"I'm in love!" Kimmy declares as she busts through my front door, drops her purse on the floor and kicks off her shoes. She's wearing the same outfit as yesterday, her thick black hair still holding the slept-in curls.

Startled, I look up from my computer. "Kimmy, one day you're going to have to give me my keys back."

During my sophomore year of college, I went on a barbecue road trip with my parents. Yes, a BBQ road trip. My dad drove us through Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and both Carolinas in search of each state's best BBQ. My mom wasn't too thrilled with the idea of my dad chomping down fatty meats for two weeks in a row considering his doctor just put him on new heart medication. But really, this whole obsession was kind of my mom's fault anyway. She'd have the Food Network on 24/7 at home, and when she'd go to bed, dad would sit there and binge watch Guy Fieri driving from town to town, eating food that made him drool, for hours on end. Anyways, I gave Kimmy a duplicate set of my keys so she could feed my fish while I was away. That was over two years ago!

"Did you not hear me, friend? I said I'm in love!" Kimmy skips into the living room and plops down beside me on the couch.

"Ok, I heard you! So, with who?" Leave it up to Kimmy to find a new love interest within 48 hours of losing the last.

"It's Jack!"

"Jack? Jack from last night, Jack?" How? When? Where?!

"Yes. Jack. Or should I say... Dr. Carlisle." Kimmy giggles.

"Really? You just met him, Kim."

"Don't be such a Debby Downer!" Kimmy sits up and crosses her legs. "After you and Hunter left, which we will touch on in a brief moment, Jack waited for me to get off work and we spent the whole night together, he was so sweet!"

"Spent the night together?"

"Lilah! No, not like that." Kimmy rolls her eyes. "Okay, maybe a little like that, but only like 10%."

I know I should be more concerned, but only 10% of a 'date' being sex, that's pretty good for Kimmy.

"So, what did you do for the other 90%?"

"He took me to this super cute 24-hour diner near the Plaza. We got some food, chatted about our lives, our goals, and oh my God, guess what his dog's name is?" Kimmy is almost out of breath but doesn't give me enough time to answer. "MUSTARD!"

Okay, I can now understand why she might think that their relationship is kismet. Kimmy has this seven-year-old, yappy little chihuahua named Ketchup. Even I got to admit, that's pretty serendipitous.

"Well, if you're happy, I'm happy." One of us needs to be happy.

"I am and Jack's great. Like really great. I'm seeing him again on Wednesday. We're going to go to the bar to watch the fight. You should come! I'll tell Jack to bring Hunter! Oh it'll be so fun!" Kimmy claps her hands in excitement.

"Wow, calm down there energizer bunny. I don't even know if I want to see Hunter again." Kimmy frowns.

"What?! You were so into him! I've haven't seen you that nervous around a guy since... Miles, and that was a long time ago." I flinch as she utters his name.

"Ok, yes, he's attractive and I felt a little something." Kimmy squeals. "BUT, he barely said fifty words to me yesterday. What makes you think he's even interested?"

"Well, you'll never know if you don't see him again!"

"I don't know if I'm ready to go down that road."

Kimmy uncrosses her legs and shifts closer to me on the couch. "Lilah, it's been over a year. I think it's time for you to get back out there. Dating's fun!" How could she say that after everything that just happened with Jason?

"Yeah, I know. I remember the fun parts." I sigh. "But I also remember the not so fun parts."

"Lilah, you can't just dig your head into the ground like an ostrich and wait for a perfect moment to rejoin society! You need to live life! Live life and DATE!"

"What?" I cock my head to the side. "That's a really... weird analogy."

Kimmy grunts in frustration. "All I'm saying is that you should allow yourself to have some fun. I know this past year has been rough, I'm not downplaying that. But life is supposed to be adventurous. So, come adventure with me!"

"Kimmy-"

"Come on!" Kimmy pleads. "Just come to the fight."

I nibble the inside of my lip as I contemplate. "I really should just focus on sending out more resumes this week. You know I didn't get a chance to give out a single business card last night? No one I talked to worked in marketing, how is that even possible?"

Kimmy eyes light up as she jumps off the couch and rushes to her purse, sliding in her socks on the floor. Walking back towards me she takes a small card out of her purse and waves it back and forth.

"So what you're telling me is that if you didn't have to worry about finding a new job, you'd be willing to come out with us?" I shift my position. Where is she going with this?

"I suppose I'd be more inclined to join you...why? What's in your hand?" Kimmy comes closer and drops a business card on my lap, then sits down beside me.

"The fact that you are currently looking for a job might have come up during my wonderful date with Jack. And he might have told me that he knows of a company that's hiring. He also might have already contacted their HR department and told them to expect an email from a Delilah Sterling. And you might already have an interview with them on Tuesday at 10 a.m."

"What?! Where?" I grab the business card from my lap and read it.

Global Elite Solutions, Marketing Division

Marice Holland, HR Manager

[email protected]

My eyes widen with excitement. "Are you serious?! You got me an interview at GE Solutions?" I lunge towards Kimmy and wrap my arms around her petite figure.

"You're going to suffocate me, Lilah!" Kimmy tries to push me off. "I knew you'd be stoked! You've been talking about GE since we were freshmen. When Jack told me the name of the company, I almost died."

I look at Kimmy in amazement. "This is incredible! I can't believe you did this. Kimmy, seriously. They rarely interview people who didn't intern with them!" My heart is pounding and I can't contain my smile. This is everything I worked towards in college. Everything. "And you're sure they'll interview me? Even without seeing my résumé?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Jack said he knows the HR lady. He said he could pull some strings to get you an interview, no problem. Plus, I told him how fantastically smart you are and that you have like a bajillion faculty reference letters from college." Shit. References. "So, now will you come out on Wednesday? Please!" Kimmy clasps her hands and begs.

"Yes! If I get the job."

"Oh, you'll get the job! Just be yourself, wear that navy power suit I got you from Nordstrom, and you'll nail it!" Kimmy gets off the couch and starts to put her shoes on. "Ok! I did what I came here to do, now I gotta jet. I need a nap, I didn't really sleep last night." Kimmy winks at me.

"Yes, go. Go sleep." Kimmy walks towards the door and past the disheveled garment bag hanging on a hook. "Do you still need to return your bag to Donna today?" Kimmy nods as she yawns. "Can you take mine too? Please, please, please."

"I've already done so much for you today," Kimmy jokes then grabs the garment bag from the hook and swings it over her shoulder. "Job or no job, you're coming on Wednesday."

"Fine."

Once the door shuts, I open my computer and pull up my résumé, reading over it carefully, making sure there's no spelling mistakes or formatting issues. I seriously can't believe that I have an actual interview at Global Elite Solutions.

My fingers tingle as I open my references document and edit it. I remove W. Herston from the top of the list, he was always my back up anyways. Anxiety washes over my body as I type out M. Payne, Department Head, Business. Is this a good idea? For any other job I'd be ok with just using Herston but this is GE Solutions. Holding my breath, I press save. I pull up my email account, grab the GE business card and type in HR's email address. Attaching all my documents, I type out my email.

Dear Marice Holland,

I was informed by Dr. Jack Carlisle that there is a position available in the Marketing Division at Global Elite Solutions. Please find my résumé, cover letter, credentials, and references attached.

I am grateful for this opportunity and I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 10 am.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Delilah Sterling

My cursor hovers over the send button. I re-read the email five times before I finally muster up the courage to press send. I stare at the computer screen for a few minutes. Maybe she'll reply right away. Glancing up to the top of my screen my eye catches today's date. It's Sunday. Right. She's probably not checking her work emails today. Closing the computer, I pick up my phone and scroll through my contacts until I reach "M".

Should I call? I think I should call. Dad always used to say it's a good idea to give your references a heads up when you apply for a job, in case they forget who you are. You don't want your reference to answer their phone and say 'Lilah, who?'. Although, I don't think this particular reference would have forgotten me. Not with all that had happened.

Clicking on the contact name, I press the phone up against my ear. It rings a couple of times, before a voice with a faint English accent answers.

"Hello?" His voice fills me with a sharp pang of regret.

"Hi...Miles. It's Delilah calling." I regrip my phone as my hands start to mildly sweat.

"Delilah, what a pleasant surprise!" Pleasant? Just get this over with.

"Yeah, listen." I swallow. "I just applied to Global Elite Solutions. They have a position open in the Marketing Division. I just wanted to give you a heads up that you might get a reference call from them."

"Oh." Miles sounds disappointed. "Is that the only reason you rang?"

The nerve of this man. What other reason would I have? Calling him was a mistake.

"Yes, Miles. That is the only reason I rang. So please, if GE calls you, just act...professionally. I think you owe me that much."

Miles clears his throat. "Of course, don't worry. I will give you a raving review." He pauses. "I miss you, Dee...."

I feel nauseous. "You don't have the right to miss me, Miles." My voice is shaky.

"Delilah, you must understand the position you put me in," Miles speaks softly.

My ears start burning. "The position I put you in?" My voice rises. "You left me. When I needed you the most, you left me! You didn't even walk me to his room. You just dropped me off on the corner, like I didn't mean anything to you."

"I'm very sorry if that's how you saw it, Delilah, but we had rules."

My bottom lip begins to quiver. "I thought you'd break them." For me.

"I was very clear, Delilah. You should have known better."

This was not worth it. "I need to go." I hang up before Miles can stop me.

Closing my eyes, memories of that day come flooding into my mind.

It's a warm Sunday afternoon. The semester just ended. We're walking through a park. A park we drove an hour to get to, we couldn't be seen together. A gust of wind grabs hold of my sun hat and it flies away. I let go of Miles' hand and I chase it. The wind picks up, and I run faster. Miles stands behind me and laughs as I play tag with the wind. With a leap, I swoop up and grab the hat, waving it back and forth as Miles snaps pictures of me.

As I'm posing, my phone rings. It's my mother. I press reject. She calls again. I press reject. The third time it rings, I answer.

"What? I'm busy Mom, I'll call you back when I get home." I smile at Miles who's still taking photos. I stick out my tongue.

"Delilah..." My mother sobs.

"Mom?" I'm no longer smiling. "Mom, what's wrong?" My mother never cries.

"Delilah-" The sobs get louder and I can't understand her. Miles puts down his camera and walks towards me.

"Mom, I can't hear you. What did you say? What's wrong?"

My mom sniffles and takes an audible breath. "It's your dad Delilah, he had a stroke."

Snapping back, I wipe away the tears that started rolling down my face.

Dad.