Fleeting Impressions | J.M.

5: jim the boyfriend

"Hey Emma," I sigh while walking into work the next morning.

Emma has always been somewhat of a friend to me when I moved here and got the job. Well, maybe not a friend, but a work acquaintance. She's always been nice to me at least.

I don't do the whole braid-each-others-hair and gossip-and-sip-tea kind of things with people. No one has been at the same intellectual level as me to keep up. Everything normal is boring.

It's not like I don't wish to have friends, everyone longs for companionship, but I easily get bored. The life of normal people is soulless and stale. But I have learned to live it.

Being alone isn't so bad.

"Hello Cordelia, I'm really glad you are here. We just went through rush hour," her short blond hair sways with the way she talks. Fluctuation of her voice goes up and down like she's jumping in excitement. I've always liked that about Emma, the positivity.

"I'm glad my shift starts in the afternoon today," I add my sailors hat on my head to complete the outfit.

Emma doesn't step away from me like she normally does and I raise an eyebrow. "What's up?"

She hesitates. "Um, it's not that big of a deal, but I wanted to let you know that my new boyfriend is going to come over later for a date," her face radiates on the word 'boyfriend' and I cringe. "Just for a bit on my break later on tonight, but I just wanted to let you know because you'll be up here by yourself for thirty minutes while I sit at a table with him."

Emma was considerate like that. She always let me know what was going on and when she was going on her break, even if I knew I could take care of the shop for thirty minutes like I do every time she goes on break.

"Okay. I hope this ones a keeper," I faked the joy in my voice like usual. Emma never knows the difference.

This is her fifth boyfriend that I have heard of since I moved here over a year ago. I'm not sure if it's normal to have so many significant others, but I'm not here to judge. In fact, I've never had a boyfriend so I am the least likely to be versed in this subject. But I'm still always the listening ear for Emma whenever she needs to vent about her latest boy. Whether it be that she gushes about him, or he breaks her heart. I always listen.

We go back to work fairly quickly. Emma scooping ice cream while I take orders and run the till.

This is usually how my day goes. And I like that I have the company to distract my mind from a certain brown eyed man.

Emma's love life is usually pretty wild so I enjoy the stories. I can't wait to see what kind of eye candy she brings in this time.

It's not uncommon for her to bring her boyfriends into work. It's a good first date spot according to her. And, since I'm here, I always keep an eye out for her. Just in case. Staying in public is a good idea before you really know someone. I'm glad even a naive girl like Emma knows to take precautions such as that.

"Do you want to hear a pickup line he told me the other day," Emma ask me when the last costumer leaves for now. It's always slow between lunch and dinner. "Well he sent it to me over text," she pulls out her phone.

"Sure," I shrug. I've always liked a good witty joke. Word plays and puns are something I can enjoy.

"He said 'would you like to compare our treasure? Because my Crown Jewels would look great in your treasure chest.'" Emma laughs out loud at that.

And in any other situation, I would have cracked a smile. But I can't seem to get a nagging feeling out of my head.

Dread hits me when I remember the note with my flowers. He wants to see a crown on my head.

My mood instantly deflates, but I fake a smile so Emma doesn't get suspicious. Even when he is not around, he's already effecting my presence. I have to remind myself that not everything is about him. Though, I'm always reminded of him with everywhere I go.

To take my mind off the hot but dangerous James, I stuff my face with ice cream.

And Emma's break rolls around faster than I would have thought. Another rush came in just after dinner time but now only an elderly couple linger for a minute before even they trickle out the door with the sound of the bell.

Hopefully, whoever Emma's new man is, will take my mind off the Irish man. I need someone to ogle, so hopefully Emma's boy is hot. And hopefully he keeps his hands to himself because I don't feel like assaulting anyone today.

Or maybe that's the perfect thing I need. To let off some steam.

The bell rings again while in in the back cutting some strawberries for topping and that's my cue to watch the front while Emma goes on her little date.

"I grabbed some ice cream for us, can you check us out," my coworker steps into the back room with two cones. One is strawberry, Emma's favorite, and the other is a mint chocolate chip.

I still don't panic. I mean, lots of people like mint chocolate chip.

"Be right out," I say while scrapping the strawberries into our plastic bowl before taking it to the front. My eyes scan the seating area, noting it empty with only a man by the window, and I almost drop the bowl.

In front of me is a familiar heat of dark brown hair, slicked to perfection, and an immaculate Westwood suit. Even facing away from me I know who it is.

Oh why did Emma's mysterious stranger have to be someone that I'm actually familiar with. Someone who will not leave my mind no matter how hard I try to shake him loose.

It also doesn't help that he keeps showing up.

"Delia, this is Jim," Emma states and her 'boyfriend' turns around to face me with a polite smile. If I wouldn't have known better, I would have thought that this was his first time meeting me.

His kind eyes and soft, Friendly expression and his polite "lovely to meet you." Would fool anyone.

Emma walked over to the till and that's when I noticed my hands shaking. I rung her out on autopilot and I can't seem to function right. James or "Jim" right at the front, flirting with my coworker like he didn't just feel me up in his car.

My chest gets tight when they lean in close and smear ice cream on each others noses, laughing like two love birds in a nest. I hold a hand over my sternum and push a little, but the feeling still persists.

What is wrong with me? I was in perfect health this morning, I shouldn't be having a heart attack. I rub a little harder in circles now when I hear his deep voice go soft followed by her giggles.

Am I really having a physical reaction because I'm curious of what they are saying? A twinge beneath my hand is the answer.

I know this is going to be a long half hour, so instead of listening to their declarations of love, I take out my head phones from my pocket, and plug in my smart phone to drown out the accent that flows to me across the room.

Even with the sounds of Chopin and Rossini drifting into my ears, my eyes still shift to the way he licks the cone. But this time, it's not my eyes he's staring into.

My chest never untightens, even as he gets up to leave, because he finally makes eye contact with me.

And then leans over to Emma, and lays the most delicate kiss on her lips. His hand resting softly on her face.

I blink hard and find that moister has welled up in my eyes.

And I finally admit to myself that it was never my chest in pain. It's little something I've never experienced before: heart break.