in order to keep up with the medical community so that he could determine what services could be covered in their policies. It was the company and the customers that mostly grated on him. He didn’t like phones. They were so impersonal.

Derek followed in after Idalia, shifting his gaze up to the menu as he worked to decide what he wanted as well. “Feel free to get anything you like,” he insisted. He was the one who invited her, therefore it was only right that he be prepared to cover the whole cost, especially since she was taking the time out of her evening to indulge his spontaneous request.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia didn’t think that she’d ever really been in love, she might have thought she was, but as far as what they described in movies and in books, Ida had never felt anything like that. She supposed she was hopeful and that made her optimistic, she wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of love and of marriage and children. Her biological clock was ticking and she was running out of time for that last one. She was never really sure if she wanted children, but her nieces and nephews were so precious she was starting to think about it more and more. She knew she was jumping the gun quite a bit to be thinking about babies when she didn’t even have a man to give her one of those. One step at a time, Idalia, she reminded herself, one step at a time.

“No, not a bad trait at all, in a job like mine impulse is all I have sometimes.” She could be on call during a winter storm or anything like that, hell she kept a small bag of toiletries in a drawer in her office just in case she accidentally got snowed in. Plans never seemed to work out for her. Idalia gave him a warm smile and giggled, flattered, her face lighting up a light red. “You’ve gotta give everything a chance, right? And sometimes when something smacks you in the face it’s a sign you’ve just gotta go with the flow.” She grinned as she oh so subtly reminded him of how they’d met. Idalia reached up a nervous hand to run it through her hair and realizing she’d put it all up ended up smoothing her hand over her hair and making sure it was still in place.

She was already forming the question when he jumped in and told her about it. “Oh,” she said in a mix of realization, sympathy and understanding. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Derek.” Idalia was dying to know what he’d done, but that would be impolite to press for him to explain. She nodded giving him an encouraging smile. “Well, good, research is what keeps me going to. Far different than yours I’m sure.” She didn’t have to ask permission for anything like human or animal trials, she was doing mostly modeling, hers wasn’t exactly a field that was very conducive to lab work. Data had to be gathered in the real world and them worked through to simulate. Data collection and correcting was perhaps the worst part of her whole job. “Well, at least you’re still in the medical field in some way, and get to keep up on recent developments. That must be exciting.”

Idalia stood next to him and considered the menu for a moment before giving him a sidelong look. She bit her lip and almost told him to shove it, she could afford her own coffee thank you very much, but she refrained. That was impolite. “Oh no worries,” she said waving her hand, “I’ve got it.” She said implying herself, though if he wanted she could and would pay for him as well. Screw traditional gender roles up and down. Idalia was a grown woman with a good career and she could take care of herself. She knew he was just being a gentleman but she didn’t want him to assume anything. They’d only just met, he held no obligations to her, nor she to him. She didn’t get up on her soapbox, not quite yet.

[Deleted]

If asked, Derek would say that he was incredibly in love with his fiancee. He would have given her the world, anything she asked for. But clearly that was not something she wanted. Derek’s “best” was not good enough and so she left, leaving him in the wake of all the hell that came with it. A failing practice, family who wanted nothing to do with him anymore, a child he never wanted, both a gambling and alcohol addiction, and eventually, bankruptcy and his attempts to make his living through illegitimate means. It was no wonder she left, he was a pathetic man back then. However, had she decided to support him in the way a wife was meant to, then he would not have fallen so low. If the child had not been an issue, then he would not have fallen lower.

Consequently, Derek did not want another child. He was dealing with enough with the one he had already. Had his youth gone more smoothly, then perhaps he would have had one or two. He would have been more than capable of supporting them if his practice had taken off. His fiancee would have made a good mother, he thought.

Idalia’s relation to her job and impulse brought a chuckle out of the man. He could see how having quick wits might be an advantage in live reporting, especially in an area highly concentrated in meta-activity, specifically one with a school nearby full of untrained and undisciplined meta-children. “You’re probably right, unfortunately it’s a bit touch and go in my case,” he replied with a smile. “Sometimes, it’s nice to be set in a routine.” And to know what to expect next.

Derek wasn’t going to go into any further details. In truth there were a variety of reasons why one could lose their medical license, ranging from simply not renewing it to engaging in some very questionable, and very illegal, medical activities. He wasn’t proud of what he did, but it was in the past now and Derek would rather it not become a part of his life now. He smiled. “Research has always been a passion of mine. I find the medical field genuinely interesting. But for my job’s purpose, no, I do not find it quite as enjoyable as I might if it were done of my own volition.” So it wasn’t quite as exciting as she was trying to convince him it was.

When Idalia refused his offer to pay, a small scowl appeared on his lips. Oh, so she was one of those headstrong women. While he could admire a woman who was independent, Derek was also very old fashioned in his views, believing that a woman need only let themselves be taken care of. A viewpoint of, “the money she earns is her to spend on herself, and the money he earns is theirs to spend on the necessities”. Derek would not have her paying for his tab as if he were a kept man. And on that note, he was already starting to devise a way in which he could step in and take care of it before she had a chance to protest. As previously mentioned, she was offering her time, and he a cup of coffee. He smiled. “You will do no such thing,” he said with an amused laugh. “It’s really only fair, I selfishly asked you out, to take time out of your evening to spend a few moments with me. The least you could do is let me repay you with the coffee I initially offered.” Derek stepped up to Idalia, staring down with his gentlemanly smile at the shorter woman. “Please, allow me this privilege,” he requested pleasantly, yet seriously. “My pride as a man depends on it,” he said as a kind of joke. It almost was.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Freedom was something Idalia loved and probably the one reason her relationships failed was when someone tried to control her she refused to be controlled, which was of course her fault because she wasn’t allowing him to be ‘a man’. It was bullshit in her opinion. She understood that relationships were a give and take, but there was a point when it crossed the line and it didn’t take a lot to cross Idalia’s line, which was probably her fault, she should be more understanding. She admitted there were things she did that needed to be worked on, she needed to not jump to conclusions and she needed to not be such a workaholic. But she took pride and joy in what she did. So she wasn’t going to wow in the kitchen but she could cook. Basically anyone who thought that was where she belonged was going to get a black eye.

Granted she’d never had children or had dated someone of whom she was into enough to make these changes. In her eyes work was the one constant, it was her first relationship and no one had ever come along who had been able to challenge that. Again, granted that was probably a heavy load for someone. They all had their history, but that history was not first date material. This was a date right? She smiled back at him and his chuckle, he was a nice guy, a real gentleman, from what she’d gathered. That was a nice change from most of the people she’d met at the gym who were all muscle heads. Though that wasn’t always fair, she wouldn’t want to be judged as the hot meteorologist, which had apparently (and unfortunately) become a thing.

Ida smiled and shrugged. “What’s a routine?” She asked jokingly. She had a schedule that changed at the drop of a hat. “That would be nice, I guess I don’t really miss it though.” At least with her power she had a little bit of an idea of what was going to happen next, but even then sometimes her power had a high level of uncertainty. Weather was always changing and weather was chaotic. Idalia had probably the highest human accuracy rate because of her power, but she couldn’t see everything, she couldn’t see temperature, but what she could do was feel the temperature and the wind and determine from there if she was close. Idalia had never known a doctor, but she’d watched enough television to know that losing a medical license was not exactly a good thing. She didn’t want to press him for the details, it wasn’t her place, if he wanted to tell her he would. Idalia shrugged. “It’s all about what you make of it, though I love research I can’t say my favorite thing is reading journals,” she replied, she had to do that sometimes scientific papers were dense and not always the easiest to piece through.

Idalia raised a brow and a small smile slipped onto her lips. “Thank you, Derek, that’s very kind of you… but,” she started, but he was continuing. She knew that traditionally men were supposed to pay but she would never assume something and already she was working on a counterargument but he offered up a pretty damn good argument and now Idalia didn’t know how to protest without sounding rude. She looked up at him, not backing down a step when he approached. Damn that charming smile, she thought. Her cheeks flushed, he was too good at this, but the last statement unraveled his entire plan and Idalia raised a defiant brow. Oh, so he was one of those men. Masculinity meant everything to them and women were just trophies to be brought around with them. Idalia didn’t think so. She laughed, why did men always think that by allowing the woman to pay every now and again they were incapable of taking care of their family. She wanted a partner, not a keeper. She crossed her arms and took her time contemplating, just trying to make it clear she wasn’t happy with the argument. “Fine. But only because you said ‘please’.” She reached up a hand and patted his chest and offered a smile to take the sting away from her words. “Not because your ‘man pride’ depends on it,” she said in the same tone he’d used. To someone who knew her well, it would be easy to tell she was making fun of him.

With that she looked back up at the menu that was hanging from the wall, as if she were ignoring him and he should consider the privilege to be that she was allowing him to pay for her. She was giving him a little bit of slack because he was older, but she was not going to let him think that she was inferior or couldn’t make her own choices and pay for her own coffee. “What kind are you thinking about?” She asked moving on as if the discussion had never happened. She did understand why men couldn’t be chivalrous and it be because they were a good person not because they were ‘the man’ and it was expected? She was a feminist because she believed in equality, not that men shouldn’t be chivalrous and want to take care of a family, but it was the understanding that they didn’t have to do it alone anymore.

[Deleted]

It was a different time that he grew up in. A different era, different values and beliefs. Things that are supposedly okay today were unthinkable back then, and these days the traditions that were followed back then were warped into being “incorrect”, “intolerant”, and “oppressive”, as if it were some sort of conspiracy of men to keep woman helpless and under their thumb. Derek did not feel his views were wrong, only that they were “normal” for him. What he did not like was being labeled as a “bad guy” for having been brought up with these “old fashioned” views.

He’d heard the arguments, that women were viewed as nothing more than objects in the past. Derek couldn’t say that he agreed or disagreed, because he inherently knew that treating people as mere unintelligent objects was unfair, but he also felt it was presumptuous of feminists to assume that he wanted to do victimize women simply because he felt it right that a man should be able to provide for their family. That he’s fiend for being a gentleman and holding open a door, pulling out a chair, or paying for a meal for the sake of a woman they wanted to woo. Basically, he was a bad person for having manners, and standards, and for sticking to them in a world where obscenity and disrespect reigned.

Derek chuckled at her question. “A routine is that thing where my alarm goes off 30 minutes before I have to leave to somewhere every day just to ensure that I don’t get too caught up reading the newspaper over eggs and wind up late for work.” Derek enjoyed spontaneity when it could be afforded, but he restricted it to those times only. Certainly there were limits, as he couldn’t decide to simply take a cross country trip to to view the world’s biggest frying pan or ball of yarn when he still had a job to be at along with other responsibilities. Also, the routine helped him become used to doing things when he needed to, as he said before, rather than dealing with a schedule that was frequently changing and required a higher degree of mindfulness just to remember what happened next. With the way that Derek needed to manage himself to be punctual just to maintain a “routine”, he would be helpless working in a world that wasn’t dictated by carefully allotting his time.

“That’s true,” he agreed with a nod. “I think it’s that kind of thinking that keeps me going. I can’t exactly be picky at this stage in my life.” Though if he’d been anywhere where he’d intended on being, then Derek would have been able to be as picky as he pleased in regards to his work.

Had Derek know that she would have taken his last statement in his argument so seriously(even if it was a halfway true opinion) he might have kept it to himself. But Idalia was really taking it too seriously, that much he could see from her expression and he sighed internally. That was one thing he especially disliked about women who tried too hard to be independent and strong; they took even the smallest “controversial” statements as some sort of offensive challenge, turning it into an issue to move the world. He was just trying to be playful. Still, Derek smiled, knowing he had won the argument and that was what mattered. “Oh, you wound me,” he quipped back. “How else am I supposed to show who’s superior if not by flaunting about my ability to pay for a five dollar cappuccino?” Seriously, if was just a coffee, not a porsche. But if she wanted to play it like that, then he could play right back.

“Something sweet,” he replied, keeping his answer simple. Derek had never been one for bitter, tasteless coffee. “Perhaps a mocha?” He could use the caffeine at this point. “And you?” he asked as they approached the counter to order.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia was working in a male dominated field and maybe that caused her to overcompensate in other aspects of her life. That probably lost her a whole lot of men. Her mother was starting to wonder if she’d ever get married, especially since she was the eldest of all of her sisters who hadn’t gotten married. She had just been taking care of herself for so long that she didn’t need someone to take care of her, she wanted someone to live with and love, but again her mother thought she should be happy to have someone take care of her. Derek had not shown any signs of outright objectifying women, which was a good sign, he could very well just be a gentleman, which would be a good thing, but the fact still remained that they were both too old to be trying to change to compensate for another person. Now, that didn’t mean Idalia was writing him off, she was just trying this new thing in her life where she didn’t immediately fall in love with everyone she saw.

“That sounds nice,” she said with a grin, “I haven’t had a set routine since… god since high school.” She’d gone to college and well, good on anyone who was able to establish a routine in college. Then she’d gone to graduate school and that pretty much threw everything else out the window, she only had a few things she had to do each day, but she had to say the biggest thing she’d learned from graduate school was how to use coffee to function on limited sleep. Then she’d got into the Weather Service and those shifts were insane and then she was working days and nights and off and on. So when she’d gotten the broadcast job here in Vermont she had hoped that she would have a routine but no, it was forecasting, on television, then research on her own case studies, that had been part of her contract. But sometimes she had emergencies in the middle of the night and public events, she sometimes went to work and then had a million other things to do and she was starting her days sometimes at 5:00AM and other times 5:00PM.

Idalia nodded, “There are so many papers now, I’m glad there is a group of us to read all of them. It wouldn’t do for us to fall out of touch,” she said and then nodded to him and added, “In either of our fields, they’re both so dynamic.” She was glad to have at least met someone who was intellectual. He probably understood late hours studying and on research, maybe he would be understanding of her schedule. She mentally shook her head, how was it that she was already considering him as something more than a friend, this was why she wasn’t good at one night stands. His smile disarmed her, he was dangerously charming. Idalia laughed, she’d had friends like him back in college, those that joked about this sort of thing, mostly because they knew it annoyed her. Derek didn’t know that, well, perhaps now he did but she took from his smile that he was joking, if he was serious, well, they’d only just met.

“Ah,” she nodded thoughtfully, a smile on her lips. “Well, how nice of you to show my superiority by buying me coffee,” she gave him a teasing smile and put a hand daintily on her chest as if she was extremely touched. She gave him a warm smile and looked back up at the menu. She nodded, she was much the same. The sweeter the better. “Hmm, I think I’m feeling that mocha mint iced coffee.” She said pointing to the menu. She looked up at Derek and gave him a smile, maybe she had jumped to conclusions, he was older and handsome and he was just being kind. She smiled a little to herself, she was going to take him at his joke, after all there was no way he was serious. “Thank you, Derek,” she said after a moment giving him a genuine smile. Derek was being polite and was kind enough to buy her coffee, even if it was five dollars.

[Deleted]

“Since high school? That can’t have been that long ago,” he commented. It was intended to point out her apparent youth, though it might have been misconstrued as Derek thinking her still a child. Well, she almost was, but there were few children he knew who were as responsible as this one, having advanced as far as she had in her career field already. Idalia so far had proved herself to be a very capable and intelligent woman, if a bit of a head-strong feminist. Derek assumed that Idalia had also been a student from Hammel, given her meta status, but refrained from outright saying so. He didn’t like it when conversations steered towards meta-powers simply because he did not want his own status to be brought up. That would likely end up with his own past coming into question, which was another topic he’d like to avoid.

Derek nodded in agreement. “That’s true. There’s so much out there, always something new being presented and discovered.” And that was just in one field. Even thought they called it the scientific community, that too was separated even further into areas of research - medical, biochemical, meteorological, virology, immunology, psychological, geological research; he could go on listing them and there would always be a new one popping up somewhere. That was the primary reason why he loved the scientific/medical field; there was always something new to learn.

Derek bellowed out a laugh, far more genuinely than the brief chuckles he’s offered up until now. Oh, this woman was funny. Even if she was serious, even if he was serious, each of them about their own views on sexism and gender roles, they were still able to turn them into humor instead of getting caught up in the offense that their individual opinions might evoke in the other. That was a kind of wit that he found attractive in a working woman. Again his impression of the meteorologist shot up after it had gone down, making Derek start to think that he very much enjoyed the surprises that Idalia was presenting him with.

“I live to serve, of course,” he replied, his lips curling into an amused smile. He too turned back towards the menu, already decided on his order, but glancing over the other options for future reference. If he liked this place enough he may return. Derek put in the orders to the barista then extracted his wallet and card to present to the cashier. “You’re most welcome,” he offered back to her, sending Idalia a gentle nod.

It too little time for the drinks to come after that, and once they did, Derek took them both and handed Idalia hers as he turned and gestured towards the sitting area. He thought it best to turn the subject towards something else now, so as they approached one of the small tables, he spoke again. “So, I’ll be frank, I’ll called you out here with ulterior motives.” Derek chuckled as he sat down. “I am…still relatively new to this town, I was wondering if you could help me become more familiar with it.” It might not have been big, and Derek might have lived here before, but it still a lot had changed since then and Derek didn’t want to have to conduct his exploring all over again.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

He was flattering that was certain. She giggled and blushed a little. She wished it wasn’t so long ago but she raised a brow. “Not quite so recent either,” she joked, not wanting to look like a child. It had been what? Twelve years? Oh God. Idalia was beginning to get old. She couldn’t believe it had been so long, she didn’t really feel like she had had life together like people who were in their thirties were supposed to. Though in her defense she’d just turned thirty a few months ago. Idalia had worked hard to get here, she had gotten her higher degrees no faster than anyone else without her power, she liked to point out. Her power wasn’t why she had her job, it might have helped, but there was also the fact that she had worked hard. Granted she got to where she was faster than usual but she would rather be working twenty four hours a day making sure that people were safe. She loved her job, she felt like she was helping people and no one could take that away.

“I’m sometimes jealous of my friends in research. They get to dig really into the science,” she said then realized it probably sounded like she was falling into a ‘grass is greener’ problem. “I mean I do get some time to do research now and again.” She was actually a bit of an expert in the field that dealt with meta-human influences in the atmosphere. Occasionally she taught as a guest lecturer for a day at the University during the meteorology students forecasting class about meta-humans and the weather. “It almost feels like it’s impossible to know anything, even about one specific thing.” She agreed and gave a smile. She had friends who read papers all the time. Did their research and then here was Idalia making her forecast and reading papers and going on television and to events. It was a wonder she still found the time to run her models and write her own papers.

It gave Idalia immense pleasure and also calmed her nerves a great deal when he laughed. It seemed like they’d both mutually decided that the other was joking and now it all became greatly entertaining. She smiled and blushed trying not to look like she took too much pleasure in his laughter. She hoped she could get that kind of laugh out of him more often. She smiled up at him as if satisfied with the answer but laughed a bit herself. She was glad he had taken the statement so well, she had dated men who she knew would not have taken that kind of joke well at all. Well, there was a reason she was no longer dating them now and it really wasn’t that hard to determine why. Part of Idalia’s problem was that she was so goal oriented and knew what she wanted and therefore sometimes locked herself into a box. Derek, now Derek was refreshing and a little different than the men she usually dated. Not that they were dating, this was just coffee, she reminded herself.

She smiled warmly, she wanted him to know that she appreciated the coffee and that she didn’t expect it from him. “Thank you,” she said taking the drink and she turned and made sure to thank the barista as well. She followed and set her cup down as she sat and crossed her legs. Taking a sip of her drink she considered his ‘ulterior motives’. “Well,” Idalia started and took another sip of her drink and let the delicious chocolate and mint mingle over her tongue for a moment as she formulated her answer. “That would depend on what you’re interested in. I…”
Idalia smelled lightning and braced herself for the inevitable. Suddenly she was outside looking at the sky and the clouds moved swiftly across the sky. It couldn’t have been too far in the future but once again her power showed her that it was going to continue being beautiful. She blinked and she was back in the present and she realized she’d been probably staring at him throughout her vision and blushed. “Sorry, zoned a bit there.” She giggled and waved a hand dismissively, forgetting that she was going to say something before.

[Deleted]

No matter how recent or long, Derek was certain that Idalia had left high school a lot more recently than Derek had. If he wasn’t such a gentleman, he’d inquire about her age, but that was always taboo, he felt, no matter what era you were from. Unless you could get her to offer it freely. Derek chuckled. “I’m sure you’re just being self-conscious. It’s been over twenty years myself,” he offered, which was the only hint he was going to give toward his age for the moment, unless she straight up asked him.

“It’s easy to get lost in it, at least as I’ve found,” he said with a small laugh. “I’ve started reading something, and then moved on to reading about ten different things that that one paper referenced, and before I know it I’ve lost an entire day.” Derek shook his head. “That was when I was still an undergraduate, however.” He still did that on occasion nowadays, but his job didn’t allow him much time to get lost in his research. They needed him to stay on task and get a things done on a deadline. Which meant he had to research “smart” and “efficiently” and not just for his own interest. “That’s true, because there are entire sub-communities of research within the general area we call the “scientific community”.”

Even though he had been serious before, it was sometimes better to make the woman think that she really was the one in control. And by doing so, Derek had avoided potentially tense, possibly even hostile, situation between two very strong and opinionated entities. Just because he withdrew, did not mean he had ‘lost’. Thanks to that, the two of the could now continue their evening and enjoy their coffee and company peacefully.

It never would have happened in the first place if she would have simply kept her mouth shut about him paying for the both of them.

Derek’s “ulterior motive” was probably a little more obvious than the explanation he provided to Idalia, but he was patient enough to wait until it became her idea. For now, Derek was content with merely the company. He kept a smile as she started to respond, but then creased the space between his eyebrows in curiosity as she appeared to ‘zone out’….it was more like she’d gone into a trance. Derek removed his sunglasses for a better look. There was a slight swirling within her aura…the colors seemed to indicate a kind of pre-cognition….but it wasn’t traditional. He couldn’t determine what kind. But, Derek could presume that perhaps something had just happened concerning it.

Whatever it was, it was gone after a moment and the woman was apologizing for her abnormal behavior. “It’s no problem, please don’t worry about it,” he assured her, taking a sip from his coffee. “Now, what were you saying?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia smiled at him and shook her head blushing, clearly flattered that she still looked young. Ida cringed internally she’s just turned thirty, which meant she was no longer in her twenties, she had lived another entire decade on planet Earth and she was rather upset to know that she was no closer to knowing what she was doing with her life than she was when she was eighteen. She nodded her head and did the quick math in her head. Twenty years. Given eighteen was the standard graduation date, that would make him thirty-eight? Give or take a year or two. She felt pretty confident that her math had put her at least in the right ball park. Not bad, not that much older than her. “Hmmm… let’s see, I think it was 2002 when I graduated so twelve years?” Oh wow, that made her feel old to say it out loud.

“Oh yeah, especially if it’s something that you’re really interested in,” she agreed, Idalia for instance could not read biology articles, but that was partially because biology freaked her out a little bit. She didn’t like thinking about all of the things with cells and such. Thinking of herself being made of a million cells made her skin crawl, like the cells were crawling all over her. But Idalia was also a little bit crazy. She giggled, “I remember those days. I think the one I remember the most was my senior Synoptic Meteorology class, I was analyzing maps and trying to finish this report in the lab until two or three. I guess they really were training us for real life!” She took a sip of her delicious dink and smiled at him. “But I imagine medical school was no walk in the park, it probably made my grad school look like child’s play.” There was no way she was smart enough to be a doctor, those people were crazy smart, which meant that Derek was crazy smart, which was a great change from the people she normally dated. Not that they were dating, she reminded herself again. Oh dear Idalia’s imagination was running away and she was running into that problem where she was falling for everyone that was nice to her.

It was interesting to think about, what her PhD work had been was just a tiny blip on the radar that was her field and then add in all of science and her work contributed to probably some great negative power of ten less than one percent of the entirety of the science community and it was growing every day. “Well, it’s better to be growing than reaching a plateau.” There was still a lot of work to do. Idalia had a love-hate relationship with the fact that she was so close to a meta human school. For one there was the forecasting, on the other hand, she loved researching meta human influence in the atmosphere and this gave her plenty of cases and she had so much data archived that she’d been scolded once or twice for taking up too much of her allotted space on the server.

Idalia had to wonder at his ulterior motives, but if he really was new and needed direction Ida was not the person to ask. She knew maps, she could figure out which way things were moving, but put her on the street without her phone and she was pretty much useless. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was one of those people who focused on landmarks. She smiled and couldn’t get the heat in her face to go down. Most people who happened to be unlucky enough to have her staring in their direction during a vision were not very calm, maybe he’d dealt with something like this, she wondered. “Sorry,” she repeated despite his assurance. She shook her head and blinked at him for a moment. “Uh… right! I was going to say if you’re into outdoor stuff, the lake here is amazing, I take my dog there all the time.” She paused and chewed on her straw before asking, “Do you have any pets?”

[Deleted]

Her guess to his age was close, but she couldn’t have guessed that he was kept in high school for two years after his expected graduation date, for the sake of his powers training. Then the complicated adventure of his higher learning tacked on even more unnecessary years. He made it work, somehow. But it all felt pointless now, now that he wasn’t allowed to practice medicine anymore. Derek was rightfully bitter about that, though he knew if couldn’t be helped at this point. There was no point in complaining about it to a stranger(though she wasn’t much a stranger anymore). Derek would simply stew over it silently. He smiled to hear Idalia present the necessary numbers to estimate her age. Well, she was about as young as he expected. “Twelve years…that sounds like a long time when you say it out loud. But…makes me feel even older when I compare it to my own.” He laughed, to show that he merely joking off of the truth. He was old, but he wasn’t truly complaining about it. Not to her.

“Indeed,” Derek agreed. Unlike Idalia, however, Derek was able to read a variety of articles. And since many of the different branches were related to medicine in some way, his reading materials covered a rather wide range. He wouldn’t know what kind of things specifically a meteorologist would research outside of meteorology papers unless she simply held a personal interest in other branches. “That sounds fascinating,” he commented on her mini-rant of her class experience. He maintained a smile when she mentioned his days in medical school. Yes, they were difficult. He couldn’t deny that. But…medical school, surrounded by all of those other intelligent minds, has a way of making a reasonably smart person feel about as dumb as a high school chemistry student. There was always someone doing better than you no matter how hard you tried, and there was always someone who cheated the system to get a higher standing than those who worked at it. Yes, Derek was incredibly bitter about this. “Medical school had more than it’s fair share of challenges. Getting through it was probably the hardest thing I had to do so far in life.”

Derek nodded. It was always better to be growing, though Derek felt that he’d already reached that plateau she spoke of a long time ago. Now he was just drifting and living day to day with hardly anymore goals in life. As long as he had a job, a woman for the night, and a good drink, he could be content for the most part.

He would definitely sympathize with Idalia if he knew what kind of trouble she had with being so close to the Hammel Institution.

Derek shook his head when she apologized. “It’s okay,” he assured her with a small wave of the hand. He was curious, however, as to what she saw, and wondered if he should dare to ask her. To call her out on the premonition given away by her characteristic daze. Oh, well. She’d say something if she wanted. “Ah, yes, the lake.” Derek had taken his fair share of walks around that. “Beautiful place,” he commented, looking up to his memories as a boy. He chuckled and leaned in, resting his chin in his palm. “I do not have a dog,” he said with raised eyebrows. “But I’m hoping to get one soon. As soon as I’m settled in more.” Derek smiled. “Have any recommendations?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia gave Derek a sweet smile. “Oh nonsense,” she replied waving her hand dismissively. She didn’t care about age, not really anymore. Honestly she drew the age line at about fifteen years, and well he didn’t look like he was much over forty. And she had just turned thirty therefore, they were perfectly in business. Ida smiled to herself, amused at her own ability to convince herself of whatever future might be. This was why she was bad at one night stands, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like to hook up now and again. “Time moves faster and faster the higher in a career you get, I’ve found,” she commented, undergrad had felt like a rush, graduate school like a dream and she felt like she’d blinked between now and when she’d started her career. It wasn’t even a physical thing, perhaps it was just became she got busier with every responsibility she took on.

She shrugged and let the topic go, he wasn’t here to listen to her rant about her old stresses. One would think she would get a little bit better, but it was definitely something of a story for her. She still remembered quite vividly that night. Alternately working diligently and laying on the floor laughing at a lame joke when about 2AM rolled around. She nodded listening and letting her elbows rest on the table as she sipped at the sweet drink. She nodded and swallowed, “I believe that.” Medical school was something she knew virtually nothing about and the people she knew who had been working on getting into medical school were so far above her head smart that she always assumed that they were geniuses, which admittedly was something that she would much rather have for a doctor than someone like her who was forgetful and had perpetually tired induced stupidity.

It would make sense that she was out with someone and her power decided she was going to have to know that it was going to be sunny. Of all of the powers she couldn’t have had a cool one at least? Well, at the very least it was helpful for her career and she was glad she could use it to keep people safe. Ida nodded in agreement, “Do you do any sports outside of swimming?” She asked curiously, she wondered if he might enjoy rowing, their club team was no pressure and she loved that it was something that she could do for fun. She was even more happy that there was a place she could leave Ike with water and a little bit of shelter and running around space, it made them both happy because he didn’t have to be stuck at home, but she didn’t quite trust him not to wander.

“Oh really?” She asked excitedly leaning forward a bit and pulling out her phone. “Well,” she started with a little giggle, “I’m a highly biased. I have a Great Dane, and he’s the sweetest thing.” She slid to her pictures and showed him a picture of Ike. “Do you like big dogs or small dogs?” She asked looking up and letting her eyes slip over his face. This had not been the way she’d seen this day going. Her only plans for the day had been going home, heating up some left over Chinese and sitting in her pajamas to catch up on her shows taking full advantage of the fact that her shift switched tomorrow to later in the evening. She thought being chief would make her schedule a little more consistent, but really what it meant was that she was unofficially supposed to be there all the time, but she still did shift work. She took her time off with seriously but had to be on call pretty much for anything. Either way this was looking to be a much better day than what she’d had planned.

[Deleted]

“Is that how it is?” Or how it was supposed to be? Derek felt like he’d lived a hundred years between high school and today. High school itself had seemed to take forever yet, but looking back on it, it now seemed so short in comparison to everything else he’d been through. Though he would have to agree that going through medical school had been the quickest jump. He was always engrossed in something during that time, it was no wonder he so easily lost track of the time. It was after he got his M.D. that things started to slow down for him. Being unemployed made the days seem to drag on forever. Having a practice which was slow to non-existent was much the same. The days when he’d gone of the grid of reality seemed like a dream; stressful, but far from reality. Like he was playacting for a full five years.

“I seem to remember my youth differently. Or maybe time just slows down once you reach a certain age and aren’t always having to rush through life.” Derek didn’t like to rush. He enjoyed taking his time and stopping when appropriate to admire things which deserved them. Like an attractive woman who provided some attractive company while he enjoyed a well deserved mocha.

“Other sports?” he repeated. Derek considered. “I do enjoy hiking quite a bit. I spent quite a number of hours fishing in my youth.” He would include drinking on that list, however he was certain that she might not appreciate a joke which included that pastime as a proper ‘sport’. Otherwise, his physical interests usually surrounded those involving outdoor activities. He would probably be well suited for her rowing team, and interested, if she asked.

Derek nodded, swirling his drink in his styrofoam cup a few times before taking in yet another drink. “I prefer larger breeds over the smaller ones,” he said, leaning forward to take a quick look at the picture of her Ike. Derek smiled. “He’s a beauty.” Derek hoped to get himself a dog as stunning as this. “How’d you come to find a pup as beautiful as this?”