The Matchmaker

Chapter 16

Over the coming days, Shannon returned to work and gradually rekindled her friendship with Nathan. After Justin talked to Nathan he started acting much friendlier toward her. They were on an understanding and he had accepted her apology. Finally she felt as though she could be herself again.

Although that wasn’t entirely true.

The nightmares still occurred every night and she finally knew why. It was Brian. Something told her that as soon as she finally confessed the past to him, they would go away for good. Sadly it wasn’t that easy. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She missed Brian so much and she pined after him every day. It was worse whenever she spent time with Nathan. As much as she enjoyed her time with him, it just wasn’t the same without Brian. Those moments when Brian would make a sarky comment that only they would understand were no longer there. The moments Nathan told a bad joke only Shannon and Brian would laugh at, or he was serious over the silliest things, just didn’t feel the same. Shannon would laugh but it was half-hearted.

Without Brian they were both incomplete. For their entire lives it had always just been them but suddenly it was torn away from them. All because of a stupid mistake.

Two weeks after the incident, Shannon decided to take action on her life once and for all. After her discussion with her father about independence, she knew it was time to do it. The thought of living alone scared her to death so she decided she would ask Amy if she was interested.

She still giggled every time she thought about how close she and Amy had become as friends. And to think Shannon once viewed her as a shy little girl with no potential. She was now one of her closest friends whom she relied on constantly. Shy little Amy was quite often the one to console Shannon and provide support. Oh how the tables had turned.

Before she even considered moving out she knew she had to secure a full time job first. She wanted to stay on at her current place of employment and get her hours increased to fulltime but it wasn’t possible. Before her breakdown she approached her boss a few weeks earlier and asked if he could increase her hours. He just shook his head apologetically and said he couldn’t afford her. They were underfunded and understaffed yet he couldn’t afford to do anything about either situation. He even confessed it looked likely they would be forced to shut down. That thought depressed her as she had been at the company for years. Not letting herself dwell on it, she found a positive in the situation. It was a perfect opportunity for her to have a career change. And that was exactly what she did.

Working part time meant she had every Wednesday and Friday afternoon off work. The following Wednesday she dedicated to job hunting. She spent the morning indoors applying for jobs online. She soon got bored with that and she knew if she stuck to that, she wouldn’t be successful. Filled with determination, a feeling she had become close friends with, she went out for the afternoon and decided to approach people face to face. The thought of cold canvassing had always sent chills down her spine but she had convinced herself that sometimes it was the only way. She wanted to be one of those people who said ‘if I can do it so can you!’

She had never had a dream job but she had finally found a job she enjoyed and would make a career out of. With that out of the picture she had to think of something else. As she considered about her options a thought struck her. It was her short lived matchmaking career that did it. She had lied to Justin about enjoying photography, perhaps she could enjoy it. Then she realised, the feeling she got from matchmaking she could also get in photography. Something about people falling in love gave her a thrill and she could use that to her benefit. She wanted to specialise in taking photos for those special occasions such as anniversaries, engagements, weddings, surprise proposals - just to name a few. It would take a long time to build up her skill, purchase the equipment and build up a reputation. In the meantime she decided it would be best to find a job that would allow her to gain the appropriate skills to work in the field.