A piercing blare deafened the right side of my head as I sprang up in bed like a jack-in-a-box. Glancing up at the dimly lit clock reading 5:05am, I took a deep sigh and shifted my gaze to the ringing phone beside the bed.
It was Lesley...
What did she want at this hour?
After debating letting it go to voicemail or not, I picked up on the last ring and grumbled, "You okay?" into the phone.
"TRIST? YOU'RE THERE, I WAS WORRIED YOU WOULDN'T PICK UP!" She yelled down the phone in an almost annoying tone.
"Yeah, yeah I'm here. What's up?" I mumbled into the phone, holding it at a distance from my face, just in case Lesley decided to deafen my ear further.
"You'll never guess what happened Tristan, you'll never guess!"
"Uhm you—."
"I completed the last task on the bucket list!"
I sat in silence for a few moments.
"Tristan?"
"OH MY GOD, LESLEY THAT'S AMAZING!" I screamed, jumping up off of the bed and doing a little dance around the room leaving her on speaker whilst I calmed down "That is really amazing! I'm so happy for you, you did it!"
"We did it." She whispered. My heart overflowing with a warm feeling.
"Wait, did I wake you up?" She bursted out down the line.
"Oh no, no it's fine. I don't have work until 9 it's okay"
"I'm so sorry Trist, these time zones suck sometimes. I'll let you sleep a little longer."
"Haven't you been up all night?" I questioned, "You are five hours behind might I remind you?"
"Yeh we've been sat here waiting for the call for hours, the line goes dead sometimes so it got delayed. But goodness, the suspense was real!" She chuckled happily.
"I'm so proud of you, you soon to be cappuccino queen!"
"Thanks Trist... Come see me this Christmas, please. I'll pay for the plane and the hotel. We need to meet at some point. We can't hold it off forever. Just please, consider it?" She stumbled, patiently anticipating my reply.
"Ermm, we'll see" I quickly answered hesitantly.
The only reason I always put off making the trip to see Lesley, was that I felt that if we met in person things might be uncomfortable. Things become a lot more apparent when you're face to face. I was scared that we'd be put off one another. And that's the last things I wanted.
Later on that week, I received a text message whilst on the way to work, on the bus. I opened the attachment linked. The image showed Lesley and Mikey stood outside the new coffee shop, arms splayed out in the air showcasing the new place.
'It looks great!' I replied. Glancing again at the picture as I noticed a sign on the floor above. Zooming in with my two thumbs I noticed a sign in the window reading the words
'UP FOR RENT'
Continuing from my previous text, I curiously typed
'Hey, I noticed the sign in the window. Renting out the flat above?'
A ping came from my coat pocket a couple of seconds later reading,
'Yeah we are as a matter of fact
. Easy way to get more money in I guess. I hoped you'd notice! Thought it might have convinced you to come and stay with us for a while huh?! Hhahah'
That's when the idea sprung into my mind.
YOU ARE READING
Bucketlist Boy
Short StoryAfter living in a London apartment most of his life, Tristan decides he wants a change. New York is the place where everything changes, but what could turn it upside down? The coffee shop, the baby or the girl with the auburn waves?
