Page 23 of You Were Invited
Annie’s face flushed. “Not bad...” she muttered. She felt guilty for already finding other men attractive so soon after the break up. He was tall, athletic, with kind eyes. She doubted Julian saw her as anything other than a familiar stranger.
“O-kay, Annie. Just let me know how much it’ll cost for a cord of wood,”Molly said, then added,“Maybe you two can… chat.”
“Did you want me to go talk to him on purpose?”
“Genuinely no… But then I also remembered that he’s actually a decent fella.”
“Decent fella?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, but I’m just getting wood from him. That’s all...”
When they both heard the words come out of Annie’s mouth, they busted into childish giggles. But when Molly continued, her tone turned serious.
“Now, you aren’t wallowing too much, are you? I saw you changed your status.”
Annie nibbled her nails. “I’ve been too busy today to wallow. Mostly.”
“That’s something. Productive.”
Even though only a few days had passed, she could now honestly admit that it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her chest was holding onto the familiar dull ache of a breakup, but that would pass with time. It always did.
“I don’t…” Annie went on, “I just... feel bad for getting out of there so quickly, like he doesn’t even matter,” she said before her next words fell out of her subconscious. “I don’t... miss him—I mean, he’s pretty upset, too. And he does matter.”
“Well, these things happen.”
“I know break ups are supposed to be horrible. I can’t help feeling like I messed things up… Like, he sucks, but he’s still a person…” She trailed off, and Molly waited patiently. “But this also feels like theend... you know? Like I can see it. It’s... kinda freaking me out.”
“It is what it is. I think there’s good things coming your way. You deserve it.”
Annie felt a smile on her cheeks, and she indulged it. A genuine smile. One of relief. “Yeah. Good things.”
They chatted a bit more before the energy drained from Molly’s voice. She’d spent the previous day sending out another round of résumés and following up on an awful job interview that she figured was a dead end. She said she would text Annie later.
"Take care, girl, get yourself a nice meal! There's candles up there someplace. Light ‘em up like you're your own hot date."
Annie laughed. It sounded absurd, but at the same time she did love the idea of some calm candlelight.
"Love ya, Molly."
"Loves, Annie."
Her stomach growled as she ended the call. She’d been so hyper-focused on work that she hadn’t eaten a thing all day.
What do I even cook? Spaghetti? Meatloaf?
She ran through her mental recipe list before getting up.
Molly’s family kept a few food items in the pantry, and Annie had a few things left from the store in the fridge.
Okay, I can make both those, and also that, and this… but I could also make tomato soup and grilled cheese, or chili?
The chili would take the longest, but it would also get her leftovers. Not to mention, she was seriously craving a hearty meal.
Chili it is!
The aroma of sizzling ground beef on the old white stove made her mouth water. The pantry wasn’t stocked with cumin — her favorite — but they had other essential spices and a few tiny restaurant packets of chili flakes. While browning the meat, and trying her best to ignore the loudly dripping kitchen faucet, Annie opened her tomato soup and a can of beans.
