Page 85 of Strictly Business
“Nin, I—”
“Michaela—”
“You’re not listening to me! Nina, it doesn’t matter what you say, I’m doing this. I’m giving this another shot. I owe it to my marriage, to David, to me.”
“You’re running away. You’re scared of what you had with Finn, so you’re choosing to—”
“Nina! Damnit!” I interrupt her, and it comes out harsher than I mean it to, but fuck…she’s not listening to me. Taking a deep breath, I massage my temples an ache beginning to form between my eyes. “I love you. I appreciate everything you have done for me, but for the sake of our friendship, you have to let me do this.” I sigh and meet her unwavering stare as she swirls the glass on the table between us. “You have always been there for me, making sure I don’t fall on my ass, protecting me. You gotta let me make my own decisions or mistakes. Whatever this is, you have to let me do this. I need to prove to myself, to you, to everyone, that I can be grown up.”
She starts to say more, but stops and downs the rest of the wine her glass in one sip. “Fine,” she says. “If this is what you really—”
“It is.”
“Then I support you, regardless if I agree or not.” Nina stands from her seat and goes to the bar mumbling something along the lines of needing another drink.
“I need this to stay between us,” I say stepping through the front door of SoHo House. “I don’t want this getting around, not yet. And, if you tell Nick, he’s going to tell Josh, and Josh is going to tell—”
“I thought you were going to be to be an adult about this,” Nina says a few steps behind me. When I turn around, the knot in my stomach lessens noticing the smirk on her lips. She’s teasing me.
“What will you tell Nick when he asks why I showed up in Chicago?”
“That you missed me, duh.”
“I have missed you.” It’s true. I do miss her. I didn’t realize how much until recently. Nina and I have been friends for ten years, and before the move, we were together almost every day. We have barely seen each other since I moved to New York, and when we do, it’s usually work-related. Sure, we grab dinner afterward, but it hasn’t been the same.
“At least you’ll be a little closer in Washington.” A black SUV pulls up to the curb. I’m grateful she was loaning me her car for the trip back to the airport. I was not looking forward to the cab bill out of downtown. Her features are more serious when she turns back to me, “I promise I won’t say anything, only if you promise to do it as soon as the wedding is over.”
I nod accepting her terms. I couldn’t ask anything more of her. A silence falls between us and that knot forms in my stomach again. “Nin, I’m doing the right thing, right?”
“I can’t answer that for you, Michaela. Only you can decide what’s right for you.”
“But—”
“Are you having second thoughts?”
Yes.
“No,” the lie rolls off my tongue easier than it should. But, isn’t it normal to second guess a decision like this? To be afraid of the unknown.
“Then, I’d say you’re doing the right thing.” She greets the driver before turning back to me. “Everyone is going to have something to say about this, Michaela,” she warns. “Regardless of what anyone thinks, you have to do what is best for you.”
“And do the grown-up thing at the same time.”
“The grown-up thing,” she shakes her head with a soft smile. “Oh, Mic. I love you, even when you get on my last nerve.”
“I love you too, Nin.”
“Good, then don’t bring David to my wedding.”
I laugh, “Wasn’t even an option.”
Part Three
You’re gonna make it.
Psalm 23
(simplified)