With all her meetings finished and the day over, it was time to go home and spend some quality time with Ripley. First up, a pleasant walk around the complex for her evening potty walk, then a little dinner for both. Once those tasks were done, Maggie decided a long hot bath was called for.
Now that she finally had time to relax from the nonstop day, she realized that her head had been hurting all day long. She had just been so busy that she ignored the pain. The migraine she had woken up with in the middle of the night had never fully gone away.
As the water ran, Maggie set her phone to play some quite instrumental love songs on Pandora, then turned on her flameless candles and turned off the lights. She added some bath oils to the water and eased herself in. Ripley curled up next to the tub on the bathmat to be close to her human.
The heat of the water helped to ease the tension Maggie was feeling in her back and neck, both of which played a part in keeping the migraine pulsing on the right side of her head centered behind her right eye. At times, it felt like a red-hot poker was being shoved into her brain.
Maggie sipped some ice water and enjoyed the bath for as long as the water in the tub stayed hot. She considered letting some of the water out and refilling it when it cooled off, but she opted to get out and put her pajamas on.
Ripley followed her into the bedroom and got up onto the bed to watch her dress for bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and slathered lotion into the skin on her legs and arms before putting on her PJs and crawling into the bed. She had picked a lotion with a calming aroma so as not to overwhelm her senses with a potent fragrance. That would be too much on top of the headache.
Just as she got comfy in bed, her phone pinged. She had a text. Maggie wondered who could be texting her in the evening. She wasn't expecting anything from anyone. She wasn't currently texting with anyone on any dating apps.
She instantly worried that there was an emergency with one of her parents. Were they sick? Had there been an accident? Her heart raced as she grabbed her phone to look at the text.
It was a number she didn't recognize, but then when she read the message, she realized it was from Andy.
"Glad to have reconnected today. Look forward to meeting up soon. Andy."
Maggie's heart rate returned to normal as she saved his number to her contacts on her phone. She took a moment to decide how to reply.
How to read the situation was the question at hand. Was this a time to be flirty? Friendly? Businesslike? Not businesslike. Maybe not flirty yet. She would go with fun and friendly.
"Hey Sparky! Glad to have connected with you too! Someone told Ripley about Max, and she's excited to meet him! Maggie. :-)"
Maggie smiled at her text. It was a good one.
"Max is excited to make a new friend, too. He has been lonely since our neighbor's dog passed away last month. He needs a new buddy. Is Ripley up for the job?" added Andy.
"She is three yrs old and full of energy. She will give Max a run for his money." texted Maggie.
She had to wonder if they were talking about the dogs or themselves?
"He is pretty energetic, too. He is only four years old. They should get along just fine!" he replied.
"How old was he when you got him?" she asked.
"I got him from a breeder when he was three months old. What about you?" he said.
"I got Ripley from a local shelter when she was four months old. Someone had abandoned her, along with her littermates. She was the runt. It was love at first sight." She texted. "She was feisty and funny, my kind of puppy."
"What does she look like?" he asked.
"She is caramel and white." She replied and texted a cute picture of Ripley to let him see what she looked like. "Here is my girl."
"She is cute, and I can tell she is still feisty!" was his reply. "Here is a picture of Max." As he sent a photo of a goofy golden doodle to her.
"What a face! I want to give him lots of scratches behind those ears!" she texted back.
The two texted back and forth for over an hour about the joys of owning a dog. Sharing silly and heartwarming stories of their dogs' journeys from puppy time to adulthood. Ripley had issues with potty training and Max with chewing things he shouldn't. Both loved to run after stuffed toys and neither enjoyed getting their teeth brushed or having a bath.
Talking about your pet was a safe way to connect with someone new or, in this case, reconnect with someone you only sort of knew twenty-plus years ago. It was something they had in common. It was a good place to get to know each other again as adults.
The next thing Maggie knew, her headache was gone, and it was almost 10 pm. She and Andy had been texting for almost three hours. She wasn't really sure what all they had been talking about, but she knew she had enjoyed talking with him.
"This has been fun, but Ripley just told me it's time to get ready for bed. I have another busy day on campus tomorrow." She texted.
"Oh man, sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up so late. Just been enjoying talking to you," Andy replied.
"Same here!" She answered with a smiley face emoji. "Will talk again soon."
"Max wants to know when he can meet Ripley. Is she free this Saturday afternoon? Manson dog park? 1 pm?" He asked.
"Sounds good. Ripley is a yes!" texted Maggie.
"Great. Meet you at the front gate at 1 pm. Andy."
Maggie reached down and gave Ripley some scratches along her back.
"You have a date with a golden doodle on Saturday, little girl. We should give you a bath before then, so you look good. You are a mess." She said to the little dog by her side.
Ripley just ignored the word bath and rolled over to encourage Maggie to scratch her tummy next. She was such an affection hog.
Maggie got up and went to the kitchen with her water bottle. She filled it up and took her medications that helped prevent her migraines from coming so often and from being as intense as they used to be. Walking back to the bedroom, she couldn't help but smile. Reconnecting with Andy was such a pleasant surprise. The career fair had gone well, which had made her workday go well, but reconnecting to someone from her childhood was an all together different level of a good day for her.
As she curled up in bed and set the alarm for the next morning, Maggie said a silent thank you to the universe for such a delightful twist to her day. It had been a long time since she had a friend to chat with in the evening.
For the first time in a long time, Maggie slept through the night. She usually woke up at least once to go to the bathroom on a good night. This was amazing. Her head didn't hurt, she felt rested, and she felt excited to face the day. All that and she hadn't even had any caffeine yet. Now, if she could just figure out what made this happen and replicate it, she would be good to go!
Once her feet hit the floor, Ripley was up and ready for her walk. Every morning, like clockwork, Maggie went to the bathroom, put on her shoes and coat and out they went. Today was only different because Maggie was different. Her mood was better, it was brighter. She felt happy for the first time since David left.
Four years ago, her then live-in boyfriend decided she was too hard to date, and he needed to leave. He needed someone that didn't expect so much from him. Someone that wasn't so demanding. The final straw had been an argument when he had been ten hours late returning from Eastern Washington without taking the time to call to let her know he was okay. All she had asked was that if something like that were to happen again, could he please call? He had his cell phone with him. He could have called or texted her, but he hadn't.
She had spent the day worried sick that he had been in an accident and was injured or, worse, dead on the side of the road somewhere. He had a history of car accidents that made her a little nervous. But no, he had been safe and sound. He had been hanging out with some friends from college watching basketball instead of coming home from his business trip in time to go to a picnic at the home of some friends from his office.
That was Saturday night at 11 pm. He had moved out of their apartment by noon the next day. Her heart had been both broken and relieved at the same time. It wasn't until he was gone that she realized how much stress he had added to her life. Despite that, she missed him. Missed having someone in her life. Missed being in a relationship. If she were being honest with herself, she missed the sex.
It wasn't like she expected anything other than friendship from Andy. They had just met for the first time yesterday after having been pen pals twenty some-odd years ago as children. Well, if something were to develop from it, she wouldn't be opposed, but she wasn't expecting anything at this point. As she got ready for work, she couldn't help but smile. It felt good to feel good.
Work was busy, but good. The emails and phone calls from the day before needed answering, along with all the new ones that came in overnight. A few students had emailed with follow-up questions from the career fair. The three that got the job offers from Andy's firm emailed with the news of their job offers. One employer wanted to come back again and set up a meeting with students in the medical assisting program as they were planning on opening two new clinics and would need several new MAs.
Maggie met with a couple of students that wanted help with writing a thank-you note to send to employers they had mini-interviews with during the career fair. She also followed up with a few faculty members that had offered extra credit to their students if they went to the career fair with their resume and talked with at least two different employers in their field to see how their students did with making first contact.
The career fair was not just a one day and done affair. There was a lot of follow up with the students, employers, and faculty to be done over the next several days. Relationship building was an ongoing business in the Career Services office. It was all about networking between one employer and the next.
Marta prepared a special thank-you note for each of the employers that had attended the fair with specific information in their note that spoke to the jobs they had listed at the fair and how many students they had reported they had talked to. Maggie liked to include the details of their experience, so they knew the college knew who they were. She didn't want them to think they were just a number to her or the office, ever.
Once the thank-you notes were ready, Maggie signed each one so it could go out in the afternoon mail. She wanted to reach out to them with the thank you quickly so they would continue to keep the college and its students in the forefront of their hiring thoughts.
At lunch, Maggie met up with her friend Amelia, who worked in the advising office. She filled her in on Andy and how they had texted for over three hours the night before.
"That sounds promising," said Amelia. "When are you going to see him?"
"Saturday. We are taking our dogs to the Manson dog park," Maggie replied.
"Nice! It's a safe way to get things going. You don't really know each other, so meeting on neutral ground is good. The dogs are something you have in common, so that gives you something to talk about without having to go too deep if you don't want to." Amelia said, assessing the situation.
"I don't know if this is a date date or just a friend thing, so don't get too excited." Maggie said, giving Amelia a stern look.
"It's a start. You are getting yourself back out there for the first time in forever and that matters. Not if it is a date or just friends. You are being social with someone other than me. You are being social with a man!" Amelia pointed out.
"True. I tried some of those dating apps but the men on there were old, icky, or pervs. Or all three!" answered Maggie.
"Hey now, they aren't all bad. I met my husband online, and he isn't old, icky, or a perv." Replied Amelia. "Well, not the bad kind of perv anyway."
Both women started laughing at the comment.
"It's just hard to meet a nice guy online that isn't a weirdo or out to steal your money," Added Maggie. "That's why I've given up on online dating. I would rather be alone for the right reasons than with someone for the wrong reasons."
"Well, that is a good way to look at things. Don't settle! Wait for the real thing with a good man," said Amelia. "Now, a very important question. What are you going to wear on Saturday?"
"I hadn't really thought about it too much yet. Jeans and sweater." answered Maggie with a laugh.
"A sweater? Not cute enough! You need to wear something that is causal but cute and sassy! That blue top with the sweetheart neckline and the red bows on it. That is cute and makes your boobs look good."
"Amelia!"
"Well, it's true! And you want to look good and get his attention, and that shirt will get his attention." replied Amelia.
"What I wear will depend on the weather on Saturday. If it is cold and overcast, I'm wearing a sweater regardless of how it makes my boobs look," said Maggie.
"Okay, then if you wear a sweater, wear the white one with the little pops of color. You look great in that one," Amelia answered. "You'll look good without looking like you tried too hard. Good, but casual."
"I guess that is a good point and I'll keep it in mind," said Maggie as she packed up her lunch things and got ready to head back to her office. It's time for me to go back to the office. I've got a few meetings this afternoon."
"Keep me updated on you and Sparky!" said Amelia as Maggie headed out the door.
Andy sat at his desk and stared at the project he was supposed to be working on. His mind was not on his work. It was on Maggie. She had sprung into his life without warning, and now he couldn't stop thinking about her. Maggie had been so important to him when they were kids. She had been the only one that believed in him when no one in his family did. She encouraged him to keep studying and said that it was okay to be smart.
To meet her in person as an adult was like magic. She was so beautiful. He was also very impressed with her dedication to her students' career progression as they completed their education. And she seemed to be hilarious. When they had texted the previous evening, she was so witty and made him laugh several times with her ability to respond with a quirky answer.
Saturday couldn't get here fast enough. He wanted to see her again! He wanted to get to know her better. Images of something more than friendship played in the background of his mind. For him, there was such a spark the instant they met at the table, then when they realized they had been pen pals, he was a goner for sure.
Andy reminded himself that he had a deadline to meet and tried to refocus on his project. He kept his attention on work for the next two hours and made some good progress and called it a night. Max would be at home waiting for him to come and take him for a walk and give him some dinner. A bit of play time would be needed this evening as well.
Friday would be a long day only because he had few meetings on his calendar. He would spend the day at his desk working on projects and fighting his wondering mind. But then he would be all that much closer to his Saturday puppy play date with Maggie and Ripley. He could make it through the day. He was determined!
After taking Ripley for her evening walk, Maggie stood in her walk-in closet and looked over the sweaters hanging there. Which one should she wear on Saturday? She wanted to look good, but not like she was trying to look good. Casual good, not date good. This wasn't a date, after all. It was a puppy play date. But if she was honest with herself, she wanted to look good. She wanted Andy to think she looked good.
Damn it, if Amelia wasn't right. The white sweater with the colorful spots wasn't the right choice! She was always right about things like that. How she knew Maggie's wardrobe better than Maggie did was mind-boggling. She had a talent for putting just the right outfit together for Maggie when she needed to look good for a special event at work or out in the community.
Once she had decided Amelia's picks for Saturday were the best choices, Maggie took a moment to figure out what she would wear on Friday. The nice thing about Fridays was they got to wear jeans, and she would often wear a college T-shirt or sweatshirt. It made deciding on what to wear so much easier. She took out her favorite sweatshirt and jeans, placing them on the chair in the corner of her room.
With that done, Maggie went into the kitchen and fixed her dinner. Ground turkey tacos and a small salad. Ripley watched from just outside of the kitchen, hoping there might be some small nibble that would get dropped to the floor that she could pounce on and eat up quickly. Maggie took her plate to the small dining room table and enjoyed her meal. Ripley felt disappointed.
Savoring her dinner, Maggie listened to some music and had a small glass of apple juice. When she finished eating, she took her dirty dishes to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher. She packed up her lunch for the next day and put the leftovers in the refrigerator. They should last her for the weekend with no need to do any major cooking.
Dinner was done, the kitchen cleaned, her pj's were on, and her anxiety about Saturday was kicking into high gear. Could it be a date, and not just a puppy play date? What if he didn't like her after spending a little more time with her? What if he did like her? Crap! She was spiraling out of control, and she needed to stop it now!
She could feel the anxiety coursing through every fiber of her being, getting stronger as each moment passed. It was a strange combination of tingling and pain pulsing through her body, making her heart race and her head spin. Regaining a modicum of focus was a priority for Maggie. She needed to stop and take a few deep breaths and then listen to a guided meditation she kept on her phone for times just like this.
The man on the guided meditation had a voice like warm brandy. Or at least what Maggie imagined warm brandy would sound and taste like if she had ever had any. He talked about a rainy night in England where you visit an old curiosity shop and look at all the interesting things in the store. She could see the old grandfather's clock in the corner, the small collection of antique books on a shelf, children's toys from the turn of the century, and an apothecary jar full of knitting needles as if she were right there in the store. The description of each item made them come to life in her mind. The colors and textures were so real in her mind's eye, she felt like she could almost reach out and touch them.
As the meditation was winding down, Maggie realized that her heart rate had returned to normal and the painful tingling that had been sweeping through her body had also gone. She took a few cleansing breaths and opened her eyes. Ripley was sitting next to her on the arm of the oversized chair in the living room. The little dog cocked her head and lifted her paw, reaching out toward Maggie as if to ask for scratches. Maggie obliged and gave the pup some scratches behind her ears before getting up to get a drink of water.
Now that she was feeling better, Maggie took out a small embroidery project she had been working on. It had three small gnomes dressed for Christmas on it. Working with her hands with the TV on in the background was a nice way to relax in the evening. She was a beginner, so the pattern wasn't too complicated, and she could do both the embroidery and watch TV at the same time. She liked the simple act of placing each stitch in just the right place to create the smooth satin stitch.
Maggie spent a quiet evening doing embroidery, watching TV, and purposefully not thinking about Andy and their puppy play date on Saturday. Every time she thought about himshe could feel her anxiety swell and when she focused back on the embroidery, it would go back down. She wanted to stay calm and relaxed this evening. With staying focused, she was able to get two different shades of green finished on her gnomes this evening.
Around 10:00 pm she called it a night and headed for bed. She took Ripley out for a quick late-night potty and then downed her medications before crawling into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep! Her dreams were of colorful threads floating through the air, pulled by a tiny silver needle. The threads danced and twisted into a multitude of shapes and designs, ever changing and multiplying. Blues and greens morphed into reds and yellows, then changed into purples and pinks as they danced in the air all night long.
The alarm when off at 6:00 am and Maggie felt like she had physically danced all night long but also felt well rested. The images of her dreams stuck with her as she jumped into the shower and washed her hair. As she got out of the shower, Ripley was sitting in the bathroom, looking at her with what she could only describe as a scowl. She had forgotten to take her out to go potty before getting into the shower. Now Ripley was going to have to wait a little long. Maggie needed to dry her hair before she could take her out for a walk, as it was far too cold out to go walking this early with wet hair.
She quickly got dressed, dried her hair, and took Ripley out for her walk. The dog version of a scowl had yet to leave her little Chihuahua face, but Ripley did her business quickly and they headed back inside for breakfast. Kibble with a tiny bit of chicken for Ripley and some yogurt and fruit for Maggie.
As she drove to work, Maggie reviewed the day ahead. Nothing much on the calendar. She was going to spend some time with a few students that had been asking for her help with preparing for follow-up interviews from the career fair and a few that were dealing with rejections from the career fair. A successful career fair came with both sides of the job search coin.