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It's sunny out and Joan is soaking it up despite the chilly air. Bundled in a scarf she scrolls aimlessly through her phone. Kel was supposed to meet her at the park at one, but it was nearing half past and still nothing. Not even a text. Joan was used to Kel being late, but in this cold she wasn't sure if the wait was worth it.
The air clouded in front of her as she let out a sigh. The park- which was their planned meeting spot, was pretty this time of the year. Something about how the winter sky casts a muted shade on everything. It didn't snow this week so whatever green survived from the past seasons were forcing their way towards the sky. Kids ran across the field accompanied by parents watching not to far off. A small flock of pigeons waited on the side walk, hoping for someone to scatter crumbs for them.
'But still...' Joan thought, 'Does it have to be so damn cold out here?'
Ping!
'New text from Kel!' appeared on her phones screen. 'I'm sooo sorry! I'll be there any minute, mkay?'
Joan rolled her eyes. Half of their texts were these apologies from Kel's tardiness.
Ping!
'New text from Kel!' She checked her phone again. 'I'm bringing coffee from that place you like!'
Apology accepted.
After a brief period of watching people passing, a familiar voice called down from the path. Kel was walking her direction with two hot coffees in her hand. Joan could never miss her in a crowd; her short hair, her huge glasses, and a beaming smile, she just naturally drew people's attention. Kel was a ray of sunshine in her life.
"Forty minutes late. That must be a new record." Joan quipped as she stood to greet her friend.
"I know... but I brought you a coffee, so deal with it." Kel passed her one of the cups. "You look cold, are you sure you'll be okay out here much longer?"
"The coffee will help keep me warm, don't worry, Kel. Do you want to walk?" Of course Kel wanted to walk. Next to food and water, if she couldn't be enjoying the outside, she wouldn't survive. The one time Kel was stuck in her house for a day, Joan thought she was going to have a mental break.
"So are you going to spill about..." Kel's words trailed off.
"About what?"
"The breakup! Don't play dense, you've been acting totally normal since it happened, anyone would be devastated in your shoes."
Joan passed her a tight smile, she knew she was going to ask about it but she wasn't expecting her to drop the bomb first thing. It wasn't an easy breakup at all, that's for sure. Joan was still dealing mentally with how it all went down. They agreed that it would be mutual but for Joan it was anything but.
"It was mutual." She finally said, "He needed time to finish school without distractions and his degree would have taken him out of state anyways."
"If you say so," She knew Kel wouldn't let this go forever, but she's glad she dropped it for now. "So what now?"
"Hm?"
"Are we going to get you back out into the dating pool, find you someone to warm your bed?" Kel wiggled her eyebrows at her.
"Oh come on! We only broke up like... last week!"
"Worth a shot! You know I hate to see you unhappy."
"What about you? How's your love life been?" Kel's face turned bright red. Bingo.
"Well, if you must know! I met someone at work the other day and we exchanged numbers. We plan on meeting up this weekend to go get lunch!" Kel looked genuinely excited about it.
"Kel don't spare any details because of me, I want to hear everything."
Joan cherished those hang outs with Kel. Even if her world was falling apart, she could share in her complete optimism of life. She could even forget about everything just for today, enjoy her evening, and try again tomorrow. Opening her ShareYou she scrolled through her notifications and made sure she had enough posts queued up for the week. It was probably time to start scrapping some new content together, maybe a get ready with me or a daily vlog-
Ping!
Her thoughts were cut off from a new message on her phone: 'New text from DO NOT ANSWER'.
And there went anything productive she might have done with her night. She set her phone down and moved to sit on the couch. It was not worth checking the message. She wasn't going to answer! Right? What if it was important? No, it was not important and she was not going to answer him.
Ping!
Ping!
Okay, well double texting was one thing, but three messages at once? She grabbed her phone and opened his texts.
'Hey Jo, just found some more stuff you left over here!'
'I can bring it over for you and drop it off at your door.'
'Or we could meet up and grab coffee? I'll bring the stuff with :)'
What-
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. She wasn't sure what she may have left over at his place, but it wasn't important enough for her to remember it. Typing out and erasing responses over and over again, she eventually set her phone down and sighed. She wasn't going to answer him and that's all. Her dignity was worth more than giving him any sort of closure. He was the one who initiated the break up, and he's the reason it went so bad.
'Let's meet at our coffee shop tomorrow at noon.' Sent.
The air clouded in front of her as she let out a sigh. The park- which was their planned meeting spot, was pretty this time of the year. Something about how the winter sky casts a muted shade on everything. It didn't snow this week so whatever green survived from the past seasons were forcing their way towards the sky. Kids ran across the field accompanied by parents watching not to far off. A small flock of pigeons waited on the side walk, hoping for someone to scatter crumbs for them.
'But still...' Joan thought, 'Does it have to be so damn cold out here?'
Ping!
'New text from Kel!' appeared on her phones screen. 'I'm sooo sorry! I'll be there any minute, mkay?'
Joan rolled her eyes. Half of their texts were these apologies from Kel's tardiness.
Ping!
'New text from Kel!' She checked her phone again. 'I'm bringing coffee from that place you like!'
Apology accepted.
After a brief period of watching people passing, a familiar voice called down from the path. Kel was walking her direction with two hot coffees in her hand. Joan could never miss her in a crowd; her short hair, her huge glasses, and a beaming smile, she just naturally drew people's attention. Kel was a ray of sunshine in her life.
"Forty minutes late. That must be a new record." Joan quipped as she stood to greet her friend.
"I know... but I brought you a coffee, so deal with it." Kel passed her one of the cups. "You look cold, are you sure you'll be okay out here much longer?"
"The coffee will help keep me warm, don't worry, Kel. Do you want to walk?" Of course Kel wanted to walk. Next to food and water, if she couldn't be enjoying the outside, she wouldn't survive. The one time Kel was stuck in her house for a day, Joan thought she was going to have a mental break.
"So are you going to spill about..." Kel's words trailed off.
"About what?"
"The breakup! Don't play dense, you've been acting totally normal since it happened, anyone would be devastated in your shoes."
Joan passed her a tight smile, she knew she was going to ask about it but she wasn't expecting her to drop the bomb first thing. It wasn't an easy breakup at all, that's for sure. Joan was still dealing mentally with how it all went down. They agreed that it would be mutual but for Joan it was anything but.
"It was mutual." She finally said, "He needed time to finish school without distractions and his degree would have taken him out of state anyways."
"If you say so," She knew Kel wouldn't let this go forever, but she's glad she dropped it for now. "So what now?"
"Hm?"
"Are we going to get you back out into the dating pool, find you someone to warm your bed?" Kel wiggled her eyebrows at her.
"Oh come on! We only broke up like... last week!"
"Worth a shot! You know I hate to see you unhappy."
"What about you? How's your love life been?" Kel's face turned bright red. Bingo.
"Well, if you must know! I met someone at work the other day and we exchanged numbers. We plan on meeting up this weekend to go get lunch!" Kel looked genuinely excited about it.
"Kel don't spare any details because of me, I want to hear everything."
Joan cherished those hang outs with Kel. Even if her world was falling apart, she could share in her complete optimism of life. She could even forget about everything just for today, enjoy her evening, and try again tomorrow. Opening her ShareYou she scrolled through her notifications and made sure she had enough posts queued up for the week. It was probably time to start scrapping some new content together, maybe a get ready with me or a daily vlog-
Ping!
Her thoughts were cut off from a new message on her phone: 'New text from DO NOT ANSWER'.
And there went anything productive she might have done with her night. She set her phone down and moved to sit on the couch. It was not worth checking the message. She wasn't going to answer! Right? What if it was important? No, it was not important and she was not going to answer him.
Ping!
Ping!
Okay, well double texting was one thing, but three messages at once? She grabbed her phone and opened his texts.
'Hey Jo, just found some more stuff you left over here!'
'I can bring it over for you and drop it off at your door.'
'Or we could meet up and grab coffee? I'll bring the stuff with :)'
What-
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. She wasn't sure what she may have left over at his place, but it wasn't important enough for her to remember it. Typing out and erasing responses over and over again, she eventually set her phone down and sighed. She wasn't going to answer him and that's all. Her dignity was worth more than giving him any sort of closure. He was the one who initiated the break up, and he's the reason it went so bad.
'Let's meet at our coffee shop tomorrow at noon.' Sent.