Little Lola

Little Lola

Letter from the Author

Other Books by Ellen Dominick

Copyright

“Why don’t you try this, sweetie?”

Lola’s mother placed a ripped-out flyer on top of her job listings stack. The monitor bathed Lola’s face in colorful light as she rapidly clicked in the tabs and windows open on her desktop. Nearly every pixel was crammed full of rainbow colored, candy-based games. Without even taking her eyes off her precious cookies, candies, and unicorns, she spoke.

“What?”

“I just thought, maybe you could find a nice boy. You know, to take care of you. I know it’s been hard for you finding a job...”

“No thanks. I’m kind of busy.”

When her mom left the room, Lola sighed and closed her colorful windows. Instead she opened up white, black, and blue windows full of job boards. She slowly clicked around, looking at one listing for only a few moment before moving to the next. Fast food? Gross. Secretary? Boring. Elementary school teacher? Lola smiled as she thought about reading children’s books and singing nursery rhymes all day. But when the job requirements listed a degree in children’s education, Lola closed that window too.

After a while, Lola was tired. She looked longingly at the bookmarks for her games. There were just too many boring jobs out there.

Her gaze fell to the speed date flyer. Lola picked it up. It started in just an hour, and there would be snacks. Already, she was salivating. Why not? Maybe she might meet someone. Maybe she’ll get some yummy candy. But at least it would be less boring than looking for a job the rest of the night.

Lola jumped up from her computer desk and made her way to the closet. She stripped off the teddy bear printed pajamas she had been wearing all day and shrugged on one of her mother’s hand-me-down clothes. Her rough fingernails snagged the fabric, making little loops of thread appear on the dress. It was faded, saggy, and made her look like a middle-aged housewife from the 80’s, but Lola didn’t care that much.

She grabbed an oversized leather bag, stuffed her cell phone into it, and headed to the bathroom. Lola splashed her face with water, barely looking in the mirror. Then she called her mom.

“Mom! I decided to go to the speed date!” she said. “Can you brush my hair?”

Her mom rushed over. She scrapped the brush through Lola’s long blonde hair, smiling the entire time. Lola winced with each stroke, and when her mom was done, her hair seemed slightly less frizzled than before. She pulled it into two pigtails, tied off with shiny plastic baubles, and hopped into her mom’s car.

When they arrived at the building, Lola’s stomach started to tie itself in knots. It looked like exactly the kind of place she never fit in. The women had impossibly smooth hair and walked with ease in high heels as tall as stilts. The men had slick backed hair and stubbly beards. Lola was just about to tell her mom she wanted to go home when she pushed her out of the car.

The door slammed behind her, and her mother waved.

“Have a great time, sweetie! I’ll be back to pick you up,” she said. Then she drove out of the parking lot. Lola stood there, fighting the tears welling in her eyes, before she decided to go inside. What other choice did she have?

The room was packed with people. Men and women stood on opposite sides of the large hall, and in the middle, an old lady was yelling at a microphone.

“All right! Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” she said. “Ladies, take a seat at one of these tables. In a few moments we will start the speed dating. A man will come to your table, and you will have just two minutes to fall in love.”

Lola rolled her eyes. She walked over to a table and found just what she’d been looking for. In the middle of the table was a bowl full of candies. She wasted no time unwrapping one and letting it’s sweetness dissolve in her mouth.

When all the women were seated, the old lady spoke again.

“All right. Ready, set? Date!”

A loud bell rang, and the men ran to the women’s tables’. A man with styled blonde hair sat down across from Lola. He draped his arm over the back of the chair.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m Jake.”

“Uh, hi Jake...”

“You know, I’m not normally the type of guy to speed date...”
 

Almost immediately, Lola’s eyes glazed over. Jake’s voice continued to echo in her mind, but she just couldn’t force herself to pay attention to what he was saying. She was looking at the candy bowl, trying to make her next choice, when he interrupted with a question.

“You know what I mean?”

Lola looked at him and panicked. She hadn’t heard a single word he said.

“Uh, yeah...”

As soon as she finished speaking, a loud bell rang. The old woman’s voice blared from the crackling speakers.

“Time to move on!”

Jake left without even saying goodbye and another man approached Lola’s table. He had glasses as thick as coke bottles and almost fell into the seat in front of her with a thud.

“I’m Richard,” he said. “You probably don’t know, but I’m kind of a big deal on the Internet.”

Lola looked at him as he cracked a smile.

“I know girls don’t know anything about computers, but on Reddit there was this flamewar...”

Again, Lola’s eyes glazed over. Richard’s voice simply droned in her ears, and she couldn’t even distract herself with candy. His smell had taken away her appetite.

Lola’s gaze swept the room. Nearly everyone looked the same. She knew maybe some of the guys would be attractive by most standards, but she just wasn’t interested. But then she saw him.

The girl at the table was blushing so fiercely that her face was bright red. She leaned in towards him, flashing an almost impossibly wide smile and chattering away. Lola could see why. He wasn’t dressed extravagantly. His dark jeans and pressed white shirt didn’t have flashy designer names. His full brown hair wasn’t painstakingly coiffed, but just brushed cleanly away from his face. Still, there was something about how he held his body. Something about the quiet confidence and the muscles peeking out from under his collar.

“Hello!” Richard yelled. He waved his hand in front of Lola’s face. “Anybody home?”

Lola snapped back into reality.

“Oh, uh, sorry...”

The bell clanged again before Richard could even say anything. He jumped out of his seat and practically threw the seat under the table.

Lola looked down, fiddling with her fingers. If only she could get someone like that guy. He wouldn’t be like these other jerks. Lola’s heart ached a little, remembering how they didn’t even ask her name.

Finally, she took a deep breath and looked up. The guy she had spotted was walking in Lola’s direction. She wondered who he was going to sit with. Probably someone luckier than her. Then their eye’s met.

Lola couldn’t breathe. He was looking at her! His dark eyes were trained on her’s and he was coming right in her direction. Lola almost didn’t believe it when he pulled out the chair and sat in front of her.

“Hello,” he said.

He waited for Lola to reply, but she was having a hard time even thinking.

“My name is Tobias White. What’s your name?”

“Lola Smith,” she blurted out.

“Lola.” Tobias said her name slowly, drawing out each letter carefully as if he were examining it.

“What a beautiful name. And what brings you here?”

Lola hesitated. What was she supposed to say? That she’s unemployed, lives with her mom, and came just to get some candy? She played with the frayed ends of her hair, looking down so she didn’t have to meet Tobias' gaze. Then she brought her nails to her mouth, but Tobias spoke before she managed to nibble on them.

“Lola, put your hands down,” he said. His voice was deeper and firmer than before. Lola slammed her hands into her lap, her heart thumping. She looked up and saw he had a stern but kind expression on his face.

“Lola, I think we should see each other again,” Tobias said. “Outside of this place.”

She couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“May I have your phone number?”

Lola rifled through her purse and pockets, pulling out candy wrappers and lint while searching for a piece of paper. When she finally found a receipt, she realized she had nothing to write with.

“Um, can I have a pen?”

Just then, the bell rang. Tears welled up in Lola's eyes. She blew it.
 

“Here,” Tobias said. His voice wasn’t annoyed, just calm. He slid a thick white business card towards her. His name and number were embossed in gold. As Lola reached for the card, her fingers brushed over Tobias’. She felt the warmth of his skin just for one moment, and then pulled her hand away.

“Call me,” Tobias’ said.
 

Lola nodded her head, wagging her pigtails.

The rest of the speed dating went by in a blur. By the time Lola walked out of the building, her mother was already waiting in her beat-up car.

“How did it go, sweetie?”

“It went okay, I guess.”

“Don’t worry,” her mother said. She petted Lola with one hand as she drove. “Someone will see how special you are one day.”

Lola didn’t answer. Instead she looked out the window, thinking about Tobias. Why was he interested in Lola? Why was he even at that stupid speed date event?

When she got back to her room, Lola pulled Tobias card out of her bag. It had already been stained by all the junk in there, but it was mostly in good condition. She looked at the card closely, turning it over with her fingertips.

Should she call? Lola brought the card to her nose. She could smell the faint odor of his cologne. No way.

Lola shoved the card in a drawer and threw herself on her bed. He was probably joking. What would he see in her anyway? It was better just to forget about it.

And she did. A week passed and Lola’s days remained the same. Her mother quietly pushed open her door.

“That speed dating event is happening again tonight,” she said. “Why don’t you try it again? You might be luckier this time.”

“No, I think I’m done with speed dating.”

When her mom left the room, Lola thought about the night she met Tobias. It was probably a joke, but so what? All she had done since then was browse tumblr and eat pizza. She still had no job. What did she have to lose?

Lola rummaged through her drawers until she found the card again. It was a little worse for the wear, but she could still read the numbers. She picked up the phone and dialed, her hands shaking the whole time.

“Hello, Tobias? You probably don’t remember me, but I’m Lola Smith.”

“How could I forget you? I’ve been waiting for your call.”

Lola blushed, hearing his words.

“That night, you said you wanted to meet?”

“Yes, let’s meet at Bonne Chance cafe tonight. Can you make it in the next hour?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Great, I’ll see you soon Lola.”

Lola could barely remember getting dressed. Her heart was beating so fast that it was difficult for her to concentrate. In the car with her mother, she tried to calm herself down.

“Why are you going to the cafe? I thought you were staying in tonight,” her mom said.

“I had other plans tonight.”

Lola’s mother looked at her with her eyes wide, but didn’t say anything.

At the cafe, Lola looked around. It didn’t take her long to find Tobias in the crowd. She sat down across from him, and was surprised to see him smiling at her.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t stand me up,” he said and laughed a little.

Her, stand him up? Was he crazy?

Tobias got up to offer Lola a seat, and slid her smoothly until she was sitting right next to him. He sat down beside her, close enough that she couldn’t avoid those big dark eyes.

“I thought we should get to know each other a little better. Away from the loud speakers and two minute restrictions,” he said. “So please, tell me a little about yourself.”

Lola felt her chest tighten, what was there to say?

“Well, I live with my mom right now, so I’m looking for a job. It hasn’t been going very well,” she said. “I don't normally go to speed dating. I don’t think the guys there were the kind of guys I’m looking for.”

Tobias leaned in, raising an eyebrow.

“No? What kind of men are you looking for, Lola?”

“Ah, well…” Lola stammered and looked down at her lap.

“Would you like me to tell you a little about myself?” Tobias asked.

“Yes, please.”

“I’m an architect. I design buildings, mostly smaller commercial ones like this. I’m really interested in fancy skyscrapers,” he said. “Have to travel a lot for my work. It’s difficult, but I have been able to meet a lot of interesting people along the way.”

Lola was impressed. So he was a big fancy architect. What was he doing talking to her? She brought her fingers to her lips without even thinking.

“Lola.”

Before he could even say anything else, she hid her hands under her dress.

“I’m sorry. It’s a habit, I...”

“Lola....” Tobias looked at her. He rested his elbows on the table, and came close to Lola.

“Are things going well for you?”