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But after college seemed like a void, the same void Brianne was facing now. It was hard to imagine the stepping stones that would take me from here to where Leah and Jean were.
I opened my eyes. They’d stopped talking and were on their phones, the only sound being the cat purring like a motor. After a moment, Jean got up to tend to something in another room.
“Leah?” I asked, wondering what I was doing even as I said her name.
“Yeah?” She looked at me with inquiring eyes.
“This is a really random question, but… how did you know when you and Jean were like, really meant for each other?” I asked.
“Well, that’s deep, isn’t it?” said Leah, smiling.
“Sorry. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…”
“No, it’s fine,” said Leah. “I just don’t get asked questions like that very often. I guess… I guess we helped each other grow. And when we saw the people we’d become, we realized we were perfect for each other. We wanted to keep growing together and journeying together.”
I pondered that for a moment. Brianne and I certainly had grown together. She’d helped me grow more than I ever thought possible. I’d completely transformed.
“I guess you have someone in mind? Brianne, right?” asked Leah.
“Yeah. You know her?”
“Our parents are friends so I see her around at events occasionally,” said Leah.
“Ah,” I said. “Well, she’s really helped me grow over the past few months. I started out with absolutely no friends. Zero friends. And now I have so many… I have no idea how it happened. She helped me become more confident.”
“I would never have guessed. You and Maureen got along so easily. In fact, you seem like a really easygoing, affable person,” said Leah.
I nearly blushed at the compliment. It was amazing to me that someone could now perceive me this way. “It wasn’t always like that.”
“Do you think Brianne’s grown too?” asked Leah.
“I think so. She’s become… softer, more relaxed. It’s hard to put it into words. But she’s mellowed out quite a bit, I guess. I don’t know how someone as anxious as me could have had that effect on her, but there it is.”
“Love is a mysterious thing,” said Leah. “Do you love her?”
“Oh, definitely,” I said. “I just… I need to tell her. I don’t know when. I’m waiting for the right moment. I’ve been waiting for the right moment for a long time.”
“Well, here’s my suggestion. Don’t wait too long,” said Leah. “Because the perfect moment doesn’t exist.”
I blinked at her. I hadn’t been expecting her to say that.
“It doesn’t,” she continued. “You just have to say it when you feel it. When you want to say it.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said. There was no good reason for why I’d been putting it off. I should have just told her back at the wedding.
“I know I’m right,” said Leah, smiling. “Because after you say it the first time, you’ll say it every day. Every morning, every night. All the time.”
A warm glow filled me. That sounded lovely. “You’re right,” I said. “I’ll tell her tonight!”
Leah laughed. “Go get ‘em, tiger. You want to tackle the small animal room next?”
I nodded and stood, watching as Leah gently pushed the cat off her lap. Disgruntled, it jumped off and ran behind the couch in a flash of orange.
I followed Leah up the stairs and into the small animal room. She hadn’t yet showed me how to care for them—she’d started me on birds because I was the most interested in working with them—so today was to be another training day.
“God, they’re so cute,” I said, looking at the rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, an
d hamsters who all lived in this room. They were so skittish, but so fuzzy and round and adorable.
