Something New & Unexpected

by Sarah Matthews

“Yeah... but things didn’t go too far.”

  “Really? Why?” Jo asked.

  “Because we kept getting interrupted by people calling, celebrating and drunk.”

  “Oh, I bet Steve was pissed.” Ryan laughed.

  “Let’s just say, by the third call he wanted to throw both our phones out the window.” I laughed, and so did they.

  “So, since you guys didn’t get to last night, did you this morning? Is that why you were running late?” Jo asked.

  “No, but we did have a pretty hot ‘make out’ session.”

  “Oh,” she said, chuckling.

  Grabbing my Sprite and taking a drink, I noticed Ryan’s rings on her left hand. Her engagement ring was gold, and had six little round diamonds on either side. The center diamond was a ‘princess’ cut, and was at least a caret, but probably bigger. The wedding band was identical to the engagement ring, but with more diamonds, taking the place of the center one.

  “Your rings are really pretty,” I told her, putting my drink back on the table.

  “Thanks,” she smiled, and lifted her hand to look at them, “I think so, too.”

  “Did Casey pick your engagement ring out himself?”

  “Yeah, he did,” she replied, proudly.

  “Really? Wow. He did a good job.”

  “I know,” she agreed.

  “Where’d he get it?”

  “Shane.”

  “Really?” I asked, intrigued. “I was on their site the other day, looking for earrings for my sister, and decided to look at the other jewelry they have, just for the hell of it, and fell in love with one engagement ring. It’s pink—”

  “Of course it is,” Jo interrupted, with a light snicker.

  My lips twitched. “And the band is a little wider than yours,” I continued, not missing a beat.

  “Do you know what kind of diamond you would want?”

  “I really like the ‘heart’ shaped, but I don’t want it any bigger than two carets because my fingers are smaller.”

  “This is one caret.”

  “And it’s the perfect size for your finger. If I had my way, mine would be at least that, but I want it to be affordable.”

  “Understandable,” she said, as the waitress came back with our food.

  Over the next couple hours, we just sat enjoying our food and talking. Before we knew it, our plates were empty and it was two.

  “As much as I hate to do this,” I said, looking at my watch, “I better get going because I have a two and a half hour drive and I don’t want to be back extremely late.”

  “Oh, you’re fine,” Ryan assured me. “And I really need to get home anyway.”

  “And you know how grumpy Jay gets when I don’t give him enough attention.” Jo laughed, getting up to help me with my jacket.

  “True, but he’ll have to get used to it when my little God-daughter comes.” I smiled.

  With my jacket on, I left money for my portion and the tip. Grabbing my to-go box, I asked one more time if they wanted me to stay until Casey came. When they both shook their heads, I gave them both a hug and headed out.

  Once in the truck, I put my food in the passenger seat, on top of my jersey, and grabbed my keys. Starting it, I cranked up the heat to get warm. When I was a little warmer, I looked out my rearview mirror, backed out of the parking space, and headed for Illinois.

  Chapter 16

  Two days before Valentine’s Day, Tia and I were at the mall shopping for gifts. We had been walking around for a couple of hours and I still hadn’t seen anything I really liked for Steve, so I began to get frustrated.

  Seeing my frustration, Tia suggested, “Why don’t we quit looking for a while and just do some window shopping and relax?”

  Smiling at her, I realized that was a really good idea. So, over the next hour we just went from store to store looking at clothes and enjoying ourselves.

  By twenty after three, my frozen cappuccino latte started to hit me and we headed to Macy’s. Their bathrooms were more accommodating with my chair than the ones near the food court.

  Coming into the store, the bottles on the counter caught my eye. I stopped and headed over, and Tia followed. Getting closer, I realized that they were all cologne. As I looked at all of them, the saleswoman came over. She was petite, mid-twenties-early thirties, and reminded me of a supermodel. I found myself a bit jealous.

  “Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked, sweetly.

  “No, not right now. I’m just looking,” I replied.

  “Okay, well, if you need any help just let me know.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “No problem.” She smiled, then walked away.

  After looking at the colognes a little longer, I turned around and headed back to the bathrooms.

  “So, are you going to get Steve some cologne?” Tia asked, holding the door open for me.

  “I really want to, but did you see the prices?” I asked, going into the bathroom.

  “No.”

  “They were forty-five to sixty dollars.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Wow.”

  “I know, tell me about it,” I said, with a small laugh.

  “I wonder if they have any cheaper maybe in a smaller bottle.”

  “Good question.”

  After finishing in the bathroom, we headed back to the front of the store to ask about the cologne.

  “Well, nice to see you again,” the saleswoman greeted us, when we reached the counter.

  “Hi,” I said. “I was actually wondering if you have any cologne under forty dollars.”

  “Actually, we do. We just got it in yesterday,” she replied, turning away. “It’s only a sample, so it’s in a smaller bottle. I hope that’s okay,” she continued, coming back over.

  “Oh, that’s fine,” I told her.

  She grabbed two test strips and sprayed a little on them. “Here you go.” She handed them to us.

  “Oh, wow,” I said, holding the strip to my nose and breathing in the scent, “this smells really good!”

  “I know,” she agreed. “I think it’s my favorite one that we have.”

  “I understand why.”

  Putting the strip back up to my nose, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply and pictured Steve.

  “I’ll take it,” I said, a few seconds later.

  “Okay. So, is it for someone special?” she asked, putting it in a box then a bag.

  “Yep, my boyfriend,” I replied, grinning, handing her my card. Taking the bag I handed it to Tia.

  “Well, you made a good choice.”

  “I hope so. I’ve never bought him cologne before.”

  “Don’t worry,” she assured me, handing me the receipt and my card back, “CK is one of our most popular.”

  “Well, that’s good to know.”

  After putting my card back and the receipt in the bag, Tia and I thanked her and said, “Goodbye,” and left.

  Just as we were about to go into another store, Tia’s phone rang.

  “Hello? ...Oh, hey Pe, what’s up?” she asked, looking at me and rolling her eyes.

  I snickered.

  “Oh, well, we were gonna grab a bite to eat then catch a movie ...Oh, okay, I will ...Love you, too ...Bye.”

  “So, what was that about?” I asked when she hung up.

  “He said that it’s supposed to start snowing early tonight so to be careful.”

  “So should we skip the movie?”

  “No, we should be fine. It’s not supposed to start ‘til about 8:30.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  By 8:15, we made it back to the dorm just as the snow began to fall. After helping me put my bags on the bed, Tia grabbed Pedro and they headed home before the weather got too bad. Before dealing with the stuff on my bed, I went over to my window and pulled up the blind so I could watch the snow fall.

 
As I began to go through the bags, my phone started to ring and I quickly grabbed it out of my purse.

  “Hello?” I answered, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

  “Hi, beautiful.”

  “Hey you.” I smiled and put the phone against my shoulder and my cheek, as I took my new bikini out of the first bag. “How was your day?”

  “Not bad, a little boring though.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I had class on campus all day, instead of at the hospital.”

  “Oh, you poor thing,” I mocked, playfully, moving in front of the mirror and holding the bikini against my body.

  It was very simple, royal blue, and strapless, but had a keyhole cutout in the center just big enough to see the edge of my breasts, with a tie in the back. The matching bottoms weren’t too low cut, covering my bikini area completely, and had ties on either hip.

  “Ha, ha, very funny,” Steve replied, dryly, and I giggled lightly. “How was your day?”

  “Pretty good, actually,” I told him, putting the bikini on my desk, and grabbing the scissors.

  “Really? I thought Monday is your worst day.”

  “It usually is, but I didn’t have either class today,” I explained, cutting the tags off the bikini as I tossed it in the dirty clothes.

  “Really? Why?”

  “Well, one was scheduled, and the other one, my instructor was sick.”

  “I bet you were happy.”

  “I was,” I said, taking the bodywash and lotion, I got from Bath & Body Works, out of the bag, and taking it into the bathroom.

  “So, what did you do all day, since you didn’t have class? Let me guess, you did homework.”

  “Yes, I did, at least in the morning,” I replied, grabbing the phone with my left hand, putting it against my ear, and going back in my room.

  “I knew it,” he started to laugh, but I cut him off before he could say anything else.

  “But, then around noon I went to the mall with Tia, and we just got back a few minutes ago.”

  “You shopped that long?” he asked, a little surprised.

  “No,” I laughed softly, “we ate dinner around four, and then went to a movie.”

  “Oh, what movie?”

  “Some comedy. I don’t even remember the name of it.”

  “That good, huh?” he asked, with a lilt in his voice.

  “Yeah,” I huffed, sarcastically.

  “So, what did you get at the mall?”

  “Well,” I said, putting the phone back on my shoulder, and grabbing the bag that had Steve’s cologne in it, “let’s see, I bought some bodywash and lotion from Bath & Body Works, and a couple other things from different stores.”

  “What other things?”

  “I’m not telling you.” I laughed, taking out the cologne, opening it, and smelling it again.

  As soon as I took the lid off, the scent filled my nostrils and I closed my eyes.

  “Oh, come on,” Steve whined a little.

  “Nope,” I replied, putting the lid on the cologne and put it back in the box then set it on my dresser.

  “Will I get to see them on Saturday?”

  “Maybe,” I replied, being coy, and chuckling at his attempts to guess.

  “So, are they for me?”

  “Maybe.”

  “So they are for me,” he concluded, happily.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. The way you said ‘maybe’ means they are.”

  “No it doesn’t.”

  “Yes it does.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Yes, it does.” He laughed.

  “No it doesn’t, and if you keep bugging me about it, you’re never going to find out,” I finally said, in mock irritation, and trying not to laugh.

  “Okay,” he replied, sounding defeated.

  I laughed. “Speaking of Saturday,” I ventured, still laughing a little, picking up the empty bags off my bed and taking them to the closet, “what are we doing?”

  “Nope,” Steve told me, quickly. “You’ve got your secrets, I’ve got mine.”

  “Fair.”

  Plopping the bags in the closet, I closed the door and turned back toward the window.

  “Oh, wow,” I said, noticing that it was snowing harder. I moved to the window.

  “What?”

  “The snow.”

  “Is it coming down pretty hard?”

  “Yeah,” I answered, looking out the window.

  “You can see it? How? It’s dark.”

  “If I look up at the streetlight or at the edge of the driveway next to the lights from the overhang, I can.”

  “Oh, duh,” he realized, and I bit my lip to keep from snickering. “So, maybe it’ll snow so much that they’ll cancel classes.”

  “Yeah, that’ll happen,” I said, sarcastically.

  “What?”

  “They haven’t cancelled classes since 1917.”

  “Oh,” he said, with a light laugh. “Who knows, it could still happen.”

  “Yeah, but I think hell would have to freeze over first,” I replied, and we both laughed.

  “Well, try not to drive. The roads will probably be bad,” he said, turning serious.

  “I have to.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the snow won’t be cleared off the sidewalks and won’t be packed down from people walking on it. My chair can go through snow, but it has to be good and packed down.”

  “Oh, okay. Just promise me you’ll be careful tomorrow,” he said, with concern.

  “I promise,” I assured him. “You too,” I added, just as concerned.

  “I will. We’re not supposed to get as much as you, though.”

  “Oh, okay, but still be careful, please.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  “Hey, listen, I have to go,” I told him, looking at the clock. “Kenya will be here any minute.”

  “Oh, okay. I love you. Have a good day tomorrow and be careful.”

  “I love you, too, and I will. You too.”

  “I will,” he assured me as we hung up.

  The next morning when my alarm went off, I immediately got in my chair and went to the window to look outside. Looking out, there was at least five inches on the bushes and parking lot already and it was still snowing. Seeing that I still had a few minutes before Marisa came in, I went over to my computer to see if classes were cancelled. To my dismay, I saw that the homepage had nothing new about the weather. Sighing dramatically, I exited out of the internet and went to pick out my clothes for the day and waited for Marisa.

  After showering and getting dressed, I headed to get something to eat. Passing the computer room, I noticed Mitch in there.

  “Hey, Mitch. Whatcha doin’?” I asked, pulling up next to him, once again wondering how he managed to look even the slightest bit comfortable, even in the desk chair, given his height.

  “Oh, hey. Nothin’ really. Just checking to see if classes are cancelled,” he replied, looking at me.

  “Well, I checked about a half-hour ago and it didn’t say anything yet.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, the homepage hadn’t been updated since last night. The last update was around 8:30 just reminding us what was coming and to stay safe.”

  “Well, let’s check again, shall we.” He chuckled and went to the school’s homepage.

  “Well, if they do cancel classes, I’ll buy you a new car,” I mused, as he read the screen and began to grin.

  “You better start saving your money because I want a new Porsche,” he told me.

  “What?”

  “All classes are cancelled.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Yeah, really, look.” He pointed, turning back to the screen. “Due to the five or so inches that have fallen over night and the five or so inches still expected today, all classes ar
e cancelled and all University buildings and offices are closed for the day.”

  “Oh, wow,” I said, a little surprised, but excited.

  “I know,” he agreed.

  “What are your plans for the day, now that classes are cancelled and virtually everything around here is closed?”

  “I don’t know, grab some breakfast, finish my shift, then probably go back to bed,” he answered, exiting out of the internet and getting up.

  “Figures,” I said, and we both laughed.

  “How about you?”

  “I don’t know, probably do some homework.”

  “Figures,” he laughed again, and so did I, as we headed to the dining room.

  As Mitch and I ate breakfast, Teddy came in, ordered, and sat down across from me.

  “Morning,” I greeted him, happily, looking at him as I ate the last bite of my bagel.

  “Okay, it’s way too damn early and you’re way too happy. What’s going on?” Teddy replied.

  “Oh, nothing,” I answered, as I took a sip of coffee, “unless you count that classes are cancelled.”

  “What?” he asked, surprised.

  “Yep.”

  “Wow! I didn’t think that would ever happen.”

  “I know, me either, but it did.”

  “I guess hell has frozen over,” he said, and we both laughed.

  After talking to Teddy for a while, I headed back to my room. Just as I was about to start studying, my phone rang.

  “Good morning,” I greeted.

  “Morning,” Steve replied. “What’s it like there?”

  “Well,” I answered, moving to the window and looking out, “beautiful.”

  “How many inches do you think you got?”

  “So far, I would say at least five.”

  “So, is it still snowing?”

  “Yeah, it’s not supposed to stop ‘til about eight tonight.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “Yeah. They said that we’re supposed to get at least five more.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, just make sure you’re really careful when you leave.”

  “Okay, but I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because classes are cancelled,” I told him, moving away from the window.

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “I thought you said they would never do that,” he teased a little.