CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Over the next couple of months, color slowly seeps back into my life.
Things have gone from dreary to bright. I’ve gone from working and living on autopilot to being challenged every day. Not only that, I’m actually having fun in my job. I get to meet new people daily and talk about books. What could be better? I’m also putting my marketing degree to good use, and have already exceeded Piper’s goals for the first quarter of the year.
Basically, I’m the embodiment of a Katrina and the Waves song—walking on sunshine. It helps that spring has arrived early, and everything is starting to blossom, turning the city from gray to a vibrant rainbow.
One March day, Piper and I head to Luigi’s to meet Bridget and Meredith for lunch. I haven’t seen many other people from the Village since Christmas, but as promised, Meredith and I have kept in touch and I now consider her one of my closest friends.
We congregate outside the restaurant and exchange a flurry of hugs and kisses. Inside, Don seats us at his ‘best table’—anywhere he puts us happens to be the best table—and we place our orders immediately since we all now know the menu by heart.
“How’s work?” Piper asks Bridget.
Her cheeks flush with pleasure. “So good. I was just put in charge of one of the biggest clients we’ve ever had. I’m not at liberty to say who, but let’s just say it’s a certain pop star I’ve heard all of you singing along to in the car.”
Piper and Meredith pelt Bridget with guesses, but she just laughs and shakes her head. Our eyes meet and her smile grows. She’s glowing these days; just before my final two weeks were up at Quest, Bridget gathered our team for a meeting and laid everything out. She explained how she wasn’t enjoying her job, and admitted the pressure was getting to her. She reminded everyone that long before being their boss, she was their coworker and friend, and she wanted to return to that position with their blessing. Long story short, everyone encouraged her to do what works for her and said they would support her in any decision she made.
If I miss one thing about Quest, it’s that sense of support and camaraderie. I worked there for six years, and while many people came and went, the core base of employees remained the same. Luckily, I have a small but amazing group of coworkers at Pied Piper Books, and Piper and I have become good friends.
Don delivers our lunches. As I dig in, I notice Meredith eyeing me. She’s always basically a ray of sunshine in human form, yet today she seems extra bright. She hasn’t stopped smiling and she keeps shooting furtive glances at Piper.
“Okay, what’s up?” I finally ask after I catch her smiling into her plate of spaghetti Bolognese.
Her head snaps up. “What? Nothing! Just happy to be here with you guys.”
“Mmhmm.” I look to Piper for backup, but all I get is a shrug.
“How are things with Hugh?” Meredith asks.
I blink.Nice avoidance technique, Mer.“Things are good, I guess.” My parmesan and asparagus risotto is suddenly fascinating.
“You guess?”
I take a heaping bite to give myself a moment to think. I hadn’t planned on bringing this up. Normally Bridget would be the one I’d discuss these things with, but she’s been riding the high of her new engagement to David. I’ve been focusing on my happiness for her and all the duties being maid of honor will entail. Or that’s been my excuse, anyway.
“This whole long distance thing sucks,” I say. “We’ve been good at keeping things casual, but lately it’s been a littletoocasual. He’s busy doing whatever it is he’s doing in Scotland, and our conversations keep getting shorter and fewer and farther between.”
I stab at a piece of asparagus, avoiding the three pairs of eyes I feel on me. “We promised we’d be honest with each other. I trust he hasn’t found someone else or anything like that. But the uncertainty is getting to me. Not having a plan and attempting to go with the flow is one thing, but…I’m not sure I can keep this going much longer.”
I lift my head to see Meredith’s eyes have gone wide. “Y-you can’t give up now! It’s almost—”
Piper sets her glass of water down hard on the table. “Oops,” she says, all feigned innocence. “Butter fingers.”
“Hey, do you think we could train Fiddlesticks to be the ring bearer at my wedding?” Bridget asks suddenly. “Like, strap a little pillow to her back and put the rings on it and have her walk up the aisle with you?”
Used to Bridget’s randomness, especially since she started planning her wedding, I don’t even blink at the unexpected question. “I think there’s a good possibility she’d rip the pillow off and eat the rings, then run away.” I glance around the table at my friends. Each of them has this weird shifty-eyed thing going on, not quite looking directly at me, but not meeting each other’s eyes either. “Okay, what the hell is going on?” My voice is more defensive than intended, but it feels like I’m being kept out of a secret everyone else knows.
“Nothing, sweetie, nothing.” Bridget reaches across the table and lays her hand over mine. “We were all just talking about you and Hugh the other day, and we really hope things work out for you. That’s all. It’s only been three months. I know that seems like forever, but don’t give up hope yet. Things could change in an instant.”
It feels like there’s more to it than that. Bridget’s gaze stays unwavering on mine, her thumb caressing the back of my hand. I trust my best friend; if she says that’s all, then I have to believe her. For now.
*****
When we get back to work, I tell Piper I’m going to make the rounds—check to ensure books are shelved properly, see if anyone needs help, take stock of anything that needs to be reordered, etc. She nods distractedly; she’s been wearing a concerned expression since our conversation about Hugh at lunch, which doesn’t help my theory that my friends know something they’re not telling me.
The minute I round the corner of the first stack of shelves, I pull my phone out. It’s early evening in Scotland, which could mean Hugh’s still at work, but I take my chances and call anyway. After a few rings, it goes to voicemail. I close my eyes, listening to his deep voice telling the caller to leave a message and he’ll get back to them.
I’m about to stuff my phone back in my pocket when it buzzes with a text.
