Macie nodded, barely able to keep her own heart from exploding. Even if it didn’t pay much, she could add it to her resume. And right now a dollar was more than she had to her name. The deposit on her new apartment was astronomical. The minute she left graduation with her mom, they were going to eat too many tacos and then move her stuff into her new place. Hers. All hers. Macie couldn’t contain herself. She lunged at Lauren and started laughing. “You’re amazing.”
“Yes, I am.” Lauren squeezed Macie. “And this is only the beginning. I’ve got another app brewing in my brain. It’s going to be a while before I can start working on it, but will you help with the graphics?”
“You know I will.” Macie let go and pulled away from her friend. “Around my job at the station. They’ve got me in Wednesdays through Sundays with some Mondays thrown in for good measure. Any time after that, I’m yours.”
“I knew I could count on you. It’ll probably be closer to the end of the year. Still have a wedding to plan, a honeymoon to figure out. Mom...” Lauren’s eyes glazed over, and she shook her head. “So much is changing, Mace. I know this is cliché but promise me we’ll always be friends.”
Macie smiled at the cliché and knew it was something that would drive Zac up the wall. “Of course. Just because we don’t live in the same zip code doesn’t mean shit. You’re my best friend. Always.”
“Lauren,” Ford said behind them. Macie had totally forgotten he was even there. “We need to go.”
“I know.” Lauren’s face turned somber. She squeezed Macie’s hands and let go. “I’ll stop by your new place this week.”
“Sounds good.” Macie smiled as Lauren turned around and strolled away with her arm around Ford’s waist. They were going to be happy together. She knew it in her core. And it made her jealous. Ford wasn’t a bad guy. He always put Lauren first. If she wasn’t around, Macie wouldn’t even talk to a guy like Ford. And by proxy, she wouldn’t have to deal with Zac. Where was he anyway? It wasn’t like Zac not to be around Ford for a big moment.
“Ready, kiddo?” Mary rubbed Macie’s shoulder. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to move. And a lot of margaritas to drink.”
Not really a lot of stuff. It was only one trip in her mom’s truck. She didn’t even have furniture. Macie smiled at her mom anyway. “Yeah, let’s go.”
MACIE JUGGLED THE BOX as she unlocked the door to her new apartment. It wasn’t as close as she’d like to the station, but she could still walk and bike there. The old three-story brick school had been converted into apartments over the last year. Macie was lucky there’d been a vacancy. Lofts were the hot new thing these days. Her studio wasn’t big by any standards, but it was perfect for her. Eight-hundred square feet with a small kitchen and bath in a safe building was exactly what a single girl in Louisiana needed. She wasn’t far from Crafts and the BoHo district either.
The door swung in and Macie’s breath stuck in her throat. A large futon sat against the exposed brick wall of the living room-slash-bedroom area. A coffee table sat on a plaid rug in front of it. Macie stepped further into the room. Under her lone window was a small desk and chair. Across from the futon was an oversized armoire that filled half of the wall. Her easel leaned against it with a large blank canvas, her paint case opened on the floor as if being displayed. It had been so long since she picked up her brushes. She missed them more than she realized.
Her heart surged when she saw the final item. A wingback chair and ottoman nestled into the corner by the desk. Mary had read to her every night in that chair. Macie had never told her mother how much she loved it, but Mary clearly knew.
“You’re giving me your chair?” Macie asked. She set the box on the coffee table and settled into the seat. It molded around her as if waiting for Macie to sit in it again.
“Seemed appropriate.” Mary took a spot on the futon. “This is comfier than I expected. I almost got a daybed, but a futon was more you.”
Tears tickled Macie’s eyes. “Mom, you can’t afford all this.”
Mary smiled at her daughter and shook her head. “You’ve always had it in your head that we had nothing. Maybe that’s my fault, but it’s not a bad thing. Kid, I’m not rich by any means. I work hard earning what I do, but we’ve never been poor in the traditional sense. I’ve been putting aside money for years.”
Macie’s eyebrows scrunched together.
“You rarely asked for anything, and I never offered you more than you needed.” Mary smiled sadly. “It wasn’t that I couldn’t give it to you, within some limits, but it was more about you learning independence and earning your way. You learned a lesson I was forced into.” Mary shrugged. “I’m proud of you, Macie Jean. You’re making the world your own.”
“So when I was seven,” Macie said, still trying to wrap her head around this sudden change in her mother’s financial situation, “and asked for an Itsy Bitsy Doll for my birthday —”
“Those dolls were fifty bucks a pop.” Mary’s face twisted in disgust. “And your friends were collecting them. I wasn’t about to spend that much money on something that would just set on your shelf to collect dust.”
Macie searched her mind for a time she might have played with the dolls. Her friends had done exactly what her mother said. Whenever she was at one of their houses, they played other games. The dolls never left the coveted shelves. “You bought me a skateboard. I still have that.”
Mary laughed. “Fun and practical.”
Macie pulled
