All alone. A familiar song ran through her head. Alone again, naturally. She couldn't remember who sang it but that Mum used to hum it all the time. Just the melody and those lyrics running through her head and her fingers tapped out the beat.
Her right leg was shaking, a habit when impatient, eyes staring at an empty Zoom room. There was lint on the screen, and she brushed it off. She looked at the colour of her nails. Niceeeee. Jet Black. She had always loved goth and had to tone it down till recently. Now she could do whatever she wanted.
She took a sip of her wine. It had been one of the many things that kept her going. The sip turned into a gulp and then all the way. She wished they would just get on. It was taking long enough.
Sure, the rest had work and family. Was she supposed to feel like a loser now? She did choose to be alone, okay kind of. After Tony went back to his wife and broke her into a million pieces, she worked at romanticizing being single. No needy kids and sloppy Tony to pick after. She knew, if he had been with her, his kids would have been a big part of their lives. He had raised brats, brats he absolutely adored. Yeah, the reason he couldn't be with her. It was her or the kids.
She wiped a tear, "thanks, Irene. You saved me from your sloppy man and bratty kids!" Besides, her work had kept her busy. She was married to her work she'd jest. At least, that kept the affair a secret for a very long time. Then he had to mix up Christmas presents, how cliche, and the sh*t hit the fan. Was that only 10 months ago?
With the pandemic and the world coming to a standstill, some stores had to shut down across the country and the world, she was the casualty. She wasn't surprised. When you sleep with your boss and things don't work out, it was expected and perhaps even desired. Compensation and savings would probably last her, well, forever.
But, what she didn't have now were the deadlines, the meetings, the proposals, the brainstorms. The hiring, the firing, the training. She wasn't busy anymore. And busy had been a big part of her life. Now, she'd even forget days and dates, spending most of her time scrolling through social media, spying on her ex-staff, alternating between TikTok and Netflix.
She grabbed the bottle and just for a moment, considered swigging straight off. No, no, that would mess up her lipstick. And she had to look like she was living it up with her friends. She knew they were secretly waiting for a breakdown laced with envy, and she was not about to give them the satisfaction.
Her phone pinged. It was Sara, Sara who just got out of the group last week. because of a stupid argument and now wanted back in. "If it will make you happy, I will ask them," she offered. But Sara didn't want that either. She wanted them to miss her, apologise and beg her to come back. That wasn't about to happen any time soon because she was toxic in the group and the rest were pretty happy she had done the dirty and saved them the nasty.
It was Blinky. He had sidled up to her feet. He wasn't a very touchy-feely cat. He came once or twice a day as if to say, hey I'm still here, and don't you forget it. He'd stand just close enough for the very tips of his fur to rub against her. Almost but not quite.
She leaned down, reading Sara's message and rubbed him. He paced around her ankles for about 15 seconds, then walked away.
Hi Sara
Yeah, we are having our Friday get together
Did she think the world/get-togethers would stop because she had left? Silly thing. The world never stops. It just keeps revolving, round and round. It's either you step right back in and catch up or watch from the sidelines as it passes you by.
Okay. I guess I will talk to you later?
7 pm. They were late. One week to plan a Halloween party, over Zoom to have on Zoom. A virtual party. She had some ideas. But they had a life. She poured more wine and waited, singing Alone Again, Naturally, staring at the second hand on her wall clock ticking away.
To Be Continued...
This is a Freewrite for @MarianneWest's prompt make you happy, but the writing did continue past 5-minutes of course. Let's see where the next prompt takes this story...
Till next time, Carpe Diem❣️
Sh33la
Image from Pexels edited on Clip2Comic
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lovely! I'd love to read more of this 😉👍🏼
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Thank you so much <33
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This put the biggest smile on my face...
It's been so long!
Thank you @curie ;D
I am loving the story!!!
Thank you so muchhh <33
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ENGAGEtokens.