Inside, the store is as quiet as the empty parking lot. There’s someone working at the customer service desk and I can faintly hear a machine, possibly cleaning the floors. I keep my head down as I walk the aisles, looking for the beer section. When I finally happen upon it, I’m lost. When did so many beers become available?
“I really need to get out more. Be more human,” I mutter to myself.
I stop in front of the IPA’s and look over each brand and each flavor. Every few bottles, I pick one up and read the label, checking for the alcohol content. The last thing I want to do is get blitzed out of my mind and have to stagger home.
The machine I heard earlier comes down the aisle I’m standing in. It is, in fact, cleaning the floors. I keep myself inside the open door and continue to look at the beers. Each time I think I found one I’ll like, I spot another one, and another one.
“So many choices.”
Is this a sign I should drink more? Or should I go with the old standby of some domestic brand. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, but tonight, I want to branch out. I think I have it narrowed down to three beers. I hold the three bottles awkwardly in my hands, while my knee keeps the cooler door ajar. I play Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe in my head while trying to decide which one is going out with me. It shouldn’t be a hard decision, but apparently it is.
2
Natalie
Of all the times for a massive snowstorm to hit Boston, it had to be on my only day off. Not to mention it’s New Year’s Eve. I blow out a breath and watch the steam billow from my lips. Tightening up my heavy winter coat, I start walking down the street.
I’ve trudged countless miles in the snow, but nothing as crazy as tonight. It’s deep already and it’s still coming down. I have to admit though, it looks like a winter wonderland. Usually, I’d drive to Emerson’s apartment from mine, but there is no way I can get my little Honda out of the parking garage with all this snow. Luckily, Emerson and her husband live only five blocks away, so it isn’t a long haul.
We were supposed to go bar hopping to bring in the New Year, but with the crazy winter weather, Emerson and Callum decided to have some friends over, which is fine with me. Emerson and I met in nursing school and we’ve been best friends ever since. I was her maid of honor when she married Callum a couple of years ago and now that I’m divorced, he has been trying to set me up constantly. I’m curious to see who he’s lined up for me to meet tonight. So far, none of his previous set-ups have worked out. It’s probably for the best anyway. To be honest, I’m not ready to date again. Learning to trust someone is exhausting.
The wind whips all around me and I suck in a breath. The air is so cold against my face. I’m glad I didn’t have to dress up and wear my heels, which is why I settled on wearing the pair of skinny jeans with a black sweater I bought myself for Christmas along with a new pair of snow boots. Trying to hike through snow in heels would probably have landed me in the hospital.
That’s the last place I want to be since it’s where I work. Being an ER nurse is an adventure and I love it, but I’m glad to get away for a night. After my divorce, I took on extra shifts to keep me busy. I can only blame myself for not having a social life. I can stop the extra shifts any time I want to, but I’ve gotten so used to working them. Since Alec was the one who stepped out on me, I was granted half of everything, but I settled for our penthouse instead. I didn’t want anything of his, but our home was right by the hospital. I’m able to walk to work every day, which I love being able to do.
Unfortunately, I’m a twenty-eight-year-old divorcee and I have to live with that title. I’m embarrassed to admit it when my patients ask if I’m married. I feel stupid every single time. I met Alec when I first started working at the hospital and he was just out of medical school. The man was smart and funny which is what attracted me to him, but sadly, he wasn’t smart enough to keep his dick in his pants. I caught him and another nurse playing doctor in one of the empty patient rooms. After that, Alec had the sense to transfer to a different hospital. There is no way I could work near him after what he did.