Chapter 7 - Work-life balance

POV - HANA

It was raining, a light drizzle, so I hurried inside the bar with a hand over my head, like it would shield me at all. A futile gesture, really. The bar was owned by my friend, Amy, who was engaged to my cousin, Lucas. Amy was the kind of cool I could never be and Ella deluded herself into thinking she was. My favorite way to describe the difference between them was to say that Amy had her feet on the ground, while Ella had her head in the cloud’s. 

The bar was cozy, but didn’t feel small. It was dimly lit, but in a welcoming, warm hue. Other than the mahogany bar counter, the interior was made up of comfortable seating options, thrifted coffee tables and at the back there was space for a live band to set up. Lucas was there now, tinkering with some cables, organizing the instruments. Dressed in chinos and a polo, he was the opposite of Amy, with her tattoos, ripped jeans and oversized band t-shirt. He was the same clean cut, plain, office worker, kind of person that I was. How we had managed to find her and get along so well was a mystery. 

I spotted Amy behind the bar and our friend, Gina, was sitting and chatting at the counter with Ella. If Amy was the cool girl, Gina was the cute girl. She was bubbly and bright, both when it came to personality and style. She was usually dressed in at least one pastel item of clothing at all times. Today it was a pastel pink skirt. 

My gaze swept around the space as I entered, relieved that Ella’s boyfriend, Connor, hadn’t joined. He usually didn’t, but sometimes if we were unlucky he showed up to get free drinks. 

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Ella joked as soon as she realized I had arrived, “a drowned rat.” 

“Hey!” I tried to sound offended, but I was indeed not quite as dry as I had hoped, so instead I just narrowed my eyes at her and pointed an accusatory finger at her. Amy smirked at our antics, but immediately handed Gina a towel to give to me so I could dry off the worst of it. Gina beamed at me as she rushed to lend me the towel, fussing over me. 

“I don’t look like a rat, do I?” I pouted at Gina as she ran the towel over my head. 

“A rat? No! But maybe a cute little mouse? Kidding!” Gina giggled as I gave her a sour look. 

“Amy! Help me! They’re ganging up on me!” I complained, but I couldn’t hide my smile. It felt good, being teased and hanging out with my people. I really needed a break from work. 

“Leave the poor rat- I mean, girl- alone.” Amy joined in and we all burst out laughing. I think I caught my cousin, Lucas, giving us a fond look, before getting back to his tinkering. 

When we had settled down a bit and Amy had made us some drinks, we got to catching up. I had really been working non stop, so I wasn’t really up to date with everything going on with everyone. Gina and Ella gladly filled me in on everything I had missed, and then insisted I spill everything I had been up to. I wasn’t quite sure if I had the energy to go into all my crazy drama with Jake, so instead I complained about my mother’s attempt to set me up on a blind date with Aiden. Gina loved love and so she was very interested in hearing all about Aiden. I told her about him and all the things that should have made me feel he was perfect, but how there just hadn’t been any chemistry. 

“Sounds like a gentleman! Wish your mom would set me up on dates with guys like him.” Gina laughed. Now there was an idea… Something I should have thought of before I went temporarily insane and (fake) confessed my feelings for Jake. All along I should have just sent Gina on my blind dates instead of me. 

“You don’t need my mother for that, I’ll give you his number.” I joked, but maybe I would. He really was a nice guy, maybe he would hit it off with Gina. 

We talked some more and Lucas finally joined us. 

“Did you fix it, love?” Amy asked as he sat down next to her, giving her a peck. 

“Yeah, all good now.”, Lucas replied and then took a sip from Amy’s glass. They were too cute. They fit so well together. Even moments like this, where they weren’t even doing anything romantic, still felt sweet when it was them. 

“So, how’s the new department treating you, Hana? Dad told me you’re dating someone on the team?” Lucas asked casually. My mind went blank for a second, but before I could panic, he continued. 

“Or dated? Your ex?”

Oh, thank god. The relief. The news about Jake hadn’t spread. I could breathe. He was talking about Alec. My ex-boyfriend.

“Ah, yes. Alec. He’s on my team, but it’s all good. We ended things amicably. How does Uncle Eric know about that?” I ask as an afterthought. Uncle Eric, Lucas’ father and my mother’s younger brother, hadn’t really even been on my radar of people to look out for in the company, but if he was going around keeping tabs on me and talking about me, maybe I should keep an eye on it. Ugh. 

“I don’t know, I think Aunt May must have said something about it.” Lucas was probably right, my mother was most likely the source of this kind of thing. She had been more upset about us breaking up than I had. I had only really given Alec a chance because she had insisted on setting us up in the first place. Back then it had felt easier to go along with it, but now I regretted it as it had only led her to thinking I would eventually give the people she matched me with a chance. I should have stood my ground from the start and maybe she would have given up by now. 

“All good with work, then?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, all good. Just busy. Preparing for a business trip. The usual.” I answered, sounding tired even to my own ears. So as not to bring down the mood, I plastered on a smile and tried to change the subject. 

Somehow we still ended up talking about relationships; past, present and future, no one was safe. We talked about what kind of guy Gina was looking for, and I once again promised to send her Aiden’s number. Next up was about how Amy and Lucas’ wedding was approaching, and I couldn’t help but notice that Amy seemed a bit stressed about it, but that was probably normal. Weddings are stressful events after all. Later one snide remark from me about Connor, and Ella was going off about how I didn’t know anything about passion and true love, that she wouldn’t take advice from someone whose longest relationship was with a pen pal as a teenager. I hated how she belittled that connection, as I still to this day considered him to be my first love. Those letters had been deeply personal and we had shared a profound bond. Calling him just a pen pal didn’t sit right with me, but I didn’t want to fight with Ella, so I just tried to let it go even though it hurt my feelings. 

It was late at night before we all went our separate ways, all small arguments were forgiven and we had all enjoyed a drink or two too much. I was going to regret it tomorrow, but at that moment I felt good.