Lily

"I'm telling you, Kelly. This crush has gotten out of hand. I'll tell you that much. He's my boss, though." I smile, "A very good-looking b-"

She holds a handout, "Why are you telling me this?"

Well, I guess that's a good question.

I frown, "I don't quite know."

Most of the time I just spoke, even though I knew no one was listening. It was refreshing in a big way. Kind of like free therapy, you know?

I don't talk much when I'm at home, unless I'm alone or Mama's not mad. That didn't happen a lot since Mama's always mad. When she's mad, I have to walk on my tippy toes most of the time to prevent her from waking or Lord only knows what she'll do if I do wake her. 

I shrug, "I guess I just tell all of my friends my business. Would you like me to stop?"

She shakes her head and picks her coffee up. "Nope. I would rather hear about your crazy life than spend the rest of my lunch break talking to my boring husband on the phone. " She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her coffee. 

"He can't be that boring!" I laugh.

Vivo would just love him!

Vivo wasn't much of the outgoing type like me. That was one of the main reasons we got into arguments. But muffins would always cheer him back up. That's why I wanted Muffin to meet Vivo. But that silly man doesn't like Vivo. Ridiculous!

"When I tell you all that man does is yap, yap, yap, yap." She says, making lips with her hands as if someone is talking. 

I laugh, "That's what my friends say about me!" 

She looks at me with a confused expression, opens her mouth to say something, but closes it and sits back. "What were you saying about this crush again, Lily?"

"Oh yes!" I smile and think of Muffin. He has just entered my mind so suddenly and I don't know how to make him leave. "Muffin is just so nice and k-"

Her mouth goes agape, "Nice?" She shouts.

"Why yes, of course!"

"Are we talking about the same, Mr. Acquire? Theo Acquire? The same cruel asshole that fires someone almost every day? You're kidding!"

I frown, "Muffin is kind in his own way, just as everyone else is, Kelly. For instance, he fixed my car for me." 

I've been happy for two days about that. When I woke up the other day, I tried Betsy as I was able to start her! The gas was full, everything was fixed just like how Diddy did it and my rugs were even clean! I cried in joy and hugged Betsy for about ten minutes. 

She rolls her eyes again, "How romantic."

"And he bought me Chinese food for lunch everyday. We worked at his house." I reply proudly.

"His office was being remodeled for three days, Lily. Where's the Chinese food now?" 

I shake my head and wipe coffee from the side of her lip. "Oh, don't be like that. Besides, you've got to be positive, sugar! Like granny used to always tell me, 'You're either a positive Paris or a negative New York.' 

She frowns, "I don't get it."

"Well, you'd much rather be in Paris than New York, right?" 

She chuckles and takes another sip of coffee. "You make a good point kid."

I check the clock and see we only have ten minutes left until we have to get back to work. "What's your favorite food?" I ask, leaning forward. 

"Garlic bread, why?"

"Garlica!" I shout, finally coming up with a nickname for her. "I can't call you garlic because that's not very original, so Garlica!"

 Why Lily aren't you just a genius

I smile proudly as she shakes her head. "Hell no. I will not be referred to as Garlica, Li-"

"Hello." A male voice greets and I jump, screeching loudly. 

I hold my heart as I come face to face with the man. Holding my racing heart, I laugh, "You scared the Bee gees outta' me!" 

The red haired man chuckles and holds my hand. "I'm awfully sorry, Lily."

I wave a dismissive hand, trying to remember him. I knew he worked in the building, but I wasn't sure which department. "Oh you're fine, I just get scared easily."

"Now leave you peasant, we were talking." Kelly says and tries to shoo him away. 

I hit her arm lightly, "Oh stop it."

Gary! Right, yes, Gary from floor three. That's who he is. You are on a roll today, Lily!

I turn to him. "How are you doing today, Gary?" 

He smiles, "I actually wanted to ask you something."

I smile back, "Okay!"

He glances at Garlica, "Alone."

She laughs, "If you think I'm getting up from this chair you're out of your mind."

He turns to me, but I shake my head, knowing she wasn't going to budge. He sighs, "Alright, I'll make this short. I would like to ask you on a date." 

I gasp, "Oh my goodness!"

I don't want to make him sad and say no. I think I would just cry like a baby if I saw I made someone sad. 

Garlica shakes her head, "Nope. She's been going on about her crush for this long. I will not have you messing it-" I cover her mouth and smile at Gary. 

"Of course I'll go on a date with you, Gary!"

He smiles back and fist bumps me. "Awesome. I'll meet you at the coffee shop at the same time tomorrow, alright?" 

I nod, "I'll see you then." 

With one last smile, he walks away and I groan, letting my hand fall to the table. Garlica laughs, "You need to learn how to say no, Lily." 

I sit back up. "Now what good would it do to go on and break the man's heart? That would make me feel worse. "

"He doesn't even see like he fully wants to. Grumpy Mr. Acquire is a better fit for you than Gary from the third floor. "

I glance at the clock and notice our lunch break has ended. I stand up and grab my bag. "Well, Muffin hasn't asked me on a date now, has he?" I ask and she stands up with me. 

"Yeah, but I don't still don't like him. He just radiates bad intentions, Lily."

"Oh don't you worry bout' lil ole me. Muffin taught me how to defend myself anyway. If anything happens, I've got a nice new swing-bat combo." I kiss her check and jog away, my sandals hitting the floor loudly, "Have a good day, Garlica!" 

I rush to Muffin's office and open the door. I smile, walking inside and seeing him sitting at his desk. He looks up, "Do you have those documents I need, Lily?" He asks and begins walking towards me. 

I set my bag on my desk, "Yup!" I reply and take the papers out. I hand them to him and he pauses for a moment. He sniffs the air for a second before facing me again.

"New perfume?" 

I smile, "Mm-hmm, Cherry Blossom. They were buy-one-get-one free at the dollar store and well, you know, I just couldn't miss out on that."

He nods, accepts the papers and walks back to his desk. I sit down and get comfortable. "Oh boy, do I have so much to tell you, Muffin."

He frowns, "If it's about you and Vivo having an argument again, Lily, I swear I am going to beat my head against this desk." 

He's starting to listen to me more and more!

"Not this time, sugar." 

I tell Muffin all about my lunch break, as I always do. Starting off with the amazing tuna sandwich I ate. Then, Garlica's husband and Fiona being crowned homecoming queen. When I finish telling him about me and Gary's date tomorrow, his head lifts up quickly. 

"What?" He asks

"I know, right!" 

"You're going on a fucking date with Gary? Gary from the third floor? He's a loser." 

"No he's not." 

"Come on, Lily, his name is Gary for fuck's sake."

"That's mean." 

He scoffs, "Unbelievable." He mumbles and directs his attention back to his desk. Taking his journal out of his drawer, he begins writing with a glare on his face.

"Are you mad, Muffin?" He doesn't reply and I sigh. 

We're back to this now. You were doing so good, Lily.