I slammed my hands over my ears. “Nope! Don’t need to hear that. Haven’t I been scarred enough by you two, between witnessing your touching reconciliation right here a few years ago—and by having to be just a wall away from your bedroom when we stayed at your place in St. Pete?”
“I warned you to bring earplugs.” Nico’s smirk was unapologetic. “My baby here gets kind of loud when I’m making her—”
“And that’s quite enough of that.” I glared at him, making him laugh. “Jenny’s like my sister, and that means I don’t want to hear the ins and outs of her sex life from you, Nico.”
He spread his hands. “Sorry. Will it make up for my mistake if I point out that I’ve brought you a tray of appetizers to share?”
I perked right up. “Is your taco dip on that tray?”
“It is, indeed.”
“Then all is forgiven.” I grabbed Jenny’s hand and began tugging her toward the steps. “C’mon. I’m starving. It turns out breaking up with my boyfriend and saying goodbye to my best friend makes me ravenous. Who knew?”
* * *
I stayed later than I’d planned at Jenny and Nico’s house. We lingered out by the pool, eating, drinking, and laughing as we took turns recounting our memories. That house—and particularly that pool—had been the site of many a heart-to-heart talk between Jenny and me. We had history there.
We had Nico snorting with laughter over our adventures at the trailer and the hospital. Finally, though, he stood up and stretched, his eyes regretful as they rested on his fiancée.
“Jenny, babe, we have a long drive tomorrow. We’ll want to get an early start. I’m going to go inside and clean up so you two can have your tearful farewell without me bothering you.” He opened his arms. “Emma. C’mere, girl.”
I jumped out of my chair and hugged him. Tears flooded my eyes, and my voice was choked as I whispered in his ear.
“Take good care of our girl, Nico.”
“You know it, sweetheart. You take care of yourself, you hear? And don’t be a stranger. Wherever we land, we’ll have a guest room with your name on it—and a pair of earplugs, too.”
Easing out of his arms, I laughed as Nico waved and disappeared into the kitchen. I turned back to face Jenny.
“I guess I should let you go. Like the man said, you have an early morning. And so do I. We haven’t hired a new NP yet, and Darcy’s going to be gone on her honeymoon next month. I’m going to have my hands full.”
“I know. I feel so bad about leaving you with all of this, but the restaurant wanted Nico ASAP—and I knew if I didn’t go now, I’d never go.” She sniffed. “I can’t believe I’m going to miss Darcy’s wedding, too. She was very cool about it, but still.”
“I’ll take lots of pictures,” I promised. “And she does understand. It’s going to be fairly small, anyway.” I picked up my handbag. “Come on. Walk me to my car.”
We strolled around the side of the house arm-in-arm, but neither of us spoke. In some ways, we’d already exhausted everything that needed to be said . . . and in other ways, some of what we needed to share would remain unspoken but understood.
That’s how it was with friends like us.
“I suck at goodbyes.” I blurted out the words as we came to stand next to my car. “I really do. I hate them. I’m so happy for you, Jen, so glad you’re doing this, but at the same time, I hate the fact that we won’t be able to just hang out like this whenever we want. I hate that you won’t be stopping by the cabin for breakfast on your way back from a nightshift, and that we won’t go on a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip to Lakeland whenever we get the urge. I hate that I won’t have someone in the hospital who always has my back, no matter what.” Fat tears rolled down my cheeks. “I mostly hate that my best friend is going to be a thousand miles away from me.”
“Oh, Emma.” Jenny pulled me tight into a hug. “I know. I hate all that, too. If I could box you up and carry you to Virginia, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but Mira and Deacon would hunt me down like a dog if I did that.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek. “But I’m going to miss you so much. So fucking much. I don’t think I’ll ever have another friend like you. You’re more than just a sister or a friend—you’re the one I count on, no matter what. Outside of Nico, you’re my heart.”
We stood like that for the space of several heartbeats, neither of us wanting to be the one to let go. Finally, I took a deep breath and leaned back.
“We’ll text every day. We’ll call whenever we want, and we’ll video chat, too. You’ll give me a tour of your new house, and I’ll take you around the garden to show you what’s growing. And then I’ll come up and visit, and you’ll come down, too. We’re not losing each other. Right?”
“Never. How could we? We have that plan to live together when we’re old, remember?”
I laughed shakily. “I think that’syourplan, Jen, but yeah. That’s true.” I gave her one more tight, quick hug. “Okay. I’m going now. Text me tomorrow and let me know how you’re doing on the road. Be safe. Be happy. I love you.”
Jenny bit down hard on her bottom lip. “I will. I love you, too.”
As I drove away from her house through the dark of the night, it occurred to me that saying goodbye to Jenny had been more painful than breaking up with Noah. I guess that told me that I’d made a good choice.
Still, between both endings, tonight my world felt much lonelier than it ever had.
7
