Her pen started to write on the legal pad like fire and brimstone.
After about fifteen minutes into writing her outline, she heard someone knock on her door. “Come on, I just got into writing this! Aurora said.” “Oh no! I forgot my parents were coming here.” She ran down to open the door and let her parents in.
“Aurora, what happened to your hair?” Her mom said.
“Ahh. Nothing,” Aurora said as she shrugged her shoulders. “I was just writing.”
“Oh, it’s another one of the weird quirks that makes me love you so much,” her mom said as she embraced Aurora for a hug. Aurora stood there like a stick person as her mom wrapped her arms around her. Aurora was not so keen on hugging because she didn’t get hugged much as a child. She was awkward when someone would try to give her a hug, unless that someone was a boy that she loved. Aurora’s mom tried to squeeze her tighter, but Aurora pushed away.
“Mom!”
“Sorry. You know, I love you so much and I am so proud of you,” her mom then responded and put her hands on her hips.
“I know, mom.”
Her dad Charles said, “Well, your place is nice. How much are you paying for it?”
“Enough,” Aurora said. She did not like talking about money.
“Allll rightly then,” Her dad said back.
“So… let’s eat. Where do you guys want to go?” Aurora said.
“Any place I can get a burger,” her dad said.
“Of course,” Aurora said.
“What?” Charles said. They all laughed out loud because her dad would always say he wanted a hamburger any time someone asked where he wanted to eat.
“Okay Dad, whatever you want.”
They ended up going to this burger joint called Milwaukee’s Best; they sold many types of beer, Bloody Marys, and burgers.
Aurora always got a burger with an egg on it; her dad would always have a burger with onions and mushrooms sautéed in butter. Her mom got a grilled chicken sandwich and some fries with blue cheese dressing. Aurora’s mom didn’t care what she ate as long as she got some fries with blue cheese dressing to dip them in. Aurora always thought that what her mom ate was weird, but never said anything to her.
“How does it feel to be divorced?” Charles said.
Elizabeth nudged Charles’ arm and whispered to him, “Don’t talk about the divorce.”
“Mom, I can hear you… It is not a big deal,” Aurora said. “Dad, it finally feels like I am free from a man’s grasp.” She made a fist in her hand and held it in front of her face. Her mom looked down at her food with eyes as wide as the darkness that filled Aurora’s heart from her childhood.
I feel strong to sit across from my father and say that to his face, but I doubt he will get what I meant. I have been free from my father, but now I’m free from Gannon.
“How’s your job going? Anything new happening lately?” her father said.
Aurora said hesitantly, “Well…. there kind of is.”
“What is it?” Aurora’s mom said.
“Well,” Aurora said. Her heart rate started to beat faster, and she could feel the sweat grow on her forehead under her bangs that were swept to one side. She took a gulp of water; her fingers became wet from the perspiration on the water glass.
Her dad then motioned with his hand for her to continue.
“Well, I got a job offer in New York.”
Charles snapped back quickly, “New York? Doing what? Why would you leave your job here? You need some stability in your life.”
“This new job will give me stability. They already have a place there for me.”
Her mom interjected and said, “Then what will you be doing? Will you ever see us?”
Aurora said back, rolling her eyes, “Yes, mom. I will visit you two and you can visit me.”
“Well, you know your dad hates flying.”
“Okay, then you two can drive. It wouldn’t kill you to take a vacation every once in a while.”
Her dad then said, “We will see. So, what will you be doing there? Are you sure you want to do this?”
Aurora replied, “Yes, I am sure. I have been thinking about this for the last few weeks. I should be moving there by the middle of April. That is about a month or so.”
Charles said, “Okay, but what about your job here? Didn’t you basically make that company what it is today?”
“Well, more or less, and I did get paid a lot to do it, but Dad, it is a magazine that only elderly people read in waiting rooms at the hospital. It's not enough for me. Now I am training someone to take over for me… Anyway, I want to write something real.”
Charles responded back quickly, “Can’t you write here, though? Why do you need to leave?”
“My friend, Tessa, said the same thing,” Aurora said. “They want me to be there to work. I can and will travel a lot, but they want me based out of New York. I will be staying in Manhattan. Dad, I am going to be the Assistant. Editor. In. Chief. for The New York Times.”
“How? You are still so young.” Uhhhh.
Aurora said, “I know. People tell me that all of the time. Then once they see my work ethic and what I am capable of, they forget my age.” She took a drink of water. “Anyway, there have been people far more successful than me at even younger ages.”
“Okay, well I am proud of you, Aurora.” Aurora’s dad never told her he was proud of her. This made her very happy inside, but she didn’t want to show it too much. So, she just smiled and wiped away a tear from falling down her left cheek.
“Thank you, Dad.”
“Yes, baby girl,” Aurora’s mom said as she smiled and squeezed Charles’s arm. “Your father and I are always proud of you.”
When her parents took her back to her place, she opened the car door and said to her parents, “You guys going to stay for a while?
Her mom replied, “No, we both have to work tomorrow.”
“It is not even dark outside yet,” Aurora said. “Why don’t you just stay the night? It’s a long drive.”
Her mom replied, “Sorry baby girl, we can’t.” Both of her parents got out of the car and hugged her. Aurora only remembered her father hugging her once as a child. As she got to her porch, she looked back and waved to her parents.
As soon as she saw her parents drive away, she grabbed the keys from her pocket, then her phone. She saw how many missed calls and messages she had. She had one call and a text from Tessa and several from Melih and Gannon.
Gannon was telling her that they could always reverse the divorce and they had six months to decide. “Nope. Nope. And nope.” She said out loud to herself. “Delete. And. Block.”
The messages and calls from Melih were asking where she was and why she left right away. Aurora’s boss messaged her and told her she could take off work that day. She rolled her eyes as she read that message. I just got divorced. Sure! I will come right in… You really think I would be coming in? Of course I am not going to work. Just another obvious reason why I want to leave. Tessa had called as well, and messaged Aurora to see how the divorce went. Tessa said she would be there that night for moral support, though on the inside all Aurora wanted to do was write that night and be alone.
Aurora called Tessa as she was lying in her pj’s in front of her tv, wrapped up in a white fluffy throw blanket.
“Okay,” Aurora said. “You can come over, but we are getting Chinese food. I need some unhealthy comfort food.”
“It’s a deal. I will buy it for us,” Tessa said. “How was the divorce?”
“Well, it was good because I am divorced,” Aurora said. “But… It was so... awkward”
“But why awkward?”
“Well,” Aurora said, “Melih was there.”
“Yeah?” Tessa said. “But you told me he was coming. How is that awkward?”
“I pretended I didn’t see him... Oh! And when Gannon saw Melih was there, he flipped him off.”
They both laughed.
“But what else
happened?” Tessa said.
Aurora took a sip of her chamomile tea.
“Well, when the judge finally announced we were divorced, I ran out afterward. I hid in the bathroom, so I could avoid them.”
“Wow,” Tessa said. “That is awkward.”
“I had to call my mom to come get me and sneak me out. So, how are things with Dan?”
“Really good, actually,” Tessa said. “I will have to tell you all about it in person.”
“It must be serious then,” Aurora said. “Anyway, I am happy for you, but you don’t need to tell me anything too personal. Dan is like a brother to me, you know.”
“Yes,” Tessa said. “But I am your best friend.”
“Tell me whatever you want,” Aurora said. “I can’t promise I won’t cringe at the gushy love stuff.”
“I am on my way to another class now,” Tessa said. “I will tell you about all of the gushy love stuff when I see you tonight.” Tessa continued, “I am sure you are excited.”
“Well. Not really,” Aurora said. “But I could take any type of distraction right now.”
Aurora put on her fluffy gray slippers, grabbed her tea, and went upstairs to put on her favorite gray hoodie with “UW Madison” on it in big red, bold letters. She then tied her hair in a bun on top of her head and went back to her desk to continue to work on her outline. After working on her outline a couple of hours, she started to type her book. Her outline wasn’t finished either, but she figured she would end up changing her outline along the way.
Aurora didn’t realize what time it was until her coffee was cold. She looked out the window and saw the white frosted sky turn into an icy blue, pink, and purple sunset.
Tessa sent Aurora a text that she would be there around 7:00 p.m. Aurora continued to write until Tessa got there.
Tessa got to the house and knocked on the door. Aurora jumped out of her chair. She was easily scared, and the book she was writing triggered her into fight and flight mode. Writing this book is going to be harder than I thought. But she resented Gannon so much and wanted to tell the world how disgusting of a human being he was. Her hatred for Gannon is what kept her going.
Tessa came into the house and stomped the snow off of her shoes on Aurora’s rug. She had her backpack on and two white plastic bags with Chinese food in them. Aurora grabbed one of the bags and peeked inside it.
“Is this mine?”
Tessa responded, “If it has a white box with an L on it, then yes, it is yours.” Aurora looked inside and saw General Tso’s chicken with low mien noodles.
Aurora said, “How did you know what I wanted? I thought we would order delivery.”
“You have been ordering the same thing for years. You literally never order anything else,” Tessa said.
“Very good, my friend. Thank you.” Aurora put the food on the coffee table and waited for Tessa to take off her jacket. She pulled her food out of the bag and went to get plates out of the kitchen. Aurora pulled her own chopsticks from the silverware drawer. They were porcelain white with blue Chinese writing on the end. She felt very proud of the fact that she could use them.
Aurora came back and sat on the couch next to Tessa and turned on the TV. Aurora said, “Let’s put something on Netflix or I can rent any movie.”
Tessa said, “Whatever you like.” She continued by saying, “Too bad we won’t be able to hang out like this when you are in New York.”
“Well…….” Aurora responded as she picked up the remote. “I was thinking we could watch a chic flick.” She started scrolling through the movies on her TV. “Speaking of New York, how about The Devil Wears Prada?”
Tessa responded, “Sounds good to me.”
Aurora said, “Even if I am going to New York, you can come visit me.”
Tessa said with a whiny voice, “I know, but it’s not the same and besides, you know I hate traveling.”
Aurora smiled at Tessa and said, “But I am special.”
“Yes, you are.”
Aurora commented, “You are never sentimental like that. That’s not the type of friendship we have. You better stop before it gets weird.” They both laughed.
Tessa replied embarrassed, “I know. You are right.” Tessa then had an epiphany as if a light bulb had gone off in her head. “Wait! I am being the emotional one now? That has always been your job.”
Aurora said, “I know! Jeez! Leave the emotions to me, why don’t ya?” They both laughed.
“I am sorry, Aurora. It just sucks having your best friend leave you. Especially since we are hanging out again.”
“Tessa, this is different, and you know that. I can come see you any time. You can come see me whenever you like.”
Tessa laughed as she said, “We are starting to sound like a married couple in a long-distance relationship.” They started laughing.
“You are right.”
They both laughed again. Tessa continued, “Let’s watch the movie.”
They were halfway through the movie and full from Chinese food.
“Well, Dan and I are getting pretty serious,” Tessa said.
“I figured so. I am happy for you.”
“Thanks, but I am scared. I haven’t been in a relationship in so long, I feel like I don’t know what I am doing. I don’t want to lose him. You know?” Tessa said.
“I don’t think I am the best person to ask for relationship advise,” Aurora replied. “But believe me. I know Dan. You will not lose him. Or I will beat him up.”
Tessa looked at how small Aurora was and laughed. “As intimidating as you sound, I think you would lose to Dan in a fight.”
“That’s true, but Dan would never hurt a fly. I know he is a jock, but he is not like all the other jocks. He is intelligent and not a bro.” Whenever Aurora called someone a bro, she meant they were a guy who only cared about themselves and their looks. They also would go to the gym a lot but always skipped leg day.
Tessa looked down at her plate of rice and said, “Well, maybe I am insecure.”
“Come on, Tessa.” Aurora rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you would be insecure. You will be a dentist soon and you are intelligent and pretty.”
Aurora was getting annoyed that Tessa was talking bad about herself. Tessa was one of the most intelligent and best-looking people she knew, though Aurora was biased. Tessa intimidated many men because of her beauty, brains, and success. Aurora always thought that it was their loss for not being with her. Many men thought that they didn’t stand a chance with Tessa. But with Dan, Tessa had met her match. Her equal.
“You and Dan are perfect for each other. Don’t overthink it. You will be a dentist soon and he will be a lawyer soon. You are going to be a power couple,” Aurora said.
“See! How can we have conversations like this when you are in New York?”
“You see that, Tessa.” Aurora pointed her finger and said, “That is a phone. You can call or text me whenever.”
“I know, but it’s different. I just need to succumb to the fact that you are moving. I mean, I am really proud for you. So, you are famous now, right?”
“No, I wouldn’t call myself famous,” Aurora said. “Maybe someday, but I am not striving to be famous though. I am striving to be happy.”
The rest of the night, Tessa and Aurora spent talking about their future, past, and present. They reflected on how their friendship had made it through a lot.
Aurora struggled to sleep because she could not stop thinking about Melih and how bad she felt for just running away from him like that. She told herself she would talk to him about it. She also told herself that she would tell Melih she would be moving to New York.
--
Dan arrived to the house the next morning and knocked on the door. Aurora opened the door, still in her pajamas. Dan looked at her clothes. “Are you coming to lunch with us dressed like that?”
“What?” Aurora said. “I am not going to lunch with you guys. I don’t want to be the third wheel.”
/> “But…” Dan started to say.
“Come on, Dan. You know I will.” Dan pulled out his phone frantically to text someone. “What’s the rush? Is someone dying?”
“Ahhhh…” Dan said, as he quickly grabbed the phone from his pocket. He then looked up from his phone and put it back in his pocket quickly because Aurora was trying to see whom he was messaging.
Dan continued, “No, Aurora. No one is dying. It was just a thing I had to send to one of my classmates.”
Aurora rolled her eyes and said, “I’m not buyin’ it.” Dan took off his boots as he walked out of the doorway into Aurora’s place.
“Nothing is wrong,” Dan said. His cheeks got red, as he looked up at Aurora with an awkward smile.
“Okay, lover boy, I was just joking.” She laughed. She softly slugged his arm to let him know she was teasing him because Aurora thought he was acting a bit uptight.
“Well, your place looks nice,” Dan said.
“Your princess is getting ready upstairs. She will be down in a second. You can take a look around if you want.” He looked around the house and saw Aurora’s kitchen.
“The view is beautiful, Aurora.”
“Wait! Let me show you my office upstairs!” She grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs.
“Sure, I’d love to see it,” he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
She showed her the room and he saw an array of papers crumpled up on the floor. Dan said, “Are you writing something? Or did a tornado come through here? The last time I checked, we live in Wisconsin, not Kansas.” They both laughed.
“Well, I am writing something,” she said humbly. She never wanted to gloat.
“Good for you, Rora!” Dan said with excitement. “What is it about?”
“Divorce…”
Dan replied, “Oh…”
Aurora said back, “Yeah…”
After She Said Yes Page 18