A New Tradition

"Tabitha." She returned his welcoming wave. "And that little spitfire is my daughter, Clementine."

"She's adorable, like her mother." What could have sounded like a smarmy line rang more sincere from the gentleman.

Jake -- That same time

Sandy was typically pretty chill on Saturdays and didn't need to walk until evening, but today she sat by the banister and stared at her leash. It was Jake's day off from running each week, though he put all that energy into cleaning the house and getting odd jobs done. He had been replacing a few light fixtures around the house. His new home was a bit of a fixer-upper, but it was in his price range and a decent location.

Every time he moved another old fixture out to the garage, Sandy sat staring at her leash. Jake let his pup out into the backyard to run around, but she went back to staring at her leash as soon as she came back in. His dog was bright enough to know that it was the weekend and her day to go to the dog park. Jake finally relented and took the dog over to socialize.

Sandy must have been convinced that a friend would be at the park. Jake mused to himself when he arrived. The dog park was typically busy during every season save winter. The nice weather for today hadn't seemed to do much to change that. The small dog portion of the enclosed space had a few pups, but there was only a single large dog.

Natalie and Clarissa were a pleasant surprise to see at the park. When the pair were undergrads and Jake was a graduate student, they had accepted him into their circle of friends. He seemed to have so much more time back then for fun, even if he was working as an accountant and on a master's degree to get a start in forensic accounting.

The two women looked very much in love, even if they were standing several yards from each other. It was subtle how they kept looking at each other and smiling. Natalie's concentration was on the redheaded little girl that was playing with Chester. While Rissa was talking to a woman that Jake had never met but vaguely remembered seeing in social media photos from the pair.

The woman that Rissa was talking to was gorgeous. She was between Rissa and Natalie in height, a little taller than average. She had long, wavy, black hair down to the center of her shoulder blades. A pair of glasses with marmalade-colored frames that looked exceptional with her sepia-toned skin accentuated her comely face. Ruby undertones highlighted high cheekbones, and bronze-toned eyeshadow emphasized expressive brown eyes. There was just a hint of understated pink on her elegant lips.

Underneath a thigh-length brown jacket, the woman wore a rust-colored wooly sweater. A tan skirt had a tartan plaid pattern with browns and oranges. Dark-colored tights were barely visible between the skirt and mid-calf brown-orange boots. A reasonably tall heel on the shoes accentuated a shapely bottom in profile. Jake had to actively keep himself from staring at the beauty but did take in enough to notice that there was no ring on her left hand.

"Are you a nurse too, Jake?" The new woman questioned after he had called her adorable. She had the cutest blush on her cheeks. The little girl seemed too pale to be Tabitha's daughter, but they shared the same shapely nose.

"Me, no," Jake said as he watched the pups wrestle over the squeaky toy. "I'm not awesome enough for all of that. I'm just an accountant that helps the clinic with their taxes yearly. I get a little squeamish around needles. They probably don't need a nurse that would pass out whenever he needed to give out a vaccine or put in an IV."

"An accountant, huh? I'm looking for someone to help with my taxes." As Jake could be mistaken, Tabitha had a wry smile, but he was getting checked out by the beauty.

"Well, I can refer you to some great accountants I know. The clinic is a special case. I'm still a CPA but not in that part of the biz anymore." He smiled his best. There was no way such a beautiful woman had any interest in him. He was too dull of a guy to get that kind of attention. He was smart enough to avoid talking about himself.

"Jake's a forensic accountant." Rissa smacked him on the shoulder.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What's that entail?" Tabitha looked to be genuinely interested.

"Well, it depends on the day. Sometimes it's going through the books before a merger for due diligence, and for others, my favorite, it's helping bring white-collar criminals to justice. What about you, Tabitha?"

"I'm a nurse practitioner, like Natalie. I just started working on my doctorate."

"Whoa, that's awesome. Clementine over there must have a very bright mother to hang out with these two." Rissa and Natalie had suspiciously gone over to play with Clementine while he and Tabitha talked.

"It's going to be weird to not be able to be called doctor at work."

"Why not?"

"My doctorate will be in nursing, and the physicians' group doesn't want to confuse patients." Tabitha shrugged.

"Outside of work, though?"

"Yup, I'll get to be Dr. Bryne everywhere else." She grinned. Tabitha had the most delightful smile.

The two started to talk and laugh for a few minutes. It felt good to talk to someone outside of work. Jake working on his new house and running had siphoned off much of his free time, and making friends outside of a relationship or school seemed more difficult than when he was younger.

Tabitha was funny and witty, though most of her attention was on the red-haired five-year-old chasing along with the puppies. The canines would zoom away from the girl and then run back and drop the ball for her to toss while kneeling on their front legs in a playful way that yelled that they loved the attention from tiny humans.

"Is there..." Jake started to ask about her relationship status. It had been a while since he had taken a shot, but Tabitha was beyond intriguing.

"MOMMA! MOMMA! Watch me! WATCH ME!" Clementine yelled out, interrupted, and jumped through a tunnel structure, squeaking a ball as she crawled through the obstacle. The pair of pups followed along with her. When the three came out of the tunnel, all three were caked in sticky dark-brown mud.

Clementine was squeaking and laughing as she ran across the field, oblivious to the mud staining her. Tabitha didn't seem thrilled when Clem glommed onto her dress and got the woman filthy. Tab also didn't shy away from the embrace of her muddy daughter. "Momma, I'm brrzers and hungy."

"Clem! You got me all dirty." Tabi shook her head but had the hint of a smile still on her gorgeous features.

"I sorry, mommy," Clementine said with a sob and a giggle.

"We better head home and get her cleaned up and fed." Tabitha picked Clem up, seemingly unphased with mud now dappling her jacket. "Did you like playing with Chester and Sandy, my little sunshine?"

"Uh huh, can we come play again?"

"Can you stay out of the mud?"

"Maybe, I'll try." Clem pulled in close to her mother.

"I guess that's all I can ask." Tabitha had an exasperated smile and an eye roll that her daughter couldn't see.

Jake leashed up Sandy as Rissa did the same for Chester. They walked out to the parking lot, and Jacob helped with the door of Tabitha's SUV.

"Well, thank you all. Sorry we couldn't hang out much longer."

"That's okay, Tabi. Don't be a stranger, huh?" Rissa smiled.

"Yeah, we get it. Little ones can change plans. Go keep being a kickass mom." Natalie came in for a hug. "Oops, language." She caught herself.

"She's heard worse, and that's not one of the awful ones. I got you two's number." Tabitha slid into her driver's seat. "Nice to meet you, Jake." She grinned and switched her glasses out for a pair of shades.

Jacob couldn't help feeling intrigued. Taking a chance to possibly pursue someone with a ready-made family didn't scare him, but he knew he needed to be cautious. A whirlwind romantic gesture wouldn't be appropriate, so Jake tempered his surgent hopes. The three of them waved as Clementine and Tabitha left. Clem gave them a far more enthusiastic wave as they went, but Tabi had an adorable smile.

"I guess we better take Chester home and give him a bath. He and Sandy seemed to get along."

"Anytime you want to meet up here and let them wear each other out instead of Sandy wearing me down, let me know."

"Sure, you still have the same phone number?" Rissa questioned as she put Chester in the back of the SUV, probably trying to keep her seats clean.

"Yup, I'm here most Saturdays."

Tabitha -- Before class a couple weeks later

Getting Clementine to the sitter had taken much less time than Tabitha had planned into her schedule, so she decided to take a slow stroll through the student union with the forty-five minutes before classes. The rest of the college started classes this week. She had done her undergraduate studies at this university, while her master's degree came from across town. It was amazing to see the new construction that had replaced the dilapidated old building in the decade since she had attended.

The Gen Z kids have it so good. Tabi mused as she looked to find the smoothie spot she loved when she was younger. Nostalgia had her seeking out things from the best time of her life. At the university, much of the baggage from her youth disappeared.

Tabi was no longer the only black girl at her tiny high school. The boys in her graduating class saw her as a possible conquest to fill out a checklist. They figured her mom was easy, so she should be as well. Fortunately, Sabrina looked out for her half of their time in high school, and after that, there was Brian.

Brian had been an army kid who, like Tabitha, hadn't known his father. It was odd to bond over at first, but they were also a pair of theatre kids. There was nothing romantic between them until they played the two mains in their school musical. They wanted to make the kiss at the end look natural, so they practiced and caught feelings while doing so. Brian was the only guy that summited Mount Tabitha in high school. The summer after high school had been about them sneaking around and finding time for each other as they learned a lot together. They may have been more had he not been bright enough to end up at an Ivy League school. Neither wanted a long-distance relationship, and the fantastic summer ended with a breakup and teary goodbye.

Tabitha looked him up after she graduated with her master's degree, and Kirby left without her. He was happily married with a kid on the way. She prayed that he was keeping up with his pledge to be the father that he never had. Happy endings for people that aren't me. She grumbled a little to herself but fought against becoming bitter. That wasn't the type of role model Clementine would need in her life.

The line wasn't long, and her favorite peanut butter strawberry smoothie was on the menu, to her great pleasure. The student working the blender asked if she wanted to add chocolate syrup to the mix before Tabi could request it. Something is going right. The calorically and protein-rich concoction would serve as a decent dinner for the evening.

"Hey, stranger!" Rissa yelled out to her as Tabitha stepped into the courtyard between the student union and the life sciences building.

"What are you doing here, Ris?"

"Meeting the fiancée for a quick dinner." Rissa grinned and held out what looked like a pair of bento boxes. "You wanna join me? She's probably still looking for a parking place."

"I'd hate to intrude." Tabi hesitated but walked closer to the concrete table. Where it would have had an umbrella during the warmer months, it was equipped with a heater during January. In the windbreak created by the surrounding buildings, it made the tables cozy.

"Puh, nonsense. We miss hanging out with you, girl." Rissa beamed and motioned to an open seat.

"Okay, twist my arm!" Tab flopped down on the seat.

"What are you having for dinner, Tabi?"

"Peanut butter and strawberry smoothie."

"Did you get it with chocolate?"

"Yes, yes, I did. How'd you know?"

"They had the same shop at state. My body is sculpted by those things as an undergrad." Rissa giggled.

"Seems to serve you well." Rissa always had an excellent figure. Although she had some thickness to her, it was toned and firm.

"I'm really sorry we lost touch, Tab. I honestly thought that you had moved off to Virginia, gotten married, and were living your best life. We didn't see anything about what happened on social media, so I went by the principle that no news is good news. I'll be rethinking that strategy now." Rissa got serious and morose. The had hung out a few times but had yet to converse with Tabi as the subject. Natalie had no doubt told Ris Tab's whole story.

"Don't worry about it, I... I was embarrassed when Kirby didn't even blink when I asked him to stay around for a while so I could help Sabrina. I... couldn't bring myself to reach out and deleted all my social media when Kirby started posting pictures with his new blonde three weeks after he left." Tabi looked over at Rissa and blushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to condemn all blondes for their hair color."

"Don't worry about it. Some blondes have earned the reputation." Ris smiled. "I wish we had known, Tabi. You deserve so much better." A pallor descended on the table. "Clementine seems like a great girl." The mention of her daughter brought more life to the area again.

"I'm extremely lucky. I don't know where I would be without that little angel. I've needed her as much as she has needed me. I cried when she decided to call me mom." Tabitha didn't like dredging up these feelings but knew it was good for her to talk through things with a friend. "It felt like I was stealing Clem away from the memory of her mother. It did make things easier for her in preschool, though."

"From what I hear from my friends working at your physicians' group, you're doing great as a mom and a nurse." Rissa smiled sincerely.

"Thanks, I'm doing my best. If it weren't for them providing daycare during the pandemic, I'm not sure what I would have done."

"You're extraordinary, Tabitha. I know I would have fallen apart if anything..."

"You don't know what you're capable of until you don't have a choice." Tabitha sipped her smoothie and savored it for a moment. "It's nice to hang out with you two again on Saturdays. It made me feel a little like the woman from before the world took a dump on my life."

"Hey, babe!" Natalie appeared from behind Tabitha. "Tabi joining us for dinner?" She leaned down and collected a kiss from her soulmate.

"I don't have to... If you two need some alone time. I'll go start reading through some notes."

"Nope. Join us. I'll get plenty of Rissa time after class." Natalie always had an infectious smile.

"Okay."

They talked about work and class for a minute or two. Natalie and Rissa both shared part of their dinner with Tabitha after she tried to refuse several times. Ris was apparently quite the chef. Tab knew that Nat was a lucky woman, but this meal further confirmed it.

"So, what did you think of Jake?" Natalie asked between bites.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Rissa piled on.

"He wasn't hard on the eyes." Tabitha blushed and took another big sip of the beverage. "What's his story?"

"Jake is a good guy, although I was jealous of his crush on Rissa for a while." Nat glared over at her fiancée with a hint of a teasing smile. "I guess that just proves he has good taste in women."

"He had a crush on me?" Rissa looked puzzled.

"Babe, I love you, but you're a bit oblivious when people are crushing on you." Natalie giggled. "I know this woman who had a crush on you for a decade, and you had no idea."

"I'm glad I finally figured that one out." Rissa blushed, then leaned over and kissed Nat's cheek in the cutest way.

"So am I. Back to Jake, he's really a good guy. Rissa met him back in college when we were undergrads, and he was working on a master's degree. He volunteers at the same clinic and helps them review their taxes for free."

"Jake was a regular in my group of friends before he met his now ex-fiancée at the time and retreated into his own little world."

"It was because you were dating Clint, and he knew he didn't have a chance." Natalie teased.

"Or, more likely, it was because my hospital didn't want me to volunteer as a nurse, and I wasn't at the clinic as often."

"He's a good guy, played Designated driver for us a lot. Helped keep the creeps away when we went out dancing." Natalie sipped her water. "You two seemed to hit it off."

"I'll admit he's fun, at least in small doses at the dog park. What's his downside? Why didn't you jump on that, Rissa?"

"I was dating someone else or Clint for most of the time we knew each other. As for downsides, I mean, he's bald, so if that's a deal breaker?"

"That's why he's always wearing a stocking cap," Tabitha said triumphantly as if she were a master detective.

"I don't think he's completely bald, naturally. His hair was thinning, and instead of fighting against it, he shaved it all off."

"I don't mind bald." Tabi tried to picture the man's appearance without the omnipresent raspberry-colored stocking cap. "I don't think I'll have time to date anyone until Clem is in college. It's been so long that I'm not sure I remember how."

"You know we're available for free babysitting anytime, right?" Rissa smiled. "You could take him out for a roll in the hay if nothing else. I'd be going mad if it had been three years since I got some."

"Your better half already made the offer to watch Clem." Tabitha grinned but ignored the connotations of having sex with Jake.

"Anytime other than Valentine's Day. Sorry, marrying my love takes precedence." Rissa collected a kiss from Natalie.

"Did Clem have fun playing with Chester?" Natalie changed the subject.

"Yes, but now she wants a dog even more."

"We take him to a dog park every weekend, and you're free to come along anytime!" Natalie closed her bento box and stacked it on Rissa's. Clem and Tabitha had already taken her up on that offer a couple times. Clementine was more interested in playing with Chester than in going to the playground.

"Please do. Chester loves small humans." Ris wholeheartedly agreed. "I think you two need to get to class. I'll miss you at yoga, babe."

"Not as much as I'll miss watching you do yoga." Natalie purred and then collected her goodbye kiss.

Cupid 542 -- Later that night

"How's it going, babe?" Angela flew in the front door with a mischievous smile on her face. She was plotting something.

"They've met. Neither of them recollects their near first encounter." 542 shook his head; he should have taken those shots instead of letting his intern do it. "Both of them are so busy right now. I don't know if this is going to work."

"Did getting Sandy involved help?" Angela rubbed his shoulders as she peered over him onto his notebook.

"It was the only reason Jake went to the park when he did the first time. Thank you, my love." 542 took a big draw of his tea, brewed extra strong to add a kick of caffeine. The substance had much of the same effect on mystical and mortal creatures.

"There's no deadline this year. You can take your time." Angela poured hot water from the kettle on the stove onto her tea. 542 had timed it perfectly to whistle out after she got home from the Muses' Bureau.

"Nothing put in place by a supervisor, but if they don't open their hearts this year... It becomes so much more difficult." 542 looked at his notes and tried to puzzle out a solution. "I'd rather it not take another two decades before they find each other."

"Can you use Rissa and Natalie? With a little help from a muse?"

After a successful romantic entanglement, the couple brought together by a cupid could be more easily influenced by magical civilizations. It was a side effect of the magic surging out of the coupling and into the mystical realm. It was partly why happy couples tried to help their friends find someone.