There was a pause and the sound of papers rustling. “I will be out and about tomorrow since I have a couple showings, but I can meet you at the house in the afternoon. Will that work for you?”
Samira sighed. Wendy’s office was about halfway between Samira’s loft and the house. She hadn’t planned on driving down home, but she could make it work. “Okay. I can be at the house around lunchtime.”
“Perfect,” Wendy said. “I will be there sometime after lunch. You know how showings are, you never know just how long they will take.”
“Yeah, I remember. I’ll see you, then,” Samira said before ending the call.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples in an attempt to keep the headache at bay. She had definitely bitten off more than she could chew. No sane person would sell their house and accept a big promotion at the same time. She should have listened to her aunt and waited to put the house on the market. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty.
The kitchen had a bottle of whiskey with her name on it. She took it from the cabinet and poured two fingers into a glass. A glass of wine wasn’t going to cut it. The heat slowly traveled down her throat and settled in her stomach when she took a sip. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.
It was a knock at the door that startled her, once again, from her deep thoughts. She carried her glass with her to check the peep hole. When she saw it was Andrea, she quickly unlocked the door and opened it.
“Hey girl,” Andrea greeted before glancing at the glass. “Uh oh. The hard stuff. Everything okay?”
“Is this a work visit or a friend visit?” Samira asked cautiously.
“Oh, come on. It’s a friend visit. I’m not going to come to your house on a Friday night to harass you about work. You know me better than that. You didn’t seem like yourself today, so I wanted to check on you.”
Samira sighed with relief. “In that case I’ll get you a glass. Everything is not okay. Far from it.”
Andrea looked alarmed as she walked with her to the island and waited for Samira to pour her a glass. Samira took down a glass and poured two fingers of the amber liquid before sliding it over and taking a seat.
“What’s wrong, friend?” Andrea asked.
“Everything,” Samira answered before wiping away unexpected tears.
“Oh, no. Don’t cry. You can talk to me about anything. Even if it’s work that’s making you this upset.”
Samira took another sip of her drink before attempting to put things into words. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said everything was wrong. Hopefully, explaining it to her friend would make it seem easier to deal with than when it was all stuck in her head.
“I must have been crazy when I thought it was a good idea to start this new job and put my parents’ house on the market at the same time. I feel like all of it was a mistake, but I know it’s just me overreacting. It’s just that everything is overwhelming, right?”
Andrea took a hefty sip of her own before responding. “What exactly feels like a mistake?”
“Everything,” Samira repeated before laughing humorlessly.
Andrea reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Samira’s. “One thing at a time. Remember, I’ve seen you at your worst. Don’t mince words. I’m not just your boss, I’m your friend, and I’ll always want what’s best for you. There’s nothing you can say that could change that.”
“As soon as I accepted the position, I felt a nagging feeling that I should have said no. I shook it off as being nerves. But, now, I’m not so sure. I just don’t know anything anymore. I’m sorry,” Samira said before fresh tears began to stream down her face.
Andrea moved to the other side of the island and took the seat beside Samira. She scooted close enough to put her arm around Samira who, once again, tried pull herself together.
“Is it the workload?” Andrea asked. “Did I put everything on you too fast? I can keep doing some of it for a little longer while I have the time.”
“Honestly, I don’t know if that’s the problem. You know I can handle it. That’s why you gave it to me. It just doesn’t feel right. I miss interacting with the other employees and with customers. That, and it takes up more time. I broke things off with Andy. I think it’s just a lot right now, and I’m being dramatic. Just ignore me,” Samira explained in a rush.
“Whoa, hold on. Back up. You broke things off with Andy?”
“Yes. I had to. There was no point in dragging things out. His mom still can’t stand me. He’s so afraid of upsetting his parents that he won’t even stand up to them about work, so you know where that puts me. And with me working more and selling the house and not spending time down home, it just wouldn’t work,” Samira explained on. She raked a hand through her curls and pushed them out of her face.
Andrea studied her glass for a moment before speaking. “Did you end things with Andy because it felt right, or so you could take this new position?”
“What do you mean? I could have done both. I could do this job and be with him if I wanted to.”
Andrea held her gaze. “Could you? You already said with the additional hours and the distance, it just wouldn’t work. So, did you end things because the relationship wasn’t working or because you didn’t think it would continue to work?”
Samira took another sip before focusing on her drink. Andrea always had been perceptive. When Samira basically showed up on her doorstep asking for a job all those years ago, she didn’t have to tell her she needed a place to stay. Andrea offered a room as part of the package as if she already knew the situation.
