Closed Long Time No See

[Harley Tsuji]

Although it was never something Harley would have expected for her life, she had long since come to accept that management actually suited her well. There was always something that needed doing to keep the arts centre open, and it was a perfect match for her sporadic, flighty work style. If paperwork got boring there was always something to clean, or a class to teach, or meetings to set up. Never a dull moment, even if it meant getting less time than she liked with her own art. As much as she had never expected to feel this way, it felt like an easy sacrifice to make in exchange for the value she saw patrons finding in their own artistic pursuits.

Today was an easy day - the morning's teen art therapy workshop had wrapped up, and the space was open for visitors to wander in and use any art supplies they liked. The quiet ambiance of brushes, sewing machines, and pottery wheels was music to Harley's ears as she took a rare moment of peace to pursue her own work. She'd found space for a large painted plywood board and propped it up against her office door, studying the surface carefully as she shook up a spray paint can, trying to figure out where to start on her next masterpiece.

 

[Aurora Night]

The sunshine back home really was blinding, Rory had decided, but she turned her face towards it all the same. She hadn’t been back in the country long, only a tiny drop of a week in all the years she’d been away, but she could already feel herself settling back into a comfort she’d never even known had existed here while growing up. All her life she’d wanted to get away, to go places, do anything she wanted to – and she had. Waved her parents and friends goodbye and escaped at the first opportunity. She’d come back more often in the earlier years, but it had been easier then, before she got too good at her job and the travel journal had started sending her on increasingly involved assignments.

Those old skills had sure made her current task easier though – Rory lifted her sunglasses as she took in the arts centre she’d located through trial, coercion and outright bribery over the last week. Oh sure, she could have just asked her old friend to meet up like a normal person, but this had honestly felt … easier. To just get in there and see Harley without any of the circling back and forth in her mind of what she should say, how she should say it. Rory had never really managed to grow out of the impatience of her youth, and despite writing literally being the actual output of her job, the idea of writing a letter had just been beyond her. Which left her here, at Harley’s art centre, unannounced.

Rory’s lips curved into a grin. Well, if there were surprises that had to be sprung on people anyway, she might as well take the chance to get a good one for herself in. Pressing a finger to her lips for the benefit of the child next to her, she slipped into the building as quietly as she could, knowing he would follow despite his wearied sigh of resignation. Rory soon located Harley and pumped her fist at seeing her friend’s back turned. She crept up, quickly, softly, until she was right behind her – and then she leaned right in close to whisper-shout in Harley’s ear: “Boo!”

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Tuning out the ambient sounds of the workroom had its disadvantages, and one was the fact that it made Harley extremely easy to sneak up on. She didn't even clock that there was anyone nearby until she heard an oddly familiar voice, startling her nearly enough to jump out of her skin. "F*CK!" She yelped, nearly dropping the can of spray paint in her alarm.

Harley had known the voice was vaguely familiar, but after so many years apart she hadn't been able to place it in the moment. Which meant that when she turned around she was blindsided, struck momentarily dumb by the sight of a face she hadn't seen in almost twenty years. "Rory?!" Harley croaked, eyes shot wide. She did drop the can then, pulling Rory into a tight, crushing hug. "Holy sh*t, what are you doing here?! When did you get back?! Oh my god!"

 

[Aurora Night]

The immediacy of the hug knocked the air from Rory’s lungs. She’d been expecting – well, hoping for it, but the crush of it really brought home that … well, she was home. She threw her arms around Harley just as tightly, not even caring that she’d barely had a chance to savour the success of her small prank. This reunion was what she had really wanted. “Surprise! It’s me, the prodigal daughter … wandering friend. Useless friend, actually,” she laughed. “I’ve been back a week, but also trying to find somewhere to live that isn’t my parent’s house, so cut me some slack please I beg.” There was so much for them to catch up on.