Thank you to those who have left comments, I really appreciate it. Glad to see that some of you are enjoying the story. :)
Complicated.
7:
Spencer thumbed through the stack of mail in her hands as she entered her apartment, mentally picking out what was junk and what wasn't. She opened one envelope, her bank statement, and tossed the rest onto the kitchen bar, along with her purse and sunglasses. On that same counter top sat her answering machine. It had a small, red digital 2 blinking in the bottom right corner, telling her the number of messages she had waiting for her. She leaned over and hit the play button.
The first message was work related and unimportant, but she let it play all the way through. Half-listening, she scanned the record of all the purchases she made the month before, then quickly glanced at her balance on the bottom of the page.
Charlie, her Golden Retriever, was sitting at her feet, watching her every move. His tail wagged excitedly against the carpeted floor, while he patiently waited to be acknowledged.
The next message was by Aiden. "Hey, I'm just calling to remind you about our coffee date. I told my boss that I have a doctor appointment in order to get some time off tomorrow. It's hard to get any time off on a Friday, but since I rarely ever ask, he let me. You hear that? I'm sacrificing part of my Friday, one of our busiest days of the week, to do this, so you cannot back out on me. Call her." After the click, the machine informed her that it was the end of her messages and shut off.
Spencer re-folded the bank statement and carefully slipped it back into the envelope before lowering her eyes to the black cordless phone sitting in its base. Sighing, she plucked the phone up and stared at the digits, willing her fingers to follow through with the next step. Calling Ashley and inviting her to join Aiden and herself for coffee was something she had been dreading all week. She knew their conversation was going to be weird and awkward like their face-to-face one was a few days before. But that was the whole point of the coffee meeting, to eliminate the awkwardness between them, reclaim their friendship. That's what Aiden saw happening at least. Spencer wasn't so sure. She was skeptical about the whole thing; the phone call, the meeting, trying to reconnect with Ashley, befriend her. If she had to be honest, she couldn't see herself being friends with Ashley. Ever. There was just too much history between them.
Dammit. Why did I agree to this?
She dropped the phone back into its cradle, deciding to give herself some more time before making the call, and looked down at her golden-haired friend on the floor. Smiling, she put a hand under his chin, lifting his head. "Hey pretty boy." She rubbed and scratched the dog behind the ears. "Want to go outside?" Charlie answered her by jumping up and running over to the door. "Hold on, Charlie, let me get your leash."
She bent down to clip the leash onto the dog's collar before going over to the door and opening it up. The dog flew passed her, getting out of the apartment as fast as he could. The photographer had to stretch both arms out and struggle to keep from being dragged away in order to close and lock the door.
- - -
Half an hour later, still on the walk, Spencer pulled her cell out of her pocket, checking the time. It was nearing seven. Ashley would be leaving for work soon. "C'mon, you can do this. It's just a phone call. It's just Ashley." She scrolled through the list of names saved in her phone. Landing on Corey's, she scrolled over to the 'home' icon, then pressed the 'call' button.
As she waited for someone to pick up, the memory of her last phone conversation with Ashley drifted into her head. The ten minute call that, at the time, tore her world apart. She remembered sitting on that cold, hard bathroom tile floor in her dormitory for hours, sobbing.
Shaken, she put her arm through the loop on the leash, gripping it tightly in her hand, and pulled her sixty-five pound friend over to a bench and sat down. There, she closed her eyes and tried to force the painful memory from her thoughts.
- - -
Ashley was getting ready for work when she heard the phone ring. She leaped out of the bathroom and sprinted across the hallway to her bedroom. She listened for the ringing device, trying to determine where it was coming from. After a quick search, she found the cordless buried amongst the rumpled comforter on her bed. "Hello?"
"H-hey, Ashley?"
"Uh, yeah, hey," Ashley mumbled, recognizing the voice on the other end. She cursed herself for not checking the Caller-ID before answering.
"It's Spencer."
Licking her lips, the bartender said, "Corey's not here. She's at the library, I think. Studying."
"I, I know that. I was actually calling to talk to you."
"Oh?" Ashley pulled her legs up onto the bed, folding them underneath her in an Indian-style position. "What about?"
"Aiden and I," the other woman started, sounding hesitant, unsure if she wanted to go through with her invitation. "We, uh, we wanted to see if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee with us tomorrow." There was an uncomfortable pause. Ashley heard birds chirping in the background. "I told him about, well, you know, and he really wants to see you. Play catch up." Another pause. "Corey mentioned you didn't work during the day, so I thought you'd be available. But if you have other plans, that's cool, we can meet up some other time. Or not, if you don't want to."
"It'd be really nice to see Aiden again..." The words passed through her lips before she realized what she was saying. What am I doing? Say no, say no, say no!
"Is that a yes? You'll go?"
Ashley mindlessly picked at a stray piece of thread on one of the corners of the bedspread. She wasn't ready to hang out, act normal, or play catch up with Spencer yet. She wanted so badly to turn down the invitation, but an "okay" came out of her mouth instead.
"Okay?"
She chewed on her lower lip. "Yeah, okay. I'll go. Where am I suppose to meet you guys?"
After Spencer told her where and what time to meet, they said their goodbyes. Ashley waited for the click before moving the phone away from her ear and pressing the 'talk' button. She sighed, running her fingers through her thick curls. Shit. Why did I agree to this?
- - -