Page 112 of September

“It was one class. Shut up.” Bridgette laughed. “We’ll see you later.”

“Sounds good,” Gwen replied and watched them walk off.

Then, she turned and looked at the van she’d just purchased, using up a lot of her savings but not all of it, which meant she could probably afford to redo the inside without having to wait or use the trust fund money.

“This is crazy,” she said to herself and got behind the wheel.

It would take her some getting used to, driving this big thing around on the small streets of New Orleans and into parking spots, but she’d figure it out. What was important was that she had done it; she’d bought the van she had wanted for years. Now, instead of going to her apartment, she knew there was only one place she wanted to be to show off her new purchase.

CHAPTER 31

“Well, hey,” Juliet said when she opened the door. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know. Sorry, I probably should’ve called. I was just really excited.” Gwen smiled widely.

“Excited about what, exactly?”

“I bought a van!”

Carly ran up to the door after hearing Gwen’s voice and jumped on her legs as Gwen walked into the apartment.

“You did what?”

“Babe, I know it’s crazy, but I did it. I saw this van that was perfect for what I wanted just parked on the street, and it had a ‘For Sale’ sign up. Some old woman was there, and I don’t know what her deal is, but she told me to buy it.”

“An old woman told you to buy a van?” Juliet asked, trying to follow.

“Yes. I wasn’t going to do it. I thought I’d write down the info and go online at home to find out more, but she just seemed to know things or understand them somehow. No clue, honestly. But I went up to the van and looked around. The owner came out and got his wife, who knows a lot more about cars than he does, and they’re moving and don’t need it anymore, so I took it for a test drive and brought Myra with me because I know nothing about cars. Anyway, she said it was good and the price was fair,so we ran it over to a mechanic, just to be safe, and it’s good. He didn’t find anything to be concerned about, so I bought it.”

“You bought a van today?”

“Yes. I had to have someone cover my afternoon clients because I got all wrapped up in it, but it’s outside now. Can I show you?”

“You brought it here?”

“Yes, I drove it here. That’s going to take some getting used to, but I’m going to ask Myra and Logan, maybe, to help me fix it up. Bryce, when she’s in town, is usually with Sophie or hanging out with friends, so I don’t want to bother her, but she’s really handy, from what she’s told me, and might be able to help.”

“Bryce?”

“Sophie’s girlfriend.”

“I don’t know who Sophie is,” Juliet said.

“Oh, shit. Sorry. I’m a little excited about this. Sophie is a friend of a friend, and Bryce is her girlfriend. She doesn’t live in New Orleans, so they’re doing long-distance. Anyway, Logan is a plumber.”

“Logan, thebartender?”

“She’s a plumber, too. Long story. I can get her to help with setting up the plumbing for everything. And Myra is a contractor, so I can probably get them both to work for a discount or maybe even just beer. I don’t know. I’ll ask, but it’s happening.” She wrapped her arms around Juliet’s neck. “Babe, I’m going to do it. I’m going to make it happen.”

Juliet smiled and pulled Gwen into her.

“I’m happy for you and very proud of you for taking this chance,” she said and kissed her quickly.

“Do you want to go see it? It’s just an empty van, but it’smyempty van.”

“Yeah. I’m leaving Carly here, though. She’ll probably run around in it and pee or something before I can stop her.”

“Fine by me. Come on,” Gwen replied, tugging on her hand.