The Diary Dilemma Read online

  “You’re most welcome.”

  Eda was almost out the door when Bud caught up with her.

  “Hey! Wait a second.”

  “Did I forget something?”

  “I’m having a party the weekend between Christmas and New Year's. It’s more of a gathering than a party. Would you like to come? It would be a great opportunity to meet new people.”

  “Good point. Yes, I’d love to.”

  “If you give me your number, I’ll text you my address. And maybe when you do make friends, you’ll bring them here to meet the best bartender in town.”

  “Is he here? I’d love to meet him myself.”

  “Ha! Right, right.”

  Party

  Eda extracted the green dress out of the bag with great care, setting it against her body. As with half the clothes she’d bought that day, it lost its appeal by the time she got home. Maybe the few extra pounds she’d accumulated without noticing were the problem. She shook her head. No. She refused to let her self-worth and identity center around her body weight.

  One after another, the clothes came out of the bag and landed on the bed. Soon, the entire bedroom turned into a boutique. That was the big night—the night of the party. After two separate failed attempts to meet people in the park, a horrible journey at a hockey game, and a full day spent alone at the mall, where nobody seemed to notice her presence, this was the best chance Eda had. The clothes were crucial.

  But what to pick? Given her goal, blending in was the best option. The short red dress failed to do that, so she picked it up and headed to the dresser.

  She grabbed a pair of large cargo pants, studying them closely. If it were up to her, she would wear that—something extremely comfortable and practical. In the end, she picked the safest choices: a pair of wide-leg black pants and a silver top, the only attire she could find that helped her blend into the crowd.

  On her way out the door, Eda picked the keys and let her gaze rest on the postcard beneath them for a few moments, reading the message. Happy holidays! That was all the attention she got from her father for Christmas and New Year's. That was common, but it pierced her heart, nonetheless. This postcard was nothing but his way of saying, I’m still alive.

  “Happy holidays to you too, Dad,” she said out loud and threw the postcard back on the counter.

  ∞∞∞

  Eda assumed she’d end up in a small apartment in one of the cheapest neighborhoods, but the address took her to a classy apartment building located downtown. Riding the elevator to the tenth floor, her heart rate increased. What was she doing putting herself out there like that? A new season of her favorite show was about to come up; that was a much safer activity. Everyone at the party could hate her. She hadn’t spoken to Bud since that night at the bar. What if he forgot all about inviting her? What if he’d throw her out with everyone laughing?

  “Stop it. Stop it.” Eda kept repeating that to calm herself down until the elevator door opened; two steps were enough for her to reach door number 102, through which club music blasted.

  Eda rang the doorbell once, realizing it was hardly enough for anyone inside to hear her but refusing to keep pressing the led-illuminated button. She was ready to leave when the door opened; a tall woman with chestnut curls came out, wearing a frown and a cell glued to her ear. If every woman at this party wore something similar, Eda was wildly underdressed.

  The woman covered the cell receiver, struggling to walk past Eda. “What are you doing standing here? The door is open!”

  Eda felt pushed firmly towards the apartment, and the door closed behind her. Her senses were overwhelmed by loud music, countless people laughing, and a cheer she hadn’t witnessed in a long time.

  Putting one feeble step in front of the other, Eda reached the middle of the room surrounded by a mass of unfamiliar faces. Despite her efforts to avoid collisions, she bumped into a tall man, his beer ending on his shirt.

  “I’m so sorry!” she said, trying to wipe the beer away.

  “Don’t worry, honey. If you wanted to talk to me, all you had to do was say hi, not spill drinks on me.”

  “I didn’t. This was a total accident. I mean...”

  A familiar voice interrupted her babbling. “Eda! So glad you could make it.”

  Eda twirled on the spot with a smile of relief. “Bud! I told you I’d be here.”

  Bud seized her arm, pulling her farther away. “Is Sam bothering you?”

  “What? No. It was my fault. I bumped into him by mistake.”

  “Right.” Bud looked around the room. “Let me introduce you to a few people. By the way, you can find drinks over there.” Bud pointed to a bar filled with drinks. “Come on.”

  He sneaked skillfully between the groups of loud people, leaving Eda behind. Since her efforts to avoid bumping into someone had been useless before, she doubled them, taking tiny steps and tensing up when someone got too close, as if she had some proximity alarms installed in her brain. When she caught up with Bud, he was eyeing her with his hands on his waist.

  “Sorry, it’s a bit crowded,” he said.

  “I’m not used to it.”

  He pointed her to a group of two women listening carefully to a man.

  “...and at that moment, I said, Dude, you’ve already passed it!”

  The women laughed.

  “I’ve heard you tell this story a million times,” Bud intervened.

  “And it’s still funny,” the man responded.

  “It was never funny. Guys, let me introduce you to Eda. She just moved to New York. Eda, these are Mary, Jenny, and the unfunny guy is Jim.”

  “Hey...”

  Eda put on the warmest smile as she shook all their hands.

  “New in town, hey?” Jim asked.

  Hardly. More like been in town a long time but failed to show it. Refusing to reveal Bud’s lie, she had to spend most of the night listening to newcomer advice, such as the best choice of restaurant, the best dry cleaner, or the best route to Lady Liberty. She endured through all of it, doing her best to push the conversation to more interesting subjects. Pointless. Her only way out was to excuse herself.

  “I need a drink,” she mouthed, heading to the impro bar.

  The elegant woman she’d seen at the door was refilling the nuts trays.

  “Hello again,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “I’m Eda. Eda Hansen.”

  “Talia Estrada. Hope you’re enjoying yourself.”

  “I am,” she answered, refusing to ponder whether it was true.

  “Heard you’re new in town.”

  That was getting tiresome. “In a way...”

  Two hands grabbed Talia from behind.

  “Bud!” she protested with a smile but turned and kissed him before pushing him away playfully. I was about to find out how Eda is new in town in a way.”

  “I already know. I will let--”

  His gaze shifted to an individual standing in the middle of the room, crushed by people but still separated from them. With his face partly hidden by his two-day beard and a posture that reminded of Bud, it was the fire in his emerald eyes that set him apart. An unfamiliar knot tightened in Eda’s stomach. The stranger eyeballed Bud, signaling him to move.

  “Excuse me,” Bud said.

  As both men retreated, Eda found it impossible to take her eyes off the door that closed behind them.

  “Who was that?” she asked.

  “Bud’s brother, Johan.”

  Eda kept fixating the closed door. “Is he always this angry?”

  “What? Oh no! Actually, yes, lately, but he’s going through some stuff. Can we not talk about it?” Talia’s words brought her back to reality.

  “Yes. Of course. I'm sorry; I didn’t mean to pry.”

  Talia smiled. “No worries.”

  Despite the cheerful buzz in the room, the corner that Eda and Talia occupied filled with a pressing silence.

  “How long have you known Bud?” Eda
asked when no other subject of conversation came to mind.

  The name alone was enough to put a smile on Talia’s face. “It’s almost two years now. It took a while to get together. I couldn’t take him seriously. I pictured him as a ladies’ man, but he isn’t really. He flirts a little at his bar, but that’s about it.”

  “Did you say his bar?”

  “Yes. Bud owns the place.”

  “But I thought he’s just the bartender.”

  “No, he owns it. He does like bartending. Says it’s the best chance to meet new people and build the clients’ loyalty,” Talia said.

  “Seems effective.”

  Despite this being the first conversation with any substance in the entire evening, Eda failed at giving her host her attention. Even as they continued deeper into the room, she glanced back often, struggling to see the door Bud and Johan had gone through, though people blocked her view, expecting shouts or at least raised voices to come out. Even if an argument occurred, the general noise would’ve prevented it from reaching her fine-tuned ears.

  Despite her effort, Eda missed the moment of the door opening. Bud was making way to the middle of the room, followed by a calmer Johan. Even though fire stopped coming out of his nostrils, there was hopelessness in the way he dragged his feet that made her wish she could hold him in her arms and make whatever was troubling him to go away.

  Eda shook her head hard in horror, dissipating that thought, just as Johan eyed her without warning before redirecting his attention to his brother.

  It was time for her to do the same. All eyes turned to Bud when he turned off the music and stood on a chair, clinking a spoon against a glass.

  “First of all, thank you all for coming. I do apologize if neither I nor my beautiful co-host got around to talking to you so far. The night is still young.” He swallowed dry, rubbing his hands against each other. “I have a confession to make. I invited you all here not for your enjoyment but with a specific purpose in mind.”

  A soft hum filled the room, many exchanging ideas.

  Jim’s voice stood above the others. “Come on, man! Get on with it.”

  Bud stretched a hand to Talia, inviting her to join him. “Honey, if you will.”

  A blush added a new splash of color to Talia’s face as she joined her boyfriend clumsily on the small chair. Bud wrapped her arms around her body. She whispered something in his ear, but he just smiled.

  After taking a deep breath, Bud spoke, his beard shaking as he moved his mouth. “Talia, my love, every morning when I wake up by your side, I’m amazed by how lucky I am to be such a big part of your life. I’ve known since that night we were both snowed in at the cabin that I wanted to spend every day of my life with you. The only reason I’ve delayed so much in doing this is that Johan misplaced grandma’s ring.”

  A murmur of excitement came from Talia’s lips, echoing into the room.

  Bud continued, taking a hand to his pocket. “I guess you all figured out by now where I’m going with this so--”

  “Yes!” Talia’s impatient shout got heavy applause from the room. “I’m sorry... go on.”

  Bud stole a quick kiss from Talia’s lips, then opened a small jewelry box, letting the stone shine in the dim light. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Of course, I will!”

  What followed was a jumbled mess hard to remember. The entire room burst in exuberant applause and whistling while the newly engaged couple kissed. Bud and Thalia almost melted into the crowd as they received congratulations.

  “They’re happy now,” a stranger mouthed beside Eda. “Let’s see how they are five years into their marriage when they hate each other so much they are willing to go to the ends of the earth to get away.”

  Eda jolted her head to the voice with a stingy remark which she would’ve released lest she saw the tear pouring down the woman’s cheek as she took a good sip of strong alcohol. She moved away from the source of the menace, deciding to embrace the cheerfulness instead, catching merely glimpses of Talia and Bud showing their ring and smiling.

  Would she ever be this happy?

  Eda rarely contemplated her single status, hardly ever missed the company. A relationship was too much work. If it weren’t for the love component that threw off every equation out there, men and women would make each other painfully miserable living together.

  Eda circled on the spot to find a conversation partner, her gaze resting on the one person there who brought feelings she never thought she had to the surface. When did he get so close to her?

  With a grin plastered to his face, Johan stared at the couple, but Eda was close enough to spot the soft frown and the tenseness of that smile.

  Johan turned without notice, catching her stare. For a few moments, neither moved nor spoke. Words seemed to pop into Eda’s mind with no possible relation to each other.

  “Excuse me,” Johan said abruptly, shuffling to the door.

  Curiosity pushed Eda to investigate the situation. It hardly mattered that it was none of her business. When she decided to make friends, she hadn’t considered that some would be paired with a mystery for her to solve.

  After an eternity of trying to reach the happy couple, Eda eventually ended in front of Bud—all alone. Bud met the pre-thought congratulations and best wishes with a wide smile.

  "Thanks again for inviting me,” she said.

  “I wanted as many people as possible to be here when I proposed. I figured Talia would be too embarrassed to say no in front of everyone.”

  Eda laughed. “You’re nuts. She adores you.”

  “What about you? Is meeting people like you imagined?”

  “Actually, I’m crazy tired. I don’t remember talking being so exhausting.”

  “You sound like my brother. I feel energized.”

  “You feel energized for a completely different reason.”

  “Speaking of which...Talia wants to talk to you before you leave.”

  Glancing at the wall clock, she began her search for Talia, happy that many guests had already left, and her search went smooth. The countless beer cans on the floor were the only impediment in reaching the far end of the room where Talia was saying goodbye to a woman, speeding up the process when her eyes met Eda’s.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Bud was telling me you’re looking for a job,” Talia answered. “How’s that going?”

  “I applied to a few companies, but I guess they’re not hiring during the holidays.”

  Talia assumed a business position. “I am hiring.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes. I had someone who was supposed to start next year who called earlier this evening to let me know she’s moving on the west coast. I have a big project starting up; I can’t afford to restart the recruitment process.”

  “When next year?”

  “January 3rd,” Talia said with a smile. “So, if you’re up for it, I’d love to see some samples of your work and have a discussion soon. Are you interested?”

  “What job is it? Would I be working for you?”

  “Yes, I’m project manager, and I coordinate a team of software developers. I’ll send you all the details, but you need to think about this. Bud said you’ve been freelancing for the past few years. This is teamwork; it’s quite different. You can’t accept the offer then quit after a couple of weeks. It would throw the project off completely.”

  As Talia’s lips kept moving, Eda realized she wanted this more and more. She'd be part of a team! And though she barely knew Talia, she regarded her in such high esteem she had no doubt they’d work well together. The hardest thing about having a job was a bad relationship with the hypothetical boss or colleagues, but with Talia there, the risk was minimal.

  Expectations

  A group of employees arrived, increasing the buzz in the reception area and filling the space with Happy New Year and other such pleasantries. It was about time. Schedule started at 9, but not even the receptionist showed up before tw
enty minutes passed.

  The long wait had given Eda time to observe the patterns. Workers came around 9:20-9:40, strolled to their desks, then gathered in the cafeteria. Smokers took their coffees outside. One hour late, they finally returned to their office spaces, some with sighs so deep one would think they’d been working for hours.

  The relaxed environment did nothing to ease the tension building up in Eda’s stomach. She’d tried every trick to fall asleep the previous night—reading a book, counting down from one thousand, drinking milk. Nothing. Despite the lack of rest, she was ready to conquer the world—or at least her new co-workers.

  Except she sat forgotten on a sparkling red settee, feeling out of place.

  The receptionist neared her once more. “Would you like another coffee?”

  Eda gazed at the empty paper cup that shrunk in her hands. “No, thank you.”

  The receptionist retreated with a smile as Talia came into sight.

  “I’m so sorry you had to wait for so long, Eda,” Talia said, shaking her hand.

  “No problem.”

  “Follow me.”

  Eda followed in her footsteps, trying to remember the smile she’d practiced in the mirror the day before. As they continued on the open hallway, she caught glimpses of the offices they passed by, her expectations thrown off completely. Nothing in her preset image of a big company covered a playroom with table tennis and video games.

  Talia caught her gaze. “This is the recreation area. We come here to unwind. Someone will show you around a bit later.”

  Talia opened a glass door leading to a tiny conference room. “Please sit.”

  “Is something wrong?” The cold chair caused her to shiver. Or perhaps it was the fear of the unknown.

  “No... yes... Well, depends whom you’re asking.” She glanced through the closed door at the people passing by. “We have a team meeting shortly, but I wanted to discuss with you first.”

  The ball of iron in Eda's stomach tightened. “Discuss what?”

  “One of the senior managers will be missing for a while, and they asked me to cover for him. It’s in a different department, Eda. I’m afraid I won’t be around much.”