Page 107 of Here We Go Again

As for Indigo, after working sixty-hour work weeks for five months straight, she woke up on a rainy Sunday in London to a chiding text from her boss and suddenly realized how desperately she hated her job.

Now, she’s back in Atlanta for good and determined to never work in finance again.

Luckily, her condo is generously sized with three bedrooms. I’ll have to move from the owner’s suite into the second guest room, which only has a futon instead of a bed, but there’s still room for all three of us, and Indigo is happy to have us stay until our contract at the hospital runs out.

“So, what are you going to do now?” I ask her as I reach for another sliver of lemon-glazed sugar cookie. There’s a shop a few blocks away that delivers still-warm cookies in less than twenty minutes to any address in Midtown, and they did not disappoint. The chocolate chip is delicious, but the lemon is possibly the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.

“Who knows?” Indigo says. “Start drawing again? Drink mojitos at two in the afternoon? I’ll need to get another job eventually, but I have plenty in savings, so I can coast for a little while without too much worry.”

“You should see Indigo’s drawings,” I say to Mia. “She’s so good. She was an art major and everything.”

Mia looks at Indigo. “And then you wound up working in finance?”

“It’s a long and stupid story, and I have regrets,” Indigo says. “But I also have an amazing condo and a full savings account, so I won’t let myself complain too much. Either way, it’s definitely time for a new start.”

“I love that for you,” Mia says, then she looks over to me. “And I love that you and Theo are getting a new start.” Her words crack and falter, and she closes her eyes, the tears I’ve been expecting all day finally making their first appearance.

I scoot closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her into a hug.

“I’m being dumb,” she says. “I don’t want to make your happy moments sad because I made a stupid choice. I just really thought this was my new start too. A reason to finally stop traveling.” She gives her head a little shake. “Honestly, I ignored so many red flags. That’s how much I wanted it to be true.”

I rub a hand up and down Mia’s back, but my brain has snagged on one particular point, and I’m struggling to move past it.

“Did you just say you thought Aaron would be a reason to stop traveling?” I ask.

Mia’s eyes widen. “Did I say that?”

“How long have you wanted to stop?”

She shrugs. “It’s not that I want to stop. It’s just that I…” She hesitates, but then her shoulders drop, and she breathes out a sigh. “Okay, it actually is that I want to stop. But not because I don’t love you. I love traveling with you. You’re my best friend, Becca. That’s never going to change. But I want a relationship. I want to date and get a dog and have a favorite restaurant that doesn’t change every three months. I want friends who don’t work at the hospital. I want a man who doesn’t work at the hospital. And that’s going to be a lot easier if I have a home base.”

I nod, the words resonating in a way that surprises me. A few months ago, I would have been hurt by Mia’s confession. At least, initially. Neither one of us ever planned on traveling forever, but I didn’t think we’d give up so soon. And yet, now that I’m with Theo, I find myself craving everything Mia just mentioned. Even the dog.

“It’s not like you’re going to be traveling anymore anyway, right?” Mia says. “You’ll stay here with Theo?”

“Maybe,” I say. “Probably? We still haven’t⁠—”

“Wait, what?” Indigo says, cutting me off. “What do you mean probably?”

My eyes widen in surprise. “We’ve only been back together a few days,” I say. “It’s a big decision to move somewhere permanently. It just feels like I should give it some time before I do anything impulsive.”

“Give what time? Your relationship?” Indigo asks. “Becca. This is a man you loved. A man you were so broken up over, you skipped your first semester of college. Now he’s back in your life, kissing you outside my condo like you’re his oxygen, and you’re thinking you might pull out of here in another month to what? Make a little more money somewhere else? Do you want to be with this man or not?”

“Of course I do,” I say without even having to think about my answer.

“Then stay in Atlanta and be with him,” she says. “Besides, are you forgetting how flexible your job is? If you’re worried about making a full-time commitment to Atlanta, then don’t. Just pick up another travel contract. There are a million hospitals in this city. I’m sure you could find one.”

It’s very Indigo to distill an issue down to its key points in a matter of minutes. She’s always been incredibly smart, very no-nonsense, but also warm and compassionate and lovely. It’s a unique combination of characteristics—for her to be confident and bold enough to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in the financial sector, but still soft enough to lead with love and empathy.

I sit up a little taller and look at Mia. “Where do you want your home base to be?” I ask.

“Anywhere within the delivery radius of Midtown Cookie Company’s warm cookie guarantee,” she says without missing a beat.

Indigo chuckles. “Priorities right where they should be.”

Mia wipes at her eyes and smiles. “I’m mostly kidding. But maybe not really? I like it here. I like being close enough that I can drive up to see my family for a weekend but not so close that I’m expected to go every weekend. And I like the city and the humidity, and the hospital is great even if Dr. McDoodyButt is the worst. But more than all that, I like living with you. If you’re going to stay to be with Theo, would it be so bad if I stayed to be with you?”

Tears well in my eyes as I basically throw myself into Mia’s arms. I’m not sure I realized she was a part of my hesitation to stay, but the relief washing over me indicates some part of me must have been concerned about us splitting up. It doesn’t make any sense, but in my mind, it felt like if she left and I stayed, I would still be the one leaving her behind.