Lily and Alex’s lunch break began 10 minutes before Laz’s, so when he walked into the cafeteria that lunchtime, Lily was able to watch him from her seat at their usual table as he selected a chicken salad sandwich, stood for five minutes in a queue behind a large woman trying to pay for her curry in pennies, and strode towards them, pushing his floppy, brown hair out of his eyes and humming to himself. As he reached the table and sat down, the smile faded from his face, and he suddenly became very serious. “So,” he said, fixing the gaze of his penetrating green eyes on Lily, “how was it?”
Lily grinned. “Patience is a virtue...”
“That Laz doesn’t have.” Butted in Alex. “Besides, I have to call Christian before the end of lunch, so spit it out!”
“Alright, alright.” Lily took a moment to compose her thoughts, and then began the story Alex and Laz had been dying to hear all morning.
“So, it started off a little badly, entirely my fault. I had a last minute outfit crisis and ended up being 10 minutes late.”
“What was the crisis?” Interrupted Alex.
“Well it was a posh restaurant, but a first date. I couldn’t decide between jeans and a dress.”
“And what did you decide?”
“I thought, ‘what would Alex do?’ So of course I wore both.”
“Of course. A light dress over jeans is good enough for any restaurant.”
Laz forced a cough. “Excuse me ladies, but I’d actually like to hear about how the rest of the evening went, thrilling as the mental processes behind your wardrobe decisions are.”
Lily chuckled “Sorry Laz. So anyway, when I eventually got there, I found him standing in the doorway; like the perfect gentlemen he had waited for me to arrive before getting a table.”
“This sounds good.” Said Alex excitedly.
“Yes, he was all charm and manners and ‘here, let me pull out your chair for you’, and everything was going so very well. We were getting along wonderfully, and he was turning out to be a real laugh. He seemed like such a fun guy... But in the end he was just a little too fun.”
Laz swallowed a mouthful of chicken and lettuce and murmured “Uh-oh...”
“Yes, uh-oh is right. As the evening went on I began to notice his voice getting louder, and his jokes getting cruder, and that the number of empty wine bottles on our table was increasing at quite remarkable speed.”
“Oh lord.” Said Alex, stifling a laugh. “I’m sorry Lil.”
“Never mind though.” Laz placed his hand over Lily’s and smiled his warmest, most caring smile. “We still love you to bits.”
“Of course we do.” Chipped in Alex, putting a consoling arm around Lily’ shoulders.
“Thanks guys.”
“Right.” Alex brushed the crumbs from her jacket and stood up. “I have to call Christian and confirm dinner reservations for tonight. I’ll see you back at the front line.” She blew a kiss in Lily and Laz’s vague direction, and strutted off.
“I don’t know how those two do it.” Lily sighed.
Lily could just see Laz raising one of his eyebrows behind the thick curtain of his fringe. “Do what?” he asked.
“Not drive each other crazy.”
Alexis Clarke and Christian Larsen were the perfect couple. Despite being wildly different people, they agreed on practically everything, and each of them was always prepared to sacrifice their own desires to keep the other happy, which had the glorious effect that they were always happy when they were together. Alex had met Christian three years ago, when they were both just 19, and Norwegian born Christian was working in the main cafeteria on Alex’s university campus. Christian now worked as sous chef at one of Bristol’s top restaurants, which meant that although they were living together, they saw very little of each other, as Christian had to be at the restaurant every day for lunch and dinner service, and Alex was at work in the mornings when he was at home. However, this was never a big issue for Alex, who was a real ‘sisters are doing it for themselves’ girl, and not the sort of person who relied upon others.
Lily thought back to the first time she had met Christian. She remembered turning to see Alex walking towards her hand in hand with a tall, muscular guy, (in fact, Alex and Christian were the exact same height), his naturally blonde hair dyed jet black and messily spiked up, and looking as if it should belong to a different person than the huge, all-encompassing smile on his pleasantly chiselled face. Christian was a real clown; sweet, kind of goofy, and totally adorable. The kind of guy it’s impossible not to like.
“I guess they just fit.” said Laz, bringing Lily back into the room. “It’s like when you see a seventy year old man and woman sat in a park kissing, and they look so happy and totally crazy about each other they could be 15 years old. They fit.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Laz grinned and leant forward onto the table. “What’s up?” he asked.
“Oh nothing.” Lily muttered, looking down sheepishly.
“Come on, what is it?”
“It’s just...sometimes I get so jealous of Alex. She’s 22 and she’s already living with the man of her dreams. So how come you and I are still sleeping alone at night? I mean, I know Alex is great, but what’s wrong with us?” Lily sighed.
“Nothing’s wrong with us babe, I guess we’re just not as lucky as her and Christian. They just happened to find each other when they were still really young. But you’ll get there, you know that, you just have to be patient and keep trying.”
“And what about you? How are things in your love life?”
“Well not that great to be honest, but hey, I’m happy. I love my job, I have great friends,” Lily smiled as Laz patted her arm. “I’m enjoying life!” Grinning, Laz folded his hands behind his head and leaned backwards in his chair.
“You know, I don’t think it’s always a good thing that you love your job so much.”
“What do you mean?” Laz enquired, looking scandalised.
Lily giggled. “Well hun, you’re a receptionist, and you totally love it. Don’t you think that makes you seem a little bit gay?”
Laz chewed meditatively on the end of his plastic fork. “Hmm...I do see your point...but obviously my rugged good looks and bulging muscles would prevent anyone from ever suspecting me of being gay.” he laughed.
Lily sniggered. “Obviously.”
That night, as Lily sat in front of the television with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream, watching Bridget Jones’ Diary and feeling sorry for herself, she found herself mystified by what Laz would call luck, and Alex would call fate. Why was it that out of the three of them, it was Alex, the loud, sassy, independent one who was settled in a happy, long-term relationship, and why was it that a great guy like Laz hadn’t found someone, even if he was a little camp? And above all, why was she herself so totally hopeless when it came to romance? Was she destined to spend all her evenings binge eating and watching chick flicks, alone in her tiny flat, for the rest of her life? Lily smiled. ‘Ah well, at least I’m not completely alone’, she thought to herself, as her handsome silver tabby cat, Xerxes, came striding up to her, purring and waving his tail proudly in the air.
“Time for bed I think baby.” she yawned.
“Prrt” said Xerxes in agreement, jumping onto her lap, kneading her legs with his paws, and curling up contentedly.
“Alright, I guess I’m sleeping on the sofa tonight.” Smiling and stroking Xerxes, Lily shoved a cushion behind her head and closed her eyes.
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