I knew those toned legs. The gold anklet and those suede grey heels...
The shirt was new. I'd never seen it before.
As was the lavender pencil skirt that rose just above the knees. The light grey blouse complemented the shoes and the slim watch on her left-hand side.
But it was her.
Her sweet, reserved smile and shy wave.
It made my heart catch in my throat, and I almost stopped breathing.
How could this be. Everly?
Everly:
Standing there was so nerve wracking. Goodness. This was a bigger crowd than I expected if I was honest with myself. Whenever I get really nervous in front of crowds I kind of just pick a wall and stare above people's heads. That's what I did just now and I'm so grateful people seem to not notice.
I couldn't believe I was still in this city. I had taken 6 months to just shut myself off from the world and I almost made the decision to move again. As fate would have it, my best friend happened to invite me to dinner to get me out of my rental and while I waited for him at the restaurant, this lovely older woman started talking to me at the bar. She was elegant and had a glass of the house Sangria. Not something I would have imagined her to like. She was so personable as she spoke with me like a long-lost friend. She told me she went there often as it was her favorite spot to get a good Lobster Bisque and crab dip. Her late husband loved this place. She ordered me a Red Sangria as well (the bartender agreed it was a house favorite), and before I knew it, I became her friend. When my friend, Jack, finally showed up, I was two glasses in and sharing an appetizer with this lady. I asked her if she would like to join us. She accepted the offer and there we were, three unlikely friends talking about our lives on a faded blue booth, having a fantastic meal.
I told her about my last few months here and how I was thinking about moving back to my hometown to be closer to other family, namely my younger sister. She was listening intently, and before I realized what was being said, I had opened up and told her about my past relationship, and the timing of it. How my mother had passed and how I just could not get it together after her funeral.
It was surreal. I don't do that. I don't open up like that. I'm kind and sweet, but the last person aside from Jack that had gotten to the inner me, was my ex, and when everything happened with my mom, I left.
This woman seemed to understand all of my pain.
When I mentioned I had just quit my job, her expression changed. She got excited. She looked at me in the eyes with such warmth and asked me if I would like to work for her. Shocked, I told her she was extremely kind, but I could not accept her offer. I explained that I truly was really dealing with a lot, and it had taken everything in me to go out tonight. I told her I'd love to be her friend and meet again sometime before I leave.
She looked at me again, and as if staring into my soul said, "You aren't done here yet. I bet you haven't thought of where you will go yet, or another job. Give me a chance and let me help you. I may be a stranger, but we've become fast friends. I have lived an extraordinary life. But what I don't have around me, are my children anymore. They've moved away. You my dear, are one of the sweetest people I have come across. You willingly spoke with an elderly woman like me out of kindness and to be polite. You are a rare one. Besides, I'm retiring, so we can still be friends and you can take the position that I have in mind for you."
Shocked," But you don't even know my qualifications, or where I studied, or anything about my work history!".
Smiling, she says to me," Ah, but I know everything I need to know. You are kind, empathetic, soft spoken, well mannered, generous, honest and humble. You fit the last piece that was missing in my deck. You see, I already have an ambitious, meticulous, professional and organized person on the team who can audit like no one else. I also have someone with years of experience in my company's industry who can radiate joy and good morale. I have a younger technological savvy Picasso who has tons of connections. My last position seems to have been waiting on you. You see, every good business, needs to be evenly yoked. it may sound strange, but you all represent me in a different way. You will represent my heart. So,
call it fate, call it a coincidence, call it whatever you would like. You are hired. Send me your official resume so I can send to my HR department."
She exchanged numbers, emails, and paid our entire bill. Jack was beside himself, grinning like a mad man.
She hugged me goodbye and told me she would expect me to call her on Monday morning and meet her to discuss the role in depth.
I couldn't believe what just happened. After all the horrible things I had gone through, here I was with something to cling to in the middle of depression.
"Wow," Jack stated. He looked at the bill and looked at me.
"I need you to go out more often Everly! She just paid for everything, I knew you'd find a sugar mama!", He laughed.
"Stop it, you know that's not what that was! You are making me blush!", I scolded him.
I had known Jack from College. He was the one that convinced me to move out to the city a few years after college. We had stayed in touch, and with all of his grand talks about city life, he slowly made his point heard and I started thinking about what life would be like. He was your typical Extrovert who knew everyone. He was lovable and had big Golden Retriever Energy. Big Burly Irish Guy with Green eyes. He went out of state to go to school in my hometown where I was taking classes.
I was working at the library when he needed help finding a book. He tried asking me out, but that's when I confided in him that I was gay and wasn't interested. He was so funny about it. He looked at me sideways, put his hand on his chin as if he were contemplating something and stated loudly, " Damn, you are the hottest lesbian I've ever met, pleaseeeeee show me your wayssss!".
Needless to say, but I had to shush him immediately!
It was the weirdest but funniest reaction I've ever had with a man and so he basically adopted me as his best bud, and we've been inseparable ever since.
Where I was shy, he was boisterous and loud. Where I was more reserved, and soft spoken, he was open and opinionated. It worked great. The dynamic anyway. I helped him sometimes with girl stuff, but he knew what he was doing for the most part. Give him a Guiness or two and he knew how to talk to the ladies.
While he would give me shit about being a really shy lesbian sometimes, he was such a solid friend. With everything that had happened recently, I was also really grateful for him. He had been my rock.
My life turned upside down in December.
It pains me to even think about, so I had pushed everything away. I had lost so much in such a short amount of time.
My mom dying in that accident on her way to visit me right before Christmas, destroyed me. I was a shell of a human after that. I couldn't function. I was so fucking angry and distraught. So many What If's. So many times I convinced myself she would still be alive had I just went to pick her up myself.
So much Guilt.
Although it still hurt, I couldn't think about that right now.
I was in front of a crowd that was clapping, and some were starting to leave the lobby to go back to their offices and workspaces.
I looked at my new job and my new friend that had hired me two weeks ago. Crazy. She was a lifeline. I was just about to move, but she stopped me.
I didn't have a mom anymore. I didn't have a girlfriend anymore either. But I had this job that was so perfect, it was like it was made just for me. I don't want to screw this up when she's giving me this chance.
I take a minute to take a deep breath, and I scanned the lobby. I wanted to see people's faces so I could start trying to recognize them.
As one of the four, I was going to need to learn faces and names.
Slowly, I started heading down the steps to follow the other managers.
I could feel someone's gaze on me. That feeling, when someone is staring.
It was all so familiar.
When I glanced towards the left, my body froze.
I could feel the Anger rise in my chest, and I could feel my eyes start to brim with tears. Gritting my teeth, with my jaw tensing, I looked away as fast as I could.
I never thought I'd see you again.
I ignored your stares as I walked away. Seething. Anger, sadness, love, pain and every emotion mixed at once. Hundreds of memories I had pushed away came flooding in.
