Oh Love

Camilla and I went back to work full time. She was a bartender and I was back at the coffee shop. Timothy hadn’t been scheduled at all and I made a mental note to call him as soon as I could. We started looking for cheap apartments close to our jobs but we were finding nothing.

And I saw less of Alex than I wanted. I saw him when I came home but I was usually tired and only slept when I was home. He’d been putting up with a lot and I promised to make it up to him eventually. I was excited because the place was quiet today which meant I got to relax a little.

On my break I checked my schedule and was excited to find that I had the next two days off. I called Alex to tell him the good news while I ate the lunch he had made me that morning.

“Hello?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“I’m on break and I’ve got good news.”

“Ooh. Sounds like fun. Are you eating the perfect lunch I made you?” He laughed.

“Definitely. I love the chocolate chip cookies but I wish you had cut the crust off my sandwich.” I giggled.

“Damn. I’ll remember next time.”

“Good. Cause I should not be forced to eat this crap.”

“I know. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He laughed again. “So, good news?”

“I’ve got the next two days off.”

“Fuck yes.”

“I know. I’m stoked. I can sleep in and spend quality time with you.”

“Mmm. What should we do?”

“I dunno. I never did get the fun date you promised me.”

“That’s true. I guess we could do that.”

I laughed. “No need to sound so enthusiastic.” I joked.

“Sorry. I’m really bored right now. There is nothing but daytime soap operas on.”

I laughed again. “I’m sorry. No sports to watch?”

“No. I don’t know what the fuck is going on but I need some sports or something.”

“I know you do. You could come visit me at work. It’s pretty lonely here.”

“Hmm. It’s a thought. Maybe I will. I’m so bored and I could use seeing your face.”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “Mmm. Sounds good. Maybe we can do dinner later. If it’s empty enough I might get to leave early.”

“That sounds good. I’ll find somewhere for us to go.”

“Odette? Timothy’s here and he says he needs to talk to you” My manager popped in and smiled at me.

“Got it.” I said to her giving her the one minute signal with my hand. “Alex, I gotta go. Apparently Timothy’s here. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Alright. See you later.”

I hung up with him and cleaned up my lunch before walking out into the shop. I saw Timothy sitting at one of the tables waiting. I made coffee for the both of us and sat down across from him, handing him his coffee.

“Thanks.” He said.

“No problem. What’s up?”

“Well, we need to talk.”

“Oh no. Timothy, you’re not breaking up with me are you?” I joked.

He laughed. “No. We just need to talk. And ideally I’d love to talk to both you and Camilla but I haven’t had the time and I’m guessing neither one of you have. I’m sorry about the apartment and that I wasn’t here for the entire thing.”

I smiled at him. “Don’t worry about it. I know you tried. But you were with Jake and that’s fine. Camilla and I are both alive.”

He half smiled. “True. How are things with you and Alex?”

“We’re good. It’s been a little crazy cause he’s bored and Camilla and I have been working non-stop.”

“Wow. And he still wants to date you?” He grinned.

“Ha ha. Very funny. Why aren’t you on the schedule at all?”

He bit his lip. “Umm. I kind of quit.”

“Why?!”

“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Jake and I are moving in together.”

“That’s wonderful! Why does that mean you have to quit?”

He bit his lip again. “Because we’re also moving. Like out of state.”

“What? You can’t leave me.”

He smiled half-heartedly. “You know I love you, girl.”

“Yeah. I know.” I smiled. “But why are you moving to another state?”

He half grinned at me. “Jake kind of asked me to marry him.”

“Oh my god. Are you kidding me?”

He shook his head. “It was during the trip we took. And it was right before I heard about your building.”

“Aww! That’s amazing. Congrats!”

He smiled. “Thanks. I just wish I could stay.”

“Me too. Where are you guys moving?”

“California.”

“The other side of the country? Jesus.”

“I know, I know. It’s just...we don’t wanna wait for anything. For laws to change. Or people to accept it. We thought about New York but we also wanted a massive change of scenery.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. I’m really happy for you. Both of you. I better be invited to that damn wedding.”

He laughed at wiped his eyes. He had started crying. “You’ll be in the wedding. Shit. I’m sorry for crying. I just realized how much I am going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too. When do you leave?”

“On Monday.”

“That’s three days from now!”

“I know. I’ve been packing for a week straight. I’m exhausted.”

“I bet.”

“But I can’t stay much longer. Plan some time to hang this weekend and so we can say bye and stuff. But I have to go finish packing.”

“Aww. Alright. Well, I’ll call you. I’ve only got tomorrow and Saturday off. I’ve been working like crazy because we gotta save tons of money for a new apartment. We can’t find anything cheap.”

“I’m sorry. That’s irritating.”

“I know. Anyway. I’ll call you later about hanging out. Plan Saturday night.”

We both stood and I walked him to the door. “Sounds good. Love you, Odette.” He pulled me in for a hug and I squeezed him as hard as I could.

What was I going to do without my other best friend around?