“Jesus, wife, is that the only way to shut you up?”
Wife.The word skips through me like it did months before, but this time there’s no fear, only light. “I want to be offended,” I say.
“Did you mean all that?” he says, flicking at one of my unicorn earrings. “You know, moving to Ireland and the baby stuff?”
“Of course. I’d never joke about naming another human after my best friend.”
Ollie rolls his eyes. “You know what I’m asking, kitten.”
“Yes,” I say, and hold his gaze. “I mean it. How does all that sound to you?”
Ollie rests his forehead against mine. “It sounds fecking perfect.”
29
Six months later, June
“There you are,” Jo says when she finds me inside Mitch’s at our usual table beside the bookcase. She scoots into the booth across from me and slides a margarita my way. “One more before you abandon me again?”
“You sound like an old man,” I say. My fingers dance across the bottom of the margarita glass. “Ollie’s already getting me a drink.” I’m not lying, but my heart starts cartwheeling around anyway.
Jo gives me a suspicious look and takes a sip from her drink. “I’ve never seen you turn down a free margarita just because you’ve already got one coming.”
“And what do you mean before I abandon you again?” I say. “It’s just Ireland!”
Jo sighs. “I’m just glad you and Ollie were able to visit. The three months since I visited you have been the longest of my life. I’m fine, but I’m miserable without you. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty about leaving me forever, by the way.”
“Forever? Listen to you, Josephine! You’re really putting on the drama.” I lean toward her over the table. “I have to say, I love it.”
“Love what?” Ollie says when he arrives at the table with Alex beside him.
“You, of course. And Jo,” I add. I squint at Alex. “Not sure about you.”
“You love me, Nina,” Alex says. He joins Jo on the other side of the table. “Don’t be embarrassed by it.”
“Mm, I think I should be embarrassed by it, though.”
Ollie passes me a drink before scooting into the booth and slinging his arm around my shoulders.
I slide the margarita Jo brought me to Ollie. “Here, you look like you need one last Mitch’s margarita.”
“I don’t even...” he begins, but I widen my eyes at him, and he changes gears, “know how to say no to that,” he finishes. He takes a drink of the margarita, admirably trying not to grimace.
Jo raises an eyebrow, but before she can say anything, I cut her off. “We really ought to pat ourselves on the back, Josephine,” I say.
“Why’s that?”
“We’ve both acquired dutiful margarita-bringing husbands,” I say.
Jo clinks her glass to mine. Ollie and Alex look at each other and sigh.
I take a sip of the margarita Ollie’s brought me, but when I set it on the table, Jo snatches it and pulls it to herself.
“Josephine!”
She sniffs my drink, her eyes narrowed as she stares at me and takes a sip. She slowly lowers it onto the table. “Nina!”
Alex looks from me to Jo, completely lost. I feel Ollie trying not to laugh beside me.
