Flying Free

Winnie’s grin only widened when Clarissa brought up double fries. Pushing her gently elbow-to-elbow, the blonde winked “That’s my girl” She said with a laugh. She’d known her friends’ dad had been gone for the past few years, so a part of her felt sad for bringing her own father up “I know. Dad always asks about you, you know? And your siblings, but he knows you’re living where I live, so he asks about you the most” She tried to cheer her up “You should come over the next time I drive out, I’m sure he’d love to see you”. Hearing her family stories, the doctor took another sip of her drink before talking again “And sometimes family moments have to not be around the special dates. You know, New Years or Christmas is emotional as is, because everyone feels so emotional, but there’s nobody saying your siblings can’t come here on any given weekend to spend time together, you know?”

Clarissa cracked a smile as Winnie mentioned her father, it had been so a few years since she had since him. “I’ll have to give him a call soon and say hi.” The warmth of her smile grew at the invite and she nodded, accepting the offer. “I’d love that, thank you.” She took a sip of her wine, enjoying it for a second as Winnie continued, a soft sigh coming from her lips as she thought of her siblings. “No, I know but it’s not simple.” She paused, debating on how much to tell. Not many knew of anything about her prior to coming to Asbury but Winnie had known her for years and she was sure she had to have heard some of the drama. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but I sorta ran out on the family after my parents’ died and Christian...” She paused, the subject still sore even if it’s been 3 years. “So, it wasn’t on good terms. I don’t blame them for being mad at me.” She shook it off, no need to reminisce on things she couldn’t change; at least not today. “But this is no way to ring in the new year.” The smile grew on her face as the bartender brought over their food. She turned and motioned to the food placed in front of them. “This is the perfect way to ring it in thought.”

The ride over from the Black Swan to Clarissa’s home was filled with so much laughter and sexual remarks that James felt like it hadn’t been that long since they last saw each other. Their lustful feelings for each other seemed to remain the same as it had been when they had first started sleeping together. Once they were at her house, James got out of the car and followed her inside. “Will do. But you know I prefer you without the clothes on.” He told her with a rather cheeky grin, removing his own coat and hanging it next to hers before he found himself wrapping his arms around her. “Mhm… Oh yeah?” A smirk on his lips as she kissed on his neck, he nodded. “You know what’s better than a lame kiss at midnight?” He asked her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, gently lifting her off the floor. “I’m going to have you seeing stars tonight, love. That’s better than any midnight kiss, I’m sure.” James knew his way around Clarissa’s house like the back of his hand by now, so he carried her straight to her bedroom. 

In all honesty, the blonde couldn’t say that she had thought about it before. Rolling up her mat and slipping on her Toms, the young woman shook her head. “I never really stayed somewhere long enough to really invest in something like that?” Her tone only showing that she was telling the truth; Her mind attempting to work it out for her. Just because it never crossed her mind before, didn’t mean that it wasn’t a possibility. As she listened to the brunette talk about the goat yoga, her heart warmed with the possibilities of it. Walking out into the cold air, she instinctively locked her arm with the other. “Want to go for smoothies?” The shorter one quipped when Clarissa was in a natural break of her side of the conversation. “You’re right about it being a hit. Who doesn’t love cute animals and relaxing atmospheres?” It was a genuine question that took a lot of root in her being; The weight of it falling on if she’d be staying long enough for this goat yoga to get kicked into gear. Then again, nothing was stopping her from helping put the plans into place before her next adventure. “How about we look into it, run the prices, see the interest that’s out there and go from there?” In all honesty, they had months to figure it out. “I think it’ll also be good to socialize the animals with humans they’d otherwise never really see. It helps build trust.” Emery added with a smile.

“Well, I hope you stay long enough.” Clarissa said warmly and gave a squeeze to the arm loop through hers, the sentiment genuine because she thoroughly enjoyed Emery’s friendship. An enthusiastic nod came from the brunette at the suggestion. “Yes! Let’s go to the Union - smoothies on me.” She winked, one of the perks of being the owner. She listened intently, already going through the mental lists of things they would need to do. If they started this as a pop up event of sorts, she already had an idea of how to go about it. “We could do it as a pop up during the spring - promote it within the studio, the Union and the boardwalk. Social media presence. We could even do a private session with us and a couple of others so that we can post it on reels and give people an idea of what to expect.” Her eyes soften as she mentioned the animals. As much fun as it was for humans, she knew the animals got a kick out of it. “It really benefits them too. They love human interactions. Whenever I go visit Cinnamon - my horse - the  animals always light up and get excited. They do so every time a person comes into the farm ground.” It was a reminder for her to go visit her horse - it had been a little too long for her own liking. As they reached the entrance of the Union, Clarissa opened the door and held it for Emery. “After you!”

Truth be told, James would never hold it against Clarissa for not visiting him at work to check in on him during the last few weeks. They weren’t together, so they did not necessarily need to maintain appearances with each other. He understood that the holiday season was just as busy for her as well. Nevertheless, the surgeon was glad to have run into her that night. His eyes followed hers to glance at the clock, and he nodded. “I’d say I like that idea.” He agreed with a nod, chugging down the remainder of his beer before he set down his glass. Though he would not admit it to her, James had missed Clarissa. While work had kept him busy, it was just not the same without their occasional nights together. “I know, but I don’t want you to think that I forgot about our arrangement.” He told her as he turned to look at her, accepting her hand as he rose from his seat. “Let’s get out of here. I think I’d prefer ringing in the New Year the right way…” He told her before he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “In bed.” 

Clarissa sat on the floor of the yoga studio, tying up her sneakers. The class had ended a few minutes ago and she was one of the last left in the room with Emery - a rather frequent occurrence. “You’ve seriously never ever considered it?” Clarissa asked incredulously, shaking her head in fake disappointment towards her friend. “Goat yoga was probably one of the best sessions I’ve ever had and I was surrounded by fluffily babies. I honestly think it would be hit. You don’t see many farm animals in this area.” The brunette huffed as she pushed herself from the floor, swinging her mat bag over her shoulder and waited for Emery to finish up so they could walk out together. “I could even talk to the owners of the farm where I have my horse boarded - I’m sure they would rent out the space and allow us to use their animals. It’s something to think about - I swear, it’s worth it!”

James was grateful to have friends who were not shocked by how much he worked, and Clarissa was one of them. He knew that as much as she respected his desire to work, she still worried about how much he worked. After all, he had explained to her of his work schedule when they had first come up with their arrangement, and she had been the one who had spent many nights with him in hopes of relieving his stress. “Yeah, I guess I do. I don’t think I would ever volunteer to work during the holidays again. That was quite brutal.” The surgeon admitted with a sigh, though his lips curled into a smile when she wrapped her hand around his arm. “I do have to catch up on some laundry, but other than that, I don’t have any plans.  Why? Are you suggesting that I should make some plans?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he asked. “Sounds to me like you’ve got some time off yourself. What are you suggesting?” Needless to say, it had been quite a while since James had last seen Clarissa. It would have been a lie if he’d said that he hadn’t missed her. “It’s been a while, yeah… but it’s my fault though. The clinical trial has kept me busy. I’ve slept at the hospital most days because I had to monitor the 3-D printers overnight. To be honest, I’m kind of glad that they forced me to take a few days off.” 

-

Lina was at least interested in the conversation with the other woman, considering she hadn’t shut her out yet. It made for an unexpected night at the very least. “I don’t know - could be anything really. Like I could be the one who has to keep all my relationships alive by putting in all the effort since I made the New Year’s plans or that I could end up having a catastrophic year if something goes down that was at a planned event. At least if I keep my mind as open as possible, the odds are ever in my favour - very Katniss Everdeen of me,” she noted at her own statement. Lina took a bite of the bread that was in the basket at her table as Clarissa answered. After she had finished chewing, she shook her had. “No - I think it means you felt the need to be around people which I think bodes well for your new year. I mean - starting the year off alone can be a bit depressing. You’re at least making the effort to be around people and I think that could be some good karma,” she offered. “Also, I’m not super spiritual so maybe don’t take everything I say super literally but I think you’ve gotta trust your instincts and well - they brought you here.”

As Lina gave answers to the question posed, Clarissa’s eyebrows climbed steadily higher on her forehead. ”Huh...” She hummed, thinking back to the disaster of her life that had been three years ago. “That actually seems to explain a lot.” While she was having her own epiphany, Lina had no idea what was going on in her head. “I uh- I was in charge of organizing and hosting my family’s New Year’s party about three years ago and shortly after, life went to utter crap.” She supplied, not giving out many details. One, Clarissa wasn’t one to share much. She’d only been open to a couple of people in town despite being a resident for two years. Two, no one cared really to know of the dissolution of her well-known family, fall out between siblings and her messy divorce. “That would be a nice change, to say the least. I’m not a big believer in the whole this year is my year mantras, but I won’t turn down the idea of having a decent year.” She hummed, bringing the rim of her wine glass to her lips for a sip. Would it be too optimistic to believe in a good change of pace? Probably. “Where did you come to learn all of this, any ways?” She questioned, genuinely curious. 

“The best surprise, of course.” James agreed with a wink. He had always enjoyed Clarissa’s company, but these days he seemed to enjoy them a lot more. “Yeah, that seems extremely lonely, even for you. I’m glad you decided to come out here tonight. It’s always a pleasure to be in your company, love.” He stated, honestly. Needless to say, the time he’d spent with Clarissa was something that was always memorable to the surgeon. Oftentimes, he even looked forward to that. “Well, I managed to work a week straight during the holidays… I know, it’s a surprise that I’m still alive. But I went over the number of hours I can work during a week. Once I went over my limit, they pretty much kicked me out of the hospital for the next for days. I was forced to take a few days off, so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can before I have to head back to work next week.” He explained. “My research has been keeping me busy, but I do think I could use a little break, you know? I need a break, really.” He stated with a sigh, and took a sip of his drink. “What about you? What have you been up to since I last saw you?”

Winnie saw the dissappointment in her friends eyes and sighed. She hardly knew about Clarissa’s personal life, but it sounded like she wasn’t having the best of times. Like it or not, she’d spent all but the New Year moment with her dad, who probably would’ve fallen asleep had she been in New York right that second. But she really did seem regretful to be there “Hey, bar snacks have a time and a place to be delicious, so I definitely condone today being one of those days. Speaking of… Excuse me” She spoke to the barman “Could we get some french fries and… Hot wings?” The doctor asked more than ordered that second one, not knowing if her friend was vegetarian or if wings were up her alley. Clinking their drinks, Winnie copied Rissa and drank from her straw until it was empty, placing it next to hers “Dad’s alright! He’s getting old, he’s turning eighty two this year, but he’s doing great. Still in the same apartment he raised me in, dead middle of Wall Street… I tried to get him to move to the Hudson Valley or somewhere more green, even here to Jersey, but he’s pretty set on staying, so I just let him” Until he was unable to live with the caretaking staff he had in the apartment 24/7, Winnie was okay with letting her dad live his life how he wanted to. He’d always done that, and managed to give Winnie whatever she wanted. It was her turn to pay him back.

Clarissa’s eyes widened comically at the mention of French fries. It’d been a long day and in her own self-pity, she hadn’t thought to have actual food in her stomach. Not that French fries were exactly in her list of real foods but it definitely bit BBQ chips and chocolate chip cookies. She confirmed the question with an eager nod and directing her attention to the bartender. “Double the order of fries.” As the bartender left with an amused smile, Clarissa turned back her attention to Winnie. There was always a sense of deep nostalgia and a touch of grief whenever someone spoke of their parents. Hers had been gone for a little over 3 years now. So much had happened since then; sometimes Clarissa still didn’t believe it herself. “Sounds like he’s a man who knows what he wants.” Clarissa remarked fondly, deciding to open up in a rare moment of vulnerability. “My dad would have been turning...67 this year. Next month, actually. I know for a fact, my dad would be insisting on doing life by himself - at least with my mom - once he had gotten to that age. He’s the one who taught me to be independent all of my life. It irked my mother to no end that I would choose to listen to him rather than follow the path she was laying out for me.” She rolled her eyes, but there was no annoyance in the gesture. At least, not anymore. Now, there only grief and fondness that colored Clarissa whenever she spoke of her parents. “I thought of going to see my siblings for the holidays - this time of year is hard for us - but it probably wouldn’t have gone over well.”