Fault Lines
It has been a fairly decent afternoon in the Pac NW with nary a cloud to be seen which meant that business would be decent during the lunch rush and hopefully carry over into the evening at a pub called the Crook & Arrow that has quite a loyal local crowd that stop in fairly often for food, spirits or the camaraderie that can be had from hanging about one of the pool tables or the various dart boards.
With the afternoon commute over with and the dinner hour swiftly approaching the owner of the pub is running a little late due to a last minute issue with his sons sitter as he and his son have just returned from a small trip to the coast which lead to some confusion with when the sitter would be needed but everything thankfully got sorted out so that he’s only a few minutes late.
There’s a nice crowd already tucked away in the booths that line the establishment and a few people milling about in the back near the games tables. The bar doesn’t seem all that busy but as he made his way further into the room in search of his best friend to see how business has been holding up in his brief absence he catches sight of her. He stops up short, breath held, and disbelief etched upon his face.
Can it be possible after all this time? Is he conjuring yet another figment born from a hopeful imagination that one day he might catch sight of her again? There are an infinite number of questions that he would love to work his way through but he realizes almost instantly that none of them truly matter for he already knows the answer to the most important question of all. It is her. He would know her anywhere, so to speak, curse or not for their connection always sparks to life the moment he catches sight of her. Will she know him in this odd world? It’s a painful thought to register but given none of the others that he has come across over time have recalled the past he’s certain that he will be meeting the love of his life all over again.
She’s quite different, that much is noticeable, from the way she’s cut her hair to the clothes she wears but the most striking difference is that she seems relaxed and openly happy. She’s laughing at something someone has said in passing, and the moment she turns their eyes meet and he feels his heart slam up against his ribs. “Regina ---” Her name escapes from between parted lips as he feels torn between racing towards her, and remaining fixed to the very spot he’s been in for some time now. A patron bumps into him causing him to take a step forward to balance himself and that’s all he needed to propel him towards her. With each step he’s desperately searching her gaze for some sort of recognition because if she doesn’t know him from Adam he’s at the very least going to end up with a drink thrown his face while his heart lays broken upon the floor at her feet.
@evilmayorqueen
