Amy stretched languidly, enjoying the morning quiet.
Then it struck her: It’s Wednesday! Why didn’t the alarm go off?!
She flew out of bed, glancing at the offensive clock: 8:13 am. Shit. No time for a shower or coffee and there was no way she’d make the express bus. Driving wasn’t an option either with the crowded highways at peak commute hour. She’d have to take the subway to get into the city. Ugh.
Amy made the necessary phone calls and arrived at work 30 minutes late feeling frazzled. The day didn’t get any better. The receptionist had called in sick, so she was stuck doing double duty and had a deadline to prepare a court docket for the lead attorney. It was going to be a late night.
Ten hours later, Amy grabbed a hot dog from the street cart and settled into her seat for the train ride home, exhausted from a day filled with problem after problem. The copier ran out of toner midway through her big job, she totally forgot a conference call, an email was inadvertently sent to the wrong client with confidential information attached, and her boss was obviously not happy with her. She couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head.
Just as she took a huge bite of the dog, she saw a man running to catch the train before the doors shut. She froze. Shit. It was HIM. The guy she’d crushed on at the club and then never heard from again. A glob of mustard dripped down her chin onto her tan raincoat. She had no time to change seats and found herself face-to-face with Dan. Awkward.
“Amy?! Ohmygod! It’s so great to see you!” He looked fresh and sharp in his business suit. She knew she looked like crap with her dirty hair pulled back into a ponytail and wrinkled slacks.
“Hi, Dan,” was all she said in reply, dabbing at the mustard stain and making more of a mess.
“I can’t believe I ran into you here! I’ve been looking for you for weeks. Do you know how many law firms there are in the city?”
Amy blinked several times. “You were looking for me? Why?”
“I know this is going to sound stupid. After that great night at the club, I couldn’t wait to see you again. I tried to call you the next day but I lost your number. I went back every night for the last two weeks, hoping you’d be there. Can you forgive me? Can I take you to dinner?”
The words flew out of her mouth, “You did? I can! Yes!”
They made plans to get together the next night and he called her phone to make sure he had her number stored in his correctly.
As soon as Dan exited the train and the door shut behind him, Amy hugged herself with excitement thinking, “Sometimes when you think everything has gone wrong, it’s actually gone quite right.”
Written for To Live & Write in Alameda’s October Flash Fiction Challenge #9, “Where it Went Wrong.” We had three days to write a 500 word short story and share with our group.
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