This Shouldn't be Awkward at All ((22))

[victoriousscarf]

"Well then," he said as they walked outside. "Did you enjoy it? On the way end you looked a little... panicked."

[qualapec]

Vala brushed her hair back. "I was. Like I said, it's been a really long time. But...I'd forgotten how much fun it could be, too. Finding things that fit and are likeable. I guess I just never had time to worry about it in Chicago."

[victoriousscarf]

He nodded. "That is too bad. People need to learn to... make times for different things." Like he was one to talk...

[qualapec]

Vala nodded. "I do have my alone time. I usually read."

After another couple of steps she asked, on a whim, "You said your mother was very fashionable...did she ever take you shopping with her?"

[victoriousscarf]

Sonya nodded. "On occasion. Usually I would sit in her room when she was getting dressed though. It was... one of the few times she did not mind me being around. Other than that, I just spent a lot of time surrounded by such things." His wife, for example, had been very much the same, and he attempted to squash that thought down. She, he had gone shopping with more often but he was hardly willing to bring that up. "Did your mother ever take you shopping?"

[qualapec]

Vala stiffened, bit her lip and tried to refuse the urge to clam up. He'd been very honest and open with her, she could manage the same. "My mother died when I was very young. She...got sick. I don't know if we ever went shopping." She fought the urge to pull out her handkerchief and wipe her hands. "My father took me to the town center when I was younger, though." Smiling at the memory, she went on. "We got distracted pretty easily, though. He was kind of lost in the territory of little girl dresses but he soldiered onward...He did drive me into Chicago once. I think that's the one time before this I've enjoyed shopping."

[victoriousscarf]

Sonya watched her and then nodded. "I am very sorry. My, my mother died too several years ago, but it is not the same to lose them so young. I... I am glad you enjoyed today then."

[qualapec]

"I understand losing them late. My father died after I graduated from the Academy...and I'm sorry, too." She tilted her head down, smiling as she looked at the ground. "And thank you. Today was the first day in a long time I've been able to interact normally with another cat, so I appreciate it."

[victoriousscarf]

He glanced over at her, a little concerned. "Do you have any family then? And, yes, I rather enjoyed today as well. I am glad you were able to interact in a more normal fashion."

[qualapec]

"No," she answered simply. She'd never thought about it like that before, though. It had always just been her and her father, and that had been natural for her. "I've never been sad about it before, though. No mother-in-laws to tell me what it meant to be a girl." One of her friends had suffered through that, only to marry someone she personally despised.

[victoriousscarf]

Sonya smiled faintly. "Now look where you are, working for the police. Decidedly not something most girls want to do."

[qualapec]

She smirked as they paused at the bus stop. "It was kind of a natural step- my father was the county medical examiner." Had she really just told someone that?

[victoriousscarf]

He nodded again with that information. "Well, that makes a good amount of sense. You must have learned a lot from him?" He glanced around the bus stop, taking note of the time.

[qualapec]

She blushed again. "I'm not a doctor but...I got a pretty good sense for cause of death. And splatter analysis. And an understanding of what kinds of poisons can stimulate a heart attack. Not to mention how to solve a locked room killing." Worrying that she'd been too deadpan, she ammended, "the last one was a joke."

[victoriousscarf]

He raised his eyebrows. "Very useful skills to have then," he murmured and checked the time again. "I have to get back to the station. You alright on your own I take it?" he asked with a half teasing smile.