Interfere.
Carla Connor is a strong, independent businesswoman. A force of nature to be precise. The proud owner of a lingerie factory, Underworld, on Coronation Street that specialises in only the best quality underwear Manchester has to offer.
Carla is single, and with the ink barely dry on her divorce papers, having just signed the them following her split from her husband, Peter Barlow, a year ago, she now finally feels free.
It was a strange yet liberating feeling, and yet she knew she would spiral after signing them. That's why she'd invited Lisa to The Rovers this evening to wallow over a shared bottle of red wine.
Once upon a time, behind Carla’s incredible success, she had thought that her and Peter were meant for each other, as if no matter what life threw at them, they were always thrown back together. Just as the stars belonged to the sky; like the whispers belonged to the wind; their beating hearts, belonged to each other.
They had married. Twice. Consequently, they are now divorced. Twice. It was a heartbreaking yet pivotal moment in their life. Peter had pleaded Carla not to do this. But knowing that this wasn’t a declaration of ‘I don’t love you anymore’, but an ‘I love you so much, I have to let you go.’ Carla had. She’d turned and walked away, leaving Peter at the station. Willing herself to keep going. Willing herself not to turn around. His heart broke when she didn’t. Until she did.
Yet, he was gone.
Lisa Swain is a strong, independent Detective Sergeant who transferred to Weatherfield Police Station after moving out of her family home and away from the area, with her teenage daughter, Betsy Swain.
Lisa’s life is woven with guilt and grief, widowed after the death of her wife, PC Rebecca Swain, who was killed in the line of duty three years ago.
Lisa and Betsy's relationship could be described as ‘rocky,’ to say the least. Especially after Betsy's way of dealing with her own grief was to punish the one thing in her life that remained a constant—Lisa.
Dealing with being a single mum, whilst navigating a tricky teenager around the complexities and demanding nature that her job required of her was sometimes a lot to handle, and so an evening in The Rovers with Carla was quite often just what she needed.
Lisa and Carla have been friends for six months, although they haven’t always seen eye to eye, especially after Carla felt that DS Swain spent most of her time wrongfully arresting those closest to Carla, while investigating the disappearance of Lauren Bolton.
Carla perceived Lisa’s extreme dedication to her job an unwelcome intrusion on her life when the hardest blow came: arresting the man who Carla deemed more than a father: Roy Cropper.
He was arrested in conjunction with Lauren’s disappearance, and Carla fought and fought to prove his innocence, even to the extent of having Bobby Crawford—her nephew—arrested for making a false statement in a bid to try and free Roy.
Carla’s fight for Roy’s innocence was relentless. Sparking tension between her and Lisa, who was simply doing her duty.
For anyone on the outside looking in, it was rather a mess. But for Carla, she was doing everything she could to free Roy, and for DS Swain, Carla was doing everything she could to make the investigation harder and essentially waste police time.
However, eventually, Roy was freed, much to Carla’s delight, although he wasn’t pleased to see her.
Roy essentially wrote Carla off, out of his life, for good. But with a few wise words from DS Swain—or perhaps it was Lisa this time—they were back on track, and Carla was ever so grateful to Lisa. Maybe that's when Carla caught feelings, but truthfully even she herself didn't know and filed that one away.
Then came a flicker of understanding between them both. It truly marked the beginning of their strong bond, strong connection, and strong friendship, but no one could have guessed what was to come.
Lisa and Carla were spending one of their evenings together in The Rovers, sharing a bottle of red wine after each had a long, hard, stressful day at work.
The atmosphere between them shifted as the comfortable silence enveloped them both, each deep in thought. Comfortable in one another’s company.
Lisa’s mind drifted to the chaos of events that had unfolded during her day, relieved to be drinking away the stress that she carried with the job.
Carla, on the other hand, was grateful to be in good company with a decent bottle of red after having dealt with a particularly challenging client at Underworld, who seemed determined to push every button they possibly could.
The stress of navigating the negotiation had almost made Carla send the client packing, and she was now relieved to have found solace in the presence of Lisa—and the wine.
Carla looked up from her glass, catching Lisa’s eye, and offered a small knowing smile.
They exchanged general chit-chat about their days and their differences. The uptight scumbags that Carla dealt with made Lisa chuckle—almost nothing in comparison to the scumbags that Lisa dealt with on a daily basis. But neither would argue about who had it easier, as if they mutually understood and respected each other in a way that they could never compare.
“Do you mind if we talk about something deeper?” Carla suggested, daring to make eye contact with Lisa as she risked suggesting what had been troubling her. “Like, about being single and all?”
Lisa saw a little pain etched on Carla’s face. Something she didn’t quite recognise. “Yeah, of course we can. Carla, you can talk to me about anything you’re thinking about. Surely you know that by now?” Lisa let out a soft chuckle, her expression warm toward her friend.
It was true; they should be able to talk about anything by now. They’d certainly surpassed any moment in which deemed to be professional or unprofessional.
It wasn’t just the fact that they lived in the same area anymore, or that they were occasionally brought together with Betsy working at the factory now. No—their lives were entwined more than they knew.
Carla took a sip of her wine. “I’ve just been thinking about how much I miss that connection with someone, you know? Like, even just the little things.”
“I get it.” Lisa looked down at her wine glass as she played with the stem with her fingers. “I just don’t miss all the hurt that comes with losing someone you love,” she admitted deeply.
“God, why am I always such a mess?” Lisa tried to hold back her tears, her eyes glossy.
“You’re not a mess, Lisa. At least not to me anyway.” Carla reached out to grab Lisa’s hand.
“I think you have a lot to offer.” Carla smiled warmly before retracting her own hand and taking a sip of her wine.
Lisa blushed, finding it hard to believe.
She couldn’t help it. Carla was being kind to her, and Lisa was emotionally vulnerable. Yes, Carla was an attractive woman, but she was also straight, as she kept reminding herself and countless times had been reminded by the temperamental mood on her teenage daughter too.
“I’ve got a proposition for you,” Carla suggested, her eyes sparkling and a playful smile meeting her lips.
“Oh God, this can’t be good,” Lisa chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Carla.
“Give me your phone.” Carla held out her hand, more of a playful demand than a question.
Lisa raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. “What for?”
“Do you trust me?” Carla asked gently, still holding her hand out, leaning in a little toward the blonde, locking eyes.
Lisa didn’t respond but rather skeptically handed her phone over after unlocking it for her.
She kept her eyes on Carla the whole time, watching her fingers dance over the screen with practiced ease.
She was intrigued, to say the least, and a little frightened. Lisa was sure that whatever Carla was up to, she’d hate, as she began to feel uneasy, edgy, and a little frustrated at not being in control.
“Carla, seriously, what are you up to?” Lisa inquired, her tone a mix of confusion and intrigue. But Carla only waved her off, absorbed in her mission as her fingers continued to do all the work, her brain racing as she was determined to finish whatever she had started before Lisa dared to snatch the phone back from her.
Moments later, she leaned back, an air of satisfaction surrounding her as she looked up smugly at Lisa. “There, all done.” Carla offered Lisa her phone back.
Lisa grabbed her phone, her initial surprise quickly morphing into irritation and anger. “What did you just do?” Lisa asked, her frustration evident in her tone.
She was being less than friendly.
She was fuming.
With a lighthearted chuckle, Carla replied, “I just signed you up on a dating app.” Carla shrugged innocently. “Just a bit of fun, you know?”
Lisa felt a wave of mixed emotions—the anger bubbling at the surface—but the playful challenge in Carla’s eyes made it hard to remain upset.
She trusted Carla with her feelings and her life, and this was the last thing she expected. Carla had crossed a line and Lisa needed to make sure she knew about it.
“You did what? You can’t just take charge of my life like that!” Lisa’s voice rose as a few stares began to head in their direction. Lisa became increasingly angered by the fact that Carla couldn’t see how this was totally out of order.
With an unconcerned shrug, Carla grinned. “Why not? You literally said to me a few days ago, ‘feel free to interfere in my life whenever you want.’ That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Carla replied, a little frustrated now at how Lisa couldn’t see the playful side.
Lisa’s expression remained unimpressed as she grabbed her coat, sliding out of the booth to leave.
“Lisa, where are you going?” Carla asked as gently as she could, reaching out to the blonde, who turned to avoid Carla’s grasp, intent on leaving the situation as quickly as possible.
“Just overworked and overtired, that’s what I am. So I’m gonna go—”
“What?” Carla questioned, interrupting her.
“Yeah. I’ll see you later,” Lisa replied.
Just like that their evening shifted. The weight of unspoken works and unresolved tension pressed down onto Carla as she felt herself sinking.