
It started...oddly. It started with a phone call at two am, and of course she answered, who would call when it wasn't an emergency after all? "H'lo?" Granted, she didn't exactly manage articulate for said early morning emergencies but hey, she managed two syllables!
"Is this Aya?"
It was odd that she didn't recognize the voice. It was female, a little breathy. Excited maybe? Older than teenaged though. A hospital worker would have used her last name since they'd have the boy's contact sheets. "May I ask who's calling?" her polite chill kicked in belatedly, assuming it was some kind of telemarketer with really bad timing.
"My name is Mina, can I call you Aya?"
Mina? Mina Mina...no, that wasn't ringing any bells. "You can call me Ms. Brea. You have about three seconds to tell me why you called at this hour before I block your number."
"Hey, sorry! Sorry! The boys are such night owls I just assumed their family was! Were you sleeping?"
...hadn't that been implied? "Yes." And then, like a good little highschooler, she hung up, rolled over, and went back to sleep. She wouldn't even have remembered it if she didn't get a call a few days later. "Hello?"
"Hi, is this a better time?"
"...pardon?"
"Oh, right, sorry, hi this is Mina! Is this a good time to talk? I wanted to apologize for waking you up the other night!"
Aya pulled the phone away from her ear and peered at the screen, 'Private Number' was REALLY USEFUL. "Okaaaay, Mina. How did you get this number?" Because she certainly hadn't given it to the girl.
"Braig!"
"Really?"
"Well, he was going to call you and introduce us on the phone but he fell asleep when his hair was getting brushed...and then there was the breakthrough over in metaphysics and you know how it goes!"
Sadly, she did know how it went with the boys calling her, but she'd never had one of the girls take it into their heads to call her unless she already knew them. This was...kinda creepy admittedly. "So why did you need to call?"
"Oh! I'm going to be traveling near where the boys say they live and they wanted me to get a chance to have a decent lunch before the performance so I was suppose to get an introduction! I'm in the string section of the orchestra that's doing a charity event there next week?"
She did know about the charity event next week, she'd be attending with Elcy and Yinsi, the rest though? Um. Huh. A part of her was sorely tempted to dial Braig into a three way conversation, the rest of her was curious though. Curious or bored, the two were a lot alike some days. "I'd suggest you and your group eat at Midna's. It's a small cafe but good food that'll certainly last you through a performance."
"Actually...I was hoping you might have time to meet up? I've heard so much about you!"
Yeah, she'd seen that one coming honestly, chalk one up to instinct. "I'll actually be getting ready to attend the charity event," she admitted lightly, "so any meal would have to be a late brunch at best." Her afternoon was booked, honest, with hanging out at home with Elcy and Yinsi!
"Brunch sounds lovely! Better than sitting through yet another tuning session!" Mina laughed lightly. "Still at this Midna's? What do you call late? I can make reservations to meet you there!"
Aya was...back to staring at the phone, yes. Weirder and weirder. "Let's say eleven, then, day of the concert." This was going to get...interesting. The big question was whether to tell the boys or not?
Hmmm.
Not until after she met the girl.
Oddly it felt kind of like getting ready for a hunt as she got ready for brunch. There was no time for the full regalia she'd be wearing to the fundraiser with the elders, but there was certainly time to fish out the rather high end sun dress and designer heels. Not what she preferred, no, but it was a form of armor as Elcy had taught her. "Where are you headed all dressed up?" Yinsi asked from the porch.
"Someone's down from the city with the orchestra," she admitted brightly, "knows the boys so I thought I'd say hello!"
"I know that smile," the older man chuckled, "no biting."
"I wouldn't get blood on this dress!" Aya laughed in turn. "Back by one, I promise."
Midna's wasn't a four star restaurant, no, but it was full of polished beach wood furniture, every bit hand done and none of it mass produced junk, sea glass chandeliers and a great menu. It was good for vacationers and locals alike, though being dressed up meant indoor seating; surfers got the patio.
She was early. It meant she could get a seat at the 'reserved' table, the only one with a little hand written card saying 'reserved!' in fact, and get her back to a wall that let her watch the door. Her first impression of Mina was...height. The girl was half Asian, that was obvious, but no Asian woman Aya knew of stood at six two, most of it leg. The hair was traditional black, braided, and falling near to her ankles (and wasn't that fun to untangle from the boys?) but the eyes were a shade of olia gold closer to honey and the face was a touch too triangular. An islander, maybe? Asian and Maori somehow? It'd be rude to ask, and it didn't matter in the long run since it all added up to 'knockout'.
Granted, the boys tended toward the exceptional. "Aya?"
"Who else?" she answered, holding a hand across the table to shake.
"You...don't look like either of them, still, I thought I was just missing something in the photos, I'm red-blue color blind."
"Adopted," Aya admitted. "It confused the Clans at first too, when I visited. Mainly because I burn so easily." Still, menu time? Menus were polite to offer!
"I see!" Mina grinned and cooed over the pasteboard as she read off possibilities. "The boys never mentioned this place! I wonder why?"
Well that was interesting wasn't it? "They get busy," Aya waved the waitress off and watched her dining companion, bemused. "Normally they'd ask for a to go bag. Must be a bad labs week."
"Oh, should I bring them something back? What travels well?"
"They'd love to split one of the berry custards," where by split she meant Braig did stupid things for the custard and Dilan loved berries? But a girlfriend would know that. Better is a cream and egg custard, no sugar, so Dilan didn't get the ick face if he got a bit on the fruit!
"I'll order two then!" Mina grinned and wow, what a grin. It was kind of too wide somehow?
Ick. "So...you've called me several times and I still don't know who you are Mina."
"Oh! I'm sorry! Mina Chou! I met Braig at an event and Dilan came and well..." hard to resist, right?
"Aya Brea, we were introduced by a hamster," Aya deadpanned.
"...okay? That's nice. I didn't think a hamster would put up with Dilan."
"When he was younger it was a little easier on the pets," Aya chuckled, leaning back as soup arrived. "But that's not what you want to talk about."
"...oh I want to know everything!" Mina grinned. "Likes, dislikes, they are well worth knowing and you've got something of an inside scoop!"
"The girlfriends are usually a better bet for the kinds of details you want, Mina. I can't tell you anything useful for dating."
"But you can tell me what they like and don't like, when they started loving things they love..." she sighed dreamily. "And the girls are jealous, they just want to have them all to themselves."
Oooookay then. "Hmmmm, no the girls are sweethearts and there's a lot here that have moved on and are always happy to chat."
"Not the ones they have now," Mina huffed. "They won't last."
Considering at least one she knew of had been with the boys a year that was kinda weird to hear but sure, she could roll with it. "I don't get to meet all of them," she admitted, "hard to schedule visits! I'm sure whatever happened though they didn't mean it, the boys don't pick mean spirited people."
"They do when they're tired and the girls are good at hiding," Mina sniffed. "You should really call and fuss at them about that."
"Maybe, I fuss at them a lot when they are stressed," Aya dithered.
"I know, you sound like someone they love very much when they talk about you," Mina admitted, "that's why I knew I had to meet you. To let you know I'll take care of them properly!"
Uh huh. Yeah, that was exactly what this sounded like. Sure. "I appreciate the effort."
"Maybe we can hang out after the concert? Oh, or I know! We should get a picture to show the boys!" And just like that she was moving around the table to throw an arm over her shoulders, phone held up to snap a photo. EEeeeeeuuuuugh.
She could predict the rest of the meals 'subtle' attempts to get promises to call the boys about the girlfriends and questioning about what the boys liked. Loved. Preferred. Creepy creepy creepy.
"Don't forget your custards," Aya reminded as the clock ticked closer to her deadline to get home."
"Oh, you have to go?"
"A lot to do before the concert, Mina, it was nice to meet you," she allowed, holding her hand across the table to shake once more. "Tonight then."
"Tonight sis! Really, you make such a great little sister how does anyone use your name?!"
Eep. Yes, she was dialing the boys the MINUTE she was outside, as she was heading for the car. Voice mail was fine, yes, "Dump Mina, now, if you're actually dating her. Consider a restraining order." Meeble.
Heeeyyyy maybe she could feed her to Elcy and Yinsi? Problem solved? She'd see what the night offered by way of opportunities!