Chapter 2

"Hey guys. I finally made it. Did you order yet?" I asked once I made it to their table. I was happy to see they were able to get my favorite booth. It was by a window that had a nice view of the pond.

"Not yet, we just got here ourselves. We figured it was going to take you a while to get away so we just walked around for a bit. We just ordered drinks." Lenny answered, sliding me one of the menus.

I slid into the booth sitting across from them looking over the menu. As many times as I come here, you would think I'd have it memorized. I always tried something different depending on the mood I was in. Today is supposed to be a joyous occasion with my two friends. I wasn't going to dwell on the past. Not right now at least.

"Welcome to Mickey's Cafe. My name is Vincent and I'll be your server. Can I start you off with a drink?"

"Hey Vincent." I said with a soft smile. He's been my waiter every time I sit here. It's usually during dinner hours. So it was a surprise to see him here today.

"Hey Ms. Vine. Fancy seeing you here on a Thursday afternoon." He smiled.

"Friends here wanted to mark this milestone of mine at work. I'll just have lemonade."

"With water on the side. Coming right up." He finished for me. I gave him a small nod of appreciation and watched as he left to get my drinks.

"So what are you guys getting?" I asked looking back down at the menu. When I didn't get a response I looked up to find them giving me weird looks.

"What?"

Megan began wiggling her eyebrows at me with a teasing smile. "You can't ignore the fact he knew your drink order." She commented.

"What do you mean? I come here all the time, and sit at this very table each chance I get. Plus, I order the same thing to drink each time. Of course he's going to remember my drink order." I argued. I didn't see the big deal. If I had a say it would show excellent customer service.

"Yeah sure. We'll go with that." Lenny added in. "He probably knows her food order too." He whispered. I just rolled my eyes going back to the menu.

"Here's your drinks. Are you guys ready to order or do you need another minute?"

"We're ready." Megan spoke up. While they ordered I went back over the options I had picked out.

"And you?" Vincent turned to look at me ready to write down my order.

"What's better, the Southern Club, or the soup of the day?" I asked.

"Well, the soup of the day is New England style Clam Chowder. If that isn't your thing then the clubs are a safe option."

"Okay, I'll try the Clam Chowder with a side salad." I sat the menu back ready to specify my salad order.

"No onions, add bell peppers, with Thousand Island dressing. Am I right?"

Lenny tried to cover his laugh behind a fake cough and Megan buried her face behind his shoulder to hide her laughter as well.

"Yes, Vincent that's correct. Thank you."

"Alright guys, your food will be right up soon. If you need anything else don't hesitate to ask." Vincent said closing his notepad and walking to the kitchen.

When he was out of earshot, both Lenny and Megan burst into a fit of laughter.

"I told you!" Lenny said loudly. "My dear, Vinny boy has the hots for you." He laughed again. I just rolled my eyes at their antics. No way he had a thing for me. He was just showing excellent customer service skills.

"Whatever you two." I pulled my phone out going back to Groupon to look for more things to do.

"Oh guys, how do you feel about archery?" I asked curiously.

"As in a bow and arrow? Hitting targets?" Megan questioned.

"Do you know of any other sport that requires a bow and arrow?" I teased.

In response, she rolled her eyes. "It's something I've never even thought to do. Why?"

"I found a Groupon for archery lessons. If you two are interested we just need to find a fourth to join us." I went back to scrolling through the different activities finding some decent priced tickets or the zoo and a movie.

"Oh, I'm sure we can find someone." Lenny said in a teasing voice. I knew what he was hinting at but chose to ignore him instead.

"Hey Vincent!" Megan called out getting his attention. I shot her a surprised look wondering what the heck they were doing.

"Hey guys. What can I do for you?" Vincent came over with a curious look ready to bring us what we needed.

"Have you shot a bow and arrow before?" Lenny spoke up.

He shook his head with a silent chuckle. "No, I can't say that I have." He answered smoothly.

"How would you feel about joining us in an archery lesson?" Megan asked first.

"Guys I'm sure he has more important things to do." I tried to reason.

"Hm. Archery isn't a sport you hear much about." He said. "I guess I would be okay with joining. When did you plan to go?" He looked over at me with a friendly smile, somehow telling me he was okay with the invite.

"I haven't called yet, but I guess I can do that now and get a date and time." I mumbled. This was embarrassing.

"Okay, well if it helps I'm free every Friday after 4 and all day Saturday."

"Great! She'll have the time and day before we leave." Lenny chimed in.

God take me now! Why must these two be this way? I silently prayed.

"Cool. Well, I was just about to go check on your food. It should be out in a second." He turned to check on another one of his tables.

"I'm so going to kill you both." I said through gritted teeth scrolling through the contact information on the app. Once I located the number, I pressed the call button patiently waiting for someone to answer.

"Thank you for calling All Things Archery, this is Brian how may I help you?"

"Hi, I was wondering if you had anything open this weekend for a group of four? I just purchased a Groupon for your facility." I rolled my eyes as I watched Lenny and Megan do little dances in their seats.

"Unfortunately we do not have anything this weekend. We do have some openings next week if that helps." Brian answered.

"That's fine do what times do you have for Saturday?"

After answering a few more of my questions, I was finally able to make the reservation for next Saturday at noon.

"Are you happy now." I said to Lenny and Megan, finalizing the Groupon purchase. I guess I couldn't be too mad at them. Where else would we have found a fourth person? It was practically just the three of us most times. I never talked to anyone at work, and they stayed on different floors.

I wasn't even sure how we even became friends in the first place.

"Yes! It'll be like a double date!" Megan said in a loud whisper.

"First of all, it's not a date. Nowhere near a date. Secondly, you two are even dating." I argued.

"Sh. Vinny Boy doesn't know that." Lenny said with a jerk of his head across the room. I turned and watched Vincent and another waiter carry over our food.

"Okay guys here you go. Is there anything else you would need?" Vincent asked after all the food had been handed out.

"Nope, everything looks perfect." I answered back. "I did manage to set a time and date for the lessons. It'll be next Saturday at noon." I said as I began cutting up the peppers into smaller pieces.

"That's perfect. Maybe we all can go and have lunch afterward?" He offered.

I started to politely decline his offer, but Megan beat me to it.

"We would love to."

I couldn't do anything but flick her off once his back was turned. Sometimes I really couldn't stand them.

"So what are we doing to celebrate?" Megan asked, taking a bite of her chicken sandwich.

"What do you mean? I thought this was us celebrating?" I asked confused.

They both shared this look between them before laughing at my expense.

"Honey. Did you really think this little lunch date was a celebration?" Lenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's time you really hung out with us, and this." He waved his hands around the table. "Is not how we celebrate. We only did this to appease you. Now we do it our way."

I didn't like the sound of that at all. There were too many unknown variables in this situation. Anything could happen. It was one of the things Joelle didn't like about me. I refused to go out with her to a club. I had preferred the confines of the house where I could enjoy my safety. I knew I was going to regret my decision later.

"Okay. I'll go out with you guys just this once. Don't think I'm going to make it a habit." I warned.

Megan's smile covered her entire face as she let out a low scream, unable to contain her excitement.

"You won't regret it I promise. Besides, it's time you stop acting stuck up and let loose." She did a small dance in her seat. Hearing her call me stuck up didn't hurt as much as it should. Besides I knew her intentions weren't hurtful, they were playful. Yet, still hearing it out loud felt wrong.

I nodded my head silently agreeing to her statement. I needed to break out of my shell and let things happen. It just frightened me too much to give in to such things. I was taking baby steps into the unknown tip-toeing my way through life figuring out what I liked.

With Malcolm, I always thought I was destined to be with him for the rest of my life, so I never thought about another guy. I never compare him to anyone else. He was everything I wanted and needed. But once I distanced myself from that life I came to realize it wasn't Malcolm I wanted. It was the promise of being with someone that truly understood me.

Yet he didn't understand me at all. I know now we were only meant to be friends. He was the outgoing person, friends with everyone, ambitious in his own way. Then there was me; meek and unsure of life, sheltered. Needing everything to be picture perfect. I never saw it as being controlling. I always thought of my ways as being precise and organized. You couldn't live in a world of chaos and expect it to be okay.

I had to have every day planned out and follow through.

Listening to how comfortable Joelle and Malcolm were in knocking me down, I began to think I was the issue. In California, I tried living day to day without planning every second of every minute. I nearly lost my mind. I needed structure. It was the core of who I was. It's what got me through life, and without the support of the family; it is also what got me through the toughest times in life. Having a structured schedule kept my mind busy.

Then I moved to New Haven. The atmosphere here seemed different. Like it was okay to loosen the reigns a little. Everyone moved at their own pace yet it seemed to flow with those around them. In the first two months, I stuck to a strict schedule. Needing to set the foundation for my life here. Go to work, eat at the cafe, go home, do affirmations, go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. Afterward, I began to set a goal that each month I would loosen the reigns just a little more. I've made it to the point where I'm okay with leaving work with no idea what to do next.

My building sat in the middle of downtown, so sometimes if I have a few moments, I try and explore a different store. Sometimes visiting the same one twice in the same week. I was going to prove to Malcolm and Joelle that I could have fun and enjoy life. That I could be spontaneous sometimes.