Page 87 of April

“I can’t believe this is actually happening. We’re getting married,” Melinda said.

Kyle smiled over at her, and Linden looked down to give them this moment together as she usually did with the couples she planned for. It was the moment when it really sunk in for the couple that steps were being taken, plans were being made, and this was real; they were going to get married. She’d witnessed it hundreds of times now, and it never got old, but today, it hit her differently.

“Hey, I heard about Asher,” Melinda said.

“What about her?” she asked, looking back up.

“She’s moving.”

“Oh. Yeah. She’s going to Dallas, I guess.”

“You guess?” Kyle asked.

“She’s going. She’s just confirmed it with our boss this morning.”

“How doyoufeel about that?” Melinda asked.

“Honestly, I’m not great,” Linden admitted, closing her notebook.

“I figured,” Melinda replied. “Best friend moving away; that’s tough.”

“She’s not just my best friend,” Linden said. “She’s this place.” She looked around.

“What do you mean?” Kyle asked.

“Ash got here a couple of years before me. We used to sit across from each other out there in the cubicles. We grew up together here. I’ve never been in this office without knowing that if she was out for the day, she’d be in tomorrow. I can’t count the times I’ve just walked into her office to see if she wanted to grab lunch or hang out later. She’s leaving, and I won’t have my best friend here anymore, but this place won’t be the same, either.”

“She’s not leaving the company, though, right?” Melinda asked.

“No, but it still won’t be the same. She’s going to be running the Dallas office. She’ll be crazy busy, and it’ll be hard for us to keep in touch. How many times a year can she really just visit New Orleans while she’s trying to set up her life there? She’ll make new friends and probably meet someone there. Then, she’ll settle down, and I’ll hardly see her.”

“I think you can both make the effort to stay connected,” Melinda said. “It’ll be hard, yeah, but you can’t just wash ten years of friendship away like that.”

“I know, but…” Linden leaned forward. “She’s never talked about wanting to move away. She loves it here. Now, she’s suddenly all about change and how she needs it? I call bullshit.”

“Bullshit?” Kyle asked.

“She got a job offer, Linden. It happens to be in Dallas. It’s not like she can just work from here and plan Dallas weddings easily,” Melinda added.

“She doesn’t want to move. I know it. I think something else is going on. She won’t tell me, though, so I’m in the dark, and I hate that. I’m never in the dark with her.”

“What do you think it is?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know. She just dumped Gavin and came out, and she loves planning weddings, but she wants to own her own company one day. She says this is good practice, and I don’t think she’s wrong, but it’s not the best practice. The best would be for her to wait it out here until she’s ready and to launch her own company here, where she’s always planned to.”

“You’re not in charge of her, though,” Melinda said. “If this is what she says is best for her future business plans, you don’t really get a say, Linden.”

“I know.” She sighed loudly. “I want her to be happy.”

“If this makes her happy…”

“I just… I don’t think it does. There’s something I can see in her eyes, and it’s bothering me.”

“Give her time. She’ll talk to you,” Kyle suggested.

“In the meantime, Ky and I have a question for you,” Melinda said with a smirk on her face.

“What?” Linden asked.

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