“You got our new BFF?”
“Yes, and we’re in need of margs and cheese dip. You in?”
“Hell yeah!” Jane exclaims before continuing. “I’ll send you a ping of the place we need to meet. While I do that, call Ava, and tell her I’m on my way to get her.”
“Sweet. Thanks. On it. Talk soon!” I disconnect the call and dial Ava. I relay the information. She’s in too. I receive the ping for our destination and pull out of the airport’s parking lot.
“Margaritas, here we come. Now talk.”
“Michael and I broke up.”
“What?!” I exclaim, flabbergasted that this is news to me. “When?! Why?!”
“Two days ago. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it just being over. You’re the first person I’ve told. I haven’t even told my parents yet.” She looks out the window, face full of apprehension, her bottom lip quivering slightly before she captures it between her teeth. “They’ll be devastated, Sydney. They adored him. I thought I did too. It just wasn’t going anywhere anymore. He was perfectly content with staying engaged for forever. Every time I would bring up ideas, or a date, or hell, toward the end, eloping, it’s like he got a case of the hives. He would find excuses not to talk about it. It was all just giant red flags for me.”
“Why have you never told me any of this until now? I could’ve been there for you through this.” She looks back at me, resignation filling her golden brown eyes.
“Mostly denial. I guess I wanted the dream of it all more, and it blinded me to reality. Now that I look back, I see so many things that I missed. Let’s chalk it up to ignorant bliss, being naive, young love, whatever. It’s just whatever.”
“So you ended it with him?”
“Yeah, we were just curled up on the couch. I brought up next fall for a potential wedding timeline, and he nixed it with a shoulder shrug and a ‘meh’ attitude. I asked about Christmasand got a straight no. So I asked when he would like it. You know what he said? ‘I haven’t even thought about it. We have time. I’m not in a rush.’ We’ve been engaged for over a year now! I don’t think a discussion about future plans was much to ask for!”
I scoff at his poor word choices. He apparently didn’t think before he spoke either.
“So I told him that the way he acted every time I brought up our future bothered me. Said that it made me feel like he didn’t truly want to marry me. He got this panicky look in his eyes that told me I’d hit the nail on the head. Turns out, he was having second thoughts. He wanted more time living it up as a bachelor. Thought we should see a couple other people and circle back in a couple months. No freaking way. He’s twenty-seven, and I’m twenty-six, not twenty. I want future children. I can’t afford to waste any more years on someone who isn’t in this one hundred percent with me.”
“It sounds like you made the right choice, hun. Damn… I am so sorry. I thought he was one of the good ones.”
“Maybe he is… Just not a good one for me,” she chokes out, clearly fighting tears as she turns to look out the window again. I reach for her hand in silent support and squeeze it.Damnit…
By the time we get there, Ava and Jane are waving like lunatics by Jane’s car. Leave it to them to always lighten the mood.
“You got this, Holly. They already love you just from how much I’ve gushed about you. Come on, girl. Think margs.”
Opening my door, I step out, and she nervously follows suit. I note that she’s only nervous right now because her emotions are all over the place.
I introduce the girls to Holly, and true to form, they both latch onto her with a hug reminiscent of a long-lost sister.
“So, who’s ready to gorge on cheese dip and margs? We can make Garrett come get us if we get shit-faced.” Jane’s face splits into an infectious, wide grin.
“Me,” Holly announces.
“Then you can tell us who we hate,” Ava pipes in. “I’ve already got a couple on the list.” She winks, causing Jane and I to peer at one another, knowing that that is code for Mark.
We crowd into the small entry that opens up into the more cavernous room that splits into two sides, booths along the walls and tables sprinkled throughout. A young man comes to greet us and leads us to a booth in the back corner.
“We’re going to need cheese dip and a pitcher of margaritas to get started,” Jane declares as she slides in and sets her purse down.
“On it. I’ll bring a couple waters as well.”
“Thanks,” we all say in unison, then giggle.
“Okay, girl! Spill,” Ava says as soon as the waiter turns away.
Holly retells her story, finishing by the time she starts her second margarita. All of us agree, she did the right thing by ending it. I can see the kinship budding between her and Ava. I love that Jane and Ava have accepted her so easily into the fold. We all just fit together like the March sisters. They may not be my blood, but they are my chosen few.
“So, when we get back to my place, I need you all to investigate with me,” I croak out after almost swallowing my bite of chips and cheese down the wrong pipe.
