Love is Love (excerpt)

Sonja Blonde

   Rita, the marketing director, was thoughtfully playing with the teabag. She was floating it around in the rounded mug, took it out, then dropped it back. She floated it, then lifted it again, while staring at it with a distant look.
   – What are you thinking so deeply about? – June asked cautiously. – Is something on your mind?
   – On my mind. Yes, I think that’s the right expression …
   – Tell me about it, otherwise I think you want to quit!
   – Are you kidding me? – Rita’s lips curled into a smile. – A workplace like this? – She waved her head towards the car keys on the counter.
   They laughed.
   – It’s okay if you laugh, it can’t be that bad.
   – No, nothing’s wrong. I’ve got a trainee. I’m happy and sad at the same time. She is a talented, smart girl, but now there is nothing to do, the whole department is getting bored. The campaign, which we were working on for months, has been running since last week. A few weeks of idle time are finally coming, and it’s just one thing that I can’t think of anything I can entrust her with, but I don’t even feel like pushing myself. I could probably come up with something, but …
   – I have an idea! – June interrupted her excitedly. – I’ve been planning for a long time to take my colleagues on a team-building trip for a few days. They deserve it, they work hard. If you don’t mind, she could organise it for us.
   Rita raised her eyebrows doubtfully, then shrugged her shoulder.
   – After all…
   – Great, we have agreed! Send her to me and I’ll figure out the location. She won’t have to worry about it. I would be very happy if she could put together a three-day program for us and also organize it. At least she’ll keep herself busy. By the time it’s done, maybe you’ll have something she can help you with.

   June felt a blush flood the back of her neck as she put his name into the search engine again. Unfortunately, she remembered well. Tim Reeds opened a private practice in an industrial town a hundred and thirty miles away. The headquarters of some world brands were located there, and quite a few BSSC (Business Shared Service Centre) office buildings stood in its centre. The town where Tim Reeds, for some strange reason, settled down also had a large pharmaceutical factory and an automotive assembly hall.

   – Are you serious? – Melanie was turning the printed paper in her hand in disbelief.
   – Why wouldn’t I be serious? – June asked back sharply. Even though she knew she was the one who had a skeleton in the cupboard, she did not like to have her instructions questioned.
   – Is the destination an industrial town?
   – What’s wrong with that? As you can see, there are also service centres. We never know when we might want to outsource an activity. Let’s say marketing – said June sharply. – Anyway, I’ve heard you like challenge. And that is a challenge. In a place like this, it’s a real art to organise a super three-day team-building session.
   – That’s true – Melanie nodded with wide eyes and a distant look –, that is very true.

   June cleared her throat as the marketing trainee closed the door behind her. However, the lump in her throat did not want to go down. She drank a glass of water, but that did not help either. Her stomach clenched; her palms began to sweat.
   „I’m crazy… What the hell am I doing? Am I dragging seventeen other people into seeing Tim? And what if I don’t see him? Just because we’ll be in the same town doesn’t mean we’ll run into each other at the corner shop…”

*

   – Has that girl lost her mind? – said Daniel irritably. – To travel so much to spend three days in an industrial town? Why don’t you go to some lakeside or to the mountains? That would make sense, but looking at office buildings and pharmaceutical factories… I guess Rita won’t keep her for long. Although it’d be better if she was sacked before she organises some horrible trip for you…
   – Come on, Daniel, don’t be like that. Maybe she knows something, and that’s why she dares to go for it. Don’t judge until you know all the circumstances – June cleared her throat.
   The lump, which had been slowly absorbed by the evening, now tightened hard in her throat again. Luckily for her, Sam also sat down at the dining table with a mug of cocoa in his hand.
   – Is that all? – his father wondered. When I was your age, I would have eaten a horse for dinner if it had been put in front of me.
   Sam smiled at his father’s joke. He lightly ran a hand through his hair, then raised the mug to his mouth.
   – What a watch! Where did you get such an expensive watch? – Daniel pointed at his son’s wrist.
Sam was embarrassed.
   – Don’t you remember? – June rushed to her son’s aid. – He has always put aside the money he got from your parents. He has been saving up for years.
   Daniel raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.
   – I really can’t remember, but I’m sure my mum and dad are quite generous when it comes to their grandchildren. Use it in good health son, it’s a really nice watch.
   Sam had no idea that his secret was known to his mother. June loved and respected her husband more than to make a fool of him. She also loved the peace that filled their home. They rarely argued and perhaps no loud word had ever left their mouth. Passion was not present in any form in the Hunnings family.

*

   – Do you really need seventeen extras to see Tim? I sincerely hope that you will be brave enough to call him first.
   – Netti! How could I call him? On what grounds?
  – On any – June’s friend started waving her arms in front of her nervously. – Call him and make an appointment!
  – No way! What if he refuses me?
   – Then you can quickly change the destination.
   June put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands.
   – Do you think I’m doing something stupid?
   – Is this a question? Chasing a childhood love?
   – You were in love with him, too – June snapped up.
   – Many years ago. Since then, I’ve got married, had a baby, got divorced, and got together with the man of my life. As far as I know you also got married, and your marriage is working well. What do you want anyway?
   June’s face burned with shame.
   – Seeing him as an adult, once only.
   – And for this reason, you drag a bunch of people on a three-day trip and make a fool out of a trainee? What was her boss’s reaction?
   – I haven’t seen him since then… – June’s voice choked.
   – I think you should drop the Tim thing and go to some nice mountain town instead. Go for a hike, get some fresh air. Anyway, I think he has a family too. He’s a doctor, he’s handsome, I don’t think he is a bachelor.

   June threw herself into work to distract her thoughts. She had three weeks before the team-building session. It might have been enough to change her mind. Luckily for her, no one contacted her that day except her immediate colleagues, to whom she preferred not to reveal the location for the time being. She even gave herself some time to figure out why an industrial town would be the best location for such an event.