Page 66 of Loving London

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“This is the life. I’ve missed this,” I say to Paige as I lean back in the comfortable leather chair that’s massaging my back while my pedicurist is massaging my feet.

“Don’t you and Kate get mani-pedis?” Paige asks.

“Rarely. Kate is teaching me how to live the frugal life. Believe it or not, we give each other mani-pedis. We have this little foot-massaging kit and everything.”

“You make enough money to afford a manicure every now and then.” Paige looks over to me.

“I know, but Kate doesn’t make as much as I do. So, we tend to live to her budget. It’s actually been kinda fun. It’s like an adventure to see how far you can make your money stretch. You saw what we did with our apartment.”

“Yeah, I was super impressed. That was awesome. I still can’t believe you didn’t pay a designer.”

“Nope. It was all us.” The thought brings me pride.

“So, now that you’re on this independent kick, are you just never going to touch your trust fund again or what?” Paige asks.

“No, I will—eventually. But for something important. I’m thinking I’ll use it to buy a nice home for my family to live in someday.”

Paige nods. “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah,” I agree.

Paige flips through the color swatches. “I think I’m going to go with glittery pink. I’m in the mood for glitter.” She brings her eyes up to meet mine. “How’s Georgia? I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“She’s good. She’s actually in Madagascar, working with some world-renowned lemur expert.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” I grin. “She’s trying to save this species of lemur that’s almost extinct. She and this scientist are trying to get the remaining few to mate.”

“So, she’s like a lemur love expert?”

“She’s trying to be.”

“Gosh, what an overachiever,” Paige jokes. “Here I am, making ads to sell coffee, and she’s over there, saving an entire species.”

“I hear ya. Last week, I wrote about a local surfing competition, the latest Botox remedies, an NFL player’s cheating scandal, and the rising occurrence of gang-related drive-by shootings in LA. Not really saving the world.”

“Well, we all can’t save the world, or there would be no one left to do the other stuff. We each have our strengths.”

“True.”

“How are your parents?”

“Good. Dad’s as busy as ever, and Mom’s in Mexico, taking a three-week course to become an acroyoga instructor.”

“No way! That’s awesome.”

“I know. It’s so crazy.”

“Well, she’s happy, she’s healthy, and I’m sure your dad loves that she’s extra bendy.” Paige presses her lips together in a smirk.

“Ew, Paige. No, don’t go there.”

She laughs.

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