Three years after his mother's death, Noah Reed is lost once again. Unsure of where to go after running from his problems for so long, he ends up back home, wanting a place to finally settle down. He's ready to tie up loose ends and to try and corre...
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"To friendship," Mia says, smiling at those of us gathered in her apartment, per usual.
"To friendship," I repeat along with the others, feeling completely at ease. I raise my glass of wine to my lips, leaning into Noah as he wraps his arms around my shoulders.
The last time my entire friend group was gathered together had to be about two months ago, when Mia and Thorne got married. A lot has happened in the short amount of time, and it's hard to believe how much can change so quickly.
For starters, my best friend, Jess, recently started dating Wells Adams, a close friend of Noah's and Thorne's. I could hardly believe the news when I first heard it. I love both of them to death, but at the time they just didn't seem like two individuals who would fit as a couple. Jess is a few years younger than Wells, and both seem to want very different things out of life. However, having seen the two together, I've since learned that they're actually perfect for one another. They share similar qualities, such as their wild sides, and their dramatic tendencies. In all seriousness, they do have a lot in common, which seems to ground their relationship. Being around them, it's easy to see the simple love they share. I don't think I've ever seen Jess or Wells so content to be in a relationship before.
When it comes to Mia and Thorne, it's almost like nothing has changed. They're the same happy couple and amazing friends, with slight alterations. They're now married, but they've been together so long marriage seems to have hardly shifted their relationship. They adopted a German Shepherd puppy as a "test run" for children. Mia recently began working at the local hospital, now a registered nurse after graduating, having decided that she's ready to go into her dream career of helping others on the daily. Thorne has picked up a hobby of his own, and he and Mia had a guest room renovated into an art studio for him. You'd think a guy like Thorne wouldn't be into expressing his creative side so much, but he's actually incredibly talented. A few of his pieces are hanging up in the apartment I share with Jess, and I never fail to be impressed when I walk past them.
The duo whose lives have changed the most has to be Charlie and Violet, as they have taken the next step in their relationship by adopting their first child. Their daughter is the most precious thing I've ever seen, a little Vietnamese girl named Vee. I'm beside myself when I get to hold her and cuddle her in my arms, gushing to Noah about wanting a baby of my own. This always has Noah scratching the back of his neck while his cheeks flush red.
Jay, one of Thorne's closest friends, is now engaged to his girlfriend, Haley. She's wonderful, beyond polite, and one of the prettiest girls I've ever met. Jay and Haley aren't around often, as they live out of an RV they renovated and travel around the country together, a mutual dream of theirs they were finally able to make a reality.
Last, but certainly not least, leaves Emmie and Asher. After Mia and Thorne's wedding, the two stayed in town after restarting their relationship. However, it wasn't long before Emmie had to head back to New York to return to working for Vogue, not wanting to risk the career she had worked so hard to obtain. She'd asked Asher to join her, though she understood that he had a life here in Magnolia Heights separate from her own. I think we were all a little surprised when Asher agreed to go without a moment's hesitation, moving into her place in New York. They commute to town every so often, and I can tell that they are happy together.
