Come Back to Me

†2006†

There hadn't been much going on. Nothing exciting had happened and nothing exciting was going to happen today. That was just the way it was and was always going to be. To be expecting anything else was just ridiculous. There were no prince's around to come and sweep her off her feet and take her away from the boring day-to-day, no magic words that would suddenly make her life any less miserable than it already was.

Maybe miserable is too strong a word.

No. It really wasn't. The pain she felt in her side confirmed that whenever she adjusted her position against the counter. The physical bruise had gone away almost two weeks ago, but the pain was still there. A fractured rib at best if she was being completely honest with herself. That or it was just her mind clinging to the pain like so many people seemed to think.

"It's all in your mind."

She had gotten tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. Finally, after months of contemplation, she had decided to just keep it to herself. No one was going to listen and those that pretended to listen just mocked her the moment she turned her back. There was no point wasting her breath if that was what was going to happen. She was better off on her own anyway. At thirty-two years old, she had successfully done nothing of importance with her life, restarted it almost a dozen times, had been dragged back to live with her parents twice, and was now stuck at a dead-end job she almost hated.

The few people she actually talked to consisted of mostly co-workers that she really only talked to out of politeness while at work. Anyone else she had thought of as a friend had long since abandoned her. That wasn't at all to say that she blamed them for it, she honestly understood why they did. That never made it hurt any less at the end of the day.

Risking another glance at the clock behind her, Jess let out another exaggerated groan. Not even a full hour had passed since she last looked. The shop had been slow almost all day but once late afternoon came they would most likely only get another handful of customers before they closed at seven. It wasn't even four yet. Another three hours of doing absolutely nothing. There was nothing to clean or catch up on, she and her co-worker Celaine had already done it all. Prep work had been done for the next morning as well as afternoon so it wouldn't need to be bothered with until tomorrow night at the earliest. Now it was just a waiting game.

Celaine, a bright eyed twenty-eight year old, had gone on break fifteen minutes ago and had promised to bring her back some coffee when she came back. The small gift of caffeine was something Jess couldn't help but always appreciate from Celaine. The younger woman had been working for the shop for almost a year and a half at this point and despite dealing with some fairly nasty people in that time, she never once seemed to let it bother her. She was still as cheerful as the day Jess had interviewed and hired her. She often wondered if Celaine was genuinely that happy outside of work or if maybe it was just an act like she put on every day. Something to keep everyone else from seeing that deep down, she just wanted to break down and cry.

No one can be that happy all the time.

The thought made her chuckle. No, she knew better than that. She had seen dozens of people that were in fact that happy day in and day out, and had even had a few teachers like that. While she knew they always meant well, they drove her absolutely insane. One teacher, she recalled, had been so determined to look at the positive side of absolutely everything that when she came in after her grandmother's funeral he had tried almost every trick in the book to get her to look on the positive side. From saying at least she wasn't suffering anymore, to now she's in a better place, that only fueled the anger inside of her.

Her grandmother had been the one person to stick up for her in her life, was her best friend and confidant. When the cancer diagnoses had been told to her, it was like she had been kicked in the gut. Jess was happy that her grandmother was no longer suffering or in pain anymore, but to be taken away so soon had been completely unfair. The loss was enough to rock what little bit of faith she had to its foundation and shatter it. To her, there was no God anymore. Just another made up figment of a frightened people's imagination. No different than the stories adults told their children about Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Made up for those afraid of the dark.

"Awfully busy in here," came a deep voice.

Jess stood up quickly, her eyes widened. She hadn't heard the bell above the door ring.

"It's been pretty slow all day," she half laughed.

The man laughed. "I can tell."

She looked back down at the counter, her face warming. He was a fairly good looking man to say the least. Shaggy blond hair and a short beard, she had seen him a few times before though she couldn't remember his name.

"Sorry about that," she managed with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

The man continued to smile back at her, sending a small tingle up her back. "Actually, I was hoping to ask you something. I've been in here a few times before and you're always helping someone when I am so I never really got around to it. I'm rambling, sorry. I hope I don't make a complete fool of myself, but I was wondering if you were talking to or seeing anyone?"

Her heart almost stopped. It had been a while since someone had asked her out or tried to hit on her.

She shook her head, smiling wider. "No."

She had thought he couldn't smile any wider, but she was quickly proven wrong.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "I mean, um, well, would you like to maybe get some lunch or dinner sometime? I know I'm being pretty forward but I'd hate for someone to beat me to it."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, lunch sounds great. When are you thinking?"

"What day are you free?"

"I'm off Thursday."

"Thursday sounds perfect. I'm Varg by the way."

"Jess. Nice to meet you, Varg."

Pushing a button on the receipt printer, she tore off the blank sheet of paper and quickly wrote down her number, handing it to him with a shy smile.

"Just text me and we can work out the details," she said.

Varg held up the paper. "You just leave the planning to me. All you have to do is be there. I have to get going, I'm meeting up with some friends but I'll message you."

"Sounds good."

With a final wave, she watched him leave just as Celaine walked back in with two large iced coffees in her hands.

A knowing smile spread across her face as the two locked eyes.

"It's about time you had a boyfriend!" she squealed happily.

Jess glared playfully at her. "He's not my boyfriend. We're just going out for lunch."

"That's usually how dating works."

"Shut up. I mean, who knows, he could be a total nutcase and we won't even have a second date."

"I highly doubt that. He seems like a pretty decent guy from what I've seen of him. Plus I think he has a small band or something that does shows in the city."

"Oh? I'll have to see what kind of music he plays. Hopefully not country."

"No he's definitely not the type. I think Kyle told me at one point but I can't remember. He's seen them a few times I think."

"He seems like a pretty nice guy."

"And we all know you could use some kindness in your life right now. I'm sure things will work out great for you and him. Just promise to give me all the details after."

"Deal. I'm gonna go on my break now. Thanks again for the pick-me-up."

"That's what I'm here for!"

Punching out for lunch, Jess couldn't help the smile still on her face. Maybe today wasn't as boring as she thought it would be. Maybe she finally had a chance to be genuinely happy. He certainly wasn't a prince, but he sure was charming.