Cupid's Contract

Barbara Gets Stood Up

"Pardon?" If she played dumb, maybe he'd get distracted enough to leave her alone. Like one of those wild life tv shows, where they didn't eat you if you stayed still. What animal had that been?

"Evie! Helloooo! What time do you call this?" Veronica was standing just behind Andrew, arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping impatiently. If she didn't look so annoyed, Eve would've been grateful for her presence, lurking outside of her office door.

"Sorry, Ron, meeting went over. I'm going to have to rain check you though." Eve was edging around Andrew now, as if he was an improperly placed bollard.

"You're joking? You're only half an hour late and now you're bailing on our lunch?" One did not get in between Veronica and her cheat day lunch.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow? Promise! It's an emergency." Her phone dinged, reminding her of the Uber that was now waiting outside. "Mum got stood up by Tinder-Jack. She's been waiting since 11am for him."

Veronica gasped, squeezing Eve's arm in a painful form of ferocious condolence. "Oh, poor Barbie! Buy her a glass of Pinot for me? Men are PIGS. Go, go, go!"

Eve didn't need further telling. Throwing her notes on her desk, she grabbed her handbag and coat, pausing outside her office door to plant a firm smooch on her bestie's cheek. "You, mademoiselle Ron, are an absolute peach." And then she was dashing down four flights of stairs, and into the waiting Uber.

***

As the car pulled up to The Green Bean, Eve's clammy hands groped around for the fare, every beat of her aching heart feeling heavier than the last. She was nervous, as if it was her own date she was showing up for, and not the failed date of her mother.

Leaping from the taxi, she slammed the door behind her, her anxious eyes darting left and right as she began to cross the busy road. It was only due to the awkward jogging between stopped cars that she even saw her at all.

A huddled figure under the bus stop, even her large hair seemed deflated. Barbara's ensemble was louder than usual, which was no easy feat. The bright hairband holding the curls back from her face, almost neon orange and clashing with the bright pink chandelier earrings that hung almost to her shoulders. She was wearing an odd sort of pant suit, fitted trousers with a slim blazer. The jacket had boxy shoulders that would have been very cool were it not as red as a stop sign and paired with shiny white heels. The whole outfit was very Barbara Higgins and it made Eve smile, though she couldn't look directly at it for more than a few seconds.

Half jogging to the public shelter, she waved dramatically, injecting an energy she didn't quite have into the movement. "Oh mum, you won't believe the morning I've had. Do you have time for a quick coffee?"

It was best, Eve felt, to avoid the elephant and instead make everything about how rubbish her own life was. Despite her garish clothing choices, Barbara was first and foremost a mother, and when her daughter was distressed she was nothing but a rock. Eve planned on using that to her advantage today. Glancing around, she spotted a small corner restaurant, practically empty and decidedly not The (terrible) Green Bean.

"Can we pop into this one instead? I'm not really sure work will appreciate me burping quinoa all afternoon. I need a lovely hot chocolate!" Looping her arm through her mother's, she hauled her across the street without waiting for an answer.

Molly's Corner was a much more old-fashioned affair than The Green Bean, which prided itself on all vegan meals. Molly, the rather jolly looking lady behind the bar, greeted them both with a big smile and two menus, her cheeks pink from over applied blusher. "I'll give you ladies a minute, shall I?" Her squeaky voice reminded Eve of children inhaling helium balloons, though it was more adorable than annoying.