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FRIDAY morning right before my class, and after I purchased my most essential caffeine for the day— one to wake up, another to function — I was nibbling on a piece of buttered toast when I finally got the go to move to my new apartment.
The first person I called was my mom, which of course went straight to voicemail.
Leaving a voicemail should be enough, I thought, finishing off the bread in my mouth.
Working for a big company as a lawyer meant a lot of meetings and business trips. After she was swiped from a firm to an in-house position, her salary more than just doubled, and it meant sacrificing a lot of personal time.
So our conversations were mostly between messages from few hours back, and the odd voicemail or two.
My mother always said if you were going to sacrifice something, you should see to it until the end.
Her voicemail droned in her familiar business politeness, and the clear background that I know she rehearsed and made perfect. Nothing my mother made was less than perfect.
'This is Marion Karr-Bright. I am unable to take your call at the moment, but I will get back to you as quickly as possible."
"Hi mom," I started after the beep. My voice sounded cheery and friendly, unusually high but stable. "So the apartment is available now, all the papers and deposits are done. Claudia's brother, Jordan, has a truck and they'll help me move in later today after her classes. I'm really excited about it. Thank you for getting me in contact with Gabe. Anyway, I hope you're having a blast in Sweden. Talk to you soon."
I took a deep breath and straightened my shoulders, with my planner's to-do list going around my head for the best way I can finish all of them by the day ends.
"Okay, let's finish this."
The day went by, classes in between and picking up as many snacks as I could because I knew I was going to skip lunch. Textiles class after, my fingers felt raw after passing the newest assignment.
"We should make plans to visit the museum Professor Arnold said. The one with the special weaving specimen thing," one of my classmates, David said, chewing on the edge of his ballpen.
Piper with their blond hair and neon green nails, snorted beside him. "The what of what now?"
David flipped them off. When he looked up and met my gaze, he pushed his glasses back. "You okay there?"
I smiled tightly. I had remade and restarted the thread of my assignment four times in the past two days. "Just peachy."
He pursed his lips. "I have lotion if you want some?"
"That would be amazing."
While he rifled through his bag, I watched him. If Asher was a Greek god in long blond tresses and sharp cheekbones, David had dark hair reminiscent of a Herculean Hero with a solid jaw and shadows under his eyes.
