Thank Goodness It’s Friday

Finally, Friday came. Everyone had been excited about this night out. They were always talking about it — what they will wear, what they will do, how late they will go home, and many other things. Mandy had also been looking forward to this. Not only will this be a chance to bond with her co-workers, this will also be a chance to have some time with Josh, though they won't be really alone. She had planned on hanging out with him for most of the night.

After work, everyone changed to their party clothes. The girls retouched their makeup in the restroom, except for Rae. She said she doesn't wear makeup and she didn't bring a change of clothes either.

They left their office at around 8 in the evening. It was still quite early but they wanted to start their night so that they will have plenty of time to party. Jane drove her car, with Carla riding with her. Mandy had thought Josh will be riding with her but he was nowhere to be found by the time they left. Rae rode with her.

"I thought Josh would be joining us? After all, he started this night out thing, right?" Mandy asked Rae who was sitting silently on the passenger seat.

"Yeah, he'll be joining us."

"I hope he does since this was his idea in the first place."

"He told me he will meet us at the club."

"Oh, really? He told you?" Mandy felt a little jealous that Josh told Rae, not her. And she thought they were starting to grow closer.

"I see Jane," Rae said.

Mandy saw her, too. She was waving at them. She pointed at an empty parking slot beside hers. Mandy parked there.

"So," Mandy said when she and Rae were out of the car, "do we wait for Josh before we go in or what?"

"Nah. I think we should just go inside and wait for him there. He said he has something to do first before he joins us here. Waiting for him here, outside, might be a waste of time. Let's go in there and start partying!" Jane danced a little to an imaginary music.

"I agree," Carla said. "We could also get a better chance at finding a table if we go in now. This place will be packed in a couple of minutes."

Rae didn't say a word.

"Okay, then," Mandy forced a smile. She had hoped that they would agree to wait for Josh.

"All right! Let's enjoy our few moments of an all-girls night out!" Jane and Carla proceeded to the entrance. Mandy and Rae followed them.

. . .

The music was so loud inside the club that Mandy could barely hear herself talk. They were basically shouting at each other.

Carla and Jane were right. It was a good thing they entered the club early. They were able to sit on a couch — and they had the couch all for themselves.

She had never been to this club before. Usually, the clubs she frequented were high-end, like the ones where only the privileged individuals are given access to. The club she was in now is very different.

She kept looking around, hoping that Josh would get there soon.

The four girls had already gotten their drinks, though no one was dancing yet.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Jane asked Rae who was slumped on her seat.

"It's okay. The music's too loud, though." Rae cupped her hand as she talked, hoping Jane would hear her.

Jane and Carla laughed. Mandy thought it embarrassed Rae.

"Is this your first time to go to a club?" Mandy asked Rae.

Rae nodded.

"That explains it. Don't worry, I also think the music is too loud." Mandy winked at Rae. Rae smiled back.

"All right, enough chit-chat! Let's dance!" Jane and Carla stood up. "Come on!"

"Maybe later," Rae said.

"I'll keep her company," Mandy told Jane and Carla.

"Okay, suit yourselves. But remember, this is a club. People are supposed to dance! Don't sit there all evening." The two girls went to the dance floor, leaving Mandy and Rae.

The two girls sat quietly for sometime until Mandy decided to break the silence with small talk.

"So, do you have brothers or sisters?" Mandy asked but she immediately regretted asking it. It sounded so lame.

"Uhm, yeah." Rae clearly did not want to elaborate.

"I see. And do you live together or do you have your own place?"

"I live alone. But I visit my family every year, during holidays."

Mandy felt accomplished. She had finally made Rae say more than one sentence.

"That must be tough. I also live alone but my dad lives relatively near," Mandy said, just to let the conversation going.

"Really? What does your dad do?" Asked Rae after she took a sip of her drink.

"He's…" Mandy thought for a moment. She has to be careful of what information she discloses. "He's a business man."

"Oh really? Then why didn't you work for him? Why work for another company? Wouldn't it be better if you had worked for him and help him out?"

"Yeah, and that's exactly what I'm doing," Mandy thought.

"Uhm, well, I think it would be better if I work here first before I help him with the business. I think it would be best to acquire experience first," Mandy said as she mixed her drink, to avoid Rae's eyes.

"That makes sense. How about your mom?" Rae continued to interrogate Mandy.

"My mom passed away a few years ago. It's just me and my dad now," Mandy said sadly. She had never been comfortable talking about her mom.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You must really miss her."

"I do. I mean, we do — my dad and I. We really miss her. It's been tough, especially for my dad. But we have to accept what happened and just move on."

Mandy felt a tear welling on her eyes. This was the first time she had actually talked to someone about her mom after she passed away. She had kept all her feelings bottled up inside her and basically shut out every memory that she knew would trigger the emptiness she had felt when her mom was gone.

They were quiet for some time, sipping their drinks and looking around.

"I wonder where Jane and Carla had gone." Rae finally said.

"You wanna go look for them?"

"Sure. I'm tired of sitting, anyway."

The two ladies stood up and made their way to the dance floor. They found Jane and Carla dancing together so they came up to them.

"So you two finally decided to have some fun!" Jane shouted through the blaring music.

"Yeah, we got tired sitting," Rae answered.

The four of them danced for a couple of minutes to some music that Mandy had never heard of. She was having so much fun that in that moment, she forgot all about Josh.

"I need a drink!" Carla said. "I'm going back to the couch."

"I'm going with you," Mandy said.

"Why don't we all go back?" Rae said.

So all of them made their way back to their place in the club. As they were walking, somebody tapped Mandy's shoulder. Mandy turned around to see who it was. Because the light of the club was shifting, it took a couple of seconds for Mandy to recognize Josh. The other girls didn't notice that she had stopped so they continued walking to their couch.

"Josh!" Mandy exclaimed. She hoped Josh didn't notice how excited she was to see him.

"You made it! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you." Mandy said. She was out of breath but she doesn't know if it was from dancing or from seeing Josh.

"I went to get someone," Josh said.

"Someone? Who?" Mandy asked, bewildered.

Just then, a beautiful lady came from behind Josh.

"HI, there!" The lady said.

"HI," Mandy replied. She looked at Josh, whose eyes were fixed on Mandy, not even looking at the lady beside her.

"I'm Alynna."

Mandy was confused. She looked at Josh again, waiting for him to say something. But he remained silent.

"I'm Amanda. I'm Josh's co-worker. It's very nice to meet you." Mandy smiled. "Uhm, our table's over there. Come follow me."

Mandy's mind raced. She had so many questions in her mind.

Who could this woman be? Is she Josh's girlfriend? Is she his wife? How long have they been together? Why didn't Josh talk about her? In fact, why didn't Josh mention her at all?

When they neared the table, Mandy tried to act as naturally as possible.

"Guess whom I found!" And then she stepped aside to show Josh and Alynna.

"ALYNNA!" Jane and Carla screamed at the same time. Mandy was so surprised. She didn't expect that they knew this woman Josh was with.

"I can't believe you're here!" Jane said as she stood up and gave Alynna a tight hug.

"How are you?" Carla also gave Alynna a hug.

"I'm okay. I missed you guys!"

"Hi, Alynna," Rae said and waved at Alynna.

"Hi, Rae," Alynna went to Rae and hugged her.

"Everyone knows her," Mandy said to herself. She was now standing beside Josh but he was looking on the floor, like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You didn't say you were bringing Alynna here!" Jane said to Josh.

"She wanted to surprise you all," Josh answered.

"How's Stella?" Jane asked Stella. "Who's babysitting her if you guys are here?"

"Babysit?" Mandy thought. "Whose Stella?" Mandy's questions just kept piling up.

The four ladies sat down and continued talking. Josh sat beside Alynna, which made Mandy jealous. Mandy ended up sitting beside Rae. She could hardly hear the conversations because of the loud music. The ladies were all excitedly talking about things that Mandy knew nothing about. She started feeling out of place. And she thought tonight she gets to spend extra time with Josh. It's clear that she was wrong.