Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

32. Pasta & Wine

I returned home around 4:45 PM. Ella didn't get home until 5:30 PM. By 6 PM, we were on our way to dinner.

"How was your day off?"

"For starters, I didn't get any work done. I slept." 

My eyes swipe, jump, and bounce to scope out her new Explorer. Checking out the backseat, I find a single row of tan upholstery. I like.

"You work like a horse.Don't you get tired of reading all the time? Then, you're editing and writing your damn self."

As I gaze through the tinted glass, the busy streets of downtown London flash past. 

"All of it is relaxing," I defend my passion. "but it becomes work when we're rushing for deadlines. We've been doing a lot of that lately. I'm finishing a manuscript. After that, I get to relax a little." My relieved sigh is premature, but I feel a weight lift from my shoulders. 

"My new place is up this way." Ella points over the steering wheel. "I can't wait to show you the inside. It's so cute. Those." She straightens her arm, singling out a tall, white and black building. That's aesthetically pleasing.

"This building?" I point.

"Yes."

My head turns as we pass her new building. "Can't wait for you to get the keys. I have to see the inside."

"You will... when you help me move my crap."

"Okay. " I smile as I consider my conversation with Marcel and the freedom that follows my best friend's departure. "The area seems nice."

"From what I hear, it is very nice. I asked a couple of old folks that were hobbling around. You know they don't give a shit. They'll tell you the truth. Bonus." She sticks up a finger to seize my attention.

"Huh?"

"I didn't see too many kids running around."

"No stomping." I make the point.

"Exactly. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Avery is coming."

"I haven't seen the mama-to-be in a while. I want to rub her tummy." I stroke my empty one.

"She's adorable – especially when she waddles."

Attempting to recall a detail from Ella's past, my lips poke out. "You had an ex named Avery, right?"

"Yes and now her ass is pregnant too."

"Yikes."

"With the guy she cheated on me with. I haven't forgiven that bitch." 

I observe Ella's tightening grip on the steering wheel. My eyes bounce again fueled by an unforeseen wave of anxiousness. Okay, girl, you're straining your knuckles.

"Y'all were serious." I figure, not knowing all the details of her old relationship.

"Ha! Clearly not as serious as I thought." Ella scoffs. Her head of curls twist about as she grimly shakes away the touchy memory. "It's whatever though." She shrugs after ridding herself of the recollection. She replaces the tainted past with a refreshing token of the present. "I've been talking to someone."

"Oooooo!"

"Yes. She's cool. We're keeping it simple. We're going to that festival next weekend."

I snicker at her hatred of crowds. "You hated the Governor's Ball. How are you gonna handle this?"

"I'm not worried about no damn festival. I'm getting laid." She laughs. "Fuck a festival. You already know what it is, Angel."

"That's your definition of keeping things simple?"