Private Relations

4

It was Friday evening and Sarah had just gotten off work. She had powered through her day lightning fast that she felt like she was on drugs. Maybe it was the excitement of going to see Tiffany for dinner or maybe just because work was dampening her post-engagement mood. Whatever it was, she was done with work at 5 p.m. on the dot and raced out her office towards the elevators. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and texted Tiffany, "Hey girl, just got off work, see you soon! :)" Her phone vibrated in her hand with Tiffany's response, "okay I'm already here waiting." Sarah stepped into the elevator and pressed the L button to make her way down to the lobby. Just before the door closed on her private box of excitement, the handsome man from last week slid his arm between the doors. "Oh, hello there, mind if I share with you?" he asked her politely. Sarah stared at him, he was so beautiful, so poised and put together. He was walking perfection. "Uh yeah, sure," she finally replied to him. He stepped in and stood on the opposite side of the elevator car and leaned against the wall. Sarah tried to ignore the obvious connection in the air between them, but when she caught him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, she stood up a bit straighter and smoothed out her hair. The ride down felt like torture, she wanted to say something. What could she possibly say to a stranger she had only seen once before this? The elevator dinged and he held the doors open for her, "thank you," she muttered as she exited. "You're welcome miss, have a nice evening," he replied. Sarah tried not to run out the door, she felt like he was watching her, but she didn't dare look back to find out.

As soon as she got outside, she hailed a cab and took the 15-minute ride to the small pub that she and Tiffany usually go to for their lunch dates. She stepped out into the crisp San Francisco air, bent through the window to pay the cabbie and walked through the door. Sarah entered The Black Horse London Pub and scanned the room for Tiffany. This local pub was one that she and Tiffany frequently visited. After work catch-ups, Saturday lunches and the occasional football games brought them together over bar peanuts and beer. It was a small place, which felt even smaller during the various sports games it showed on the one TV in the corner of the room. All the pictures and posters on the walls didn't help; they only made it feel more crowded. But this was a place that Tiffany and Sarah loved to come to so they could get away from their daily lives and just enjoy each other's company.

"Hey girl, over here!" she heard someone call out to her, Sarah looked to her left and saw her friend sitting at the end of the bar. "Hey, Tiff!" Sarah squealed as she approached the bar top, Tiffany stood up and gave her a hug. Sarah released and looked up and down. Tiffany was pretty, no doubt about that, at 5'8" she was all legs, especially today. Her charcoal pencil skirt hugged her hips and showed off her beautiful stems. Her long blonde hair was done in a high ponytail and made her look even more like a model. Sarah had always been just a tiny bit jealous of Tiffany's looks, but that was never something that got in the way of their friendship. Sarah sat down and looked at the bar menu, she held it up in front of her face and waited for Tiffany's reaction. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed when she finally saw the diamonds glint in what was left of the sunlight of the day. "It's beautiful!" Sarah put her menu down, extended her left hand to her friend and beamed. Tiffany yanked her hand towards her and examined the ring on Sarah's finger. "How did he propose?" she asked. "Well, he picked me up from home and took me out to dinner at Butterfly, you know, the one on the pier?" Tiffany nodded in reply. "When we got there, he ordered a nice bottle of wine and even let me get the most expensive duck dish they had for dinner. I knew something was up though. He was acting more romantic than usual," Sarah explained. Tiffany was on the edge of her barstool, leaning in to hear every word of Sarah's story. "So, halfway through dinner he stops eating, puts his fork and knife down and says that he has to get something off his chest. Naturally, I was nervous about what was coming next. But when he started talking about how much he loved me and how happy he was with me, everything clicked." A smile spread across Sarah's face as she relived the beautiful moment that was Chad's proposal. "Go on!" Tiffany begged, "You know I'm a sucker for these stories." Sarah chuckled, "Then he got down on one knee next to me, pulled the box out of his pocket and asked me to marry him, in the restaurant, in front of everyone." "Aw, a real public display of affection," Tiffany gushed. "I guess you could say that," Sarah replied, "It was so sweet, then he slid the ring on my finger and kissed me." Tiffany sat next to her, a smile on her face and hands clasped together, "I'm so happy for you Sarah, you and Chad are so amazing together." "Thanks, girl," Sarah said. "Now," Tiffany started as she leaned in towards Sarah, "I know something else happened after this magical proposal," she said with an eyebrow raised. Sarah looked at her, "I'm not sure what you mean... Ohhhh," she replied. "Well, only because you're my best friend I'm telling you this. He paid for dinner and yanked me out of that restaurant so fast I thought my arm was going to come out of its socket." "Go on," Tiffany egged on. "We went back to his studio and made love; it was so damn good. Better than any time before," Sarah whispered across the table. "That's what I wanted to hear," Tiffany said, pleased with her friend's disregard for the don't kiss and tell policy most women harbor. Sarah laughed, she had never been one to talk about her sex life but Tiffany was the greatest friend she had ever had and knew she would never tell anyone, plus Sarah somewhat believed that Tiffany lived vicariously through her relationship when she wasn't in one.

They spent the next two hours eating appetizers, sharing laughs and stories, and a couple of drinks. Tiffany worked at an art gallery in the Castro district so naturally, she had crazy stories to tell about the good, the bad, and the gay of the most flamboyant part of the city. She was the only straight person who worked in the gallery and she loved every minute of it. "I'm young, I'm hot and I work in one of the most beautiful cities in America, I can have whatever I want," she always told me. She was right though; she was hot. Her blonde hair was long and luscious and fell right above her perfectly round bottom. Unlike most blondes, her eyes were a chocolate brown and made her look mysterious, a trait that men were always swept up in. Her frame was small, but curved in all the right places, she could have been a model, an actress, anything where people would look at her for a living, but Tiffany wasn't vapid. She went to UC Berkeley and studied Art, got her master's and got a job in a gallery where she was happy. Her down to earth personality is what Sarah loved about her friend. Around 7:30 pm Sarah was full and not ready to go home, but a pile of papers and a presentation for work was calling her name. "As much as I would love to stay Tiff, I have to head home, got a big presentation to work on," she sighed in explanation. Tiffany eyed her, "Why do you always bring your work home with you?" she wondered. Sarah frowned, why did she always do this to herself? She got enough stress in her office between the hours of 9 AM to 5 PM, why bring that home with her? "I don't know," Sarah admitted, "but there is this big client who is coming in next week and this presentation will determine who will be the leader of the PR campaign. I must get it. I was overlooked for the last one my company took." "Bullshit!" Tiffany said as she hit her fist down onto the bar. "You are the hardest working and smartest person I know; how could they not pick you?" Sarah shrugged, "The past is in the past, I'm going to get this one." Tiffany smiled, "Well, good for you girl, go and kick some ass." "I will," Sarah replied.

She got up from her bar stool, smoothed out her outfit and hugged Tiffany goodbye. As Sarah exited, she thought about all the work she was going to have to do when she got home. Another bath night, she thought to herself and chuckled. Sarah hailed a cab and waited. As the yellow Prius pulled up to the curb, she felt her blazer pocket vibrate. She slid into the backseat of the cab, put on her seatbelt and told the driver her address. Her phone vibrated again to remind her of the notification, and she pulled it out of her pocket. She smiled at the lit-up screen in front of her, a text from Chad read "hey fiancé ;) was just thinking about you, hope your day went well. Love you." Just seeing him call her that made her heart flutter. She texted him back, "thanks for checking up on me, just left from telling Tiffany the good news. Love you too."