Page 109 of February

“We’ve not been all loved up,” Melinda argued.

“Well, we kind of have,” Kyle replied. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you two have each other. But Mel can’t complain about me not telling her things when I called her, and she didn’t answer.”

“Should I maybe go?” Monica asked.

Bridgette placed her hand on Monica’s thigh and said, “No. We’ve just known each other forever, so we act like an old married couple.”

“Did you two…” Monica didn’t finish her question.

“No.” Melinda laughed.

“Definitely not,” Bridgette added.

“I asked the same thing whenwestarted dating,” Kyle shared, hooking her thumb at Melinda.

“How long?” Melinda asked then as she leaned over the table.

“Monica, do you want to take my seat since I’m the fifth wheel here?” Jill offered. “I can sit at the end of the table.”

“Oh, no. I’m fine here. I’m invading your lunch anyway,” Monica said.

“We’ve been on a few dates,” Bridgette answered Melinda’s question.

Melinda looked at Monica questioningly but didn’t ask her anything.

“So, how is it going at work?” Jill asked into the silence.

“Things are weird right now,” Bridgette shared. “My parents called Monica’s dad last night and told him that they want to sell and do it quickly, even though Monica’s work here wasn’t done. I got pissed off, so I spent all morning talking to them about how I had plans that could work, and I got them to agree to give me a few days to get something on paper and then present it to them before they officially sell.”

“And how does that work with you two?” Kyle asked. “You’re here to buy her company.” She looked at Monica.

“She’s on my side,” Bridgette replied.

“It’s true,” Monica confirmed with a smile as she put her own hand on top of Bridgette’s, which was still resting on her thigh. “It’s probably hard to understand, but I came here expecting to buy a company that I didn’t really think we needed to buy, not like this city much, and leave as soon as I could. I ended up thinking the company is worth saving without us buying it, loving New Orleans, and wanting to stay.”

“Well, Bridgette is pretty great,” Melinda said with a smile.

“She is. But it’s not just about her. She’s helped me see how great this place is,” Monica shared and smiled at Bridgette again. “I’m going to stick around for a bit, at least, to help her however I can with her business, but I have other motivations as well.” She winked at Bridgette.

“Other motivations.” Jill laughed.

“Shut up,” Bridgette said.

When the waiter arrived to take their order and Monica said that she didn’t want anything, the glare he gave her made Bridgette laugh. Bridgette ordered a small bowl of soup for Monica to appease the waiter and watched as Monica ate it because she felt bad. Then, after they were done with lunch, Monica went to pay for her soup, but Bridgette shook her head and put her own credit card to pay for both of them. They weren’t offered a dessert or coffee because the line was now outthe door, and the waiter’s sigh at having to take three credit cards told them all it was time to go. Pretty soon, the restaurants that didn’t do split checks year-round would all put up the signs that said they wouldn’t do split check anymore because, during the summer, it took way too long to process multiple credit cards for giant tables of tourists, and a lot of these places only had one or maybe two credit card machines.

As they all walked outside, Bridgette watched Kyle take Melinda’s hand, and she looked down, surprised, finding that she’d taken Monica’s in the same way without even knowing she had. She smiled down at their joined hands because this was what she’d always wanted.

“Ready to go back to work?” Monica asked, leaning over and pressing her side against Bridgette’s.

“Yeah,” she replied.

They said goodbye to her friends, but not without Melinda looking at Monica like she wasn’t quite sure this was the right thing for Bridgette, and Bridgette understood. She’d worried about Kyle for Melinda in the beginning, too. They’d always been protective of one another. And her best friend had every right to be worried because at least Kyle hadn’t had much of a life where she’d lived before. Monica, though, had her whole world in Manhattan and would be leaving.

“Are you okay?” Monica asked her.

“Yes. I’m thinking about how you’re here now, and it sounds like you’re staying for a bit, but if I make this presentation to my parents in a couple of days or something and they accept me taking over the company, you’re probably leaving, right?”

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