Page 11 of Mine

She abruptly stops in front of my table, standing on the other side. “Hi, Lena.”

“A—” I choke her name out between the coffee coating my throat. I cough, clearing the lump that’s quickly formed there. “Abby?”

She nods vigorously, her smile never faltering. I stand up, the wooden chair sliding against the dull tile floor beneath my feet.

“How did you—” I ask in disbelief. “How?”

She walks around the table, quickly wrapping me in a hug. Her arms drape over my shoulders as she tightly squeezes me. “It’s so good to see you, Lena. Thanks for meeting with me.”

I hesitate, still stunned that my best friend is here. My best friend ishere.Finally, I return her hug, placing my hands on her back and pulling her close.

After a few moments, she pulls back but keeps me at arm's length, holding on to my elbows.

“Meeting me?” I ask her, still confused. “I don’t understand.” I can tell my reaction to Abby’s sudden appearance isn’t what she was hoping for, but I can’t help it. I never thought I would see her again. It feels as if I’ve seen a ghost.

Her smile immediately fades, and her shoulders drop. “I’m hiring you for my branding, remember?”

“Oh. You’re the Abigail I was supposed to meet? But you listed a different last name.” I stare at Abby with widened eyes, moving to sit down. Abby follows suit and pulls out the chair across from me. She drapes the handles of her large yellow purse on the back of the chair.

“Yeah.” She plays off my comment with a humorless laugh, but I can tell she’s disappointed. “It’s a long story but my last name is Cooper now.”

“Why?” I immediately wince as soon as the word leaves my mouth. Why am I sounding like such an asshole? I’m just now seeing my best friend after a year and I’m already questioning her as if I wasn’t the one who’d cut her out of my life.

My chest aches, knowing this isn’t how I pictured our reunion. Not that I thought we’d ever have one. “I’m so sorry. That was rude.” I place my hand against my forehead and close my eyes. When I open them back up, Abby’s still sitting across from me. “I didn’t mean for that to sound the way it did. I’m just in shock. I never thought I’d see you again.”

“Me either.” Abby looks down at the table then reaches around, digging in her giant yellow purse. She turns back around with a small black binder.

She opens it to the first page. It’s a spreadsheet of sorts, series of numbers filling each column and row.

I smile, the realization of having her here finally hitting me. “I’ve missed you, Abby.”

She doesn’t speak. Instead, her violet eyes study me before the corners of her mouth draw up into a smile. She hasn’t changed much since the last time I saw her. Her hair is still the same shade of silver and her style still seems to be the same. She’s coated in pops of color and the memory of our friendship begins to seep back into my bones.

“I’ve missed you too, Lena.” There’s an awkward pause between us. I sigh, averting my eyes from Abby’s stare.

“Listen, Abby,” I start. “I want to explain about what happened and why I left.”

“Hang on.” Abby stops me, holding her finger up. She grabs her wallet from her bag and stands. “I’m going to grab a coffee, then we can catch up.”

“Oh.” I nod, relaxing back in my seat. “Of course.” I give her a small smile, watching her as she walks over to the counter, reciting her order to the older woman behind the register. The cappuccino making barista must have gone home.

While Abby waits for her coffee, I grab my phone from the table and text Logan.

Me: You’ll never guess who my new client is. This is crazy. I’ll spill all the details when I get home.

I finish out my text just as Abby returns to the table with her coffee. Her nails are painted a deep blue-black color and silver rings are wrapped around three of her fingers. She really is the same person I left back in Providence.

“So,” she says, taking a sip of her coffee. “What were you saying?”

I swallow the lump that’s somehow made a permanent home in my throat. Guilt has found its way back to me. “I wanted to tell you why I left without saying goodbye.”

Abby waves me off. “That’s okay. We can save that conversation for another time. I want to know how you’ve been. What have you been up to?” She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table, her coffee cup cradled between her slim fingers.

Again, I’m shocked with Abby’s reaction. I figured she’d want to know why her best friend suddenly vanished and left without saying a word.

“Okay.” I take a sip of my coffee. It’s already cold and I’m wishing I had ordered another one. Curiosity eats away at me, stopping me from getting up. “How did you find me though?” I ask bringing my cold coffee back up for another sip. “I’m surprised to see you, but you don’t seem as surprised to see me.”

Abby adds a packet of sugar to her cup. “Well, last fall my father had told me about a position with an accounting firm with one of his buddies from college. He said he would put in a good word for me. I figured since you left, it was probably best for me to at least get back on the west coast. That way I wasn’t alone.” Her eyes shift to the side as she takes a sip of her coffee. She sets it back down, staring back at me. “The office was in West Hollywood, so it wasn’t too far from where my parents live in Los Angeles. At first, the job went smoothly. Most of my co-workers were friendly but one of the senior partners and I didn’t get along. I think he thought I was out to take his job or something.” She clears her throat. “Anyway, I decided to leave and look for work elsewhere. But the more I looked, the more I started to get frustrated. I was ready to give up when it dawned on me.” Abby smiles. “I should just start myownaccounting firm.”

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