Writing Prompt: The dance was scheduled for the third.

And so we come to the end of May. Even though i didn’t get nearly enough done this month and will spend large chunks of June playing catch up, I am glad to see the back of May. But I did enjoy my three day weekend. It was nice, it was quiet and absolutely nothing of note happened. It was glorious. So shall we jump into the morning prompt? Great, let’s get started.

I really enjoyed this one. I know that probably makes me seem like a mean person, but I really think Gwen is going to go places. Not sure where, but I really want to find out. It is a nice way to end a really bad month. I’m going to have to think about Gwen.

Tuesday, May 31st: The dance was scheduled for the third.

The dance was scheduled for the third.  She had her dress all picked out.  She took her time selecting the perfect dress.  The then spent months tracking down the perfect shoes, purse, jewelry and even hairstyle.  It was to be the event of the year and Gwen wanted to look her best. 

Toby she knew would look amazing.  He was built to carry off a tuxedo well.  She just needed to make sure he remembered to pick it up on time instead of waiting for the last second.  She knew the rental place was closing early because of the upcoming holiday.

“When are you picking up your tux?” She asked a week before.  She had her schedule out in front of her.  She and the others were getting their hair done for the event and she had a full slate of beautification efforts that needed to be done in preparation before heading to the salon with the others.

“I picked it up yesterday,” he told her.

She looked up from her papers, surprised.  “You picked it up early?” she asked.  That seemed strange.  Toby never remembered such things and when he did, it was usually a last second flicker of memory and a race to accomplish what should have already been done.  It was an approach he took to every aspect of his life and often caused him more problems than anything else in his world.

“Yeah,” he said. 

There was a tone in his voice she hadn’t heard before. She narrowed her eyes.  All thoughts of the dance forgotten as she studied him.  There were lines of concern on his face and a downward pull to his mouth.

“It’s not your father is it?” she asked.  She knew Toby’s father had been having some health issues as of late.  She thought they were minor but there was always the possibility they turned.

“No he’s fine,” Toby said.  He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back.  “Look you’re going to hear soon anyway so I might as well tell you.  I’ve been seeing Lisa.”

“Seeing Lisa,” Gwen repeated, her thoughts were still half focused on potential medical issues and it took her a second to switch gears.

“Yeah for a while now and I think it is time we end it, between us, I mean,” Toby said.  He sighed.  “I’ll be going to the dance with her instead.”

Gwen blinked as his words settled into her brain. For a second she just stared at him.  The shock of his words left her numb. “Oh,” she said.

Toby relaxed at her response, his concern fading.  “I knew you’d understand,” he said.  “You know we can still be friends, right.”

“Friends, right,” she repeated woodenly.  He smiled and slipped out of the booth.  “Thanks for taking this so well,” he said.  He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder as he turend and walked away.

Gwen stared at the place he had been.  Toby had just broken up with her.  ‘No,’ she thought.  ‘He told me he’d been seeing someone else while dating me and then broke up with me for her.’ She felt the sting of humiliation, but the sting was mixed with anger.  Her cheeks turned red but she wasn’t quite sure which emotion caused the heat to rise to her cheeks.  She felt a strange prickling sensation all over her skin. 

Knowing that she ought to get out of public before her emptions fully rose, Gwen gathered her papers, paid the check, including covering Toby’s cheeseburger, and left the diner.