A Little Coffee Klatch with Britt
She's having a bit of a rough time.
Britt texted me last night around 9:00. “Mama, this coming back from the dead sucks. Coffee tomorrow?”
Of course, my first thought was, “Please don’t ask me to meet you at Bobbies! I don’t want Carly losing her mind while we talk.” So, I took matters into my own hands. “See you at Perks at 10:00.”
Britt was already seated, her hands wrapped around her coffee cup. She looked tired and sad, and maybe just a little disheveled.
“Hey,” I said as I arrived at the table. “How are you this morning?”
She turned her head and glared at me. “How do you think I am this morning?”
I just smiled and went to get my own coffee. She was scrolling through her phone when I returned. “I start my new job tomorrow,” she announced.
“Are you excited to be back at GH?”
Again, the glare. “I will just be a petty functionary with a clipboard.”
“Well, you’re a pretty petty functionary with a clipboard, so that should make you feel better.” I chirped.
“Do I look like I feel better?” She ran a hand through her hair, but it really didn’t improve the situation. “Yes, I am glad to be back at GH, but I’m a doctor, not a secretary!”
“I believe the job description said ‘Intake Supervisor’ or something like that.” I looked at her and made a face, “Will you quit with the glaring? I’m on your side!”
“Speaking of sides,” she began, “Lulu had quite the fit the other day when she knew I’d seen Ben.”
“Rocco,” I muttered.
“Fine, Rocco! Such a stupid name.” She sipped her coffee and gazed into the distance. “He’s so beautiful and tall! I am so proud of that boy.”
“He’s a good kid. So is Danny. They are good influences on one another.” I told her.
“Ha! Imagine my kid and Jason’s kid hanging out together!” she laughed. “I betcha he didn’t see that coming!”
I leaned forward and extended my hand. “No, really, Britt, tell me how you’re doing. I can see this has been a difficult reentry.”
Britt sat back in her chair and sighed. “I have no idea what I’m doing here, but I have nowhere else to go. My mother is mad at me. Lulu is mad at me. I have no identification, no medical license, hell, I don’t even have any money. You are paying for this, right?”
I nodded and motioned for her to continue.
“Jason has been supportive, but I don’t know how to be around him. I don’t want him worrying about me when there are so many other things going on.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine how he is faring after Monica’s death,” I said.
“Oh, this has hit him really hard. I just keep thinking that if he hadn’t come back to Coratia to save me, he would have had more time with Monica.” She sighed again. “God, this just feels like such awful timing.”
“There is no way either of you could have known what was going to happen,” I said. “It was just bad luck that everything happened at once.”
“Did you know that Kelly’s Diner doesn’t have a bathroom in their rooms?” Britt groused. “I have to go down the hall like it’s 1850 or something!”
“Bobbie’s,” I reminded her.
“See! That is precisely what I’m talking about! Everything has changed, even the name of the damn cafe! And Carly owns it!”
“Carly is everywhere and nowhere,” I whisper into my coffee cup. I look up at her in concern, “OMG, have you actually run into Carly? How did that go?”
Britt rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I was in a freaking towel when I ran into her!”
“Okay, that has to be a good story!” I exclaim.
Britt smiled for the first time as she remembered the scene. “I had gone to shower, and the door to my room locked, and I couldn’t get back in. I was so angry, I wasn’t thinking straight. I just marched downstairs in my towel to find Jason, and lo and behold, there was Carly.”
I cackled at the thought of Carly seeing Britt back from the dead in a towel. “That had to be a great moment.”
“It was, but man, that Carly is still as spicy as ever! You look at her sideways, and she just goes off on you.”
I shrug. “Carly is Carly. You can’t live in Port Charles without having to deal with her, so I suggest you take a slow and gentle approach.”
Britt laughs, “You mean like approaching a feral dog or something?”
I just looked at her and grinned. “You know how to handle Carly. You just have to behave yourself.”
She glared at me again, but I returned it with a grin. “Britt, you and Carly are going to have to learn how to coexist in this town, and you’re going to have to figure out how Jason fits in between you two.”
“I don’t know… this all feels so overwhelming.” She sat quietly for a moment, and I could tell she was deep in thought.
All of a sudden, she sat back, slammed her hand on the table, and grinned. “I’ve got a scathingly brilliant idea!”
“Yikes.”
“No, really, just listen, Mama! Come with me to General Hospital right now. I have to go fill out some paperwork.”
“Why do you want me to go with you?” I asked. Knowing Britta, this was going to cost me on some level.
“Well, you never know who is going to be resurrected today!” Britt said, winking at me, and she downed the last of her coffee in one gulp. “You won’t want to miss that! Let’s go!”
So jelly of all your coffee dates!!
Brilliant! Loved it. ❤️