Second Chance

Five: An Official Date

Five: An Official Date

Ciara bid Mary farewell and closed the door silently behind her. She fished out her phone from her pocket and yelped when she realized she’d been in the hospital for way longer than she expected. Her shift was almost starting.

“Sorry,” she said, rushing past the man she’d accidentally bumped in her haste of getting out of the hospital.

“Ciara?”

She skidded to a stop and spun around. Her eyes widened, Jared mirroring her expression. The two then broke into a smile.

“What a coincidence. Why are you here?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I visited Mary.”

Jared’s expression turned somber, and he nodded. A faint smile graced his lips. Ciara could tell he truly appreciated it. Ciara’s phone rang, the loud ringtone blaring like a siren in the quiet hospital corridor.

“Hello?”

“Where the hell are you? We have a bunch of customers, and Mona and I can’t serve them all at the same time.”

“I’m coming, Avril.”

She snapped her phone shut, slightly irritated but knew she was the one at fault here.

“I forgot. You have work, right? I’m sorry for keeping you.”

“Yeah, well, see you later then.”

“Ciara!”

Ciara glanced over her shoulder.

“I’ll pick you up after your shift?”

She grinned at the hesitance and hopefulness in his eyes. “Sure.”

She hurried down the hall and out of the hospital. Jared’s smile faded as he watched her retreating form. He turned and walked down the hall. He despised hospitals, and he absolutely loathed the symbolic hospital scent he was inhaling.

“Oh, Jared,” Mary said as soon as she saw him, “guess who came to visit me?”

Jared’s lips curved upwards at his mom’s enthusiastic smile, and he decided to play along. “I have no idea, Mom.”

“The lovely girl in your English class and Emily’s daughter!”

He laughed.

“Ciara, yeah, I saw her while coming here.” His glance shifted to the carnation by the bedside. “She brought them?”

“Oh no, I forgot to thank her. Thank her for me, will you?”

“Sure, Mom. How do you feel?”

He knew there was no point in asking her this question, but he couldn’t help but let his hope bubble up whenever he saw his mom’s vivacious smile. She was simply too good at hiding her illness.

“I’m great,” she said without missing a beat. Her smile slowly faded, and she gazed at him intensely. He gulped, knowing he wouldn’t like her question. “You’re twenty-two, Jared. It’s time to get a girlfriend. Spend less time on that dangerous job of yours, and find a girl you like.”

He tried to hold back the irritation in his voice but failed desperately. “I need the money, Mom. Plus, I do know a few girls over there. Your son isn’t that much of a failure,” he mumbled.

Mary grinned. “Why did you come back, Jared? No, don’t say it’s just because of me. I know you better than anyone. I’ve had enough of the nurses’ gossiping about my son coming back into town, and the first thing he did was to visit that small coffee shop.” Mary’s eyes twinkled. “Tell me, what do you think of the blonde girl in your English class?”

“I like her, Mom.” He averted his eyes, causing Mary to giggle like a schoolgirl.

“Of course you do. She’s worth it, Jared. I can tell that even though she’s just average in looks – no, don’t give me that look – the girl is truly beautiful.”

“Mom, she is beautiful, inside and out.”

A wide smile stretched across Mary’s aged face, making her seem much younger in an instant. “I knew it. That’s my son.”

“Sorry! Okay! I’m late, happy?”

“As punishment, you’re serving that pedophile-looking guy there.”

Ciara groaned. “Wait till Sam hears you calling a customer a pedophile.”

“She won’t,” Avril said without missing a beat.

Ciara emerged out of the backroom wearing the familiar uniform and took over Avril’s place. She caught Avril’s eyes sparkling mischievously, in a way Ciara did not like at all.

“So how was your date with Mr. Hottie?”

That did it. The nonchalant way Avril said it made Ciara stop in her track to gawk at the brunette with her jaw dropped unattractively. Her head snapped around, searching for the person she knew was responsible of this. The other brunette was humming softly to herself while preparing an order, seemingly completely oblivious of the conversation going on. Ciara knew better.

“Mona.”

The brunette continued to hum. Ciara narrowed her eyes, and she called out her name once again. Still, there was no reply. Now it was plain obvious.

“You traitor, Mona.”

“Hey! You never told me what happened! I was merely telling Avril why I’d been sulking since, you know, she asked ‘cause she was worried.”

Of course you would sulk, Ciara thought bitterly. You’d always sulk if you can’t get any piece of information out of a person.

Ciara let her mind wander as she worked robotically. Smiling and serving customers was a part of her life now, and she enjoyed it. Even though she didn’t really need the money, she did not want to be one of those rich spoilt kids who would live off their parents’ money for their entire life.

The hectic orders gradually slowed down, and once again, the familiar cozy shop was enclosed in the orange rays of the setting sun.

“Have a nice day!” she called out as a couple walked out of the door. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

I’m outside your shop.

“I knew it.”

Ciara jumped, spinning around and coming face-to-face with a smirking Mona. She rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

“Yeah, he’s picking me up.”

“Avril owes my five bucks!” she shrieked.

Ciara glowered at her co-worked and friend. She couldn’t believe – okay, she could – that Mona and Avril were betting behind her back. She also knew Mona would proudly tell her what the bet was about in three…two…

“I knew he would ask you out again within three days. Avril thinks otherwise. Hah! I won! I’m going to call her this instant.”

She then proceeded to do a happy dance that involved her swaying her hips – completely out of beat with the soft music playing in the background – from side to side.

“I’m gonna change, Mona.”

The brunette waved her away dismissively, and Ciara sighed. The twenty-year-old woman was acting just like a five-year-old kid.

Ciara couldn’t stop the grin from stretching across her face once she emerged from the shop. She immediately recognized Jared’s car and started walking towards it.

“Sorry for making you wait.” She pulled the door open and slipped inside.

“Nah, you were pretty fast anyways.”

“So where are we going?”

“My favorite place.” He smirked. “Oh, and,” he turned around to face her, “this is officially a date.”