1.
Have you ever met someone and at that moment you have the feeling that someday, somewhere and somehow in time you two would be together? When your gazes lock, time seems to standstill. You can't think or blink. You can't tear your gaze away from that person. You know it isn't lust. You know you are not infatuated. All you want is to be with that person. Then the question is, "what are you willing to give up being with them?" Sometimes, life doesn't always go the way we plan it. Sometimes we need to meet that special person in order to understand some things about ourselves. Sometimes we are scared to go beyond where we are because of our fears.
Yvonne turned in bed and looked at Ian her fiancé. They had been engaged for 3 months. She knew she loved him. He was all the man she ever wanted to meet. She was thankful that he was in her life. He seemed to understand her. Although they had their differences, they got along just well. She was convinced beyond doubt that he was the one. She had dated different dudes in the past. It happened that she couldn't feel something intense for them. They were not all jerks. At a point she thought something was wrong with her. She didn't connect to them the way she did with Ian.
It was a bright Saturday. She didn't want to wake him. He needed his sleep. She walked to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She wasn't a coffee person. She tried liking coffee but it wasn't her thing. This was one of her idiosyncrasies. She used to think she was weird until she met her office colleague Erica. Erica was reclusive. She had spoken with her once during an office workshop. Erica sat a row ahead of her that day. She was surprised when she got to know Erica worked there. They had locked gazes when Erica turned to look at the exit door in the room. Yvonne didn't know why she couldn't tear her gaze away from the pair of gray eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. After few seconds, she muttered a quiet "hi" to the young lady. Erica nodded and turned to look ahead of her. After the workshop, Yvonne tapped the young lady's shoulders. Erica turned.
"Do you work here? I haven't seen you before" said Yvonne.
"Yeah right. Now you have seen me." The lady nodded.
"I am Yvonne. And you?"
"Erica. Erica Summers." That was when Yvonne's phone rang. She excused herself. When she was done, she turned to talk to Erica. Erica had already gone. She shrugged. "How polite!" she mused to herself.
That was the first time she spoke with Erica. Ever since that day, she hadn't seen much of her. That was 8months ago. It baffled her how she could work with someone in the same office and you never get to see them. She conjectured that Erica was haughty and snobbish. She didn't even bother going to check up on her. She had asked around and she was told that Erica was a new employee at the firm. Maybe she wasn't a snob. Maybe she was shy. But, how can one be so remote? She thought she was introverted until she met Erica.
As it turned out to be, the boss's birthday was coming up. The workers had decided to throw a party for him. He was a good man. And it was unanimously agreed that a party would be thrown in his honour. Then it happened that Erica was appointed the chairman of the party committee. This was because she worked in the personnel department. Yvonne was appointed her assistant. Yvonne was indifferent towards this new development. She had grown cold towards Erica. After the meeting that day, Erica had left the room. She wasn't surprised. The ice queen had deemed herself too lofty to be in their society. The meeting held a month before the party. A week had passed before Erica had condescended to call her up.
Erica informed her that she had spoken to others in the committee aside her. She also told her that since her, Yvonne was her assistant and also in charge of finance, they had lots to talk about. It was quite surprising when Erica asked if they could meet outside the office the next day. Yvonne was wee sceptical about this. They agreed to meet in the restaurant at the other side of town. New Port was a big place and lots of firms thrived there.
Now, Yvonne sat in the kitchen sipping her tea. She was to meet Erica at 4 O'clock that evening. She didn't know if she was happy to see her. She was curious about her. She asked herself again, "how could someone be so remote and withdrawn?" well, she was going to find out in 9 hours. She had a feeling she was going to be bored. Erica was barely acquainted with a few people. Maybe she lacked social skills. Ostensibly, she was smart. The firm only employed individuals who were very good. Erica might have been a beauty queen in college. They were almost the same height only that Erica was an inch shorter than she. Erica seemed to have it all. Or maybe she didn't. Maybe that was her reason for being reclusive. There had to be something wrong with Erica. At this point, Yvonne sighed. She had spent close to an hour seated in one spot thinking of her enigmatic colleague. This was the first time she had given the girl any thought at all. She smiled to herself, there was always a first time.
Yvonne seemed to get carried away. As Ian kissed her earlobe, she laughed. His arms were wrapped around her. She didn't even know when he walked in. "Penny for your thoughts? You didn't even notice when I walked in." Yvonne smiled at him. She rubbed his chin. "What would I be thinking about?" Ian chuckled and walked to the fridge to get himself a bottle of water. She dropped the cup on the table.
"Baby, I have this person from my office I want to see this evening. At 4. Kinda pertaining to the party I told you about"
Ian nodded. "So, when would you be home?"
"Dunno" she shrugged. "But i would be here ASAP"
The rest of the day seemed to linger. She knew she was excited that she was about to meet Erica again. She made sure she made a good first impression on the other girl. From the look of it, Yvonne guessed she was only couple of years older than the other girl. She might be 2 or 3 years older. Erica looked young. .
She finally got into the restaurant. She looked at her wrist watch; it was 3 minutes after 4 O'clock. Then her cell phone beeped. She picked it. "On the right side of the aisle," the person hung up. She knew it was Erica. She had been spotted by the lady. She was holding her phone. She didn't know how she felt walking up to the table. She wondered when Erica got to the restaurant. This woman never seemed to stop flummoxing her. She was mysterious. People like her didn't like people getting close to them. She wondered if she had friends at all. That wasn't her business. She thought she would have to wait for Erica. Maybe she was going to make a "royal entrance". Then, it dawned on her. She had been coming up with different conjectures about this lady. She felt it was high time she stopped it and get to know the lady one on one.
"Hello," Erica smiled at her.
She was taken aback. So she could smile. And it was a dazzling smile at that. She was going to learn a lot about this young lady.
"Good afternoon. Sorry, I am a little late."
"That is no bother. You are here. That is all that matters."
"When did you get here?"
"I got here at the appointed time. 4 exactly."
"Hmmmm... that is nice."
They talked about the committee. They talked about the boss. They even talked about their co-workers. Yvonne was surprised that she knew everyone in the office by their names. When she asked how it was possible that she did, Erica shrugged and told her, "I have my ways". This heightened Yvonne's curiosity. It turned out to be that Erica knew more than she thought she knew. She was very intelligent. That was when it dawned on her that Erica was probably a genius. She studied psychology in an Ivy League university. People like her rarely showed off.
