Page 42 of September

“Carly,” Gwen told her with a laugh and pointed at the dog, who turned back to her when she heard her name.

“Oh, right,” Juliet said and looked down at her watch. “We’ve been walking for thirty minutes.”

“What?” Gwen checked her phone. “Shit. The food got delivered. They left it at the door. I can’t believe you rambled about coffee for half an hour.” She laughed again.

“Sorry. Occupational hazard.” Juliet said as they turned around and started heading back toward Gwen’s building.

“Have you always been obsessed with coffee?”

“No. I drank it, but I didn’t know anything about it until I got this job.”

“And how was the job? Your first trip?”

“You talked to me every day. You already know,” Juliet replied.

“Sort of. We mostly talked about Carly and your nipples.”

“Oh, my God!” Juliet laughed hard. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“I can’t believe you wore a sweater tonight.”

“Gwen!”

Gwen laughed along with her and asked, “How did you do with the whole business hotel and long drive part of the week?”

“It was fine, I guess. I’m not a travel pro yet, so we’ll see, but the days are fine. I like training, even though I just sort of ended up in it.”

“What do you mean?”

“My degree is in HR administration. I thought I’d have Molly’s job.”

“But she got it first?”

“No, I wasn’t qualified at the time. Long story. I think they also wanted to bring in someone from the outside. Fresh set of eyes and all that. Anyway, the company is a place people tend to retire from. I’m not sure about Molly specifically, but there are several people with her role supporting other teams, and most of them will retire from Southern, which means I’ll probably have a long time before the job I initially wanted becomes available, and I’d have to recertify.”

“Certify?”

“There are certain certifications for HR roles that companies generally either prefer or require. Southern requires them. It’s about law stuff, mostly, but making sure your ass is covered with someone who’s certified on the important stuff can help when it comes to reducing lawsuits.”

“I had no idea. I went to college but was pretty aimless. I just went because my parents wanted me to go more than anything.”

“So, you didn’t always want to do this?”

“I’ve always wanted to be around animals. I don’t have the heart to become a vet, though, or anyone who works in a vet office, really. I guess I thought about that at one time, but I couldn’t go through with it. This way, I get to spend a ton of time around animals, and I never have to say goodbye to them. Well, sometimes I do when clients move away, and obviously, animals pass away, so that’s always tough, but as a vet, I’d have to–” Gwen stopped.

“Yeah, I have total respect for vets. I don’t know how they do what they do. It’s got to be so hard.”

“My mother thought I’d go that route. We had horses growing up. They were kept in stables, and I’m not really sure why we had them, because my dad never rode them, my mom did, but rarely, and you know all my siblings and their allergies. So, it was really just me, but we had two horses, and I loved them both. I think my mom assumed I’d have my own stables one day and maybe even race them or something, but when I didn’t seem to want to do that, she thought vet. I remain a constant disappointment.”

“I don’t see how,” Juliet said when they arrived back at Gwen’s building.

“Oh, youwouldif you met her or saw where I grew up.” She laughed it off.

“No, I mean, you’re so successful, Gwen.”

“I am?”

“Yes,” Juliet replied, and they walked up the stairs together. “Seriously, you don’t know, do you?”