to get some coffee and hurry off to work.
That was just a dream.
Each morning I snoozed my phone until quarter to six and then ran through the apartment cursing myself for being so stupid to sleep in.
I always skipped my makeup.
I sometimes fixed my hair in the reflection of the microwave.
And then I double checked it in the mirror in the car.
I didn’t have a big-time corporate job where there were punch cards and a human resources department ready to fire my ass, but I had been working at the same company since I was seventeen years old.
My best friend’s mother started a fancy gift shop after her husband cheated on her when he turned forty. It was a way for her to cope, and to find a way to survive on her own. When the business became successful, she divorced her husband and had my best friend and I start working there to help out.
She paid well, and I loved the job.
I didn’t love being late…
Which I was when my alarm went off again and it was five-forty-five.
I hated when I snoozed so hard I didn’t even remember hitting the snooze.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” I said as I kicked the covers off the bed.
I took my long t-shirt off and ran around my bedroom naked to find a bra, panties, and some clothes.
My bedroom was a mess, just like my life.
But my work was spotless and meticulous.
Which was all that mattered.
I did some kind of one-legged kangaroo hop to get into my jeans and hurried to the kitchen.
Of course I forgot to set my coffeepot last night.
I didn’t have time for coffee.
I checked my hair in the microwave, grabbed my keys and hurried out the door.
Everyone gave me hell for living in an apartment.
I lived in a small town where everyone had a house. Whether big or small, it was kind of foreign to rent an apartment.
For me, the apartment life worked.
I didn’t have to worry about a thing other than the rent.
Plus, it was just me.
What the hell did I want a house for?
Ethan and I had been sort of dating for a few months now… so who knew where that was going to go.
Maybe that was the next logical path.
Gina wasn’t going to run the shop forever.
That was my best friend’s mother.
She mostly just passed through throughout the day to make sure the place was running.
Mia and I had been running the business for years together.
Best friends.
Shoulder to shoulder.
Living through it all.
Speaking of which…
I hurried to text Mia that I was on my way.
There was no use in lying to her.
She knew how I was.
And any excuse I had was nothing to her.
She was married with one young kid and still always made it on time.
She met Ted at a bar one night and married him six months later. Two years after that, they had a house and a kid.
I once asked her if she felt things were moving too fast and she told me that life moves fast, ends too soon, and that she loved her husband and kids.
She was like a cheetah speeding through life.
And I was a sloth trying to tie my shoes.
I wasn’t sure which was worse.
I got into my car and started it.
That’s when I noticed a text message waiting.
From the middle of the night.
Hey. Feeling like shit. It’s all so heavy. I’m sure you’re sleeping. Ignore this when you read it. I miss you.
From Sab.
I took a deep breath.
I had to respond.
But I didn’t have time right then.
Sometimes… I didn’t even know what to say to him.
I flipped through the sheet of orders and pointed at each with a pen to make sure they were lined up and looked good.
Thanks to getting the business online, things exploded.
Mia and I worked our butts off to understand how to do business online and how to run ads to bring in new customers.
It was amazing how many people loved, wanted and needed random gift sets.
Whether it was for a wedding, babies, graduation, a new house, death… just because… oh, and the newest trend was divorces. People celebrating their divorces and having big parties.
We were a part of it all.
We took care of everything from the packaging, contents, writing notes, wrapping it up nice with fancy ribbons, all the way down to shipping and tracking.
It came at a price, but our customer base didn’t mind the cost at all.
“Ten going out,” I said to Mia. “The last one though… they wanted teal for the ribbon.