May

Before May knew it, the morning had come and gone. She and Erik had been working in his office, quietly crunching numbers and drafting up new company policies soon to be enforced. And Erik, being much more business savvy than she previously realized, was making quick work of any legal documents they might need to implement their desired changes.

When noon came along, May let Erik be the first to take his break as she finished up the document she had been working on. After he returned, she finally took a moment for her own lunch. However, she hardly got five minutes into her leftover pasta and caesar salad before her phone buzzed with a text message. To May’s surprise, it was from her mom, who never messaged her during work.

Hi Honey! I just wanted to let you know that James and his parents came by for a short visit this morning. He said congratulations on the new job and he’s glad you’re out of the hospital. He also said that he hopes you’ll come by sometime just to catch up.

May immediately lost her appetite as a feeling of anxiety set in. Needless to say, she cut her lunch break short and returned to Erik’s office to try and get her mind off things. She just wasn’t sure how to feel about James’ return, or the fact that he suddenly wanted to talk. Maybe it was better than him trying to avoid her, but that didn’t change the fact that he hadn’t called her up even once over the last three years just to say hi or made any efforts at all to ‘catch up’ during his time in London.

And anytime she had been the one to send him a text or leave a message in the group chat, his responses would be minimal at best, but sometimes he would say nothing at all. So, why did she have to be the one to initiate a conversation upon his return? Why was it up to her to stop by and say hello, when he was just as capable of picking up the phone?

May didn’t have anything in particular to talk about with James, and since they barely felt like acquaintances anymore, she didn’t see any point in trying to rekindle a friendship that had obviously died out long ago.

“Hey, May?” she heard Erik’s voice call out.

She looked up from her computer to see him staring back at her from behind his desk.

“Yes?”

“What time was that appointment with the salon again?” he asked.

“Four o’clock. Why?”

Erik scrunched his face as he pointed at the clock. May looked up and saw the time: 3:40 PM.

She could feel the color drain from her face. “Uh oh.”

“How long do you think it will take to get there?” Erik asked.

“Almost twenty minutes!” May gasped. “Which means that we need to go. Now.”

They both jumped up from their seats and made a dash for the front door. May ushered Erik over to her car, and as soon as they were both buckled in, she screeched out of the parking lot and onto the street.

“I can’t believe I forgot to keep an eye on the time!” she hissed.

“Look, it’s not a big deal. Just let me call ahead to let them know we’re going to be a few minutes late,” Erik suggested.

May shook her head. “And risk them kicking us off the appointment list altogether? No way! This is a high-end establishment, so we either make it there by four, or we forfeit our spot.”

“That sounds a little intense.”

“Just sit tight, and be quiet. I’ll make sure we get there on time,” she replied, stepping on the gas.

Erik leaned back in his seat and grabbed onto his seat belt as she drove. However, May had not foreseen the traffic jam clogging up the main road, nor the busy school crosswalks on the side streets delaying them by an additional ten minutes. So, by the time they reached Kakora Salon, the clock on her dashboard read 4:12 PM.

“I can’t believe it…” she whispered.

“Maybe we should let this be a reminder that you can’t control everything in life,” Erik teased.

May shot him a glare as she unbuckled her seat belt. “With that attitude, you might as well not bother trying at all!”

He seemed surprised by her harsh reply. “Geeze, let’s at least go inside to check before you stress out. Maybe they’re not even busy.”

But as they walked into the salon’s waiting room, May saw the entrance packed from end to end with customers. And the sign on the wall, which read “We Don’t Hold Chairs” told May everything she needed to know.

“Okay, so they’re busy. Big deal!” Erik scoffed. “Let’s just make an appointment for another day.”

May shook her head as she flopped down in an empty chair by the window. “We only managed to get a spot today because one of their bigger clients had canceled.”

“Alright, then we go to another salon.”

“This time of year is busy for everyone with all the weddings and graduation parties. It could take another week or two to book.”

“Why is that such a problem?” Erik asked.

May let out a long sigh. “Because when I was at home recovering I started setting up interviews with some of the local journalists to build some buzz around our brand reform. You have one scheduled for Monday, and one for Tuesday.”

“Why so soon?”

“I figured that it would be in the best interest of the company to get things moving as soon as possible. And before you ask, no, we cannot easily reschedule an interview like that.”

“Oh, I see…”

Just then, May felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw another text from her mom:

Did you get my text? James seemed really happy whenever your name was mentioned. I think it would be a good thing for you two to go out to lunch to talk things over.

May’s mind went numb in an instant. So, not only was she on the verge of ruining some of the best sale boosting opportunities to turn Erik’s business around, but now her mom wanted to keep harping about her ex while she was at work?!

“Hey, Erik, I think I’m going to step outside for a few minutes.”

“Sure thing,” he said, gazing at her with worry. “Something wrong?”

She shook her head. “I just need some fresh air.”

Erik nodded with understanding. “There’s a park not too far from here if you need to stretch your legs. I’m going to wait in line and try to get another appointment before Monday.”

“Okay. Let me know how it goes.”

With that, May stood up and left the salon. She could see the park that Erik had mentioned just a few blocks east. It took about five minutes to get there, and when she arrived, she decided to take a stroll down the paved pathway that led into an outdoor flower bed display.

May admired the well-groomed garden and strolled aimlessly, trying to forget all about the salon and about James. She didn’t know why, but lately it felt as if she was being bombarded with stressful situations back-to-back. In the span of one week she was hired to fix Erik’s company, almost got hit by a car, woke up in the hospital with a minor concussion, and then received news that her ex of three years was suddenly coming home. How could things get any worse?

And that’s when it hit May. Or rather, that’s when she hit him, a random passerby at the park. She crashed into him with an impressive amount of force, knocking the once stationary man, as well as herself, onto the concrete pavement.

“Hey! Watch it!” he snapped.

May looked to her right and saw a man with messy reddish-brown hair and greenish-brown eyes staring back at her. He was wearing a white t-shirt and a red flannel, and a large camera that had fallen lens-side down on the ground beside him.