The cherry blossom girl does not appear for the next 2 weeks. In the meantime, Wendy continues to perk up whenever any customer enters the store but ends up being disappointed every time. (Accompanied by merciless teasing by Joy whenever it happens and Wendy could only glare at her friend in retaliation) She even resorts to hanging around after her shift in case the girl arrives after she leaves. Wendy was almost sure the girl had found her too weird and had decided not to ever return before one day she arrives at the start of her shift to find a single pink post-it stuck on the counter.

"Let's go grab dinner tonight, 7 pm. My treat! :)

-I. "

The note was also decorated with drawings of cherry blossoms flowers and a cherry blossom tree much like the one outside the store. At the bottom of the note was the address of the new cafe that Wendy had been waiting to try. Although the note was not addressed to anyone, Wendy was sure that it was meant for her and was most definitely left behind by the cherry blossom girl whom she had a hard time pretending not to miss.

The blissfulness does not last long though. Joy sneaks up from behind her and snatches the note out of her hands and held it up, away from Wendy's frantic grabbing. (Damn Joy and her unnecessarily tall height)

"What's this? Aww, did our poor lovesick Wen Wen finally score herself a date? About time."

"Maybe she is just thanking me for my ice cream recommendations? She probably does not even think of this as a date. Why would anyone even want to date me in the first place?"

Joy's expression screams "Are you kidding me?".

"Don't try to get my hopes high, I can't go assuming things and end up embarrassing myself in front of her again!" Wendy retorts, feeling somewhat defensive.

"If I was a regular patron who appreciates your ever-so-wonderful recommendations, I would, like any normal customer, tip you extra. Why would anyone treat you to dinner if they don't want to date you?" Joy replies, almost hysterical. Joy finds it hard to believe how thick-headed and insecure her friend is.

"Look, Wendy, you need to stop belittling yourself. You obviously already fell head over heels for that girl and I can tell that that girl has a thing for you too, I can see you guys making a great couple together. You should have seen the way both of you were basically googly-eyed over each other that day. You have the looks, you manage to deal with me on a regular basis, which says a lot about your patience and personality and you have the amazing ability to brighten up anyone's day. What is there not date-worthy about you?”

Wendy is not used to encouraging-not-annoying Joy but she really appreciates it. She really does. Now that she has finally come down from her initial panic state after Joy’s pep talk, she really does not see the downside to this. If it goes well, Wendy will finally have her first girlfriend like Joy says. If not, Wendy will still enjoy a free dinner. (Then proceed to quit her job and go into hiding for the rest of her life.) Wendy prays with all her heart that the former will come true. 

Wendy spends the remaining of her shift coming up with names that start with the letter "I", trying to decide which suits the pretty pink-haired girl the most. Each second passes painstakingly slow and as the end of her shift at 6 pm approaches, Wendy starts fidgeting with nervous energy.

“Wendy, stop spacing and dropping things, you are scaring the hell out of our customers. Tell you what, how about I take over here and you take some time off to go home to prepare for your date early?”

“But… but what if I leave you here and you can't handle both the scooping and cashier duties. What if…a fire breaks out and I'm not here to help you?” Wendy is just being a nervous wreck at this point.

“Firstly, you know full well that I can handle one hour alone after you pulled that stunt of not turning up for work for a week. Secondly, we work in an ice cream parlour that doesn't use any fire, how likely do you think a fire would actually break out. Stop being such an eyesore here and move along so you can look the best for you cherry blossom girl later.” Joy replies, easily refuting Wendy's excuses. 

Wendy is on the brink of breaking down at this point, shaking in anticipation for her “date” later but also not wanting to abandon her friend. Seeing her friend’s inner conflict, Joy takes it upon herself to drag Wendy into their locker room then sending her out of the store with a “Don't screw up too badly!”

Turns out, Wendy is extremely glad that she “listened” to Joy’s advice to leave work earlier. Wendy simply could not decide what to wear. Dressing too casual would probably make her seem like she's not interested but dressing too formal would probably make her look out of place. She never thought that her wardrobe had any problems up till this point but she HAS NOTHING TO WEAR! Time is ticking, each passing second seems to be mocking her. She has to make up her mind in the next 5 minutes or risk turning up late, she cannot afford a bad first impression. Then in the deepest corner of her wardrobe, she spots a bright shiny box. It is the floral dress that Joy gifted her for her birthday last year as a joke because everyone knows that Wendy never wears dresses. Never up to the point she meets the cherry blossom girl at least since Wendy snatches up the box and puts on the dress hastily. She really had no better choices at this point and she thought the dress was just right to impress the girl without looking too formal. She put on some makeup that she rarely touches and left her house in a hurry. Wendy feels put together for once. 

Wendy thankfully manages to reach just on time but the other girl has already arrived. Wendy had not mentally prepared herself for how beautiful the other girl would look today. The cherry blossom girl has worn a floral dress much like hers, pink hair flowed as beautiful curls cascading down her shoulders and pink tinted lips that completed the look. Wendy fails to stop herself from gaping at the girl from where she was standing at the entrance of the restaurant against her better judgement. She did not want to leave a bad impression but she probably appeared like a weirdo even before the date started. With pink cheeks, not because of the faint blush she put on just now, she joins the other girl.

"Hey Wendy, you actually came. I was still afraid that you won't turn up because I'm being too creepy or maybe you are already seeing someone. Uh, I really like your dress!" Wendy finds it endearing that the girl the one rambling instead of her for once. Wendy assures her that she is not seeing anyone and that she is, in fact, find her too cute to be creepy. 

The waiter approaches soon after, "What can I get for you today? Perhaps I could interest you in our couples sharing menu that we put out for February?" 

Wendy silently basks in the fact that their matching floral dresses probably made them look like a couple. Neither of them makes the move to deny the waiter's assumption. They end up ordering a couple meal because it was a better value for money. Wendy forces herself to not think too much into it.

The night was thankfully none of the worst case scenarios she had imagined on the way here. In fact, the night was more magical than anything she could have asked for. Wendy discovers a lot about the girl that night. The girl favourite colour was indeed pink. The girl in fact preferred lavender flowers over cherry blossoms though. The girl had the crazy (beautiful) pink hair because she lost a bet to a friend. Most importantly, the girl's name is Irene.

"Your name is really pretty, just like you." Wendy blurts out before she could stop herself.

Wendy does not miss the pretty pink blush that crept up Irene's cheeks at her comment.

They talked for hours on end, neither realising how much time really passed. They talked till the waitress at the restaurant had to politely chase them out, after which they moved their conversation to the bench under the cherry blossom outside the parlour Wendy works at. It was not until they were sharing their childhood aspirations when Wendy finally notices that Irene's eyes were drooping as she lays her head gently on Wendy's shoulder. As much as Wendy would like to take this chance to freely admire Irene's beauty (much like a creeper), she realizes that it's probably time for them to go home. Wendy gently nudges Irene awake and tells her so. 
Both of them are clearly unwilling to part but the late night is weighing in on them. When they eventually had to part ways, Irene leans over and gives Wendy a swift peck on her cheek.

"Thanks for the great night, I really enjoyed talking with you. Do you still have the Post-It I gave you?", Wendy could only manage to give a shaky nod in her shell-shocked state, "Great, call me!" With that Irene gives her a charming smile before turning and slowly disappearing from view.

Wendy stands rooted to the spot with her dumbest but brightest smile that could possibly blind the world. But it all came crashing down when she realized she never got the girl's number, how is she supposed to call her. Feeling dejected she made her way home and prepares to wallow in self-pity with a tub of her favourite strawberry ice cream when she vaguely remembers Irene mentioning her post-it. Wendy feels the last glimmer of hope. Lo and behold, on the back of the pink post-it that Wendy carefully placed on her bedside table before she left, there was a short message written in the same graceful handwriting.

“I hope you enjoyed the date! XXX-XXX-XXX call me ♡”

Trust Wendy to miss that.