The next day:
Kenna's POV
Yesterday was a really nice day, but I'm really looking forward to today.
The first half of the day was regular.
Me lazily sprawled on my bed, mom gaping at the television with Danica perched beside her.
Danica was here most of the time, rarely visiting her home since there was no one there.
I've noticed mom for the past week; every time she looked at her cell phone, there'd be a huge grin on her face.
I didn't ask her earlier. Now would be a great time.
"Mom!" I yelled, interrupting her television time.
"What?" she hisses back.
"I've been noticing you for the past week; there's a huge grin on your face every time you look at your cell phone. What's going on?" I added the last bit with a smirk.
Mom's face turns red, and Danica laughs at this.
"Yeah, tell Kenny about him," Danica says in between uncontrollable laughter.
"Him?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Um, I wanted to tell you earlier, Kenny, but I didn't want to rush into anything," she says nervously.
"Yeah, you can tell me now," I reply.
"Well, you do know Ben, right?" mom asks me nervously as Danica watches in amusement.
"Ben, who?" I ask.
"Ben Austin," she says nervously, but I can see the tiny smile behind the nervousness.
"Ben, my coworker?" I ask in horror.
Ben was this guy who worked with me at Starbucks and was just nineteen years old.
He's the only Ben I can think of at the moment!
"Ugh, no Kenny, not the kid," mom says, rolling her eyes.
"What? That old guy at the gas station?" I ask in disbelief, and Danica laughs hysterically.
"Goodness no, not that old creep. Are you even serious?", mom asks seriously and then laughs.
I imagine old Ben, who's in his sixties, and my young mom next to him and laugh.
"Okay, I don't know any other Ben except for these two," I say in an attempt to continue this Ben-conversation.
"Hold it, Kenny; Erin's shy now," Danica adds, and we both laugh at mom's red face.
"Um, he's Ben. Ben Austin," mom says in a sweet voice.
"Yeah, like I know who this Ben Austin is," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Could you guess Kenny?", Danica adds excitedly. "He's someone from this hospital".
"What?", my eyes widen in disbelief.
"Is he a doctor?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Nope," Danica says, popping the p.
I kept guessing, and Danica kept telling me that my guesses were wrong.
Mom just stares at us with a funny expression on her face.
"Okay, my last one, is he the security guard?" I ask.
"Oh no, no." Danica almost rolls her eyes.
Mom facepalms and laughs at this.
"Okay, I quit," I say, raising my hands in surrender.
"Well, he's the nerd receptionist," Danica says, laughing.
Who?
"Oh wait, the sudoku guy?" I suddenly realize this and ask a laughing Danica.
"Yes, that one," Danica says.
"Yes, I think he's been after mom since day one. I'd almost forgotten about him," I say.
"That's absolutely true," Danica says dramatically.
Mom was a blushing mess by now.
I told Danica about the day we met him and how engrossed he was in solving sudoku. And how he abandoned it after looking at mom.
Mom and Danica both laugh at this.
"So, when did you guys start talking?" I ask, now interested.
"Around the same time you and Tyler started talking," mom says, and it was meant to be a retort.
"Uh huh?" I squinted my eyes.
"But seriously, Kenny, remember when Tyler used to spend time with you in the evenings and Dani and I would go out? That's when we met Ben and Jason", mom said seriously.
"Okay, now who's Jason?", I ask, confused. "The only Jason I know is Derulo."
"Jason's a member of the hospital staff. He's a nurse looking after one of the patients on the same floor," Danica says.
"Oh, can I meet this friend of yours?" I ask, and they both nod in agreement.
"Yeah, we'll call him over this evening", mom says, and Danica agrees.
"Um, I won't be free this evening. I'm busy," I say, trying to sound like I have loads to do.
"Busy doing what?" mom asks, raising her eyebrow.
"Um, I have an important meeting with Tyler," I say, trying to sound very professional.
"Tyler who? The only Tyler I know is Tyler Oakley," mom says, and the three of us throw our heads back in laughter.
.
.
.
I didn't meet Tyler for the entire day.
Danica said Tyler would pick me up by five thirty in the evening and meet me then.
Mom and Danica were excited for Tyler and me as we were going outside of this hospital.
I decided to wear my casual clothes as usual, which consisted of a pair of blue ripped jeans and a black hoodie matching my black Doc Martens.
Mom and Danica stared at me in disbelief once I was done.
"Aren't you wearing a dress?", mom asks.
"What? No, of course not. What even makes you think I'll wear that?", I ask, annoyed.
"Well, it's your first date," Danica adds in.
"No, it isn't. We're just hanging out. Plus, my hoodie will help cover my bald head", I say, shrugging my shoulders.
"Okay," mom says, nodding her head.
She was getting used to looking at me like thisâmy bald self.
I almost wanted to comb my hair, but then I realized that I'm bald.
It was about twenty past five, so I decided to look at my cell phone.
There was a text from Tyler.
Tyler: Hey, beautiful, I'll see you at 5:30 p.m. :)
Yes, I know. I mentally replied.
I looked at my camera gallery in the meantime.
My vision was flooded with pictures.
Pictures of my parents and me before they died, of mom and me, of Ally and me, of me at my graduation, and pictures of a few quotes and books that I liked.
My favorite of all was a picture of me and my parents.
The picture was clicked on my third birthday, with me in the center and my parents on either side of me as I cut my Barbie-themed cake. It was my current lock screen saver.
The next favorite was a picture of mom and me at my graduation. Me in my convocation outfit and mom in a lovely printed blue dress. This is my current home screen saver.
I looked at some other pictures that involved a few friends from high school and college.
There were pictures of Ally and me too.
Pictures of us since the day I met her until the day I last saw her.
I decided not to look at any of them right now.
She didn't even care to reply to a single text or call.
We were friends since the second gradeâthe second damn grade. We were friends for almost fifteen years, and she just threw it all away. In an instant.
I exited my camera gallery and locked my cell phone.
I looked up at mom, who was grinning at her own cell phone with Danica peeping into it.
I stood up and decided to look in too, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Bad timing, Tyler.
I make my way towards the door and swing it open to reveal Tyler.
He was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a navy blue T-shirt that was slightly ripped.
Wow. I like the view already.
"Wow, you look gorgeous," he says, flashing his gorgeous smile.
"You too," I say, dazed.
"Hello ladies," Tyler says, smiling at mom and Danica, who were peeping from behind my shoulders.
"Hey there".
"Hello," mom and Danica say at the same time.
Tyler smiles at them and focuses his attention back on me.
"Would you like to go out on a date with me, Kenna?" he asks in his most flirtatious tone.
Oh. My. God.
Could I even refuse?
"Yes, of course," I say, blushing.
Mom and Danica cheer in the background.
Tyler offers me his hand, and I take it as we walk away, hand in hand.