Ready to Roll

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I was staring at my boobs in the mirror when the phone rang. It was Mia, who I hadn’t heard from in over a decade, and her timing was perfect. Mia and I grew up together. We lived on the same street, in a shady part of town (and I don’t mean from trees), and the two of us were inseparable. When we were young, we clung together for protection. As we got older, we held each other together through the difficult times – puberty, adolescence, and that dark and gloomy teenage angst. 

Her family moved to Oregon toward the end of our senior year, but Mia and I spent almost every night on the phone, talking about love, romance, heartaches… and sex. We were both searching for our soulmates and dreaming of fairytale weddings, but neither one of us had any success with dating. We kept at it though, for several years, and then – out of nowhere – Mia called to tell me she’d eloped. She married some guy named Ken, some man I had never even heard of, and – on top of that – he was loaded. Like a millionaire! Maybe even a billionaire. 

I was mad that she hadn’t told me about him (or even mentioned his name!) and I was suspicious of the whole thing. She certainly hadn’t known him well enough – or long enough – to run off and get married, and it hurt to think that she had abandoned our friendship for money. She never said it, but I knew Mia. She hated the ghetto street we grew up on, she cried about having to wear hand-me-downs, and Mia had no desire to work. Ever. She was a gold digger through and through. I swore that I’d never speak to her after that.

My silent treatment didn’t last long. Mia begged me to help her with her reception and I agreed in a heartbeat. She made me feel needed, and I needed that. Ken paid for my flight and I spent three weeks with the new couple, in their mansion in Happy Valley, and we threw the most expensive party I’d ever been to. Then I flew home… to my cheap, sad, one bedroom apartment in Riverside… and I cried.

That was nearly twenty years ago. We stayed in touch for several years, but I started a new job that I loved (which also kept me busy), and Mia’s affluent lifestyle took her places that I couldn’t even afford to dream of. We were no longer peas in a pod. 

I was surprised to hear Mia’s voice that day, and her proposition came at a time when I could not say no. I was tired. Layoffs were starting at the office, and those of us who had been there the longest, who made the most money, were the ones who would be cut. The frown lines on my face made me look permanently pissed off, and – as I had noticed in the mirror just moments before Mia called – my boobs no longer stood at attention. Sadly, I was also still single.

Mia went on and on for what felt like forever, and then she went silent, waiting for my response.

“YES!” I shouted.

And that was that. I hung up, pulled out my suitcases, and thought about what to pack. I didn’t have a big wardrobe, but that didn’t really matter. In a few months we’d be soaking in the legendary “Fountain of Youth.” Who needs clothes for that?!

READ ON

A Note from Me: Hope you’re enjoying the story so far and that you’re looking forward to more! This is going to be a fun and crazy trip…

I wanted to add a note about the image. I wasn’t going to use images at all, for the sake of time and dedication to the story, but I just couldn’t resist.

I’m keeping it simple. The woman (Carmen) is a character I had illustrated before, and all it took was to remove the details and turn her into a silhouette. The entire colorful background scene (car and all) was created with the AI generator in Illustrator, so it is not my own blood, sweat and tears – it is that of a machine!

Although I did sweat a little because my PC got overloaded in the process and Adobe crashed on me. Thankfully it recovered the file! Anyway… I love it and will proceed this way throughout the novelette.

That’s about all for now. Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.