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“Sorry. Ex-bodybuilder. Then she went into cage fighting.”
Forest finally couldn’t help but give in and laugh incredulously. “Are you serious, Juni? Where do you find these women?”
Juni grinned proudly. “Best lesbian bar in Chicago town.”
Long story short, we turned up at the apartment number we were given, announced we were there to get Juniper’s things, and Juniper’s six-foot-tall, cage wrestling ex-girlfriend immediately burst into a flood of tears, which didn’t stop the entire time we walked gingerly around her place picking up things that she pointed out as being Juni’s.
I delicately tiptoed past a spot where someone had clearly punched the wall to pick up a small plant pot the ex-girlfriend indicated as belonging to Forest’s sister, while Forest patted the sobbing cage fighter gingerly on the shoulder.
Then we were done. When the door closed behind us and Forest and I were alone, we both burst out into silent giggles.
“Are we evil for laughing?” I was almost crying myself with laughter. “I think we’re evil. Poor woman.”
Forest managed to reply between laughs, just about, as we went down in the elevator. “I think what’s funny is the difference between what we were expecting... and what happened.”
We’d been expecting to be wrestling a bodybuilding cage fighter and had ended up consoling her as we gently picked up her ex-girlfriend’s scarves and plants. I did feel for her.
“You did it!” Juni was ecstatic.
I handed her a box of her things. “We did. But is your ex going to be okay? She crieda lot.”
Juni shrugged. “I’ll message her best friend an SOS on her behalf.”
Forest shook his head. “You’re heartless.”
But Juni was already dancing ahead, leading them down the pavement, with the energy of a teenager. Forest, still holding a large box of assorted objects, looked sideways at me and rolled his eyes. I grinned back at him.
It turned out Juniper had been couch surfing since turfing herself out of her exes apartment, so she needed sorting out with a place to stay. She’d also recently quit her job.
Forest tutted at her. “You know, you only have to ask me for money. You don’t need to call me all the way across the country.”
“I wasn’t going to ask. I genuinely needed more help with getting my stuff.” Juniper sniffed. “But if you’re offering...”
“Of course I am. What good is all this money if I can’t assist you in being jobless for a while?”
“I’m not totally jobless. I’ve been making soap-“
“Talk to Ria about it. She’s a new small business owner.”
Juniper talked my head off about soap while Forest rang around various rental agents. He managed to sort out a place for her, and paid the first twelve months in advance. He then paid his sister the equivalent of a hefty one year’s salary, before we headed back to the private jet.
“Sorry you had to come all the way out here for this. Sometimes my siblings make it sound like they’re on the verge of death.”
“No, I liked it. I liked meeting your sister. I definitely need a nap now, though.” I thought of something. “Hey, why not buy your sis an apartment? Why rent it?”
Forest shrugged. “She’s like you, deep down. She wouldn’t know what to do if she suddenly had everything paid off. People want to feel like they earned things, I guess.”
“Hmm. Just like you. And how hard you work.”
“You’re good at connecting the dots. I hadn’t thought of it like that. Sure, me too.”
I smiled.
On the plane home, Forest was more relaxed than he had been on the journey out. “Ria, I just want you to know, I really appreciate you coming with me. I thought I was asking because I wanted to keep up the – ‘illusion’, I guess – of our relationship. But I actually think I really needed some support. So, thanks.”
“I get it. Family can be difficult.”
I was soon to find out just how difficult. We had just arrived back and stepped off the plane when I turned my phone off airplane mode and the missed calls started rolling in from my mom. My heart started pounding, and I called her back immediately.
