Page 20 of Steadfast

After all the years of their friendship and countless Saturday brunches at trendy coffee shops, Oakleigh knew what her best friend preferred. She splashed milk in Mia’s mug until the drink was a beautiful golden hue.

When Oakleigh went to take her first glorious sip, she noticed an obnoxiously bright yellow sticky note on the side of her travel mug. She immediately recognized Maeve’s handwriting.

Remember to listen today.

And don’t be late for work!!!!

— Maeve

“Four exclamation points? Really, Maeve?” She gave a slight eye roll as she finally took a drink, letting the rich brew warm her from the inside out. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she glanced at the time.

Lateagain.

While taking her key fob off the hook in the foyer, she heard the sound of careful footsteps making their way down the creaky wooden stairs. Mia appeared, wearing designer jeans and a beige cashmere sweater.

“Where you headed?” Mia inquired, raising her eyebrow as she quickly scanned Oakleigh’s outfit. “Dressed like this—”

Oakleigh examined herself in the mirror. Her jeans were paired with a blue flannel button-up over her white undershirt. Her golden blonde hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she glanced down at her cowboy boots, wondering now if she had taken the outfit a step too far.

“To the shop?” Oakleigh answered. She prepared herself to be teased for her choice of attire that day.

“That’ll be fun,” Mia said, mindlessly primping in the large entryway mirror. “So you must be going live today?”

Oakleigh’s eyebrows furrowed together as she tilted her head to the side, trying to connect the dots.

The realization of what Mia was implying was worse than she had expected. “This isn’t some ensemble for my channel. This is what I wear to work.”

Mia’s eyes went wide, and her voice rose higher than ever. “Like, just today? Or is this an everyday kind of thing?”

Oakleigh winced as she nodded slowly, letting the reality sink in.

“Well, as long as your cute cowboydoesn’t seem to mind.” Mia shrugged, her initial concern fading away as quickly as it had arrived.

Oakleigh grabbed the second travel mug and handed it off to Mia. “Maeve wasn’t sure how you liked it, but I remembered.”

Mia looked at her drink with unease, “I’m kind of off dairy right now.”

“Oh,” Oakleigh responded. It was odd seeing the little signs of just how much her best friend had changed, and she suddenly felt unsettled and self-conscious. “No worries, I have oat milk at the shop. Trust me, it’ll be great to finally have someone drink it.” Except for a few tourists, the locals just didn’t quite understand the alternative milk trend.

“Will there be more cute cowboys?” Mia asked as Oakleigh swung the door wide, allowing her to pass by onto the porch.

“There will be cowboys,” Oakleigh said apologetically. “But just warning you. Not too many of them will be cute.”

Stepping into the car, Mia pressed into the comfortable seats, inhaling the lingering scent of leather and the new car smell. “I’m so happy you still have this thing.”

“Yeah,” Oakleigh said, pushing the ignition button and pressing her travel mug securely into the cupholder. “It’s nice and all but—”

“Whatever you’re about to say, just don’t!” Mia exclaimed, “This car has way too many great memories. You can’t sell it.”

Oakleigh was not ready to get into the big discussion over all the not so great memories the vehicle brought to her mind. “It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.”

Pressing the gas pedal to the floor, she took the G-Wagon down the dirt road fast, causing a cloud of dust to billow behind them.

“Same old Oaks,” Mia noted as she clutched the handle above her head. “Still driving like a maniac.”

Mia gazed out over the expanse of green acreage whizzing by. “So, give me the scoop. Is Maeve loaded?”

“She doesn’t really talk about money,” Oakleigh replied, keeping her answer brief. She could already hear the earful from Maeve.

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