Perfect Match

Perfect Match (5)

Work on Friday was anything but wonderful. Still, it was routine, and it gave Cari something to think about that had nothing to do with matches, or the fact that her search dwindled even further.

She was halfway through her shift when she heard someone say her name.

“Holly?” she asked, turning around.

“Hey,” Holly said. “I was in the area for lunch and I figured I’d stop by, since you said I could.”

“Well, hi,” Cari said.

“Something is wrong, isn’t it?” Holly asked. “It’s John and Lola, right?”

“Yeah,” Cari said. “I hate it, and it’s awful, but I can’t even be mad at him because I know he can’t do anything about it. I just… Now I’m the only one, yet again, and there’s nothing that I can do to fix that.”

Holly nodded. “I know. He really didn’t want to hurt you, just so you know. He definitely should have told you though, rather than waiting until he’d already brought her back to his apartment.”

“Yeah, he should have, but he didn’t,” Cari said. “I just hate this, because everything was going so well in my life for once, and now it’s all falling apart again.”

“It’ll get better,” Holly said. “I know it doesn’t seem like it will, but it’s going to. And I’d like to remind you, you’re designing awesome book covers for incredible books. At least you’re doing something with your life that reaches a lot of people, and who knows? Maybe it’s one of your covers that causes a kid somewhere to start drawing things.”

“Maybe,” Cari said. “I’m sorry I’m complaining to you. I know he’s your friend.”

“So are you,” Holly said. “Look, I’ve got to get back to work, but you’ve got my number. If you need to talk about anything, or you want someone to kick his ass, just give me a call, all right?”

“Thanks, Holly,” Cari said.

“Anytime,” Holly said. She patted Cari’s hand and left the store.

Five minutes after Cari got home, there was a knock at the door of her apartment. She opened it to reveal Ria and Molly, who walked past her without waiting for an invitation to enter.

“You’ve got dinner with your family, so we’re going to dress you up and make you look perfect so that your mother can’t complain about how you didn’t put enough effort into your appearance,” Molly said.

“I’m sorry I ran out yesterday, Molly,” Cari said, shutting the door. “And you guys really don’t have to do this.”

“No, but we want to, so it’s going to happen,” Ria said.

“It’s fine,” Molly said. “You don’t have to apologize to me. It was bad timing on my part. I should have asked why you were there first.”

“It was big news, and you wanted to share it,” Cari said. “I don’t blame you for not waiting.”

“Still, I should have,” Molly said. “You and Ria only ever sit on the floor for one of three reasons. You’re doing online window shopping, we just moved someone in to a new apartment, or something bad happened. Considering the fact that you hadn’t just finished moving someone in, and you had no laptop in front of you, I should have realized it was because something less than stellar happened in your life.”

“You were excited,” Cari said. “You weren’t thinking about anything else. Really, Molly, it’s my fault.”

“Well, if we’re done arguing over whose fault it was, I suggest that we move this party into Cari’s bedroom so that we can raid the closet,” Ria said.