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“Oh, right,” Enid replied. “Still, how are you going to handle the travel thing?”

“No idea. We’ve only really been on a couple of dates, so we’re not together or anything. We haven’t made plans or talked about whatwe’ddo at all. Most of our conversations about it are about Carly.”

“Carly is her dog,” Jill explained.

“And Juliet is really worried about Carly forgetting her because she’ll be gone practically every day for six weeks. She won’t forget her, but I understand the worry. Carly will miss her mom like crazy and will wonder where she is. Since she’s a rescue and Jules doesn’t know much about her life before the shelter, she’s worried that Carly might think she’s beenabandoned. I’m going to do what I can to ensure she doesn’t think that, but there’s no substitute for Mom, you know?”

“I think you’ll be a pretty good one, though,” Enid suggested. “You’re Mom-adjacent given that you’re dating Mom in this scenario.”

“That sounds weird, babe,” Caroline replied.

“I know.”

“Anyway,” Gwen continued. “I really like her, so I kind of hate that she’s about to be gone all the time.”

“But it’s only six weeks, right? I get it. I’d hate it if Willa were gone for six weeks without me, but she’ll be back.”

“Technically, she’ll be back home on the weekends, but there’s one or two trips where she might stay wherever she is. I’ll get to see her at least once a week, maybe, but it’s not just six weeks. It’ll be like this for probably four to six months, according to Jules, and maybe longer. It’s just a lot.”

“Four to six months?” Caroline said and looked at Enid. “I don’t want to go four to six months without seeing you.”

“Good thing we practically live together and go to the same university, then.”

“I’m serious,” Caroline replied with light laughter and a playful smack to Enid’s arm. “When you’re done with school, if you don’t take the NOLA Guides’ job, you’ll–”

“Care, I’m not leaving without you, okay?” Enid interrupted her.

Gwen watched as Caroline’s soft smile crept onto her face, and she rested her head on Enid’s shoulder just as they arrived at the restaurant.

“Hey, you okay?” Jill asked her when Caroline and Enid walked in ahead of them.

“Yes. Why?”

“Because you seem to be sadder about her leaving than you’re letting on.”

“Oh. Well, I just met a woman I’m crazy about, and she’s going to be gone at least five days a week for the foreseeable future. So, yeah, I’m not doing great. I’ve watched Elisa and Myra fall in love, and they’re so happy. Then, I listen to you talk about Willa, and now, those two.” She pointed into the restaurant where Caroline and Enid stood at the host stand, getting them a table for four.

“Yeah, I’ve been there myself. I also watched those two fall in love when I really liked Enid back then. If Juliet is the one, though, it’ll be worth it, right?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “It just sucks.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Jill offered. “I’ll buy you lunch to make up for it. Want a beer or a Bloody Mary? I’d say it’s five o’clock somewhere, but this is New Orleans – we can drink whenever we want.”

Gwen laughed and followed Jill into the restaurant. She knew it was too late to invite Juliet to lunch now, but it wasn’t too late to text her something that Gwen felt was important. By the time they’d sat down at their table, had been handed menus, and started talking about their drink order and how Enid and Caroline would share their favorite sandwich, she got a reply.

Juliet Francis: I miss you, too, babe.

CHAPTER 23

Juliet was on one side of the sofa, her legs in Gwen’s lap, and Gwen was sitting on the other, watching a meerkat YouTube video. Carly was lying on Gwen’s other side. Juliet looked up from her laptop and smiled at how perfect this all was.

“What?” Gwen asked.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re staring at me.”

“How do you know I’m not staring at the dog?”