“I’m done,” she said to herself.
She smiled and looked out the window, which showed the tarmac. Carrie’s plane was probably taxiing or taking off by now. Gage would be leaving soon. Debra and Sharon probably bought their water and were sitting at their gate, holding on to one another before their own flight. She’d done it; she had gone out on top. Four new couples had formed because of her, and that meant that she could feel very good about what she’d accomplished. She had some more thinking and planning to do, because while she knew she was done with all the travel and putting other couples first, she couldn’t just not work. She’d have to figure out what to do with her time, but first, she was going to take a week or two and be present in her own life. She needed the rest anyway before she really made any big decisions.
She hadn’t even realized she had been sitting there that long when she saw the info screen showing that her flight was boarding the first-class cabin. She got up, wheeled her bag out toward her gate, scanned her boarding pass, and walked onto the plane in search of her window seat. This would be her last flight for a while, so she would try her best to really enjoy it.
???
Nia was sitting in the coffee shop for the third day in a row. She was pretty sure the manager of the place didn’t like that shewas taking up the only big table in the place with her stuff, if his glares were any indication, but she made sure to buy something once an hour for every hour she was there to make up for it, and she tipped well.
It had been three weeks since she’d left the last event, and she’d spent the first two sitting around her house. Well, that wasn’t fair. Nia hadn’t beensittingaround necessarily. She’d let her ex in to get her stuff, of which there had been none, and the ex had asked if Nia had been sure. She’d told her yes, and they’d avoided the breakup or the final-hookup sex. She’d cleaned everything top to bottom herself instead of relying on the maid service she had. She had gone grocery shopping and had cooked dinner for herself every night. She had also done some light redecorating after going shopping and finding a new desk chair that had spiraled into two new lamps, new artwork for the walls, a new bookshelf, and some new curtains. She’d known she’d been sublimating her inner workaholic by buying things and keeping busy, but by then, she’d figured out a much more productive use of her time.
Her business was taking a little break, and she’d turned off the application system. She scheduled events at the last minute, which meant she didn’t have anyone expecting to be anywhere at the next one, outside of the rental house service and the catering staff for the event immediately following the one she’d recently wrapped, so she’d canceled their services and had gotten to work.
First, she’d reached out to a few of the people who had expressed interest in working with her over the years and set up interviews. She’d talked to two of them already, and there had really been only one obvious contender to run the events without her needing to be there full-time as well, so she’d set up a follow-up interview for the following afternoon. Should that work, Nia would get her up and running. She’d still be the owner,consulting and handling any emergencies should they arise, but in time, she’d either hire someone else to do that, too, or sell the business. She hadn’t figured that part out just yet. It was a big adjustment for her not to be planning the next event or be there already, so she’d take baby steps.
The other important thing she’d decided to do was sit down and write her book, which was why the big table in the coffee shop was now covered in her notes, laptop, and a few books she’d brought in with her to reference, along with an academic journal she’d printed out to highlight because she was still a little old-school like that.
When it was time for her hourly purchase, she walked up to the counter, waited behind someone else, and ordered a bagel that she’d take home with her. Next hour, she’d get a coffee refill, and the time after that, she’d buy a yogurt parfait and add that to her haul. The first day she’d done this, she’d given the staff the food items she had bought to eat on their breaks since she couldn’t possibly eat them all. The second time, when she had left, she’d given the food to a few of the folks she’d seen on the street on her way in. And today, she would eat the yogurt herself and give the bagel and muffins she already had to the same people on the street, hoping to brighten their days a little.
“Hi.”
Nia turned just as her bagel was handed to her and saw a beautiful woman standing next to her.
“Do you need me to move?” she asked. “Am I in your–”
“No,” the woman said with a little laugh and a perfect smile. “I saw you in here yesterday. I was sitting over there.” She pointed to a small two-top table in the corner. “Today, I am over there.” She pointed to a table that was closer to Nia’s. “I’ve been working up the courage to talk to you since I first saw you, and I just decided that it was now or never because I don’t know if you’ll be here tomorrow and I was about to head out.”
“Did you need the big table or something? Are you the reason the manager keeps glaring at me?”
The woman laughed again and said, “No, I don’t need the table. I work here sometimes, but the small tables are fine for me. I see you need the space anyway.” She looked around Nia at the table where Nia’s stuff was spread out. “Working on a dissertation or something?”
“What? No.” Nia laughed this time. “Writing a book. I already have my Ph. D.”
“Really? I just saw the tell-tale formatting of an academic journal on the table.”
“I’m writing a book and using it as a reference. Well, I might. I’m still in the outlining stage, so we’ll see where it goes.”
“What’s it about?”
“Compatibility and chemistry in romantic relationships.”
The woman smiled softly and asked, “What’s your doctorate in?”
“Psychology. I got the Ph.D instead of the Psy.D. because I thought I might go into teaching instead of practice, but I didn’t go into either, so…”
“Ph.D here, too,” the woman shared, pointing to herself. “And funnily enough, it’s in chemistry. Idoteach, though.” She held out her hand for Nia to shake. “Emmy.”
“Emmy?”
“Yeah, like the award. I know… But it’s my given name. Not Emily or Emilia. I’m Emmy Hammond.”
“You’reDr.Emmy Hammond,” Nia corrected.
“True. And you are?”
“Nia Tremaine.”
“It’s nice to meet you,Dr.Tremaine.”
