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not beta'd

storyline - Laugh

word prompt - tube

Alice and I were on our second glass of wine by the time Rose showed up.

"Ugh, sorry I'm late," she said, sliding in to the circular booth we were sitting in.

"It's cool," I said, kissing her cheek. I was happy to see her. Throughout the years we'd always gone through times of busyness and peace, work, school, relationships… but we always came back together. I'd missed having girl's night, I realized.

"What're you having?" she asked, nodding toward our wine glasses.

"A nice Riesling. It's great with the crab cakes," Alice said, pushing the little plate of appetizers toward Rose.

"Awesome; I'm starved," Rose said.

I paired a slice of lox with one of the fancy schmancy crackers they'd come with. "We can order more; we've been kind of grazing…"

We caught up for a while, the conversation segueing naturally from one thing to another. Eventually, though, it ended up on me.

"How've you been?" Rose asked, focusing on me. She had this way of looking at you that made you feel naked, like regardless of what you tried to keep hidden, she'd see it.

I shrugged. "I've been okay."

"Really?"

I knew without looking, by the rather loaded silence, that she and Alice were likely exchanging glances.

Sighing, I wiped my hands and sat back. "Really. I mean, whatever. There's nothing I can do about it. He's not coming back."

Alice grabbed my hand. "Why don't you go to him?"

"What?" I made a face. "Go to him? He left!"

"But you guys have been talking non-stop..." Alice argued.

"So?"

"So maybe his decision to leave was more to do with feeling stagnant than not wanting you," Rose said,

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked.

Rose shrugged. "Just telling you like it is. Like it might be, anyway. You said yourself things had been different between you two. And you know how ambitious Edward is."

"Why are you standing up for him?" I muttered, turning my attention to the stage. A woman with a beautiful voice was up there now, crooning about lost love. Fitting.

"Because you guys were so good for so long. This is obviously really affecting you," Alice said.

"You two have been discussing me, haven't you?" I sighed in resignation.

They answered in unison. "Yes."

"Well, he's on a work date tonight," I said.

Alice's face fell. "What does that even mean?"

"Exactly." I speared a cherry tomato on my fork and popped it in to my mouth. "I told him he needed to make some new friends he could talk to about crap like this, because I'm not trying to hear it. I mean really."

"Yeah, that's pretty lame," Rose agreed.

"I'm pretty sure he tried to email me back but I ignored it."

"Why?" Alice asked, almost annoyed. "Did you delete it?"

"No, I just haven't read it yet."

Rose grabbed my purse and dug around, finding my phone. "Read it."

"Why are you two so concerned with this?" I huffed, snatching my phone.

"Because, dummy, all you do is mope around, watch the boob tube and email your quasi ex," Rose said wryly. "An intervention was necessary."

"Is that was this is?" I asked.

"It is now. Check your emails."

I gulped down the rest of my wine and accessed my email account. The email was from Edward, as I'd suspected. Taking a deep breath, I opened it.

It's not really life that. It's just this girl from work. It's FOR WORK. We'll be discussing spreadsheets and accounts. If you want the truth, I think she likes me. If you want more truth, I find her attractive but I'm still in love with my ex girlfriend, who I've missed since before I left.

But I won't bother you with this anymore. The last thing I want is for you to be miserable.

Maybe I messed up by leaving, but I did what I felt I needed to you. I didn't want to resent you or our relationship, and that's what might have happened had I turned down the promotion.

I don't even know. I'm not making sense.

Tears swam in my eyes. I wiped impatiently at them, remembering belatedly my mascara.

"Oh, babe," Alice cried, scooting closer. "What did he say?"

Wordlessly, I handed her the phone.

Rose looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Don't tell me he frigged things up that bad."

I shook my head. Our waiter wandered up to the booth, bottle of wine in hand. "Can I get you ladies another glass?"

"Just leave the bottle," I said. "Please."

Rose grabbed the phone once Alice was finished and scanned the email.

"See?" she said, handing to back to me. "Miserable. The both of you. Go to him."

I didn't have any pride left, so that wasn't the issue. I was worried more about my heart.

If I was honest with myself, though, I wasn't doing too well in the heart department either. Something had to give; someone.

Guess it was going to be me.