Perfect Match

Perfect Match (6)

When Molly came to pick Cari up the next morning, she had brought someone else along.

"I can't believe you're leaving the country and you didn't even tell me," Ria said.

"It was a last minute decision, Ree," Cari said, loading her suitcase into the trunk of the car.

"You're not telling me that everyone is okay with this," Ria said.

"They don't need to be," Cari said. "I emailed Christine and told her I'm taking an indefinite leave of absence from the bookstore this morning, and she said that was fine. I've finished all the covers that I need to do for my deadlines, so I don't have to do any work until I get home. I talked to Lucille and she's going to take care of collecting my mail until I get back. I'm going, and that's the end of it. I need to get out and see the world. I've lived in this town since I was a little kid. I want to experience life from somewhere that isn't here."

"But you're leaving the country," Ria said.

Cari hugged her. "You'll be fine without me for a little while, Ree, and when I come back, you'll be the first one to know, okay? I just need to do this for me."

"Personally, I think it sounds like a great idea," Molly said. "It'll give you a chance to clear your head."

"You always take her side on everything," Ria said.

Molly shrugged. "She's usually got the right of it. We need to get going though, or we won't get you to the airport on time."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ria said. When Cari and Molly stared at her, she sighed. "I was joking. Let's go."

They got into the car and pulled away from the building.

"So, what gave you the sudden impulse to go on a trip for an indefinite length of time?" Ria asked.

"I don't know, honestly," Cari said. "I was at my parents' yesterday, and Grace found her match, and my mother was hounding me, and I just sort of snapped and left. You'll never guess who I ran into as I was walking to the bus stop either, Ree."

"Who?" Ria asked.

"Palmer Evans," Cari said. "He gave me a ride back to my apartment because he was going home too. I guess he moved back here a while ago. He was the one who gave me the idea to go to England."

Ria's eyes widened. "Wait, two-years-older-than-us-and-really-attractive Palmer Evans? That Palmer Evans? The one we used to talk about all the time in high school because he was so cute?"

"Yeah," Cari said, grinning. "He's just as nice as he ever was."

Ria fanned herself with one hand. "I forgot about him. Is he still cute?"

"Yeah," Cari said.

"Did he mention anything about having a girlfriend? Because whoever ends up with that boy is one lucky girl," Ria said.

Cari shook her head. "Nope, he didn't say anything about it, but we're going to go for coffee once I come back. I doubt he'd mind if you tagged along."

"Oh, am I going to," Ria said.

"Who's Palmer Evans?" Molly asked.

"We never told you about him?" Cari asked.

Molly shook her head. "No, you didn't."

"Palmer Evans was a senior when we were sophomores," Ria said. "I knew him from track, and he was on the Speech and Debate team with Cari, so he was always really nice to us. He was also really attractive, so that helped too."