Still, having thrown her hands up at studio, gathered her things and taken off as soon as she could, Delilah needed a break. She was frustrated. Between school and everything going on in her second life, the last thing she needed was that little snit changing her mind for the twelfth time about how she wanted the hem line. Weren’t models supposed to be seen and not heard?
At least there was light at the end of the tunnel. If Hannah was willing, she would be thrilled to trade Phedre for her sister and make the girl shine! Especially now with Tristan in her life. What wouldn’t Delilah do to make that man drool over her.
Speaking of Hannah…
Walking into the store, Delilah peaked between the shelves looking back and forth before she spotted that long hair. Pulling off her scarf, she slipped into the alie and poked Hannah on the back. “Busy?”
Glancing over her shoulder at the familiar voice the young woman in the cafe apron placed the last two near-empty cups on the tray before turning around to greet her sister. “Hey,” Hannah smiled though it wasn’t her usual expression. She looked tired and a bit worried, almost like someone who had a huge test the next day and neglected sleep to study but not quite.
“If you can give me…” She peered up at the clock to check the time then do some quick mental math. “Seven minutes? I’ll be free. I just have to finish wiping down those two tables then I can take a break.” Thankfully Delilah chose to swing by between rushes otherwise this place would have been slammed. As it was, however, lunch had ended about thirty-five minutes ago which meant break time and about an hour and a half before people got off work or the high school students got out of school and the cafe bookstore got busy again.
“Is there anything I can bring you once I’m done?” She asked while wiping her palms off on the apron after having just handled the damp cloth to clean the current table she was on.
“Whatever you think is your best. As long as it is hot and has coffee in it.” Delilah smirked as she backed up to allow Hannah to move past her. Noting the look on her face, the raven haired girl pointed back to a corner table. “I’ll be over there killing seven minutes then.” She added with a smile slipping off and out of Hannah’s way. No good bothering someone on shift.
So putting her bag down on the ground, she shrugged out of her coat and dropped it over the back of her chair with her scarf.
Sitting herself down, she reached into her bag and pulled out the tablet she had gotten for her birthday. Changing from a sketchbook to this had been fun. Though she still carried both…
More or less true to her word, it took Hannah a few extra minutes to finish cleaning off the two tables but she made up for it with two seasonal coffee drinks. “Creme Brulee latte with two shots.” She set one cup down before taking a seat. “And a gingerbread moca.” the other in-house porcelain white coffee cup was set beside the other for Delilah to take her pick.
Blinking at the drinks, Delilah looked at each before sliding the tablet onto the table, an image of a white and blue pant suit sketch began to dim as she did. Reaching over, she took the gingerbread one. “You look like you could use the extra shots.” She half smiled, lifting the drink to her mouth and blowing softly before sipping.
“Oh that’s good.” She commented, looking down at it with an amused smile. Two more sips and she put the drink down. “So, drink your coffee for energy and tell me what is eating you. You look dead on your feet and the other night, you were wearing your mask.” She lifted a finger and pointed it at Hannah. “And don’t try to tell me you weren’t. I know you Ms. Hannah. Better than you like to admit. Your parents might by that ‘I’m okay’ smile but I don’t. About as much as I can throw you.”
The barest of smiles quirked the corner of Hannah’s lips as she cupped the porcelain mug in her hands and stared at the foam shaped snowflake she had drawn in the froth. “I’m just kind of out of it today.” If it wasn’t already obvious the far off look in her eyes would have definitely given it away.
“Aside from being late and accidently breaking two glasses but that’s not even the worst of it.” The young woman worried her lower lip for a moment as if trying to process her own thoughts before laying them out on the table, or so the saying went. “Dad got a call from Aunt Sharron last night. Apparently my oldest cousin, Isaac, is back in the states. He’s the one that’s been in the military since we were elementary school.” Hannah paused again while recounting the events of the previous night before letting out a bit of a sigh.
“He’s currently in a coma at the Destiny City Memorial Hospital. All we know is that a building he and his troupe were in came under fire and the building collapsed. At least two died and only a small handful came out unscathed. They say he’s lucky to be alive but how lucky is that when he can’t wake up?” Looking up Delilah could see the tormented look in her sister's eyes and knew her well enough to see how much Hannah wanted to go see him, not as she was now, but as the Senshi of Prayer.
The more Hannah spoke, the looser Delilah’s hold on her cup became. She hadn’t expected this turn of events. Something to do with her illness maybe. A fight with the boyfriend, possible. Even other issues. But her cousin Isaac. That was a name Delilah had nearly forgotten.
Blowing out a long breath that lifted a few strands of hair, the raven haired girl shook her head. “Damn.” Was all she could make out. Isaac had always been a bit of a strange one to her. Nearly eight years their senior, he hadn’t always been a fan of playing their silly games as kids. “A coma. How long?”
That was when she gazed over and caught Hannah’s eyes. Narrowing her own, Delilah shook her head. “No. I’m going to stop you right there in that train of thought. A coma isn’t something you just wave your hands over and magically cure. Not to mention I’ve already broken into the Hospital once.” She added the last part in a whisper shaking her head. “That’s mental damage you are talking about, not a physical wound. He has to wake up when he is ready…”
She was about to add more when she glanced back into Hannah’s eyes. Sighing, she picked up her drink. “But I will go with you if you need me to.”
“I honestly don’t think I should go see him right now otherwise I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from trying to help. When it comes to family some risks are worth taking even if they end up in failure. It is better to know that it doesn’t work then wonder forever ‘what if’”. Hannah looked up at Delilah with slightly furrowed brows and an expression that seemed to state ‘you know I’m right’.
While she wasn’t privy to the specifics her sister had gone through, almost exactly a year ago to this date, Hannah was well aware she had gone through great lengths to finding her which included working with a General to get her out of the fun house horror show. “It’s no different than what I told Cadeus. It is in my nature to want to help; it was no different than what was it? Two years ago I think with Thraen.” How many times did she expend all of her magic on him in one sitting?
“I wish those things they gave us worked in reverse.” Frustrated, Hannah combed her fingers through her hair and hung her head in defeat. “I don’t know what to do...” she finally admitted.
Delilah could only look away as Hannah called her out on the ‘what if’ . That statement was more than true and she couldn’t fight it. Even if they both knew Hannah’s magic couldn’t heal that way, she was right. If Isaac never woke up and she never tried, Hannah would never forgive herself.
“Sometimes I wonder why you haven’t become a nun off doing mission work somewhere.” Delilah shook her head with a smile, bringing the coffee to her lips. “The next Mother Teresa sitting next to me in a cafe apron. Who would have thought she could also make a wonderful mocha.”
When her cup was resting back on the table, Delilah reached over and placed her hand on Hannah’s arm. “What time do you want me to meet you there? I’ll play look out for you missy.”
“Honestly…” Though she was somewhat relieved to know that Delilah had her back a part of her felt hesitant on accepting her offer; the last thing Hannah wanted was to have Delilah get in trouble because of her desire to help Isaac.
“I think it would probably be best to wait a few weeks till his physical injuries have healed at least.” Not much more needed to be said on the subject. If the nurses all of a sudden found him devoid of all sustained injuries, save for broken bones, which included, but were not limited to, bruises and some of the more gruesome looking cuts, they would keep him under lock and key to study him no doubt. ‘Man returns from overseas and miraculously heals without leaving even a scar.’ That would not go over well for anyone.
There was no disagreeing with that logic. Clearly it was not something she herself would have considered. Her powers summoned doves that acted as a distraction. All she needed to think about was ‘where am I sending this and can I get away.’ Hannah had a gift. A true gift. Sadly, Delilah was pretty sure Hannah hated it.
“You have a point there. Everyone would want to know how the man super healed himself and how they can too. People are so impatient these days.” Delilah smiled with a wink to her sister. “You would think waiting six weeks for a broken bone to heal was too much to ask for.”
“But whenever you want to try, just let me know. As long as it does not involve stealing a person out of a hospital, I’m good for a visit. Though I am bringing my own coffee.” She smirked at Hannah, reaching out to squeeze the girl’s arm again.
“Remind me, Isaac was in what branch?”
“He’s a.. 19 Delta... in the Army. It’s its own thing separate from the Infantry. Outside of that I don’t know what he actually does. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually spoke to him.” The last time she had saw her cousin was about a year prior to her getting sick when he returned from his second deployment.
After drawing in a deep breath Hannah finally looked up and gave her friend a rueful smile. Had there not of been a table between them she would have undoubtedly sought a hug from Delilah. Some things you never really outgrow, hugs were definitely one of them. “I’m actually worried about my Aunt and Uncle. He may be adopted but he’s all they have.” After two miscarriages they had decided that conceiving a child of their own was not God’s plan for them and so they pursued adoption and while most young couples opted for a young child or a baby, they had opened their homes and hearts to a young teen who was about 12 years old at the time.
That was one thing Delilah knew from Mathias’ side of the family. If they didn’t want to talk about what they did in the military, you didn’t push. For as much as she loved her cousin, though wished he and Quinn had not hit it off, it had taught her not to question military people.
They would talk when ready or when allowed...if ever.
“How are they taking it? I’m sure they are not going to allow him to go back overseas when he wakes up. Was he discharged or…?” Even with half her family in military, she could never keep it all straight. But with a sigh, Delilah’s face warmed.
“Honestly Hannah, you are a bleeding heart. All this worry and stress is going to give you gray hairs before you are even 20! I’m going to have to change all the designs I have for you into something to make that gray look refined. And making Tristan go ga ga for you...oh what will I do…”
“But you have your own health to worry about love. Isaac will wake up when his mind and body are healed. We both know that. That man is stubborn to a fault. Giving up and giving in is not like him.”
“I know… You’re right. I just don’t like sitting here doing nothing except watch my Aunt and Uncle go through something similar to what my Mom and Dad went through with me.” They were genuinely good people and really didn’t deserve to go through something like that.
Hannah sighed then lifted her warm cup to her lips and finally took a sip of her coffee. “Speaking of outfits though. I did speak to Arianne earlier today and we are going to move my hours around so I’ll have Tuesdays and Thursdays off so I can help you.” As it was she only worked three days anyway; more so as a means to have some extra money and not because her parents were forcing her to. In all honesty her mother felt like she was putting too much on her plate but chose to not voice that concern since it seemed, for the most part, working with Tristan and his older sister seemed to make Hannah happier than she had been this past year.
“Seriously?” Delilah blinked, that smile now spreading across her face and up to her eyes. “I owe Arianne a hug then!” Delilah beamed, jumping out of her chair and wrapping her arms around the side of her sister’s neck. “You will be the best dressed worker here!”
She was giddy as she returned to her seat, hand reaching into her bag to pull out her real sketchbook. There was no substitute for a good, old fashioned paper and pencil. But she wasn’t drawing, she was flipping the pages and making notes. “I’ll have to take a few of these designs in. You are smaller than the witch. Not to mention some color changes here and there. When can you come by so I can re-take your measurements. I’m pretty sure those have gotten bigger in the past year.”
With the base of her pencil, Delilah was pointing at Hannah’s chest.
Her sister's excitement was a bit infectious which definitely helped lighten the mood. The grim look that had been nearly permanently chiseled into Hannah’s face was beginning to soften into something a bit more familiar and far less stressed.
“I have a break between classes between 10 AM and 2 PM then I’ll be off the rest of the evening after 4PM.” One of the things that sucked about college was that sometimes class availability really didn’t work out the way that would make your day more manageable. She was already taking fifteen credits this quarter so adding one more as a filler would be definitely overdoing it and it did allow her time to study while on campus, which was a good thing because it meant she could go ask her teachers clarifying questions or take her essays to the writing center for critique.
“After 4pm will be better. There is a rush around lunch time and I have an English class around then anyway. Have to love the general education requirements.” Delilah sighed, her eyes rolling. “Writing a paper on the book White Noise puts me to sleep as much as white noise itself does.”
“Also, you never told me.” She eyed Hannah again. “Where did you decide to declare your major? Please don’t tell me the convent…” Her face hung in a way that eyed the girl with hope and a mock fear. She wasn’t 100% serious but she had always been a bit concerned her best friend would follow the path of vows…
“And it would be a shame. Just get a boyfriend only to leave him for God. Nowhere nearly as fun.”
“Ha, no. Though I have considered looking into what it would take to become a deacon or find a way to get more involved with some more of the community outreach or missions trip programs.” While there were limitations on what she could do physically it didn’t deter her from wanted to help where she could.
“As for a major I’m leaning more towards a RN possibly. I don’t think I quite have it in me to go as far as Dr. Jacobs but I do feel more drawn to that field. Perhaps I was one in a past life.” She teasingly joked though they both knew it to actually be the truth. “Anywho I can’t always rely on others, or miracles or just basic first aid to get through life.” And by life she meant the war they were entangled in. “Am I right?” she asked with a raised brow and half smile before taking another sip of her drink.
“I had a bet going with myself that was wear you would end up.” Delilah smiled, her sketchbook being placed on the table once more as she laughed to herself. “I was split though because I wasn’t sure if you were sick of hospitals yet or not. Not to mention your connection to Dr. Jacobs will make getting a position easy.” Delilah smiled faltered but she nodded her head. “And you are right. Basic first aid only gets one so fair. It isn’t like we can call 911 as much as we should.” The scar that ran down her leg was proof of that. It was lightning but she wasn’t going to be wearing shorts anytime soon. Thank goodness for winter!
“Maybe then as well it will teach you not to be so much of a bleeding heart over every little thing? Sometimes, a cut is just that. A cut.” Other times it was a life threatening stab to the chest because someone was an idiot but...that wasn’t here.
“It is a goal at least. I'm more so tired of being a patient at the hospital than anything but there is a need for more doctors and nurses.” Even small clinics were hurting for help. The demand for them was higher than the supply which needn't many just slept at work between shifts because.
“Are you trying to make me feel guilty about wanting to be a designer?” Delilah gave her a look that clearly said Hannah had smacked her straight in Catholic Guilt area. Hannah was far more religious than her Roman Catholic friend but that didn’t change things. Ugh...guilt.
“You are too good a person Hannah. But you have been bad about one thing missy…” She eyed the girl now. “How far have you and Mr. Tristan gotten?”
“Not as far as you and Quinn that’s for sure.” Finally the amused, happy grin found its way back onto Hannah’s face as she openly laughed at Delilah’s question. “We’ve only kissed twice so far, that’s it. Unless you count holding hands when he walks me home after work.”
“As for guilting you; no, that’s not my intention at all. You already do enough as is. Being a designer is your passion, your calling. Don’t give it up.” Everyone has a place in this world and someday her design knowledge may come in handy in an unexpected way. But for now Hannah knew well enough that her sister needed something she enjoyed to hold onto; all that was left standing in the way of said happiness was a certain rose-red hair colored model which would soon be replaced in the next week or so.
Delilah opened her mouth to comment back but quickly shut it again turning a lovely shade of pink. “You say that like it’s a bad thing…” She shifted her eyes back and forth. Though Hannah knew Delilah’s concerns about her relationship, it still didn’t change the back that she had given Quinn her virginity. She did not regret it. But still…
“Are you two dating with onlookers or something?” she sighed, shaking her head with a smile. “Or do you just enjoy taking it slow?”
Fantastic timing on Delilah’s part almost had Hannah shooting uncomfortably warm coffee out of her nose when she took the last drink of her coffee. After coughing a few times and clearing her throat she set the now empty cup back on the table. “He knows I haven’t ever dated before so we’re just taking it slowly for now.” He hadn’t pressured her into doing anything she wasn’t ready for, that just wasn’t his style; which included their first kiss on New Years.
“You do realize now I’m going to be styling you for dates hm?” That blush faded softly as she grinned towards her sister. “It might be going slow but that doesn’t mean you can’t tease him a little. A little extra leg. A little more cleavage.” Delilah winked.
“You have a beautiful body Hannah. And it’s high time someone showed you how to rock it.”
Hannah flashed her sister a look that said the one word she didn’t need to bother saying ’Really?’ “Just… promise me you won’t go over board…”
“I promise I won't go too far.” Delilah smiled as she reached down for her purse. “What do I owe for the coffee anyway?”
Hannah scooted her chair back then stretched her arms above her head before standing up. “Don’t worry about it, it’s on me.” she in turn winked back at her friend then stacked the two cups on top of one another. “I should probably get back to working now though. I have to go help with the dishes in the back so we’re ready for the evening rush. I don’t know if you’re busy later but if you’d like I can give you a call when I get off and we can either catch a movie or go walk the city.” The latter suggestion was a code they had used only a handful of times in the past for going on patrol.
“I'll keep my phone on. But if you don't mind, I'll kill a bit more time in this corner before daring to head back outside. Don't worry. I won't make too much trouble.” Delilah smiled, adjusting a few things around her before clearly shifting the screen on her tablet to word and fishing for the keyboard. She had a paper to write.
“No problem, let me know if there is anything else I can get you.” She stated after giving her sister a brief hug. Hannah then disappeared behind the front counter, where the coffee machine was, and clocked back in for the last three and a half hour stretch before she was off for the rest of the day.
Sirene Naiads
