You,Me and the Past

"Can we Text?"

I waited for my mom in her office to discuss the shoot. She never turned down work, but I wasn't sure if she'd agree to going out for a few days.

"Did I keep you waiting too long?" Mom entered and settled into her chair, which she liked to call her throne.

"No, I just got here," I replied, sitting up straight. "So, I heard there have been some last-minute changes. Are you here to discuss that?" she asked.

"Yeah, David had an accident, so we have a new photographer joining the team," I explained. "Seems like the problem is resolved. Andrew handles these situations well," she praised Andrew.

"Yeah, and we also discussed the concept. Here are the project descriptions, including information about costumes, travel, and other details. Andrew was supposed to give you this, but I wanted to meet you, so I dropped it off instead," I said, my eyes filled with hope.

"Okay, but next time, let Andrew come in instead. He can provide a good overview of things," she suggested.

"But I wanted to meet you," I whispered.

"What is it, dear?" she asked, but I simply shook my head.

Outside the office, Andrew overheard the conversation, clearly dissatisfied. He had insisted that I should take the document to my mom, hoping it would make me happy, but some things never change.

"I'm sorry, Tyler. I really thought maybe this would make you happy," Andrew apologized as we sat in his office to discuss the project.

"It's okay, Andrew. I know you just wanted to see me happy," I reassured him, patting his head. If I squinted my eyes, he looked like a sad puppy. Suddenly, an idea struck me.

"You know, if you want me to be happy, you could do me a favor and..." I trailed off.

"And?" Andrew prompted.

"And give me Ivy's number," I said with an innocent smile.

"You like her?" he asked bluntly.

"No!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my seat. "Why do you have to like someone to exchange numbers? We were classmates. I just want to catch up, and now we also share a professional relationship as a model and photographer. Don't you think we should stay in contact?" I argued.

Andrew stared at me for a moment. "Okay, fair enough," he finally agreed.

Should I text her or call her? I didn't have much work today, so I came home early, now debating what to do with her number. "Texting her would be better because I can at least gauge if she's free or not. Yeah, let's do that!" I type 'hey,' but something feels off. "'Hey' is kind of dry. Maybe add an extra 'y' or just go with 'hiiii'? No, that's too many 'i's. Ugh, this is driving me crazy!"

In the end, I opt for 'hey!'. Now, the waiting game begins, but this is no fun at all.

Five minutes pass, and still no response. I get up and start vacuuming my house. Ten minutes later, I finish vacuuming and move on to doing the dishes. Twenty minutes fly by, and suddenly, I notice dirty areas of my house I never paid attention to before, and I start cleaning them too, hoping to distract myself from the anticipation.

—TING— That must be her. I quickly check my phone, only to find Andrew sending me a meme. "What's wrong with this guy?!" I mutter, tossing my phone onto the couch and flopping down beside it. —TING— "Who is it now?" I check my phone and sit up straight as if struck by lightning.

It's her message: 'hi'. "Wow, she actually read my message, but... now what?" I hadn't thought about what to talk about. What an amateur mistake!

'I just texted to ask about the travel plans. How are we going to get there?' I send, hoping for a response. She's typing... 'I thought Mr. Carter spoke to you about it,' she texts back.

'He did, but I just wanted to confirm it with you,' I reply, seeing that she read it two minutes ago. "Why is she not replying?" I wonder. Just then, she replies.

'We will be going by road, but not the whole team. Just you, Mr. Carter, me, and Adrian. I will be the one driving, as Mr. Carter insisted that I lead the way.' She can drive, is it? 'Okay, that sounds great,' I text back.

I waited for her to continue the conversation, but she remained silent. Minutes passed, and just as I was about to give up hope, a new message appeared: 'I informed Mr. Carter, but I'll let you know too that you can dress casually. Even if it's just pretend, it's still a vacation.' Her considerate words brought a smile to my face.

In response, I sent her a cheerful smiley face and a thumbs up emoji.

"I guess I should start packing for this 'vacation'," I muttered to myself, feeling a surge of excitement as I headed to gather my belongings.

Epilogue

After returning from a series of exhausting meetings, Ivy collapsed onto her sofa, desperately needing a moment of relaxation. As she plugged in her phone to charge, a notification popped up, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Who could this be?" she wondered aloud, clicking on the message with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. Upon seeing Tyler's name, her initial shock quickly gave way to a rush of conflicting emotions. "Why is he reaching out to me? And what on earth do I say in response?"

As she grappled with her thoughts, Ivy experienced the same rollercoaster of emotions that Tyler had gone through while composing his message. Despite the uncertainty, there was a glimmer of happiness deep within her at the prospect of reconnecting with him, even if it was just through text.

While texting is often perceived as an easier alternative to face-to-face communication, for Tyler and Ivy, each message exchanged felt like navigating through a battlefield of emotions.