Sandra and Jake

Sandra was a thirty-year-old business owner who sold sculpted glass through her online store. She owned a furnace and some tools which enabled her to create glass horses, dishes, and roses. Being an artisan was her dream job and she finally managed to be able to become one. Firing glass was exciting, fun, and interesting to her. She had always found art to be extremely interesting and was happy to be an artist herself. Sandra loved feeling the soft finish of the glass to the warmth she felt when she opened the furnace. She simply loved everything about being a glass maker. It was like being in paradise to her. 

Sandra often made horses, other animals, and shapes using different kinds of glass, and different colors. Sandra earned about thirty-thousand dollars a year so for her it was plenty of income. Sandra loved being able to earn money on her own without a boss telling her what to do. Her glass figurines were coveted by many and sometimes sold for more than one hundred dollars per piece. Sandra was excited to work and sell her figurines. Her job was like that of a scientist, constantly experimenting and being curious. 

As Sandra sold her pieces of art at an art show one day, she saw someone she thought looked striking. He was a white man with blonde hair and was fairly tall. His self-assurance emanated from his presence and gave Sandra a feeling of safety she hadn’t felt in years. Sandra was excited to meet someone for love. She hadn’t experienced it for a long while.

After the art show finished, Sandra decided to go to the man who had coincidentally been standing there at the end, too. Sandra said to the man, “What’s your name? I’m Sandra.” The man looked at Sandra and said, “I’m Jake. Nice to meet you.” Sandra felt warm inside and asked Jake if he could go with her on a date one day. Jake said, “Sure. Next Monday at Melanie’s at five in the evening?” Sandra was shocked for a second and then said, “Sure!” They both left wondering what lay in store for them both.

Sandra left the art exhibit and entered her home and went upstairs to see her glass figurines she kept for herself on her computer desk. One was a purple heart made of amethyst, and another one was a red rectangle made of low-grade ruby. Her collection of stone ornaments were like her friends, always ready to listen to her worries. Her favorite one was a blue sphere made of quartz which she believed gave her good luck. Sandra cherished her glass figurine collection.

Monday came faster than expected and Sandra knew it was time to meet Jake, the man who she met at the art exhibit. Sandra couldn’t contain her energy as she knew she got to talk to Jake again and see who he was like up close. She drove to Melanie’s, a coffee shop and entered. Inside she saw Jake and was excited to see his cheerful, confident, and comforting presence. She sat at his table and said, “How are you?” Jake replied, “Good, thanks, and you?” Sandra simply smiled inside and said “I feel amazing. I hope you find me attractive.” Jake looked at her with focused eyes and said, “I already do. You are very interesting and kind.” Sandra felt happy because of Jake’s compliments and hoped that their relationship, which was just in its beginning, would burgeon to something more substantial. Sandra and Jake continued on talking for a few minutes and then decided it was time to leave. Sandra left feeling so very optimistic about the future of her personal life.

She drove back home feeling better and couldn’t stop recalling Jake and thinking about how mannered he was. Sandra admired manners, and knew that good manners often meant a good heart. She went inside her house and felt so grateful. Never before had she been so close to securing a husband. All the previous men she dated in her life before thought she was weird. Now it was her chance to prove she had a sense of normalcy and could sustain a relationship for a long period of time. Sandra thought her future looked good.