Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 21

The next day, all Leila could think about was how soft Mia's hair felt in her fingers the evening prior. Though they had spent many sleepovers staying up late and braiding each other's hair as children, Leila had forgotten what the texture of Mia's hair had felt like. It had been soft to the touch and smelled faintly of lemon. She longed to feel it again.

Leila stared forward at her computer screen, trying to refocus herself. She knew she should be focusing on work rather than fantasizing about Mia's hair. Besides, as Leila thought more deeply about the whole encounter, she grew more concerned for Mia. Though she had been elated that Mia had opened up to her, Leila's heart was pained to know that Mia was still struggling from the grief of her mother's death.

Leila's thoughts suddenly broke from the sound of an email arriving in her inbox.

"Leila," someone said behind her.

Leila turned around, noticing her supervisor, Helen, standing at her cubicle. Helen was a few decades older than Leila with dark brown hair, round blue glasses, and a kind smile. She had taken Leila under her wing at the PR firm in the past year and had helped Leila improve tremendously in her professional career. After hearing stories from her friends about bad upper management was at their own places of employment, Leila felt blessed to have such a kind and understanding supervisor.

"Bad timing?" Helen asked, noticing Leila's attention on her inbox.

"No. Just corresponding with a client. Is everything okay?" Leila asked.

"Have you taken your lunch break?" Helen asked.

"No."

"Let's eat together in the breakroom," she suggested.

Leila nodded. She'd been so lost in her thoughts about Mia that she'd neglected to recognize how hungry she was.

The breakroom was perfectly standard. It was a small square room with a few small round tables, an old fridge, a microwave that desperately needed to be cleaned, and several spare plastic utensils scattered throughout. It smelled faintly of tomato sauce and whatever else the other employees had been heating up moments earlier. Leila grabbed her lunchbox from the fridge and watched as Helen stood in front of the microwave.

"Just a sandwich for you today?" Helen asked.

Leila nodded. "What are you having?"

"Microwaveable burrito," she replied. "Busy today?" she asked as the microwave plate continued to spin.

"Yeah. I'm wrapping up work on a few projects. Plus I have an early evening meeting, so I'll be staying a little later today," Leila explained.

"Don't work yourself too hard. You always put out fantastic work," Helen said. She took a seat across from Leila and stretched her arms out. "Ugh, my back hurts sitting all day. Savor your youth while you can."

"I'm trying," Leila said, giggling some. She began to dig into her lunch, happy to have some company. Oftentimes she went out for lunch or ate alone in the breakroom. She got along with her coworkers well enough, but their lunches never aligned that often. She was happy to have Helen to eat with this afternoon.

"This may be a strange question," Helen said, "but have you ever considered advancing your career elsewhere?"

Leila blinked. "Well, I'd always be happy taking a higher position—"

"I mean moving to another city," Helen explained.

Leila shifted in her seat. "Oh. I mean, I don't know. I like it here," Leila said. "Maine has always been my home. It would feel weird to leave."