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Without Simone, Jerrod felt alone.
His least favorite part about attending these parties was mingling without her. Ever since the 9th grade, she’s been one to understand and be there when it counts. Of course, he could survive without her, but he would also appreciate it if Simone’s mother would stop having such inconveniently timed meltdowns.
Jerrod swished the cup of eggnog and listened to the ice cubes clink in the glass. He looked up and observed the other corporate Christmas party attendees mingling, networking, and planning affairs on the side of their main relationships.
These were the types of fake personalities that Jerrod couldn’t stand and the kind of people that made him socially averse. He looked down at his glass again and listened to the ice clink.
“I love that sound for some reason.”
Jerrod looked up to see a fascinating woman in a green dress swirling her own glass of eggnog.
“My name’s Alicia.” She said as she offered her hand.
Jerrod shook her hand and introduced himself.
“I work on the IT side. How about you?” he asked.
It turned out that Alicia was a 3rd party salesperson brought on to help close a big deal for the company. She was originally from Dallas but moved all over the U.S. after dropping out of college. Her favorite movie was My Neighbor Totoro, and she loved to sign up for karaoke even though she wasn’t the best singer. She believed that birthdays are pointless if they are the only days we appreciate being alive. She was also married, which was a relief to Jerrod, even though he forgot to mention his marriage at first.
Jerrod found himself captivated, then confused. He could never envision himself cheating or leaving Simone, but he also couldn’t deny this instant connection with Alicia. Something he’d never felt before. And there was something about Jerrod that Alicia found captivating as well.
As the night came to an end, Jerrod and Alicia realized how happy they were in their respective marriages. They had each found people that honestly treated them well, and they’d be fools to throw that away.
“I mean, who’s to say we aren’t soulmates? Maybe we just aren’t meant to be together in this life, but maybe the next one.” Alicia said with an assuring shrug.
And, somehow, Jerrod felt at ease.