The perfect woman - My best friend's mom (GirlxGirl)

Six - Walk with me

I woke up the next morning. The raining had stopped during the night and had let me sleep until my alarm. I had only one lecture today and I could attend it from home, so I didn't have to leave the comfort of the house. I would probably do that anyway, but the feeling that I didn't have to was amazing. I considered sleeping in but the pile of textbooks on my desk made me trash the idea and get up. 

"Good morning sunshine!" My dad greeted me when I came downstairs. He was sitting at the kitchen island with a bowl in his hand, reading the newspaper. He was probably the only one in Peak who still got the morning news in paper-form, but he argued that the paper didn't emit blue-light, and he got a point.

"Morning," I said and took down a bowl from the cabinet.

"How's your schoolwork coming along? I've barely seen you the past weeks and we haven't chatted in a bit." That was actually true. I had spent a lot of time at Jasmine's, at school or at mom's in Charmon. 

"It's going pretty good. I feel like this term is harder than last term but I'm managing. Jasmine is having trouble with math but I try to help her as much as I can."

"That's nice of you," dad said.

"How's work?" I asked.

"Oh, you know, the same old boring stuff," he said and chuckled. "Actually, I have this new project coming up that I'm really excited about. A three-story mansion a few miles out of Peak. The scenary is beautiful and we want to implement that into the house."

My dad's an architect. Ironic, right, as I'm studying architecture (and engineering). His work did have some influence on me, but I would say I wanted to study architecture despite him working with it, rather than because of it.

"Our engineers are also looking into passive housing, as the buyer is very interested in sustainability. You're learning about that kind of stuff, right?"

"Yes, right now actually. We had a lecture about it yesterday," I laughed. We continued to talk about his work and architecture until he had to actually go to work, not just talk about it. 

I was left alone and didn't waste any more time to start studying; the earlier I begun, the earlier I could finish. 

* * *

I was mostly finished with my schoolwork as the clock hit lunch, apart from the lecture that afternoon. I heated up leftovers in the microwave and watched an episode of Madam Secretary as I ate. Elizabeth McCord did look a lot like April now that I thought about it; both were tall with blond hair and were absolutely gorgeous. Maybe that's why I like the show so much. Or why I like April so much.

I caught up with my thoughts and pushed them away. Even though I liked April and I very much enjoyed thinking about her, it didn't change anything about the situation, and it made me depressed. Every day, I wished things were different, that I had been the same age as her or that I was a man. Sometimes I even wished I was Henry, but I quickly got out of that state of mind. I didn't have anything against him, apart from being married to my perfect woman, but something about him made me uncomfortable. Men in general tended to have that effect on me, some more than others.

I put my dishes in the dishwasher and was hit by sunshine through the window. The last beam of the year. The dark and grey rainclouds had cleared and the sky was as blue as ever. The road had dried from the night's rain and the wind had blew the fallen leads off the pavement. I decided to cease the moment and went up to my room to change. An afternoon run felt very appealing, and it did so all the way 'til I was actually outside. The wind was still blowing and some patches on the road was still wet and covered with slippery leafs. After a kilometer I decided it would be safest to walk, but I wasn't too sad about that; it was a great day to be outside. With my favourite music playing in my ears and the sun shining on my face, I felt my batteries recharge and my mind slowing down. This term had truly been challenging and rough on my mental health, so it was nice to do something else.

"Oh, hi Liv," I distantly heard someone say through the music. I looked around and saw April jogging towards me on a crossroad. She was wearing a similar outfit to mine, black leggings, a sports jacket and running shoes. She did however look much better in her workout clothes than I did in mine. Her hair was in a high ponytail and her cheeks were flushed from the cold and her run. She sped up when she saw me and we both took out our headphones.

"Hi!" I said when she came closer.

"Hi!" She said again. We started walking beside each other in the same direction I had before.

"Do you run often?" I asked.

"I try to, but you know, with kids and work and all, you don't always have time for yourself," she answered. "How about you?"

"Same, but with school. I was actually on a run just now, but the road was too slippery so I walked instead."

"I see. It's better to be safe than sorry," she said and smiled. "Do you have a lot in school? I hear from Jasmine that you've been helping her with math, that's really kind of you."

"Well she is my best friend, so. And yes, somehow it seems like it's only getting more hectic in school. We get new assignments, more books to read and new projects all the time. I honestly don't understand how people have graduated, but maybe next term will be less stressful." I said and sighed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said and looked at me. "Jasmine said the same thing the other day. I hope it's just temporary, for everyone's sake."

"How about you, anything new and exciting at work?" I asked.

"Exciting - depends on who you ask. I really enjoy what I'm doing so it's more or less exciting all the time, but I doubt you would think that," she said.

"You don't think I would like to do paperwork, sit in long meetings with boring people with ties and write numbers on the computer!?" I said sarcastically and laughed.

"You think that's what I do!?" She said with a bewildered and equally as sarcastic look. "I do a lot more than that, but I do agree that people with ties often can be really boring." She giggled and playfully bumped her shoulder against mine. I was taken aback by the sudden touch and was caught up in my thoughts for a moment before I could let it go and keep on, as if I didn't have a crush on the person walking next to me, who so unfortunately happens to be my best friend's 46-year old, straight, married mom. But she was.

"How's the boys?"