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He slowly nods. “I assume you’re moving back to Philly?”
“I am. Reggie is downstairs waiting for me.”
“Have you told Jade yet?”
I shake my head. “No, not yet. I asked her to come by in the morning. I’ll talk to her then.”
“Is it okay if I check in on her from time to time?”
Now my tears spill freely. “Of course. Thank you for always caring about her. I know she cares about you too.”
He stands, walks over to my bags, and picks up a few of them. “I’ll help you.”
The fact that he so easily accepted this tells me that I’m doing the right thing. If he truly felt this was wrong, he would tell me. He would fight for us. I desperately want a man who would fight anything and anyone for me. On some level, Rick knows I’m right, even if he can’t admit it out loud just yet.
We walk down to Reggie’s car in silence. She gets out when she sees us approaching. I mouth, “Keep your mouth shut.”
She rolls her eyes but listens. She simply helps get the bags into her trunk.
I hug Rick goodbye and tell him I’ll be in touch. As Iget into the car, Reggie takes my hand. “You did the right thing, Mandy. He was never right for you.”
I nod. “I agree, but he’s still a good man and I hated hurting him. He was never anything but kind to me.”
“I know, but you’re both better off. Now we can spend our energy finding you the right guy. Victoria has a long list of men for you. Speaking of which, I said we’d text her right away.”
Victoria is our other close friend. She’s a little older than us. I met her when Jade was a toddler. She has a daughter, Pandora, the same age as Jade. The girls became fast friends, as did we. She was a single mother at the time too, so we helped one another. She’s since remarried and had more children.
Reggie quickly types on her phone. A few seconds later, my text tone pings a notification from our group chat with Victoria.
Reggie: Patty Hearst finally saw the light. The juice is loose!
I let out a laugh at her insanity.
Victoria: Finally! Sorry I’m not there. Love you both. Have a safe ride home. Don’t stop at any strip clubs without me.
We smile at each other. Reggie presses her lips together. “Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe a pitstop at Thunder from Down Under is just what you need.”
I roll my eyes. “I might need some thunder in my down under, but we’ve got a long trip and I’m not up for it. Let’s get going.”
“I guess we can’t go without her. She was upset shecouldn’t be here for you tonight. She called me five times today.”
“It’s a lot to ask of both of you. You have families and kids that need you. Thank you for helping me.” I reach over and hug her. “It means so much that you drove all this way to be here for me.”
She pulls back and winks. “Always, babe. Ride or die since we were thirteen.”
Reggie and I have been best friends since junior high. We’ve been through everything together—and I mean everything. She was there for me when my father couldn’t hold it together anymore. I was there for her family in their time of need. We went to the same college. We dida lotof drugs. When I found out I was pregnant with Jade, she held me and told me I could do it. She was the only person there for Jade’s delivery and helped me as much as she could during those first few years with Jade. She was the one person I could rely on, even while still an irresponsible college student herself. I couldn’t have gotten through it without her.
She starts up the car and we pull out onto the busy New York City street. “Let me just call Sam. I told him we’d call when we left. He’ll pretend otherwise, but he’s got his hands full tonight.”
Reggie and her husband, Sam, have five kids, ranging in age from eight to eighteen. They’ve been happily married for nearly twenty years now.
She pushes the buttons on her dashboard and the phone starts ringing through the car. Sam answers, “Hey, sexy.”
Reggie smiles. “Ooh, someone wants to get laid tonight.”
“Always. How’s Mandy?”
I chime in, “I’m fine, thanks, Sam.”
