It was a Thursday morning, but to Summer, it felt like a Friday.
Summer's days have been feeling like a Friday ever since Tuesday came with how empty her inner battery was. Yet, every hour was a priceless one, her life was measured with less than a month on her calendar after all.
"That's just more reason to look nice…" Summer mused.
She was just finishing up curling the last strand of her hair with a flat iron, she turned it off then unplugged it and placed it on the bathroom floor to let it cool down completely before returning it to the drawer. She turned her head left and right to check her hair in the mirror from all sides.
"At least one thing is fine…"
Her hair was always very cooperative. It was naturally wavy and thick, so she didn't have the option of keeping it short like she always wanted, but instead, she kept it at a mid-back length and styled it into curls whenever she felt like wearing it shorter.
Summer went back to her bedroom to finalize her look; she opened the lid of her lip gloss and applied it generously in the middle of her bottom lip then rubbed her lips together. Her makeup was as per usual, light enough not to leave smudges all over her face by the end of the long working day, yet present enough to show that she was putting genuine effort into grooming herself like the rest of her colleagues in Hosek Holding.
She stared into her own reflection in the mirror for a long time, "Now that's done too, will you finally face what you're about to do today?"
Just like that, reality hit Summer hard in the head.
The 29-year-old bachelorette had sent her good friend Patrick a message letting him know that she was free to grab a bite with him today during her lunch hour. Her good friend immediately texted back with a thumbs-up emoji, the following sentence he sent was to let her know he'd be there at noon sharp to pick her up.
She thought that the drama of the week had ended with her brother storming out of her apartment yesterday. Gabe was all 'upset' and 'hurt' because she didn't tell him about how uncomfortable things have gotten with Zack. She quickly concluded that her younger brother could live with what he was feeling, especially after luring her into a trap the night before. She went to bed early instead of worrying about him and lived to regret that decision.
Summer sighed, 'I should've gone after Gabe, I would've seen Carol's text then,'
Unfortunately, Summer woke up to a piece of very distressing news. Carol who had decided to play Cupid once more between her cousin and Summer had booked a table for them in her father's restaurant for dinner tonight. The place that Summer couldn't afford was supposed to be one of the most prestigious diners in Washington DC. It was so high in demand that regardless of who the person was, they had to either notify the restaurant a week earlier to book or play the money card and ask to be contacted immediately once a reservation has been cancelled so they can take its place.
'How in the world do people cheat on someone they're in a relationship with!' Summer wondered. It was so uncomfortable for her to go out on two dates on the same day, she was deep in thought while putting her boots on when her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Carol Wilson Calling…
'It's only natural for you to feel guilty...' Summer thought inwardly, but she couldn't get it more wrong.
"Hey, Carol, I was just about to leave for work,"
"...Hey Carol? Is that all you have to say to me? Don't you think you should've texted me right when you saw my message? Do you have any idea how hard it was to get that booking done on your behalf?"
Summer was flabbergasted, "On my behalf?! Don't you mean on your cousin's behalf?"
"Um, no? On your behalf, since you're the one who asked him out, remember?"
"F-f-for crying out loud," Summer stuttered then squeezed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index fingers. It was too early in the morning to get a headache, but only thinking about picking up the bill in that exclusive diner was enough to trigger her migraine.
"It's on the house, by the way," Carol added quickly. She had worked long enough with Summer to know that the woman only got that flustered when she was in an impossible situation, and she had enough wits to be on the same brainwaves her friend was on right now.
Summer took a deep calming breath, "Well…Thank you?" she said sarcastically.
"Don't mention it! What are friends for?... When you texted that you were going out for lunch with that professor from your brother's university, I just had to use the daughter card on daddy! I couldn't leave you to your own accord... You're just the type of girl who'd mix friendship with love, you know?"
Summer only sent that message because Carol made her swear to tell her as soon as she made up her mind about going out with Patrick.
"...Carol, let's just talk when we see each other, okay?"
"Okay I guess… Listen... I might strike others as pushy, but you must know that I'm doing this because I really love you… right? I mean… I want us to live a long and happy life together, I want us to get married and have children and then watch them playing together too..." Carol sniffled.
"Pffft," Summer laughed awkwardly, "Haha, are you sure you're not my 'true love' Carol?"
"…"
"…I'm joking... Goodness! Please don't tell me you're even considering the possibility!"
"Hmm, you're right, the love of a sister or a parent is surely not the type of thing the Gipsy was talking about,"
Summer who had two brothers and no sisters was touched to hear how her friend and colleague valued her as a sister. The uneasiness about the two dates on the same day evaporated just like that.
She smiled, "Thank you, Carol, let me know in advance before you go out of your way to arrange something that extravagant for me next time, okay?"
"See you soon, bye~"
Carol ended the call without even bothering to play along with Summer or agreeing to her request and then acting however she wanted.
'Right, I can do this!' Summer got out of the apartment and then locked her door with a fully charged inner battery. The breeze played with her curls as she walked, and she suddenly felt as light as a feather. It was almost as if the whole encounter with that Gipsy never happened.
She smiled again when she got out of her building and saw her parked car then paused to admire how lovely it looked. Unable to resist anymore, she took her phone out and took a few photos.
She placed her phone on her heart and looked at her car once more, "Mini... you can be my true love any day of any month..."
Summer crossed the street with a brand-new determination. She decided that if she had to have two dates on the same day, she might as well try to take it easy and enjoy both of them. After all, one of the two men might be the answer to all of her problems.
She glanced up at the sky.
"The sky is the limit!" She encouraged herself.
*BEEEEEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEP!*
*CRASH!*