AREM Chapter One

A couple months earlier...

“Galaxy Communications, eh?” Justine spun around in her desk chair, staring idly at the clock on the wall behind her. She curled her finger in the phone cord, chewing on the corner of her lip as she listened half-heartedly to Mitch’s enthusiastic spiel. “Yeah, it definitely sounds interesting,” She spun back around to face her computer and shifted the phone to her shoulder as she typed the company name into the internet search bar. 

“Wow, they’ve got quite the fancy headquarters,” she added, raising her eyebrows. “And right here in Boston! That’s great, Mitch… yes, I could definitely try applying… it looks just about like what I’ve been looking for… yeah… hey… couldn’t we talk about it more in person? I mean… it’s a beautiful day out there, and I’d rather not eat supper alone… Romani’s sounds so good… unless you’d rather just microwave mac ‘n cheese, eh?” She laughed at his protests. “Okay, okay, Romani’s then. Meet you there in half an hour? Sounds fantastic, seeya then!” 

She glanced at the computer screen again with a tiny sigh. Yes, it looked like a promising career… but the sun was shining and all the leaves in the Boston square just outside her window displayed a rainbow of golden, fiery colors. A crisp fall breeze was blowing through her little apartment, ruffling her curtains and stirring her soul. She longed to be out in it… she just felt full of life tonight and she needed more of that fresh air. 

And she also couldn’t wait for a chance to wear those new boots she had found at the mall on Saturday. She pulled them on as she ran her eyes over her closet, wondering which scarf would go best with her new sweater. Rust-colored with the navy, right? She loved that color combination… 

The phone rang and she reached to snatch it up, smiling to hear Mitch’s voice again.

“Hey, Girl, look out your window in… um… five minutes, okay?” The line went dead before she could answer and she rushed to the window, tying her boot laces quickly as she waited. It was just a little bit longer than five minutes and Mitch was standing in the street below her window, waving up at her with both hands.

“Hail the conquering hero, eh?” Justine called down to him, laughing. “Congrats on the new job! I’ll be down in a minute!” She snatched up the rust-colored scarf without a second thought and was out the door. 

oOo

“Alright, if you don’t slow down on those breadsticks, I’m going to put a restraining order on you,” Justine reached across the table to take the last breadstick from Mitch’s hand. “You’ve eaten practically the entire basket by yourself, and yet somehow you have managed to talk through it all.” 

“Sorry,” Mitch grinned. “Guess I’m just excited. Getting this good of a job, right out of college like this…”

“I know, I know…” Justine covered his mouth with her free hand. “You’ve said that already, like… a dozen times. So slow down and let’s talk about dessert for a minute, okay?”

“Dessert’s a good alternative,” Mitch ducked away from her hand. “But an easy choice. Baskin Robbins. It’s tradition, y’know.”

“Of course,” Justine nodded regally. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“So… if you’re finished with that breadstick you pilfered from me… let’s get going and see how much ice cream we can possibly hold after all that pasta. For science.” 

“For science, of course,” Justine giggled. “And I’ll start on that application first thing in the morning. From classmates to coworkers… it’ll be fun.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to get across,” Mitch opened the door and gestured her through. “Y’see… there’s no fun in having the perfect job without your best friend there.” 

“Mitch…” Justine stepped out on the sidewalk and turned to face him. “Do you wanna know something?”

“I’m all ears,” Mitch grinned.

“I think you’re the sweetest guy I know.” she reached out, brushing her fingers against his arm… and suddenly moved forward to wrap her arms around him. He hesitated a moment and then leaned into the hug, pulling her close for a long moment.

“Y’know what would be even sweeter though?” he whispered, grinning. She twisted in his arms to look up at him, her eyes dancing.

“A triple-decker baseball nut ice cream cone?”

“Right on.”