“Jen!” I cried. “It’s so good to see you.”
“And to think I was worried I wouldn’t recognize you,” she said, hugging me back. “Two years. I haven’t seen you for two years.”
“I know. We have so much to catch up on.”
Before she did anything else, she grabbed my hand and stared at the engagement ring. “That is beautiful,” she said. “I can’t wait to see the groom. I’m still mad at you that you never sent me any pictures of him.”
“He hates cameras. It’s a weird personality thing. Otherwise, he’s semi-normal.”
As I settled her plastic tiara on her head she said, “If he’s marrying you, he can’t be very normal.”
I chuckled. She was right there.
We pushed her trolley to the car park and unloaded the bags into my car. “Are you moving to the UK?” I asked. There were some heavy suitcases here.
“I wasn’t sure what I’d need. Everyone says the weather in England can be unpredictable this time of year, so I pretty much brought my whole wardrobe. My best girl’s getting married. I’m taking a vacation.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
She naturally walked towards the driver’s side, as every North American does, and then giggled and re-routed herself to the passenger side.
I told her I couldn’t talk until I’d navigated my way out of Heathrow. She yawned and obligingly kept her mouth shut until I’d managed to get all the way out of Heathrow and headed in the correct direction back towards Oxford. Then I said, “Okay, tell me everything.”
“Well, everybody sends their best wishes and is super jealous that I got invited to your wedding and they didn’t.”
I winced slightly. “We’re trying to keep the wedding small. Besides, I didn’t want people to have to pay a lot of money to come and see me get married.”
“That’s okay. Everybody understands.” She leaned towards me until our shoulders bumped. “I saw the Toad.”
I did a theatrical grimace and shudder combination. My cheating ex, Todd, would forever be the Toad to Jen and me. “I hope you told him I was getting married.” I might not care about him anymore, but I wanted to rub his nose in my happiness on principle.
“Babe, I’ve got your back. I not only told him you were getting married, I told him you were marrying a guy with a title and a castle.”
I burst out laughing. The crazy thing was, it was true. Rafe never used his title, but William had shown me the documents. He was Sir Rafe Crosyer, knighted by Queen Elizabeth herself. The first one.
“And what’s the Toad doing?” I asked. I didn’t really care, but I could tell she wanted to share.
“Well, he got downsized from his job. Because he’s an idiot. Monica and he got back together, but that’ll never last. Basically, he’s the same.”
“Did he send me a message or anything?”
“You know Todd. He said, ‘Some chicks get all the breaks.’”
Then we talked more about mutual friends, though I could see those friendships already fading after two years. She said, “When are you coming home? Even just for a visit?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll take Rafe back to show him where I grew up, but I like it here. My life is here now. I can’t wait for you to see my little shop. I’m learning to knit.”
“So you keep saying. Are you any good?”
“Absolutely terrible.”
She burst out laughing. “I learned to knit.”
“No way.”
“I did. When we were all stuck staying home anyway, I learned it by watching videos online.”
“Are you any good?”
“Not bad. I knitted a few scarves, and then I tried socks. Socks are harder than you’d think.”
If Jen could successfully knit socks, she was way ahead of me.
“When are your parents arriving?”
“They’re already here. They’re very excited to see you.”
“Wow. It seems ages.” She turned to me. “Do you know we’re going to be thirty this year?”
“I had noticed that. Yes.”
I would be first, on the twenty-first of June. Jennifer was a September baby. She said, “I sort of thought I’d be married by now or at least know what I was doing.”
“You’re doing great.”
“No. I’m really not.” A lorry, aka a truck, overtook me and then cut in front of me. I was in the slow lane, but apparently going at the speed limit was too slow for some drivers. Jen took off her tiara and played with it in her lap. “I quit my job.”
Okay, this was a surprise. “You did?”
“I was bored and not going anywhere. Well, you remember what it’s like working in a cubicle all day?”
I nodded, so happy I never had to go back. Working in a knitting shop wasn’t always ideal, but it suited me much better than a corporate career. “But you got that promotion.” I remembered how excited she’d been.
“I did. I think that was the beginning of the end. Working in the medical insurance field isn’t my dream job, and then I had to hire and motivate people, and I couldn’t do it anymore.” I felt the intensity of her stare, though I didn’t want to shift my eyes from the road even for a second. “We’re going to be thirty! I need to find my career before it’s too late.”
“Okay,” I said. “You’re smart, personable. You’ll find the right thing.”
“If only I knew what it was. I’ve always admired people who grow up knowing they want to be a doctor or astronaut or whatever. I still don’t know.”
“We’ll figure it out. I’ll help you.”
“Single, jobless, and thirty. Never saw that coming.”
Why did I suddenly feel guilty? I was marrying the love of my life, loved my job, and so turning thirty wasn’t any more traumatic than knowing my youth was fading. I completely understood how
