Rhapsody (Part 2 of Medley).

70: THE AFTER YOU / WHERE I STOOD.

Happy Anniversary, Harry.

Today makes two years since I met you. August 8th.: our anniversary day, according to you. You said we should start counting from that first day because we knew then.

You're right, I knew from the moment I was face to face with you that if you kissed me, I wouldn't want you to ever stop.

But it stopped. Everything did.

I remember our first anniversary Harry had a whole day planned for us but his work got in the way and he had to improvise. We fought that day because him leaving earlier than scheduled meant he'd miss his cousin Matty's wedding.

I was mad at him the day before when we got the news even though it wasn't his fault. But I had no one else to direct my frustrations at. That was usually one of the problems.

When we made up he asked me to marry him. Just like that, out of the blue, without warning. I don't know how serious he was, but I brushed it off as a spur-of-the-moment thing then. Maybe he meant it, I'll never know.

What would've happened if I'd believed his proposal was real and I had said yes? Maybe today we would be celebrating our second anniversary together. Or maybe we'd hate each other by now, who knows!

But anyways, that is in the past and the past doesn't come back. It's been three months since we broke up and this eight day of August has lost all significance.

Susan talked to her friend Sandra about hiring me to help her while she finds a new manager. I started about two weeks ago, but I've only been doing work from home. I will meet with her in Los Angeles this weekend and attend a charity event with her. She'll see me in action for the first time then and that's going to be my test, I hope I pass... this job means the world to me right now.

It's like Susan read my mind when I saw her in London a month ago. Medley was everything to me from the moment I acquired it to the moment I met Harry, but since then the store has lost the sense of fulfillment it used to give me. The work I did with EUTS was so important and it impacted the lives of so many people that any other job now pales in comparison.

No other job will ever give me as much satisfaction. So in these past three months back at Medley I realized I no longer want to do this, even if things don't work out with Sandra at CIF, I will try elsewhere until someone hires me.

The biggest surprise was talking to my father and him understanding and supporting my decision of selling the store. Feels great to have his support when I need it, for a change.

"How would you like to own Medley?" I said to Jackson as soon as he sat on the chair at the other end of my desk on the morning after my mind was made.

"Wh-what?" He was confused.

"I'm going to sell the store, Jack. But I love this place. I don't want just anyone to have it and I don't want them to turn it into something else. I want you to have it and continue the work you started here with me."

"Wait, wait! First of all, why are you selling it?"

"Because it's not what I want to do anymore, that's all. So, what do you say?"

"Emi, that's... I mean, I love that you thought of me, but I don't have that kind of money. I've saved, but not nearly enough to afford my own business!"

"Who said you have to pay me now? When I got the store from Mr. Tanner I didn't have all the money either, remember? But he let me give him a percentage of the monthly sales until it was all paid off. We can do that, and I don't need any money down."

I've been extremely lucky to have inherited money from my mom, who left Stefan and I the money her parents left to her since she was an only child. But it wasn't the type of money I needed to pay for the store in full, yet Mr. Tanner wanted to leave it to someone who'd care about it as much as he did, and that was me at the time. I had been working there since my junior year in high school and he knew I was going to run the place with the same passion for music and love for people that he had.