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It was unheard of for any person to get ready to leave the house slower than Mikaela Reid. The amount of eclectic items in the satchel she generously called her purse ensured that both she was ready for any inevitability and that she’d spend an extra 10 or 15 minutes scampering around her room trying to find a glasses cleaning kit or some gum just in case. This wasn’t counting the time it took for Mikaela to properly accessorize which would often tack an extra five minutes on the process. Racks upon racks of jewelry covered one of her tables, adorned with thrift finds and unique pieces from art shows. She remembered every piece of jewelry she owned. Even with the extra time, she was ready first. A breezy sundress for a lazy Sunday. She wasn’t used to this and didn’t exactly know how to proceed. She pieced it together from flashbacks of her friends rushing her out the door. “Babe?” she called back to the bathroom, “We should leave soon so we can beat the lunch rush,” she urged.
Carmina Mora emerged from the doorway, full face of makeup, dressed to the nines in a chic black blazer and some slacks. Mikaela gasped, stunned. Blushing, thoughts of how she got to look at this woman every day washed away everything else. She didn’t think she would ever get over this. Then a realization brought her crashing back to reality. “Oh no, babe, you are OVERDRESSED.” Carmina cocked her head, perplexion overtaking her confidence. “You said we were going to go to your favorite restaurant for lunch,” she stated, her mind was like a steel trap when it came to any Mikaela related matter. “I thought it would be very important.” The thought of formal dining at her favorite trashy spot was too much and Mikaela could not stifle a snicker in time.
“Mikaela Reid, where are we going?”
“We’re going to Bailey’s.”
“That’s your surprise?”
“Oh. Did I say it was a surprise?”
“You did.”
Mikaela laughed. She was embarrassed but this was too funny. Her past self set her up. She always got so mischievous when she drank. She immediately apologized, “Oh no. I am so sorry.”
“Why there? You always said it was disgusting.”
“Oh, IT IS. It’s total filth.”
“It’s total filth and you’re taking me there?”
“Oh, it’s garbage. You’ll understand when we get there.” A lull. “Trust me?” Mikaela pleaded. Carmina was physically unable to bring herself to make her mouth say “No” even as a joke so she gave her best chiding glance. “Maybe lose the blazer?” Mikaela suggested, clearly broken-hearted at the prospect of damaging this flawless ensemble. Carmina had her pride and they were on a time table. “The blazer stays, my muse. You said yourself, we should beat the lunch rush,” The two women were out the door in no time.
A short arm in arm stroll through downtown and off a couple of side roads and they had arrived. It was a dingy little joint. Paint chipping off of a simple wooden sign, old brick walls, and a small parking lot containing a few cars. Carmina was so overdressed. Maybe she should have “lost the blazer”, but she knew how dangerous it was the moment Mikaela began asking her to lose clothing and as nice as the thought was, she couldn’t just have her for lunch. The smell of burgers grilling wafted out the doors. A thought crossed the artist’s mind. “Is there anything you can eat here? It seems,” she trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought and disparage something her muse loved so callously. Mikaela nodded vigorously, “Oh yeah, these guys were ahead of the curve with vegetarian options even before our-uh… Vacation” not wanting to kill the mood, Mikaela continued blabbering, “All my omni friends loved the burgers. You should try one!”
The two made their way through the door into the dining room. It had seen better days. A shriek of excitement rang out from behind the counter. An effeminate older man called out, “Reid, you bitch! Is that you?” he practically scrambled out from his post to meet her. Mikaela met him with an embrace. “Everyone thought you were dead!” It was this conversation again. She never fully got used to it but practice made it a little easier every time. “I’m sorry, Scotty, I left without saying anything-” The man cut her off, his desire to know more and her familiarity with the girl got rid of some of the usual niceties, “The last thing I know was when that fog machine went haywire at your festival set. You know you won that competition, right? Before you bolted, of course. You have to tell me everything.” Mikaela gave the sanitized, cliffnotes version of her vacation, how she had to bolt on a road trip to find herself, had some life changing experiences but came out better for it, etc. etc. all the grisly details had been removed, obviously but it was something.
Scotty looked over at Carmina, “And you met someone on your trip? Who is this? She looks fancy!” Mikaela giggled, “She is fancy. Her name is Carmina, she’s an artist and she’s my girlf-no-Fiancé. We met at one of her shows,” Mikaela continued explaining as Scotty shook Carmina’s hand she knew that Scotty would enjoy a spicy detail and not ask any questions, “It was a meditation on desire and Carmina, she…” Mikaela paused to look around, making sure there were no children or Church families around before completing the thought, “Grabbed my tits right there in front of everyone.” She knew this annoyed Carmina, to simplify her work but she was just so cute when she was flustered and Mikaela always had the instinct to work a crowd. “And now you’re getting married? Unbelievable. Total Reid move. Well, let’s get you girls a table” Mikaela asked if they could be seated outside. It was too nice out to stay cooped up.
“Carmina, did you know that your future wife used to eat here once, maybe twice a week?” Mikaela knew her reckoning had arrived but it was too late to stop this train. “Did she now?” Carmina smugly prodded; she could feel that if she just pulled this thread, it would be something raw, something embarrassing, she would not be the only one carrying embarrassment as they say down, she would ensure this. Scotty continued, “Oh yeah, any time she would get dumped, or have an especially bad day at work, she would come here. When she dropped meat, that's why we started carrying the fake ones. She’s one of our favorite customers.” It wasn’t what she expected, but she was glad to have heard this. Just one more piece of the tapestry that makes up her muse’s life. She looked over at her fiancé, touched. She was sharing something truly special with her.
The two women were left with their menus and their own company and they began to chat about their unusual ways of comforting themselves, of their past haunts, and their favorite foods. It had taken what feels like forever to get here, but they were glad they were. Carmina decided she wanted Mikaela’s order, fake meat and all. She wanted to experience what brought her comfort on all those dark days, the meal that she turned to for a small joy when she needed it. When their sandwiches arrived, Mikaela watched her fiancé expectantly. Carmina sank her teeth into the veggie burger, smudging her plum lipstick across the buns. With a mouthful of sandwich, Carmina nodded vigorously.
“It’s total garbage, right?”
Carmina swallowed her bite, “Oh yes, I understand what you mean now. This is trash.”
“It’s my favorite trash” Mikaela beamed before attacking her own sandwich.
Carmina was thrilled to know Mikaela’s favorite trash.