Thelma
Thelma had always thought hers to be an unusual dream. Unlike most of the people she’d gone to college with, she didn’t want to be a writer or a teacher. She wanted to read. She learned to read when she was four, with books full of colourful images and large lettering. Books of animals who were friends. Groups of friends who went on adventures. People from different worlds. Magic. Poetry. People falling in love. People getting murdered, and people solving murders. Anything. Everything.
Now, working as an editor in a big publisher, she felt mostly tired. The post-its Thelma used to stick in her books had turned to five different highlighters, three pens, and a computer for writing her annotations. Most of the days, it was a good job. She especially enjoyed helping young writers with something worthy of telling to share their stories. She did not enjoy, however, it already being dark outside on a summer day when she finally finished her tasks for the day with no dinner in her stomach.
Thelma picked up her bag and coat while she went through her options. She could call Lena and see if she had any leftovers she could eat. She could cook when she got home. She could get takeout. She could eat out by herself.
She looked at her reflection in the windows. Her bright red hair needed a comb, but she could manage it. Her light blue blouse was a bit crumpled from sitting all day, but if she tucked it inside the white jeans she was wearing, it would be fine enough. She’d gladly decided to wear sneakers today instead of heels, otherwise, her feet would be killing her right now. She decided to go to a small restaurant.
Thelma didn’t usually care too much about what other people thought of her, but she liked to feel good about herself when she went out. Especially if she was doing it alone. She’d come to hate the pitying looks of older women who saw her alone and thought she was lonely.
She called Lena on her way out of the office and counted the rings. One ring. Two rings. Three-
“Hey, babe”, Lena answered.
“Hi! I’m just calling to let you know I’m getting out of the office now. I’ll grab a bite somewhere on my way home.”
“You sure? I can microwave some soup for you or cook you something while you’re on your way.”
Thelma played with the strap of her bag while she went through her options again. If she knew Lena well enough, she’d be sitting on the couch choosing a show to watch before going to bed.
“You’re sweet for offering, but yeah. I won’t take long. I’ll join you on the couch soon enough”, Thelma answered.
She heard a low chuckle that warmed her neck through the phone.
“Fine, I’m predictable. I’ll wait for you.”
Thelma smiled and made a smooch sound through the phone before hanging up.
She went to a small Italian restaurant. The smell of oregano and tomatoes compelled her to go in, and that’s how she ended up picking at her garlic bread while waiting for her gnocchi to arrive.
A sudden laugh coming from the table in front of her caught her attention. The young woman sitting there had her head bowed down and was trembling from the effort not to laugh out loud. A young man sitting in front of her was looking at the woman with a fond smile on his lips and was trying to shush her, with no success. Probably because he was also laughing.
That picture made something clench in her chest. The thing was, Thelma was happy. She really was. She had sadder days, like anyone else, but she was mostly happy. But.
But she longed for that. To laugh spontaneously with someone that couldn’t stop you because they were laughing with you. That feeling of intimacy that came with being happy together. But her relationships had always failed.
There’d been Thomas, who cheated on her. There’d been Louise, who was a perfectly nice gal, but who had moved across the country, and neither of them had been built for long-distance relationships. There’d been Charlie, who never understood her sexuality. None of them had worked.
Thelma had had a crush on Lena, back when they were still in college, and they were perfectly compatible – so much so that they moved in together after college without an ounce of doubts. But Lena was as straight as they come, and, truth be told, they were probably better off with a platonic relationship anyway.
And so, Thelma remained single. With her newly arrived gnocchi, though, which was definitely a better degree of single.
