Chapter 1 *Undecided chapter title*

I’m now briskly walking along the busy streets of New York, trying not to be late again for my new job. Suddenly, my phone begins to buzz in my back pant pocket. I yank the device out of my pocket to see my mother’s contact on the buzzing screen.

“No, no, no, no, nooo… I don’t have time for this right now!” I say, murmuring under my breath.

Wanting not to be any ruder than the night before, I pull my Air Pods out from my handbag so I don’t have to hold the phone to my ear while walking. When I hear the familiar ping of the successful connection between the phone and AirPods, I click the green button on the screen and put one in my ear.

“What do you want mom?” I say, sounding rather impatient, “I don’t have time for this right now. I’m already going to be late for my new job again and traffic isn’t making the crosswalks any better.”

“I just wanted to say,” my mother gently expresses on the other end of the phone call, “that I think you should reconsider the job in North Carolina.”

“MOM! I already told you! I’m not moving back to North Carolina for a job I don’t want. Plus, I know that you want me to take the job only because you want to move back closer to you and dad.”

I bet I look ridiculous, practically running on the sidewalk of Washington Street at 6 o’clock in the morning, yelling into the air, with my Air Pods connected to my phone and my mother on the other line, I think to myself.

“Now, Olivia, there’s no need for that tone. All I was saying was that-”

“No mom. I know what you were saying. And I am saying no. I am a grown 23-year-old woman who is just fine by herself.”

“I know that, Olivia. I-” she started to say. Sounding gentle still, but now more stern.

Why does she always have to do this? You tell her something about your life, and then she wants to make the decision or change the decision already made. You should tell her that. Today is the day you finally tell her what you’ve been thinking, I think while my mother is still rambling on the other end of the phone.

“-if you did take the job, as I’ve said before, you would be closer to your family and all your old friends. Plus I don’t think-”

“Look, mom, I have to go, I’m at work now. And I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’ve already made my decision.” I say, exhausted.

“Okay. But we aren’t done with this conv-” my mother starts to say before I end the call by saying,

“Yes. We are.”

Click

And with that, I end the call and start to walk up the 6 flights of stairs to my new job office.

After the workday, I begin yet another long walk home from my workplace to my apartment. I finally reach my apartment room and find a sticky note on my bedroom door.

Hey girl!! I went out for a snack and I didn’t know when you would be home, so I figured you could just text me when you got home. Wanna grab a bite to eat for dinner when ya get home?? Luv ya! - Chloe

Chloe is the best friend anyone could have. For as long as I can remember, she has always been there for me and she’s the one who has understood me the best and know what I needed when I needed it. When Chloe and I were 7 years old, we built a fort in our backyard and slept in it overnight. We stayed up all night laughing and giggling about typical things a 7-year-old would laugh and giggle about. In the morning, we had waffles with berries, whipped cream, buttermilk syrup, and orange juice. And at 7 years old, let me tell you that having all of that on one waffle is like eating Mt. Everest.

After I set my handbag down on the black, circular, metal nightstand to the left of my bed, I shoot Chloe a quick text message:

hey!! dinner with you sounds awesome rn! where do you want to go??

Without much thought, I throw my phone onto my pistachio-colored bedspread and kick off the caramel-colored slide-on boots I got last week from a Dillard’s 15% off sale. I walk into my closet with the boots in my hand and put them away. I come out and go straight to my dresser in the corner of the other side of the room. While I am rifling through my baggy shirt drawer, I hear a buzz from my phone on the bed. I walk over to the bedside and pick up my phone to see what the notification was about. It was Chloe:

omg!! you know i’m not good at deciding things like that. besides, it sounds like you’ve had a long day. you choose.

Before I even give her the chance to send something else, most likely completely unrelated, I respond:

lol. i have had a long day! let’s do that cute little mexican place on the corner of the street a few blocks down. what time?

I immediately click the power button on my phone and throw it back onto my bed. I head to my closet to put my clothes in the hamper then back over to my dresser. Without looking I grab a baggy tee and throw it on. I select a pair of black leggings to go with the shirt. Right as I am about to put on my fuzzy socks, my phone buzzes with another text message from Chloe:

sounds great! 6:00 work? i’ll meet you there

I put on my fuzzy gray socks, text back a thumbs up, and check the time.

Okay, so it’s 5:47 and we’re meeting at 6:00. Wait, 5:47 already?! It takes 15 minutes to get there, I think to myself while sliding on my white Birkenstock sandals.

I lock the door behind me and start running down the stairs (because the elevator is broken) while trying not to trip over myself on and in between staircases. Once I reach the sidewalk outside the apartment building, I start running like a mad person to get to the restaurant in time. It doesn’t seem that far away but it is, between all the stoplights and crosswalks that take forever, not to mention all the people clogging the sidewalk.

I finally reach the restaurant and make my way inside to try and find Chloe. Before doing so, I take a quick glance at my watch.

5:59. Right on time.

I open the glass door to get inside. Once inside, I see Chloe facing me at a table near a window towards to back, with a menu held up by her glass of water. I quickly walk over to the booth she has reserved and slide into the opposite side of the table.

“Have you been waiting long?” I ask, hoping she’ll say no so that I don’t feel too bad. I mean, I was one minute early, so what do I have to feel bad about?

“No.”

Phew, I sigh an inner sigh of relief that she wasn’t waiting long.

“I just sat down about, what? A minute or two ago, so not too long.”

“Okay good,” I say sounding oddly relieved. “Can you believe it only took me 12 minutes to get here from our apartment?! I mean especially with all the-”

“individuals on the sidewalks!” we both say at the same time while erupting into silly laughter halfway through the last word.

I pick up a menu and get ready for a wonderful evening with my best friend.

Getting back to the apartment, we collapse on the couch from eating too much.

Chloe turns to me and says, “Wanna watch some TV while we wait for all this food to settle?”

“Sure! What were you thinking of?” I ask while sitting up beside Chloe on the couch, hoping not to signal to her that I was going to grab the remote before her.

As if she is reading my mind, Chloe snatches it off the pillow on which the remote was resting.

“Ah! How do you always get the remote first?! You’re so fast. You’ve got to be cheating,” I say while jokingly pointing and crossing my arms. “Alright, fine. You have the remote, you can choose what we watch. But I’m going to get it first next time.”

While Chloe turns on the TV, I leap off the couch to grab a warm blanket for me and one for Chloe as well, then settle back into the navy couch which occupies our living room.