Moving on?

I left the cafe with Chris. It had become colder than before and I could feel the chills slightly getting me. All I wanted to do was reach home as fast as I could and have a cup of hot coffee and see what Mocha was doing. Both me and Chris were silent for the first few minutes. Chris broke the silence by asking “ Ashten and you seem close…” I looked at him and said, “ No, we're just coworkers. By the way, how does Ashten know about the club?” “I was wondering why you didn’t ask that. Ashten is a person who likes finding the so-called hidden gems in his spare time. One day he came to enjoy the cafe and the library of course. While we were having a good chat I found that he lives in the city and he isn’t much of a reader but wanted to get into it. I suggested he join the club and he agreed. He’s been coming ever since.” Chris replied.

Now I know why Ashten never comes to round 2 of the company dinners. My former company’s department had company dinners every Friday to improve the relationship between peers in the department. Sometimes we have dinners with other departments that we are collaborating with at that time in a project. I always hated them. I try to stay in a corner only drinking a glass of beer that I poured in at the start of the dinner. Some literally chugged nine to ten glasses. Some of the female employees would be talking about gossip and rumours which I always listened to, usually to kill time. Dinners with two or three departments are the best for that or need the dinner receptionist. She usually doesn't attend them as she says she would rather spend her Friday night going out with friends than us. But when she has no plans prepared she joins us.

“You seem deep in thoughts…” My thoughts were broken when Chris talked again. I shook my head a little bit as if I got back to reality. “ I saw that you were flustered when people in the club said that you and Irene were similar. Do you have someone like Daniel?” My eyes widened when he asked that. I couldn’t answer as I was still processing the answer I was supposed to reply to. Chris gave out an embarrassed chuckle while rubbing the back of his head. “What do you think? Do I seem like Irene to you?” A confident question came out as a result of a random and rare wave of courage that hit me. Chris looked at me and said “Honestly I don't know... I can see Irene being you but at the same time, I don't want to. That's such a big competition for me. I might as well give up than even try if my competition is someone like Daniel.” He needn’t say more. I understood what he meant by that. Am I supposed to be happy? Am I supposed to be content that he has an interest in me and I can take the next step to move on? I was confused.

“You don't have to think too much about it. I still haven't made any moves yet. But I'd love it if you don't reject me now itself. Let me try” I smiled at him as he ended saying it. He smiled back as we reached my house understanding that my smile was a yes. “Good night Chris,” I said as I opened the door and waited for him to leave. “Drink something warm before sleeping and goodnight.” He said that and slowly left.

I turned around and looked for Mocha. He was enjoying his time in Dreamland. I didn’t want to wake him up. I closed the door and went to the kitchen and made myself a hot cup of hot cocoa. “No coffee today. We need to sleep.” I said to myself. I kept my cocoa on the kitchen counter after a sip and went upstairs. I changed into my favourite pair of fluffy PJs and came back down with my laptop in my hand. I took the cocoa on the counter and headed to the living room. I snuggled myself in one of the chairs next to the couch where Mocha was sleeping. I kept my cocoa on the side table after a few more sips and opened my laptop to write.

“Dear Readers of my blog,

How are you all doing? I hope you all had your dinner. I have been wanting to try new things these days. It’s been a long time since I have read a book. I am planning to make a trip back to the city to get a few books for me to read. Do you guys have any suggestions for me? I would love to try different genres. Should I go visit places as I am going to the city? This is quite embarrassing to say, but I never went to explore the place all those years I stayed in the city. These days I have been having more energy than usual and I think the only time I actually think about Daniel is when I open my laptop to write here. What do you guys think? Should I write more about him or should I write about my life currently? I will be waiting for your reply. Good night guys! “

I closed my laptop smiling internally. My eyes were both drowsy and happy at the same time. I remembered what Chris told me on our way back and also about the club today. I slowly snuggled into the blanket I had kept on the side and slept on the couch. As my eyes were moving to dreamland I could see a glimpse of Mocha coming to sleep next to me…