Page 124 of February

“You are. We just need to plan when we’ll announce it to everyone and how,” her dad replied.

“Thank you,” she said on a sigh.

“You thank us by doing everything you said you’d do. We believe in you, honey,” her mom replied and paused for a second. “But why does it feel like there’s something else going on with you? You have this face right now.”

“I don’t have a face.”

“Yes, you do. You’re sad, but we just told you that you have nothing to be sad about.”

“I do, actually,” she admitted.

“What?” her dad asked.

“Well, very recently, I fell in love with a woman, and I just found out that she’s leaving sooner than I thought.”

“You’re in love?” her mom asked. “What? With whom? When did you start dating someone?”

“Recently,” she replied. “And you can probably guess, based on today’s events, the answer to the ‘who’ question.”

“No, I can’t. I–” Her mother’s eyes moved to Bridgette’s empty desk and then back to Bridgette. “No!”

“Yup.”

“What am I missing here?” Bridgette’s father asked.

“Monica? Honey, you’re in love with Monica Arnette?”

“Yes.”

“But she’s only been here a few weeks.”

“I know,” Bridgette replied. “Still true, though.”

“We thought you hated her,” her dad said.

“Nope. I’ve just been falling in love with her since she got here, and now she’s leaving.”

“Does she know how you feel? I mean, I didn’t ask. Is she… gay, too?”

“Yes, Mom.” she chuckled. “She’s gay. We’re together. We decided to become a couple last night.”

“That explains why she started helping you plan to take over instead of working on the sale.” Her dad nodded to himself, things starting to click in his mind now. “And why she looked so sad before, when she told us she needed to call her father and wouldn’t be part of the sale anymore.”

“She’s a good person and makes me happy,” Bridgette said.

“Then, why are you sad? You knew she’d be leaving.”

“She told me last night that she’d be staying for a while. She likes it here, and she was going to take some time off, but then, her father called, and there was the sale, and–”

“And she defied him because of you,” her mom said.

“She did, which only makes me love her more, but she’s still leaving. She thought her dad would work for another year or two, but he’s retiring now, and she has to go back to New York for some big meeting where he announces it and names her as the next CEO. We thought we’d have more time.”

“Well, I can see why that might be disappointing, but you said you’re in love with her, Bridge. You can figure it out. If she feels the same way, I’m sure you will,” her mom said.

“She offered to send her family’s private jet to get me or something, for weekends when I’m going there, but I’ve nevereven been to New York, Mom. I wouldn’t fit in. Everything there always seems so fast, and there’s hardly any grass. I know she’s going to be busy. What would I even do there if she needs to work late or over the weekend when I go to visit? And I’m going to be running this place, too, so I can’t just fly off whenever I want. I need to be here, especially in the beginning.” Bridgette sighed. “I just want what Mel has, you know?”

“No, I don’t know,” her father replied.

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