Chapter Text
Isabella Grace Jones opened her eyes seconds before the soft chime of her alarm clock broke the silence. The phone charging beside it remained untouched. She had learned years ago that trusting a smartphone alarm only meant bargaining with the snooze button until she was late.
The coffee station was her first priority, the machine already refilled the night before only waiting for the press of the 'BREW' button. She dreams of the luxury of a programmable coffee maker, but it is unfortunately not on her priority list. The next ten minutes were all she needed to get ready for the day.
On the door to the bathroom, impossible to miss is a giant calendar filled with notes and deadlines, she sees highlighted "Family Dinner" and her lips twitch upwards. Isa can already hear the chaos that is to come.
Getting ready for the day is a quick affair and soon she is enjoying her coffee and the last of her granola bars. She opens her laptop to planner app and adds the bars to her weekend's grocery list. Her cursor lingered over the folder labeled Novel Draft before a notification pops up. The new email on her inbox brings a smile to her face. Isa's personal investment account just crossed another milestone. Another year or two.
The chime from her phone is her warning to wash her mug and add the rest of the pot to her tumbler. Before heading out the door to face the chaos of the Chicago train commute, she went through the same mental checklist. Laptop. Keys. Wallet. Charger. Power Bank.
Isa hit Enter and watched the newest financial model upload successfully. One task left. Four months ago she'd still been triple-checking every spreadsheet before submitting it. Now the work flowed almost automatically. A daily routine of emails and dashboards in the morning, team meetings and Excel sheets in the afternoon. Her coworker Nova called her 'Obsessive' once, she prefers 'Organized'.
The last reviewed project budget was added to the system when the newest hire asks for help navigating the company system. Isa remembers the stress of weeks of getting used to the new program as her last supervisor did a shoddy job explaining sufficiently. The next 20 minutes is spent on explanations and tips managing the terminal.
"I can also share my Word doc where I annotated all the shortcuts and operations from when I was on your position. I liked to have it as a refence for the day-to-day " says Isa.
"Oh my gosh, I would love that! Thank you so much! Josh just told me I would figure it out"
Nova once asked if the color coding was excessive. Isa had considered it a compliment. Being observant is what made her notice a mistake that saved the company close to three figures and got Isa a quick promotion, so any embarrassment for the overly detailed notes is easily forgotten.
The lunch break is entertaining as she listen to Nova describe how she is sure her boyfriend is going to propose and how she can see sweat form on his forehead every time their beach vacations is mentioned. Nova kept talking about engagement rings while Isa stirred a yogurt she wasn't eating. Blake's name crossed her mind. Her heart hurts for a singular moment, but she pushes it aside.
She distracts herself by checking her phone and notices a missed call from Lucia. The call back is connected before the thought is even fully formed. Her heart is skipping a few beats even if her rational mind reminds her it is probably a routine call to confirm her presence later. An excuse to Nova and Isa is heading to the empty conference room in case she needs more privacy.Before she can spiral Lucia picks up the phone and it is heard saying
"I understand you don't love carrots, but these are not carrots Dany, these are orange potatoes, you love those"
Isa can't help but laugh as the tension disappears.
"Deceiving a two year old, Lu? How could you?!"
"HA HA Isabella, you get back to me when you have spent 20 minutes trying to finish lunch before it is time for dinner!" Both sisters laugh as Dany exclaims he wants more orange potatoes.
"I called to confirm you are coming here straight from work, and if so could you please stop to grab a packet of tomatoes from the market, Tyler bought the wrong one this morning and I will not have time for it" Lucia says.
"That is an easy ask, I'm on it" Isa responds.
"We will see you soon, the kids are excited to see Aunty Lizzy".
"I am happy as well, I miss my little troublemakers" Isabella says.
"You could see them more often if you stop taking so many freelance jobs, you work too much" Lucia teases.
"Someone has to pay for your Christmas presents." she replies before hanging up.
On the way to the market Isa passes by a coffee shop, a woman is sitting there reading a fantasy novel. By the cover she can tell is one from her Wishlist, Isa hesitates for a second imagining introducing herself and asking her thoughts on the series. It is an easily dismissed want, she has tomatoes to buy.
Lucia's home is not grand, but a comfortable three bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood. From the entryway Isa sees the poles from the trampoline she had bought for her niece's last birthday and smiles. Lucia was beside herself as the thing barely fits on their tiny backyard, but Alice's clear joy was worth the lecture.
As soon as she crosses the door she is hit by a hurricane of limbs as Daniel and Alice race to get on her arms sooner.
"Thank God, the tomato is here!" she hears from the direction of their kitchen.
"Nice to see my level importance to this household" she yells back.
Alice talks non-stop about her day at school and what her latest drawing and "I learned a new dance move Aunt Lizzy, I'll have ta' show yah". Dany meanwhile is content to listen to his sister chatter on her lap, the big teddy bear.
"Show me what you've learned Ally".
Time passes quickly and soon the sound of a truck parking in the driveway is enough to scatter the children as they run for the door. Tyler walked in still wearing his work boots and immediately accepted Daniel climbing him like a tree without even putting down his backpack.
"Howdy, fellas" he says to the house. "Let's have a hog-killin' time this evening!"
Lucia is laughing while she accepts a kiss from her husband, pretending she does not see the side eye from her sister.
"Ignore him," She says to Isa "He watched a western movie this past Sunday and it is now his personality for the week"
"Well, he had to get it from somewhere" Isa says while rolling her eyes.
"Glad to see you too, little sister" Tyler says laughing and dodging the slap on his wrist from trying to mess up her hair.
"Yes, yes, good to see you too, now go bother your wife and leave me be" Isa says, a smile on her face even if she finds her brother-in-law an annoying pest.
The food is delicious as always, and Isa can feel her mind settling after enjoying time with family. Her sister was right, she had been working too much since her promotion, not that she would ever admit to Lucia. During a lull in the conversation Tyler asks
"So...when are you finishing your big novel, Isa?"
"Once I know I have enough money to fail" Isabella answers honestly.
"When does that happen?" asks Lucia.
Silence. Because Isabella does not have a specific date to where she will be able to say 'Now is the time', but she feels closer every year.
On the way home, she finds an open seat across the car doors, perfect to keep an eye on her surroundings. A finance podcast plays on a single earbud, the voice serving as background noise as the weight of the day settles into Isa and the longing for a warm shower and a good book is all that occupies her mind.
Two stops before it is her time to head home a couple walks in holding hands and lost in each others world. She can almost see hearts floating around them and creates a backstory for their relationship to amuse herself. The scene began weaving itself into dialogue and plot twists.
By the time the train reached the next station she'd already named the heroine, decided the lovers had been childhood friends, and figured out how the first chapter would end. Her thumb hovered over the Notes app. She lowered the phone again. Chicago trains after dark were no place to disappear into a story.
Minutes later her stop is called and she takes one last glance to the couple now leaning into each other. Quietly she thinks, maybe next year.