Chapter Text
“So, how’d it go?”
Lila Pitts looked up from her computer to see her colleague, Dot Lambert peering down at her from behind her thick lensed glasses, clutching a handful of paperwork in her thin arms. She was only five years Lila’s senior, but her frumpy fashion sense and the tightness of her bun always made her look much older. Not to mention her geriatric habit of going home to her cats and games shows every Friday night instead of socialising like the rest of the Conservation Department at UWB did. Despite this, she always felt the need to try and dictate Lila’s personal life. Or, at the very least assist in it. Often unprompted. Just as she had done last night, sending her on a date with her cousin's roommate who turned out to be a complete and utter wanker of a man.
Lila leaned back in her seat. “I think I’ve had better conversations with the mute homeless man who squats in my lobby, if I’m being honest.”
“Lila…” Dot said as the corner of her lips twisted downward into a frown. “Did you even give him a chance? Or did you judge him before you finished your first drink, like you always do.”
“Of course I judged him before I finished my first drink. The poor sod didn’t even know what an ornithologist was” Lila rolled her eyes as the stiff conversation bounced back into her memory. “Thought I designed Christmas ornaments for a living. How the hell am I supposed to work with that?”
Dot made a face - her thin lips pulling over her teeth, and eyes narrowing in a way that screamed “yikes” . She slid into the chair of the cubicle across from Lila and placed her papers down on the desk.
“I promise, Tom told me he was into nature conservation.”
“More like self- conservation,” Lila scoffed, flicking a stand of her dark hair over her shoulder. “All he seemed to want to talk about was himself. Twat .”
The things Lila had learned about Sean Hughes in the span of an hour could have been compiled in a full length novel. He had barely stopped talking - rambling - about his successful career in car sales, and a blooming side gig as a fitness influencer that he was hoping would soon be enough to help with the expenses of finding his own place. He had claimed that the only reason he had a roommate in the first place was because he wanted to save for a Ferrari - Lila couldn’t help but wonder if it had more to do with his poor spending habits. One hour, five £10 cocktails.
“Sorry…” Dot apologised quietly, as though it was her fault Lila caved to the multiple requests to go on the date in the first place. “Next time I’ll do a bit more digging before hooking you up with someone.”
“There doesn’t need to be a next time, Dot.” This wasn’t the first time Lila had said this, and she was decently sure it wouldn’t be her last, either. “I’m not interested in finding anybody right now. I just want to…focus on my career like the young, independent woman I am.”
“That’s just it though, isn’t it?” Dot leaned her head to the side with her question. “You’re young, Lila. You shouldn’t be wasting all of your time looking at birds. You have to have a healthy work-life balance.”
Lila loved it when the hypocrisy came out. Not!
She felt her brows draw tightly over her eyes, casting her a look. “I’m like…a few years younger than you. And the only man I see you cuddling up with when you go home is Boots. Where’s your healthy work-life balance?”
Dot’s freckled cheeks flushed and her frown pulled a little further down on her face. Perhaps it had been too low of a blow. It wasn’t that Dot didn’t want a boyfriend, she had just never put herself out there. Had been more interested in finding Lila somebody to be with than herself. It was time that changed.
“I’m completely content the way I am,” she said after a moment of scrambling for her words. “Besides, I’m not like you, okay? You’re hot. You’re brilliant! Anybody would be lucky to be with you.”
“Tell that to Laura,” The comment slipped past Lila’s teeth before she could stop it, and she instantly regretted it. Quickly, she turned her gaze back to the screen of her computer to avoid Dot’s gaze. At some point during their conversation, the dated Windows screensaver had turned on, bouncing around her screen. God, for such a nice university they couldn’t spring for new technology for their faculty?
“Excuse my French, but fuck Laura,” Dot’s voice fell even lower as she leaned forward in her chair, forearms resting against her corduroy pencil skirt. “Forget about her. She forgot about you!”
Lila swallowed roughly. She and Laura had met in their first year of postgraduate studies and had hit it off instantly. She was the only one Lila had ever met who was as smart and kind as she was beautiful, and also had an affinity for wildlife - particularly the avian category. They had been friends first, but quickly transitioned their friendship into something more.
Three beautifully perfect years together - Lila’s longest relationship, and her first lesbian one to boot. She had thought it was going to be the one. Her happily ever after. But apparently, nobody had told Laura that, and four months ago, they had shared their last morning coffee together.
At first, it was that Laura wanted a short break to work on herself. But after the first month, Lila had noticed via Instagram that Laura was spending an awful lot of time with her coworker - whom she had always said was “nobody to worry about”. Come month three, they were official.
Thus, working on herself turned into working on Abbey from What’s The Tea? Coffee Shop .
It hurt Lila at first. Hell, it still hurt. But she was trying her damndest not to think about it too much - not to think about the fact that three years of her life, three years that she held so dear, meant absolutely shit-all to the one person she actually cared about.
“Thanks for the reminder,” she mumbled, desperately trying to bury those thoughts. To lock them away in the deepest, darkest corners of her mind. Something she had an unnatural talent of doing.
Dot reached out her hand and lightly touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lie,” She gave a light squeeze. “I just want you to be happy. You deserve that.”
Lila knew that she deserved happiness, and she fully believed that she would find it someday. But she disagreed with Dot and her belief that happiness meant finding love. It didn’t. She had been happy before Laura, and she’d be happy after. She just needed to find herself again.
The click-clack of heeled boots caused both women to look up over the wall of their cubicle. Dot slid her chair back slightly.
The director of their department - Herb Weissman - waddled over to them, sweat pooling at his collar. With his stout form, lack of neck, and large beady eyes, he looked like an overheated penguin. The moment he saw the women, he smiled - his teeth always seemed a bit too small for his mouth.
“Ms. Pitts,” he greeted her with a gleeful nod before turning to Dot. “Ms. Lambert,”
Lila pressed her lips together into a grin. She had known Herb since she was small - he had once worked for her mother and had frequently visited their flat in London. Lila had never liked the fellow - he was nice, yes. But sickeningly so. Like a candy that rotted your teeth before you could even process the flavour. But, he had been the one who had gotten her this job, so she couldn’t necessarily complain.
“Hello, Herblet.” she said to him, causing something in his temple to pulse. His smile, however, didn’t falter.
“That’s Mr. Weissman when we’re in the office, Ms. Pitts.” he reminded her gently, though it was easy to tell his patience with her was wearing thin. She held back a snicker, and she could see from Dot’s face that she was doing the same. “And you are exactly the bird woman I was looking for!”
Lila winced at the name. “Hate when you call me that, Herblet.”
Herb ignored her and stepped in between her and Dot, whatever chin he had ducking into his collar as he looked down at Lila, black eyes sparkling in the bright light of the office.
“I got an email from The University of Connecticut’s Animal Science Department. The Dean and I go way back.”
Lila looked at him and waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. He just smiled down at her as though he expected her to know what he was talking about, sweat running down his face and settling in the wrinkles of his almost-neck.
“And? ” Lila urged after a moment.
Herb jumped slightly, as though her question had caught him off guard. “And, well…they’re looking for an ornithologist who might be willing to take on a contract on a small island off the coast of Maine State. A few of the scientists claim that they may have found a new breed of Procellariidae that they think may take a little rest from their yearly migration on said island. They want someone to go and do a little bit of research. Track their patterns, their habits.”
“What does that have to do with Lila?” Dot asked, before Lila had the chance to.
Herb turned the entire top half of his body to look at her like he was incapable of turning his head alone. “Well, the dean - my friend - is struggling to find any of his students to take the job. Apparently most of them are looking to go down to the southern hemisphere to study local patterns there. When he called me asking if I knew anyone who might be interested, you’re the only one I thought of.” He paused only to look back at Lila. “It would be a good amount of pay, not to mention experience.”
Dot leaned past Herb and vigorously shook her head at Lila, mouthing the word no over and over again. Lila looked at her for a moment as she grappled with what Herb was actually asking of her.
The Dean of the Animal Science Department at the University of Connecticut in America , wanted her - a thirty year old Londoner to travel all the way across the pond, just to take some notes of a new species of bird? How desperate were they, and what was the catch? She knew the prospect of going to some dingy island off the coast of Eastern North America seemed a lot more bleak than travelling somewhere exotic. But come on.
“What island is it?” she asked, ignoring Dot completely.
Herb smiled again and nodded his head. “Oh! It’s called Blightstone Island,” he told her confidently. “Population, one hundred and sixty two.”
She wasn’t sure what sounded less appealing. The sad number of people who lived there, or the name. Blightstone - who names their bloody island Blightstone? And what kind of people move willingly to Blightstone? No wonder the Dean was having a hard time finding someone.
“Sounds cozy…” Lila said sarcastically, tapping her finger against her desk in a slow, steady rhythm. Herb didn’t seem to catch the derision and his smile widened, cheeks pressing into his eyes. “How long’s the contract for?”
“Well, since they aren’t necessarily sure when the birds would be passing through, you’d be expected to be there throughout the entire migration period. Beginning of September to the end of November.”
Dot cleared her throat. “Mr. Weissman, it’s already September fourth.” she reminded him.
“Precisely why this is an urgent ask!” Herb told her, but his eyes remained on Lila. “What do you say Ms. Pitts? Fancy a bit of adventure in your life?”
Again, Dot shook her head, trying her best to signal to Lila to decline. But Lila stayed quiet for a moment, thinking.
What were her plans for the next three months? Work every day, random dates that were doomed to fail, going back to London to visit her mum for long weekends. When had she ever taken a risk and done something big by herself? Travelling across the world for work for a fourth of the year? That sounds…fine. Fun, maybe? Sure it was a shitty, American island, but it was only three months. What was the worst that could happen?
“My flight would be paid for, yeah?” Lila clarified, raising an eyebrow. Dot looked mortified, but Herb nodded.
“Roundtrip, business class.”
“Accommodations too?”
“That’s the only thing,” Herb held up a finger, his short teeth biting into his thin lower lip for a moment. Business class might have sounded nice, but his expression wasn’t making Lila feel good. “There are no inns on the island. They don’t really get visitors, you see.”
“So I’d have to, what? Pitch a tent?”
“No! Goodness no!” Herb chuckled, his hand falling to rest on his balloon of a belly. “The Northern New England coast guard owns the lighthouse on the island. The university struck an agreement with them that they can rent out the spare room. You’d be sharing the space with the lightkeeper, but from what I hear he’s…a pleasant man.”
Lila’s gaze immediately shifted back to Dot, both of their eyes wide with concern. Well, the idea sounded fine up until that point. She wasn’t exactly keen on staying with a crazy old lightkeeper man on some dreary island with no one to help her if she needed it - she had watched way too many horror movies for that.
Herb’s face fell slightly, his pink skin suddenly seemed a bit rubbery. Lila could tell that he knew what she was thinking by the way he was looking at her.
“And before you start worrying about it,” he started quickly, voice suddenly desperate now. “His criminal record is clear! Locals say he mostly keeps to himself - very work driven. You’d probably hardly even see him.”
It wasn’t making it sound any better.
But, against her better judgement, something deep in Lila’s gut gripped at her curiosity, her longing to do something with her life that didn’t consist of the irritating monotony of life here in Bangor. Her mother would blow a gasket if she moved even further away from her control. And in all honesty - if push came to shove - she could probably take an old man if she had to. She had her black belt in karate, had taken kick-boxing in her undergrad, and made sure to work out regularly. She could handle herself.
“When would I be leaving?” she asked.
“Lila, shouldn’t you take a night to think about it?” Dot said through her teeth, lashes fluttering beneath the lens of her glasses. “This is an awfully big decision to make on the spot.”
Herb snorted out a laugh. “Well, every day that we lose could be vital for the-”
“I don’t need to think about it.” Lila cut him off, voice slicing through his sentence like a knife. Her amber eyes flashed up at him. She hoped she knew what she was doing. “I’ll accept the contract, Herblet.”
Herb’s face lit up more than Lila had ever seen it. Like a sweaty, pudgy, fleshy Christmas tree. He clapped his hands together.
“Wonderful! That’s great news. I’ll let the University of Connecticut know right away!”
Herb began to back away, with a little bit more spring to his limping step, but quickly brought himself to a halt and looked back at Lila one final time, pointing a sausage-like finger at her.
“Oh! And to answer your question, if all goes well, you’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.” His nose scrunched with a smile that was far more gum than teeth. “Hope you have your passport handy!”
With that, Herb turned again and waddled back through the cubicles, leaving Dot and Lila alone.
It went very quiet for a moment. So quiet, that Lila could hear her blood drumming in her ears. She didn't want to look at Dot, because Dot would no doubt tell her exactly what she was trying not to think. That this was a huge mistake. That she should go after Herb right away and tell him that she was joking and that she wanted to stay here at UWB, and continuously self-sabotage any possible relationship that crawled her way.
But when their eyes finally met, Dot drew a deep breath and said something completely unexpected.
“You better not come back sounding like a yank.”