Yours Truly, Juliet [s.m.]

Three [j]

The sun peeked through the blinds welcoming me to a new day. Slowly opening my eyes, I adjust myself to the daylight and turn to the other side of the bed. I sigh when my face meets the cold sheets. As much as I wished, no one was there and my Sunday morning had just become sadder.

Sundays were spend lazyly in bed, simply enjoying Tom's presence while I could. Honestly felt like the best day of the week. There was no pressure, no deadlines or projects needing to be finished. Just me, him and our little bubble.

Eventually we would drive around and enjoying our time somewhere else, but when you have a busy schedule and a hectic week there is nothing better than just laying in bed and relaxing while you can.

Unfortunately, those were also the shortest days. Time flyed when we were together, but dragged when we were working. I guess that's the worse part of being an adult. You barely have time to enjoy yourself or do anything that you've been looking to, and when you do, it's never enough. There is always a place that you leave for another day or a kiss that should've been longer, but once again, time was short.

Now Sundays were lonely and blue. There were no more laughs, brightness besides the sun or happiness a part from the obvious. Just loneliness, and despite the phone calls, texts and hundreds of 'I love yous' everything seemed blurry. Hopefully my plan would make it easier. It wouldn't reduce how much I missed him, but would keep that flame alive.

People never believe in long distance relationships. There are too many distractions and sometimes love isn't enough to hold on tight. Couples drown into their new routine and things just fall apart. One day they miss a call and promise to return it tomorrow. Then one day turns into a week or two, even in a month and they found themselves falling out of love.

When we signed for this we made a commitment to make this work and I was down for it.

Since I left Ohio, things had been going well. We kept in contact and we were okay. Days as today were harder because we didn't have each other's company as we used to, but in a few months I would be able to go back.

I had learned that in a few weeks I would move to Glasgow to design a mansion. A big entrepreneur required our services and my boss assigned me that project. I was surprised by moving on so quickly from this project to another, but I accepted it.

"Juliet, this project is inches from being finished. You'll move to Glasgow but still supervising your team. I'm sure that with your guidance it will be as good as if you were here."

I simply nodded, shaking hands with him. I knew that more than reassuring me he was worried about the client, but I was glad with the feedback on the work I had been doing.

After Glasgow there would be a trip to Miami. I was hoping to work on that too. Tom could fly over and we would spend some time together. I didn't know if I would be able to be in that project, but there is no crime in dreaming. I didn't tell him though. It was only a possibility. If I shared that it could lead to high hopes, and those hit hard when there are nothing but that, hopes.

Since I bought the postcards I had been struggling to write the message. Whether is too short or too long. Seemed like my feelings wouldn't fit inside those thin lines. I wasn't expecting them too, since love is too complex to be explained or put into words, but this would be a way to connect myself with him while we were apart. Stress wouldn't help either. Most of the time work would get hectic in the last minute and all I was hoping to do was getting home and sleep. There is no space for inspiration when you're tired.

Maybe today would be it. I was alone, stress-free and looking to relax through the day. Missing my lover was hard but if I wrote my feelings down, it would be easier to deal with this emptiness.

****

The small restaurant down the street was busier than usual. Families took the opportunity to have lunch out, trying to take the most of the time with their loved ones.

I took the opportunity to go out for a while and enjoy my free time by myself. It's lovely to have company, but talking sometime for yourself is also important. You end up making decisions, taking conclusions and just observing what surrounds you.

"Have you decided what you want to eat miss?" a blond girl asked me, bringing me back to life from my thoughts. I took the classic fish and chips and waited patiently for my order.

As I ate, I looked around, trying to getting to know this place that I would call home for the next few weeks. Everything was so familiar and everyone knew who was in the room. For a second reminded me of Ohio and how much I missed being home. Taking a deep breath, I focused again on my food trying to keep that lonely feeling away, but it just didn't.

Suddenly, a ball hits my feet, keeping my mind away from my thoughts for a second. A little boy approaches my table, slyly looking for his toy.

"I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to hit you" he said, blushing from embarrassment.

"It's okay, you didn't hurt me." I smiled, grabbing his ball and placing it on his hands. "What's your name?"

"Tony ma'am"

"Nice to meet you Tony. My name is Juliet" I earned a smile in response. His dimples deepening while he showed most of his teeth. He must've lost some of them lately.

"Like Juliet from the play?" I chucked at his amusement, quickly nodding at his question.

"Oh Tony, there you are. I'm sorry miss, I hope he didn't disturb you" a woman on her thirty years with similar features to the boy approached me, apologizing several times for the behavior of the boy"

"It's okay, he didn't" I smiled, looking at the boy who seemed to have something in mind

"Mom, can Juliet join us?"

"Honey, I'm sure that she wants to-"

"I would love to" I said, catching her off guard.

"Are you sure? You don't have to. I'm sorry once again, Tony gets very excited when he meets someone new"

"It's okay, kids are harmless. All they want is everyone to be happy."

"Follow me then"

And with a kid's help I had found my place in Manchester. Without knowing, I had found friends to hang out with and now I wasn't alone, I had a place to call home.