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1
VANESSA
“No, I don't want to go. I just got done working 12 hours four days in a row. I'm exhausted. I want to go home, take a bath. And watch Love is Blind on Netflix.”
“Come on. We haven't done anything fun in forever. All you ever do is work and work and work. It's time to take a break and let your hair down. Notting Hill Carnival only happens once a year. Let's go.” My best friend Carla urged, slapping the table in front of her. Carla was one of the pediatric nurses and we had quickly become good friends when I arrived in England.
I shook her head as she finished her coffee, knowing this was a losing battle. Whenever Carla wanted her to do something, Carla usually got her way.
“Okay, fine, let's go. But I'm only saying for a little while. And I'm not drinking. I have to go to work at noon tomorrow and I cannot be dragging my ass.”
Carla clapped her hands together with excitement. “Great. I’ll meet you on Kensington at the corner by that little coffee shop. Tonight at seven.”
I had been a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Children's Hospital in Notting Hill for the last six months. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and wanted something more out of life. After college, I decided to apply to work somewhere abroad. I’d only lived in my small town of about 10,000 people and decided it was time to expand my horizons. I wasn’t very fluent in any other language and had a strange obsession with the English and living in England. Mom always commented that it seemed to be raining whenever we talked. She wasn’t wrong; it did rain a lot but I also worked a lot, so I didn’t mind. I made a few close friends - some of the nurses and a couple of the female doctors. I had also just gotten over a brutal breakup, having dated one of the doctors from the hospital for four months until she caught him with another nurse.
Ever since catching Dr. Jones with another nurse, I’ve sworn off men and thrown myself into my work, much to the dismay of her female friends, especially Carla. They missed going out to the pubs, drinking, staying out late. But I wasn't in England to party. I was there to work, get experience, and help kids. But she hadn't hadn't been to the Notting Hill Carnival yet and had been seeing the flyers, tv commercials, and ads all over the place, so I decided it would be a good experience. That was the other part of why I’d moved to England in the first place - to experience a different culture than her own.
I worked the rest of my shift, getting off in time to go home and take a shower. I put on my favorite jean shorts and a red tank top since Carla had told me they were dressing casual. The plan was to also meet some other nurses there at seven. I found myself excited as I walked the couple of blocks to Kensington to meet Carla. I was going to just have fun and have no expectations of the night.
I was exhausted but it would be worth it to see this once a year Festival. I’d been hearing different people talk about it for the last few weeks and couldn’t wait to see if it lived up to the hype. I put my long blonde hair back in a high ponytail and had applied minimal makeup. I didn't want to risk the warm weather melting it off. The evening called for warm temperatures but no rain. It should be the perfect night for being out in the streets.
I found Carla standing in front of the coffee shop they had been to a million times. She hooked her arm with mine and gave it a squeeze. “I'm so excited you get to experience Notting Hill Carnival. It's so much fun. The costumes are amazing. We're gonna have such a great time.”
Carla's enthusiasm was catchy and I soon found myself excited for the evening ahead. They walked another block, finding the closed off streets and the carnival happening just as Carla had described. There were colorful costumes all over the place among the dancers and drums. I paused all take in. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before in the middle of Wisconsin and I was immediately glad I’d given in to Carla’s demands.
We quickly found our other friends and started walking the streets, stopping to get a drink and pausing occasionally to watch the different dancers. The mood in the air was electric and they were having fun before they knew it.
I stopped at a booth to get another lemonade when I ran intohim. It was Dr. Jones, the doctor I had dated and caught cheating on me with another nurse.
“Hello, Vanessa.” He smiled at me as the nurse, his new girlfriend, wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hi, Bill.”
I didn't really say anything else, paying for my lemonade before turning to go back to my friends.
“Have a good night,” he called out to me and I nodded as I walked away. I hated seeing him. It was bad enough seeing at the hospital, but I especially didn’t like seeing him outside of work. I didn’t even know why he still had that effect on me. I didn't want to be with him and he was a total asshole. For some reason, he still made me so angry and upset. If there's one thing I hated more than anything else, it was being lied to. If he didn't want to be with me anymore, he should have just ended it.
As I walked back up to the girls, Carla paused. “What's with the face? You look pissed off.”
“I ran intohim.” I rolled my eyes and she knew immediately who I meant and shook her head. She took my hand and pulled me next to her.
“Don't worry about it. Let's go dance in the streets. He's nobody and you're gonna have so much fun.” She waved her arm over the crowd. “Look at all these people. Look at all these hot men. You could have any one of them if you wanted.”
I threw my head back and laughed. She was always good for my confidence. “That's okay. I don't want any of them. I'm good. I just hate that he can have such an effect on me.”
She tugged on my arm. “Vanessa, just forget about them. Let's go dance.”
2
GRAYSON
“Ican't believe you have to work tonight. It's like the biggest party of the year and you have to work.”
I shook my head and smiled even though my brother couldn’t see it from the other side of the phone. He never understood my work ethic.
“It's fine. Really. I don't mind working. I still get to enjoy the festival and I get paid. Hard work is what has allowed me to do photography full time.”
My brother made a sound and I could just see him rolling his eyes. “You're always worried about getting paid. Ever since you broke up with Jessica, you never have any fun anymore.”
