Page 3 of Return to Rosewood Beach

She’d come there to her favorite upscale New York coffee shop to meet with her best friend, Dana, who would be arriving at any moment. She took another sip of her coffee and sighed. It tasted delicious, and the extra shot of espresso seemed to be already working its magic, but she scolded herself for spending six dollars on a coffee when she didn’t have a job.

I’m used to having enough money for everything, she thought, feeling her stomach flop.Enough money for food,clothes, makeup, and fancy drinks like this. I’ve got to get used to not having any extra money, at least for a while.

She bit her lip. She had a decent amount of savings, but life in New York was insanely expensive, and she couldn’t afford to be without a job for long.

She glanced at her watch, wondering where Dana was. Curiously, she turned her head toward the doors to the coffee shop, and then a smile spread across her face as she saw her friend stepping inside. She lifted a hand in greeting and Dana hurried over to her table.

“Girl, what’s up?” Dana gave Julia a hug, looking worried. Dana always wore bright colors and smelled faintly of citrus. Julia smiled weakly and sat back down.

“You should go get your drink. I’ll be right here.” She’d told herself that the words would come easily as soon as she saw her best friend, but now she realized that she needed some time to gather her thoughts. She wanted to tell Dana all about getting fired, and at the same time, she didn’t want to talk about it at all.

“Okay. I got a mobile order, so I’ll be back in a flash.”

Dana returned in less than a minute, holding a large iced coffee. She sat down across from Julia, looking worried. “You look worn out.”

Julia shrugged and tried to laugh off her friend’s words. “I mean, I’ve gotten a lot more sleep than usual the past two nights. In theory. I’ve gotten to sleep in, but I keep waking up and tossing and turning. So I shouldn’t have any massively dark circles under my eyes or anything.”

Dana shook her head, looking confused. “What on earth are you saying? What happened?”

“I’m just saying that I probably look worn out because I’m not all dolled-up like usual. Because why? Because I have no one to impress.”

Dana leaned forward, giving her friend a kind but slightly reprimanding look. “Julia. What happened?”

Julia bit her lip, trying to fight back the tears that had sprung into her eyes. “I got fired.”

“No.” Dana reached across the table and squeezed Julia’s hand. “I don’t believe it. Why?”

“Oh, well apparently they’re eliminating my position altogether.” She let out a bitter laugh. “But it’s more than that. My boss didn’t even explain it all to me in person, but he sent an email after I’d left with all my stuff.”

“How warm,” Dana said sarcastically, looking indignant.

Julia nodded. “He said that even though my work has been great—I mean, my events have all been so successful in the past year, and he acknowledged that—one of my coworkers, Cheryl, kept reporting me as difficult to work with. I mean, I guess I was kind of difficult to work with at times, but not to the extent that I should be fired! I was just trying to do my job as efficiently as possible. And besides, I essentially got fired because of a lie. What really did it was that Cheryl accused me of sabotaging other members of the team in favor of gaining recognition for myself.” She felt the tears rush into her eyes again, with more intensity this time. She blinked them back and took a deep breath, shaking her head. “I would never do that. I know Cheryl didn’t like me, but I can’t believe she would do something like this. And I trusted Marshall—I thought he had my back. But he didn’t even stand up for me and or let me tell him my side of the story.” A couple of the tears slipped out and she wiped them hurriedly away.

“Well, first of all, you show me what this Cheryl looks like and if I ever see her on the street I’m going to ‘accidentally’ spill coffee all over her.” Dana’s eyes widened with indignation, and she brandished her coffee cup emphatically.

Julia laughed, feeling encouraged by her friend’s support. “No, don’t do that. It’s in the past now. If that’s what my workplace was really like behind my back, then I don’t want to be there anymore. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“Something better will open up, I’m sure of it. You’re going to find a better job, with better coworkers, and maybe even make more money. This isn’t the end of the world.”

Julia tried to smile bravely at her friend’s optimism. She was grateful for Dana’s words, but she couldn’t quite believe them. She knew it wasn’t really the end of the world, but it still felt that way.

At that moment, Dana’s phone buzzed on the table, and she looked down at the text message that had just come in.

“Oh, no.” Dana ran her fingers through her hair, looking suddenly frazzled. “Julia, I’ve got to go, I’m so sorry. There’s a work emergency and they need me there ASAP.”

Julia’s heart twisted in disappointment, but she smiled as if it was no big deal. “No worries. Thanks for being here for a little while, at least.”

Both friends stood up and hugged.

“I’m buying you magazines and ice cream and a really soft blanket,” Dana said as they pulled away from the hug.

“Don’t do that.” Julia laughed. “I had my couch potato day yesterday. I don’t want to just lie around anymore. I need to figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“Okay, fine, just the ice cream.” Dana winked, and then her phone buzzed again. “Ahh, this is such an inconvenience. I’ve really got to go. I’ll call you later. Love you!”

“Love you!”

Julia waved and smiled as Dana hurried out of the front door of the coffee shop. Then she sat down in her chair, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly tired.

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