Love comes knocking

I opened my green eyes that morning to the sound of Carl singing in the shower. It was the last day of my old life and the first step towards new adventures, but I did not know that yet. I yawned and pulled the pillow over my head to try and block the sound from the bathroom. “I’m siiiiiiiiiiiiiinging in the raaaaain” still came through loud and clear and I sighed as I sat up in bed.   “Rise and shine, babe,” Carl said as he walked into the bedroom while drying his wet chocolate brown hair. His tall well-toned body was half-dressed in dark boxer briefs and a blue t-shirt. I could feel his light brown eyes on me as I was hiding under the duvet.   “I just need some time to wake up,” I answered. “Babe I cannot believe that I haven’t been able to convert you to a morning person after five years!” I knew he was teasing me and didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I made my escape into the bathroom.   Carl and I was real opposites in the morning. He was peppy and loud, while I needed some time to wake up. I could see in the mirror that I looked like I was still sleeping. My wavy caramel blonde hair was a mess, my eyes was barely open, and my cheeks had no colour.  I sighed as I turned on the shower and felt the first drops on my head. I wished that Carl would just go easy on me in the mornings and let me wake up at my own pace. At the same time, I was so used to his noise that I could not be sure that I would actually wake up without it. I sighed again and continued to wash my hair.   “Is there any coffee left,” I asked as I came into the kitchen. I had finished my morning routine and put on a simple green cotton dress for the day. The dress did nothing to show my slender body or curves to the world, but I liked – and still like -  to disappear in a crowd and avoid getting attention. Carl was sitting by the table in jeans and a black shirt, trying to type something on his phone. “Sorry, babe, coffee is finished,” he said, still engrossed in his phone. “OK, I’ll just grab some on my way to work.” “You know, if you would just get up a little earlier, the coffee might not be finished by the time you got up.” I could not believe my own ears: “What did you just say?” He smiled sheepishly and continued his teasing “There was coffee for early risers.” His phone beeped and his attention was gone again. I decided I did not want to make this morning any worse by fighting with Carl. It usually ended with him leaving in the middle of the argument, and I would feel hurt for the rest of the day. I grabbed an apple and my handbag, said goodbye, did not get a reply, and kissed him before leaving him with his phone in the kitchen. I put on my white flats and ran out the door eager to get takeaway coffee and get to work.   You, my dear reader, might ask yourself what I was doing with this guy after this small glimpse into our life. I admit that I, too, shake my head and wonder what possessed me to stay. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Rest assured that I would soon enough discover what mornings without Carl could be like. And you will learn about my journey to greener pastures. But first: Let’s go get that morning coffee, shall we? The Corner Coffee had saved my life many a morning. My body relaxed as I opened the door and felt the familiar smell of coffee and their delicious croissants. The coffee shop was owned by Ryan, a tall blonde viking who was helping the morning shift and taking coffee orders today. “Hi Sally, how can I help you?” Ryan asked as I came to the counter. “Um, just a double tall americano today, please.” “No pastry? Chef is trying a new recipe for pain du chocolate today and we would love to hear what our best customer thinks about it!” “Well, thanks Ryan, but I don’t feel like pastry today. I promise I’ll come by and taste the new creations during the weekend, OK?” “Oh, that’s definitely a date” Ryan exclaimed, his baby blue eyes now glimmering. I laughed as he smiled and handed me my coffee. “Thanks, Ryan, got to run” I said as I turned towards the door. “Don’t forget we have plans on Saturday!” I heard him shouting as I was exiting the coffee shop.   I laughed as I hurried out of the shop and into the street. I worked as a secretary in a real estate agency just down the road and needed to be on time. My boss worked hard and expected the same of all of us. He was known for his bad temper and had fired people for coming five minutes late. I could not afford to lose this job.   I made it to work with a couple of minutes to spare and placed my handbag on my desk. It was really warm outside, so I opened a window to get some air into the room. I jumped as I heard my boss yelling “Sally!” What now?   I turned to face the door as my boss came running into my office. “I cannot find the Parkview Lane contract,” he exclaimed. I put a smile on my face before replying “I sent the updated version to you yesterday; it should be in your email.” “Well, it’s not!” His face was getting red and he looked like an angry terrier dog. “OK, I’ll come to help you search.” I grabbed my coffee and followed him into his office. He sat down at his desk and gestured at his screen: “Look! It’s not here!” I could immediately see the problem and put down the coffee next to the keyboard as I started typing. “You made a small typo in Parkview. I’ll find the contract,” I smiled and started a search in his email. “Typo? What do you mean typo,” he shouted, grabbed the keyboard, and pushed me away. I must have knocked over the coffee as I was trying to get out of his way. It somehow fell over and all the coffee spilled over and straight down into his computer. It was such a freak accident with a disastrous result. His computer short-circuited and we could see smoke emerging from it. All I could do was stutter “Oh no!” My boss, however, was not lost for words. “Sally, you i***t! How could you bring coffee to my office?” I could feel my face turning bright purple but wasn’t able to make any sound. “I cannot have such an unprofessional secretary. You’re fired!”