Yours Truly, Callie

1. Change of Plans

"HEY! Can't ya see I'm driving here?!" The stubby cab driver charmingly stuck his head out the window along with his middle finger. 

She pushed the bridge of her gold-framed glasses back to get a better look at the angry gremlin in the bright lemon sedan. He almost rammed right into her while she crossed the street when she had right of way.

Ah, New York City.

Her phone buzzed again as she swiped her bright yellow Metrocard in the Times Square train station and headed down the tracks towards Brooklyn.

'We're going to paaaaaarty tonight, 23, baby!'  Chrissy inundated her phone yet again with more text messages. 

The brisk October air was crisp outside, but inside it reeked more like wet garbage and sewer rats. 'I'm a little behind schedule, but I swear I'll be there soon.' Callie hastily typed back. 

The lights of the N train stretched its arms across the tracks, the carts roared as the train flew by and came to a screeching halt. Callie couldn't tell if her ears were finally starting to deafen, or if the underground pressure was getting to her.

As college best friends usually go after graduation, Chrissy Patel, Elena Vera Cruz, and Callie Tse, went their separate ways. Chrissy, stayed in upstate New York to get her Master's in Business Administration. Elena went back to live with her parents in a suburb north of the city and pursued her passion for classical art. 

Callie on the other hand decided to go against her mom's wishes of becoming a doctor (money), went into an educational non-profit (no money), got engaged, and broke off the engagement - all in a matter of two years. After a quick transfer and another ten minutes on the L train, she was finally home.

"Hi Ryan!" Callie quickly greeted the tall black financial associate who was still in his professional work attire, a white button-down, and sleek obsidian dress pants. He crouched before the kitchen stove, eyeing his mac and cheese in the oven. Before her housemate could react, Callie ran into her room and slammed her door shut, "bye, Ryan!"

"Well, hello to you too!" Callie heard from behind her double doors. "I walked Kiko when got off of work this afternoon," the door swung open revealing Ryan and a stubby sand and white-colored Shepard-mix trailing behind him.

"Thanks, how was she today?" Callie was on auto-pilot. She only had four hours to get ready, and that didn't even include her getting a manicure. Rummaging through her closet, Callie found the backless, mini strapless satin black dress she's stashed away all year in the back.

"She made a new friend," Ryan licked the cheese off his spatula. "Where are you headed off to tonight?"

"The Gansevoort rooftop," Callie held the dress in front of her body and stared at the floor-length mirror in the corner of her room. "Does this scream I'm single to you?" Callie bit her bottom lip. It has been a while since she has worn the dress. The last time she did, it was in college when she was obnoxiously drunk leading an entire bar in the macarena on stage.

Ryan clicked his tongue. "So, would it be you who's having an overnight guest tonight?"

"I mean, I hope so – it's been a while.." Callie nervously bit her bottom lip and combed her fingers through her thick jet-black strands. The notion of flirting made her cringe. Since her breakup with John, she dove herself straight into work and hadn't come up for air since. It took a whole year for her to move on along with endless bottles of red wine while ugly crying over video chat with Chrissy and Elena. 

"You'll be fine. Look, after listening to all my Tinder stories – you'll know what not to do." Ryan bent down to pet the pooch sitting next to his feet. "It takes time to heal. Wear those killer heels, and re-live your inner sorority girl," Ryan chuckled before the timer in the kitchen went off.