You Take My Breath Away - Brian May

11. Lost Opportunity

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for. And no, I'm not, why would I be?"

"Oh, I just wondered, since, you know, what he was implying and all..."

He was so sweet, and one of the most considerate people she had ever met.  "No, he was just teasing, like you said last night. It's fine, I don't mind. Do you?"

"Oh, n-no.  I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, thanks for checking."

"Yeah."

She hoisted up her suitcase to carry it down the stairs but the motion caused it to flip open and for all her clothes to spill across the floor at their feet.

"Oh bollocks-"

"Oh-" Both immediately knelt down to retrieve the clothes and Lettie flushed again - of course  her bras and underwear  were on top of the rest of the clothes. Now they were front and centre for all to see. Well, for Brian to see.

"Bloody hell-" She quickly scooped up the undergarments and threw them into the suitcase. 

"Oh, um-" Brian took a pile of clothes and handed them to her.

"Thanks, just toss 'em in the case, I won't bother folding them again."

---------------------------

Looking back on the eventful weekend, Lettie was glad that she had been persuaded to join her friends on their little adventure. 

But now, back to what was happening next: her job. 

She hadn't missed any calls from Biba while she was away, and so, her waiting resumed. 

"Shouldn't you get the job first before you go buying new clothes for it?" Chip said a few days later, watching Lettie as she flipped through a clothing catalogue, marking each image she liked - which was almost every single one. 

"Just being prepared.  And I'm not buying anything yet, just looking - oh, those boots are nice!" She circled the picture. Chip just rolled his eyes. 

"Well you're definitely going to need the job to make enough money to buy all that."

"As I said, I'm just looking."

"If you say so." 

RING!

Lettie practically dove across the room and pounced on the phone as soon as it began ringing.  

"Jesus," said Chip. 

"Shh!" she cried before picking up the phone. "Hello, Evans residence." 

"Hello, is this Juliette?"

"Yes, it is."

"Hello, Juliette, this is Maureen Watson from Biba."

Lettie almost squealed into the phone. "Hello Ms. Watson. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. And yourself?"

"Really well, yeah, thanks." She listened as Ms. Watson began talking. She was so excited she was practically bouncing - this was it! This was really it this time! Out of the corner of her eye she could see Chip waving to their parents, mouthing to them that she had gotten her call. Valerie and Frank rushed into the room. Lettie beamed at them, twirling the phone cord around her finger.

There was no masking or preventing the way her face fell with Ms. Watson's next words. 

"A-alright. T-thank you for letting me know.  I appreciate it. Have a nice day. Goodbye." She set the receiver down.

"Well?" prompted Chip after a moment. Though, clearly, it wasn't the news she had been hoping for. 

"I-I didn't get it. I didn't get the job..." Without looking at them, she collapsed into the nearby chair.  

"Oh dear," her mother said gently, but Lettie barely heard her. "What did they say?"

"She said they were impressed by my application, but they're going to search for candidates with more experience in the retail field."

"But you have experience," said Frank. "At the grocery shop-"

"Yeah but not with selling clothes, Dad!" she cried, snapping more than she meant to. She had begun to cry.  "I'm sorry I, I just wanted it so badly..."

"Oh Love, we know." Her mother hugged her. 

"It was supposed to be the start of everything," she sobbed. "I-I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"And that's okay. Sometimes we don't know. And sometimes that's good, not to know. That can open up even more opportunities," her mother said. "But you'll figure it out eventually."

"But when?" That was the big question now. What now and when? 

It felt surreal - but not in a good way. Certainly not in the way she had hoped.

(Aww :( Lettie not getting the job is actually based on a similar experience I had recently, not getting into grad school. So writing my character going through something similar will hopefully help me figure out this new situation and uncertainty of what's next  - also, I thought it would make things more interesting than if she had just gotten the job on the first try!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))