Saturdays (Challenge)

by D. Blake

  “Please,” Myla said as she watched Summer hold up two fingers towards the bar. A bar, or burger joint wasn’t at all what she had expected, but the atmosphere was good and she liked the company. She still had so much exploring to do in DC.

  “I’m friends with a few people at work, but mainly it’s just a job. I work for a Human Resources firm. We have over a 100 companies that we oversee, and there are a lot of us. I like it, but one day I’d like to do something different.”

  “Like what?”

  “If I knew that, I would already be doing it,” Myla laughed out loud.

  “What did you do in California?”

  “Human Resources,” Myla chuckled. “But it was a much smaller company and we all got along so well. We actually did things together outside of work, like play basketball and have dinner with one another. So thank you for suggesting this, and the one on one. Feels more like home.” Myla realized that in the three years since she had come home, her time had been about getting by and surviving. She returned to be closer to her mother and grandmother, but hadn’t connected with any of her old friends. They had simply grown too far apart, and she didn’t care to rekindle the friendships. She was a different person now.

  “Tell me, what do you do for fun?” Myla smiled placing the ball in Summer’s court.

  “This,” she said holding up her beer. “I work a lot, which I enjoy. I join rec leagues once in a while, but usually just hang out with my work colleagues. We were friends before we branched out and since then, we’ve all become a small family. AND, I force them to do things like the Fitbit Challenge which keeps me occupied.” Summer grinned. “They love me for it.”

  Myla smiled a crooked smile and raised her eyebrows. “Do you have someone significant in your life?”

  “What do you mean? Girlfriend?” Myla nodded in response. “No.”

  “When was the last time you dated someone?”

  Summer was a bit uncomfortable with the line of questioning, though she liked that Myla was interested. “About 8 months ago. I dated someone I met at a bar. It didn’t last long though. I guess you could say that I still have an annoying personality.” Myla looked at her, but said nothing. “I’m an active person and I don’t like to sit around on the weekend when I could be outside doing something exciting and fun. I gave her one Saturday a month of being lazy and just relaxing by the pool, but the rest…”

  “So, you never wanted to just lay around in bed making love on a Saturday afternoon?” Summer didn’t respond. She grimaced and looked down at her food, pushing it around on the plate. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s too personal.” Myla had only been teasing, but it was obviously a sore subject for her blond friend.

  Summer looked up to see Myla had blushed and was embarrassed by her comment. She had obviously meant to tease, with a hint of flirting. “I guess I’ve never found that one person that makes me want to lay in bed all day making love. That would mean that you have to be in love.”

  “That’s too bad. You can burn a lot of calories in bed,” Myla said lightening the mood.

  Summer laughed heartily and took another drink. “I’ll remember that.”

  ****

  After dinner and returning to their cars, they agreed to meet at the Gym again the following Wednesday for a rematch. During the week they exchanged a few amusing texts, making one another smile throughout the day, but neither picked up the phone to actually talk.

  “Today we begin our 10,000 step challenge folks. You all did really well the last two weeks, and I don’t think there should be a problem meeting the minimum for this week and next.” Summer paused for a moment to look at her team. They all looked happy and no one seemed to mind when she announced the increase. They knew it was coming and most had hit 10,000 during their daily activities, between walking, jogging, elliptical, and dancing, their team had a good chance of winning the overall challenge, at least according to Summer’s projections from the first two weeks. One group was already disqualified because one of the members took another job, leaving just seven teammates. It was unfortunate, but great for Summer and her crew.

  “Let’s start taking a walking lunch today. Come up with ideas for the Chamber’s account and lunch is on me,” Summer finished. Everyone seemed pleased with that idea and nodded their heads. “Lena, how are you doing?” Summer asked anxious to know how Lena’s latest appointment went.

  “Great actually. I had an appointment last Friday and everything looks good. The Doctor ok’d me to continue walking as long as I stay hydrated.”

  “Still a September 15th due date?” Summer questioned with interest. Lena was one of her oldest employees at 41 years old. She was the first person to come to Summer about joining their company start up. Her husband made enough money to support them both, and she wasn’t worried about her initial income, assuming there would be a lag before she received another paycheck. Fortunately, Summer and Eddie had sequestered enough of their own design accounts in advance, making their business a success right from the start.

  “As far as we can tell, nothing has changed, and no, we still don’t know the sex,” Lena said with a smirk on her face.

  Everyone laughed knowing that Summer had already started a pool regarding the sex and birth date. She had everyone contribute $25 and fill their name in on the whiteboard in her office. They were allowed three tries if they contributed triple the amount.

  “Does anyone have anything else to add?” Summer added bringing the meeting to a close. When no one spoke up she nodded her head. “Let’s meet at the elevator at noon. Bring water and I’ll buy lunch when we get to our destination.”

  “Eddie can I talk to you for a minute,” Summer called to him before he could get out the door.

  “Sure Summer, just let me get another cup of coffee.”

  After filling his cup, Eddie closed the door behind himself and sat across from Summer in the leather back chair. “I have to tell Taryn something that I’m not looking forward to. Can you give me some advice?”

  “Did that harlot cheat on her? She did, didn’t she?” Eddie said with narrowed eyes.

  “Harlot, really?” Summer questioned.

  “Okay would you rather I say slut? Same thing,” Eddie said as he ran his hand over his bald head. He adjusted his glasses on his nose, looking over the rim at Summer.

  “True. I saw her at Rigdon’s with another woman in her lap. She saw me and didn’t even seem to care.”

  “Fuck. What’re you going to do?”

  Summer looked surprised. “I’m going to tell her. Wouldn’t you want to know?”

  “I guess. But she’s going to take it hard. Taryn really liked her, despite the warnings.”

  Summer nodded her head and picked up the stress ball from her desk. She squeezed it a few times before speaking. “I’m going to tell her; she deserves to know. I would want to know. How about we take her out after work for a drink?”

  “We can try. Good luck,” Eddie said somberly, standing from the chair and heading to the door.

  When Eddie closed the door behind himself, Summer called to have Taryn come into her office. “Yea boss. What can I get you?”

  “Have a seat Taryn. I need to tell you something, but you’re not going to like it.”

  “Oh. Okay,” Taryn said sitting down across from Summer. “What is it?”

  “There’s no easy way to say this and I’m sorry. I saw Sheila out the other night. She was…” Summer was torn, not wanting to hurt her good friend.

  “Out with someone else.”

  Summer looked up at Taryn and saw the tears had already started to form at the corners of her eyes. She stood up, walking around her desk and kneeling down in front of Taryn. “I’m sorry. She’s not good enough for you.”

  Taryn shook her head and covered her face. “I knew it was too good to be true. She told me she loved me, and that I was different from all the others. God, I am so stupid.” Tayrn began to get up to run out of the room, but Summer stood
in front of her and pulled her into a hug, crushing her into her body.

  “I know this isn’t easy, but you deserve so much better.” She held her for minutes until Taryn was able to gain control from her sobs.

  Taryn backed away from Summer and grabbed a few Kleenex from the box on the table. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “Hey, why don’t we go out to dinner tonight? Eddie and I were going to the Firefly. Will you join us?”

  “No, not tonight. Thank you, though. Summer, do you mind if I take the rest of the day off?”

  Summer squeezed her arm and nodded her head. “Go ahead. I’ll call you later to see how you’re doing. If you want company I’ll come over and bring you dinner.”

  “No, not tonight. Thank you,” she said, not looking into Summer’s sorry eyes as she left the office.

  “Ugh.” Sheila had played her friend for all that she could. Taryn had resisted her passes for weeks before finally giving in, against her better judgement, yet Sheila had somehow convinced Taryn that she was ready for a commitment.

  That evening Summer and Eddie ate dinner in the office instead of going out. They ordered Chinese food after everyone had left and began their strategy for their newest accounts. She called Taryn several times to see how she was doing, but got no answer. By 9 o’clock they called it a night and went their separate ways.

  ****

  The following day, Taryn called in sick, leaving a message with Kona who was the first in the office. When Summer heard the news she began to worry about her friend. Taryn had made several comments during the last month indicating that she had really fallen for Sheila. By lunch time Summer could think of nothing else.

  Summer punched in Taryn’s number for the third time and finally Taryn answered on the fifth ring. “Hello.”

  Summer could hear the huskiness in her voice, probably from crying. “Hi Taryn. How are you doing? Can I bring you some lunch?”

  “I’m not hungry, but thank you.”

  “How about a walk to the coffee shop.” Summer suggested knowing Taryn could never turn down a good cup of coffee.

  “You know what, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

  “Great, I’ll see you in 30 minutes,” Summer said pushing the end button before Taryn could object.

  Summer didn’t waste any time getting to the large apartment building. She knocked on the door and was surprised when her presumably upset friend opened it immediately with a smile on her face. She was wearing black cropped yoga pants with a blue top to match her eyes. Her sunset hair was pulled into a ponytail and Summer thought she looked renewed. “You look good,” she said pulling her into a hug. “Ready?”

  “Yup. Let’s go,” Taryn said closing the door and bouncing down the stairs.

  Summer followed shaking her head. When they reached the sidewalk, Taryn pulled Summer’s arm to go right. “I want to walk for a while before we have coffee.”

  “Good idea. I needed this.”

  “You needed this? Why?”

  “I’ve been working on the Freedom account too long and needed a break. Besides, I was worried about you. AND I missed you.”

  Taryn smiled and looked at Summer who was dressed in a casual shirt and Linen pants. “I was only out for one day.”

  “Yes, but I was worried. Are you okay, really okay?” Summer questioned.

  “I am. She’s not worth it. I’m sorry I called in today. I just needed a day to recover from yesterday,” Taryn giggled.

  Summer laughed and shook her head. “You deserve it, but I need you tomorrow. We have a meeting with the Coffee Bean and I want you to be there.”

  “Do you need me to keep minutes?”

  “No, I want you to help us on the account. You have a lot of coffee experience,” Summer said teasingly, knowing that Taryn was a coffee snob.

  “Ha ha!”

  “Hey, I’m being serious. I know you have great ideas, and maybe this is the perfect account to start with. We meet at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Emma is lead on this one, but I want you to take a look at her ideas and maybe modify them to make them great. I’ve seen you do it before. Her ideas are sound, but I think it still needs…”

  “Something. I know. I looked at them and I think the color is all wrong.”

  Summer grinned to herself and nodded her head in agreement. She knew Taryn was right, and it was the same thing Eddie had stated to her the day before. “Good, that’s where we’ll start.”

  “You don’t think Emma will be angry?” The last thing Taryn wanted to do was step on anyone’s toes or piss off her friends. She didn’t want to cause any waves in the company dynamics.

  “This is how we work Taryn, by feeding off one another’s ideas. We each have things that we can contribute and we work as a team. So no. She will appreciate your ideas, trust me. We don’t work on commission here, it’s not a stable system. We work together for the client and if you have something to contribute, you need to speak up.” Summer had no doubt that Emma would appreciate Taryn’s ideas and concepts. Taryn had been giving them feedback for years, but never in an official context. She was creative and innovative, and that was what they needed to be successful in this line of work.

  “Okay,” Taryn said softly. “I’m ready for coffee. Are you?”

  “Yes,” Summer answered as they increased their pace after turning around and heading in the opposite direction.

  ****

  When Summer returned to work, she logged onto her computer and pulled up her email. She quickly sent a short invitation to Myla for a Wednesday night game of one on one, with a dinner invitation to follow.

  While waiting for a response, she called Eddie into her office to let him know about her conversation with Taryn. Eddie agreed that Taryn was a natural and would provide valuable input. She expressed that she wanted to give Taryn a raise and a new title, one that explained her new role in their company. She knew Taryn only needed the incentive and confidence to be the creative person they thought she could be. Her lack of schooling in any type of art or design made her constantly question her abilities, but Summer and Eddie had no doubt that she was a natural.

  After 5 o’clock, Summer checked her email once again before heading out.

  She scrolled through her emails to find Myla had in fact responded. You’re on. 6:00 p.m. and expect to be crushed.

  She smiled and closed her laptop, while standing to stretch her legs. She adjusted her pants before standing tall and leaving the office to be met by Eddie at the elevator. They looked at one another, not saying a word until the doors closed. “Summer.”

  “Eddie.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Firefly?”

  “Twenty.”

  They nodded to one another and split their ways with Summer heading to the parking garage and Eddie heading to the street. Within a half an hour, Summer had a beer in hand and Eddie was chatting about the day. Summer always enjoyed their dinner nights, usually trying to put work aside to catch up on life. They had been friends for a long time and she couldn’t imagine having accomplished as much without Eddie by her side.

  “So how are we doing with our challenge? Are we going to get a free gym?” Eddie asked with hope in his eyes. Just one more thing that bonded them to one another, their love for competition and movement.

  Summer smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “We’re in third place, but not far behind first or second. I think we have a shot, but we need to get the group to pick up their pace.”

  “Have we had any slackers?”

  “No actually, we just aren’t doing as many steps as some of the other teams.”

  “Well, what kind of bonus can we give everyone to step it up, pun intended.”

  Summer shook her head and grinned. “That’s not a bad idea. I really do want that gym, but I also want the discount on benefits for the company. Insurance isn’t cheap.”

  “What if we…” Eddie put his hand on his chin and rubbed the goatee he was sporting. “What if we…”

 
Summer laughed when he came up with nothing. “How about free coffee for a month?”

  “Ooh, that’s good, but not everyone drinks coffee.”

  “Shit, you’re right.” Summer took a drink from her beer and wiped her mouth.

  “Gift cards?” Eddie said with raised eyebrows.

  “That’s boring, but maybe if we don’t think of anything else.”

  “How’s Lena doing? Would she be excluded from this opportunity?”

  “No actually. She’s doing great. She thanked me the other day because she said that she and Dave have been taking walks together and he seems a lot less stressed about the baby coming. She bought a Fitbit for him too.”

  Eddie grinned because he knew that Summer really cared about their employees and the company. She was definitely competitive, but it had served them well when they were trying to get the business off the ground.

  “Let’s ask the group tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

  ****

  Wednesday at five thirty, Summer pulled her car into the lot and looked around to see if Myla had beat her to the gym again. When she spotted the red Mazda, she smiled with anticipation. Not wasting any time, she grabbed her hat and bag, heading into the gym through the large double doors. After quickly changing into basketball shorts and a sport top, she pulled on her high top shoes and walked out of the locker room, more excited than usual.

  Summer entered the court through the side door to find that Myla had already found someone to warm up with. She watched for a moment to see how they interacted, but was discovered before she could determine if they were more than friends. “Hey Stevens. About time you got here.”

  Summer looked down at her Fitbit and tapped it to see the time. Shaking her head, she was still ten minutes early. Myla threw her the ball and nodded to the other woman as Summer watched her wave and leave the court. She wouldn’t have been surprised in the least if Myla had been hit on or asked for a date. Everything about her said perfect. “We could have gotten another player if you wanted. I’m sure there’s someone here that would be willing to play with us.”