Forget Me Not

Chapter Four

“It’s been a long day at the office and I want a slice of your mocha sans rival,” Alyssa said as she sat on a bar stool, plopping down her mustard satchel in front of her.

They had known each other since high school, when she transferred to Rianne’s school in their freshman year. How their friendship began was a funny incident. They’d been inseparable ever since, especially when they found out they liked the same guy. That was weird, yes, but they never treated each other as rivals. In fact, they ended up both not liking the guy because they knew no guy was worth ruining their budding friendship. And every time they liked a guy, one lets go. They decided that whoever met the guy first got first dibs. It was a nice little game they played but it made their friendship stronger and more fun. It’s a deep love, of course, but nothing that crossed the line of friendship.

They always kept their hair long, but when Rianne came back, she decided to cut her hair to a shoulder-length bob and had it colored to cinnamon brown, while Alyssa still wore her hair long, with golden brown blond curls and side-swept bangs, the way she always had.

“Yssa, maybe you should just let your clients decide what details they want for their houses and do as you’re told. It’ll be easier that way and you’d still get paid, right?” Rianne said as she handed her best friend the slice of mocha sans rival.

“I can’t just do that. I have to let them know it doesn’t look good. What would people say when they see their house? That their interior designer sucks? Their home should reflect my skills, you know? It has to be like a huge advertisement for me. People should want to hire me after seeing my work. I am a perfectionist. I don’t know how I am going to deal with this,” Alyssa ranted.

Yssa had been working with this client for a almost a year now and they hadn’t gotten through the initial design stages yet and there were more things to decide on like the colors of each room, what tiles or wood to use for the flooring, designs of the doors, where to put the lights on the ceiling, what furniture to buy, and so much more.

“What seems to be the problem?” Rianne asked.

“They are always consulting this feng shui master who seems to be asking them to change my designs. It’s ruining everything! I can’t put elevations on the floors because the people living there would have unstable lives, or I can’t use glass as walls because it’s bad luck. Rubbish! I’m not saying they should chuck their beliefs but maybe they should just let the feng shui master design the house and not waste my time!” Alyssa said, her face turning beet red.

Whenever she got agitated like that, Rianne lets her be. Alyssa had always been very passionate about her work and would always be easily riled up, but, after a while, she would just breathe deeply and let it go. Like now as she cut a forkful of mocha sans rival, savoring every bite and relishing every sip of her strawberry milkshake.

“So, enough about me. How was your day? Did you meet anyone nice lately?” Alyssa asked. She’d been on Rianne’s case about dating and her best friend was getting tired of it, really.

Last thing Rianne remembers about Alyssa was she was trying to set her up with a lot of guys but she guess that was before she lost her memory. From the looks of it, she didn’t succeed.

“As a matter of fact, I did meet someone yesterday. But he seemed more like friend material. I felt comfortable with him right away,” Rianne said, feeling a little giddy as she recalled her encounter with Ralph.

“You definitely have to introduce him to me. I have to know this other person who can make you feel comfortable aside from me,” Alyssa said, sounding either envious or jealous of her best friend’s newfound friend.

“Yssa, nobody in this world can ever replace you. Not even Jason,” Rianne assured her, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

Alyssa had always been the only person Rianne could really talk to and confide in. No secrets. No lies. But after coming back, Rianne was no longer sure of anything. Not even her friendship with Yssa was safe from uncertainties. Lately, Rianne had been doubting Yssa’s honesty. The former had a feeling the latter had been keeping something from her, but Rianne’s paranoia might just be due to her amnesia. And she couldn’t get herself to ask Alyssa about her doubts. Rianne didn’t want to offend Alyssa in anyway. She was one of the few true people in Rianne’s life and the latter didn’t want to lose her simply because she couldn’t remember things.

Alyssa took another forkful of her mocha sans rival and said, “I’m glad you know that and I wouldn’t want to miss this cake of yours. This never fails to lift my spirits up.”

She waved her tiny fork as she talked with her mouth full and went on to eat the entire slice. Rianne forced a smile on her face as she tried to wave away the thoughts in her head.

“You’re so lucky that no matter how many cakes you eat, you stay slim,” Rianne complimented her.

“That’s stress. Maybe I should thank my clients for my figure,” Alyssa said with a chuckle.

It was then that Rianne realized how much she really missed her best friend.