Page 8 of Finding Wonderland

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

Isla hoped her voice didn’t sound as dejected as she felt. She needed money and didn’t care to work longer shifts. Granted, the restaurant was slow. But still. Only covering the lunch shift for five hours a day wasn’t going to cut it financially for her. Sighing, Isla slumped into the driver’s seat of her old Pontiac and drove to Maggie’s house to pick up Mason.

The drive through the Cove was beautiful. Leaves had started to change into varying hues of oranges and red that made the trees look like they were on fire. Fall was Isla’s favorite time of the year, especially in New England. She wasn’t a beach kind of girl so the mountains of Maine suited her just fine.

I wonder if Vera likes fall.

“What the hell?” Isla asked out loud in the empty car. Why was she thinking about her doctor? It had been days since Isla had seen her, so why was she on her mind? And on her mind like that? Shaking her head, Isla gripped the steering wheel as her mind wandered back to thoughts of Vera.

If the circumstances had been different, maybe Isla could have asked her out to coffee or whatever casual friends did. Not that they were friends. But Isla wouldn’t mind if they became friends. She could use someone in the Cove to hang out with, even as just a platonic friend.

Because there was no way Vera would be interested in her beyond that. Sure, Isla knew gay people existed and even considered herself to be bisexual but no one openly talked about it. Being gay had almost a taboo feel around it to the point Isla knew asking a woman out on a date could go very badly very quickly. And yet that didn’t stop her mind from wondering if maybe—just maybe—Vera was having the same internal conflict about her.

Maybe I could call her…

Although a nurse had called a few days ago with her lab results and a prescription for birth control, Isla could call Vera’s office back under the guise of a question about her health. Then maybe she could segue into asking her to coffee or lunch or whatever. But would that be weird? Isla didn’t know Vera at all beyond their brief interaction.

“Where she was just doing her job,” Isla sighed. Vera wasn’t being friendly to her because she liked her. She was being nice because it was literally her job. “Clearly I’m too out of practice to ever date again.”

Pulling the car into the driveway, Isla parked the car at Maggie’s house. It was a large, two-story house that overlooked the ocean. There was a swing set in the backyard along with a dock that went out into the water. Isla could only dream about owning a house like Maggie’s one day.

Isla could hear the sounds of children laughing around the back of the house, so she followed the sound. As she rounded the corner, she could see Mason playing with three other kids who looked to be a little older than her. But that didn’t stop Mason; she was always older than her years, for better or for worse. Maggie waved at Isla from the patio.

“Hey, Isla.”

“Hey, Maggie.”

Mason stopped playing and ran over to Isla. She jumped into her arms, and Isla savored the feeling. Isla didn’t care she was getting to be too big to do that; she’d do it until she physically no longer could do so.

“I missed you, Mommy.”

“I missed you too, sweetie.” Putting Mason down, Isla brushed her curling hair out of her face. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

“Okay!” Mason ran over to the swing set where the three girls smiled politely up at Isla. “This is my mom,” she stated, as if that was all Isla had wanted.

But Mason wouldn’t be Mason if she didn’t occasionally take things too literally.

Thankfully, Maggie joined them by the swing set and introduced the girls to Isla.

“This is my granddaughter, Maddie, and her best friend, Emily.”

“It’s so nice to meet you all. Thanks for keeping Mason company for me today.”

The girls giggled, which made Isla smile. She’d never had a close group of friends before and she hoped Mason could grow up to be close with them.

After saying their goodbyes, Isla and Mason piled into the car. It was only three-thirty on a pretty Sunday, so Isla stopped by a park for Mason to play some more. She pushed her on the swing, enjoying the way she giggled, before they walked along the path near the water and watched the waves come in. Mason had requested pizza for dinner, so they picked one up on the way home.

“Mommy?” Mason had a serious tone as they sat at the makeshift dining room table, an almost empty pizza box between them.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Can I go to school?”

“You want to go to school?” Isla chuckled. “Most kids hate going to school.”

“But Maddie and Emily said they get to color and play outside and go to music class. And they get chocolate milk every day at lunch.”

“Chocolate milk every day, huh?”

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