The Rebound - Chapter 1

"I love you."
"I love you too," Ava replied in front of her laptop before signing out. Ava and her husband were apart for more than a year. Dexter was assigned in Australia when their company branched out there. He felt it was a good opportunity and a good career move and Ava totally supported his decision.

She felt sad and lonely that he left her but thanks to the modern technology that they were able to communicate more often. They talked of plans of permanently relocating in Australia but Ava can't leave her job where she worked for several years already. She also needed to stay because she was currently taking up her Masters Degree.

Deadly

I was thinking if I'm running late. I'm meeting Mara at Deli John's for a brunch and I left my phone at home and didn't wear a watch. I wonder what time is it already. I woke up just in time but got held up a bit at the train station. Maybe I'm still on time.

Mara and I are friends since first grade. We were both wearing braces then and looked almost identical. Many people has mistaken us for twins. We went to school together until high school and was only forced to separate during college. She decided to take a course in Mass Communications while I pursue a teaching course. However, I wasn't able to finish my studies because I got pregnant at eighteen and the father of my child did not want any responsibilities so I was forced to work to raise my child.

I worked shifts at three different jobs just to support my child and to pay the bills. I never opted to ask for my parents though they are willing to support their grandchild. The only thing they insisted on was the apartment for us because they wanted their grandchild to have a decent place to live in. I feel tired most of the time but I never compromise my time with my daughter. Katie is such a sweet child and she's all I have in the world. All my problems all go away whenever we were together.

But I still feel something in my life is missing. Not a lover because I have a number of suitors but I just feel like I'm not yet ready for any of them. What I really wanted was to continue my studies and put up my own kindergarten school. Then I won't have to work three jobs and I'll have more time with Katie. Whenever I thought of this, I thought of Mara. She's what I have dreamed to be. Successful in her career, being the producer of a lot of shows in the biggest television network in the country.

She travels to any place she wanted. I remember that it was both our dreams to travel together and explore different places. But I could not do that now. Mara, however, lived her dreams, our dreams. She's smart and beautiful and very successful. She lives in a large manor in the most exclusive subdivision in the city. She owns several cars and countless properties all over the country and even in some other parts of the world. Everybody loves her and she was once married but the marriage didn't work out well and so they divorced. But still, she exudes an aura of extreme happiness with her success.

I was already in front of the deli and I saw Mara already seated inside from the large glass walls of the restaurant. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She was as immaculate as ever now with a bob cut which made me think of Victoria Beckham. I already knew that whatever hairstyle or outfit she sported, Mara will still be able to carry it with style and grace. I started towards the entrance of the restaurant but stopped when I heard someone call my name. I instantly caught sight of someone familiar. Ellie waved and ran towards me. I glanced back at Mara with a plea on my face and with sign language asked her to spare me some minutes while I talked to Ellie.

***

Carrie looks exactly the same as I had remembered her. We haven't seen each other for almost a year but she still wears the same shoulder-length wavy hair in auburn. I saw some stress lines on her face when she smiled at me but she still looks gorgeous yet simple. No one would think that she already has a six-year old daughter. At that thought, I can't help but feel pain.

When Carrie got pregnant, she was so scared that she wanted an abortion especially when Brad left her on her own. But I advised her not to and that she would be able to make it. Though she was not able to finish school because she had to work for her child, I felt that she became stronger after giving birth to Katie. She became the source of her strength and even if she worked several jobs, I knew she feels satisfied whenever she sees her daughter growing up lovely and smart.

I offered her financial help several times but as strong as she was, she always refuses and I admire her for exceptional strength and bravery. It was that strength that I fear I do not possess. Everyone thinks I am strong as successful as I am, little did they know that I was never whole.

I grew up in a broken home, my mom left us for a younger man and my dad started drinking until he suffered from liver cancer. He died after a few months of being diagnosed and so I was left alone since I was fifteen. Though I was left with enough money to finish school, I persevere in my chosen career to mask the emptiness I felt inside. With this I became indeed successful.

Then I met Willard in one of my leisurely travels. We dated for a few months and got married in the same year. For a while I thought I was the happiest woman on earth, with all my career success and a wonderful husband. But only a few months after we got married, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and so I had a major hysterectomy. This could only mean one thing, that I will not be able to bear a child. Before we got married, Willard and I agreed to have several children since we were both the only child. The operation has changed everything. Though he supported me during the operation and throughout my recovery, after a while, I was seeing less and less of him.

Willard has various businesses in and out of the country and he was out of the country more often. I tried to understand this at first until he came home with apparently grave news. He wanted divorce. He said he cannot have a wife who cannot bear his children. I plead and told him we can find alternative solutions. But I felt that a bomb was dropped in my head when he told me he got someone pregnant.

All of these I have hidden from Carrie. Though she is my bestfriend, I could not bear the look of sympathy from her eyes. I told her that Willard had an affair so I decided to end it and it was what we both agreed to tell the world. He gave me that piece of self-pride so as not to completely humiliate me.

Whenever I look at Carrie and Katie, I could not help but feel the life I would have had. It was that one thing that made me empty once again, that took everything away from me. And now I see Carrie entering the deli, tired but contented having a child whom she loved and who loves her back.

***

The road was quite slippery this morning because the snow has slowly melted and it was drizzling the whole morning. I know I have to be more careful but I drove with speed because I was running late for a date. I know it was weird to have a lunch date but I should grab this opportunity. Allen and I met at a common friend's party two months ago. Since I met him, I had always looked forward to attending gatherings prepared by Bill just to see Allen again. I was unfortunate for a couple of parties but during the last one, I directly told Bill that I liked Allen and wanted to see him again.

But he was out of the country often, having relocated in Milan to attend to his several furniture shop businesses. However, he promised me that he would set Allen a date with me when he comes back. And this has been my lucky morning.

I dressed up and carefully prepared for our meeting. He will only be here for a few hours and I had to grab my chance. It took me longer than usual to dress up careful not to be overdressed yet I still wanted an impression. Before I knew it, I was running late so the option to take the train was out as the stations are always full at around lunch time.

Seeing the Deli John's from a block away, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was just in time, checking my watch. I chanced a glance at my reflection in the rear view mirror to check if I hadn't smudged my lipstick and if my hair is still in place from under my carefully matched beret.

But everything else happened in a flash as I stole a second to view the mirror.

***

I decided to grab a sandwich from Burger Joe's in front of Deli John's. It was already eleven o'clock but I knew I won't be able to have a decent lunch with all the workload that I just received with everything marked as "rush". I knew from the moment I saw the pile stacked on my table that it will be a working lunch. Again.

Working as Dana's personal assistant feels like sitting in hell next to Satan. When I started at Derby's Unlimited, I thought that I was the luckiest person to have been chosen by Dana Derby. Only after a few days that I realized I was gravely mistaken. I have to answer phone calls that seems to come in every minute. I had to type reports, prepare presentations, audit the sheets and bring Dana coffee every thirty minutes. To top it all off, Dana is the kind of boss that never compliments and tries to scrutinize your work for every little mistake that you might have committed.

I felt like quitting after a month but decided I needed the job anyway. The pay was good and more than enough for me though I just have to endure Dana's scowls and insults and yells every single day. Well, I thought that the pay compliments that little self-respect that was taken away from me.

I thought of ordering a nice take away from Deli John's but I didn't have much time to spare so I settled for a double cheeseburger and a coke at Burger Joe's instead. I took my food and had just opened the fastfood's glass door when I saw a speeding Nissan X-terra from the next block which swerved wildly to avoid a passing couple. The driver violently turned the wheel to the right where Deli John's stood from the corner of the street.

The driver probably already lost control of the vehicle as the car hit a lam post and skidded straight to the restaurant's glass walls. I just caught a glance of two women sitting opposite each other who both turned their heads towards the crashing car with utmost terror on their faces.

Love Amidst Depression - Chapter 1

Ethan Brown sat motionless in his seat for what seemed like an hour. He couldn't believe it. He actually didn't notice that he was still for so long because of the shock he had just received in a letter. He was fired. He lost his job. He was terminated. And he could not do anything about it.

At last, Ethan stood up. He did not bother to pack and tidy his desk. He grabbed his thick skin overcoat and set out for a long walk outside. The wintry February breeze was hard on his face. No sun shone in the sky, thick clouds loomed heavily above. The cobbled London streets were white with snow with only a few passers-by at this time of the day. But none of these took Ethan's notice. He was numbed with shock. He just lost his job as a Design Architect in one of the biggest firms in the country.

Mulling things over, he realized he should have expected it somehow. The economy was at its worst in the last quarter and all companies big and small were obviously affected. Redundancies were already heard in various offices in the past couple of weeks and having a senior position in the company, he knew that his office was in trouble too. For the past weeks, he was too occupied with design presentations for a couple of projects for bidding. But all his hard work did not pay off. He was not able to win any bidding and the company had no new project. Even the current projects they were working on will be finished soon and others were put on hold or worse, cancelled. The company was surely in great turmoil and as one of the measures to cut on company losses, they made certain positions redundant. And so he was one of the fifty employees who received the letters of termination this morning.

He didn't notice that he reached the train station at Charring Cross. The woman behind the counter asked him where he was going and as he caught sight of the train map nearby, he blurted the first station his eyes came upon, Paddington Station. He paid the woman and took his ticket and change and proceeded to the platform where his train will be arriving in five minutes. Still deep in his own reverie, he did not notice the woman wearing dark glasses and long frock coat who stood beside him.

As he stepped into the train, he sat across the window and gazed in the gloomy scenery outside. A woman sat beside him and he did not even bother to look. Five minutes after the train took off, he was pulled out of his deep thoughts when the woman beside him dozed off and her head was falling towards him.

Ethan felt irritated and wanted to wake the woman up but he didn't want to be rude. The woman looked completely exhausted. He simply ignored this and continued gazing out of the window. After a few more minutes, the woman's head fell completely on his shoulder and she still seemed oblivious as her head stayed on his shoulder.

He can hear the woman's even breathing, with her head so close to his face. He shifted his body awkwardly but the woman continued to sleep. After a few more movements, the woman didn't even stir so he ignored his attempts altogether and let her head stay on his shoulder. He shifted for the last time to make himself comfortable in his position.

While the woman's head rested on his shoulder, her face was tilted a little upward so that her face was somewhat facing him. He glanced sideways and took notice of the woman's smooth white skin. Her dark glasses was still on but he caught a glimpse of dark and long lashes on her closed eyes. He wondered what color her eyes were. Her nose stood up nicely and her cheekbones looked in harmony with her entire unmasked face. Her lips were very little ways apart but it may seem unnoticeable as they are a bit moist and pouty and no lipstick blocked their natural beauty. He wondered what those luscious lips taste like.

He took a deep breath as he shook himself away from those thoughts. He had more matters in his head he should be dealing with rather than succumbing to lusting thoughts this stranger beside him had brought on. But his deep breath had finally awoken the woman. She jerked off in a sudden movement that she bumped her head on Ethan's chin.

"Ow!" Ethan blurted out, rubbing his chin.

"Oh, sorry!" the woman said simultaneously. She raised her head up and looked at him realizing that she she had her head on the man's shoulder. Embarrassed by this realization, she felt the heat rise up on her cheeks as she blushed scarlet.

Ethan was about to retort when he noticed her blushing cheeks. The color made her face look so dashing that he forgot what he was about to say. "Er,it's okay," he said instead. The woman awkwardly moved a little way away from him.

Her single statement left ringing in Ethan's ear. She had a soft and sweet, melodic voice. He gazed out of the window again but the face of the woman seemed to loom in front of him. As if he was not dumbstruck enough, she spoke again. "Sorry, I dozed off and fell on your shoulders. You must've felt uncomfortable. I don't normally sleep on travels but I was just so exhausted."

He caught her blushing again as he faced her. "It doesn't matter. It happens," he said simply.

Madeleine thought he looked so serious and felt even more embarrassed when she disturbed him. She felt completely awake now. She did not usually talk to strangers, let alone initiate conversation and she surprised herself when she continued talking.

"So, where are you headed?" she asked.

Ethan was amazed with himself when he didn't feel irritated by the woman's questioning. She seemed like she wanted to hold a conversation. He thought of discouraging her but found himself answering her attentively.

"I bought a ticket to Paddington Station but I have no particular place to go to. Any ideas where can I go? he said, longing for her answer to hear her singsong voice again.

"I don't have any ideas, but what do you have in mind?" Madeleine answered.

"Why don't you have a cup of coffee with me?" Ethan blurted out before he can stop himself. "But of course, you needed rest obviously," he amended.

"I think, what I really need is a cup of strong coffee. I'm Madeleine," she said smiling at him while offering her gloved hand altogether.

"Ethan," he answered and smiled and accepted her hand. The electronic female voice suddenly announced Paddington Station. Madeleine stood up and scooped up her tote. She tightened the belt around her coat, preparing for the cold outside the train doors. She stepped out of the train and so did Ethan, stepping aside so he walked beside her.

They didn't talk much while walking as the cold breeze required them to pull their coats and neck warmers up, nearly covering their mouths and making conversation impossible. It seemed that a snowstorm was coming soon. Madeleine stopped in front of a cafe named Fresco and turned to speak to Ethan.

"Does this look okay with you?" she said nearly shouting above the already howling winds.

"Looks good to me," Ethan replied and grabbed to push open the door of the cafe and ushered Madeleine in.

She sat on a couch in a corner table beside the glass window and Ethan sat opposite her. The cafe felt warm and comfortable and as the place was not too crowded at the moment and with only a few lights on and a gloomy scene outside, the place looked cozy and ambient.

A waitress arrived at their table and gave them a menu. Madeleine ordered a large cappuccino while Ethan wanted a large latte. Madeleine finally removed her glasses and set them on the table. Ethan noticed that she had deep brown eyes and he was right about the long lashes. But her eyes seemed to have dark purple circles underneath them.