Vietnamese Beef Pho

Grace rolled over in her bed, untangled herself from her sheets and reached for her phone. Unlocking it, she saw that she had a few new messages in a social app that she was frequently using. This app was aimed at people who were all part of a gaming community and it was Grace's escape from real life. She didn't have a bad life, it was just dull. Every morning she would wake up, get ready, go to work, complete the tasks that had been set for her that day, clock out at 5pm, go home, eat dinner, collapse in front of the TV then go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. She did have hobbies of course, but they'd stopped mentally stimulating her.

Opening the app, Grace saw a barrage of messages from the person she was hoping had messaged her; Kon.

Kon was a man that had exploded into her life, he was so full of energy and talking to him made her incredibly happy. He'd become such a close friend in a short amount of time and every day she was surprised with how much she was willing to share with this man.

Grace was 26, shy in real life and found solace in this app - in this man. A few months before, Grace and her partner split up and she was left living alone in a house that felt crowded when he was living with her. But alone, it felt big and lonely. Her life felt like it had come to a standstill until she became friends with Kon. She had friends in real life, but she didn't get to see them much due to their hectic real lives. One friend was a teacher, and one was a busy extrovert who had a lot of people to see. Sometimes Grace was forgotten about, although she didn't mind that too much because she was an introvert who enjoyed staying in at times, talking to people online who didn't make her feel on edge.

Pushing her long brown hair out of her face, Grace propped herself up on one elbow and read the messages that Kon had sent her. Each night they would send a goodnight message to one another; sometimes short, sometimes long. The long messages were becoming a regular thing. This time it was a long message again. Kon had written her a sweet chorus about how he enjoyed her friendship, how he loved talking to her and how much happier his life was with her in it. He would say those things to her regularly and it always made her smile. Amongst the sweet messages, he'd also sent her a photo of himself, showing off his latest tattoo. He was excited about the tattoo as he'd gotten it that day. Grace really wanted to be awake when he got the tattoo, however, they lived in very different time zones. She lived in England, while he lived in America. There was an 8-hour difference between the two of them and sometimes it was very inconvenient. The tattoo was an example of that inconvenience of time zones.

Looking at the photo, she could see Kon from the hips up. It wasn't the first time he had face revealed for her. Early into their textual friendship, they had given out some minor details about themselves, including first names and age. Kon was 20 years older than Grace, which didn't worry her at all. She had always found herself getting along with older men more than people her own age, so it didn't surprise her that she felt comfortable with him. At the beginning, she was wary about the things she told him, but as time went on, they both shared more and more information. Eventually that included photos.

Kon was a handsome man who looked after himself. He went to the gym a few times a week and Grace couldn't help but notice his big, strong arms. He clearly took pride in his arms as they were often on display in his photos. While she tried to keep her feelings platonic for him, she couldn't help but imagine what his chest and arms looked like outside of a t-shirt. His skin tone was often something she looked at intently. Kon had explained to her a while ago that he was Asian-American which explained his golden skin. Grace was jealous of his skin tone because it gave him the ability to tan. Being a typical Brit, her skin was pale and trying to tan was an impossible task.

The tattoo he had gotten this time was of Batman, her favourite hero. She smiled and wrote out her typical good morning introduction;

Grace: Good morning from England!

She continued the text in her usual manner, excited but reserved.

Finally peeling herself away from her phone, she got up and prepared herself for another day at the office.

Arriving at work, Grace yawned, stretched then plonked herself down on her chair. Waiting for the computer to boot up, she removed her phone from her pocket and checked her favourite app again. Kon wasn't online and that saddened her, even though she knew it was 1am for him and he would still be asleep. The computer decided it wanted to update, so Grace sighed and placed her head in her hands, entering a daydream state.

As was common for her now, Grace found herself thinking about Kon and imagining what it would be like to meet him in real life. They'd talked about meeting up, but he lived a few thousand miles away from her, it just wasn't a realistic conversation. She'd join in with those conversations but deep down, she just didn't believe they'd ever meet.

Kon: Good morning from America!

A message arrived from Kon. Grace quickly typed back a message; You're up early, are you okay?

She waited for the reply.

10 minutes went by.

20 minutes.

Buzz.

Kon: I'm fine, I just got woken up by the dog and had to let her out into the yard. How are you this morning? You're at work, aren't you?

Grace smiled to herself, she wanted to say that she was feeling amazing because she'd gotten an early reply from him, but she didn't say that.

Grace: I'm fine as well, thanks! I am at work, I'm waiting for the computer to update, it's been at it for the past 20 minutes.

He replied immediately.

Kon: That sucks! Hey, I dreamt about you last night. I don't wanna go into details, but it was interesting.

Grace almost choked on her tongue which for some reason she was very aware of. She licked her lips and decided to pick one question to ask, although she had many.

Grace: Why don't you want to go into details?

She stared at her phone, she knew that Kon had a hard time saying no to her, and he would usually cave in and give her what she wanted. She wasn't a spoilt person, she was never demanding or confident in real life, but with Kon, she felt like she could really push things without worrying about consequences. She was curious by nature and with Kon, she could ask the questions that popped into her head and he would answer them.

His reply was slow coming in, but it was worth the wait.

Kon: I dreamt that we had sex.

Grace's jaw dropped. He didn't play any games with her, he told her the truth and that was exciting for her. The answer was what she'd been expecting but seeing the words under his username thrilled her. She stared at the words. It was just a dream, she knew that, but something about it made her hair stand on end and she didn't know why.

Grace: Men have those kinds of dreams all the time!

Her reply was a mix of humour and seriousness. She knew that it didn't mean anything and that it was true to a degree, but she liked giving him a hard time.

His reply was short.

Kon: Ouch.

That was his go-to reply whenever she teased him or gave him a hard time. Grace smiled at the word, it gave her an opening to joke further with him. Her reply was quick and seemed to come naturally to her.

Grace: So, how was I? Did I blow your mind?

There was a delay with his reply again.

Kon: You were amazing!

His replies were fun for Grace and she wanted to push the subject further but another reply of his came in quickly.

Kon: I need a cold shower. I'll be back soon!

Immediately Grace knew why he needed a cold shower and she loved it. Even though her and Kon were just friends, she had eyes in her head, he was a good-looking man. She also had an imagination that liked to run wild. Kon didn't know that she occasionally used his photos as masturbation material. There was something exciting about getting off to a friend who lived so far away, especially since that friend didn't know about it.

The computer finally finished updating and Grace continued typing up a document that needed to be handed in at the end of the day. She'd been working on it over that week. It was Friday and all she could do was think about getting out of the office and finally enjoying the weekend.

Kon sent another message.

She didn't look at her phone.

He sent another message and she decided to look at it quickly. He told her that he was heading off to the gym and he sent a photo of himself in his gym gear. She shook her head, amazed that he could go to the gym so early in the morning. She was not a morning person.

Throughout the day, she and Kon messaged each other. He always helped her days pass quickly just by being there, but also because he was funny, sweet and he was there for her. Whenever she'd had an issue with work, or in life, he offered her support. She was grateful for his friendship.

Leaning back in her chair and sighing happily, Grace finally finished the document she'd been working so hard on. It was 4pm and that gave her plenty of time to get it printed and handed over to her boss. When her work finished printing, she grabbed the pieces of paper, stapled them together and put them in an envelope. Sealing it, she wrote her name, the date and the project header on a plain white sticker and stuck it onto the envelope. Leaving her office, she walked down the corridor, knocked on her boss' door and handed over the envelope.

"Excellent!" Sheila exclaimed. She placed the envelope in a filing cabinet and thanked Grace for getting the work done without any issues. "You may as well head home now, Grace. You've worked hard this week and you deserve the early start to your weekend".

"Thank you!" grinned Grace, "I'll see you Monday, Sheila".

Practically skipping to her office, Grace grabbed her belongings, switched off the computer, lights and printer, locked the door and left the building.

Grace: I got out of work early!

She sent Kon the message quickly with a smile on her face. His reply was slow, but she assumed he was busy.

Kon: I'm glad you got out early! Your weekend can finally begin! Can we voice chat when you get home please?

Grace: Sure, is everything okay?

The pair of them called each other multiple times a day on the app's voice chat option and even though it was such a regular thing, it always made her nervous when he would ask like that.

Kon: Yeah, I just miss your voice. I also have something to tell you, it's good news.

Grace smiled to herself. He frequently told her that he loved her voice and even though she thought he was just saying it to be kind, she couldn't help but smile. The part about the good news especially excited her.

Grace: Okay, I'll be home in about 30 minutes! I wonder what the news is.

30 minutes went by and Grace finally stepped into her house, closed the door behind her and dropped her bag and coat on the floor near the stairs, she was too tired to put them away properly. She'd had a good day, but it felt like it had been a long week.

Grace: I'm home now, give me 5 minutes to get stuff sorted out and I'll be ready for the call.

Kon: Okay, tell me when.

Grace yanked her phone charger out of her bag, walked into the living room, plugged it into the wall socket, connected her phone and dropped onto the sofa. Kicking her shoes off, she leant over and grabbed her headphones. Plugging them into the phone jack, she sent a message to Kon telling him that she was ready to talk.

The phone instantly rang.

"What's uuuuppp!" he exclaimed in excitement as he usually did at the start of a call. Grace laughed and replied with a slightly quieter greeting.

"So, what's this news you have for me then?" she asked without any hesitation.

"Wow, you really don't waste any time, do you?" he chuckled.

She laughed, "You know me!" Grabbing the sofa pillows, she arranged them by the arm rest then lay down. Arms behind her head, legs stretched out, enjoying the relaxed position.

"Well, I've been speaking to my boss about a transfer at work. We send people to different countries all the time, there are different branches all around the world and the offers come up fairly regularly. A job came up in the UK this week and I want to go for it. I wanted to mention it to you first because I want to know what you think about me going over there".

Grace swallowed hard. "You want to come over here?" she asked. Her mind almost melted at the surprise of the news.

"Yes," he stated simply, "We've talked about meeting and this gives us the perfect opportunity. I wouldn't be moving over there; this time would just be a temporary thing but eventually I could make it permanent if it worked out for the company and me".

She could hear his smile. Grace had gotten used to the way he spoke, and she could instantly tell if he was smiling or not. It made her heart pound in her chest, he really was happy about this and who was she to let her fears get in the way of this opportunity?

"I think it's a great idea!" she replied. She was excited but also nervous. Whenever they'd talked about meeting up, she really didn't believe it would ever happen, but there was always that voice in the back of her head that made her wonder what would happen if they did meet up. She was worried about what he thought of her when he saw her in the flesh. Would he still find her interesting? Would she still be able to make him laugh? Would he be as confident as he was on the phone? So many questions bombarded her mind.

"Great! There's a waiting period for this, but I might push for an earlier transfer." Explained Kon. Grace heard a few people in the background and knew that he was at work now.

"When are you going to ask about the earlier transfer?" She asked, playing with the wire of her headphones.

"I can ask today about getting it pushed," he said.

She sat up quickly. "Today?" Grace blurted out.

"I wouldn't be leaving any time soon still, I'll still have to wait but I can ask if they'll bump me up the transfer list if you're okay with that?"

Grace paused. She needed to think about it. What if she lost any courage she had and couldn't meet up with him?

"Are you there?" He asked, uncertain whether she'd hung up as the line suddenly went quiet.

"Sorry, yeah I'm still here. I was just thinking. Sure, go for it! Better late than never, right?" She wasn't entirely sure who her question was aimed at.

"Okay, I'll ask my boss later today. So, how's the start to your weekend going?"

"Not too badly thanks. Someone just dropped some surprising news on me and I'm just thinking about it still." She wanted to be honest with him, she was still thinking about it.

"Are you worried about it?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

Grace realised that she could ruin this opportunity for him if she told him her real worries, so she decided to joke with him, "I'm just worried that when you get over here, you won't be able to handle me!"

Kon laughed, "Come on Grace, you're the one who won't be able to handle me!"

"Okay, you have a point there. I don't know if I could handle the slow walking pace of an old man" she laughed.

"Ouch!" His famous reply. He laughed, "Let's see if you can keep up my pace when I take you shopping!"

Grace sighed loudly, intentionally trying to show exasperation, "I don't want to go shopping though, I hate it!" She really did hate shopping. Grace never understood why people would call it 'retail therapy' when you spend ages on your feet, looking at hundreds of things you don't want, then you must queue to buy something that will most likely turn out be an impulse purchase. If you're lucky, you don't get bumped around by other shoppers who don't see anyone else around them. How is that therapeutic?

Kon laughed again, "That's what you get for calling me old!"

"Fine, I take it back, I'm sorry" Grace apologised.

"Nope, too late," Kon replied, "If you behave, I'll treat you to lunch after."

"I'm always a good girl!" Grace stated confidently.

Another laugh from Kon.

"Sure you are! Anyway, I've got to go now, time to get some work done". And with that, they said their goodbyes.

They both admitted that saying goodbye was hard, talking on the phone was always fun and made them both smile.

Grace continued to relax on the sofa, she removed her headphones and stared at her phone for a few minutes before sending a message to Kon.

Grace: Please let me know what your boss says about you coming over here. I'm super curious what's going to happen with this.

Kon: Will do! I'll speak to her soon and I'll let you know straight after.

Grace thanked him and rolled over onto her side. She turned on the TV and watched reruns of an animated show that she loved. It was an American cartoon and it made her imagine what it was like in America. She'd never been and was curious about the culture. She'd learned a lot about America through Kon and through various shows she'd watched.

Her and Kon messaged continuously through night, they would mostly joke around with each other -- and that's what Grace loved the most, he made her laugh a lot and that was something she needed in her life.

Time passed by quickly, like it did most nights thanks to Kon's company, but that night went especially quickly.

Kon: I've been bumped up the list! My boss said that I will be in the UK within the next 2 months, it was much faster than I expected but I'm excited! What do you think about that?

Grace stared at the message for a few minutes, she was shocked that it would be that quick, butterflies started their frantic dance inside her stomach.

Grace: That really is a lot faster than I was expecting, too! Are you sure you can get everything in sorted in time?

Kon: Of course! I'll make it all work! At this point, I just care about getting there and meeting you for the first time!

Grace couldn't help but smile at her phone, he was always sweet.

They continued to talk late into the night, Grace stayed up late to talk to Kon almost every night, but over the weekend she liked to push it past her usual bedtime. Until eventually her eyes just wouldn't stay open and she'd crawl into bed and wish him a good night.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Grace and Kon continued to talk on a daily basis and would repeatedly talk about his work trip to her country. They were both excited and it showed. They talked about what kinds of things they could do, she talked about the things she could show him in her city and promised to take him to her favourite places. Kon couldn't wait to see where she liked to visit.

Eventually the big day arrived and Kon sent Grace messages keeping her updated with his journey. When he finally boarded the plane, he told her that he could still message her through the app since the company he was flying with offered free wi-fi. Grace was happy that he could still talk to her.

Grace: I bet you're feeling the nerves now!

Kon: Nooo, of course not! Okay, maybe a little bit. I wish you could meet me at the airport!