fermata.
Josephine had heard rumors that Eliza had ported that day. She tried not to get her hopes up, because a lot of the time, those rumors turned out to be false. Port Royal was a place that saw a lot of comings and goings, and Eliza’s name was known well enough that everyone seemed to want to drop it when they had the choice. But, still, she bought an extra ticket to the show she was seeing tonight. She couldn’t afford it, not really, but she knew Eliza would like it if she stopped by. The mere chance of it was enough for it to be worth it. And if Eliza wasn’t in town, well, she’d get by. She’d gotten by on less.
But then there was a familiar face in the crowd at the bar, some excited murmurs, and there was Eliza herself. Josephine smiled, crossing the bar to greet her immediately. The customers, usually rowdy, did not complain. They knew who Eliza was and what she did. “I thought I heard whisperings that you were back,” she said quietly, a smile on her face. “I’m glad they were true.” She started fixing Eliza’s usual without being asked. “I got a proposition for you.” She passed the drink across the bar, along with the ticket. “I’m going to a show after I close the bar down. Got you a ticket, if you wanted to come along.” She was excited to see Eliza again for all sorts of reasons, but the idea of seeing her outside of the bar was even better.
