Marta
Can one drunken mistake change your life?
***
It was Friday evening, and our software development team had just met the deadline. The past week, I had been working hard and long hours. I was exhausted but still looking forward to this Friday night because we would go to a party.
My roommates Noa, Lucas, and I are sharing a house in Eindhoven after our college days. We all three had a job now, but we still lived together as we did as students, sharing costs and saving money.
My name is Tyler, but everyone calls me Ty.
The party was in full swing when we arrived. First, we went for a beer before we made our way around. The evening progressed with more beer, and I was in a heated discussion about Formula One when a girl was not paying attention and bumped into me, making her glass of red wine ending up on my shirt.
"Shit."
"Sorry! Let me help you."
She grabbed a towel and tried to clean my shirt, which made it only worse.
"Don't worry, let it go."
"Let me buy you a new one."
My tiredness and the alcohol were starting to take their toll. I needed to go back home to get in bed.
"That's nice of you, but you don't have to. Accidents can happen. I'm sorry, but I have to go now."
I said goodbye to the party host and went home for some much-needed sleep.
***
The following day, the doorbell rang. It was just after noon as we drank coffee and talked about yesterday's party.
Noa was grinning, "Ty, your visitor is here."
"My visitor, what do you mean?"
"Just go and open the door."
When I opened the door, I saw a girl standing, looking a bit nervous. She was slender, with raven black hair at shoulder-length, brown eyes, and a cute smile. She was wearing a nice shirt and jeans.
It took me a second to recognize her.
"You're the girl from the party!"
"Yes, I promised you a new shirt, so here I am. Noa gave me the address."
I let her inside while Noa was still grinning, "Hi Marta, you're finally going to get Ty some decent clothing?"
He poured a cup of coffee for Marta.
"Hi, Noa, we'll start with a shirt first."
"You should also check the rest of his garderobe. The guy is a walking fashion disaster."
"Noa, there is nothing wrong with my clothes."
Noa answered, "Marta, I let you be the judge and go and see for yourself. You'll find his room across the hall."
Marta was now grinning at me, "I'll have a look when I finish my coffee. Maybe you want to go first to do some tidying up?"
Panic struck me because my room was nowhere ready to be seen by a female. Quickly, I went to my room and did what I could to get it decent. While I was busy, I noticed somebody standing behind me.
She walked past me, "I was too curious to wait," and then opened my wardrobe door.
"He? That's private."
It didn't stop her going through my clothes. Then she turned around, "Can't you afford new clothes?"
"Yes, I can. What's wrong with these clothes?"
She took an old hoodie and jeans out and showed them to me, "You surely can't wear this anymore."
I looked at them. They were worn out and washed out.
"Okay. You can help me to get me new clothes."
She smiled, "You will look better."
***
That afternoon we went shopping. Marta dragged me from one store to another. I bought shirts, sweaters, jeans, shoes, socks and underwear.
We were both insecure, and we started to make some small jokes. Soon, we both had to laugh hard, and tears rolled down our cheeks. We seemed to have the same sense of humor.
Marta was holding a pack of boxershorts, "What size do you have?"
"Large."
She looked at me, "Show off, maybe I should measure it first," followed by a laugh.
She was referring to my penis size. It was the story of this afternoon. We kept laughing and having fun.
In the late afternoon, she took me to her hairdresser 'because I had to look cute for dinner.'
During dinner, she told me a bit about herself. She also lives in Eindhoven in a small apartment and works as a flight attendant for one of the airlines, Transavia, at Eindhoven Airport. She does charters across Europe, leaving in the morning to the destination and returning in the afternoon or evening.
She told me, "As a flight attendant, we rarely drink alcohol. Yesterday, my friends Bree, Gwen, Michelle, and I had dinner together. We met during our flight attendant training and have been friends since then. During dinner we had some wine and at the party some more wine. That's why I was unsteady and bumped into you."
I looked at her, "I'm glad you did. This afternoon has been fun."
After dinner, she went home to catch an early flight the next day. We agreed to have a new date.
***
We started to date and found ourselves keeping more company. We became friends fast and felt comfortable with each other. We both knew we were heading for more.
Because we were both shy, it took us a few weeks before we took the next step, making out heavily at her apartment. It was the start of our relationship.