Distant Hearts

A Thought

Twirling around in your chair, you try to find inspiration for the interior design of the new corporate building your company has you planning, but you don't have any inspiration as of yet for it. You're still daydreaming about the 4th of July weekend in Chicago – which Summer still tries to get details out of you. It was a fun weekend, you have to admit. You always knew the Lindsay that was book smart, shy and gullible, but when she took you to her family's gathering ground, you watched her emerge to be the social butterfly of sorts. You saw her mother again and met family members that you couldn't remember now. You had stayed close to the one of many red heads and only let her out of your sight once – when her cousin named Kyla started to ask questions on if you were her new boyfriend or not.

Remembering the fireworks was the best part of your daydream and you would've killed Jerry, who was knocking on your office door, if it wasn't because you needed this job. In fact, you liked your job – it's just the management that you weren't a big fan of. Turning back around and facing him, you hear him say something about an emergency staff meeting and you proceed to roll your eyes. This would be the third one this month and the month wasn't even half over. But as soon as you get up to follow him to the boardroom, your eyes catch onto the picture of her – smiling like she means it and isn't going to get any happier in her life. You remember that it was taken on that Fourth of July weekend and remember her cousin Kyla, again, coming up behind her when she smiled like that. You admit to yourself that you miss her and make a point to call her as soon as you're out of the meeting, if it really is a real meeting. And then the inevitable happens, your phone rings first.

Leaving Jerry to go to the meeting by himself, you stare at the phone, debating on answering it or not and ultimately decide to answer it. After all, it could be important. But you find it really isn't when your best friend starts rambling a mile a minute about something concerning his boat. Put Summer on the phone Seth, you beg him and you hear her in the background telling him to deal with Hugh, the club's daytime watchman and she gets on the phone with you apologizing for him being Seth sometimes. So, which meeting did he just get you out of? She asks, as she now knows you better than you know yourself. You smirk and tell her it's some emergency meeting, air quoting with your fingers as you sit back down in your chair and twirl back around in it, catching another glimpse of her photo….and her smile. You stare at it for a while before being pulled back in by Summer's voice mentioning dinner tomorrow night and something about a surprise. I hate surprises, you tell her right out. You'll love this one, she counters back and you roll your eyes, all of the sudden excited about the 'surprise' for tomorrow night. But then you're not expecting the real surprise that's standing outside your office door.

You bounce right up from your seat and hang up on Summer, still staring at the figure in your doorway like you just saw a ghost. Her knock was a complete surprise and you're now wondering if Summer's phone call was just a distraction. She's here and you're here and not seeing her for three weeks seems more like a lifetime to you than just a few weeks. You flashback to the moment when you first kissed her – in Sandy & Kirsten's pool house – the moment that you wouldn't trade for the world. Her red hair is curly today and you fight back the urge to run your hands through it as she slowly walks in, looking about the almost-corner office that the firm has you in.

So, I was going to go with the 'I just happened to be passing by' line, but I figured you see right through that, she says, a playful smile forming on her lips as she lets her oversized purse slip onto one of the chairs.

You smile back, mostly because hers is so contagious and partly because she got you back. You'd be right, you pause for a moment, thinking of what to say next, but before you can she catches you by surprise again by giving you a hug. You instantly wrap her in your arms and think that life really can't get any better than this right now. Can it?

So, what can I do to get you to play hookie today? She asks and this is declared the best day in your life.