Drizzle with Lightning (Angie)

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia yawned and stretched finally separating herself from her computer. “I love my job,” she muttered as she rubbed her eyes wearily. Someone tapped at her door and she looked up her hands still lingering over her mouth. It had been a long day, Idalia had been running around from the radar images to the screen and making sure that those in Vermont were prepared for severe thunderstorms and she was also making sure that while people were safe and prepared that they were not panicking. This was a casual storm but knowing that the meta school was upwind always made Ida nervous. She caught onto a building cell that was anomalous and this time her first course of action was to call the school.

After being assured that they had the situation under control she watched the cell build and quickly die. She never really stopped checking the radar and now that it was half past midnight she looked up at her coworker. He told her they’d checked over the models and the storm was finally moving out of their area. They were going to have eyes on the radar just in case. She nodded and gave a smile. At least one thing was working out today. She’d gotten an early start here today and having been here since the day shift excused themselves at two she was beginning to feel more than a little tired. Her eyes ached from staring at a computer screen. She never realized how tired looking at radar made her until she stopped and realized it was eight hours later. She smiled with relief and after making a quick few adjustments she trotted downstairs and gave her report. The makeup people dusted her face and made the circles disappear from under her eyes. She spoke just as enthusiastically as she would have if she were in her first hour.

Idalia had let out Ike this morning and by morning she actually meant closer to noon. She wasn’t worried about him, she’d walk him tomorrow again before she went to work. She hated working evenings, though she supposed they were better than nights. The nights crew had come in two hours ago and had been briefed on the situation and now that it had calmed she officially passed over the torch and grabbing her bag as soon as she was back upstairs she locked up her office and went out. She really didn’t feel like cooking and wondered if there was any place to eat open. She drove and as soon as she saw the open sign on the little diner her stomach decided it for her. She stepped in and realized she probably looked like the red queen with her makeup so thick. Being on camera did that and she didn’t think to wash it away.

The diner was quite empty, only a few other patrons. She found an empty table and took up the menu. It was nice and quiet and Idalia relished the peace. She just wanted to sit in the silence forever. It wasn’t until someone spoke that she realized she was actually dozing when she rested her eyes.

[Deleted]

It was just the beginning of the evening shift. Or rather, the night shift. The manager at the diner had been layering their schedules recently, so that one person’s overlapped with the others. That way, they’d have the most people working during their busiest times which were during breakfast(between 5 and 8am), lunch(between 11:30am and 1:30pm), and then there was the dinner/after work crowd, their busiest time which also ran the longest(between 4:30am and 9pm). It wasn’t until well into the prime time that business started slowing to a very steady pace. Usually there weren’t more than 2-3 customers in the diner at any one point, but as soon as one left, another would come back in to replace them.

Angie had started during the peak hours of the evening and hit the ground running with waiting tables, putting in orders, cleaning and clearing tables quickly so that they may seat the next person. She was thankful when the diner dwindled down to only a few patrons, many of them regulars, and one a couple just passing through these parts. She took her break as soon as she could, breathing a sigh of relief to finally getting off her feat. It wasn’t uncommon for employees to ask the cook to fire up something simple for them to eat during their breaks. Half-price was the usual going rate, but sometimes, when the manager wasn’t looking, he’d send out a dish of hashbrowns at no charge. Then simply write it off as returned goods from an unsatisfied customer. Which happened enough times, though policy was that they were supposed to throw out anything returned by a customer. Which Angie always thought of as such a waste.

Angie was finishing up her break when the chime of another customer rang from the front. She dusted off her apron over her A-line skirt and took the moment to make sure her hair hadn’t been too tousled over the course of the evening. It was still only half over for her. When she stepped out into the galley, she spied a familiar head of brown hair. Always so beautiful and put together, Angie thought. She was only a couple years younger than the 31(almost 32) year old blonde, but they’d still been classmates at Hammel, especially as Angie was held back for two years after her class graduated for her academics. Angie put on a coy smile as she stepped briskly towards the meteorologist, her low-rise heels clicking against the tile floor of the diner. “Well, if it isn’t li’l Ida,” Angie started, her southern bell accent as thick as honey. “It’s been a dogs age since I saw you last. How are you hun?” Angie tapped the end of her pen to her chin while her notepad was curled in her other hand rested against her hip. She smiled down at the woman.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

It wasn’t like Idalia to doze off in the middle of a diner, granted she frequented this one enough to know that they were delicious, not to mention they were open when she had nights. It wasn’t very often in Pilot Ridge that things that weren’t clubs open late. It was nice to sit down and have a meal that she didn’t have to cook. It gave her an excuse to eat then she would get home shower and faint into her bed. It was a very good system. As soon as Idalia had gotten in and it had been warmer than it was outside she had started to doze. Now that the weather was turning Ida was getting more and more over working in a building that was forced to stay cool due to the servers. She kept a jacket and blanket in her office. The diner was warm and she was sitting nearer to the kitchen and the warmth seeped from the ovens into her bones.

Idalia would have been extremely flattered to hear Angie’s thoughts, she really thought she was barely holding it together, really she was a sweatpants and no-make up kind of girl when she had a day off. It was a good thing she cleaned up nice and no one got to actually see her when she was working and swearing like a sailor at the most recent model she was trying to run. She might be good at coding but there was no easier way to frustrate her. Well, unless someone had the gall to talk to her about how they could better predict the weather, by say, looking out the window. She blinked and felt as if she were rousing suddenly from a dream. The voice was familiar and the southern ring to it made her feel like she was back in college down south. Ida looked up and her face broke into a smile.

“Angie!” She cried happily. Angie had been an upperclassman and if Idalia remembered correctly had either graduated not long before her if not with Idalia. She probably remembered her sisters, Isolade would have been about her age. Ida flushed and giggled, Angie was precious. “It’s been forever!” She agreed enthusiastically, more than glad to have run into a familiar face. She hadn’t been aware Angie was working this shift, it must be her lucky day. It was always great running into a familiar face. “I’m doing well, thank you, how are you doing Angie?” Idalia’s eyes lit up and she woke up all the way though it was definitely possible she might need coffee to get herself through her meal.

[Deleted]

It was one of the staples of this diner that the owner wanted the most: that they’d be open all night to accommodate those late-night workers who wanted something quick, easy, and delicious to fill them up when most other food establishments were long since closed. They got a variety of customers during the night hours, most of them being those who worked well into the night, or those who worked at the bars themselves that closed up anywhere between 12 and 1am. Then there were the super-early risers, who had deliveries to make from one store to the next to ensure that the early risers had what they required before going in to work. And at Bessie’s…well, for all of them, they had pie.

Including for Ida.

Ida, who didn’t give herself nearly enough credit for her accomplishments. Angie knew that she would never have been able to do such a thing as being a weather lady. Angie knew there was more to it than just reporting, but she couldn’t even imagine what it was. Angie herself only had a high school degree and hadn’t the time nor the funds to even try to go to college. No, she had her son to think of, first and foremost, and that why she worked nights in a diner such as this. He was worth it, she thought. So, of course, Angie thought that anyone who made it father than she had, and managed to come out of it all looking as put together as Ida did, well…they deserved every ounce of praise she gave them.

Hearing her old classmate speak her name with such enthusiasm warmed Angie from the inside out. Angie knew she was an odd case back in high school, what with the teen pregnancy and all, but she had always hoped that for some that wasn’t all they defined her with. Ida hadn’t been around for that period in her life, so that wasn’t there to overshadow the younger woman’s impression of her. Hopefully. “I’m doing alright, just the same old thing as always.” Which was working and mothering. Her look softened. “Oh you poor thing, you look positively exhausted. “A nice hot cup of joe will perk you right up, I’m sure. What do you say, hun?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia was definitely thanking God that there was a place open at this hour of the night. It was a blessing and really, she always had felt for people who worked off hours, in the sense of how hard it was to get out and to go to the bank or get food or something. Now that she was one of those people and she was okay feeling equally sorry for herself. She really needed a chance to just wallow in her self pity sometimes. Time to complain about her life. It really wasn’t that hard, and she honestly didn’t have to work as hard as she did, but as one of the few women in her field she felt that she had to do everything in her power to make sure that she stood out because of her intelligence and not because of her body. Just because of her gender she felt the need to prove to people she could do it on her own.

Seeing Angie was like a breath of fresh air, she didn’t know a lot about Angie, she actually knew her mostly by proximity but Angie had always been so kind and even thought they were more acquaintances at school than friends but Angie had always been so nice and interest in how things in Idalia’s life had been and therefore Ida had been in return. She knew now that Angie had had a fair amount of struggles, but while they were at Hammel together she never had known. If anything it made Idalia respect Angie even more, after all of that stress she was still the happiest person in their class. She smiled warmly. “I’m glad to hear that,” she replied, “It must be terrible being stuck on night duty though.” She added sympathetically.

Idalia ducked her head and blushed sheepishly. Angie definitely told it how it was. “It was a long day,” Ida admitted with a little sigh and looked back up at Angie. “Coffee sounds wonderful right now, thank you.” She hated to admit it but it was going to be challenge for her to keep herself awake without coffee, but then coffee was also warm and warm tended to put Ida to sleep. Coffee was complicated give it twenty minutes of making her drowsy and she’d be awake and alert for the next several hours. Angie was such a sweetheart and maybe it was weariness or just that she hadn’t seen Angie in a long time but she wondered why she hadn’t gotten to know Angie better back when they were in school. She almost felt guilty, but then she’d never really had a lot of time, she’d been a workaholic back then too.

[Deleted]

Angie did not think she’d be able to succeed half as well as Idalia, or anyone else from her class for that matter. She had a lot going against her. This wasn’t her drawing up a pity party or anything, it was just reality. Angie wasn’t smart. Even the simplest of things went over her head. She wasn’t graceful, or glamourous. She was absent, forgetful, young, and inexperienced. There was so much that she didn’t know, yet she was also stubborn and refused help from those who would offer it. And though she fawned over a man or two like a silly school-girl, Angie had little intention of ever finding a partner to serve the role of husband for her and father for her son. They didn’t need it, she concluded after leaving Gerry behind.

Angie shook her head, her ringlet curls bouncing across the sides of her face. “Oh, it’s not all that bad,” she disagreed. “A lot of the folk who come in here are actually quite lovely. And some of the stories they come with, I could listen all day. It’s better than a book, I say.” It was that whole ‘reality is stranger than fiction’ deal. People were interesting, and each one of them had their own story. And she just felt so wholly blessed that they chose spend 30, 60 minutes of that story here at the diner, letting her lowly ol’ self become a part of it. Their lives were certainly much more interesting than her own.

Her smile blossomed even more. She knew it. Working here like she did, one started to learn how to pick up on the subtleties of her patrons, their body language which spake exactly what they wanted or needed. Sometimes she knew it better than they did, and it was only after her suggestion did they realize that she was right! “Of course. Just give me a minute, I’ll be right back with that.” Angie pushed herself back to her feet and strolled behind the counter to prepare the brew for her friend. Ida had come in here often enough for Angie to know how she took her coffee. When she returned with the brew, Angie set it gently on the table, her smile beaming as ever. “Here you are, hun. Is there anything else I can get you?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia hadn’t gotten where she was by being smart. No that certainly wasn’t it. She didn’t get things easily, she wasn’t a genius, she was just your everyday normal human and she’d struggled in college and even more in graduate school but she’d still come out on top in her eyes. She wasn’t one of those people who thought anything was possible through hard work, she’d known people who worked twice as hard and just couldn’t get it. It wasn’t their fault, and most of them had found another career path and become happier by far in their new chosen field. Ida had had a very direct route in her career and she was almost jealous of those who hadn’t, their lives sounded much more adventurous. It was the people that gave up that made Idalia feel so sad. Not that Angie had given up, she had a different sort of success.

A startled smile was pulled to Idalia’s face. That was surprisingly poetic. “They do say that truth is stranger than fiction,” Idalia agreed and her smile turned broad. Idalia guessed she really wasn’t that much of a people person. There were days when she had to put on a good face but as soon as she got back to her office it was vicious. She would be fired so fast if she worked at a job where she had to be nice to everyone all the time. She tried really hard but some people… she just couldn’t hold her tongue. It was then she gave the phone to someone else. “Do you get a lot of night shift workers here?” She asked, knowing the answer was probably an obvious one, being the only place open until odd hours.

When Angie smiled it made it really easy to return it. She was the kind of person that accepted and loved everyone. She was a person that people flocked too. Thanking Angie, Idalia wondered absently why they hadn’t been closer at school. Maybe it was the age difference? In high school every age felt like a thousand years of experience, and in many ways it was. “Thank you,” Ida said taking the coffee and mixing in the small cream and sugar on the table. Satisfied with the sweetness she sipped it and was content to hold it and let it warm her hand. She pondered for a moment and giggled pointing to the coffee. “You can’t put alcohol in this can you?” She joked but then a thought occurred to her, “You know what would be awesome? One of those huge burgers and fries.” Idalia smiled wistfully. She was having a day and she really felt the need to indulge.

[Deleted]

“It is indeed,” Angie agreed with a smile. “Even I have my secrets. Some thing you wouldn’t believe!” Most of those involving her private life, before returning to Pilot Ridge.

Angie hadn’t told many people about her history with Gerry, her son’s father, back in Savannah. Even during high school she didn’t say anything bad about their time together…because those weren’t when the bad times were. Back then he’d been sweet and gentlemanly. Like a prince from fairytales. It didn’t matter that he was twice her age, Angie had spoken of that man fondly every chance she could get back in those days, always talking about how he took her in and never asked for anything in return. How he’d hired a nanny to take care of her boy after he’d been born. The only person who’d known the details of the situation(only because she couldn’t hide it from him if she wanted to) was Dr. Sean Neville.

Needless to say, Angie had no intention of talking about it or letting her past disrupt her present or her future. It was behind her now, so she didn’t have to think about it anymore. At least, that’s what she told herself.

“Mmhmm! Mostly bar workers, but we get the occasional late working businessman. Then there are some who just plain have odd hours for no particular reason.” Like Percie, who often made her own hours and would spend a good night going through several cups of coffee while she worked on some case of hers. Angie wasn’t allowed to ask much about those, for privacy’s sake she supposed, so she did her best to just keep her friend comfortable.

That’s all she wanted to do for Ida as well. Make her comfortable. Able to relax after a hard day. “You’re welcome, hun,” she returned brightly. Then she laughed at Ida’s joke. “Oh, if only I could. I’m sure lots of people would like that.” Angie nodded at her next request, though. “Of course. Just give me a minute. I’ll go put the order in.” Angie stepped away with a slight skip and rounded back to the kitchen. Not more than a minute later, Angie was heading back out, however at that time, another couple came in and she, regretfully, had to spend more time than she would have liked away from her old classmate. Angie looked over her shoulder as she guided them to a table and took their drink orders. Hopefully, Ida could be patient until she got back. Angie was enjoying their conversation.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Angie was quite a sweet woman and Ida couldn’t help but find her smile infectious. “We all do,” she said and when Angie didn’t elaborate Idalia let the subject drop, no one liked their lives being pried into. If Angie wanted to tell her she would, but Ida was far past the stage in high school when secrets were the most juicy thing even. Now she just wanted to live and be left alone with her private thought and she intended to let other people keep theirs as well. It was the same kind of reason she didn’t talk about her sister’s death and her other sister’s choice to leave humanity behind. It hurt and it was easier when she didn’t have someone else looking into her life with a magnifying glass. She was a strong believer that if someone left her secrets alone she would do them the same favor.

“But what really matters is the here and now,” Idalia said and raised her coffee mug to the woman. She was glad to listen to someone talk about something that wasn’t related to her or her work. Chances were she was tired enough to snap someone’s arm off for asking her what the weather was going to be. No matter how innocent the intention. Some people, Idalia had come to find, were just thickheaded. They got it into their heads that one thing was true and there wasn’t even a point in arguing it because they were never going to see reason. It wasn’t always that their positions didn’t have merit, it was mostly the way they entered a debate with an attitude such as ‘I believe this and nothing will change my mind’.

Idalia’s smile brightened and took another sip of her coffee. “And those of us that have odd hours are very grateful your you guy being open. I tell you what, when I was in grad school you could go to any coffee shop around campus and at 4 in the morning you’d find about twenty people living purely off of coffee, but here the large college population is over in Burlington, not a lot of local places stay open so late.” She found herself talking a lot, she tended to do that when she got tired, just talk and talk and talk about nothing in particular, just find that her brain to mouth circuit got bypassed. She shook her head and looked up at Angie, she knew she was working but she would love it if she could just stay and chat, Idalia found herself so short of friends these days. Not for lack of people, she had Cecil and Russell and her rowing friends, her coworkers, but it almost seemed like going home alone with her dog seemed so lonely. If Ike weren’t there that apartment would be far too quiet.

Laughter slipped from between her lips filling her heart as she did so. She didn’t laugh nearly as much as she wanted to. “Thank you!” Ida called after Angie as she stepped toward the kitchen. She nursed her coffee and allowed her eyes to slide closed. Angie need not worry about Idalia getting impatient, if there is one thing she’d learned to deal with it was being patient. Nothing like running code for a few hours to make one learn to kill the time. Normally Idalia would grab out a paper or something and start reading and taking notes, increasing her isolation from the world around her, but Angie had opened that door and so Idalia let her mind rest content to not do anything for a moment. She smiled warmly to herself and sipped now and again at her coffee. Just happy to be not thinking about work.