Friday, August 7, 2015

Flash Fiction Friday: "The Glow" (Part 3)

Jessica (as played by Kristin Kreuk)
 
Jessica popped awake the next morning, heady with expectation. She might not be Glowing just now, but it definitely had happened, and she had every confidence that it would happen again. She swept her hair up into a twist and nodded firmly to her reflection. She would not let the opportunity pass her by a second time. She traipsed down the steps of her apartment as light as a feather. The six-block walk gave her ample time to calm her giddiness.

Entering the office building, she snagged a blank notepad and jotted a note.

"We need to talk. Meet @ park for lunch? -J"

She had her suspicions as to who happened to make her Glow, but she had to be sure. If nothing happened, nothing happened; but if something did...

Jess took a few deep breaths to settle herself, and handed her note to the lobby receptionist with explicit instructions to deliver it to its intended recipient as soon as possible. Then she hopped in an elevator and rode up to the Human Resources floor.

When she arrived, it was just like any other normal day at work—except one thing: Jess was happy. 
She waved to Lily as she passed the desk, and smiled at Tiffany coming down the hall towards her.
Tiffany grinned back. "What's got you in such a good mood, Jess? I haven't seen you this happy in a while." She leaned in close, "Did you have a date last night I didn't know about? Did you Glow?"

Jess couldn't stop grinning. "Not a date... But—"

"Ladies." Marcia poked her head out of her office and gave the two clerks a withering look.

Tiffany gave Jess a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "We'll talk later, okay?"
Jess nodded and headed for her cubicle. The day's projects waited in the tray at the front... But there was a coffee sitting on her desk. She recognized the cup as one from the cafe on her street. A note rested on top of the cup, written on the same kind of notepad she had used. Jess knew what it said before she opened it.

"We need to talk. Meet @ park for lunch? -J"

Jessica set the note aside and sipped the coffee. She was right! Jack had said in his note yesterday that she should find something to bring the smile back... Well, this certainly did the trick!

She finished updating the stack of files just in time for her lunch break. The coffee had given her a jolt of energy that promised to carry her through the rest of the day. For now, Jessica settled on a nice calm walk to a burger joint right across from the park. On her way out of the building, she looked down at her blouse. No Glow yet, but it didn't mean it wouldn't happen at just the right moment. She glanced around to see if he happened to walking by, but she saw nothing.

Paper bag in hand, Jessica made her way to the park and sat down at one of the tables. No sign of him yet...

"I see you got my note," said a voice from behind her.
Green eyes met blue ones, and Jess smiled. "I see you got mine," she said.

Jack took the seat opposite. Like street lamps at dusk, two Glows flickered to life.

"I thought that—"
"I always knew—" Jack stopped when he realized they had started talking at the same time. "Er, sorry," he coughed. "You go first."

Jess giggled, a small ripple of a laugh. "I saw all my friends getting The Glow at ages younger than me, and I thought that if I got too old, The Glow might never happen, or I'd get someone horrible for a soul mate." She glanced at Jack's Glow while fingering her own collar. "I never thought he would be someone I saw every day!"

Jack wagged his head. "Isn't that how it always is? You wouldn't be soul mates with a total stranger." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Me, I could never figure out what was making my Glow turn off and on and I couldn't stop it."

Jess nodded. "I would get little Glimmers sometimes, but they would only happen at work."

"Same here," Jack agreed. "That's the only reason I kept such a crummy job as a 'glorified mailman'—" he smirked at the moniker, "because I knew I wasn't getting The Glow anywhere else."

Jess smiled and curled her fingers against her lips. "If it wasn't for that Glimmer, that little bit of hope, I would have moved away a long time ago."

"Ha!" Jack's outburst scattered a brace of pigeons. "Yeah, no kidding! But now that we've met..." He slowly reached out and took Jessica's hand. "Are you ready for this?"

Jessica didn't have to think about her answer. They were soul mates; this was destiny.
"Ready when you are," she replied.

They left the park hand in hand.

THE END


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