The Times They Are a-Changin'

"Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't criticize

What you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one

If you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'" The Times They Are a-Changin' by Bob Dylan

I was literally speechless when Amber told me the news. I told her I would call her back and sped home. As soon as I got through the door of my apartment, I called her. I listened as she told me what she knew. She text Serena for pictures of her and Ethan at the wedding. Serena never responded. When she got tired of waiting for a response, she called Ethan. Ethan told her the wedding was delayed for 2 hours, and then eventually it was called off. All Ethan knew was that Forrest was there and Rachel never arrived.

When I got over how weird it was she had Ethan on speed dial now, my heart went out to Forrest. I couldn't even imagine how utterly devastated he must have been; must still be. I couldn't believe Rachel. Why- no, who cares-how the fuck could she do that to him? She always said she couldn't wait for the marriage so they could start their lives together. How could she leave him the day of their wedding?

"Lily? Are you there? Lily!" I heard Amber raised her voice at me.

"Sorry I'm here. I really can't believe it." I said, lying back on my bed.

"I asked if you're going to reach out to Forrest. I know y'all weren't talking..." She trailed off.

Normally, I wouldn't hesitate, but things changed. My mind went back to the last time we spoke. He was trying to help me out with my job. I didn't email him back or let him know the results with my job. I thought I was doing him a favor by cutting contact. I thought we couldn't be friends as long as Rachel was uncomfortable. Did that change now that she left him- At the fucking alter?

"I don't know... I mean, no. Definitely not. He needs his friends and family right now and I'm neither of those. I don't even know what I would say. Just... if you hear anything, keep me posted." I sighed.

"You do the same." Amber said.

After we hung up, I immediately got on Facebook. Rachel unfriended me after the whole Pluckers thing, but I was still friends with Blake, Gabriel, Taylor, Vicki and Serena. I scrolled through each of their walls.

There were posts and pictures of the coed bachelor/bachelorette party the week prior. A lot of comments regarding the upcoming nuptials all the way up until the wedding. Then, nothing from the entire weekend. It was easy to tell something went wrong, if I had been paying attention.

I put my phone away before I did something stupid. I went into my closet to pick out an outfit for my interview. I had an idea of what I wanted to wear: black and white patterned palazzo pants and a cream blazer. I just had to decide on a blouse underneath.

I was debating between a neutral or a pop of color when my phone rang. I rushed over to it to answer it. It was Trevor.

"Miss me already?" I said, with a smile.

"I'm actually feeling kind of cheated over here. I should have got a full day and night."

"By the beginning of next week, you'll have me day and night. Enjoy your freedom: it's your last week of having a bachelor pad."

"I don't want to be free. I'll happily be chained to you."

"Awww, good answer." I grinned. I then killed the mood by telling him what happened with Forrest.

"Really? I can't believe that. They seem solid." Trevor commented.

"I know. It sucks because I can't even reach out to him or tell him how sorry I am because of how things are between us now."

"Maybe you can talk to one of his friends first." Trevor suggested.

I thought about it and nodded. That was a good idea, considering I couldn't just not do something. It just wasn't in my nature. "I think I will. It has been a fucking crazy year so far and it's not even summer."

"It's not summer yet?" He asked.

"Not officially...isn't it on the 20th?"

"Isn't that father's day?"

"No, that's the 21st. Are you going home?" I asked.

He visited his dad's grave with his grandma on his dad's birthday and his mom on Father's day. The anniversary of his dad's death in August was a day spent with his family.

"Not this year. I gotta get you moved in before you change your mind. What are you doing for your dad?" He said, teasing.

"Sending a card with an IOU and an apology for being a failure." I sighed. "I can take care of the move Trevor. You should probably spend some time with your mom." I said, addressing the elephant prancing around our conversation.

He hadn't mentioned her since Mother's Day. I didn't know if it was to spare my feelings but I knew we couldn't just avoid her. That was definitely not going to change her opinion of me. It would make it worse if she thought I was coming between their relationship.

"I always hated going to the cemetery. It's in the country and it's creepy even in the daylight. She knows that. I'll talk to her." He assured me.

"Aren't all cemeteries creepy?" I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, but it's different. All the Tobins are buried there. Something really messed up about knowing where I'm going to be buried. I have a plot and everything."

"Baby, I'm not going to bury you in the ground. You're going out Viking style-ship burial." I joked.

Trevor laughed. "That's actually kinda cool. Do I get the fire arrows too?"

"I'm firing the first one!" I told him.

"If you die first, in taking your body to a taxidermy." He chuckled.

"You're sick!"

We laughed and said goodnight. I sent a text to Blake after I got off the phone, asking how Forrest was doing. While I waited for a reply, I settled on a peach sleeveless blouse for my interview. When I still hadn't got a response, I went downstairs to get in a circuit training workout. I needed to combat all the damage I did over the weekend. Afterwards, I took a shower and got ready for bed.

When I was comfortable in bed, almost sleep, my phone beeped. I grabbed it and saw a text from Blake.

Blake: Pretty good, considering. Determined to get her back. I'll keep you updated.

I was surprised, but gratefully to Blake for that. It told me everything I needed to know: I still needed to stay away if Forrest was trying to win her back.

Me: Thanks Blake. Give Forrest the male equivalent of a hug for me.

Blake: One bro-grab coming up!

Me: That sounds worse than a hug...

Blake: lol

The next morning, I woke up, had a breakfast of champions including eggs, yogurt and granola, and got ready for my interview. It wasn't until 11am and I had no idea who I was meeting with. Adil just told me he would meet me at the receptionist area.

I painted my nails a matching, peach color and put my hair up in a sleek ponytail before getting dressed. I spoke to Trevor and as always, he was supportive and sweet and put me completely at ease. I arrived super early, so I sat in my car, checking my social media accounts until 15 minutes before 11. I had enough time to comment on the pictures and videos Amber posted, see if there were any post regarding the cancelled wedding (none), hide Rocky and Christian from my news feed, and accept Dino as a friend.

I was on my way into the huge sports facility, when my phone rang. I gave silent thanks it went off before the meeting as I put it on silent mode. I answered the phone when I saw it was from the assisted living facility. It was the HR manger, telling me the background was complete and my orientation could begin as early as Thursday.

I thanked him profusely and told him I would see him Thursday. I put my phone away relieved. I passed the drug test! I had a job! More importantly, income! I smiled to myself as I let myself into the complex.  No harm in having another interview, even if I would turn it down. The cool air from the air conditioner hit me as I walked towards the reception area. It felt so good.

"Still 15 minutes early to everything. You haven't changed I see." A deep, familiar voice grabbed my attention. I was focusing on the empty front desk and didn't see Adil approaching me from the side. He looked exactly the same, dark tan skin, dark brown eyes and black hair neatly trimmed. Even his clothes were all black, black slacks, black dress shirt and sports coat. He gave me a warm smile. "Or more like 13 minutes. I was here at exactly 15 minutes."

I smiled back. "I see you're still keeping score. Some things never change." I said, giving him a hug. "Why are you so dressed up? Do you have an interview too?" I asked when I pulled away.

"Something like that. Follow me." He said, and I did as asked. I hurried to keep up with his long strides as I tried to check out the facility. It was huge; it looked like 2 stories from the outside, but Adil informed me there was a underground level with a pool and indoor track. The top level was where the fitness center was and the 2nd level held conferences room, offices, and a cafeteria. Everything was so badass, I was already forgetting I secured a job…

While he took me on a tour, Adil greeted everyone and was greeted back as Dr. Fahri.

"So you make everyone call you doctor?" I smiled at him.

"All the physical therapists are called doctors; it’s how we differentiate from athletic trainers." He explained and I nodded, understandably.

As much as I was enjoying the tour, I didn't want to be late for the interview so I asked Adil who was interviewing me. He then took me back to the 2nd floor and he led me to a small office before offering me one of the seats in front of a desk. I sat down and he sat in the seat beside me.

"When I called, the human resources department said they weren't hiring for a physical therapist." I said.

"We shouldn't be. Normally, what happens is we hire and promote within. The only problem is I worked with our interns before they were licensed. I don't want a couple therapist on my team."

"Your team?" I said, questioningly. He nodded and I put it together. "You're team! You're interviewing me!" I exclaimed.

"Adil Fahri, lead of the physical therapist team." He said, proudly.

"Oh wow. Congratulations. Why didn't you tell me?!?" I asked.

"Would you have applied for the job?"

"Probably, but I would never have called you Adil or hugged you! Go sit on the other side of the desk, Dr. Fahri." I instructed him.

He smiled. "I'm in no position to hire you. My supervisor Dr. Tran is the director of the facility. I recommended you to him when I told him which therapists I wanted gone."

"So you can't hire, but you can fire people?"

"No. They didn't pass their probationary period for me, so Dr. Tran will fire them. He will also interview with you, if you still want the job."

"Yeah, why not?" I said, more confidentially than I felt.

"Good. I'll set up a time. Dr. Tran is always running behind; Being on time is fine."

"Ok." I nodded.

I left, conflicted. One part of me was thrilled for the opportunity. The clinic was amazing. The equipment was state of the art and they were actually busy for Monday afternoon.

The other part of me was weirded out that I would be working under someone I graduated with. He was in a position to supervise me. Urgh, what did say about me and my career? What do I do about the job at the assisted living facility?

I went home, changed into shorts and started to load my car up with my clothes. I filled my passenger seat with shoes, the backseat with my clothes, and the trunk with luggage filled with my dresser items. Trevor didn't have a dresser, so that was definitely coming over. Now I had to figure out what he wanted to do with his bed. It made no sense of bringing the dresser and not the whole bedroom set.

I put everything away in his closet. Now, our closet! I then went to work on his kitchen. I had music blaring as I tried to figure out his system in the kitchen. I quickly realized he had no system and I reorganized everything in a way that made sense to me: Spices over the stove, plates and cups near the dishwasher, silverware close to the plates.

After that was done, I stopped and heated up some Chinese food for lunch. After taking Justine for a walk, I came back and cleaned out his refrigerator and pantry. He had some food like salad dressing with an expiration date in 2014.

The kitchen took longer than the closet and I was exhausted by the time I was done. I went to lie down before Trevor got home. I must have dozed off, because I woke up to the smell of food and sounds in the kitchen.

I walked out to see Trevor pressing down the George Foreman grill.

"That was in the donation pile." I grumbled, pulling him close for a hug and kiss.

"I know. Must have been a horrible mistake." He smiled down at me.

"The horrible mistake is that it survived college." I said, sitting on the counter next to him.

"It's the mean, lean, grilling machine." He said, slathering a bun with Miracle Whip.

"Any calories you might have saved just got added back with that disgusting stuff." I said, making a face at the offensive condiment.

"I think I have regular mayo. Or honey mustard." He said, opening up a drawer close to the stove. He looked confused by the empty drawer.

"I'm saving that drawer for my measuring cups. I threw your little condiment collection away."

Yes, he had a drawer with random sauces from ketchup from McDonald's to mild sauce from taco bell.

"What? Do you know how hard it is to get extra sauce from Chick-Fila?" He asked, constructing sandwiches with the buns, chicken breast, and lettuce.

I giggled. "Good. We don't need them!"

"Did you get that job? Because you will replace my sauces." He teased, pilling up chips on our plates.

"I will not, but about the job-" I told him about Adil being my supervisor if I got the job.

"It will be weird because y'all dated?" He said, as we made our way to the couch with our plates.

"No. We went on one date. I wouldn't classify that as dating!" I said.

I always saw Adil as a study buddy. We had our clinics together and competed with each other. We went back and forth playfully all the time. One day, he asked me out. I didn't take our banter as flirtation. I was so shocked, but I went with it.

The date was awkward as fuck- I didn't know how to transition from playful banter to getting to know you date conversation. Awkward turned into uncomfortable when I tried to tease him after I beat him rock climbing. He really was a sore loser. He didn't ask me out again, and it stayed uncomfortable between us until he beat my score on an exam. Then, we went back to our normal bantering. It was my comfort zone with guys.

"No? You were all upset that he didn't try anything." Trevor reminded me over a mouthful of chips.

I rolled my eyes. "My pride was upset. That's it. The reason it's weird now is that he's doing so much better than me. And the assisted living facility called. I have the job there."

"But you don't want that job."

"But it's a job. The clinic is an interview." I argued before taking a bit of my sandwich.

"Take a job you'll hate or go for the job you want. That's a no brainer." Trevor said.

"You work a job you hate. Why not do something you love? Like freelancing?" I challenged him.

"I don't love freelancing. It's hard work. I would love to have a job were I pick the projects I want, get a steady paycheck and don't have to constantly worry about the next job. Since that job doesn't exist, I settle for the job I have." He said.

I chewed as I thought about it. Before, it would have been a no brainer: Go for the job I already had!- With no probationary period!- Or former peer/bad date! A year ago, I didn't even think about other jobs- I took the first one that was offered to me because it gave me a way to support myself I didn't want to be a burden on Rocky. I knew neither Rocky nor Brandon felt that way, but I did. Now Trevor was basically telling me not to worry about that and focus on what I wanted.

Times definitely changed, but I had to do what was right for me. All I had to do was figure out what that was. Descions, decisions.