##Chapter 8: A Lovely Night

"I'm sorry to have bothered you while you're working. I know you have to be really busy. If I need anything else, I'll try and get a hold of you. I'll do my best to make sure it's not work related next time. Or at least not this case related anyway. I'll talk to you later, Abigail."

The words stuck in Elaine's throat. She had to force them out.

It was hard not to understand Abigail's position here. That didn't make it any easier to swallow.

She had to take her mind off this never ending worry.

The only other thing occupying her mind was the nagging thought that Abigail might have liked her back more than she let on.

If the lawyer asked her out on a date, would she accept? If she wanted to date, would she be able to let her in? Could she handle the secrets that came with Abigail's job?

What would a relationship between them even look like? Abigail's job would have her on call about as much as her own did. They would have very little time to be in each other's presence.

A relationship like that could work if they made the most of what they had but… Abigail could be closed off with her emotions if the reaction she had after the kiss was any indication.

Something like that could get in the way of real intimacy.

It could be talked around and worked with, though; it wasn't an entire deal breaker or anything like that.

She would just have to make it clear to Abigail that she wore her heart on her sleeve and that she needed to talk about her feelings.

She wished they'd had more time to talk after that kiss. There was so much more she needed to ask. To say to the lawyer. They didn't have to be the social worker and the lawyer all the time. They had to be people too, or they would burn themselves out.

Sometimes, though, it was harder and harder to differentiate between Elaine the human and Elaine the social worker.

She had a feeling for Abigail there wasn't much of a distinction left at all anymore.

She'd just closed out the call screen when a barrage of messages flooded the screen. She scrolled past most of them until she hit the last one.

5:30 P.M.: Frankie: I swear to God you better be dead or stuck in traffic to be ignoring me like this. You will not be getting drunk by yourself on your couch tonight. Come over and party with us. Call me, woman!!!

Whoops. She was gonna get yelled at for sure for ignoring him. Frank could be a real pain about that. It wasn't her fault, though, that her phone couldn't handle seven different functions at once!

Clubbing did sound fun. Plus, seeing Frank and Hannah usually led to some crazy shenanigans. Maybe it was just what she needed.

Putting the phone on the dash, she dialed Frankie's number. He answered on the first ring. There was music in the background, the sounds of shouting and singing.

"Finally! Come on and get your skinny a** over to the Cortex on North Artesian."

She eased herself onto the steering wheel, tapping the name into the map.

"That's not too far a drive from where I'm at."

The shouting got louder. Frank joined in for a bit before shouting back into the phone.

"Hurry! Before all the good booze is gone!"

Oh, yeah. It was gonna be a night for sure if he was already drunk enough to start shouting matches.

"Alright, alright, give me thirty to get there, okay?"

***

The Cortex was one of those art installations meets architecture buildings that had been popping up all over the city. It was a lavender vortex with balconies all along the edges. The installation was encased in glass that gave patrons the chance to view Chicago from a "fantastic point of view."

It didn't do much but make you dizzy, Frankie told her.

Tonight, there was a "Ballroom Extravaganza" happening. Thankfully, there wasn't a dress code required, but it did cost twenty dollars more than usual.

She spotted Frank and Hannah against the bar, tossing back colorful shots of what Elaine assumed was Jell-o. She caught the bartender's attention with a wave and ordered an old fashioned as she walked up to them. They grabbed her in a hug and pressed her into a seat before she could protest.

Frank was wearing his work clothes. He must've just come straight from the office after his shift. His suit was unbuttoned, along with most of his shirt. Hannah had taken the time to tidy up a bit after work. Her blouse was covered in glitter and had a tasseled shawl hanging over it.

She'd met Frank in university. They'd been taking the same course on family law and gotten into an argument on the legal rights of surrogates to adopt a child later in life. He'd been impressed with her "passionate misuse of habeas corpus." Ever since, they'd hit it off and worked together as much as they could.

Hannah she'd met at the courthouse two years ago during a domestic abuse. She'd asked her out for drinks, and Elaine had mistakenly thought it was a date the entire time. She'd ended up kissing the woman in front of her husband. Luckily, she'd appreciated her spunk and kept her on retainer for clients.

What kind of personality did--?

Fingers snapped in front of her face, startling her. Frank was waving her drink in front of her face, sliding money over the counter to the barkeep.

"Elaine! Hello? God girl, get a grip. I know you've been dealing with depressing sh*t all day, but come on! You're surrounded by tons of gorgeous women and enough alcohol to drown a warship. How is that not breaking you out of your funk?"

Hannah leaned on his shoulder, whispering into his ear, not even trying to hide the words she was saying.

"I dunno, Frankie. Seems to me like she's got someone pretty special on her mind. She's been staring at the door every time it opens. I don't even think she'd realized it either. Little Miss Roberts mighta gotten herself a crush."

She turned to her, acting as if the plane of his back would keep her from hearing their conversation.

"You sure we're talking about Elaine here? She's got the chops to flirt for sure, but when it comes to actually talking to someone she's interested in? Falls apart faster than your apple pies, Han. Seriously, what do you even make those things with, paper?"

Elaine elected to ignore them in favor of thinking about what kind of drink combinations she could make after she finished her old fashioned. Whether or not Ab--

Nope. Not going there. Been there enough tonight.

Hannah took another shot.

"So maybe she's lonely? Well, we can't have that, can we?! I'm declaring that it's our job to make sure Elaine doesn't leave this bar until she picks someone she wants to go out with. I know this amazing pastry chef down on the corner. Redhead and feisty as h**l. Totally her type."

Frank began scanning the bar, eyes lighting up at something beyond Elaine's view.

"Oh, what about that one over there? The black haired, red tank girl? She's got some really nice jawline and calves on her. Elaine is a total sucker for those. You wanna go ask her number for the space cadet over here? Oh, get her friend's for me while you're at it."

Hannah laughed and adjusted her shawl.

"Go get it yourself, coward! Also, nah. I saw her making out with the DJ earlier. If it doesn't work out with the pastry chef, I have a backup planned. My dog walker. She's tall and athletic and has the super deep husky voice. That ticks off three boxes right there."

Hey, she wasn't into that.

Okay… fine maybe she was but still!

"You don't need to talk about it so loudly, do you!? I'd prefer the world not to know what I like to take home with me, if you please. I'm not that lonely, you know."

Frank and Hannah looked at her for a moment before going back to their conversation. Elaine took a sip of her drink, sticking her tongue out at them.

She wasn't that lonely! She was the perfect amount of lonely. So much for making her feel better about herself. All they were doing was teasing her.

They were lucky she didn't mind and had nothing else to do.

After another moment of debate, Frank slapped his palms on the countertop.

"I've got it! I've got the perfect person! I met her just today. Well, I didn't meet her, rather I talked to her on the phone. Abigail Fredricks, really nice lady. Apparently, she's gunning to be the next assistant DA. Worked on about thirty cases this month alone before getting the Holiday case. Super-hot too."

Elaine drowned her drink, hoping the booze would be blamed for the flush in her face.

"I met her today. She was cute enough, but she's the one who took my client into the courthouse, so sadly, she lost her chance to get with all this. Shame too… she was… really something. I wouldn't have minded getting to know her better."

She felt her pocket buzz repeatedly and pulled her phone out to see a Chicago area code. She rolled her eyes as the group made various faces at her, trying to see what the number was on the screen.

Honestly, she didn't have a roster of girls at her beck and call. She wasn't that good.

"Hello?"

A blast of static met her ear. She winced as she pulled the phone away.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I can't really hear you if you're saying something."

Through the static a soft whisper came.

"They're killing everyone!"

Elaine watched her drink shatter against the concrete. Glass crunched as she raced to the balcony railing, trying to get a better signal.

"Grace!?"