***Later that week***
Jennifer hadn't spoken to Ava, Cassie and Morgan since their breakfast on Saturday.
She was still miserable, and just throwing herself into her work.
The day before her birthday, Ava came and sat down next to her cubicle.
"Ok, this has gone on long enough. You know we love you, you know we weren't trying to hurt your feelings. We hate to see you like this. And as much as we hate to see you like this, you have to hate feeling like this. Come on, we miss you."
"Rubbing it in my face that my relationship is over wasn't intended to hurt my feelings?"
"We didn't mean it like that. Come on, we miss you".
"I miss you guys too. And yes, I hate feeling like this, but it's not like I can help it. I mean, how would you feel if you were told to dress up and your boyfriend sent a car service to pick you up and you were dropped off at a gorgeous building and told to take the elevator to the roof, and when you do, you see that he has literally thought of everything-roses, candlelit table for two, champagne, all your favorites for dinner, a string quartet….it was absolutely perfect. And I just knew his surprise was going to be that he wanted to marry me. And instead, it was that he's moving to Japan and he wanted me to go with him, but he couldn't promise me that we would still be together at the end of it all. How would you feel?"
"Ok, you're right. I'm sorry. That would suck, for sure. But sweetie, you are so beautiful and genuine and you have an adorable personality. If he is foolish enough to cut you loose, then maybe he wasn't the one for you".
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Look, I don't want to argue and I don't want to make you feel worse. Come out with us tonight. We'll go to the Blue Monkey's Tail. It's ladies' night, maybe some drinks and hearing some music will do you good".
"Fine".
"Great. We will pick you up at 6".
"Come to my house, we can take the car service".
"It's a deal".
"And look, I can't promise that I'll be the best company, but I'll give it a shot, alright?"
"That a girl".
Jennifer worked till 5, and then headed home.
At 6, Cassie, Morgan and Ava knocked on her door.
She was wearing a cheetah print sweater dress, with tall brown boots.
"Hi".
"Hi, come on in".
They came in while she finished putting on jewelry.
She called James and requested a pickup.
They were downstairs waiting when the car pulled up. James got out but didn't open the door for her.
He walked over to her.
"Miss Edwards, can I talk to you in private a moment?"
"Certainly".
They walked a little ways out of earshot.
"I'm sorry Miss Edwards, but Mr. Hart canceled your car service privileges. I cannot drive you unless you and I set up a payment arrangement."
"I see. Well, my friends and I are headed to the Blue Monkey's Tail. How much would that be?"
"It's rush hour, so it'll be $250".
"And that's out of my price range. Thanks anyways".
"I'm sorry Miss Edwards."
"That's ok, it's not your fault. Have a good night, James".
She walked back to her friends.
"Well, Jonathan canceled my car service privileges and a ride in the car to our destination is $250. So, it looks like we are either going to take a cab or get some exercise".
They all looked at each other.
"Cab", they said in unison.
They hailed a cab and headed to the Blue Monkey's Tail.
Jennifer had a few drinks and had a nice time, but she still couldn't quit thinking about Jonathan. She couldn't believe he had callously cut off the car service without telling her. He was turning into someone she didn't recognize.
As they left the bar that night, all 4 of them walked down the street together.
"Are you sure we can't take you out tomorrow night for your birthday?"
"I'm sure. This is one birthday I just want to pass me by".
As she crawled into bed that night, she was hoping that sleep would come quickly and easy.
She had almost drifted off to sleep when the phone rang.
She reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi. I'm sorry, I know it's late, but I wanted to be the first one to tell you Happy Birthday".
"Thank you".
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. How are you?"
"I'm fine, I guess. Japan is lonely without you".
"Jonathan, can I ask you something?"
"Of course".
"All those sweet things you said to me-did you really mean all of them?"
"Every one. I still do".
"So why did you cancel the car service?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Cassie and Ava and Morgan and I were going out tonight and I told them to come over and we could take the car service. And James pulled up and told me that you had canceled it and that if we still took it, it would be $250."
"Jennifer, I didn't cancel anything. I promise you, I'll figure out what happened".
"Thank you".
"I miss you, I still love you. I hope you know that".
"I miss you too".
"Well, I just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday. I hope you have a great day. And you know what they say, if you're ever in Tokyo…"
"Yeah, got it. Thanks for the birthday wishes, Jonathan".
"Goodnight, Jennifer".
"Goodnight, Jonathan".
She hung up the phone feeling sad, and tried to get some sleep.
He hung up the phone feeling sad and wished like hell he was still in New York.
***Later that day***
Jennifer was at work, and hadn't looked up from her computer in hours.
The receptionist came over with a delivery.
"Someone has an admirer…"
"Thanks".
"Welcome".
There were two bouquets of flowers, and a wrapped box. The first bouquet was pink and purple roses with baby's breath. She dug for the card, knowing it was from her father.
"Happy birthday my sweetheart, hope you have the best birthday ever. I love you-Pa".
The other bouquet was pink hydrangeas, stalks of jasmine, purple lilacs, sterling roses and baby's breath.
She dug for the card.
"Happy birthday darling-I love you and I miss you more than you will ever know. -Jonathan".
'How thoughtful'.
She unwrapped the package and found that it was also from Jonathan.
"I was going to give you this before I moved, but I never found the right time. Hope you enjoy it".
She kept unwrapping and found a gorgeous inlaid jewelry box with a floral pattern. She opened it to find a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet and some diamond drop earrings.
She picked up the phone and called him in Japan.
"Kon'nichiwa, hātoindasutorī, watashi wa anata no denwa o shiji suru koto ga dekimasu ka?"
"Hi. I don't speak Japanese. Jonathan Hart, please".
"It's ok, ma'am. Right away".
Jonathan picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi. It's Jennifer".
"Hey, how are you?"
"I'm good. I was just calling to say thank you for the flowers and the lovely jewelry box. But Jonathan, under the circumstances, I don't think I can accept the jewelry".
"Why not?"
"Because, we aren't together. It wouldn't be right".
"Jennifer, it's fine, I promise".
"Jonathan-"
"Jennifer, trust me. I've been doing some thinking. What if we did the long distance relationship thing? We can still be together and I'll fly you out for Christmas, and we can make it work".
"Jonathan, I don't know. This is hard enough without you here, I don't know that I can handle it".
"Well, then I'll just have to look you up when I get back to New York. I still love you, I hope you realize that".
"I guess deep down I still love you too".
"Look, before I head to this meeting, I straightened out the car thing. I told my secretary to cancel all my car service reservations for the foreseeable future and she must have canceled yours too. I'm sorry. You are more than welcome to use the car service or my penthouse anytime you want".
"Thanks, but I'm thinking it's best if we make a clean break. I mean, you are in Japan, and I'm here. I'll be fine, I swear. I think it's best if we just go back to being friends".
"Ok, well if you need something, you know where to reach me."
"Thank you. And thanks again for the flowers and the jewelry box and the jewelry".
"You are more than welcome. Bye Jennifer".
"Bye Jonathan".
She hung up and got back to work, pushing all thoughts of Jonathan out of her mind.
***A month later***
Christmas was just a few weeks away. Jennifer had decided to go somewhere warm for Christmas. She booked a solo trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico, for 4 days of fun and sun.
She was finishing things up at the office so she could head home and pack, since her flight left in the morning.
This was going to be her first flight since the one that crashed, so she was a little nervous. Nothing she can't handle, but the nerves were definitely there.
Ava came by and caught her just before she left.
"Hey, we decided to do dinner tonight and an impromptu gift exchange. Can you make it to Midland's at 8?"
"I suppose I could. Or we could have it at my place-order a pizza, I'll make some cocktails."
"I like that idea better. I will talk to the others".
"Tell them to come comfortable, at 7:30".
"Got it".
Jennifer packed her things and headed out.
She hadn't planned on doing gifts for them, but now that they wanted to, she had to find something for all of them.
She picked up some more of Cassie's favorite perfume for her, and three new books for Morgan by her favorite authors. Ava was a little harder, but in the end, Jennifer got her some new slippers and a fuzzy blanket for the couch.
Everyone arrived at 7:30, and Jennifer ordered 3 large pizzas for all of them.
They all exchanged gifts and enjoyed some cocktails.
This was one of the first times they had seen Jennifer happy and laughing since Jonathan moved to Tokyo.
"It's so good to see you having a good time. I think you finally got over what's his name".
"We are friends. And I didn't really have a choice, did I? He's not here".
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
She went and opened it.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Delivery for Jennifer Edwards."
"That's me".
"Merry Christmas, ma'am".
"Thanks, you too".
She closed the door and brought the package into the living room.
"Well, well, wonder what that is".
"Probably something from my father".
She got up and went to get the scissors.
"Jennifer, I thought you said your father was in Germany".
"He is".
"This package is from Tokyo".
She opened it and pulled out a box.
There was a note taped to the top.
"Merry Christmas, I hope you are doing well. Have fun in Mexico, talk to you soon, hopefully. Take this with you when you go. Love, Jonathan".
She opened the box and found a waterproof case for her ID, a sleep mask, a waterproof travel blanket that folded up really small, and an inflatable life raft that you could fit in your purse.
She started laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Jonathan sent me a plane crash survival kit. A sleep mask, a waterproof blanket, a life raft, it's all here".
"That's so sweet."
"Yeah, he's very thoughtful".
"Do you think you would still be with him if he hadn't left for Tokyo?"
"I think so. But I could be wrong. I asked him that and he couldn't tell me".
They stayed a little longer, and Jennifer refilled their cocktails.
She had a little tabletop tree with only one strand of lights on it. She put it all away while they hung out with her.
She brought her suitcase out and packed it while they all talked and chatted.
"What time is your flight tomorrow?"
"I have to be at JFK by 9".
"So do I".
"I have to be there by 9:30".
"I have to be there by 10".
"Well, why don't we share a cab?"
"Are we all flying the same airline?"
"Delta".
"Same".
"Same".
"Same".
"Ok, let's share a cab and hopefully our gates will be near each other".
They left around 11 and promised to be back at 8 in the morning.
Jennifer finished packing and headed to bed, dreaming of Mexico the whole time.
***The next day***
Everyone was right on time to Jennifer's place.
Morgan was first.
"Hey, I brought you this because you are always so gracious and generous and you always let us converge here which is so nice. You are the one with the most centrally located apartment, so it's sweet, but I know that we can be a lot. So, take this and enjoy".
She opened the box to find a bath bomb gift basket.
"Awww, thank you. You didn't have to do that".
They shared a sweet hug, and then they carried their bags downstairs to the lobby to wait for the others.
Cassie showed up next.
"Mimosas for everyone".
"Now we're talking".
Ava showed up last, and after they cheered and clinked glasses, they headed to hail a cab.
"Let's do this, ladies".