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Martha
One Year Later
I avoided Horace like the plague until I graduated.
It wasn’t too easy to do, though. His little hissy fit lasted a few weeks at most, and he was back harassing me at lectures and finding me at cafeterias. I had to be firm, making sure he understood that what we had was over forever. Still, he persisted, and soon enough, I was starting to find creative ways to make sure he couldn’t find me.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to put up with him for too long.
After graduation, it was a lot easier to ignore him. I had already blocked his number, and he had stopped trying to show up in front of my building. Anne told me she had once spotted him in a café nearby, probably waiting for a chance to “accidentally” bump into me or something, but he kept his distance for the most part.
I had bigger fish to fry.
The job market was a complete disaster.
I went from one interview to the other, and although a lot of jobs were tempting, the pay was so ridiculously low I made more money working as a waitress. At some point, I began to wonder if corporations were punishing people for getting degrees.
“It’s not that bad,” Anne said one night. “It’s just the beginning. Once you’ve proven yourself, and I know you can, you’ll grow pretty quickly.”
“I don’t mind the grunt work or starting from the bottom,” I replied. “God knows I’ve done my fair share of that. It’s just Jimmy’s in kindergarten now, and costs are skyrocketing. And I can’t keep relying on you to carry us forever.”
“I never complained.”
“That just makes it worse,” I laughed. “You’re really good to us, Anne, and the worst thing about it is you make me feel like we’re not a burden on you.”
“You’re not!”
“I know,” I said, holding her hand and squeezing. “But I want to do my part. It’s high time I put some real cash into this home.”
Anne finished putting the dishes away and leaned against the sink with a sigh. “So what’s the plan?”
“I’m going to have to keep my shift at the restaurant going,” I said, “and I just got an internship at a small online magazine. It looks promising, but the pay won’t cut it.”
“You gotta start somewhere,” Anne said.
“I know,” I replied.
I gave her a quick hug and called it a night.
The next few days went by pretty uneventfully. For the most part, I stuck to a routine, trying my best to balance between helping out at home and juggling two jobs. Anne was definitely happy about it, and I could see the relief on her face. I hadn’t noticed how much I had unconsciously put on her shoulders, but she seemed a lot more relaxed and even managed to get a night or two out with her co-workers.
I, on the other hand, was just happy to be working a job I liked for once. The editor internship was great, and I truly was learning a lot. The fact that it was a small establishment also allowed me to get to know the people working there a lot better, and the family-like atmosphere was quite appealing. I felt like I could really do well there.
The restaurant, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
A few bad managerial decisions brought down the clientele tremendously, and it was taking its toll on everyone. The tensions were high, and any mistake, no matter how small, could cost you your job. It was like walking on eggshells every night, and it was starting to get to me.
So, when Horace showed up there one night, it was like he had just hammered in the last nail in the coffin.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed at him, pretending to smile and take his order.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Horace replied, “All I want to do is apologize. You won’t even give me a chance to explain myself.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” I replied curtly. “You said some really fucked up things and then left me in the middle of nowhere. Story’s closed. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
He leaned towards me, and I took a step back. “Give me a chance to prove to you that it was nothing more than a mistake.”
“These things aren’t mistakes, Horace,” I said through gritted teeth. “Are you going to order something, or are you just trying to waste my time.”
