Gretchen waited eagerly the next morning for Ms. Ferguson to send her to get a newspaper. She wasn't looking forward to facing Albert after his encounter with her friends, but she really wanted to see him. Every time Ms. Ferguson emerged from the back room, Gretchen looked up from her work. But every time, Ms. Ferguson did some other task and returned to the back. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. Gretchen quickly found out that visiting Albert had become the highlight of her day. She looked forward to it every day with anticipation, even if their interaction was short.
"Gretchen?" Ms. Ferguson asked as she once again returned to the counter. Gretchen looked up in response, but she had given up hope about going to get a paper. "Would you mind going to fetch me a newspaper?" She held out a coin to Gretchen.
Gretchen quickly took the coin. "Yes, of course. I'll be right back." She hurried out, not bothering to hide her excitement. She all but skipped down the street to Albert's selling spot, eager to see him. She slowed her pace when she turned the corner and spotted him selling with that girl newsie.
Gretchen couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, even though she had no reason to. Albert seemed to be having a great time with this girl, laughing and joking around with her. Gretchen found herself wishing that she were the one to make Albert laugh like that. But then she realized that she had no reason to want that. They were just friends, right?
With a soft sigh, Gretchen kept walking towards the two. Albert grinned when he saw her. "Hey, Gretchen!" Gretchen smiled slightly back, meeting eyes with the girl when she turned. "Here for a pape?" Albert asked.
Gretchen nodded, holding out her coin to him. "Just like always," she replied, her smile growing at his wide grin.
The other girl spoke up finally, "You're the girl who fell in the river, aren't ya?" Gretchen nodded again. "I'm Monroe, it's nice to meet you." Monroe held out her hand for Gretchen.
Gretchen shook her hand. "I'm Gretchen. It's nice to meet you, too." She had a feeling that Monroe was not very happy to meet her.
Albert handed Gretchen her paper. "You been keepin' yourself dry lately?" He asked with a slight, teasing smile.
Gretchen laughed a little. "I haven't fallen into any other rivers, if that's what you're asking." She glanced at the newspaper Albert handed her. "Headline as bad as normal today?"
Monroe broke in, "It ain't ever good. You'd think those people get paid to do somethin' other than write lousy headlines."
Albert nodded. "You'd think," he repeated in a mumble. "So, uh, Gretchen. Will I see ya tomorrow?"
Gretchen shrugged. "I'm not sure. I have a day off tomorrow, for once. But I'll try to stop by." She gave him a slight smile.
"Well, then. Until tomorrow, hopefully." Albert grinned at her and tipped his cap as Gretchen left and returned to the flower shop.
~ * ~ * ~
"Did you see Albert yesterday?" Alida asked with a teasing smile the next morning, as Gretchen and her friends sat on the fire escape.
"Why does every conversation we have turn into a conversation about Albert?" Gretchen asked the two girls. In reality, she wasn't so bothered by it. She liked talking about Albert. In response to her questions, both Alida and Sarah gave her a look. "What?"
"Oh, come on!" Sarah threw her hands up in exasperation.
"He's cute. And he likes you, and you obviously like him. That's why we talk about him," Alida explained.
"Well, yeah, he's cute," Gretchen admitted. "And I like him. But not, like, like-like him. You know?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."
"We've seen the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you! You like each other!" Alida exclaimed, smiling. "And he saved your life, which is so romantic!" She swooned dramatically.
Gretchen considered her friends' statements. Sure, Albert was cute. She liked the way that his red hair fell over his eyes when he wasn't wearing his cap. And she liked the way that she could actually see his eyes when his hair was pulled back in his cap. She liked the way that his smile was infectious; she couldn't help but smile back. And he was strong, considering he pulled her out of the river.
Not only was he cute, but he was funny. He never failed to make her laugh. He certainly must be selfless, since he jumped into a frigid river for her. Gretchen's brothers looked up to Albert, and Albert got along well with her brothers. She liked the way he stood up for what he believed in, like in the past summer's strike. She found that she got butterflies whenever she was around him. She was upset when she saw him with another girl.
"Maybe...maybe I do like him," Gretchen mumbled, mainly to herself.
"You do!" Both of Gretchen's friends shouted in unison.
"Not 'maybe,' you do like him!" Sarah yelled.
Gretchen nodded slowly, a dark blush coloring her cheeks as she thought about it. "Yeah. I think I do. So...so what do I do next?"
"Tell him," Alida said like the answer was obvious. "It's early enough, I bet he's at his spot still."
Gretchen suddenly became very nervous. "You want me to tell him now?"
Sarah nodded. "Better to tell him now than to put it off. You wanna get it out of the way. The more you think about it, the less likely you'll actually do it."
"Go tell him now!" Alida encouraged. She stood up and grabbed Gretchen's hand, pulling her up. "Right now!"
Gretchen nodded quickly. "Okay. I will," she said, knowing Sarah was right. The longer she put it off, the less she'll want to do it. She climbed back through the window and left the apartment, headed out onto the street. As she exited the building and started down the street, she heard her friends, still on the fire escape, cheering her on.
~~~~~
I love the kinds of chapters where the main character realizes that they're in like/love :)
it's so cute
thank you for reading!!