The Question

Who: Mickey and Shoshannah
When: Morning
Where: Mickey’s work

It hadn’t been too hard to find out where Mickey worked and when she learned it was a garage for working on automobiles, she’d been even more excited to go. Of course she was excited to see Mickey, but she’d also never been to a car garage before and the experience was well worth waking up on the slightly early side to get there.

She didn’t seem to notice that a garage was not exactly a place for a petite woman in heels and a black pencil skirt. She was more enthralled and caught up in what was happening in the garage. The sounds of making and repairing, the banter between the men that she couldn’t hear clearly enough to understand but she could hear their laughter and that was refreshing.

Shannah asked a man who seemed to rush to the counter if she could speak with Mickey and waited patiently for him while she chatted with another man that took his place when he left to get Mickey. She couldn’t hear him when he went into the back room, clearing his throat. “Mickey! Dame outside waitin’ for ya. You don’t hurry yer ass up and I’m gonna snatch her right out from under ya.”

Mickey had gotten in early and was busily putting a carburator he’d taken apart the day before back together at one of the worktables in the back of the shop. When he was called he looked up, curious expression on his features. “A dame?” he asked and couldn’t help looking over his shoulder for someone else. There wasn’t anyone else around which meant he was the one being spoken to and the curious look shifted to a frown. “A blond?” he asked as he got up, lumbering towards the doorway. Eily wasn’t supposed to meet him for another couple hours and they were meeting at the dinner. The only thing he could figure was that she was coming by to cancel, which left him feeling far more upset than he expected.

"A blond? How many dames you jugglin', Mickey? You got yourself a nice little brunette outside. Short, probably 'bout the perfect height if I say so myself..." His work buddy grinned and stuck his hands into the front pockets of his overalls. "I'm serious, Mick. Go get her. You don't leave dames just waiting around for you, 'specially one determined enough to come down here dressed like that."

Mickey slugged the guy as he walked by. “Even if I just had one, I’d still have more than you,” he teased lightly as he made his way past. “I’m going, I’m going, wasn’t going to leave her there by herself.” He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but rounding the corner he didn’t expect to see Shoshannah there being chatted up by one of the mechanics. “Beat it,” he told the guy then smiled at her. “What are you doing down here?”

"I wanted to see you," Shoshannah smiled, giving the other man a little nod of goodbye before turning her attention fully on Mickey. "This place is incredible. I've never seen anything like it before." She wanted to ask to see what he'd been working on, but part of her wondered if he'd get in trouble for showing her. "How are you?"

“Did you need something?” Mickey asked, assuming that was why she wanted to see him. It wasn’t lost on him though that he’d heard that twice from two different women in the span of just a couple of days. Of course maybe there was a difference because Shannah was here, while Eily had waited for them to cross paths again. “It’s not that great. It’s dirty mostly.” Just like Mickey was as he reached for at towel trying to get some of the grime off his hands. It would be worse later as he got focused and wound up with smudges of it on his face, but for now it was still early. He nodded towards the way she’d come where it’d be quieter and there would be less people around to oogle her.

She was surprised at that. "No, I didn't need something. I came to see you. And I came to ask you something," She said as she walked with him. "But this place really is interesting. All the machinery, the assembling of something fantastic out of many little, small parts. It's beautiful." Walking with him, Shoshannah glanced up at him. "I came down to see if you'd like to go to dinner with me sometime? A thank you dinner, for all that you've done for me." Of course it wasn't exactly the social norm for her to be asking men out to dinner, but Mickey had done so much for her and she thought he deserved a meal at least.

“You’ve spent too long in the gallery if you think this place is beautiful, it’s a mess,” Mickey told her, but he smiled a little. He liked that description, something fantastic out of little parts. Her question had him stopping looking down at her bewildered. Did she just ask him out? “Dinner?”

"Yes, a dinner to say thank you for all the help you've given me recently. It's the least I can do to say I really appreciate everything you've done." She smiled again at him. "Besides, I like your company. I thought we could like each other's company over a meal."

Mickey was speechless. For a long moment he just stood there and stared at her, unsure of what to say. “I...you don’t have to do that. Shouldn’t I be asking you to dinner?” Was he even close to being ready to court her? Probably not. He didn’t stand a chance anyway.

"I don't have to, but I want to. And maybe you were supposed to, but this is a thank you dinner from me to you so I thought it was only appropriate. Besides, I won't tell if you won't," She said with another smile. "So what do you say? Yes?"

Mickey was still a little flabbergasted, not sure what exactly was going on. Was he really going on two almost dates with two different women? Did she just tell him he should have asked her out, or if he had she would have said yes? "I..." he reached up brushing his hand across his cheek which left a small smear of grease on his face. "Well, alright. Dinner it is then." How could he say no? His friend was right earlier, he couldn't leave a girl like Shoshannah waiting for him. "Did you have somewhere in particular in mind?" He hoped nothing too fancy since he doubted he could afford it or find the right clothes to blend in at it.

Shoshannah just continued to smile, feeling relieved that Mickey had said yes. It was important to her to be able to show him how thankful she was. "I have a couple of places in mind but remember, this is your dinner so where do you think you'd like to go?" She wasn’t naive enough to take him to a place where he was required to wear something he may not own or might not like. She wouldn’t feel comfortable their either. She wanted to be in a place that Mickey enjoyed, a place he would like to go to.

Mickey made a little face and mussed wit his hair, leaving the curls even more unruly than before. "I don't know if you want me choosing," he said. "We'll end up having burgers at the diner." Shoshannah didn't belong in those sort of places. His life was so far below her he had an urge to protect her from it, just like he'd tried to escort her out of the garage. It was dirty and messy and she wasn’t.

"I like the diner," Shoshannah assured him, even if she wanted to take him somewhere a little nicer than the diner. "There are a couple of nice little places in Little Haven as well. It'll depend on the kind of food you like. Do you like Italian food?"

"I can do that," he agreed. Surviving on nothing had made him far from picky about his food choices. At this point in his life he'd eat just about anything. "Maybe tomorrow night? I can pick you up if you don't mind riding around in the truck." It wasn't very nice either but he supposed he could clean it up some if he needed to.

"All right, tomorrow night then." She nodded a little, the smile still there. "I'd love to. I've never ridden in a truck before." Now she just needed to make sure she didn't face-plant into her parmigana at dinner. Hopefully her condition would stay far, far away.

"It's not like a ferris wheel or something," Mickey pointed out about his truck. It was useful and he'd pieced a lot of it back together from scrap, but it was still a beat up truck. It was about then that he realized just how far out of his league he was with her. Eily didn't feel that way but she was a little rougher around the edges than she looked. Shoshannah wasn't that. She was all prim and proper and he wasn't even close to that.

"I'm just used to cabs because I don’t allow myself to drive," She said as she looked up at him again. "I just rode a ferris wheel for the first time the last night! With Elle at the boardwalk. Have you ever been on a ferris wheel? It was lovely. A little frightening, but lovely."

Mickey couldn't help but smile at that, finding that sort of raw belief in all things that she had endearing. "I haven't actually. I've saw it though, down there, just haven't been on one." That was something he would have loved to do with Rose before she died. She would have loved it. "Glad to hear it was an experience though. Looks like it might be."

"The next time the ferris wheel is around, we should go." She smiled at the thought of the two of them standing like that couple had and then found herself blushing a little at the thought of her with Mickey there. As a couple. She hadn't really seen herself as part of a couple recently but between the ways Roy and Mickey had been there for her, she'd started to miss it.

The implication of that wasn't lost on Mickey at all and the little blush on her cheeks confirmed it. She was thinking about him like that? What had he done that was different? "I'd like that," he told her quickly, not wanting to let the opportunity pass. He was out of his league and in over his head, but he wasn't going to back out now, not when he'd been interested in her for a long time like he had. "But we'll start with dinner tomorrow, see where it takes us." He was flirting with her now, he heard it in his voice, that confidence and playful lilt that he fell into as easily as any other disguise, even if this one was rarely used.

Looking back up at him, Shoshannah smiled again. "Sure. Dinner first. Maybe by the time it comes around again I won't be so frightened of the ferris wheel." She took one last look at Mickey in the area, thinking he looked good in this place and she liked the scene it painted, then caught his eyes. "I should let you get back to work. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Mickey answered her smile with one of his. "You won't be frightened with me," he promised, still completely at ease with being the flirt, even if it wasn't in his normal nature. He glanced over his shoulder, looking back at the garage and shrugging again. "Yeah I probably should. I'll look forward to it too. Already can't wait."

"I've never been frightened around you," She promised as she looked up at him again. How could she be frightened with someone who had stuck by her side the whole time during the attack. "Have a good day today, Mickey," She said with a smile as she turned to duck out of the door and hail a cab back home.

Mickey smiled a little more at that comment, unable not to. As she left he followed a few steps, crossing his arms and leaning in the doorway to watch her go. "You do the same." He'd stay there, waiting until she was in her cab safely before he went back to work, more out of habit than anything else.