Typical Friday?
It was a typical Friday morning in Franky Doyles new world. Life outside of the Wentworth walls had been treating the brunette woman rather well. Since being granted parole Franky had been accepted to the University of her Choice to further pursue her law degree, she had landed herself a part time gig as a chef at a rather upscale restaurant only a few blocks from the small apartment she had managed to save up enough cash to afford. The apartment was decently located, not too far away from the city and of course the fact that it was only a fifteen minute walk from Bridget’s house was definitely an added bonus. Ah, Bridget Westfall. Franky had often found her mind drifting off to the thoughts of the older woman. They had a solid relationship built on the kind of trust, honesty, caring and understanding that Franky had never really had before. Franky had only been out of Wentworth for a little over six months, but with Bridget’s help, she was fairly confident that she wouldn’t be landing back in there anytime soon. Despite all of the positives of the relationship with Bridget, Franky couldn’t help but feel that deep down there was something missing, although she was sure she would /never/ verbalize that.
Following her typical Friday routine Franky had rolled out of bed at the call of her alarm at 7AM, had her shower and gotten dressed into her black skinny jeans, a white tank top, the look being completed with her black leather jacket and combat boots. No less than five minutes later and Franky was on her way to the coffee shop located about a block away from her apartment, she swore it was the only place around that could make a decent cup of coffee. She had made her way inside, the warmth of the building combined with the bitter scent of coffee being the first things Franky noticed upon entering the small shop. She made her way to stand in the small lineup in front of the counter, slightly surprised by how busy the small shop was so early in the morning, ‘Maybe people are finally realizing what a decent cup of coffee tastes like.’ Being the brunettes only thought.
For one reason or another Franky had felt the building had a certain change to the atmosphere, it was usually a rather relaxed environment. A few small tables were off to either side of the counter, a few flowers in a vase on each of the corner booths that completed the seating arrangement of the store. The walls were a pale, off white color with a mint green trim. It wasn’t exactly upscale, but it was cozy, comfortable, somewhere that Franky didn’t feel out of place and besides, the amazing cup of coffee you would walk out of that place with made up for the lack of scenery and other bullshit that was supposed to determine the worth of an establishment. Franky had moved up to the counter and placed her order of a double espresso with a milk on the side when she had caught a glimpse of blonde hair at the opposite end of the counter where she was presumably waiting for her order. Something about the blonde seemed strangely familiar to Franky, another quick scan over the blonde only made Franky’s curiosity peak. The woman wore what appeared to be likely very pricey high heels, her long legs being the second thing Franky had noticed, directly after the stunning blue dress that clung to the woman’s figure, doing her body extreme justice as far as Franky was concerned.
As Franky made her way to the side of the counter where the blonde was standing in order to collect her beverage, the blonde woman turned to the right; in turn giving Franky a side view of her face, almost stopping the brunette dead in her tracks. “It can’t be…” Franky muttered under her breath, the words only being meant for her own ears. But sure enough, it could be. Franky was absolute dumbfounded, but also completely drawn in, she took another few confident strides forward in her typical Franky Doyle mannerism, leaning casually against the countertop, a brow raised as she studied the blonde for a moment. She appeared to be in the place alone. “Erica?” Franky finally questioned out loud. The blonde woman froze in place. Erica hadn’t expected to bump into anyone she had known around these parts of town, but this.. this was astonishing. The voice had sounded like that of Franky Doyle. ‘that’s impossible..’ her own thought being cut off as she had turned her head to the right to see who was really speaking to her. Erica’s jaw had to have nearly hit the floor as she turned to see Franky Doyle standing beside her, leaning so casually against the glass countertop. She for the first time in a very long time could think of absolutely nothing to say, the sight of the brunette being an absolute shock to say the very least.
Franky wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or offended by Erica’s lack of response, clearly catching the former governor off guard, deciding to pounce on the opportunity in typical Franky fashion. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Oi, maybe you need to pinch yourself to make sure that you’re not dreaming, huh?” Franky spoke in her usual playfully toned mannerism, wiggling her brows in a suggestive manner. ‘Definitely not a look alike, that’s her’ Was Erica’s thought process as Franky used her usual charming tactics on the ex-governor. The words had the same effect on Erica as they had always had, making her feel as if no time had passed since she last saw the former inmate. The blush was unmistakable on her cheeks, a soft almost humourless chuckle passing through the blondes lips as she shook her head, finally gaining somewhat of a composure so that she was now at least able to respond to Franky’s comment. “Franky.. “ Erica had started but quickly realized she wasn’t sure what exactly to say next. Her mind was still momentarily blank by the sudden appearance of the woman who quite literally tossed her world upside down. Erica was quite certain she would have never laid eyes on the brunette again, but here she was in the flesh. Struggling to find any proper way to form anything beyond the usual small talk, Erica just threw a “How are you?” at the brunette. She did however generally care to see how Franky was dealing with life outside.
As Franky went to open her mouth to respond to Erica, the worker behind the counter had quickly interrupted them. Handing Erica over the beverage that she had ordered, followed by handing Franky over her beverage as well. Erica’s eyes drifted upward to the clock, internally cursing the gesture. If she didn’t leave within the next few minutes she was going to be terribly late for work. She was conflicted, she didn’t want to leave Franky just yet, but this meeting was extremely important and she was certain she would be all but fired if she missed it or happened to show up forty five minutes late. Before Franky had a second chance to answer Erica’s question, the blonde spoke up. “I’m really sorry Franky but I have an extremely important meeting in half an hour..” There was no easy way to approach the next subject, Erica was just hoping that Franky had possibly dealt with some of her deep rooted anger issues. “I know there were a lot of things left unsaid between us, and I just want the opportunity to explain. Could I have your number?”
Franky left a slight scoff pass through her lips as she listened to Erica’s words. She had no idea why but seconds later she had pulled out her cellphone and exchanged phone numbers with Erica. After exchanging numbers and smiles that would have been deemed totally inappropriate back in Wentworth, the blonde woman vanished out of Franky’s sight. Just as quickly as Erica had come she had gone again. ‘Fucking typical’ Franky thought before grabbing her coffee from the countertop and turning to leave. Usually her morning coffee was enough to put a bounce into her step, and start the day off properly, but now for yet another reason that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, she felt as if she needed a pack of cigarettes or several shots of vodka to get her day back on track. With a quick shake of her head she exited the coffee shop, continuing on her way to Bridget’s house as she did every Friday.
Although now she knew there was no way in hell that this was going to be a typical routine Friday. Franky hadn’t planned on ever seeing Erica again, and if she did she had a well prepared tongue lashing prepared for the former governor, yet she hadn’t said anything she had planned to say. The thoughts of Erica consumed Franky’s mind her entire way to Bridget’s house, now being forced to get those thoughts out of her mind and focus on Bridget. The loving woman who had welcomed her into her life with open arms. Bridget had been there when Erica had fled the scene selfishly leaving Franky all alone to fend for herself. ‘Fuck her.’ Franky thought before lightly rapping on the deep green coloured front door to Bridget’s house in the moderately upscale neighbourhood. Franky knew that the second that door was opened she would forget all about Erica Davidson.