A Stranger's Secret

CH 3

I woke up this morning feeling so rested. I got up and did my morning routine. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, moisturized. I had a really good feeling about today. I looked at myself in the mirror as I was blow drying my hair. I should do something different to my hair. It was all black, maybe I should try a balayage. I’ll ask my friend if she has some time next week or something. I decided to give myself some beach waves. It was nice outside, maybe I could go out for a drive after I do a quick job search on the computer. I move on the make-up, I touch up my some of my acne, all the stress of looking for a new job has had me stressing out causing me to breakout with a few pimples on my face. I’m not really feeling the eyeshadow today, so I skip right to eyeliner, I contour my face, add some blush and mascara and I’m done. 

I just kept looking at myself in the mirror, maybe me losing my job was supposed to happen, when God closes a door, there is always something better out there, right? I walk to my bed; I had heard my phone going off with notifications. I take a look at it, I had an email from one of the jobs I had applied for, and I immediately got excited. I also had a couple of text messages from Michael and some i********: notifications. 

Once I unlocked my iPhone, I decided to open up the email first. It was for a receptionist position at Securitas USA. I was getting excited, then I read it carefully,

“Hello Diana,

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to consider you for the receptionist position at Securitas USA. Your interest in our company means a lot. We have received many applicants for the role and will unfortunately not be moving forward with your candidacy at this time. 

Thank you again for your interest at Securitas USA and we wish you luck in your search. Please feel free to stay in touch for future opportunities.

Best regards,

Securitas USA Recruiting Team”

I slouched on my desk, that was not what I was expecting. I read the email twice to make sure I read it right the first time. Well, what can I say, I have to move on, right? On to the next. God, this sucked. I decided to read Michael’s text messages:

‘Hey D, I talked to your dad already. He told me it was alright to ask you out.’

‘Diana, you good?’

‘D, did you change your mind? Please babe, don’t change your mind. I was honest when I said I would change for you!’

‘Good morning D, do you still want to go out tonight? If you are more comfortable, we can go out for lunch or to the beach, whatever you want.’

Well, he’s persistent, I text him back, ‘we can go to the beach for lunch, it’s nice outside.’ I wasn’t expecting him to text me back so soon.

‘I can pick you up in about an hour, is that okay?’

‘Yeah, you can come to the door and greet my mom while you’re at it,’ I reply back. 

‘You got it D,’ he replied. 

I walk to my closet to see what I should wear to meet up with Michael. I decided on some jeans and a white fitted t-shirt. It looked like it was going to be nice outside, and I wasn’t in the mood to wear anything fancy, especially if we were just going to go to the beach and eat. Some flip-flops would do the trick, it would be easier to take off if I felt like walking on the sand. 

As I was waiting for Michael to come pick me up, I continued on to my job search. I knew it was just a matter of time before I found a place perfect to work at. I managed to apply at two places when I heard the doorbell ring. I put my laptop to sleep and started walking towards the living room. My mom had let Michael into the house, they were talking when I walked in. I kissed my mom on the cheek.

“Be careful Diana, don’t forget to take your mask,” she said to me.

“I have one in my purse mama,” I responded to her.

“Okay, just make sure you are home in time for dinner,” she smiled at me. I gave her another kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. Michael closed the door behind us and walked me to his car. He opened my door, something he had never done before. It was weird to me, but I liked it. Maybe he was really trying to make things work with us. I smiled as I saw him walking to his driver’s seat. 

“What do you want to eat D?” he asked.

“How does sushi sound? We should check out that sushi place off of Sixth Ave in downtown. Then we can go eat somewhere else,” I answered.

“Sounds like the perfect date,” he winked at me and began backing out of the driveway. I felt my face going red, he knew I loved it when he winked at me. We drove in silence for a few minutes. “I am really glad you’re giving me another chance D,” he said to me. 

“We should really take this slow Michael; I don’t want you thinking that it can go back to what it used to be in just a couple of days.” I told him as I turned to look at him. I was waiting for an expression or something. He gave me nothing, he turned and looked at me and just smiled.

“I know I will change the way you think of me D, I know it will take some time, but I know we will be in a better place,” he was saying this as he reached out for my hand. I couldn’t help but smile at him. I really want him to change, I want to make our relationship work.

We got our food and headed to the beach. It was such a nice day out, I should have worn some shorts, it was 99 degrees outside. I should have checked the weather before heading out. Michael had brought a blanket that he had in the trunk of his car. We walked into the beach looking for a good spot to sit and eat. Once we found a spot, he had me hold the food while he set the blanket on the sand. He smiled at me and took me by the waist to lead me to sit down next to him to eat. He helped me set the food down and I just had a really good feeling. I knew things were going to pick up for the two of us. We laughed as we talked about how happy we were in our relationship. 

We talked for a couple of hours as we walked through the shore. Our feet got wet a little as the waves were fading into the beach. It was the perfect date. I couldn’t have had planned it any better. 

“I should really start heading home. I promised my mom I would be back for dinner,” I raised my head to look at him. We were walking back to our spot holding hands. 

“Let’s go, maybe I’ll get lucky and your mom can invite me for dinner.” He said to me as he kissed my forehead.