Meet Me in the Middle

we meet again

"I've been waiting for you every day since you were gone,"

If This Was a Movie, Taylor Swift

♥︎

"And as a close friend reminded me recently, luck is being prepared when the opportunity presents itself. Have a good night everybody." On cue a round of applause scattered around the room, and at that moment Evelyn felt extremely proud of herself. She didn't shake, voice didn't quiver and not a moment of hesitance ensued. It was an honour for her to be chosen to speak at such a large eCommerce conference.

As she left the stage, Evelyn was welcomed with words of praise from fellow colleagues and friends: "That was amazing Evelyn!", "An absolutely inspiring and innovative speech, well done!" There was this sudden wave of compliments and attention, which became unnerving and even overwhelming for her. It was never like this for someone who was used to blending into the background. She felt so proud of how far she had come - from doing a degree she didn't want to pursue and having to work the extra mile to get to where she is today - a creative director at her own fashion label. Evelyn wore their best selling dress, a silky halter neck white long dress paired with a black blazer that hung on her shoulders and white strappy heels. It was a representation of their brand, Elegance with an attitude.

As she was about to walk towards the food section, she felt someone wrap their arms around her, "Congrats Ev, you were shining!" She smiled and saw her best friends Nicole and James, her co-founders and her favourite sibling duo. He passed her a bouquet of flowers and gave her a hug, "I swear to God conferences are a bore, but thankfully your speech wasn't that bad." Nicole eyed him and shoved her arm on his side, "Can you say something nice for once?" Finally Evelyn could laugh, the entire evening she was on edge and had so much anxiety at the thought of presenting to thousands of people. "Thanks James, and thank you Nicole, you guys didn't have to get me these flowers." They were beautiful baby pink tulips, her favourite flowers, a representation of the deep love they had for one another.

From individually packing orders for their small community and sending them around Paris, to now a fully fledged brand ready to launch globally. "It's nothing, we just wanted to congratulate you for doing something way out of your comfort zone! You never liked public speaking and yet you delivered with so much passion and ease." You could count on Nicole to be your hype-woman, she understood how much anxiety and toll this speech took on Evelyn, and wanted to be there for her. "Thank you Nicole, couldn't have done this without you or James." Evelyn had so much love for them, they were there for her since the beginning of her adventures in Paris and she felt so lucky to have a second family.

"Wait - guys isn't that Hillary from Upcycle Ventures?" Before her brother or Evelyn could say something Nicole ran up to the lady. "I will follow but please don't do anymore work Ev, for now let us do the talking - I'm sure you're dying to leave the room and get away from everyone. See ya later." Evelyn gave a sheepish smile, "You know me too well," James made sure to give her a side hug before leaving.

As Evelyn walked around the room, trying to find the exit, the back of a figure stood out. He was exiting the venue with a friend - she barely saw his side profile but for some reason it reminded her of someone. She almost thought it was Matt, an old friend of hers, but last time she heard he moved to LA and wasn't planning on coming back to Singapore anytime soon. Since she couldn't really get a glance of his face so she chose not to think too much about it, anyways he was a remnant of her past and university life.

She ended up walking to the garden outside, a bit far from the ballroom - but she needed somewhere quiet. Talking to others and meeting new people was fun, but at one point of the night she'll need to get away from it all and spend some time with herself and her thoughts.