Jack walks over to look at the framed photos on the wall. She turns to me with a smile. “This place is adorable! We wanted to pop in before you close, but we can come back tomorrow if we’re too late.” She pauses. “Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to grab a drink and catch up?”
“I’d love to, but I’m closing up here. I might be a while.”
“That’s fine! We’re headed over to that diner down the street for some dinner. Maybe you can stop in after you’re finished?”
“Sounds good!” I agree, and turn to Sydney. “This is an old friend from LA, Jacqueline. Jack, this is Sydney, a good friendand co-worker.”
Sydney smiles politely at Jack as they exchange pleasantries.
“Syd, you want to come for a drink after work?” I ask, not wanting her to feel excluded.
Sydney waves a hand, brushing away my offer. “No, that’s okay. Why don’t you take off and go catch up. I can close alone tonight.” She rests her chin in her palm, elbow propped up on the desk, and a quirk on her lips as she adds wistfully, “Not like I have any other plans.”
“I am literally offering you other plans,” I reply, giving her an exasperated look.
“Well, alright, if you insist on my company,” Sydney relents.
My eyes roll to the ceiling briefly before I turn back to Jack. “Looks like we’ll meet you at the diner once we’re done here.”
“Great!” Jack leaves the shop with a wave, the bell tinkling her exit.
Sydney stares at me with an innocent expression dancing across her features. “What?” she asks, busying herself at the desk.
I shake my head, grabbing my water and heading back to the office.
A few hours and many bottles of wine later, I’m seated next to Sydney in a booth at Double Shot across from Jack and her colleague, Penny. Jack is regaling the table with exploits of our time working atScope Magazine. This particular job was one of the longer stints, and Jack and I had become decent friends during my time there.
“Oh my God, what about the time Dani had us covering haunted locations for that Halloween special? What was that…like three years ago?” Jack giggles into her wine, her russet cheeks shining with mirth. “Mellie and I got assignedThe Queen Maryand I thought she was going to absolutely shit herself. She was so scared!”
“I do not wish to talk about this any further,” I protest, reaching across the table to push my fingers against Jack’s lips toshush her.“Shhh,nobody here needs to know about that night. What happens onThe Queen Marystays onThe Queen Mary.”
Jack shoves my hand away from her face, cracking up. Wiping a tear from her cheek, she continues, ignoring my protests, “Remember, we got stuck in that ballroom when the door wouldn’t open, and you swore you saw some shadow figure in the corner of the room and started screaming.” She laughs, shaking her head as she finishes, “The tour guide had to come find us and let us out. Mellie wouldn’t shut up about the shadow person the rest of the night.”
“I am telling you, there was something in there with us!” I cry, laughing along with her. “It was really fucking scary!”
“Sounds like you got to do some cool stuff for your job,” Sydney says, thankfully diverting the subject away from my ghostly mortification.
“We really did.” I nod in agreement and finish off my wine. “It was one of the better jobs I had there.”
Jack narrows her eyes at me from across the table. “Whydidyou leave, Mellie? Last I heard, you’d leftScopebut had been hired by some other blog. I can’t remember which one… But then suddenly it was likepoof, you were gone!” She mimes an explosion with her hand for emphasis, her beautifully manicured nails catching the diner lights.
“Scopelet me go shortly after you’d left, and I was hired by a new place. When I came home for Christmas last year, the job here sort of fell into my lap. I dropped everything in LA to move back.”
“Not to mention the tall and handsome best friend that fell into your lap as well. More than once,” Sydney adds with a wink.
“Excuse me, do tell!” Jack says, lifting one of the bottles to refill her wine.
“Oh, it’s the most disgustingly romantic story you’ll ever hear,” Sydney says. She deep dives into my history with Ronin, leaving out some of the more personal and salacious details, but still getting the point across. I watch her tell the story, amused.
“So, now they’re going to live happily ever after,and have lots of nerdy little babies, and raise them to be little tiny nerdy versions of themselves,” Sydney finishes, flourishing a hand in my direction.
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
Pulling out my phone, I unlock it and flip it around to show them my wallpaper: a recent selfie of me and Ronin. “But she’s not wrong. Here’s my man.” I smile smugly as Jack and Penny openly ogle at Ronin’s photo.
“Well shit, girl. I was going to offer you a job, but if I had landedthat, I wouldn’t be going anywhere either,” Jack says. Penny hums appreciatively in agreement.
I choke on the sip of water I had just swallowed. “Sorry, what?”
