Quite Quitting

Two years later

Two years later

"He never texted you back, did he?" Shawn asked as I looked at my phone, restarting it because it still showed I was in airplane mode.

"My phone is just acting crazy after a 22-hour flight. He will text me, don't worry!" I said to him.

"I am telling you, Bobby will not budge on our lease. He said we would be out by October 10, and we were out by the 10th. We should have just bought my parent's house. It's by the water, you know."

"Shawn, we live in Australia. It's all by the water. The whole damn continent is surrounded by it." I said. My phone gave a ping indicating it had turned on. "Plus, I am not sure I am ready to buy a house with you just yet!" I said. My phone gave another ping. And Bobby's name flashed up on my phone, telling me I had a text from him. I rushed to open it and read it aloud. "Tell Shawn to stop being such a numb nut. You can come back and stay the extra two weeks. I can ask the new tenant to move in a bit later. It also means I get to see your beautiful face for two more weeks, so by all means...."

"There! Now you can relax and check us in, please?" I said, handing him my corporate credit card and Australian driver's license and pointing at the lady at the hotel front desk.

"Bobby, you are a beaut! Unfortunately, only Shawn is coming back. He has a job interview that's calling him back for next week. I am now New York bound!" I texted back. Then as I was already on my phone, I called my Sugar.

"Char bear!" She exclaimed on the other line. "You landed okay?"

"Hi, baby mama! Yes! At the hotel now. I am going to come to see you tomorrow. I am going to make sure you eating enough so my godson will come out strong and healthy. Then Cal promised to take me to South Jersey to see Noel and her babies."

"I am coming too!" She protested.

"Sugar, no. You are in your last trimester. You are staying close to your family and doctor. I'll be back in a week, and then you'll have me forever!"

"I'll be bored of you by then! It's been almost two years, and this is the first time I see you! Not okay! I am going so we can spend all the time before they yank this thing out of me."

"We are checked in," Shawn said, approaching me.

"Is that Shawn?" Sugar asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you give him the phone?"

I handed my phone to Shawn, and before Shawn could get a word in edgewise, I heard Sugar yell, though I couldn't make out the words.

"God, Sugar, stop micromanaging me. I've lived with her for a year and a half now; I know her well enough...will you...but we just landed...." Shawn argued with my ex-roommate and still my very much best friend. "If I told her before she got on the flight, she wouldn't have returned and blown a really big career move," Shawn said through gritted teeth. "Fine, I'll tell her now!"

"Tell me what?" I interrupted.

"Alex," my heart dropped at his name. If I was being honest, lately, I hadn't thought about Alex much. "He is here for the weekend. He is gonna be at this retreat. Word on the street is, he is saying in this hotel."

"Oh...why does Sugar know?" I asked.

"Umm, he...he reached out to her, letting her know, so she can let you know."

"In case I couldn't stomach seeing him and would just miss the retreat and ruin my career," I said, angry.

"In case you wanted him not to come here because you were uncomfortable running into him. He was going to skip the whole retreat." Shawn explained as I heard Sugar yell more into his ears.