How it Happened

Fourteen

Fourteen

31 days until the wedding

     "Lane twelve got another ball stuck."

     "Seriously?" my groan receives a sputtering laugh not only from my coworker, Josh, but also from the woman that he's helping at the counter. I normally would begin laughing myself, but since this is my third rescue of the day, I continue to grumble incoherently to myself instead.

     Every once and a while the bowling balls like to rebel, but since today's rebellion stems from a two-lane birthday party that has been wreaking havoc for the past two hours, my own patience is now slowly rolling into the gutter.

     Balance also isn't my strong suit, and it's as if the world wants to remind me of that fact when my foot slips off the plastic buffer and slams on the extra shiny wood that makes up the lane. The extra shine makes the lane extra slippery, and it steals my sneaker covered foot for an extra second before I'm back to balance beaming my way to the end of the lane. I disappear behind the cubby that holds the pins and grumble out a random number of baked goods when I abruptly hit my head.

     I so desperately want to be bitter. It would be easy to go into auto pilot and wish away the rest of the day, but that would also be a waste. Especially, when I'm instantly greeted by cheers when I return. I hop off the end of the plastic buffer and give the twenty kids a little bow. My smile is genuine even though the few high-fives I'm coaxed into giving are halfhearted, but the notion is only solidified when the parents in charge of the little gremlins send a mouthed "thank you" my way.

     Their game starts up again as I walk away, and I only shake my head when the kids cheering ensues at an even higher octave. I make my way back behind the counter and swiftly begin helping the influx of people that emerged in my absence. The clouds outside must be the reason for the popularity of the bowling alley today, but I'll admit, I prefer the movies.

     Another hour rolls by with a revolving door of customers, and just as I hand off another pair of shoes my left butt cheek starts vibrating.

     It's against the rules to use your phone at work, but my boss wasn't born yesterday, and he knows that on slow days the world isn't going to end if someone wants to check one of their social media pages. I prefer to keep my phone in my bag because it's refreshing to not constantly check it for nonsense. It's nice to live in the real world for a few hours, and it's only a boost that I'm getting paid for it.

     But today is different.

     Today, my cell phone has remained in my back pocket and everything up until now has only been a temporary distraction.

     This phone call holds all the potential for today.

     "I'll be right back," I tell Josh as my legs carry me out from behind the counter and my hand plucks out my phone.

     "What?" The word is laced in the distress I internally feel, and has me quickly glancing back up to meet Josh's wide eyes.

     "Just two minutes." I hold up the number with my fingers while his expression darts between me, the seemingly never-ending line of customers, and the large pile of shoes on the other side. "Two minutes!" I shout as I continue to take large steps backwards, but that's when his wide eyes land on me again. The sheer terror on his face only makes me laugh, but since I know how he feels, I continue to reassure him. "I'll be right back, I promise. I just really have to take this." I scurry outside as my finger finally presses the button to answer the call. "Hello?" I curse myself for sounding breathless, but that's when I realize just how fast my chest is moving up and down.