Love At Last

Missing Lily

Lily

Since my encounter with the lady, I put all unimportant calls aside and yes, I’m talking about Cayden. Talking to someone you’ve never met like that must have cost a lot of confidence and I needed to beat that confidence down. I put in hours of work into my training, hours turning into days and I barely noticed because that was all in my head. I mostly left Jarod to handle all the shop work while I spent time browsing and working on my recipes till they were perfect. I couldn’t afford to lose. Jarod was happy that I spent all my time on work, I knew he didn’t like Cayden, not even one bit. He says this should be the most important that mattered right now and nothing that had to do with Cayden. I guess he was right. This was my life.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself and make sure you’re not doing this for the wrong reasons?” Nana said

“Of course, not Nana, but I need to work hard to achieve what I want”

“I know baby, just remember why you’re doing this and I think more inspiration would flow from there” she rubbed my back

“Yes Nana”

I liked how supportive she always was. If only I could just have a guy and relief her of me for a while. I thought about Cayden if he had gone on other dates… I had to stop thinking in that manner, definitely not healthy.

***

Cayden

I sat on the bed, wondering why I had not heard from Lily since I dropped her home. Or has Jarod been in her head? Did he say any bad things about me? I wonder what his intentions are towards Lily. I stood up and roamed the room, hands akimbo. Maybe she’s just avoiding as she does every once in a while… But it’s usually a day or two, it’s been four days, no texts or calls and I need her help with these dates. I can’t marry myself. Let me leave a voicemail, maybe she’ll respond.

“Hey lily, um I hope you’re alright? You’ve not texted since when we last met and I still need your help with the dates. Please can you call or text when you’re free?” I ended the voicemail and waited for her response, put on music and waited for a response.

Thirty minutes later, my phone beeped. It was a message from Lily saying no. Just no. No to what exactly? Everything? Or just the dates? I don’t get her, today she’s free and good to me, the next day it’s another story. What could I have possibly done to spite her now? My head was everywhere, maybe I should go for a ride.

Outside, the sky was dotted with a few fluffy clouds that looked like candy floss. I entered my car and drove slowly, looking for a place I could relax. On the way, I saw a signpost that showed there was a fun fair ahead, I followed the poster.

The entrance to the fair could be seen in the distance and the long queues edged forward slowly. I looked for a place to park and stepped out of the car; it was colourful. Customers were becoming increasingly excited and impatient as they took a few steps forward every so often. Faint music could be heard from beyond the tall gates with the occasional happy scream suddenly piercing the air. Closer to the entrance and the massive structures of the rides could be seen: a rollercoaster, a big wheel, a helter-skelter. They were steel giants reaching for the sun.

Once inside, the braver kids ran towards the first rollercoaster. It zipped back and forth across the queue as fast as a bullet. Those sat at the front screamed the loudest, their eyes bulging like frogs, as the wind howled into their faces. Hands gripped the safety bars like a vice as the shuttle suddenly flipped upside down. One seemingly cocky boy, immediately felt nauseous, his confidence knocked and his face turned a sickly green colour.

Below, younger children stood watching, eating their sweets and snacks. Ice creams wobbled perilously over the cones and dripped down their small fingers as they melted. Some munched on brightly coloured balls of candy floss. The strands dissolved on the tongue and the sweet sugar stuck to the teeth like glue. A few ate too much and complained to their mummies and daddies.

Across from the queues for the rides, were the picnic tables, a refuge from the madness. Families, young couples and groups of friends sipped on drinks, applied sun cream or kept a vigilant watch on their children. I didn’t go on any of the rides. I just bought a chocolate ice cream cone and sat somewhere, observing the whole scenario. The sight of it all was fulfilling! When it was dark, I drove back home.

The next day, I decided to go to the shop and meet her. The shop was very full like there was a party going on there. There’s no way I’d see Lily unless I wait for about an hour and she’d be exhausted by then. I waited anyway until the crowd died. So many people coming in and out of the place, couples, children, children and parents, teenagers on their way to school and others. This was a crazy big establishment on its own. I felt proud of her, even if that didn’t mean anything to her anyway. The crowd reduced about forty minutes later. I started walking in. Jarod spotted me first and cajoled tired Lily inside to rest. I didn’t mind, I still went in.

“Yes, what would you like to order?” Jarod asked me as he had never met me before

“I’d appreciate it if you could call Lily to attend to me, I need to see her”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Sir, my manager explicitly bestowed on me the power to serve and if you aren’t ready to order, please let another person do so.”

“Come on Jarod, it’s important”

“Sir, there are other people here that need to be attended to. So please if you’re not ordering, let another person have the liberty of doing so”

I felt so disappointed at Jarod, dismissing me like I’m nobody.