31 Blame it on the Alcohol

“So…he broke up with you just like that?!” Lillian exclaimed loudly, clearly, she was shocked and forgot all about keeping her voice down.

A few other guests around us stared at our table but I guess I didn’t really mind their judging eyes.

“Yeah…I still can’t wrap my mind around it. I mean, I totally didn’t see it coming…like…at all,” I replied before tipping back my shot. I usually hated the taste of alcohol, but right now, I enjoyed how it burned all the way down. I waved my hand gesturing to the overly friendly bartender to get me another drink.

“Maybe you should slow down on the drinking…” Jennifer warned with a look of concern.

“I’m ok…” I brushed off her concern as I eyed my new shot glass.

“What are you going to do now? Why don’t you try to make up with him?” Lillian questioned. She had always been a big fan of Kyle, but then again, who wasn’t a big fan of Kyle?

“I honestly don’t know…the way he said it, it just felt like he didn’t care about me anymore,” I said sadly as I recalled Kyle’s face and his tone of voice. It gave me the chills.

“Well, it certainly isn’t the end of the world. There are plenty of fishes in the sea. Cheers!” Jennifer jumped in as she tried to cheer me up.

I knew that it wasn’t the end of everything, and she was right. Although, after ending my two-year relationship with Kyle, I was ready to take a break from relationships for a while. Being single was actually something that I missed. Spending time to focus on myself and my career might be a good thing.

…..

“I guess being single right now isn’t bad. I can focus more on my career. I’m progressing well in my job and as you know this job is my dream job so…” I said as I smiled back at my friends.

Clinking our glasses together we drowned our drinks for the countless time that night.

“Enough about my shitty life. When is the big day, Jen?” I asked Jennifer.

I decided not to tell my friends about my weird encounter with the big boss earlier today. That would bring too much drama into this conversation. The drama around my breakup with Kyle was enough to entertain my girls for weeks to come.

Unlike my currently non-existent love life, Jennifer had been proposed to only two weeks back. Her fiancé, Will, proposed romantically while there were on vacation on a tropical island. I wasn’t there to witness the real deal, but the photos were amazing. The sunset and the rich blue ocean backdrop made the proposal picture-perfect. Will and Jennifer had been together since our university days so it came as no surprise that they would be getting married, finally.

“We’re thinking in around two months’ time. It’s a rush to prepare everything but I don’t want to wait any longer. I’ll invite you girls to help me pick out my wedding dress! Of course, you two will be my bridesmaid!” Jennifer announced excitedly as she beamed a huge smile at us.

“Wow! Congratulations. Show me your ring again!” I cried out excitedly.

Jennifer held up her hand and wriggled her finger to show off her solitaire diamond engagement ring. The rock sparkled in the light beautifully. I felt so proud of Jennifer and so happy for her.

“Knowing you, your wedding is going to be perfect! Have you decided between indoors or outdoors?” Lillian asked.

“Good question,” I added as we both looked at Jennifer.

“I haven’t really decided but I have to decide soon. I’ll keep you girls posted,” Jennifer replied as she clapped her hands together.

“Another cheers for Jennifer and her engagement to Will!” I cheered as I held up my shot glass.

After many rounds of drinks, I guess I was feeling a little tipsy.

**ring ring ring**

“Oh…that’s mine. Sorry, I have to get this…” Lillian said as she stared at her phone screen.

“Ok…” I replied lazily as I ordered another drink. This time a stronger one.

…

I didn’t remember much after that. The next thing I knew, I woke up alone in a luxurious hotel room after what seemed to be a wild and very sexual night with a stranger. My temple throbbed from my hangover, and I knew that I had to drink loads of water to get it out of my system.

At least today was starting off with a good start. I was not late to work. Now I just need to focus on getting my work done perfectly and my life will somehow return to normal. I tried to be as optimistic as possible while pushing away my thoughts of Kyle. I haven’t heard from him or seen him since he broke up with me. Well, that was to be expected.

I was partially happy that we haven’t moved in with each other yet, although we did discuss it. If we did, breaking up and moving out would have been very complicated for both of us. I greeted a colleague as I entered the elevator on my way up to my floor. This was a good distraction to keep my thoughts from wandering off to Kyle. I prayed silently that I wouldn’t run into him at the office. Pretty please.

“Karina, the department head wants to have a word with you. He dropped by your workstation earlier, but you were in the toilet,” Dan informed me as he gestured towards my supervisor’s room.

“I see. Thank you for letting me know, Dan,” I replied before offering him a polite smile. Since showing me the ropes on my first day, we had remained close.

I wonder what the boss wants so early in the day. Hopefully I didn’t make any mistake in the proposal that I had handed in. That would be a full-blown disaster. .

“Hi Lauren, it’s me,” I called out softly after knocking on the door to her office. My supervisor, Lauren, is a middle-aged woman who was well respected in this company for her many achievements and long tenure with this company.

–To be continued…