"Hi Penny!"
"Hey Bradley! Thanks for the music."
"My pleasure, anytime. This is my friend, Finley. Fin, this is Penny, she runs things around here."
"Nice to meet you."
"You as well."
"You're not a pilot," Penny observed.
"Good guess."
"You carry yourself differently than them - not in a bad way, mind you, just different. My dad was an Admiral, so I've been around this kind of crowd a long time, my whole life."
"Yeah, no pilot here. I'm a teacher."
"Very nice."
"Thanks."
"How's Amelia?" Bradley asked.
"She good, struggling with school though."
"Uh oh, anyone we need to beat up for her?"
This made Penny chuckle. "Thanks, but she's struggling with her classes. I think she might have to get a tutor, but I know she'll be resistant to the idea."
Fin assumed that Amelia was Penny's daughter. "I know lots of students who are hesitant to seek help, but often end of thriving once they've got it," Fin said. "They've got someone helping them and cheering them on. I've tutored some students before."
"What grades?"
"Middle and High."
"Amelia's fifteen." Penny considered a moment. "Would you consider helping her out? I know you must be extremely busy, but even if you were to meet with her..."
"Oh yeah, I'd love to."
"Yeah? We'd pay you of course."
"Oh, no, you don't have to, I'm happy to-"
"I insist." Penny smiled.
"You'd better listen to Penny," said Brad. "Or she'll throw you overboard."
Like the guy from earlier.
They exchanged contact information and set up a day later in the week so Finley and Amelia could meet.
What a strange but exciting night this was turning out to be.
-----------------------------------------
"I take a lot of notes," Amelia said, spreading her several pages across the bar counter.
"That's good. I love a good note-taker."
Later that same week Finley met Amelia and Penny back at the Hard Deck where, while Penny worked, Fin and Amelia would study together. The bar wasn't open yet and actually proved to be a good study spot.
Finely was just heading out of the washroom when she heard Amelia calling to someone.
"Hey Mav!"
"Amelia?" came a male voice.
"I know, I got big."
"Yeah. How are you?"
"Good. You?"
"Good, yeah. Is your mom around? I have to pay off a debt."
"Yeah I heard you got thrown overboard the other night. Mom! Mav's here - he says he owes you money!"
Finley rejoined Amelia and found her chatting with a guy, none other than the guy from the other night, the one who had literally been thrown out of the bar by Bradley's friends.
"Finley this is Maverick," Amelia introduced.
"Oh-" There was only one person she knew with that 'name'. "As in..."
"Captain Pete Mitchell," Penny said, exiting the kitchen. "The one and only." She rolled her eyes while Maverick chuckled.
Finley was trying to process suddenly being in the same room as the infamous man, a figure she had heard so much about from Bradley.
"Finley's Amelia's new tutor, Bradley introduced us, actually," Penny told him.
"Oh-" Maverick nodded, but his face fell. "The other night?"
"Yeah."
He turned to Finely and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
She shook his outstretched hand. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you." His dad's death on a mission you flew together. You pulling Brad's papers, cutting into his career and opportunities. She'd heard it all.
"I'll bet." Super awkward... "Well, I'll let you get back to your studying."
"So are we gonna take the boat out?" Penny asked Amelia.
"I can't go."
"What do you mean you can't go?"
"We have a test tomorrow, big test, gotta study. They only just told us today. Finely said she'd help me make flashcards."
"Well when are we going to take it out?"
"I don't know..."
"I could help out, with the boat, if you want," Maverick offered. "If you want..."
Penny agreed to the assistance and the two left, leaving the studiers. "Enough excitement, back to your studies," she pointedly told her daughter.
"They used to be a thing, way back," Amelia said. "Mom says it's all over between them, but I think it would be nice if they could still be friends, you know? I think he's a pretty cool guy."
Finley nodded distantly. "Yeah, yeah, friends are good."
"Are you good?"
"Yeah, I just can't believe that's the Maverick. I've heard so much about him, it's weird to finally meet him in person." Okay, yes, technically she had already met him the other night but this time officially, name to name and handshake and everything. "He's different than I was expecting..." She muttered this almost to herself. "Anyways, like your mom said, back to your studies!"
"Guess who's finally officially joined the navy!" Penny announced their arrival an hour later. "It's about damn time!" She patted Maverick's shoulder.
"I told you Penny, I land on boats, I don't sail them."
"Well congratulations anyways."
"Thanks. You see the nice bike outside?" Maverick asked. "That's one sweet ride.
"That's yours, isn't it Finley?" said Penny.
"It is, yeah." She patted the helmet sitting on the bench next to her.
"Really? It's awesome," cried Maverick.
Penny chuckled. "Pete's a motorcycle kinda guy. His isn't looking too shabby either, even after all these years."
"My dad loved motorbikes, collecting and restoring was his greatest hobby," Fin said.
"Nice. Does he still work on them?"
"No, not anymore. He - he died..."
"Oh, I'm very sorry," Maverick told her.
"Thanks, it was years ago now but I still feel it every day." Something she and Bradley had in common, that they had bonded over, missed out experiences with their fathers. But in her case, she had been blessed by several more years with her dad than he had been. "We kept his collection, they're in my mom and step-dad's garage."
"Where abouts?"
"New Jersey."
"Mind if I have a closer look?"
Her brow furrowed. "At Dad's collection?"
He chuckled. "At your bike."
"Oh yeah - be my guest."
She and Amelia wrapped up and set another time to meet. "You're gonna rock that test," she told her tutee.
She left to find Maverick still ogling her bike, crouching down to get a better look. "Still here?"
"It's a real fine ride."
"It sure is." They both stood there staring at it for a moment.
"So how do you know Bradley?" he asked out of the blue.
"Oh - we met during his flight school days. I came here to study teaching and we met up and instantly clicked. Been friends ever since and kept in touch."
"Yeah, he's a good kid."
"Yeah, he is." 'Why did you do it?' she desperately wanted to ask him. 'Why'd you pull Bradley's papers?' It was none of her business, but she was so curious, and had been every since it had happened. Bradley had, understandably, been bitter about it ever since. "He's a good friend," she said instead. "Glad we've gotten the chance to catch up while he's here for work."
"Yeah, he's in my training detachment."
"Yours?"
"I'm the instructor."
"Oh-" Awkward... Poor Brad. More constant reminders of a past he couldn't change. "Interesting." She put on her helmet and took out her keys and found he was grinning. "What?"
"Nice helmet."
She took it he didn't wear one. "Safety first." She strapped the buckle beneath her chin and started up the bike. "See you."
"See you."
Amelia appeared next to him, watching in awe as her tutor rode away. "She's so cool! Hey Mom, maybe Finely can show me how to ride a motorbike too!"
"No!"
"Aw - how about Mav then?"
"Definitely not!"
This made Mav laugh.
(Now they've officially met - we'll see how it goes from here ;)
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))