The Timeline of Us

The Timeline of Us

Usually women don't show up first she though as the Maîtrea guided Michelle to her table. She was seated on a table by the window which showed a view of the street filled with other restaurants. Michelle took her coat off and situated herself. A waiter came by and poured some water for her and for the empty chair in front of her.

Michelle slowly sipped the water, looking over the menu and deciding what to get. She decided on some Penne alla vodka but decided not to order until her date got here.

Her date, she though to herself, was someone she never though she would every be with, but here she was waiting for him. He was someone she had once described to one of his girlfriends as "Just like my brother." Today she realized how big of a lie that was.

She sipped more water and went back to looking at the menu rather than awkwardly starting at the the couples sitting all round her. A few seconds later her phone buzzed and she saw she had received a text from him. The text read, "Don't leave just yet! I am almost there! There is so much traffic!"

She replied back, "Well you already made me wait 12 years, what's 12 more minutes?"

She smiled as she put her phone back in her coat pocket. 12 years, was it really true that its been 12 years that she had known him?

She knew him since before the first day of high school, when he moved in next door.

She had a crush on him since her mother has forced her to go and make friends with the new neighbor. She had gone over to say hey to him as he was carrying several cardboard boxes inside his new house.

"Are you going to Adams High?" She had asked.

"Yeah, good school?" He has asked in return.

She has said it was, and told him she would see him around. Even made a joke about how if he had a hard time making new friends she would pretend to be his friend...for a price.

After that, they didn't talk the much except some friendly hellos once in a while when they would see each other outside their respective houses or around school.

Sophomore year was when he had more of a reason to be in her life. He started dating one of her best friends Kelly. At that point, she was over her little crush. They saw each other everyday, never without Kelly but they did become actual friends now and she didn't even ask him to paid her.

Then Kelly moved that December and they no longer needed to wait for her to be around each other. By January of that year, her crush was back on, but Kelly was still her friend, so she didn't act on it.

Junior yeah consisted of him dating several girls, breaking up with them, then hooking back up with them again.

Senior year, they had their first kiss. It was during a house party, that Michelle was not invited to. She had gone to the party because one of his friends had called her to come pick him as he was inebriated. That day as she dragged him to her car he had a string of complements for her. When she had placed him in the passenger seat of her car, he looked up at her and leaned forward for a kiss.  He didn't remember it, and they never mentioned it again until recently.

They decided to go to the same college.

In college he feel in love. Real Love. Her name was Ella and she was beautiful. He and Ella spent every waking moment together and just like with Kelly, Michelle also became Ella's really good friend.

They dated all 4 years of college, and Michelle also found someone she liked, his name was Andy, although they broke up as soon he graduated when she was a junior. He cheated on her with a coworker.

After college he proposed to Ella, Michelle helped him pick out a ring. That day was a fun one, they sent the day at he mall talking about the different job offers they were considering. They gossiped about their high school and college friends. They talked about their parents and they were getting older now.

He proposed to Ella. Michelle moved to New York City for a job opportunity.

Michelle now only saw Ella and him during the holidays. He and Ella moved in together. Michelle went on a string of dates and she found a connection with no one.

After 3 years of being engaged, he and Ella decided on a date to for their wedding.  He came to visit Michelle.

They spend a whole weekend together. She dragged him to a Broadway show and took him to all the best desert places she loved. They ate dinner together and talked about his upcoming marriage.

That weekend Ella called her sobbing. She suspected that he was cheating on her with Michelle. This is when Michelle told her she saw him as her brother and that she never though of him like that.

They got married. He did not accidentally say her name at the alter like Ross did.

Michelle decided not to talk to them anymore, not because she was upset, but now it was too draining to be around them. She slowly cut off all contact and started dating again. She met Harry. He was a lawyer and very sweet. He was her first really relationship. They decided  to move in together after 2 months of dating.  She was in love for the first time since him.

Harry never wanted to get married or have a family. They fought everyday about this. Michelle moved out and found a job back in her hometown a year after moving in.

She saw him for the first time after a year outside her parents house. He said hey, so did Michelle. They didn't know what else to say but still wanted to spent time together so they went to the movies. They had never done this, at least not just the two of them alone before.

Michelle heard rumors that Ella was pregnant from college friends. Ella was, but it wasn't his baby. She ran into him again at a supermarket. After shopping together, she said goodbye to him in the parking lot, but he wanted to go get coffee because he has something to say. She agreed.

"I shouldn't have married Ella. I came to see you that weekend because I missed you. After you left to go to the city, something just felt wrong, always. I wanted to tell you how I felt that weekend but I heard you tell Ella this was nothing so I chickened out. I got married with so much doubt, we didn't make it past 3 month but you just stopped talking. I tried to reach out so many times but you just ignored me.

 he finished with, "I think I've been in love with you since you told me to pay you to be your friend, we just never got our timing right. "

"I've loved you too Ryan" She said. She realized she could have made a move years ago. 

They kissed. They hung out every day. He asked her to dinner for Valentine's day.

Michelle arrived early and waited for Ryan to show up. He was stuck in traffic.

He finally showed up.

"Took you long enough! This is technically our first date you know!" Michelle said when she finally saw her boyfriend walk towards her table.

"Sorry! So much traffic!" He said as he gave her a kiss and held her hands not letting go even after they sat down on their table.

 Even though she wait 12 years to be with him, these 12 minutes somehow felt longer.

In the Parking Lot

In the Parking Lot

It dawned on Mary that she has never done this before as pressed the start button,  tighten her grip and focused her attention straight in front of her.  She slowly moved her hand to the gear shift next to her and shifted it from it's comfortable position in P, to the very scary D. She didn't dare lift her leg from the brakes. 

It was not that Mary had never driven before, she was 23 after all, but this was the first time she was nervous while she sat behind the wheel. 

She contemplated all the things that could go wrong, as she saw a couple walk toward the parking lot and then disappear into one of the car. They didn't waste time thinking about the possibilities, and drove off. 

This gave her the boost she needed, she began to slowly lift her foot, but quickly pressed it  back on the brakes. She realized if she has continued, she would have meet with the car parked directly in front of her. The gear shift needed to be on the R. 

She was back into contemplation mode. How much trouble would she be in if she just left her car in the parking lot for the night? She suspected that her father would be angry with her for being so irresponsible, but at this moment she was willing to take the risk. 

As she sat there unable to take any action, she noticed another person make their way to a car a few spots away to her right but their eyes meet and he began to walk towards her car instead. 

"What are you napping in there Mar?"  Mary heard his muffed voice through her thick car windows. 

it was Jack, one of the 5 people Mary had been drinking with tonight. She was the first one to leave that night while the rest stayed to flirt with the girls and boys that were part of the 12 o clock bar crowd. 

She rolled her windows down to answer him, "yup! I don't think I should drive." 

"Are you that bad? Do you want to call an Uber?" He asked concerned. 

"My dad will kill me if I leave my car here! I am not sure what to do?" She exclaimed. 

She was not much of a drinker, but today she has agreed to go out with her coworkers for the first time. They always came to drink at a local bar a few miles away from work on Fridays. This time they were insisting she come as it was a goodbye happy hour for a manger. She wanted to be part of the team and drank when drinks were bought, took shots when shots were taken, and before she realized, she was drunk. 

She felt embarrassed for putting her coworker in such an awkward position as it seemed he wanted to go home and looked pretty tired himself. 

"Honestly, you don't seem too bad! You may have just psyched yourself out. If you don't live too far away I can follow you home and make sure you get home okay." He suggested. 

Mary declined and promised that she would just sit till she sobers up and then try to drive home. Jack relieved that he was no longer expected to partake in her crisis made his way to his  car. 

How long can she stayed parked here? Would an hour be enough to sober up? What if she just called her sister to come pick her up? 

Mary checked her watch and noticed it was already 2 o clock. Her sister was worst than her parents, she would never let her live this down. She was already over protective of her and if she found out she was drinking irresponsibly with a herd of her guy coworkers she would never let her go out again. Being the youngest in the family usually meant that Mary had to answer for every move she made. She was loved but never trusted to be smart enough to make good decisions. Which is why she never bothered much with going out. It let to more questions from both her parents and her sister. Even tonight she was answering hourly text messages from her mother, father and sister. 

The thing is though, tonight was fun! She danced and joked and really felt like she was part of her team. It wasn't just a story she would hear in their Monday morning meetings. She liked feeling like she belonged, like she was an adult, like she could have fun and the world wouldn't end. 

Maybe she was over-reacting . Jake had more drinks and shots then her, but he was able to drive home just fine, so why couldn't she? Maybe her parents over protectiveness had resulted in her doubting her valid choice to drive home 

More contemplation took place as she revived herself up to move from her stationed position once more.  "The drive home was no longer than 20 minutes, so how bad could that really be?  What if a cop stopped you though? Or you hit something or someone? you can go to jail for this and that would be worse than dad knowing that you got drunk tonight!" She though. 

Her car stayed still. She couldn't do it and sitting in the car till she sobered up seemed less and less like an appealing idea. She was going to take the L and call her father. 

On the phone her father screamed and yelled at her for not making smart choices tonight. She could hear as he yelled the jiggling of his keys and the sounds of doors opening and shutting. She knew he was already on his way to get her. 

It took her father no more than 10 minuted to get to the bar. 

When she joined him in his car she couldn't even look at him, let alone speak to him. Her face felt hot and her mouth dry. 

"I am so glad you didn't drive tonight!" he said softly. " I know we are hard on you, but at least it helps you make choices that keep you safe." 

"But I got too drunk and couldn't drive." she cried.

"I know, but you eventually got it right. However, next time, no driving if your drinking! Deal?" 

"Deal!" She said, even though she knew there was a fat chance they would ever let her out again, it felt nice to know that the hours she sat in parking lot was the first time she felt alone and in this moment, in her father's car, she validated she would never have to feel that alone again.