Thanks all!
Doug was surprised when she called and told him the news that night.
"So, Andy," he said, "fashion, eh?"
"Yeah," Andy shrugged and sat at her kitchen table. She opened a beer. "It's a new direction, but I think it'll be good."
"Good? You're working for Miranda Priestly," Andy could feel Doug shaking his head through the phone. "A million girls would kill for that job."
The brunette sighed. "I know, but I'm honestly not one of them." She took a swig from her drink. "I just need a steady, respectable job that will pay the bills and give me the experience I need to move on to bigger and better things."
"Amen to that," Doug chuckled.
"Ugh, I have no idea what I'm going to wear tomorrow," Andy sighed. "You should see what the women wear at this place."
"You'll be fine, sweetie—" Doug was abruptly cut off, and Andy could hear loud chattering in the background. There was the sound of shuffling, and then he was back, "Sorry about that, Andy. I was on my way to meet Lily, and I just got to the bar. Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"No, thanks though," Andy grimaced, "I think I have to be in the office at 8 tomorrow, so I need an early night."
"Ok," Doug made a kissing noise through the phone. "Love you, and I know you're going to crush it tomorrow! Let me know how it goes."
"Will do, have fun!" Andy hung up the phone and snorted to herself. She loved Doug, but he wasn't always the greatest at giving advice. She looked over at Savannah, who was laying on the couch.
"Did you hear that, girl?" Andy cooed.
The cat rolled over and gave a purr, so the brunette took it as an affirmative sign. Andy laughed and logged into the webcam site. 'ST' was online, and she hurriedly clicked on the icon to connect. Self-consciously patting her hair down as she waited, she couldn't help the flush of excitement as she thought about telling 'T' the good news. A pair of legs appeared on her screen, and Andy beamed.
"Hi!" she gave a little wave.
"Hello, Savannah."
"Guess what?" Andy exclaimed, "I got the job!"
"How wonderful. Where, may I inquire?"
"Runway. It's a fashion magazine, and I'll be an assistant to the Editor-in-Chief. Even though I think I made a bad first impression on my future boss, she hired me anyways," Andy rambled. "Hopefully it'll be a good fit."
'T' scribbled on the whiteboard, and Andy scratched Savannah behind the ears as she waited patiently. "Fashion. Interesting choice. I'm sure you didn't make that bad of an impression on her — she hired you, did she not? Will you still keep this job then?"
"I'm not sure," Andrea shrugged before looking down. "I've already quit the bar and restaurant, since Emily—the first assistant—told me that under no circumstances am I allowed to keep those while working there. I guess I start tomorrow already. I don't know how she did it, but she placed a few calls and I didn't have to give my 2 weeks. I feel bad leaving them so suddenly, but I suppose they had plenty of help..." she swallowed hard, aware she was rambling. "And being a webcam girl isn't exactly a professional image for the field I'm entering...what if I was recognized?" she laughed nervously at the thought. "Plus, I had promised myself that web-camming would only be until I got a new job. And seeing as though I have..." she trailed off.
"I see. I suppose it is goodbye then."
"Wait!" the young brunette called. She shrugged sheepishly as she said, "I suppose I should stick around for a bit, you know, just in case I screw up and get fired. I'll still be able to make a bit of money on the side. And, you know," she smiled shyly, "I'll be able to keep talking to you."
"Good. I doubt you will be fired though, Savannah."
Andy chuckled self-consciously. "Well thank you, but I'm actually a bit nervous. My new boss seems she demands a lot, and I'm afraid I might accidentally screw something up and ruin everything."
"I'm sure you will do just fine. As with anything new, it just takes time. You will learn more and more each day until you become completely settled into the new demands of this job. Don't worry."
"Thanks," she smiled.
"You're welcome."
They sat in silence for a minute. Suddenly, Andy blurted out, "Are we cool?"
"What do you mean?"
"Last time, you seemed a bit tense. I wanted to make sure I didn't upset you," Andy said tentatively.
"No. You did not upset me."
Andy waited for something else, but when she didn't elaborate, Andy decided to drop the matter. "Brilliant then," she said, giving the woman a bright smile. Elegant legs shifted, and the young woman suddenly wished more than anything that she could see the woman's face. Her smile dimmed slightly.
Before the other woman could comment, she blurted out, "Thank you for the advice. I should go and get some sleep before my first day tomorrow."
"Good night, Savannah."
"Good night," Andy softly responded.
With that, she logged off and blew out a puff of air. She turned to Savannah and gently scratched the cat behind her pointed ears. "What have I gotten myself into? Feeling attraction for a woman whose face I've never even seen." Shaking her head, she mentally berated herself. "Good job Andy. Real smart." Savannah purred, and the young woman smiled. "I know, I need to go to bed. I have quite a full day tomorrow."
Standing, she padded to her bathroom and started her nighttime absolutions. When she was done, she climbed in her bed and Savannah curled up on the pillow next to her. Andy gave the soft fur a few strokes before rolling over and closing her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly despite the gnawing nerves in her stomach.
After what seemed like moments later, she was rudely awakened by her phone going off. Squinting, she blindly reached for it and mumbled a rough "Hello" before being assaulted by a list of demands from Emily. Before she could even fully process the Starbucks order shot at her, the red-head had hung up. Andy groaned and flung her arm over her head. So much for waking up at a leisurely 7 a.m. Her day had officially started.
By the time she returned home that night, Andy was ready to fall into bed and forget the day she just had. Not only was she overwhelmed by the amount of information that was thrown her way, she also was still reeling from the scathing lecture Miranda had given her on the history of cerulean blue. The cutting words still echoed in her ears, "That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of 'stuff'."
Andy cringed just thinking about it and fell onto the couch with a groan. She wanted to slink away and hide in a hole. Savannah curled herself around her mistress's legs, sensing the woman's mood.
"Oh Savannah," Andy rubbed her eyes. "You should have seen the look she gave me! I thought the flesh was gonna melt off her face."
The cat purred reassuringly, and the brunette chuckled.
"I'm glad I have you," she sinked further into the couch, pulling her feet up and cuddling closer with her pet. "This whole day has been crazy. Emily, the other assistant, told me Miranda had fired a person for leaving the desk due to an accident with a letter opener. Can you imagine?!" She paused and then sighed. "God I hope I don't screw anything up."
Savannah blinked at her, and Andy shook her head. "Thanks for being a great listener Savannah, but I need somebody who can talk back."
Grabbing her laptop off the table, she quickly logged in and grinned when she saw 'ST' online. Quickly, she clicked on the icon, pinging the woman on the other end, and drummed her fingers impatiently on the wood while she waited.
"Hi, I have so much to tell you," Andy smiled when she was met with the same stocking-clad legs. Oddly, she mused, legs that had never changed. She mentally shrugged—just an extra privacy precaution 'T' took. Even the dress color the woman wore was the same, and her trusty leather gloves stayed firmly on her hands for every session. For some reason, the idea of being so worried about being recognized made the brunette sad. Sure, it was a webcam site, so it wasn't exactly a place one would want to be recognized on, but the lengths 'T' went to ensure her privacy were insane. Before Andy could speculate on it further, the chair spun around and the scrawled handwriting the young woman had quickly learned to decipher appeared.
How was your first day of work?
"For being the job 'a million girls would kill for', it was rather difficult," Andy picked at her cerulean sweater. "From not knowing how to spell 'Gabbana', to running a thousand errands, I'm beat," she rubbed her eyes. "There's just so much I need to know for the job."
One day at a time.
"Yeah," she huffed, blowing her hair out of her face, "I guess I'm just overwhelmed."
You mentioned you were an aspiring journalist during one of our earlier meetings, did you not?
"I did," Andy said, a bit surprised that the other woman would remember that.
Sounds like this environment is well-suited then. Many journalists lead busy lives, and you need to learn how to manage everything in an effective manner. Besides, I'm sure a woman with your high intelligence can handle it.
The brunette blushed."Well, thanks. Anyways, how was your day?"
Fine, busy as usual. Lots of important meetings.
"How are your children?" she inquired.
Well. They seem to be enjoying the school year so far, and liking their classes. That reminds me, I need your advice. One of my children thinks they have found their true love. What am I to say to that?
Andy noted the intentional plural pronoun and felt a surge of disappointment when she realized the other woman didn't trust her enough to reveal the gender of her children. She understood that it was ridiculous to wish it of the woman who wore black gloves to hide the backs of her hands, but it still stung. Shaking her head slightly, she pushed all morose thoughts out of her head and responded.
"You'll have to give me a bit more context than that, I'm afraid."
My child thinks the world of this classmate of theirs. Said classmate is, and I quote, "utterly dreamy", and apparently asked my child to go to the mall last week. Since then, all my child can talk about is how wonderful this classmate is, and how this might be the 'one'. My child is too young to even entertain notions of love.
"Well it's a bit hard for me to give the best advice, seeing as I don't know exactly how old or what gender your child is, but I would say wait it out," Andy shrugged. "I remember being in 'love' with two boys I liked when I was young. Of course, none of them turned out to be 'the one', but it was so exciting to have those feelings. Half of it, for me at least, was the feeling of even gaining the attention of another boy." And now you're not so sure you're even into boys! a voice sing-songed in her ear. Andy pushed the annoying voice away and focused her attention back on the webcam and the gorgeous crossed legs. "My mom would entertain me by listening to my lovesick ramblings, but she always told me to keep an open mind and an open heart. Somebody out there really is the 'one', and I did myself no favors by limiting myself to the few boys I met in elementary/middle school. Turns out she was right. None of those crushes lasted more than a month or two. I would give your child the same advice: Enjoy the feeling, but don't let it completely close you off from the possibility of another," Andy shyly looked in the camera and said, "I haven't yet met my 'one', and I'm perfectly alright with that. Call me a helpless romantic, but I like going through life with an open heart." She fell silent after her monologue, feeling a tad self-conscious.
I will be sure to remember your philosophy when next confronted, Savannah. And for the record, despite going though a rough patch with my husband right now, I too hope to keep an open heart.
Andy smiled. "Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"
"Well..."
After spending another half-hour on the webcam with 'T', Andy finally logged off and rubbed her tired eyes. Tomorrow brought a new day and new challenges, and she needed to be as clearheaded as she possibly could. The last thought drifting through her mind before she succumbed to sleep was, "God, I wish I could meet 'T' in person."
