Soulmate Dreams

Anita was spacing out while wiping the dishes behind the bar. She had been doing so for a few minutes, leaving Oliver to handle the few customers this late in the afternoon.

Shasta noticed this while organizing the kitchen as Sierra was handling the food behind him.

“Anita?”

Anita jumped before turning to face him.

“Hmm?”

“Everything alright?”

“What? Yes, everything is fine. Why?”

“You seemed to be spacing out.” He paused his work, his focus solely on Anita.

“Only a week until Christmas,” Anita sighed.

Shasta nodded.

“That’s correct.”

“And everyone is so couple-y this season.”

Shasta looked up to see Anita was back to looking out onto the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Linda wanting a date with Cyrus, plus Ramona and Miles spending Christmas morning together.”

“Linda and Cyrus are a complicated thing, and Ramona and Miles aren’t even together.”

“Yet,” commented Sierra. Shasta snapped around to scowl at her intruding on his private conversation. When he turned back around, though, Anita was pouting with pursed lips and puffed-up cheeks.

He shrugged, “So what about it.”

“With all this love in the air, maybe I’ll find my soulmate in time for Christmas.”

Shasta shrugged as he restarted organizing, with a little more force this time.

“What do you mean? Christmas makes any miracle possible.”

“If you believe in that sort of thing.”

“So you don’t believe in Christmas either.”

“Not especially. It brings happiness to people but it isn’t some sort of magical thing we can pin our hopes and dreams on. Hopes and dreams come through hard work, not coincidences.”

“Soulmates are not coincidences. They are planned designs, and finding them is hard work.”

“Hard work for a chance that they even exist. Why not work for an actual relationship with someone who cares rather than wishing for a pipe dream about your perfect match?”

“It’s not a pipe dream. It’s real, and my soulmate is real.”

Anita slammed the plate down on the counter, on the verge of tears.

“Soulmates are real, and mine is out there too.”

Shasta opened and closed his mouth, uncertain of what to say. This wasn’t exactly how he wanted the conversation to go. He didn’t especially like seeing Anita in tears.

“Have you ever considered going out with someone who isn’t your soulmate?”

“Why would I do that?” Anita wiped the threatening tears from the corner of her eyes.

“Well, what if, as you said before, it’s a platonic soulmate. So, dating wouldn’t be such a bad idea while you wait.”

Anita looked appalled by the suggestion. “Are you suggesting I cheat on him?”

“No, I’m saying you wouldn’t want to miss out on dating because you are waiting for someone.”

“I don’t care. I will wait for him forever, and neither you, nor anyone else can change my mind.”

“But what if he’s not waiting for you.”

“He is! Stop trying to ruin my dream of a soulmate because you can’t find yours!”

Shasta felt a piece of him snap. She was right. He was waiting on someone who right now didn’t want him unless he had the same mark as her. Why did he bother waiting?

“Sierra, let’s switch,” he ordered, moving to the back of the kitchen, while Sierra moved to the front. Anita pursed her lips before turning back around to finish wiping the dishes.

Rather than say anything to comfort either of her coworkers, Sierra hummed her song. The melody calmed down the young adults, but not enough to talk to each other.