“I’m sorry, what was that?” I ask.
“Dee, get your head out of the clouds.” Izzy laughs. Oh, my stupidly wonderful best friend. If she had any clue about how my life has been, she wouldn’t make jokes. But, it isn’t her fault that she’s looking at life through her rose-colored glasses and is completely oblivious that I’ve needed her more than ever.
“You caught me.” I laugh, but even to my own ears, I can hear how fake it sounds. “Who is coming to town? Sorry, Em, all I heard was concert.”
“That’s okay, Dee. Sam Grow’s coming back to town. I think it’s the last weekend, next month. They’re doing a big charity show. I think it would be neat if we made a girls’ night out of it.” She smiles and I can’t help but return it. Emmy is so easy to love, and even though she’s in a situation similar to Beck and me, it never stops her from making the best out of life.
“And I told her how much I love that idea. Ever since Greg used his Rico Suave skills and serenaded me with one of Sam’s songs, I’ve been a huge fan.” Melissa smiles at Greg, who is still rubbing her rounded belly.
“That sounds good to me. I think Izzy gave me his CD a few weeks ago, so I’ll make sure and listen to it beforehand. It’s been a while since we’ve had a girls’ night.”
We make plans, with Emmy promising to purchase the tickets tomorrow. After a few more hours, pizza, and more conversation, we all head to our separate homes. When I tuck myself into bed that night, even with all the worry still on my shoulders, I feel lighter than I’ve felt in a really long time.
After Cohen’s party, things got crazy again at work. Chelcie, my personal assistant, calls and tells me that she needs me to go up to the North Carolina branch. We have another big client that is requesting a meeting, and only wants to speak with me. In my gut, I know what the issue will be, but I still hope I’m wrong.
Not knowing how long I will have to be gone this time, I pack heavy and hit the road before lunch. Thankfully, traffic is light since it’s a Sunday afternoon. After checking into the hotel and grabbing dinner, I settle in for the night. Not much different from when I’m at home, just this time, I don’t have my stockpile of ice cream.
Having my phone ring in the middle of my Sunday Bravo TV shows is a sure fire way to have my mood go straight to crap. When I see ‘Greg Calling’, I hope that he’ll take a hint when I send the call to voicemail. Not even two seconds later, he’s calling again. Sighing deeply, I grudgingly answer. “Hey, G.”
“Oh, she speaks. Thanks for sending me to voicemail. Really sweet of you.” Sarcasm is dripping from every word.
“Sorry about that. I hit ignore instead of answer. I was just about to call you back.” I lie smoothly.
“Ha, try that on someone a little more gullible than I am.”
“Anyway, what can I do for you Greg?” I turn off the TV and toss the remote to the side in frustration.
“I told you yesterday that we would talk, and I meant it, Dee. I went by your apartment, but you weren’t there. Figured that you were either ignoring me, or you were out, so which is it?”
I could lie to him, but really, there isn’t any sense in it. He won’t think anything is up just because I’m out of town. “I had to come up to the North Carolina branch. Chelcie called me right when I got home last night and said I was needed up here. So, here I am.”
“Chelcie called you… on a Saturday night, to tell you to drive right up? What the hell, Dee? Did you just jump in the car first thing to avoid talking to me, or do you really have a need to be over there?”
I shouldn’t get pissed, but the flash of annoyance that washes over me is so overpowering that I can’t keep my mouth shut. How dare he act as if I’m doing something wrong here? I’ve been living my own life without one damn care from them for a while, and now that he wants to chat, he’s pissed that I’m gone.
“I’m not really sure why you feel like I need to check in with you? I’ve been doing just fine for a while now. Just in case you missed the memo, I’m a big girl now, Greg. I don’t even need my training pants anymore.”
“Whoa, snappy much. Someone must be on the rag.” He chuckles before sobering. I know he isn’t going to just drop it, so I wait, my breath held, for him to ask the questions I don’t want to answer. “I’m worried about you, Dee.”
“I’m fine,” I snap, a little too harshly.
“You’re not fine, and I’m insulted that you think I would believe that lie.” His voice, which had been friendly and calm, now has a hard tone to it.