Send Her To Heaven

COMPROMISE

JONAH'S P.O.V

Mustering every ounce of energy in his body he took a shower, put on some clothes and headed to work for the first time in nearly a week.

Staggering into work 2 hours early he figured the sooner the better. Since virtual dating Joshua, Jolene has been the bell of the ball at work. Socializing more than he ever thought possible with anyone there he had even caught her eating in the break room a few times.

Sleeping at noon and waking up at 8 pm had done irreparable damage to his sleep cycle. Therefore his strategy was to admit that he was her masked lover and immediately make his way home to avoid any push back.

Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt he went to his cubicle to start dialing hoping she was just running in late. 30 minutes into his shift he hung up mid survey and walked over to the shift supervisor.

"Is Jolene coming into work today?"

"No, she called in sick"

Taking that as his cue to leave, he walked away from his shift supervisor and made his way to the door. Not even glancing up to ask where he was going or when or if he would return he made his way downtown.

Knowing Jolene she spent the night fantasizing about today. He imagined her going through every outfit in her closet admiring her self in everyone and rightfully so. In such a short time period she had the definition of a "glow up." She ceased whatever she was doing that was making her look like death. That poor man's Coachella look was gone overnight. Her outfits were more form-fitting, plainer looking but clean cut. She swapped her fake Birkenstocks for trainers and started wearing some light makeup.

For the life of him, he could not understand why he picked Vittoria Trattoria as the place to make his underwhelming debut. He had gone there a few times with his dad and honestly hated the place. It was beautiful and pretentious the two things he despised in most things.

Thanks to gentrification and a racist governor, this city turned into every soccer mom's dream. You couldn't go five minutes without bumping into a Starbucks. For a metropolis this big it was unheard of not to have a single homeless person in sight. The drug dealers had all migrated to the suburbs. In fact, a few of his neighbors had been raided by the federal government. 

Walking to the restaurant all he could think of was why he never got his license. No wonder his father thought he was such a loser. There is no reason for a man his age and of his health to be traveling by foot in middle America. 

Finally arriving at the famed Vittoria Trattoria he stood frozen at the window. Inside he could see Jolene. She was wearing a white jumpsuit with black heels. Her hair was out and a lot longer then he remembered. Although she was alone, her presence gave off the vibe, that to her, two was a crowd. Nursing her drink, he stared at her in awe.  

Pulling out his phone he messaged her stating:

"Jolene! sorry to do this to you but I had to leave this afternoon. Things got ahead of me but I promise I'll make it up to you someday. Don't let my absence ruin your night. Love you and I wish you all the best in the world!"

Waiting for her to react to her notification, it was clear that she was lost in this new world she had brought to life for herself. 

He used to cringe at the thought of deriving pleasure from someone else's happiness, but yet here he was, walking away happy as hell, knowing that regardless of what happened to him or Joshua Cage she would be alright.