-CHAPTER 3: Moving On
A few weeks later.
In Florida...
Carrying a letter in her hand, Nichole ran hurriedly to her favorite spot on the beach. Her heart was drumming with hopes as she tore the envelope and read the letter she just received from a publisher.
Too bad, it's another bad news.
Just another letter of rejection..., she thought angrily. No one wants to publish my stories!
She crumbled and tossed the letter directly to the garbage can.
Should just work in the cafeteria. Will make more money washing dishes than writing, she thought bitterly.
She stared at piles of her writing paper in rage. Pieces of junk! She took them all to throw them into the garbage can, but she hesitated a little. They're her precious treasure although no one wanted to publish them. She spent months writing them, some even years. They had her emotion in there, her mind in there, too. They're like her friend, a solitary place for her to escape from the cruel world to get peace. She wouldn't discard a friend!
She sighed. In dismay she looked into the sea direction and her eyes caught a figure of a young man who sat on the dock looking deeply into the sea.
At least, I'm not alone. Happy life only exists in a story book, she thought. Who is he? What is he thinking?
It's been a month that he always came everyday around the same time. He'd sit on the dock, legs crossed in front of him, unmoved for hours. A couple of times she stole a look at his face when he passed in front of her. She's intrigued by the bitter look on his face and the sadness shone from his eyes. She wondered what troubled him. She wondered if she could help.
Of course, he's not the only person who came sitting on the dock with a sad face. She had witnessed many, in fact. But they usually came for only a few days, while this young man had been coming every single day for almost a month! She wanted to come and talk to him. But she wondered how to open the conversation. Could she say, "Hi, I saw you and you looked sad, ..." ? No, he would think that she's weird. What about, "Hi, my name is Nichole, what's troubling you?", or "Hi, what are you looking at?", ... ? She's not sure. Hence, she never really greeted him.
Soon she forgot about her rejection letter, instead she's busy observing this young man. Her creative mind started to imagine all possible ideas which made him look so sad. Suddenly one terrifying idea passed trough her brain.
Is he thinking of committing a suicide?, she gasped imagining all scary things that came with that thought.
A second later, she saw the young man jumped into the water. Half a minute, a minute, a minute and a half and he's still underwater.
He's committing a suicide! He's committing a suicide!, thought Nichole, panic. She looked around and saw no lifeguard. In fact there's no one around at all which was common for that time of the day.
Without hesitation she dashed crossing the sand to the dock and jumped into the water. She used all her skill and strength to pull him out taking his head above the water.
What the hell?, thought the young man startled.
He saw a woman struggling to pull him above water and kept shouting again and again. "Don't drown yourself!" Her face was so panicked.
"Me? Drowned?" he asked dumbfoundedly. "I didn't! I was just spending time underwater!"
It's her turn who looked shocked. At once she released her grips on him and apologized many times.
He climbed back to the dock and gave his hand to pull her out from the water. As soon as she stood on the dock, he recognized her. He saw her sit under the palm tree writing everyday.
"Sorry for..." he said. At the same time she also said "Look, I'm sorry..." Both sentences collided and got disappeared in mumbling background. They stopped talking right away. She laughed heartily. Her head yanked backward, her mouth opened from ear to ear filled with genuinely happy laughter. Seeing her funny face made him smile briefly, followed by a mild grin.
Seeing his smile, she couldn't help to blurt out. "Wow you look charming when you smile!"
He grinned one more time before his eyes returned back to look dull and lifeless. "Thanks for the thought. Sorry to make your dress wet. Get to go now," he said spiritlessly.
"Oh no... wait, don't go yet. I need to apologize first for the intrusion. A proper apology," she said.
"I'm sorry for... ," she paused thinking what's the best way to explain the mishap. "Ah to be honest with you, I've never seen anyone looking... well, so forlorn. Hence I thought you're... you know, trying to drown yourself. Sorry about that."
She told him how panicked she was, how fast she ran, jumped to the water, and everything in great details. He's really not in the mood to chat actually. But she certainly possessed one of those rare skills in using combination of words to make sentences sound fun and interesting. Rather than to cut the conversation, he ended up staying and listening. He even thought she was funny so he grinned again.
She squeezed her wet skirt, smiled at him at the same time. "You're new here aren't you?"
He offered a handshake. "Neal. Neal Leagan. A new student in the university. Just got here for about a month. I often see you under that palm tree."
"Nichole, Nicholette Duran, also a student in the university. A local, have been here since I was born." She smiled widely. "What did you do underwater?"
"Forget things," he said sadly.
His face back to be sad again, tormentedly sad. She was alarmed to see such a sudden change and quickly changed the topic of conversation.
"I'm a writer."
"No wonder I always see you writing!" Neal said. "I love writing too. What kind of writer?"
"Romance writer," she smiled. "I work as a freelance writer to pay my living expenses."
She grabbed some local news paper and showed him some of her writings.
"Look, I wrote this." She showed him some articles with her name on the top, Nicholette Duran.
"Impressive!" he whistled in awed. For a moment she saw his face beaming.
"Freelancing doesn't make money, though. My boyfriend, Derek, has been chipping in to pay for my bills. My goal is to write a novel, to be a nationwide acclaimed writer."
"Sweet!"
"Yeah...," she added gloomily. "Unfortunately, it's not easy to publish my fist book, even locally. I'm unknown with no best selling record and, furthermore, I am still a student."
"I see," he said in sympathy.
"Why do you often look so sad?" Finally, she couldn't help to ask.
Neal told her briefly about his unfulfilled love with Candy. His face turned somber again, deep in anguished. She never saw anyone looking as dejected before except in her imagination when writing a story.
"That's sad," said Nichole. "Don't worry, Neal. I'll teach you how to attract girls." She giggled. "When you go home again, you can use the tricks to win Candy."
He felt so touched by her answer.
If only Candy cared about me half as much as she did, he lamented silently.
He noticed that she looked the opposite of Candy. Straight dark hair, dark eyes, caring smile. He stared at her hair and clothes which were fully wet. She's so nice. Thinking that he was in danger, she didn't mind to jumped into the water to save him. Seeing him sad, she chatted to comfort him. She didn't even ask anything from him in return. No one had ever given him such an unconditional friendship before.
Her offer, above all, was superb. He had wanted to learn more about girls.
Neal replied, "What about this, you teach me how to get a girl friend and I sponsor the publication of your first book." He gave his most enchanting grin.
Nichole smiled didn't think that he's serious. Publish a book? Do you know how much it costs? She looked at him in sympathy. Neal seemed to have a mental problem, he's quite dashing though.
She noticed his face was beaming and he looked happy. She didn't want to ruin his happiness so she nodded and they shook hands.
"Deal," said Nichole.
They were soaking wet, but they seemed to forget all about it. Both absorbed in each other's pleasant company. Although they just met, they felt strong connection like they've been friends all trough their lives. Other than her kindness, her will power and hard work to reach success impressed him. As for her, she never saw someone as intriguing as him. A dashing man who's trying to mend his broken heart, how romantic..., a writer's heart in her crumbled. He seemed just like a character that's being pulled straight out from a romance novel. And his Mid West accent was just so pleasant to the ears.
They continued talking until... she sneezed.
"You must be cold. May I take you home? My car is nearby," offered Neal.
Considering how wet and soaked her dress was, she gratefully accepted his offer.
As they left the beach, they pressed their feet into the sand strongly, leaving deep footprints. Something within them sensed a brand new world awaited ahead of their new formed friendship...
ooOoo
Not long after that, like magic, Nichole found out that Neal's father was a tycoon and he actually did as he said. He financed the publication of her first book.
It was like a dream when her first novel was finally published by a local publisher. Even better, it was a success! Nichole wrote more books and each book brought her to greater success. In no time, she became a well known writer in Florida.
In Chicago...
Candy went out dining with one of her coworkers. When they're done and she was about to get up, the man held her hand.
"Candy, you are beautiful. I've admired you for a long time. I wonder, could I be your suitor?" he asked.
Terry was married, Albert, Archie and Annie, too. Seeing them one by one got married made her want to get married even more. She always wanted to have her own family, have her own children. She wondered if this man would be the one she married to at the end.
Beatrice had been introducing her to men. But, everyone associated with the Ardlay family always entangled in complexity. The etiquette, the gossip, their hidden intention to name a few. Sometimes she's not sure if they genuinely wanted her or they merely used her as a stepping stone to get acquainted to Albert. She couldn't wait to escape such a life. She's been longing for a peaceful life, something a large family as famous as the Ardlays lacked of.
This offer was not at all bad. It came from her coworker, a friend, someone totally not connected with the Ardlay family.
Without thinking far Candy nodded, they kissed. She couldn't wait to start a brand new day with her new boyfriend.
-To Be Continued -
Thanks for reading.