Page 27 of Meant to Be

She shook her head and said, “Did you get her number?”

When I didn’t answer, Berry groaned again. “Shit, Joe. You’re going to throw things away with Margaret over amodel?”

“Whoa, now, Berr,” I said. “No one is throwing anything away…and there’s no need to denigrate the woman’s profession.”

Berry took a few deep breaths and said, “Fine. You’re right. Her job is beside the point. The point is—if you call that girl—anygirl—things with Margaret will be done. Forever.”

“That seems a bit extreme.”

“It’s true.”

We stared at each other in a stalemate that she broke. “Do you love Margaret?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, picturing her sweet brown eyes. “I do.”

“Then get your shit together, Joe,” my best friend told me. “Once and for all.”

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