It’s good to hear you have a plan for your day on the anniversary of what I’m assuming was a very bad day. I need to take a page out of your book and create a routine to push me through hard days. I’m still figuring myself out, but I wasn’t ghosting you. If you’re up to it, do you want to talk on the phone tonight? We can talk about our favorite depressive meal and movie.
I caught myself smiling. Honestly, hearing her whimsical voice would make the day much more bearable.
Me
She lives! If anyone is going to understand needing to disappear for a bit after a hard therapy session, it’s me. You never need to apologize. I hope you are in better spirits. I’m sorry you had a rough session, but remember, you are stronger than your trauma. I would love to get back to our nightly phone call routine. Does 7 work?
Serenity
Talk to you then.
She sent a kissy face at the end of her last text. I tried not to get too excited about it. As much as I wished I didn’t have to be on a stupid three-week work trip, I was also grateful for the time we had to get to know each other. I've learned so much about her during our talks. She shared her amazing idea to open her own independent bookstore to sell books from independent authors. Her excitement was evident when she talked about it, making me like her that much more.
My phone rang, and it was Serenity. We weren’t supposed to talk on the phone until seven, and it was barely turning six.
“Hey, sad girl, miss me too much you had to call early?” I said in greeting.
“Have you eaten yet?” she asked in a rush.
“I was about to order pizza. Why?”
“I thought we could change our regular phone call to a video call, and we can have dinner together.” She paused. “Actually, maybe that sounds stupid. I can go.”
“Wait, don’t hang up,” I demanded. “Once I order my pizza, it won’t be here for another thirty minutes. Are you already ready to eat, or can you wait for me?”
“So, it’s not a stupid idea?” she asked shyly. I could hear the hesitation in her voice.
“No, it’s a great idea!” I said, hoping to reassure her.
“Okay!” she beamed. “I’m going to order pizza, too. Whoever gets their pizza first can call, deal?”
“It’s a date. Talk to you in a bit.” I hung up and immediately ordered my pizza.
I wore my oldest T-shirt, so I went to my room to find a shirt not so torn. I decided on a plain black T-shirt. I also brushed and did my hair.
Right as I finished getting ready, the doorbell rang with my pizza. I answered the door and took the box to the couch, whereI had my tablet set up to call Serenity. Before I could call, her beautiful face appeared on my screen with an incoming call.
“There she is,” I said with a grin.
“Here I am,” she replied with a laugh.
“So, what’s your pizza order?”
She swept her hair over her right shoulder. “Well, food is my favorite luxury. The local pizza place close to my house has these dinner boxes, which come with a small pan pizza, breadsticks, and cinnamon sticks. So, we can say I’m carb loading.” She laughed again.God, I could listen to that laugh forever.
“That makes my order sound very boring. I ordered a large thin-crust pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni. Like more pepperoni than cheese.” I brought a piece up to the screen to show her. “I’ll definitely be eating the whole pie, though.”
“In my opinion, pepperoni is the only topping that belongs on pizza,” she said, taking a bite of her own pepperoni pizza.
“I knew I liked you,” I said with a grin. “Anything fun to drink?”
She hesitated and stared at me blankly.
“Tell me,” I demanded. “It can’t be that bad.”
“Okay, okay. Others have thought it was immature, but why should we only enjoy our favorite drinks when we’re young?” I didn’t expect her to show me a whole jug of apple juice.
A loud laugh escaped.
