Woke up an optimist sun was shinin' I'm positive [Eden!]

“It’s too early”

Came a very quiet, very groggy voice from somewhere underneath the blankets on the bed in the corner of the room. Seva’s only audience was the birdcage beside her bed and the cat curled up all too comfortably on top of her chest. It was his motor-like purring that had woken her up finally, after her snoozed alarm and several dawn choruses from her finches. Her eyes half open, Seva uncovered her face and craned her neck to check the clock on her bedside table; it read 10:15, she was set to meet Eden in less than an hour and she hadn’t even showered yet. For a moment, she didn’t believe her bleary eyes so she squeezed them tightly shut and opened them again, it was now 10:17. Cursing under her breath, she threw off the covers and ran like a madwoman to the bathroom where she immediately turned on the hot water.

Five minutes later she was out of the shower and was sitting wrapped in her towel at her vanity, drying her hair with a drying charm. Once her unruly locks were in some semblance of order, she ran over to her wardrobe and started to rummage around. Finally, she settled on a leopard print blouse, black skinny jeans, black leggings and a black cardigan. She threw her clothes on and toddled off toward the door where she slipped on her flats over her socked feet, grabbed her bag from a hook by the door. Shrugging her coat on, she left her flat with fifteen minutes to spare, but she was only meeting Eden a few blocks out of Islington at a new bistro.

Seva had never had brunch before, it seemed like too much of an adult thing to do for her liking. But, her boredom with her party lifestyle and her propensity to try new things pushed her to suggest the idea to her school friend in an owl the other day. Eden seemed agreeable, so the two of them had made plans and Seva was ecstatic to see Eden again. As she walked through town, the streets almost deserted given the still relatively early hour and the chill in the air, Seva thought of what she would tell Eden first or what she would ask her old friend. This wasn’t an unexpected meeting as seeing Zoe again after all those years had, it was planned, but Seva still was kind of uncharacteristically nervous. She knew that something had happened to Eden, but she hadn’t wanted to go into detail as to what. Should she ask?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost walked past the humble, yet elegant establishment that was situated at the end of a row of businesses in a stately old building. Seva looked down at herself, taking stock of her appearance and considering if she was dressed nicely enough. Sidling over to the window, she took a peek inside and saw patrons young and old alike dressed similar to herself. Heaving a sigh of relief, she stepped in from the cold and headed to the hostess stand where she was informed of the policy that only complete parties were seated. Seva nodded in agreement and crossed the room to bench near the door and sat daintily upon it. She couldn’t see out the window where she was, so she simply laced her fingers together and looked quietly down at the floor as she waited for her friend.

Eden always didn’t know what to do with herself on the off chance she got a day off work. She had already accustomed to revolving her life around taking care of Jaimie, which meant that she was generally always working, even on a weekend. But she figured Owain and Jaimie needed some time to bond as father and son without the nanny hanging around all the time. She had thought she’d just spend this particular weekend catching up on some knitting, but then Seva owled and asked if she wanted to do something. Eden said yes, naturally, and they agreed to meet up for brunch. Personally she had been a bit surprised that Seva even suggested that. From what she remembered, brunch and waking up early wasn’t really the younger girl’s scene.

Then again, not many people were like her, content with the same routine lifestyle day after day. But really, Eden mused as she moved to get dressed after putting the final finishing touches to her hair, who could blame her wanting a bit of normalcy after everything that’s happened? She slipped on a long, navy-coloured dress that was a bit too thin for her liking, and black ankle boots. It was almost impossible to wear dresses while taking care of a growing child who wanted to do everything. Her mind wandered back to the pretty cream coloured dress she wore one time, baby food stains now part of the design forever. Make that completely impossible. Her features softened into a smile as her thoughts went back to Jaimie again. It was pathetic how a toddler had her wrapped around his very tiny finger.

A quick spritz of perfume later (a blend of her own), she was out the door and into the frigid air. Almost immediately she regretted not thinking to put on a hat or a scarf, even if she had her jacket on. It was really some brass monkey weather outside, and she couldn’t wait to get to the bistro she was meeting her friend at. It was a little way off where she lived, but Seva seemed enthusiastic about trying the new place, so Eden agreed to make her way to Islington. Her friends tried to convince her to move to London with them, but she couldn’t. Hertfordshire was already too crowded for her, much less London, with all the people and buildings. Islington was nice though. Maybe it was the relatively early hour, but the streets were fairly deserted, which was just how she liked it.

She was glad to finally push her way into the restaurant after walking around in circles for what seemed like forever, her already pink cheeks now red with cold. It looked fancy and impressive, although sometimes places like this didn’t always have the greatest food. People were often too easily blinded by the appearance. “Seva!” She exclaimed once she spotted her friend, offering a wave before trotting over. She nodded at the hostess that they were now ready to be seated, and were immediately shown to a table by the window. Perfect. “Have you been waiting long?” She asked as she took a seat opposite her friend, shrugging off her jacket while simultaneously taking in the tastefully decorated interior. It was rather nice, from the heavy tablecloths to the carefully folded napkin, to the very chairs they were sitting on. How did she manage to find this place?

“I hope you’re hungry…” she paused, thinking of how common it was for people nursing hangovers to get drunk again during brunch. She wasn’t a drinker, but if Seva wanted to, she sure wasn’t going to judge. “… Or at the very least, thirsty.”

The sounds of clinking glasses, forks against plates and the murmurs of voices filled the air around her as Seva sat waiting for Eden. Even though it had only been a few minutes, she was getting quite antsy; patience had never been one of her strong suits, especially not when food was involved. Her hands played at the zippers on her bag, opening and closing them methodically, over and over again. As she waited, more people filed in and she watched curiously as they milled about and waited to be seated.  The spots next to her on the bench were filled and vacated, which made it seem as if she was waiting an eternity when she in fact had only been waiting all of fifteen minutes. Her stomach rumbled loudly, earning her a surprised look from her most recent neighbor. She smiled weakly at them and patted her belly in a silent apology; the onlooker couldn’t help but laugh.

It wasn’t long at all before the door opened again and Seva heard her name being called from near the entrance. She perked up immediately and jumped up excitedly, returning Eden’s wave cheerfully and grinning widely. “Eden!” She called, trying to keep her voice at a somewhat respectable volume and pretty much failing miserably. She ignored the pointed stares from several of the patrons and crossed the room, reaching Eden quickly and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, she was still positively beaming. Nothing made her happier than seeing a good friend, especially since she was reuniting with Eden after so long.

She followed Eden to the hostess stand and then traipsed along behind the hostess to their table by the window. Eden shrugged off her jacket and Seva followed suit, folding is up neatly and draping it over her seat. She sat down daintily, straightening her back and crossing her ankles as lady like as she could muster. The décor was so fancy it was almost stodgy and it was decidedly not her taste, but she had heard good things about the food and the service, although the accolades about the atmosphere, in her opinion, were outlandishly inflated. Her wide eyes scanned the room and then flit down to the table where she couldn’t help but notice the presence of a salad fork and she arched a delicate eyebrow. The amount of silverware exponentially increased her level of discomfort; somehow, it made her feel ridiculously out of place. Seva shrugged slightly and lifted her eyes back across the table to Eden and smiled again.

“I’m famished! Just starving, but you know how I am with that,” she began, her hand going to pat a stomach that was entirely too flat for someone who consumed as much as Seva did. “Are you? I heard this place is pretty good.” She gestured around the restaurant, indicating how packed it was. “We really have a lot of catching up to do, don’t we? I don’t even know where to begin.”

Seva shrugged again and looked around, wondering where their waiter could be. As if on cue, a young man made his way toward them menus in hand, a busboy toddling around behind him with a water pitcher. As the busboy poured their water, the waiter placed the menus in front of both of the young women and cleared his throat. Can I start you ladies out with something to drink?. Seva smiled at him and flipped open her menu, perusing it as the man stood beside the table, staring down his nose at them. Seva had the sinking suspicion that he was judging them and couldn’t help but straighten up further; it was probably just her imagination. For all she knew, he could just be checking them out. After a moment, Seva cleared her own throat.

“I’ll have a mimosa please, and maybe a cup of tea.” She said politely, “Eden?”