Free A Night to Forget by Jessica Wood Page B

deal with on the job. I’m not sure I can handle another guy making me feel uncomfortable at work.”
    “I agree,” Gloria said, “Don’t shit where you eat.”
    “If only I took that advice six months ago,” I joked.
    After another half of hour of catching up, we said our goodbyes. Jill immediately called me the minute we had clicked off.
    “Hi Emma, I just wanted to make sure you’re feeling okay,” Jill said.
    “Thanks, Jill. I do feel a little better. Thanks for talking me off the ledge,” I joked, “I really miss you.”
    “Aw, hun, I miss you too. And I miss your cooking.” She laughed and then stopped. “Actually, I’m serious about that. I’m starving.”
    I laughed, “Jill, for someone who loves food so much, you really should learn how to cook,” I teased.
    “You’re probably right. But I feel so lazy when it comes to cooking. It’s such a process,” Jill sulked.
    I laughed. “Sometimes, you’re so spoiled, Jill,” I teased. Sometimes I felt like I knew Jill better than I knew myself. But maybe that’s because a part of me envied her easy life. She never had to learn how to cook because her mom was an excellent cook.
    “How are your parents, by the way? I miss them,” I said. I loved Jill’s parents. They were caring and supportive—the way Jill was to her friends.
    “They’re good. They miss you, too. They’re in Europe right now, celebrating their 25-year anniversary,” Jill said.
    “Oh, are they in London?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
    “Yes, I think they’re there now before they head off to Italy,” Jill said.
    I never grew tired of hearing about Jill’s parents and their perfect marriage. Jill’s mom moved to the U.S. from China at the age of four with Jill’s grandparents, and Jill’s father was English, and they met while Jill’s mother lived in London for a semester on a study-abroad program. They fell in love that semester, and Jill’s father was so in love with her mother that he moved to the U.S. to be with her. It was incredibly romantic, and every time Jill told me about her parents’ love story, I secretly wished I would one day have such a passionate and can’t-live-without-each-other romance like that. I secretly thought that maybe, just maybe, Brandon was going to be the guy that I would have that kind of romance with.
    But who was I kidding? I wasn’t Jill and I didn’t grow up with her loving parents. Instead, I never knew my father and grew up with a mother who worked two full-time jobs to make ends meet for the two of us. She never married, and I’m not sure she ever trusted men after what my father did to her.
    “Emma?” Jill said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
    “Oh, sorry. What did you say?” I asked.
    “I was just asking you if you wanted anything from Italy? My parents asked me to check with you. They know you love to cook, and thought you may want some cooking stuff from Italy.”
    “That’s so sweet of them, but I think I’m okay. Please thank them for me,” I said.
    “Okay. Emma? Will you be okay? Do you want me to drive up one of these weekends to visit you?” Jill asked.
    “Thanks, Jill. I’d love to see you if you have a free weekend.”
    “Great, I’ll try to come up in a couple of weeks. It’ll be so much fun!”
    Her excitement was contagious, and I giggled. “I can’t wait. Thanks for making me feel better. I should probably get some sleep. I’ll talk to you soon?”
    “Definitely. Get some rest, okay?”
    “Okay, thanks, Jill.”
    “Call me if you need anything. Sweet dreams!”
    That was what I was afraid of—sweet dreams. I thought, but decided not to say that to Jill.
    “Good night, I’ll talk to you soon,” I said and hung up.
    I quickly got ready for bed and sunk into the protective layers of my comforter. The cool breeze coming in through the bay window was soothing. I was exhausted and emotionally spent from today. As I closed my heavy eyelids and dozed off to sleep, I felt my body let go