Jon was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, nervous about the interview he was supposed to take any minute. Hesitantly, he checked his watch for the sixth time in a minute and realized it was time for his interview. As he waltzed into the office clumsily, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a beautiful woman sitting in the center chair. She had captivating bright blue eyes that seemed to dilate when she looked at him, as well as a well-defined, chiseled nose.
The woman took a breath and began to speak. "Jon Mall?"
"Yes. Thank you for taking time to meet with me," Jon said, voice shaking out of pure anxiety.
"Absolutely, thank you for coming! My name is Tara– Tara Lenhoff, I am the owner of this funeral," she vocalized all too formally. "Now let's get started with the interview, Jon."
As the interview progresses, Jon and Tara warm up to one another.
.•° ✿ °•.
After the interview, Jon asks Tara for her number to see if she would want to go get coffee sometime in the subsequent weeks. She says yes and Jon leaves, feeling satisfied with not only the interview, but also his accomplishment of getting Tara to go out with him.
.•° ✿ °•.
The following Saturday, Jon and Tara set up a time to meet at a local diner. With Jon's ego beaming, he is convinced that he will charm her enough for another date. That is, if she meets his standards. Jon shaves his head clean, applying wax to his head to make it extra smooth and shiny. He puts on a button down and khakis, something that he usually never wears, but this is a special occasion. He cleaned out his car the day before, hanging a leather-scented car freshener on the top mirror. Getting into the car, he adjusts his collar and fixes the rear-view mirror closest to him. Putting on his favorite Glee classics, he gets more and more excited for the date.
When Jon arrives, he waits in the car and puts cherry-flavored Chapstick on, popping his lips a couple of times before opening the car door and entering the restaurant. He gets seated, telling the waiter that he was waiting for someone, denying being served anything before Tara arrives, solely out of respect. He waits and waits, a few minutes passing, checking his watch. A few minutes becomes several, and several becomes too many. Jon starts to worry, and people at the diner were glancing at him. He texts Tara. "Hey. I'm waiting at the diner, take your time. Please get back to me." He hopes that she will respond in a timely fashion with an apology or a reassurance, but when Tara never responds, he realizes what was happening. She stood him up.
Just as he was about to tip the waiter and leave, he spotted a familiar face; two, actually. It was Erik Albrecht, his old coworker and long-time competition. Everyone loved him and never paid attention to Jon the same way that they did Erik, and yet again, Erik had beat him, because the woman on his arm was Tara. Tara walks past Jon and he decides to speak up. "Tara, why didn't you just tell me that you would be coming here with Erik? I would've understood and left you alone. Why would you do something like this instead of being honest?"
"Oh Jon," Tara sighs. "We would never be good together, and I didn't want to break your little, bald heart. I'm sorry, but Erik got the job, and the woman. Goodbye, Jon."
Jon was fuming. He stormed out of the diner, but as soon as he got in his car, he started to sob. Why would anyone do this to him? He was nice and had a big, hairy heart. He decided on just driving home while listening to the top 10 Glee moments on Watch Mojo. He needed comfort.
.•° ✿ °•.
Just days later, Jon receives a notification. It was a message from Tara.
It read, "I'm sorry Jon. I need to talk to you. Formally."
Jon hesitates to reply or even react, but ultimately decides on responding. "Tara, thank you for reaching out. I will meet you near the ballpark at six o'clock."
So, Jon did. Yet, he wasn't fully convinced she would follow through, so he didn't put in the same effort as last time.
At six o'clock on the dot, Jon arrives at the ballpark, and Tara was already there; he knew this was going to be a crazy night. "Tara," he said both formally but with malice.
Tara came in for a hug "Jon!"
Jon pushed her away from him though, and kept dignity. Tara flew back slightly, looking pale. "What do you want to discuss, Tara?"
"Jon, I'm sorry. I understand what I did wrong, and I didn't mean to hurt you as bad as I did. I'm really humbling myself, and I'm going to be a whole new person now. I broke up with Erik and laid him off of his job because... I want you to have it. You really deserve it, and I'd like it if you gave me another chance."
"Tara," Jon croaked out. "It really hurt me, y'know, what you did, and I don't know if I'm prepared to fully forgive you, but I'll give you the chance you deserve. Thank you for apologizing."
Tara sighed out of pure relief and hugged Jon tightly. "Thank you so much Jon, you won't regret it."
Jon takes a deep breath in, "See you on Monday, Tara. I have faith in you."
.•° ✿ °•.
As Monday rolls around and the sun peeks out of its slumber, so does Jon. His alarm goes off at eight o'clock sharp, something he wasn't quite used to after being out of work. Groaning, Jon gets out of bed and walks over to the vanity in his bathroom. "I guess that late-night eye cream has been working," he says to himself, voice drowning in grogginess, thus deeper. Reluctant to start his day, Jon gets ready and heads out to his first shift at his brand new job. As he drives to his job, he puts on his jam, Don't Stop Believin' by the Glee Cast . The sanguine sound of Lea Michele's vocals puts him in a funeral-like mood. Arriving at the sad, sad place, he reminds himself to put on his signature cherry Chapstick for good luck. He shuts off his car and prepares for what is about to come.
As Jon goes to enter the building, Tara seems to be one step ahead of him.
"Jon! I've been waiting for you! Here, I got you a coffee," Tara says while handing Jon the hot cup of joe. She takes a shallow breath just as Jon was going to thank her. "Y'know, I've been thinking a lot, Jon, and I want to give you something in return for your generosity, so I bought you this coffee because I couldn't think of anything else."
"Um, thanks Tara," Jon stumbled, "but I don't like coffee."
"Oh, uh sorry, Jon. I guess I'm just trying to make up for all that shit I did." Tara looked defeated and tired. She wasn't the type to be that way from what Jon knew about her, but, after all, he didn't know much. Maybe she stayed up late getting crunk.
Now, it's time for the job. Jon didn't know jack about being a mortician, so he had to take classes. These classes, however, were taught by Tara.
