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Mena stared at words. There were no emojis. But then she hadn’t used emojis, and Theo had never been an emoji kind of guy.
She tapped her fingers on her desk, annoyed at herself for being juvenile. She was not going to spend even more of her life trying to figure out what Theo was thinking and feeling.
She put her phone back in the drawer without replying to him.
The work day passed slowly, dragging in a way that was totally alien for Mena.
Craig’s party was being held in an Irish style bar, with wood panels and brass lamps with glass lampshades lining the wall. The museum staff filled the back of the bar, just about everyone meeting there after work. Mena looked around, peering through the crowd, but there was no sign of Theo.
She made her way through the crowd, circling the room twice before giving up. The disappointment was bitter and, evenworse, she hated herself for getting her hopes up. She should have known better.
Chapter Nine
Theo
Theo was never sure when to arrive for parties. Too many times in his life he’d been given an exact time to show up and then, when he did as asked, he was the only person there and would get teased for being too eager.
On the other hand, turning up too late would mean he’d miss most of the night.
In the end, Theo had found the perfect solution; simply not going to any parties.
It was a scheme that worked perfectly well until now.
Mena had told him the party would start at six, and he wanted to see her from the first second he could. But, he also didn’t want to be a stranger intruding on someone’s retirement party. Instead he opted to walk into the bar at exactly six-fifteen.
The place was crowded and he couldn’t see Mena, so he went to the bar to get a drink, only then realizing that Mena was a few feet behind him, standing with her back to him, leaning against the bar and talking to an older woman.
He was just about to go over and tap Mena on the shoulder to tell her he’d arrived when he overheard what she was saying.
“No, he was my first love, Lisbet.”
The older woman, Lisbet, looked vaguely familiar. “Hmm…first love. Have you had a second love?”
Mena was quiet, and Theo felt his stomach churn, he did not want to hear this, but Lisbet spoke quickly.
“Because,” Lisbet continued, “this is the first time you’ve ever mentioned anyone.”
“I try to be professional,” Mena protested.
“Sure, but we’re a small museum, Mena. People bring their partners to work. Glenn’s wife meets him for lunch in the cafeteria everyday.
“I don’t think Theo will be doing that,” Mena said in a defeated tone. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, Mena,” Lisbet sounded so sad that Theo had to turn. He did not want to eavesdrop on her talking about him. He didn’t want to learn how she felt about him second hand.
He strode to her, intent on telling her that eating lunch in a museum cafeteria everyday would be the best thing that had ever happened to him, if he got to do it with Mena. But in the time it took him to walk to her, Mena spoke.
“Theo dumped me so -”
“Mena!” Theo called out in shock, the air rushing from his lungs.
Mena and Lisbet both turned to look at him.
“Look at this, the famous first love,” Lisbet said in a dry tone, but Theo ignored her.
Mena was quickly turning beet red and Theo felt his sanity was hanging on by a thread, the only thing he could was stick to the social niceties long ingrained in him.
“I just go by Theo,” he said, putting out his hand for Lisbet. The world felt unsteady under his feet, but the older woman tookhis hand and gave it one quick shake. “Do you mind if I steal Mena away for a second?”
