Ever since her arrival, Bianca has had to jump through one hurdle or another. Growing up in a little town in London as an only child meant her parent's whole focus was on her. She had always loved reading books as a child and constantly wondered what life outside her city was like. She promised herself she would leave her comfort zone and explore the world any chance she got and that was what she did. She took an interest in history and mythology and decided she wanted nothing more than to work in a museum surrounded by artifacts and evidence of old tales. After years of being a good daughter and playing by the rules, Bianca finally made up her mind and went after her dreams, never mind her parents constantly leaving messages on her phone asking when she'd quit this child's play and come home –like she'd ever go back and be stifled under them– But it seems things were finally looking up for her. She's a 20-year-old who left home with nothing -well, not completely nothing, she still had a trusty savings and good luck scarf- but is finally going to live her dream and work at her dream job. Bianca mused over this positive turn of events as she walked to her client's place.
Luckily for her, the apartment was just a few blocks from the museum. "Hey Peter, sorry I'm late" she apologized as peter opened the door to hand over his dog's leash. "Heyyy Rudolph, who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" She kneed and ruffled the golden retriever's fur. "Please have him home in 20 minutes. I need to run a few errands and clean the apartment," Peter said, leaning on the doorpost."Sure no problem, we're going to have fun together, aren't we, big boy?" Bianca loved dogs. Growing up, she always wanted them but her mom was so allergic she couldn't even buy fur coats. But here she could live her dreams and love whatever she wanted.
The walks she went on with the dogs were mostly for her rather than for them. She liked to clear her mind so she could focus on her plans and restrategize. Her mom had always called her an overthinker, but Bianca didn't see it that way. She believed planning was the best way to make sure your life was going somewhere and not just stagnant, which is one of the reasons she took this giant step after high school to pursue her dreams. After a long walk and a few poop and pee stops, Bianca took Rudolph back to his home and went back to her apartment. It was a beautiful day for a stroll–plus she was trying to save every penny she could–so she took a shortcut through the park. It was a nice cloudy day, the kind of day where it feels like it's going to rain, and you can almost smell it, but there aren't enough dark clouds to make it gloomy. Days like this made her miss England a bit. She missed her mom and dad; as infuriating as they could be, there was no denying they absolutely adored their only child. She missed her friends, Ade and Sarah. She missed talking to her roommate Samantha, who'd first sparked the idea of moving to Wyoming.
Bianca was never a spontaneous child growing up. She liked things in a particular way and according to a plan, which was why taking a year off and moving was a big leap for her and almost caused her mom a heart attack. But she couldn't just stay in Britain and do nothing, not after seeing the spark in Sammy's eyes when she spoke about Wyoming, not after googling the state and seeing their beautiful landscape and sceneries, not after checking their museum catalog and seeing the wide array of Egyptian antics they have. She had always been obsessed with Egyptian mythology and stories. It was one of the reasons she interned at the British Museum. Although she learned a lot and loved her experience, she always felt there was more, and Wyoming was the answer to all her questions.
Bianca finally arrived at her loft and flopped onto her bed, tired and hungry. She realized she hadn't eaten anything all day. Her fridge was empty except for a bottle of ketchup and bread, which she ate and drank lots of water to keep her tummy from rebelling against her. She lay on her bed and thought about the hit-and-almost-run stranger and wondered if he made it to the airport on time to see his son. She thought about how he would look shirtless and wondered if she'd ever bump into him. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered why she didn't tell him her name and why she didn't ask for his.
The next morning, Bianca was up by 5 am. She wasn't going to make a bad impression on her official first day. She brushed her teeth vigorously, packed her hair into a tight ponytail, and wore her only pair of black boots, a cute knee-length fitted skirt with a teeshirt and vest paired with her lucky scarf. She walked confidently to the bus stop but stopped at a bakery shop to load up on a big breakfast consisting of a big beef sandwich, two muffins, and a cup of coffee. Bianca knew she'd regret spending that much money on breakfast, but she was hungry and didn't want to start her first day at the job on an empty stomach. She hopped onto the bus and said hello to Armano. "You're looking very pretty, chicita. I'm guessing you nailed the interview." Armano wiggled his brows at her through the rearview mirror. She smiled. "Yes, I did, and I can't wait to start. Soon, I'll be clogging your arteries every day we meet".
"Don't make promises you can keep, young lady," he rebuked her playfully. She was both nervous and excited to start her first day. She eagerly wanted to make a good impression and hoped her first day wouldn't be like yesterday.
After getting off the bus and hailing a taxi, she finally arrived at the building and took a deep breath. "Come on, Bianca, you're a badass. You got this," she said to herself as she walked into the building. She said hello to the receptionist before opening the door to the museum. Bianca doubted she'd ever get used to walking into a museum. The whole site and scenes were always captivating to her. It was like walking into different pasts of different cultures all at once. She walked briskly towards the admin office and almost bumped into a black wall. "Oops, sorry didn't see you there."
The wall turned, and before her was the hit-and-almost-run guy from the day before. He smiled at her. "Ahh, well, if it isn't miss 'important appointment', I'm guessing you're running late for another one." Bianca stood there staring at him, shell-shocked. Why is he here? Is he a visitor? Not possible, probably a collector, but why here? "Hello, earth, to miss appointment can you hear me". He waved his hands in front of her face. "Yes, I can hear you fine. I was just wondering why, out of all the guys in the city, I had to get hit by the one creepy stalker in the state," she retorted.
He laughed, his perfect dentition winking at her. " For your information I'm not stalking you. I came here to drop my son off. He loves old dead things, So I brought him to start his first day here".
"I think the word you're looking for is archeologist, and I'm guessing you must really want that father of the year trophy," she replied as she leaned on the wall. The door to the Admin office opened and out walked the finest man Bianca had ever seen.