34. Hump Day at Mortys

Hump Day at Morty's

It'd been three months since Hadley started at Placers. Her days with Mary were rigid and dragged and her days with Meghan were full of inside jokes and conversation. They quickly fell into a routine of heading to lunch on Wednesdays. Meghan called it Hump Day at Morty's, which made Hadley laugh now, though the first time she heard it, she was completely confused.

"Girl, please," Meghan had giggled. "I'm pretty sure Morty is like 80 years old. Do you really think he's hosting some weird humping event?" They both started laughing. Meghan went on to explain that hump day also meant Wednesday, since it was the middle of the week, which only made Hadley laugh harder.

She loved their fast, light-hearted friendship.

Today was no different than any other Hump Day. When lunchtime rolled around, the pair tidied their desks, locked up, and walked next door to the deli. "I think I'm going to get the brisket and pastrami melt. How about you?" Hadley asked.

"Have you ever had a whitefish salad sandwich?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Is that tuna? I've had tuna salad…"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll try it!"

Hadley nodded and stepped forward in line to place their order while Meghan walked off to find a table. They rotated weeks on who treated and who grabbed the table. Hadley was nervous at first, worried she wouldn't have enough spare change to cover two lunches, but after several months of consistent full-time work, she finally had slightly more in her bank than she needed to spend on essentials.

"Lunch is served." Hadley smiled as she placed their lunch baskets on the table. She theatrically crossed her right arm over her stomach as her body bent forward in half. They laughed as Hadley fell into her chair. Catching their breaths, they dug into their lunches.

"Whitefish salad was the right call! This is delicious. I can really taste the onion and dill… hopefully it doesn't linger on my breath and scare off the afternoon candidates."

"Maybe I should have gotten that. I could use a little repellent breath."

"Well, geez, I hope my breath isn't totally disgusting," Meghan said while breathing into her cupped hands. "Okay, it's not great. Repellent breath may be accurate," she chuckled.

"Oh my gosh, Meg, I obviously didn't mean your breath was gross." Hadley rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I hear what you're saying. The guys don't ever seem to lay off, do they?"

Hadley shrugged.

"It seems like you're starting to get a little more confident with shutting them down, though. How is it on days with Mary?"

"She either doesn't notice or doesn't care. I sometimes feel like I'm left for the wolves."

"Yeah, if it's not written in her magazine, she's not paying it any mind."

"I usually feel dramatic. The guys aren't jumping through the window and attacking me. They're just creepy. I guess it just makes it hard to believe there are nice guys out there."

"You're not being dramatic. Words can hit just as hard as hands can."

"Yeah, you're not wrong."

"There are nice guys out there, trust me. You just have to keep believing there's good in people."

"Yeah, I don't know. In my experience, women are the ones who are kind and generous, but men… men are sharp and sour."

"Men and women are definitely different, and we are for sure the fairer sex… but not all guys are bad. I know I mentioned before that I have two brothers, one older and one younger. They're a big reason why I know good men exist. Although they were always equal parts nice and jerky to me, come to think of it,"Meghan laughed. "I guess that's pretty normal for a brother though. My daddy was a strong, patient man. I searched for those traits and found them when I met Andrew. Even though we didn't work out as a couple, it wasn't for his lack of heart. I try to hang on to the good in people like that in my daddy, especially at work."

"I'll have to try harder to find the good in people, too. Dorothy keeps telling me to keep my heart open to the universe, whatever that means," Hadley laughed. "I think she's dying to play matchmaker, but I'm just not interested. I don't have any good references to go off of, my dad was all bourbon and anger, no real redeeming qualities."

"I'm sorry, girl. That's a shitty hand to be dealt."

"It's alright. Maybe one day I'll meet someone who's kind and patient and then I'll get to know him. Until then, I'm not interested."

"Wait. Okay, this is personal so feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but have you ever dated?"

Hadley blushed."Nope."

"But you're, what, twenty-three, right?"

"Twenty-four next week, but yeah, I've never dated. I don't like to put myself out there. Plus, where would I even meet someone? In the lobby of my apartment? Hazel would love that."

Meghan laughed. "Hazel would live for that moment. Do you ever go out with your girlfriends? You gotta tell them to be your wing ladies."

"I would need to make friends, first." Hadley's cheeks reddened deeper. "I lived at home until a few years ago and when I was there, my dad had so many demands for me that I had zero downtime. I never had the time to keep friends in high school. I also was never that good at making them in the first place, I was a weird kid." Hadley's self-reflection hung in the air while she sucked back her soda.

"Anyway, after that, I was working at a flower shop which is not an easy way to make friends. At least not friends under sixty. Plus, like I said, my dad used up every minute of my time, he was hard to please." Hadley smiled sadly but kept talking. "I don't even know where to start," she sighed. "My mom had this fun group of friends and they got together every Friday at our house. I loved watching them dance around and gossip and I couldn't wait to be a part of my own group of girlfriends like that. Just never happened." Hadley shrugged and focused her attention on her last bite of pastrami.

"I'll be your wing woman."

"What? You mean like help me pick up a guy at a bar? You don't need to do that. I'm really not looking to date, I promise, and you have so much to manage already with Amelia."

"Amelia is exhausting, you're not wrong. But that's even more reason why I should be demanding this girl's night! I need it even more than you do. This is more for me than you."

Hadley watched Meghan's excitement grow. "I know what we'll do. We'll swear off even the most handsome of onlookers. Will that get you to come out with me?" Hadley giggled but wasn't sure what to say.

Meghan must have registered her hesitation because she tried a different approach. "Okay, how about if a girls' night out is not your thing, then we settle on a birthday party?"

"Oh, I don't really do anything for my birthday…"

Meghan burst into laughter. "I love you, but I meant for Amelia, silly. She's turning four so we're having a small get together. No eligible bachelors but a few fun ladies you would love. I'm quite positive they'd love you, too."

Hadley buried her face in her hands. "Ohmigod, that's so embarrassing."

Meghan chuckled. "Just say you'll come!"

"Okay, okay. I'm in. Is there anything I can bring?"

"Nope, just yourself. It's this Saturday at 2. I'll write down my address for you when we get back to the office. Which, looking at the clock, we better head back." Hadley turned around to check the clock on the back wall and quickly agreed. They shoved the scraps of their kettle chips into their mouths as they consolidated their trash and returned the sandwich baskets to the side counter.

Back at the office, Hadley spent the next hour staring blankly at her crossword puzzle. She was too preoccupied trying to determine how much money she could spare on a gift for Amelia. What did four-year-olds like anyway? Maybe Dorothy had some suggestions. She'd head to the local Walmart on Friday with Dorothy's ideas and browse through the toy aisle.

Every so often, a jingle would break Hadley's daydreams and alert the ladies of a client. Luckily for them, they were all generally respectful and so the day passed easily.

***

On Friday, after work, Hadley stopped at Walmart. Dorothy didn't have any groundbreaking ideas, saying she was only ever around that age group from an introduction to horse safety perspective. Hadley thought maybe she'd find something horse related for Amelia. She browsed the toy aisle, passing by a bin of multi-colored Koosh balls, a display of easy bake ovens, and a shelf of unorganized Cabbage Patch Dolls. She lingered at a green plush Glo Worm toy before locking eyes on a My Little Pony rainbow display. She'd never heard of the toy but it was exactly what she hoped to find. Her eyes bounced between the six brightly colored plastic ponies that were lined up on the display shelf. She was about to grab the yellow one, named Butterscotch, when another caught her eye. Its name was Sundance and it had a white body with pale pink hair and a pattern of pink hearts stamped on its side. The white body immediately reminded her of Snow White, which caused her chest to flood with memories that she'd share later with Dorothy.

On the way to the register, she grabbed a small bright pink gift bag, white tissue paper, and a generic birthday card. She spent $2 more than she planned but was pleased with the gift.

During her drive home, Hadley cycled through memories of Snow White, deciding which she'd share with Dorothy first. Without meaning to, her thoughts drifted to their final ride. Her eyebrows crinkled and she quickly shook away the memory entirely. She was happy to have reconnected with Dorothy, but it broke her heart to learn that she did sell the farm and lose the horses. Sure, Dorothy was in great spirits, and they talked for hours at a time several days a week, but Hadley still felt like she had let her down.

Avoiding a guilt spiral over Dorothy, Hadley forced herself to head down a different memory lane. The Pink Ladies. It had meant the world to her that they kept showing up after her mom passed away, checking in or dropping off meals. She used to sit in the living room on Friday nights, buzzing in her seat until she heard that familiar knock on the door, knowing it was one of the Ladies with something hot to eat. She could still hear the beat of the music and see the twirling skirts when she closed her eyes. She could still feel the smile break across her face and smell the barbecue chicken and macaroni and cheese they'd bring her to eat.

Hadley knew this care wouldn't last forever but she truly cherished these fleeting escapes from her otherwise isolated life. Sure enough, after several awkward run-ins between the Ladies and her father, one Friday, the knock never came. After hours of waiting, Hadley realized she was on her own and that the Pink Ladies had moved on. The only other time Hadley saw them was when they surprised her a year or so later at her high school graduation. She remembered how fast the tears fell as she ran into their arms. It was only moments before that she had realized her father never bothered to show up, despite her reminders. Even though her summertime graduation was the last time Hadley saw the Ladies, she hoped they remained friends with each other. She liked to imagine them dancing around in living rooms on Fridays with wide mouth martini glasses in hand. Sometimes her imagination added Dorothy in with them, all dancing together. Maybe she'd tell Dorothy more about the Pink Ladies when she called, since she never really shared about them before.

Hadley longed for friends that she could dance with, though after her dad's downward spiral, she'd do it without a martini in hand. She wasn't someone who willingly put herself out there, and Meghan seemed to recognize that but pushed her anyway. When Meghan was first friendly with her at work, she assumed it was just a professional courtesy. Now that they've been bonding over weekly lunches, and Hadley was invited to Amelia's birthday party, she felt hopeful. Maybe this friendship was blossoming into one that would soon resemble that of the Pink Ladies.

Hadley pulled her car into a parking space with a smile on her face. She went to turn her stereo off, shaking her head when she realized it wasn't even on. She grabbed her Walmart shopping bag and purse off the passenger seat, locked her doors, and walked toward the main door, excited to get into her apartment and get the gift out to wrap. She couldn't remember the last time she had a reason to buy someone a gift. She planned to call Dorothy in the morning before the birthday party to tell her about the perfect gift she'd found. She also wanted to share her memories about the Pink Ladies and how she hoped to find a group of her own. She predicted Dorothy would be thrilled for her.

Hadley spent the rest of the evening dancing and singing along to some of her mom's favorite bands while figuring out what to wear to a four-year-old's birthday party. She settled on a simple outfit right as her oven timer went off. I really need to learn how to cook, she thought as she pulled out a bubbling Red Baron sausage pizza from the oven. She set it down on her oven top to let the cheese cool before attempting to slice into it. This would be her third pizza of the week, but she ate whatever was on sale and whatever required very basic oven skills.

She danced to one more song, giving the pizza time, before she turned the music down and cut off two slices. She sat with crossed legs on her living room floor, setting her plate on the coffee table. She didn't have a television for entertainment, but this spot against the wall gave her a beautiful view of the evening stars from the window down the hall. Though rare, she loved nights like these. Nights where it was her and the stars. Nights where she could see the life she was slowly building. The life she could barely even dream up ten years ago from her childhood home.

She smiled knowing there would be no broken plates or angry yelling tonight. Just her and the stars… and a mediocre sausage pizza. Could be worse.