on the way out the door to make coffee. After filling up my coffee cup, I sit down on a lounge chair on the deck gazing out past the infinity pool into the ocean. Mia answers on the second ring.
“Hey there celebrity hotshot. I see you had a night out at Dray’s.”
I roll my eyes, but smile. “I see you’re still spending too much time reading gossip blogs and drooling over my boyfriend.”
“Yes, yes I am. And Chase, too.” My smile gets bigger hearing it. As much as Mia is adamant it’s nothing serious, I saw the looks they tossed back and forth last week. They’re both falling, hard and fast, and I know it’s only a matter of time before Mia gives into her independent ways and let’s go with him.
“I need to talk to you. It’s serious.” I take a sip of my coffee wondering how to start, but the blunt truth is easier. “The guys want me to play the keyboard on their next album.”
“Hot Damn! Seriously?” I move the phone away from my ear to prevent my ear drums from exploding at her high frequency squeals.
“I’m on my first cup of coffee, can we keep the screaming to a minimum?”
“No way. Not with that news. What did you say?” I imagine her dancing around her office doing her happy dance that she always does when she’s excited.
“I said no. Again and again. But no one listened. Even Aaron wants me to do it.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Seriously, Mia? You have to ask me that?”
“You’ve been playing since you could walk practically, you’re talented and never put it to use. You’re dating the guy every woman under the age of forty-five in America dreams about, he loves you like crazy, and he wants you in his band. What exactly is there to debate about this?” She continues without even taking a breath although my mind is already reeling from everything she just said. “You have one life. And you’ve had a crappy couple of years, I say you do this and make the most of it and have some freaking fun with it while you have the chance. Besides, isn’t this what we dreamed about when we were fifteen?”
“There’s something else.” I take a deep breath before letting out the most important news I have to share. “Zack wants me to move here with him. As in move in with him.”
“Wow. And you’re thinking?”
“That it’s too soon. And it’s absolutely too crazy to even consider. And that I want it more than anything and the thought alone makes me so terrified I want to jump off his infinity pool and just end the madness by slamming into the jagged rocks on the cliff. And that I don’t want to leave him for a single second, but I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not to get so caught up in all this madness.”
“So you’ve given this some thought.” I snort. She’s such a smart ass. And then, the phone is completely silent. I wonder if she hung up until I hear a deep sigh come through the other end.
“I have something to tell you.” Her voice loses all excitement and becomes serious. Mia never sounds serious so I know this isn’t good.
“And?” I ask hesitantly.
“I’m up for a job promotion. It’s been offered to me for a while now, but I never took it. But now, I’ve been thinking of accepting.”
“This is great news!” I almost feel like doing my own happy dance for her, but I know there’s more coming and I’m sure it’s the part that I won’t like. “So, why do you not sound happy about this?”
“It’s in management….managing in the International department.” And before she finishes the thought I know what it means. You can’t be in an international department in the heart of the Midwest. She will have to move to New York. She doesn’t have to say the words for me to understand. And she also doesn’t have to tell me, and won’t tell me because she’s too damn nice, that the reason why she turned it down in the past is because of me and my issues for the last year.
I had held her back, my best friend, from her dream career. Damn it. That stings.
“You have to take it, Mia.” I try to sound brave and courageous. I think my words come out sounding like an injured cat. I’m just barely holding in my shock at her news,