Chapter Text
This day started just like any other boring weekday. As I drove through the city, heading straight for my workplace, I was able to enjoy the lukewarm breeze and the warming rays of the sun all over my skin. Both the loud chirping of birds and the lush nature suggested that summer was finally here. From the outside, everything might have seemed perfect, but it was just an appearance because my privacy lay in ruins. In the depths of my soul, I was still overwhelmed by the breakup a few weeks ago, even though I had already managed to get through the hardest part of it. Not a single day went by without something reminding me that Matt unexpectedly broke up our engagement and left me. The sight of empty wardrobes as I kept seeing them floating in front of my eyes almost haunted me. The sight that greeted me every single day after coming home from work. The only thing he left behind was a short and painful farewell letter.
"Don't get mad at me, sweetheart, but I have no choice. I want freedom, I want to live and travel. Thank you for everything you've ever done for me. Please don't try to come after me because I'm not just leaving the city. I'm going back to Europe. Take care of yourself! Best regards, Matt"
I didn't want to believe he was really able to break up with me like that. But it still happened and there was nothing I could do about it. It was over. I had to move on and accept and respect his decision. But "Best regards"? Seriously? Did I really deserve this after three years together? Well, I don't think so. Maybe now is the time to finally come to terms with the fact that happiness may not have been invented for me after all. I was suddenly reminded of my paternal grandparents who had been married for more than sixty years. I have always admired them for that. Will the same thing happen to me one day? I had no idea. All I knew was that I had always been told that I should never give up because hope dies last, but for some reason I didn't believe it, even though I really wanted to. After days full of tears, thanks to my family and friends, I finally managed to get out of the mental crisis and fortunately the pain has been easing day by day ever since.
Despite the move and the plethora of things to do that were already impatiently waiting for me at my desk in the office, my mood was still surprisingly good this morning. I made myself a hot chocolate, checked the official emails and responded immediately to the most important ones. I was almost done answering the emails when the silence was disturbed by the ringing of my phone. I picked it up with a smile as it was my best friend Sarah.
"Hi, Mona! Are you in the office yet?" The cheerful female voice asked.
"Hi, Sarah! Yeah, I'm in the office already. I got in early enough today. You know I don't feel like spending too much time in an empty apartment," I sighed as the memories of the past few weeks came back and we were already in the middle of our conversation when the company phone interrupted us. "Don't get mad at me, but I have to hang up now because someone's looking for me on the landline. I'll call you back as soon as my time allows!" I promised her.
"No problem, we'll talk later! Kisses!" She said understandingly.
It seemed like a very important call because the phone was still ringing persistently, so I picked it up quickly. It was Natalie, one of my colleagues. I was almost certain she wasn't calling me from her office because the line crackled terribly. It took a lot of attention from me to put the shreds together to understand what she wanted to say.
"Hi, Natalie!"
"Hi, Mona! I'm just calling to let you know that I won't be in the office for a few days. I'll give you my new contact so you can reach me anytime. Do you have a pen and a note to write it down?"
"Wait a minute!"
I grabbed a pen and a note and then she started dictating, but I barely understood anything from what she told me. The line began to crackle terribly again, then broke moments later. Great. Just great. I wrote down the last two digits uncertainly, then taped the note on my monitor so it wouldn't get lost in the pile of paper lying on my desk. I was worried about her as I couldn't ask her what had happened, but it was probably just another business trip that required her to leave for a few days as her voice didn't seem disturbed at all. After reassuring myself that everything was fine, I returned to my usual daily routine. All day I felt like someone was deliberately speeding up the clocks because all of a sudden I noticed that my working hours were long gone and it was time for me to go home.
After work, I went shopping at one of the nearby malls because the fridge in my kitchen was already quite empty. Leaving the mall, I sadly noticed that it was raining and there was no sign of the morning sun. I tossed the bags in the back seat and started thinking about what to make for dinner. By the time I got to my apartment, all my cooking enthusiasm was gone. The weather was getting more and more depressing and the rain was pouring as if it had been poured from a tub. Eventually, I decided to take a hot bath, but before that, I quickly put a pizza in the oven. After a nice bath and a delicious dinner, I lit my favorite apple-cinnamon scented candle and packed myself in bed with a book from my favorite Hungarian writer, Anne L. Green. Then it suddenly occurred to me to call my colleague to exchange a few words. I called the reception at my workplace to ask for Natalie's new phone number, which was still hanging on my monitor. I thanked the receptionist for his help and then dialed the number excitedly. Moments later, the phone was picked up, but to my greatest surprise, I heard a pleasant male voice at the other end of the line. The sound of his voice alone sent a shiver up and down my spine.
"Hello?"
"Excuse me, but can I talk to Natalie, please? I'm one of her colleagues," I answered with a little uncertainty in my voice, hoping I might be talking to her father or husband.
"With who?"
"I'd like to talk to Natalie," I repeated again to see if he had just heard me wrong.
"Well, I don't think I can help you because I don't have an acquaintance with that name. You probably called the wrong phone number," he replied, so I checked the number again, but I was surprised to hear him say. "Yeah, that's my phone number. Are you sure you weren't looking for me?" He chuckled.
"You can be quite sure of that," I remarked sarcastically, annoyed by the stranger's directness.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you because I had no intention of doing that at all," he began apologizing immediately. "Anyway, your voice is very sexy and the truth is, I'd love to talk to you more. Of course, only if you don't mind."
"Thank you so much for the compliment, but I really don't have time for that right now," I tried politely to get rid of him. "I still have to figure out the number I actually wanted to call. Maybe we can talk some other time."
"Does that mean I can call you then?" He continued to flirt with me.
Involuntarily, the enthusiasm in his voice brought a big smile to my face and this little phone flirting was good for my soul as well. It was actually flattering. Not to mention my already low self-confidence, which was recently thoroughly trampled into the ground, so I finally agreed. Actually, why not? There's nothing wrong with that, right?
"Yeah, that means you can call me," I allowed him to call me again.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that and when can I call you?"
"Let's say tomorrow night."
"And who am I lucky enough to call tomorrow night?"
"I'm Monica. My friends just call me Mona," I introduced myself, realizing I still don't know who I'm talking to at all. "And who are you, dear stranger? You haven't even revealed your name."
"I apologize for not introducing myself yet. I'm Scott," he responded in embarassment, adding after a few moments of silence. "Then I will call you tomorrow night! Have a nice evening!"
I didn't really understand why he was in such a hurry to say goodbye to me, but if I want to be honest, the whole situation itself was weird. More than weird. Meanwhile, Scott's friend, who was sitting next to him and listening to the conversation, looked at him with raised eyebrows. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Yet what the hell do you think you're doing?" He disbelieved. "You don't even know the girl for a minute and you're already lying to her?"
"Why, Brian, what should I have done? Maybe I would have told her, "Hello, baby, I'm Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys!"? What would you have done anyway?" He snapped at him.
"What would I have done?" He asked back indignantly. "Obviously I would have told her the truth! Believe me, this isn't going to end well," his friend said, shaking his head.
"Look, Brian, if I tell Mona who I really am, I'll never know why she's talking to me. I want to know if there are any more women in the world who don't care about fame and money at all. Do you understand now?" He explained to him.
"Yeah, I think I understand now," he nodded. "But that doesn't mean I agree with the fact that you lied to her."
After what happened, I just sat on my bed and stared at the phone in my hand for a while. Did this really happen to me now or was it all just the product of my imagination? I wasn't sure, but when I reopened the call list, the number was still there, so it had to be true. Or not? When I finally managed to recover from the minor shock, my first thing was to call Sarah to fill her in on what had happened to me because I was unable to keep it to myself. A few minutes later, I was already in full swing telling her about my unusual phone adventure with the stranger.
"The guy was a little cheeky, but I actually liked it, so I finally agreed and allowed him to call me again. Although I don't think I'll hear from him again. By tomorrow, he will forget that I exist at all," I added.
"Then just look at it as a pleasant adventure in your life," she suggested.
"I don't think me and the pleasant adventures would make such a good couple," I muttered.
"You haven't had fun since Matt broke up with you and you know it's not okay. We both work a lot and I think we deserve to have some fun. A girls night out won't hurt either of us, so I don't want to hear any excuses!" She declared.
"All right, you convinced me!" I gave in, knowing for sure that it was not worth arguing with her.
"That's my girl!" She was delighted to hear my answer. "Believe me, we're going to have a great time! See you tomorrow then!"
"See you tomorrow!" I hung up, putting the device back on the nightstand.
Finishing our conversation, I picked up the book to read the next chapter before going to bed, as the story started to get pretty exciting, but I just stared at the cover for a while and didn't even open it in the end. I was completely lost in my thoughts, so I probably wouldn't have been able to focus on what was going on with the main characters. I tried to recall the previous scene, but only a few shreds remained of our conversation, so I decided to put the book aside and continue reading it the next day, turn off the lights and go to bed. That was my plan, but I had a feeling I was facing a long and sleepless night.