Love Is So Sweet

Lisa saw someone unexpected when she got to the cafeteria of the hospital. The lady wearing a business suit, who had a pretty face that made her look younger than she is, sitting at one of the tables was none other than her friend and editor Karla. Though she looks to be the same age as Lisa, in truth she was a few years older than her and has two children that were already in pre-school and grade school. Lisa stood there in a daze completely shocked to see Karla at the exact same moment she wanted to evade her.

Lisa was about to leave, but unfortunately for her, Karla noticed her.

"Lisa, hey Lisa! Over here," Karla waved at Lisa stopping her from leaving. Lisa who was spotted had no choice now but to approach Karla. Since if she leaves without even greeting her, the consequences were too big to bear.

"What are you doing here Karla?" Lisa tried to ask as calmly as she could. Karla who knew Lisa for quite some time now wasn't really bothered by how fidgety Lisa was being since that was normal for her.

"I'm here to meet a colleague. Why are you here? Haven't you done your weekly check-up already? Is there something wrong?" Karla sounded worried as she said this.

"..." Lisa couldn't answer as she was a bit scared of Karla's reaction if she told her the truth. Karla was able to notice Lisa's hesitation, which made Karla look even more worried.

"Lisa I'm not sure what kind of problem you're having, but you and I, we're friends, right? We've known each other for a few years now. I was hoping at this point you could trust me enough to tell me what kind of problems you're having."

Lisa felt something weird when Karla said this. She couldn't fully understand what the feeling was but it was something warm and fuzzy, similar to what she felt when she was with her grandparents. She felt a sense of security from Karla. So, in the end, she decided to tell Karla the truth of what happened to her notebook and the story she was supposed to submit.

"So you're telling me that all the hard work that you gave in writing that manuscript is all gone..." Karla sighed as she looked at her friend who looked really depressed and anxious. "This is why I keep on telling you, to use your laptop when you're writing."

"I can't feel the flow if I don't write it by hand." Lisa tried to reason out, as she hung her head. Seeing her like this made Karla sigh harder.

"Fine, it's alright, I'll do something about it. I'll talk with the editor in chief about the delays. Just try writing what you remember and we'll see where we can go from there." Karla smiled gently at Lisa, who was now looking at her friend surprised. Usually, when this happens this friend of hers would get a bit more mad, but this reaction was weird.

"Actually Lisa, I have some bad news as well." Lisa who felt a bit better was again feeling anxious as she heard the words bad news.

"I'm being replaced... I was assigned to a different writer. I'm actually here today to meet my replacement, your new editor." When Lisa heard what Karla said, she couldn't comprehend what was said for a moment. After a minute of silence, the news finally sunk in, which made Lisa panic.

"Why?! I'm sure they know of my paranoia, and how I am with new people!" Lisa started to scream which attracted the attention of others. Karla stood up and started patting Lisa's back while apologizing to the people around them.

"I know it sounds scary right now, but it's going to be alright."

"How is it going to be alright!" Lisa said sounding a bit distressed.

"Okay first off, how about we calm down before we continue talking."

"Why are you being replaced?" Seeing the confusion and a bit of fear in Lisa's eyes made Karla sigh. She really didn't know what to do with this friend of hers. She has known Lisa for a few years now, and she was Lisa's only friend. Yet she still knows almost nothing about Lisa's past. All she knew was that Lisa's parents were gone, and she was raised by her grandparents. Karla was sure that there must be something more to what happened in the past that made her this way. Karla was rather curious about Lisa's situation but didn't have the heart to ask. She wanted to wait until Lisa herself wanted to tell her. Still, knowing this friend of hers, it was very likely that day might never come.

"Actually, the editor in chief thinks that it's better if I handle a more veteran writer, and wants to pair you up with a good newcomer. There's no need to worry about the newbie, I haven't met him yet, but those who have work with him say that he's quite a nice guy, and is really good at his job."

"Wait he's a he?! It's bad enough that they're replacing you, but they want me to work with a man as my editor! Karla, I'm not sure I can do this." Lisa looked at Karla with a look of pure desperation.

"I'm really sorry Lisa... I can try asking the editor in chief to at least assign a woman as your Editor, but... I don't think he'll listen. I'm so sorry Lisa... Still, I don't think the guy is a bad guy. Also, I think this is a chance for you to face your fears and improve. It might seem okay now since you're still pretty young, but if you grow older and still retain this level of paranoia and anxiety, it's going to be hard on you. So I really hope you give this a shot."

Lisa turned silent and started to quietly think about it. She was about to say something, but someone spoke from behind her.

"Mrs. Gonzales is that you?"

"Oh, speak of the devil, that's him Lisa, your new editor." Lisa turned her head around to look at the new guy and was surprised to see someone she knew.