Page 4 of Feels Like Coming Home

We’ve done it every week since.

“Ooh, can we get Thai?!” I asked, knowing he would tell me yes even though he didn’t like Thai as much as I did.

“Sure, you want your usual?” he asked, looking back to his computer screen.

“Yes please!” I exclaimed as I walked over to him again, carrying my bag, shoes finally on, and keys in hand.

I leaned over one more time and dropped a kiss on his head which prompted him to look at me. He smiled up at me, his eyes flashing between mine and my lips, his silent indicator that he wanted another kiss. I gave him what he silently asked for and leaned into it. We kissed like this for a few moments, getting caught up in one another again. Suddenly, my internal alarm went off reminding me that I was VERY late for my meeting. I pushed him away and took a breath. Is it even possible to love someone more than I love Connor? I seriously doubted it.

“I love you,” I whispered to him.

“I love you more,” he answered, just like he always did.

I said goodbye to him with a wave and headed out the front door, locking it behind me. Once in the car, I sent off a quick text to Piper letting her know I would be late and that I would buy her a large coffee and a pastry as an apology.

Then, I plugged in my phone, hit the start button for the car, and turned the music all the way up as I pulled out of the driveway.

Piperand I had been sitting at a local coffee shop for two hours and my phone had already rung twice from a number I didn’t recognize. Maybe it was because of how I was raised, but I never answered my phone if I didn’t recognize the number. I figured if it was important enough, they would leave a voicemail.

“Okay, so we need to start to organize for our annual conference which is going to be held downtown next spring. Where do you want to start?” Piper asked as she pulled out a fresh notepad and pen.

I loved Piper, but her requirement to write everything down on paper before typing it up after the fact never made sense to me.

She and I had been friends since we connected on Facebook through the “Freshman Roommate Finder” page for our college. We knew we didn’t want to live with some random stranger and immediately bonded over our obsession for rewatching the same shows four hundred times and Taylor Swift. She grew up in Indiana and I grew up in Pennsylvania, so we also connected on being born and raised in states where the yearly county fairs were the major events people got excited about.

We were the perfect pair: she was level-headed, a great listener, and super organized. I, on the other hand, jumped at any new idea I had and moved a million miles a minute. It drove both her and Connor crazy sometimes, but they loved me for it. After graduating, Piper told everyone she was going to go to law school to become a public defender but by the end of the first semester, she quit and came to work for me.

For the last several years, we have worked to build She Who Thrives into a full-scale business known around the world. I started She Who Thrives as a college blog, just sharing what being in college was like. Now, it included public speaking events, courses, a podcast, and my personal favorite, our annual conference. There is nothing I loved more than what I do at She Who Thrives, which supports women in living a life they love.

I was the figurehead and CEO of She Who Thrives and Piper was my second in command. She did things like organize calls, map out new podcast episodes, and made sure that I didn’t go too far off course chasing some new exciting thing. We worked well together and have made She Who Thrives something amazing, and for that, I was grateful.

“Yes! Can you remind me what attendance was last year? I think we need to start by picking a venue based on projections for attendance and then go from there,” I replied after thinking about everything Piper and I had achieved over the years.

She shuffled through some papers and I laughed as I watched her.

“You know…it would be a lot faster to find these things if you just put everything on your computer. That is why I bought it for you.”

“Oh hush, I have everything I need right here just give me a second to find it,” she threw back at me, finally finding what she was looking for.

“Here we go! So last year we had…345 women attend live which was amazing for only our second year. The year before that we had about 275, so a clear increase in ticket sales. I think it would be a safe bet to book a venue that could seat at least 400 people if you wanted!”

“Yeah, I totally agree, I think we should—” I paused because my phone started ringing, again.

“Oh my god, this is the third time this number has called me since we’ve been here,” I sighed before showing Piper the number on my screen.

“Why don’t you just answer it?” she asked like any reasonable adult would.

“Because I don't know this person! What if it’s a scam or a creep looking to get off by the sound of my voice? I have a very sexy voice, you know.” I smirked.

“Oh my god, I don’t wanna know what Connor has said to make you believe that, but you’re full of it,” Piper quipped.

“I’ll just let it go to voicemail. If they need me, they will leave something for me to hear,” I said, putting my phone back down.

“Oh my god, you’re ridiculous, just answer it. Or better yet, let me answer it so we can move on and I can avoid hearing your sexy voice,” Piper huffed as she snatched the phone from my hand to answer it.

“Hello, this is Piper speaking. Sorry, you don’t get to hear Haley’s sexy voice but…” She stopped talking as if she was interrupted and I watched as the color drained from her face,

“Yes…say that again…oh my god…okay, please hang on a second.” She pulled the phone away from her mouth and looked at me like she was about to be sick. “It’s about Connor, there’s been an accident.”

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