by M. L. Young
The cursor on the screen blinked as I failed to type in any of my accomplishments in either school or my professional life. I hadn’t held a job in a while, and I had no internships to really talk about. I did well in school, but I wasn’t big on clubs or organizations that pertained to my major. I think the only saving grace I had was that Maggie liked me so much. I didn’t think this resume would help me all that much with landing a good job somewhere in my field—at least not in this city. If Maggie’s place turned me down I might need Blake to put in a good word for me. I might not have any other choice.
After wallowing a bunch in my own self-doubt, I reread my resume and made sure it had no glaring mistakes. I put all of my contact information up top and pulled out Maggie’s business card nervously before I typed her e-mail address into a new e-mail and typed that it was me and I was giving her my resume. I wasn’t expecting a job from her, or even an interview, for that matter, and I’d found it’s always better not to expect anything. I’m not owed anything in life, and I think my upbringing definitely taught me that. She may have spoken very highly of me and liked me a lot, but until I had a job offer in my hands to sign, I was still keeping my guard up.
“Are you almost ready?” Nicolette yelled from outside my door as I sent the e-mail.
We had plans to go to some indoor farmer’s market/flea market/vintage market thing that she’d seen online. She said they’d have a lot of cool stuff, and she went to one a couple months ago, so I figured I’d tag along since I had nothing else to do and Blake was out of town. I knew I wasn’t going to buy anything, but I guessed I could be her pack mule and help her carry the stuff I knew she was going to buy back to her car.
“Ready,” I said as I walked out of my room with my purse in my hand.
I locked up and we walked down the street to her car just as the meter was beginning to run low. Her car somewhat smelled like pizza and body spray and I realized I hadn’t been in it for a while, so who knows what she’d even been doing in here. Judging by this smell, though, she was spiraling out of control.
The parking was free, though limited, as we had to walk a fair distance to the building the event was in and pay a five-dollar cover charge, which she happily paid for me just for coming with her. Vendors of all sorts were spread about, though it was cramped inside, and many hipster-looking young adults were crowded around the many vintage tents that had cropped up selling the same types of things. Why people purchased old furniture that someone sanded, painted white, and beat with a chain, I’d never know. Maybe I should get into that business. I could probably clean up.
“Oh, come here!” Nicolette said, dragging me over to a stand.
There was an older woman, maybe in her mid-sixties, who sold jars of homemade jams and preserves of all different types. After sampling a few on some wheat crackers, Nicolette bought a mango, peach, and cherry sampler and put them all inside her green canvas bags. The woman was very thankful, as she didn’t look to have as many people coming around her tent compared to some others, which sort of made me sad and feel a little bad for her. It seems like sometimes the people with the best and most honest and wholesome things don’t always get the attention they deserve.
We shuffled around the tents and Nicolette bought a few more items before she said she was tired and wanted to sit down and eat. There was a food-court-style place here, with local vendors and restaurants cooking up delicious menus, and even though the lines were long, we decided to stay and try them out. We bought a stone-fired margherita pizza and shared it as we sat down on high bar stools and drank diet sodas, which were in those cheap Styrofoam cups that were likely horrible for the environment and never recycled.
“Look at that couple. They match,” Nicolette said as she pointed to an older couple.
They were dressed as the United States flag; the man’s shirt was blue and had all fifty stars, while the woman had a red and white striped shirt. The two of them together, side by side, completed the flag, and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh a bit. I hoped Blake never wanted to wear matching outfits like that.
We had fun people-watching, which was something that we used to do all the time together way back when. We were never mean about it, and we definitely made sure nobody saw us talking about them, but sometimes it was fun to watch the very different kinds of people walking by and point them out to one another.
We’d seen guys with cats on their heads, couples and families in matching outfits, and people with so many tattoos and piercings my head spun. There was always something to see here in San Francisco, and nobody even batted an eye most of the time. Maybe it was because I wasn’t born here or hadn’t spent enough time here, but some of this stuff still got me every time.
I rubbed my calves a little, trying to get them back in the mood to begin walking around again, before Nicolette said she was ready and we threw away our plates and cups. It wasn’t the walking that got me as much as the standing around. I hated that, especially when you’re trapped in a crowd of other people doing the same thing. It was claustrophobic and made me wonder what would happen if an emergency of some kind took place. What if there was a fire? We’d all be trapped against each other.
“Oh, this is cute,” Nicolette said as we walked up to a booth.
The owner was luckily busy with other customers and couldn’t talk to us, and as I looked over Nicolette’s shoulder, I rolled my eyes and told her to put it down.
“But it’s so cute,” she said, holding up a handmade dog collar.
“We don’t have a dog, Nicolette. Not sure if you remember,” I said.
“Maybe someday we will. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cute collar ready for if that day comes?” she asked.
“No, it wouldn’t. I’m vetoing this right now,” I said, grabbing her and pulling her away.
Sure, they were cute, and sure, it was fun to look at the different booths, but only when you had a reason to potentially buy something. Buying a collar now because in five years you might have a dog was just stupid. It made me wonder how she even had any spare money left at all at the end of the month. I was surprised she didn’t have more junk lying around the apartment. Then again, I hadn’t been in her room for a while.
I caught a glimpse of another vendor from across the room and walked through the crowd before coming up on a man with a handlebar mustache and slicked and parted hair.
He had many different men’s products, like hair stuff, face stuff, shaving stuff, and even cologne. All of it was wrapped in a matte black covering with silver writing that was elegant yet rugged. I took a tester of the cologne and sniffed it, smelling the luxurious scent inside. It was a little woodsy, though it had hints of other things in it too. I couldn’t place my finger on it, but I knew that I liked it, and that I’d definitely like Blake to be wearing it.
“How much is this?” I asked, taking his attention from another browsing customer.
“Fifteen dollars for that size, twenty for the next up,” he said.
“I’ll take the fifteen-dollar one,” I said, pulling out my wallet.
I didn’t know if Blake would like it, let alone wear it for me, so I thought I’d just get him the smaller size and if he liked it, get him a bigger one when he ran out. I thought it’d be up his alley since he usually had a woodsy scent to him, but it was always best to be safe.
The man pulled out a box of it, wrapped it up for me, and I handed him a ten and a five before he smiled and handed me the bag. Nicolette came up, poked her head about, and snooped through my bag to see what I’d bought.
“It’s cologne,” I said, swatting her hand away.
“Ohh, how sweet. Buying him a scent you like, huh? The mark of a relationship,” she said.
“I like his other scents, but I just thought this one would be nice to add to the collection. Besides, it’s about time I surprise him with something I got with my own money,” I said.
“That’s nice of you. Want to make our way out of here? I’m starting to feel cramped,
” Nicolette said.
“Yes, please. I’ve been ready since we got here,” I said.
With our hands clutching our purses in front of us, we pushed and shoved our way through the crowds who were doing exactly the same thing. I felt like a fish inside a crowded aquarium. This stressed me out and I was about to escape, so I couldn’t imagine how fish felt, trapped in their tanks.
We went through a few doors before getting outside and finally being able to stretch our arms and legs a bit. People were still coming in, and there was a line of them buying tickets. Nicolette took out her phone and found a place nearby where we could go and get some coffee so that we didn’t have to be boring and go home already.
The café, which was about five minutes away, was fairly empty as we walked in to the aroma of coffee and the sight of dozens of pastries protected inside a glass case. I salivated at the sight, even though I’d just eaten, and got a blueberry muffin with my coffee just because.
I watched as the barista, a cute guy Nic was trying to flirt with, put a little design in her coffee, a flower, before he gave us our drinks and snacks.
We walked over to a small two-person table against the glass and unwrapped our muffins as little bits crumbled out from underneath. I picked one of the blue-stained pastries up and popped it in my mouth before feeling the buttery, smooth texture melt against my tongue. I wasn’t expecting it to still be this fresh this late in the day.
“So, tell me more about what Blake is up to in Seattle,” Nicolette said.
“You guys are opening another office, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think I heard about that, but I’m not really in the grapevine with that sort of stuff. It’s not like they were heavily advertising it to us,” she said.
“That’s strange. You’d think they’d want to see if anybody wanted to transfer and help train people up there,” I said.
“Yeah, maybe they did, but not me,” she said, laughing.
“Oh hush, you do a great job,” I said.
“I do a decent job, but I’m not the best at training people. My mind works kind of differently, you know? It’s hard for me to explain to people how to do something. I’d be a mess of a teacher,” she said.
“I can’t wait to go and see his hometown,” I said.
“That’s a huge step. I’m so happy you guys are taking it,” she said.
“I can’t tell if he’s nervous at all. I don’t think that it’s about me going there, though. I think he’s just nervous about being back there,” I said.
“Most people are when they visit home again. I would be if I were in his shoes, going back to that tiny town and seeing people who were a dick to me growing up,” she said.
“Yeah, but look at him now. It’s not like they’d be that way today,” I said.
“I know that, but seeing them can bring back those memories and feelings. Bullies can really have a hold on you even later in life. Being traumatized as a child can have long effects,” she said.
“I guess you’re right. He did mention he doesn’t have many friends there—at least not that he wants to see,” I said.
“I wonder why,” she said, looking at me.
“Oh,” I said as my phone buzzed in my purse.
I pulled it out, seeing that Blake had sent me something before unlocking my phone and looking at the message. It was a photo of him at the new office, his smiling face putting me in an even better mood than I was in. There was something about just seeing his face, especially seeing him smiling, that did a number on me.
“That him?” Nicolette asked.
“Yeah, a picture of him at the new office,” I said as I typed a reply.
“I’m surprised you didn’t go with,” she said.
“He would’ve been too busy and I have school and stuff. It just wasn’t good timing,” I said.
“How’s that going?” she asked.
“What? School?” I asked, and she nodded. “It’s going well, I suppose. As well as it can. I’m just counting down the days until I’m out of there and never have to take another test or turn in another assignment again.”
“I was the same way. You’ll still have assignments, especially in your field, but I guess they won’t quite be the same. The good part is that you’ll get paid to turn them in instead of you paying the school to get to turn them in. I’ll be remembering that for a while, with how much my loans are,” she said.
“Yeah, you’re telling me. I wish I could’ve been born into a rich family who would’ve fronted the entire bill,” I said with a chuckle.
“Your and Blake’s children will. That’s a plus,” she said.
I choked a little on my coffee as I set it down and put my mouth into my sleeve.
“That’s taking it a little far, don’t you think?” I asked before composing myself.
“Oh, come on, you really think there’s a chance you two won’t end up together forever? Please. This is more than just some fling or fun time dating each other. This is love, baby, and it’s real. I can tell just by looking at you,” she said.
I sat there picking apart my muffin as I tried to deter any more questions on the subject. It wasn’t that I was ashamed, by any stretch of the imagination, but after everything Blake and I had been through I just wanted to leave that subject alone for now.
“Do you?” she asked, after about thirty seconds of me not talking.
“What?” I replied.
“Love him,” she said.
My heart started to race as I felt my palms become clammy and my face grew warm. I knew she wasn’t going to let the subject go anytime soon, and I also knew I could trust her with whatever answer I gave her. Did I love Blake? Sure I did, but was I in love with him? There’s a huge difference between those two things, and I wasn’t fully sure about the second one.
I knew that I loved being around him. I knew that I missed him terribly either when he was gone or just simply when we were apart. I couldn’t get enough of him when we were together, and although we’d been through the wringer, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It had formed and shaped us to where we were now. After thinking of all these things, the answer seemed pretty clear to me. The only question was if he felt all those same ways about me.
“I think so,” I said.
Nicolette beamed with excitement and grabbed my hands as I exhaled a little and finally let it out. I was in love with him. I was in love with Blake Hunter.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Blake
The day had nearly come for our trip to my hometown and I was more excited and nervous than I’d been in a while.
It was the day before and we were getting our things ready last-minute for the trip. I hadn’t a clue what to expect when we got there, and my mother stupidly leaked the secret of our arrival to someone in town, who told another person, who then told their cousin, and so on and so forth. All of a sudden the entire town wanted to see us and say hello. That wasn’t what I’d planned, that was for sure.
That was part of the reason I didn’t tell my mother what time we were flying in or where we were coming from. I knew she meant well, and she didn’t mean anything malicious at all, but the last thing I needed was to be rushed when I got off the plane by people who were too overly excited to see me, and not really for the reasons I’d want.
Penny had a mid-term earlier in the morning, so we planned for an eleven a.m. flight out that would take a few hours. We’d get there around three their time, maybe a little later, which was perfect. No awkwardness of sitting around all day, and it was close enough to dinner that I knew my mother would want to do something almost right after we got there. The early bird special doesn’t last all night, you know.
All the travel plans aside, I was just happy that work wasn’t going to keep me too preoccupied. The Seattle branch was open and running, the merger was about done, and I had Grace move everything around so that I would be good to go. I made it abundantly clear to my entire staff not to bother me unless it was impo
rtant. Even then, they shouldn’t call me unless it was threatening to the business. Texts and emails were otherwise okay. I had to reiterate my point a few times over the last few days, but I was dead serious and I wasn’t going to tolerate insolence. This trip was important not just to me, but to us.
Penny was going to spend the night tonight and have Gustav drive her to and from her school tomorrow morning so that we could save time and not miss our flight, though I guess they weren’t going to leave without me. I did charter it, after all.
“Okay, is everything squared away?” I asked as Grace came into my office for our end of the day update.
“Yes, sir, everything is ready for you. Will you be needing any airport information?” Grace asked.
“Send it to Gustav, please. It won’t do me any good. The board is ready for my departure?” I asked.
“Yes, I asked earlier and they said that they will be fine to hold everything down until your return. They also fully understand your contact policy,” she said.
“Good. Well, I suppose I’ll see you in a few days then. Contact me if anything important happens, or if there’s a coup,” I said, smiling.
“Will do, Mr. Hunter,” she said before leaving the office.
I grabbed the rest of my things, locked everything up, and headed out the door and to my waiting car before screeching out of the parking garage and towards home, where I’d soon meet Penny.
“I missed you,” Penny said as she jumped into my arms.
She nuzzled her face into my shoulder as the rosy smell of her hair wafted up into my nostrils. I loved being around her, and I knew that the next few days were going to be great, even if they wouldn’t be perfect.
“I missed you too. Are you all packed?” I asked, even though I saw her suitcases.
“Yeah, but I keep getting the feeling that I’m forgetting something. It always happens before a trip anywhere. I need to start making lists before I leave,” she said.
