Good morning, Jessica.
I’ve wanted to tell you how I feel for a while, but I wasn’t sure how you would react. The fact is, I think I love you. I know it seems cowardly, but I decided to tell you this way: Wait for a text. I’m sending you on a quest to places we’ve laughed, places we’ve shared. I’ll be waiting for you at the end of it, and I hope you’re happy to see me.
P.S. Don’t freak out, and don’t tell anyone. This quest has a happy ending (I hope!)
Jessica Burns sat on the bed in her dorm room and read the note again, wondering if she should be curious, excited, or scared. Was this a joke? She thought about calling her best friend, Cammie, but she was home for the weekend visiting her family. Besides, the note said not to tell anyone.
The quest was set to begin as soon as she received a text with instructions for what to do next. While she waited, she examined the notecard and envelope.
It hadn’t arrived in the mail. It was slipped under the door of her room. That meant whoever had written the note knew where she lived. The thought of an unknown person slipping notes under her door made her feel a little creeped out.
But, the note said they knew each other, and had spent time together. That could be a lie, but it would be hard for a stranger to get through the security of her building, which required a code and a key for entry.
Was it someone in her dorm? Someone who worked on campus? The handwriting on the note looked familiar, but she couldn’t place it, nor could she tell the gender of the person who wrote it. It was very neutral and very neat.
Her mind began to take inventory of the people she’d met since starting the semester. That guy in her chem lab was always sneaking glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. No, it couldn’t be him.
She considered and ruled out several more possibilities when her thoughts were interrupted by a ping from her phone.
Nervously, she looked at the notification. It was from an anonymous sender, a non-responder, which didn’t ease her anxiety at all. However, she was a little relieved when she opened the message:
Task 1: Go to The Java Hut on 18th St. Order a Ristretto Doppio and an almond/cranberry tartlet
The Java Hut was a place she knew well, having worked there with Cammie over the summer. Maybe it was someone she worked with or a customer? At least it was a public place, so that was good.
The order was strange, though. A ristretto was the most pain-in-the-butt coffee drink to make, and it wasn’t very common. They secretly cursed any customer who ordered them.
She quickly showered and dressed, choosing to keep it casual, and left for the first leg of her quest.
Arriving at the friendly, familiar coffee shop that was a gathering place for students, freelancers, and professionals, she chose a single stool near a corner of the shop. She didn’t recognize anyone on the current crew, but there were a few familiar faces among the customers. The place itself brought back memories, most of them good.
Someone named Chris took her order and smirked a little when he heard it. That was sus. He didn’t look familiar, but he seemed to know something. Did he, or was she just being paranoid?
After the extended time it took for the barista to get the elements of the ristretto and doppio just right, Chris returned with her espresso, the pastry, and her bill, which he placed face down on the little table. He hurried off again to another table before she could find out how much he knew about why she was there.
Picking up her cup to take a sip, she flipped the ticket over. Jessica intended to pay as soon as she figured out where she was supposed to go next or what she was meant to do.
She didn’t have to wait long. The bill was already paid, and there was a note at the bottom of the receipt that said
“Did you think I’d make you buy your own coffee? Lol. Look under the tartlet for your next task.”
Torn between wanting to grill the staff over who paid for her coffee and curiosity to find out what happens next, she lifted the pastry to find a little note card under the napkin on the plate. It was just like the one she found under her door that morning.
Task 2: Hope you enjoyed the ristretto. You know as well as anyone what a pain they are to get right. Walk to Parma Square and go to the blue bench near the statue of two swans. Your next destination is on a card taped underneath the bench.
She smiled. Another place she knew well. The park was a regular hangout where she and her friends had spent many sunny weekend afternoons and warm evenings after a night out, discussing the latest movie, play, or band they’d just seen.
Wrapping the tartlet and stashing it in her backpack, she took a last sip of the coffee and left a tip on the table for the waiter. Then she hurried out the door and on to her next destination.
This little quest was getting interesting, and fun!
Entering the park from a side she didn’t usually use, she tried to get her bearings and remember where the swan statue was located. After getting turned around once or twice, she finally spotted it on the other side of the park’s central square and ran toward her destiny.
Her joy was short-lived, however. The blue bench was currently occupied by a young mother and two toddlers. She sat down on the base of the statue, not wanting to look for the note under the bench until she was alone.
It gave her time to think, and she suddenly remembered an incident last summer on this very spot. Cammie was trying to get her on a longboard, something she hadn’t done since middle school. After several failed solo tries, they both got on it and wiped out within 10 feet of the statue.
Unhurt and laughing as they lay in the grass, Jessica had had a sudden and unfamiliar urge to kiss her friend. She hadn’t acted on it, but the impulse was so strong she felt certain that Cammie must have sensed it. This fear was reinforced by the way Cammie suddenly stopped laughing and frowned a little as she got up and held out her hand to help Jessica to her feet.
Had she looked into Cammie’s eyes a little too long? Did her lips purse slightly, as if ready for a kiss? She wasn’t sure what she might have done to give her impulse away, but the laughter went out of the afternoon, and things were awkward between them for a few days after that.
A few weeks later, Cammie started dating Josh, and that seemed to be the end of that, whatever that was. At least their friendship returned to normal, more or less. But, it didn’t stop the dreams she’d begun having almost nightly since that day in the park.
In some of them, she gave into her impulse and they spent the afternoon in the sun, arms entwined around each other and drowning in sweet, wet kisses. Others began and ended in darker places, corners of a club, fingers exploring under tables, or in the back row of seats at the movies, kissing and touching.
She always woke in a sweat, aroused, alone, and longing. But, she kept that to herself and put on a brave face in the light of day. Better to keep her best friend, even if it stung a little than to lose her over a stupid crush.
Finally, the little family moved on and Jessica ran over to the bench, feeling around underneath until she found the card taped to the bottom. She ripped it loose, stood up, and flipped the note over to read her next task.
Task 3: Did you enjoy your walk in the park? Lol Go to Mallory’s on Columbus Street. Tell the girl behind the counter you’re there to pick up an order for J. Bow. Further instructions from there.
“J Bow” was a nickname that very few outside of her family and friend circle knew. The answer to the identity of her secret admirer seemed closer to home, but she was still stumped as she ran over the possibilities in her mind again and again.
Arriving at the shop, she delivered the message to the only person there, who went into the back room and returned with something on a hanger that was covered in plastic. There was a card stapled to the outside of the bag that said:
“Take this to dressing room 3 and try it on.”
She took it to the assigned changing room, closed the door, and hung the garment on the hook attached to the back of the door. Ripping open the plastic, she was amazed to see the little blue sundress she’d admired in the window dozens of times.
“Whoever this is, they really know me well,” she thought.
After slipping the dress over her head, she twirled from side to side in the mirror to admire the fit. It was then that she noticed another card taped to the top of the mirror. This one laid out her next destination:
Task 4: I hope the dress fits. I’m sure it looks as amazing as you. Wear it and go to the Cat’s Eye Creative Gallery on Hudson Avenue. Your quest ends at The Road Less Traveled exhibit. I’ll be waiting.
Fear and excitement fought for control of her mind and body. She put her hands over her belly as she took a few deep, slow breaths before stowing her other clothes in her backpack, exiting the dressing room, and rushing out of the shop.
She wasn’t sure where the gallery was, so she opened Google Maps and typed the name into search. It was only a few blocks away, about 10 minutes of walking according to the directions.
Walking into the gallery, she looked around and spotted a poster promoting the exhibit. It was a collection of artist-made spaces that reflected their individual idea of home. The promo stated that photographic exhibits were in the West Gallery. Larger pieces could be found in the Central Courtyard.
Jessica decided to try the indoor exhibit first, for lack of a better idea. She followed the signs to the West Gallery and looked around the space. There were a dozen or so people milling around or clustered in small groups in front of different images. But, no one looked familiar or seemed to be waiting for someone.
She sighed, slightly disappointed, and turned around to try her luck in the courtyard. That’s when she came face to face with her destiny, and it was a sweet revelation.
Her hands shook as they covered the smile that began to spread across her face, tears leaking from her eyes.
“I thought you were visiting your family this weekend,” she said to her best friend when she could finally speak.
“No,” Cammie replied with a twinkle in her eyes. “Not this weekend.”
“We have other plans,” Cammie said as she stepped forward and put her arms around Jessica’s waist. “And a lot to explore,” she continued as she leaned in and kissed her, deeply, sweetly, and full of promises.
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