How Am I Supposed To Live Without You

Chapter Two

The bold, beautiful sunset painted across the Chicago skyline would lead one to believe that it is a beautiful summer's evening, however it is deceiving as the cold, blustering wind blows the snow through the empty streets. I am content to sit in my window seat, a hot peppermint tea in one hand and a classic book in the other. Reading the raw, unrequited love of Anne of Green Gables fulfills my soul in some melancholy, pathetic way. Blythe, my two year old AussieDoodle lays curled up beside me, basking in the warmth of the heated blanket on my lap.

I am pulled from my thoughts by the vibration of my phone sitting on the end table beside me; yes, the vibrations, only crazy people have their ringer on all the time.

""Hey JoJo!" I greet my best friend. "I thought you were coming home over an hour ago! I made dinner and everything!"
"Sorry, LoLo, we had an emergency come in right as soon as I was about to clock out!" came the tired reply. "I told them I could use the overtime since we have that trip planned for summer."

I am excited to be reminded of our plans to spend a month roaming Europe mid-June. Jo and I have known each other our whole lives due to our parents being friends, but only in the past six years have we become inseparable. She and her mom attended a wedding of a mutual friend and we were sat at the same table, giving us a chance to reconnect. She shared her dreams of becoming a nurse as she was in school to get her B.S. in Nursing and I shared my aspirations of getting my Masters Degree in Social Work as I already had my undergrad in education.

Throughout our reconnecting conversation, it was discovered that she would be visiting her father in Europe where he spends half of his time due to his career as a Vice President of an agricultural company. I had always dreamed of visiting Europe and until that conversation, it had seemed like a faraway dream. A month long trip to Europe when we had just reconnected threw us into a unique, yet beautiful friendship as we learned each other's personality.

We became the friendship that reflected that statement, "opposites attract"; where Jo was outspoken, confident and sarcastic, I was timid, shy and empathetic. I was adventurous and she was realistic. We chose to celebrate those differences and compliment each other's unique traits while bonding over our similarities: our love of dogs and traveling, our drive and determination to become better, and our high expectations of men. Jo immediately picked up on my attraction towards Holden; she had known him for a short time before moving away and she was supportive of the "crush" at first. However, as time went on, she told me that I should keep my options open while waiting for him to , in her opinion, "open his damn eyes".

"I'm about 15 minutes away," said Jo, "did Bucky eat?". Bucky is her three year old poodle with an attitude five times his size.