Love By Our Side

At noon on Saturday, Delaney's phone buzzed, indicating a text. The sender, Charis, stated that she'd be picking Delaney up by one to go on the hunt for new jobs. She was glad and somewhat motivated to find a job, but all Delaney really wanted to do on her final weekend of freedom was relax. John had planned a date for that night, so she'd be busy doing whatever that would be, and Sunday was traditionally a day of rest, but she was sure someone would call and want to do something. She sighed as she started to mess with her hair, wanting to look somewhat presentable to any future employers. Deciding on putting it into a neat ponytail, she tried to pick out an outfit to wear, something rather difficult for the girl who had a closet that resembled a Forever 21 in a slightly compacted space. Delaney dug out an only slightly wrinkled, light pink blouse, figuring it would be her best bet. She grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and nicer sandals, threw them on, and went downstairs.

“Hey hun, excited to go job searching?” Mrs. Clearly asked, brightly.

“As excited as I can be, I guess,” Delaney answered, rummaging around the pantry for a granola bar.

“If you can wait five minutes I can make you a sandwich or something. I hate when you have to eat junk like that,” Mrs. Cleary, ever the hostess, offered. Delaney nodded, wearing a smile, and wandered to the living room. She turned on the television, settling on MTV until her food was ready. “Here ya go, sweetie.” Mrs. Cleary said while handing her the sandwich.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” she said gratefully, accepting it. She settled back into the couch, eating and waiting for Charis to show up. Her phone rang at a quarter past one, signaling her arrival. Delaney called out to Mrs. Cleary to say the was leaving, walking out the front door.

“”I figured we'd hit the mall first, there are a ton of places we both wanna work there,” Charis started as soon as Delaney sat in the passenger seat.

“Hello to you, too,” Delaney laughed.

“Sorry, I'm just really ready to get this over with. I hate picking up applications, let alone filling them out,” Charis apologized. “Justin is meeting us there, by the way.” Delaney nodded in response. She knew Charis would be up to take a break from job hunting to shop for a bit, but Justin might not be as eager. When the two girls arrived at the mall, Charis directed them towards the food court, where Justin was waiting, undoubtedly eating as well.

“Oh, I thought you guys would be later, I just got McDonald's...” Justin called as he saw them approaching.

“Of course he did,” Charis sighed as Delaney laughed. Charis gave her a knowing look, aware that they had shared the thought. “We're not in a hurry or anything, babe, we're cool as long as you share.”

“Uh...eat these fries if you want,” he said, pointing to the red carton. Charis rolled her eyes before taking a handful.

“I just had lunch, thanks though,” Delaney declined the food. They sat for another ten minutes, the girls planning their “attack” of the stores and restaurants (keeping in mind where the wanted to take a few shopping breaks) while Justin nodded, going along with whatever they said. When he was done eating, they got on with their search and shop plan.

After almost three hours and only half the mall covered, the group called it a day. Delaney walked to the car with three shopping bags and six applications, Charis with only one less bag and many more applications, and Justin with nothing. He claimed that he didn't “fit in” with any of the places they had stopped in, so he'd continue to look on his own time. The girls felt confident that they'd get at least one callback from the stack of papers they had to fill out. Delaney was hoping to work at either Starbucks or Chili's, and her chances of getting a job at either seemed pretty high.

“They want pretty girls, and you fit that criteria pretty well. Plus, you actually know how to work, unlike many other attractive girls your age,” John told her that night. She relayed her day to him over a dinner that he made himself (Kraft Mac 'n Cheese), while he was setting a movie up. “You'll get a job babe, don't worry about it.”

“I'm not worried, I just, don't wanna work somewhere shitty,” Delaney responded.

“Almost all jobs are shitty, that's why you're going to college, to have a not shitty job.”

“Wow, thank you for sharing that wisdom. Not like I knew that already...”

“Anytime.” Delaney rolled her eyes and John settled next to her on the couch, placing a quick peck on her cheek. The pair watched the movie in a comfortable silence, enjoying some of their last moments of freedom until spring break.

“So, is this what you had planned for our “big” date?” Delaney questioned while the credits of the movie rolled on the screen.

“Yeah, pretty much. I'm a simple guy, what can I say?” John shrugged.

“I thought this was perfect,” she smiled. Delaney was learning that everything in life needed to be extravagant, and she was appreciating noncomplicated things like this date more and more, which was a good thing considering her choice of a boyfriend wasn't complicated at all. Other people in Delaney's life were a different story.