Santi had never been the one for idle loitering, yet here he was, lingering by the counter with a tripleshot espresso cooling in his palm, waiting for some employee behind the counter to become free so that they could replace the fragmented screen protector on his phone. The cracks spanned like cobwebs across the display - frustratingly familiar, given how often he seemed to drop the damn thing. He swirled the contents of his cup, his gaze drifting along Circuitry Co-Op’s walls.
The voice caught him mid-thought. He turned, brow faintly furrowed from whatever was going on in his head, and let his gaze settle on her face - warm smile and bright eyes; they pulled something loose in his memory. It took him a moment longer than it should have, but recognition finally flickered through him. “Mackenzie,” he finally said before a smile followed – slow and a little crooked. “Sure... Of course I remember you. I’d never forget a pretty face.”
He took a sip of his coffee, examining her over the rim. The app – or the brainstorming of it - was supposed to be something sleek and efficient, something to let guests book spa appointments or summon a bottle of wine without so much as lifting a finger to dial the front desk. “Yeah, yeah. I mean, we’re still trying to hammer out some of the details, but I think the idea’s got legs…” Pausing to consume more caffeine, his umber hues glanced past her toward the door, then finally, back again. “So, what’s dragged you here?”
Her smile didn’t waiver at the compliment, though after all this time, Mackenzie still felt a little weird about accepting them. Maybe it was due to the rough years in high school, remembering how cruel that one particular group had been. And in college, well, it took her a while to accept the flattery coming from Liam as genuine interest, and moreso to receive them from strangers long after their divorce when she was ready to try dating again. Even now when Jonah commented on her appearance, it took a minute for it to absorb. But Santiago was being nice, not mocking, and it was embarrassing that after all this time she had to remind herself of that.
“Well, that’s why he gets paid the big bucks,” She half-joked, a part of her still reeling after the two of them got serious and he revealed his annual salary to her, finally convinced that the biologist wasn’t some form of gold digger. “Um, Jonah himself actually. His turn to pick lunch.” Mack glanced around, back at the older man with a shrug. “Guess he finds comfort being constantly surrounded by tech.”
CLOSED with MACKENZIE LEWIS & SANTIAGO NAVARRO — circuitry co-op
( @blotchedpaper )
Mackenzie wasn’t a tech girl. She got by with her laptop and phone, with her lab equipment, but that was it. Specs and control boards and code: all that flew over her head. It made Jonah happy though, the same way biomedical engineering made Mack happy but confused her fiancé, and they were both fine with acknowledging each other’s worlds, without necessarily being a part of it.
Which was why she found it so strange that he arranged for their latest lunch date to be the Circuitry Co-Op. She got that it was near his new offices, and that it was technically a coffee shop, but it seemed a bit suspicious, and like Jonah was trying to find another environment he could work in. Like if Mack arranged to hang out in a high school biology lab. Not quite the same, but similar enough. Still, she headed in, scanning the tables and guessing she arrived before him, impatient enough to order a latte for the two of them without awaiting his arrival. As she was passing, she walked past an older gentleman, backtracking when her brain recalled him a moment later, smiling bright. “Hey there. Um, not sure if you remember me, we’ve met before. I’m Mackenzie, Jonah Montgomery’s partner? You two were discussing some sort of app together last time you saw him.”
CLOSED with MACKENZIE LEWIS & NAOMI MASON — frosted quest
( @ofresoluxe )
Though the wind nipped at her face almost bitterly, it was beginning to get warmer, the first signs of spring slowly revealing themselves as each day processed. It was bright and sunny enough that Mackenzie didn’t feel weird in making a detour to Frosted Quest, always having a weakness for a topping bar, even if in her youth she tended to go overboard, learning the hard way (and many, many times) that less was more occasionally.
She had just finished scooping a handful of sprinkles into her cup, glancing around to see if there were any free seats for her to claim, when her eyes fell on a familiar face. She was sitting a bit far away from the topping bar, so Mack wasn’t too sure, but she seemed to look how she imagined her old childhood friend Naomi to look all grown up. It was one of the funny things about growing up in big cities like this: you could either leave or stay, and maybe not run into old neighbors or school friends for years, only to come across them in the most random of places. Though unsure, Mackenzie was naturally inquisitive, and knew she wouldn’t settle until she confirmed with the woman, approaching her table slowly. “Hi, sorry. This might seem super random but…you don’t happen to be Naomi Mason, right? Apologies if not, you just look…so similar to this girl I grew up with. My name is Mackenzie. Lewis.” Just in case it somehow rang a bell with the other woman.
CLOSED with MACKENZIE LEWIS & JAMES ELROY — soundscape vinyl
( @james-elroy )
Her father’s birthday was coming up, according to the push notification on her phone. Mackenzie always tried to remember these sort of things off by heart, but admittedly, the past few years in between achieving her PhD and getting through the slog of lab work meant that stuff like if her dad was turning sixty-five or sixty-six on the fourteenth or fifteenth of March did tend to slip through the cracks. Sitting down one night with Jonah and logging every single birthday, anniversary and other important dates was probably the best use of her time she had in the last couple of years.
The next thing to do was try and find some time to get him a gift. It felt like these days it was hard to squeeze everything in, but if Mackenzie was anything, she was optimistic she could achieve what felt near-impossible. So one lunch time, the winter sun hanging high in the crisp blue sky, she stumbled upon a record store, and just knew the perfect gift for her father would be found there. Mack busied herself in flicking through the vinyls, pausing occasionally as she tried to recall if she saw it on her father’s shelf already. “What to get a classic rock fan who seemingly has it all…” She murmured, mainly to herself, but the shop itself was quiet enough with the exception of the soft music playing on the speakers it carried, and she smiled sheepishly at the clerk. “Dad’s birthday. He’s been collecting records since he was a kid, but I always try to find something for him.”
CLOSED with MACKENZIE LEWIS & VALLEY CAMBRIDGE — magnificent mile
( @vallettarose )
Retail therapy was a thing. Very much an actual thing. Well, it always seemed to cure Mackenzie of any blues she had, anyway, finding window shopping and browsing boutiques a great distraction from her problems in life. Whether her research had hit a wall, or her ex-in-all-ways-but-legally husband was becoming more elusive by the day to track down, there was always a pair of heels or a cute purse to make her forget about it all. Other native Chicagans probably would have scoffed at Mack travelling to the Miracle Mile, since it was a big tourist hot spot, but it was the hustle and bustle just like this that she missed when living in Texas with Liam, and her lab seemed so clinical and quiet sometimes that this was the perfect backdrop for her days off.
She had stepped out of one of the stores, two large bags in hand, but didn’t take into account the small step of the store front door, tripping over and almost tackling a passerby. “Oh my God I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, trying her best to steady herself. “Who literally makes steps that high for stores, it’s like they want me to break my ankle!” She paused to catch her breath after her outburst, feeling both relieved yet slightly embarrassed she recognized who she almost took out on the street. "Oh hi again! Let me tell you, I'm super glad it's a friendly face I almost brought down with me and not one of these mega rich bitches who shop like they're being paid to do it!"
CLOSED with MACKENZIE LEWIS & LIAM BAKER — baker’s dozen veterinary clinic.
( @pastghcsts )
Though a patient person, Mackenzie can feel her smile wavering as the seconds go by, standing at the reception desk of the clinic. It’s fairly quiet — only a couple of people waiting in the seats — their pets don’t seem too stressed out or sick so she hopes they’re here for check-ups and booster shots and nothing overly serious. It’s also an added bonus to her; if there’s no major emergency, that means that Liam might have a few moments to spare to at least arrange a time for them to have a longer talk, regarding the papers.
That is, if his receptionist ever actually informs him that he has a non-furry visitor here today. She asks Mackenzie — again — if she’s registering a new patient, and what type of pet is it, and what’s their name, etc., and this time Mack can hear the agitated sigh exhale from her own lips; slowly, like a balloon with a small puncture hole deflating as the night goes on.
“I’m not here as a patient, I’ve just come by to see if Dr. Baker is free for five minutes.” She repeats. Mack’s been avoiding saying who she is exactly, lest Liam has revealed anything to his staff, but she’s wasted more than enough time trying not to square up with an otherwise innocuous older lady, and has her own lab to head back to at some point. Her own fiancé, if Jonah is free for a bit of late lunch. At least the receptionist at his office doesn’t seem to be a former prison warden in her past life. “Look, I can wait, I’m really not trying to take up slots, but if you just tell him Mackenzie is here…” The older woman — Lisa, according to her name tag — begins to argue about this woman’s presence, because it doesn’t matter what her name is, if she doesn’t have a sick pet, she’s not seeing Dr. Baker in this practice, and will have to wait until later.
“Fine.” Mack relents, swivelling and pointing to the nearest chair with the best view of the treatment room doors, “I’m going to sit right there, until he goes home for the day. I’ve got nothing but time.” Mack doesn’t — barely had enough time to head over here to try and catch Liam for a second — but she’s been putting off The Conversation for longer than necessary now, and isn’t going to let the Cerberus of Willow Peak give her the out now. Lisa doesn’t seem too happy at this compromise, but it’s her fault anyway, because Mack would have been long gone by now if she just allowed Liam to see her in the first place. So she sits, texting her staff that something has come up and she most likely won’t be returning to the lab today, and just hopes there’s no major animal emergency in the otherwise quiet vet clinic to divert his attention further.
Mackenzie was born in Chicago as the youngest child and second daughter to Adam and Ellen Lewis
From a young age, was told she could be anything she wanted to be and do whatever she set her mind to
When she was five, her grandfather got sick and she was confused why he wasn't getting better despite the medicine he was being given. It was the moment that set off her pursuit of becoming a pharmaceutical biologist: to make a miracle medication that would eradicate terrible diseases
A nerdy kid, she often kept her head down and in her books, and would get teased for her interests and smarts, but otherwise left alone
In high school, a mean popular girl named Katelyn Sturges befriended her, after working on a school project together
Mackenzie thought her and Katelyn were good friends, and told her about her crush on popular boy Callum Gibson
Callum got in contact seemingly out of nowhere one night, and arranged a date with Mackenzie. However, he proceeded to stand her up
When back in school, she confronted him publicly, only to discover it was a cruel prank orchestrated by Katelyn for no other reason than because it was "fun"
It made Mackenzie crawl back into her shell, and determined to get as far away from her past as possible, enrolling in the University of Houston, Texas
She felt at one with her peers, until she met Liam Baker, who she thought was a stereotypical jock and class clown, and instantly disliked him
After he managed to become part of her study group however, they became close, and eventually fell in love, dating all the way through college
After graduation, Liam was told the tragic news of his sister's death, and moved back to his hometown, where Mackenzie joined him for moral support, finishing her master's online
She became his rock through his sister's death, his father's depression, and his brother skipping town, building a life in the small town despite missing city life
They got married at twenty six years old with close family in attendance and had desires of starting a family after realizing how much of her own she missed
Once Liam's brother came back home, and his dad was doing better, Mackenzie suggested they moved to Chicago, to which he enthusiastically agreed, working at an animal hospital whilst she completed her doctorate and became a research assistant
Their marriage seemed to not survive the move, for a multitude of reasons, and eventually got divorced
After a few years, Mackenzie met Jonah Montgomery, a tech guru from Silicon Valley. She was initially attracted to him for being as different to Liam in both looks and personality
After they got engaged, she found out there had been some issues with her and Liam's divorce paperwork and would have to re-sign
Kept putting it off until she and Jonah moved into the Willow Peak neighborhood to be closer to his offices, and stumbled upon Liam's vet clinic, realizing time was too late
If she was going to be divorced from the love of her life at thirty-six, Mackenzie is determined to do it properly, even if he's not ready to
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