Maya sat at her desk, staring out the window at the city. She had only visited Paris a few times in her life, and she had always thought the city to have a subtle, captivating beauty to it.

But since moving to the bustling city it seemed different somehow; almost sinister. It was almost as if the towering buildings and buzzing city life mocked her efforts to make it her home.

Maya’s husband and father of her two beautiful teenage girls had died in a motorbike accident a few months earlier, and after much deliberation, she had decided to pack up the girls and move to the city.

She had stayed with her sister and brother Clark for a few months, landing a job as a debtor’s clerk at one of the local newspapers. After she had saved up a few months she went in search of a small apartment for her and her girls.

It wasn’t at all easy though; rent in Paris was costly, but her job paid well and if she budgeted well enough, she knew they would make it. And so she settled on a little flat with two rooms, close to her work and the girls’ school.

She had always wanted to move to Paris, but her husband had refused. Having been brought up in a small town, Keith had hated city life and though Maya herself came from a small town, she loved the city and it had always been in her heart.

Getting used to city life after living in a small one-horse town was quite a task, but with the help of her sister and brother Clark, she had managed. Though she was used to it now, she still didn’t quite feel at home. The home had always been with Keith, for as long as she could remember.

But now she found herself having to make all the decisions where Keith would have been the one calling the shots. It was daunting, to say the least, but she managed. Maya had enrolled Samantha and Isabella in a good all pre-K girls school that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and they had made friends on their very first day.

They were excelling academically, and had even signed up for a range of extramural activities; Maya was proud of her girls. She knew deep down that they missed their father terribly; he was always the joker – always making everyone laugh. And it had hit them the hardest when they suddenly had to come to terms with his death.

They were strong though – like their father was, and she thanked Lord that they had inherited his strength of character. Maya never saw herself as a strong person, though she knew she could be when she had to be.

Though the one thing Maya could never get used to was being alone. Sure she had the girls, and at times she would let them cuddle up with her at night because she knew if she didn’t she would die of loneliness. And every day, instead of getting better, the loneliness creeping up inside her escalated.

“Earth to Maya,” Dylan announced, plonking himself on her desk and waving a hand in front of her face. “Oh sorry,” she blushed. “I was just…”

“Staring into the abyss?” Dylan offered. Dylan was a reporter for the paper, and though he was quite handsome, they were strictly friends because he was engaged to someone else. “Yeah, I guess you could call it that…” she replied.

“What’s up?” He asked with genuine concern. “Nothing,” she lied, but Dylan arched his eyebrows and bowed his head, and she knew he wasn’t about to drop the subject.

“Okay, okay… I was just thinking about my life to this point and how much everything can change in the blink of an eye.” “You miss your husband don’t you?” “I’m not sure what I feel,” she said honestly. “I miss spending my life with someone and having someone to call on or sleep next to and all the rest of it. But I know he is gone, and it’s silly to hold on to someone that is never coming back.”

“You break my heart lady,” Dylan teased affectionately, gripping his hand to his chest and making Maya laugh out loud. “But in all seriousness, Maya, it’s okay to miss him. It’s natural. You would be a part robot if you didn’t.”

“Yeah I guess,” she replied thoughtfully. “Why don’t you date a few guys, and just have fun for a while?” Dylan suggested coolly.

“Oh I couldn’t do that,” Maya shook her head. “Besides, the girls…” “The girls would understand,” Dylan insisted. “They are very intelligent and besides, I’m sure they want to see their mom happy again.”

“Maybe one day I will,” Maya smiled. “But not just yet. One day when I have something better going for me instead of just being a working-class gal.” “There is no day like today,” Dylan said. “But as you wish.”

“Thanks, Dylan,” Maya replied. “Oh I’m not letting you off that easy,” Dylan smiled mischievously. “You are coming out with me on Friday night. So get your girls to your sister and I’ll pick you up at your place at eight.”

“Dylan, I cant…” “You can, and you will and I am not taking no for an answer.” “But what about Victoria?” “She doesn’t drink,” Dylan laughed. “She is always a designated driver, but she never seems to mind.

She has told me that once we get married that will stop though, so I’m taking full advantage of it.” “Won’t she assume there is something between us?”

“No, because a friend of mine is joining us too. Don’t worry I’m not trying to set you up or anything, I know you aren’t ready. But I figured you could at least meet each other.” Maya narrowed her eyes at him but he pretended to ignore her, and when she finally gave in.

“Fine, I’ll go.” She knew it probably wasn’t a good idea, but Dylan wasn’t going to take no for an answer. What could one night out on the town hurt anyway? Friday had finally come, and she was a ball of nerves by the time she left work.

She hadn’t asked Dylan anything about his mystery friend because she didn’t want to appear interested, but she was. She wanted to know his name, what he did for a living, his age, and everything else there was to know about him.

But the night didn’t go according to plan. She dropped Isabella and Samantha off at Leah home’s for the night, and they seemed to be happy to visit their aunt.

Then Maya went back home and showered; she dressed in white skinny jeans, a wine cotton button Kup blouse and wine peep-toe wedges, and finished the outfit off with a white denim jacket and a beaded necklace. She carefully applied her makeup and flat ironed her already straight hair, making sure her fringe was perfect.

It was eight-fifteen when Dylan called to say that they were waiting downstairs in the lobby, and grabbing her sequin black beaded purse on her way out, made her way down to the car.

When she climbed in the back of the white Volkswagen polo, she noticed that she sat alone. She greeted Dylan and he introduced her to Victoria, who was a pretty, petite browny girl no older than around twenty-five or twenty-six.

She was polite and very pleasant, and Maya’s worries that she might get the idea that she and her husband to be were involved in some way all but disappeared from her mind. “Don’t worry, he is going to meet us at Cats,” Dylan said with a mischievous smile.

“Who?” Maya replied nonchalantly, pretending not to know who he was talking about. “Your blind date,” Dylan said with ecstatic. “Oh Lord, Dylan…” “I know, I know I’m just teasing you.”

“I hope that’s not what you told him,” she said nervously. “Of course not,” he winked, and then Victoria turned into the traffic and they were off.

But about an hour after they arrived at the quaint little lounge-type club called Cats, Dylan told Maya that his friend wouldn’t make it.

He had called and said that he had to work and had specifically instructed that Dylan apologize to Maya for him. Maya was crushed. She hadn’t realized how eager she was to meet the mystery man until he called it off.

She tried to enjoy her night and though there were a few men that tried to chat her up, she was tired and she eventually asked Dylan to take her home. Monday morning brought with it heavy rain, and for the first time since she had started her job at the paper, she was late.

Following an accident, the road to her work had been closed, and traffic had been diverted. Her boss was standing in the doorway talking on his phone when she entered the lobby, and when he saw her he cut the call short. “You’re late,” he commented. “I’m so sorry sir,” she apologized. “There was an accident, and…”

“It’s fine; just don’t make a habit of it. Can you write?” She was taken aback by his sudden change of demeanor and wasn’t quite sure what he was asking. “Yes, I can write…”

“I mean an article,” he interrupted sensing her confusion. “Can you write an article?”

“I guess I could, it just depends on the subject.” “The subject is the recent fuel price hike and how it affects consumers, I need the article by this afternoon on my desk.