He stands there, at five feet and eleven inches, waiting. With his head held high and his eyes down low. Everything about him is dark. Short chestnut hair. Deep brown eyes. Slightly tanned skin. He seems like an enigma--like something countless of girls wasted much of their youth trying to figure out. He's wearing 50 shades of gray today, from his charcoal gray long sleeve and his faded gray jeans to his asphalt Nikes and his silver Movado watch. He glances at his phone, in efforts of making his impatience disappear.
He seems like the entrepreneurial type. In fact, he's the epitome of today's young, elite businessman. He's the slick, suave sweet-talker who's constantly in a rush. He doesn't commit very easily, but when he does, he's committed like a ball and chain. By the age of 23, he knows exactly what he wants in life and doesn't stop at anything until he gets it.
But today, his defined jawline appears unsharpened. He didn't choose to participate in No-Shave November; rather, his five o'clock shadow was forced upon him. Today is the first day he has been away from the office in thirty weeks.
He pulls out his iPhone once again. Nothing.
Physically, he takes one step forward, swiftly swaying with his step. Mentally, he takes twenty steps back. Although he eagerly anticipates ordering his large black cup of coffee and his garlic bagel, all he can seem to focus on is the life he had blindly left behind.
Back in the city, his Wall Street career was sky-rocketing. On the verge on being promoted to head consultant of the conglomerate he had spent endless nights and weekends at, he cracked. At the work party, right before he was about to accept his big promotion, news that his girlfriend of two years had been unfaithful for more than half of their relationship finally reached him. Running off and away from his promising future, he took the subway north, eventually downing away his sorrows at a desolate bar in the Bronx until 8AM.
Hopeless and hungover, he finds himself here, in Ann Arbor--back where he first began to find himself. Four years ago, he found hope. During his freshman year as an undergraduate, his mother lost her battle with breast cancer. Having been a complete Momma's Boy, he took her passing harder than anyone else impacted. But it was here, in the line of Bert's, where he met his college sweetheart and his one true love.
Lily believed in karma. Stressed out from midterms, she always did a few random acts of kindness in preparation for her upcoming exams. A friendly face standing in line in front of him, she told the barista to charge her Chase debit card however much her order and the person behind her's order totaled.
It was then, when a stranger took him by surprise, that he started seeing that there was still something in life worth living for. That there was still good in the world. That there was a bright future ahead of him.
She inspired him. She pushed him to be the best man he could be. She loved him endlessly and put his broken pieces back together.
It was Lily who helped him find his passions and his love for business.
But, as the seasons begun to change, so, too, did his demeanor. After being accepted to the Ross School of Business, and after becoming whole once again, he gradually developed the stereotypical mindset of a sleazy executive.
During their senior year, he mindlessly broke up with her. He thought he could "do better." He thought she wasn't worth it. He was going big places and she was going to little towns. He thought she wasn't worthy of him and what he had become.
He finds himself wondering if he made the right decision.
"Bobby."
He scans the room in search of a once-familiar voice. Never has he felt so alone in a crowded room.
After grabbing his first meal in 36 hours, he anxiously looks around. He's frantic, nervous, and unsure of what exactly he's looking for.
He didn't know if she was still around. He didn't know what she's been up to. He broke her heart and shattered her into the very pieces she found him as. But he didn't know who to confide in. He didn't know if she'd ever want to see him again, as she screamed at him when he tore her into tiny pieces. He simply didn't know anything anymore.
As what little hope remained began to evade, he began to make his way towards the door.
"Over here."
The ending of this is so powerful
ReplyDeleteWill you write a book
ReplyDeleteI will buy it