Chapter 1

It was a warm Sunday morning; I was sitting in the kitchen discussing economics with my father while savoring a mug of mint tea he had just prepared for me, when my mom stormed in. She was still upset, because I hadn’t gone to this blind date she arranged for me a couple weeks ago. I told the guy I had the flu and that the doctors considered putting me in quarantine. This of course was not true and as expected, my date didn’t call again. My mom didn’t find my joke as funny as I did.

“Eliot is a nice young man with a formidable background, Poppy” she scolded “Nowadays, it’s not easy to meet such good men, with reasonable revenue and among all handsome”

Yeah, my name is Poppy, I blamed my parents for years, because that’s the type of name you’d give to a pet not to a girl, but I ended up accepting it and even loving it. If somebody calls my name, I’d be the only one to turn around, unlike “Emily”. Try and say this name out loud in the street, you’d have at least 10 set of eyes directed at you, asking “Yes?”

“Mom, we live in Atlanta, among the half million inhabitants, I’ll eventually find someone, don’t worry and besides when you say Eliot’s good looking, you know perfectly well we don’t share the same conception of beauty”

That statement earned me a stern look from her

I couldn’t understand her obsession to set me up with somebody. I’m only 26 for God’s sake. I’m still young, we’re not in the eighteens century, when at my age, I’d better go find some cats to keep me company while I knit on a rocking chair.

Then, my mom exited the kitchen and came back within few seconds. She handed me a blue bag. I looked at my father and he smiled. I took the bag not without hesitation… what if it contained something toxic? I mean I wasn’t the sweetest of daughters.

“Come on, Poppy, open it” She said, at loss of patience

I opened it and discovered a splendid Champaign dress that stopped only 2 inches above the knees. Yeah, my mom’s dress code -show your legs, but not too much-. But this dress, I had to admit, was really something. It had a round collar with sparkling pearls on it, it was ample and didn’t show any curve, but it was damn hot and would tease the curiosity about what’s under. Perfect for a Sexy-not-bitchy look.

“Thanks, mom, I love it” I thanked her after a brief hug

At this very moment, something dreadful happened; my mom started folding and unfolding a napkin. She did it only when she was preparing a bomb attack. Ready!!!Go!!!

“You know my friend, Eleanor Robinson” when I nodded, she continued “Well, her son, Conor is here and he’s looking forward to seeing you…so I gave him your phone number, he’ll call you tonight” BOOM!!!

I knew the dress was only an introduction to hell

She looked at me pleased with herself. There we were again, General Victoria against General Poppy. Her troops were already stepping on Poppy territories.

How dare she give my number without asking me first? Of course, she’d answer as usual “I’m your mother, I do as I please” Ahhhhh, steam was coming out of my nostrils and ears. Why every visit, ended up being a fight with my mother; why can’t she simply mind her own business?

So many whys and not a single because

As soon as I opened my mouth to say some poisoned words that would hopefully kick my mother’s a*s, my father interrupted with pleading eyes:

“Pops, sweety, your mom wants what’s best for you, you know it” I started to answer, but he stopped me “Go meet Conrad, if you like him, good, if you don’t, no need to see him again” he held his hands in the air, in an �"as- a- matter- of- fact way.

This was a conspiracy. I couldn’t believe my father took her side. He knew perfectly well that I couldn’t refuse a thing to him. I felt so angry. I stood up, took my messenger bag and gave a muffled goodbye.

When I opened the door, I heard my mom say:

“It’s Conor, Dear, not Conrad” My father put a soft kiss on her forehead and muttered a “Whatever”

They loved each other, so they should understand me better that anyone else. I wanted something epic. A beautiful love story, not something forced. I wanted things to be natural, not planned.

I jumped on my bicycle and headed to the café where my two best friends were waiting for me, for our usual Sunday lunch.

On my way there, I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother’s behavior. Was I that desperate?

I haven’t been in a serious relationship in a while. I’ve had a long list of first dates, a shorter one of second dates and a no-existent one of boyfriends, in the last 12 months. The first impression is very important and almost all of them couldn’t get to the second round. As for the others, well, I’m only human, I make mistakes.

I think that’s the reason I don’t want to date anymore, there’s always something that goes wrong.

By the time I arrived to the “Sundays” -yeah I know, at first, we picked it because of the name then we fell in love with the place- it was already 12h34 and I was to be there at 12h00. The girls must be furious.

I secured my bike on the pavement and got inside

I loved the place; there were floor poufs everywhere, in very bright and beautiful colors, a contrast with the white walls. I waved at Kevin, the owner of the place, and he smiled at me. He was in the open kitchen, I liked the concept, at least nobody would spit in your mug without you knowing it.

The windows had a wonderful view on a very nice botanic garden.

I spotted two girls in the corner, next to the window. I recognized Mia’s slender body and tanned skin. Her brown eyes were sparkling with excitement and she had a big smile plastered on her face, in many ways, she looked like a model. On the green poof in front of her was Vee, short for Savannah, she was grinning at her, she had her long black hair in a ponytail and her fringe covered her forehead, she started sipping from a mug when her beautiful hazel eyes noticed me.

I sped to their table, in need of some comfort, the way babies needed their mommies.   

I was surprised none of them scolded me for being late, maybe they just got used to it after all these years.

“Hey, girls”

“Hey yourself” Vee greeted

“Hola, Pops” Mia decided she wanted to learn Spanish, so we had to expect some foreign words to pop in our conversations every now and then

“How are you doing?” I asked

Mia answered right away “Bien”

I rolled my eyes. Vee sent me a compassionate look. Honestly, how much time would it last? Reminds of when she had a crush on a pilot and she became a big fan of planes, she wouldn’t stop talking about it for months, or maybe it felt like months…

Mia flashed me her biggest grin ever, you know, the one that would start from the right ear up until the left one

“Big news, Pops, my trial period is over at W&C. they decided not only to renew my contract for a longer period but to assign me as the Project Manager assistant, I think this time, I’ll settle down”

W&C stands for Walter and Coleman. A big architecture company. Mia started to work there about three months ago, after a series of small jobs. Up until now, she didn’t really know what she wanted in life, except traveling, partying and having her heart broken by complete jerks.

Maybe it’s true that thirty is the age of wisdom, although my mom would say, it’s the limited age to get married.

I was happy for her; she finally found her path

“Congratulations, babe, I’m so proud of you”

“We must celebrate chicas, tonight, the black pearl, my treat”

The black pearl was the elite club, only the high society could get in and thanks to my connections, we had no problem getting in. But, it was Sunday, not Saturday

Vee was the first one to talk, given that she was the voice of wisdom

“Mia, all of us work tomorrow, we can’t take the risk to party tonight”

Not losing an ounce of her cheerfulness, Mia answered as if she already expected that one

“I’m free tomorrow morning, I’ll take my new position on Tuesday, so I’ve been offered half a day off. Pops has flexible hours and you can take your morning off, you are never absent, say you’ll go to the dentist or something”

Vee started to protest, but Mia cut her

“Please, Vee, it’s very important for me and you two are the only people I want to celebrate with. Besides, I don’t want to be alone tonight, you know how it feels to be heartbroken”  

Nobody could resist the puppy eyes

“Alright” Vee surrendered

The Pilot dumped Mia, telling her they came from two different worlds

“Guess, I’ll have to tell Liz, I’ll work from home tomorrow morning”

I was an associate in a small Marketing company and I could work from home, so my presence in the office was not mandatory.

“Yayyy, can’t wait” Mia turned to Vee “We’ll meet by the entrance at 9”

At this very moment, Kevin brought me a hot chocolate, my usual beverage and a Cesar chicken salad.

“What’s at 9?” he asked

“We will celebrate my new job”

Kevin arched a brow “I’m not invited?”

He was hot, as in a romance book cover hot, tall, broad shoulders, soft black hair, piercing blue eyes, one day beard. Whenever we saw him, all three of us would sigh. He was very friendly, given that we were loyal customers.

He was dating the manager of the Sundays, Carla. Pretty face, ugly heart

None of us liked her, not because she got him first but because she was on b***h mode whenever she saw us.

“Men are not allowed, it’s an exclusively girl party” Mia answered sheepishly

Vee and I smiled at her comment and Kevin winked at us

“Alright Girls, enjoy your evening”

My hot chocolate was exquisite.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Mia was serious about the �"no men rule- for tonight. She was still in love with her stupid pilot; she didn’t hide how miserable she was since he left. Vee and I tried to encourage her to meet someone else but she would always answer negatively, saying that no matter how many guys she met, the outcome’s always the same.

Reviews

[spitballing]

*Clap, Clap, Clap!*

All the random, added comments on fashion and looks really gives you an idea of the main character and flesh her out well. Also, some of the made up slang by her gives the story a unique voice and makes it stand out.

I kind of wish that other chapters were written from other characters point of views so the contrast between characters could be shown. Since this character was so well defined, that would be a real treat to see.

It reads quickly and nicely and the main character is on the relatable side and is made so the reader can get along with her quickly.

This is the best thing I've read on this site yet! Great going!

[SarahHino]

Thank you so much, you have no idea how happy your comment makes me.
Unfortunately, the whole story is told through Poppy’s eyes; she’s the only narrator. At first, I wanted all 3 of them to be narrators by alternation, but then, I reconsidered the idea and decided to pick poppy only. However, I’m considering the possibility to write two other novels in which the narrators would be Mia and Vee respectively. But first, I need to finish this one.
Keep on reading, please, and tell me what you think :)

[Mikayla_Stagg]

Dont forget to indent your paragraphs.. good story line from what ive read so far. Flow is okay, but could use a little work. Im curious to keep reading.

[SarahHino]

Thanks Mikayla, I'll indent them. Please, feel free to tell me what you think of my work and make suggestions. I'd be more that happy to hear them :)