Omaha, Nebraska – Jupiter Suites – 442nd Maple Street
Monday – March 10th 2059 - 6:45 AM
Hope sighed as she got ready for work. She was in one of her favorite outfits. It was a warm shade of yellow, a happy and bright color if there ever was one. It screamed spring and it worked well with her shape…. As long as she didn't eat anything. Still, it generally made her feel lovely, and Gerold always seemed to like seeing her in it. That thought nearly caused her to take off the dress and choose another. Hope looked back to the nightstand at the small framed image of Gerold. They had been serious about each other for a long time now. They had dated since college and fallen into and out of love more than once. This time…well this time it was supposed to be the one. Gerold's absence was something she was struggling to abide. Thinking on him only caused problems, it didn't seem to solve any.
She fidgeted a bit more running her hands down along the side of the outfit, pushing out non-existent wrinkles. While she did so, she tried pushing out her negative thoughts with them. It didn't work, and the longer she examined herself the worse it got. Even though her mind acknowledged she looked like she hoped she would, it didn't please her in the slightest. Logic told her she should be happy with how she looked. She had shed a few pounds over the last few weeks. All in anticipation of today and wearing this very outfit. It fit now, instead of feeling like it was painted on. That did cause her to smile briefly. It sure felt that way in the winter when she last tried it on. But even this minor victory would be short lived. Soon Hope would have to admit defeat and move up to a size 8. But for today she could pull it off, she might as well enjoy her youth while she still had it. Right?
The frown in the mirror reflected her sour mood. Hope was 26 and still young and in the prime of her life. Yet it didn't feel much like a prime. She had to work diligently on herself to maintain her shape. It was a losing battle; one she was not excited at losing. As it was now, she wasn't very impressed at the woman who stood before her. While thin she wasn't curvy like her friend Emma. One boy she had been interested in High School had said she looked more like a boy than a girl. Looking at the dress and how her hair looked against it didn't please her either. It wasn't lush like Elsa's or long like Sarah's. It was just brown and there, sort of like the rest of her she remarked. She was average in height, and had a small chest. It wasn't like she was ugly, Gerold found her pretty. But she wasn't a fool either, she knew her looks were nothing compared to Elsa, or nearly all her friends from school. She was "meh" as she overheard a guy say at the Christmas party last year. She continued to frown at her image until she heard the chime of a text on her phone. She was never far from it so it only took a second to confirm what she already knew. It was from Elsa, wanting to know how the dress looked.
Hope smiled remembering her friend. Elsa was so unlike any other woman she knew. Stunningly beautiful, poised, intelligent, most women hated her. It wasn't hard to know why, Elsa seemed to just be beautiful. It wasn't something she had to work very hard to be. Others had her beauty, but it wasn't natural. Elsa seemed to just wake up and be stunning. None of that was good fodder for a friendship with Hope. At her very best Hope knew she couldn't hold a candle to her friend. But Elsa was probably the last person on earth to realize how beautiful she was. Humble and almost shy about herself Elsa was so approachable. It didn't take long for Hope to figure out it wasn't some sort of act, that Elsa was probably the most perfect female on the planet. Hope laughed at the thought, Elsa had issues like everyone else, but when you looked that good? Well, it was hard to see them. Still Elsa had proven herself to be a loyal friend over the years. Never in wildest dreams did Hope think she would become her bestie, but she was.
They had been friends for nearly eight years now. Even states apart they texted every day. In all that time a lot of trust had been earned. It was something critical for Hope, especially with how she had been raised. Elsa had never given her a reason to doubt her. At least up until last week anyway. Hope sighed; this wasn't fair to her friend. It wasn't productive, and in truth Hope didn't know all the facts. She shook her head at the thought. What facts, she was still in the dark with those two? But she wasn't going to throw away a friendship like that over something she wasn't sure of. She nodded to the woman in the mirror. No, that kind of friendship wasn't worth throwing away for nothing. And it could be just that, nothing. In what really mattered Elsa always had her back, didn't that count for something she thought.
Take for instance that promotion last year. Elsa was well on her way. But that didn't stop Elsa from trying her best to help her. Elsa was name dropping Hope all over the Boston area. Hope smiled remembering her boss commenting about it. Promotion for Hope wasn't far behind; her boss had hinted she might get selected for a new project soon, that would mean certain promotion. The phone buzzed again, it was Elsa asking for a second time to see how she looked.
Plastering the best fake smile, she snapped the image and quickly deleted it. It would take six more tries before her smile slightly matched how she wanted to look. She wondered what Elsa would think. And then she started remembering the last time they had seen each other, and what Elsa had said. Elsa had no clue know how painful the words she had said were. Elsa was her bestie and to say that…..
Hope genuinely wanted to be happy right now, she had worked hard to get into this dress. Seeing the time there wasn't any remaining to dither, she needed to leave if she was going to get to work. Relegated to being "meh" in a pretty dress, she slumped her shoulders and pulled down the matching shoes that were not going to make it past today. She really should get another pair for it, but likely as not today would be the last time she wore this dress. Slipping them on and checking the apartment briefly for things she may have left on, she grabbed her purse and started for the door. That was when Elsa's reply hit.
"You look so lovely H, you should totally send it to Gerold. Oh, and H, I am so happy Gerold finally told you. I hated keeping that from you all these years. The next time I am in Omaha we HAVE to talk. There is so much I want to say, so much I have been dying to tell you. Just know you are the best, I can't imagine a having a better friend. Have a good day in the office ok?"
Hope wanted to believe in her friend's words that she looked good. But Elsa was just saying that. Now if she had Elsa's hair to go with this dress then perhaps, but not with hers. She paused again wondering if she should just call in and work from the house. But she knew that was just her being a child again. She couldn't just run away and hide from her problems. And besides today was a big day, she needed to be seen and noticed. That was the reason she was in the best-looking thing she owned. Hope put away the phone and found her keys and 20 minutes later was in the car heading to the office. She had been driving to this location since she graduated Creighton four years ago. So, she knew the drive by heart and allowed her mind to think on other things while her body drove to work.
Elsa again mentioned that stupid secret. Hope's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. She had known something was off with Gerold, her on again, off again fiancé. This "secret" was the issue that burned at Hope's heart. But like always with him, he wasn't here to deal with it. At the moment Gerold was thousands of miles away. He was completing his master's program and was overseas doing research. "It was such a great opportunity" Gerold had insisted. Months into their separation and Elsa wasn't so sure. It might be good for his career but it wasn't doing much for their relationship. The night he left she had confronted him over keeping secrets. She suspected he was cheating, but his response while comforting in one fashion, opened up a whole new slew of concern. He wasn't cheating, the way he fought that acquisition told her he was innocent of that. But he did admit to keeping a family secret, one he was afraid could come between them. She had begged him to come clean on it. Instead, he claimed that to do so he would have to take her home. Something about it not being just his secret to tell. She nearly dumped him on the spot, leaving her like that for half a year. But she loved him, and at the time he had been sweet and somehow had convinced her to be patient. Well Hope was about all out of patience.
When she got off the freeway she noted that traffic wasn't moving at all. Looking at her phone for a moment it showed the entire stretch between her and the office in red. Someone had probably been in an accident and it was causing a mess of trouble on the road. She sent a quick text to her boss letting him know she would be late and let out a breath. This day wasn't going to plan, but the concern about work and traffic faded quickly. Hope's mind was still on Gerold and his "secret," or whatever it was. Hope thought back to how she got into this mess in the first place. It was her bestie who had introduced Hope to her older brother.
Gerold was one of Elsa's brothers and also attended Creighton, but was a year ahead of them. At first her and Gerold really didn't have much of a spark. But all that changed as they spent time together. Gerold had been trying to hook Elsa up with one of his friends and wanted them to go on a double. She had gone with Gerold that night as a favor, he was convinced that Elsa would hit it off with his roommate. They didn't, Elsa was way out of that guy's league. But something that night had changed her outlook on Gerold. She had never seen him so at ease and warm before. Their friendly double date had become so enjoyable, she asked him on one of their own. They shared interests in life, and after that he was always so at ease around her. Gerold knew just how to make her laugh, that alone sustained them for a long time. But more importantly Hope liked the woman she was when she was with him. Somehow she always felt like he brought out the best parts of her. In short Gerold made her happy in ways no other man had. By the time he was completing his undergrad they were engaged.
They had hit rough patches more than once. Mostly because neither wanted to give up on their dreams of the future. That had nearly done them in. But this time it seemed like they were really going to get married. Hope thought they were past all the drama and questions over each other, but apparently not. She had to admit it didn't help how little time they had for each other. Their careers had fully engulfed their lives, more and more they were on separate paths. They hadn't even moved in together again. The last time they broke up it had been hard separating from that apartment they shared. When they reconciled both of them held on to their own places, in case things went badly again. No, there was no doubt about it. Hope felt keenly the distance that was growing between them. It should have been resolved that last night, but it wasn't. That same wretched feeling that plagued her now, had been nagging at her heart heavily the night he left. She should have spoken sooner, but fear had kept it bottled until the very last day possible.
As Hope continued to sit in traffic she pondered on the visit that Elsa had given her last week. She had flown in to town for work purposes but made a point to lay over a day to visit with her friend. After one too many drinks Hope had decided to see if Elsa would come clean on the secret. Those two siblings were as close as any brother or sister she had ever seen. Dollars to doughnuts she knew about it, those two shared everything. In retrospect she should never have tested her friend. But the drinks didn't do much for her self-control. She had told Elsa that Gerold had shared their family secret with her. Hoping that Elsa would know what that was, and share it with her. Yet a part of her hoped Elsa wouldn't know. Because if she did, and it was as bad as Gerold hinted, then it would make Elsa look worse. Especially since she had helped to put them together and had heavily encouraged it. If there was some sort of terrible family secret why on earth did Elsa think it wise to hook them up?
Elsa's response was near glee, she did know. Elsa admitted that it was something she and nearly all of her family shared in. It took a bit to get Elsa to calm down and speak more than just jubilation over the news. For Elsa it was a great relief, not so much for Hope. Heartbroken over it, yet still insanely obsessed with learning what this secret was. Hope had been careful on how to pry the details out of her. Going slow and careful, hopeful that Elsa would trip and reveal anything. She probably would have gotten the whole story had Elsa and Hope not gotten urgent texts to return to the office. The project both had been working on had a major issue and needed both of them. Elsa hadn't been drinking so she returned to the office while Hope had to apologize and explain she was unavailable. No way she could go into the office smelling of booze like that. Her boss was a tee-to-taler where some might overlook it, he wouldn't. The office would have to understand, even if they wouldn't. She would lose progress towards that promotion, Saturday, or no Saturday. Work had literally jumped in at the last possible second before she was going to learn what all this secrecy was about.