CHAPTER 11
“S o, you want gray?”
“I don’t want gray. We’ve already decided on the colors, babe,” Monica said.
“But you just said that you liked the gray napkins.”
“I do like them, Bridge, but that doesn’t mean I want them at our wedding. We’ve already locked everything in.”
“I know, but people change their minds all the time,” Bridgette said. “I want to make sure you have what you want.”
Monica smiled over at her fiancée and replied, “I have you. I’m good.”
“Oh, that’s a good one,” Sophie noted.
“Yeah, I’m making a note of it for later,” Bryce added and smiled over at her girlfriend.
“You’re going to just steal my girl’s lines, Bryce? You’re better than that,” Bridgette teased.
“Hey, if it’s right there for the taking,” Bryce replied and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders. “You don’t mind, do you, babe?”
“No,” Sophie said with a laugh and leaned into Bryce’s body. “I’m just glad you’re here.”
“How long are you in town this time?” Kyle asked Bryce.
“A few days. I go back to LA after this, and then Soph will join me in Tennessee.”
“Hopefully, for the last time since Bryce is almost done with her aunt’s house, and it’s going on the market,” Sophie added.
“Yeah?” Melinda asked.
“The market’s not great for sellers right now, so I don’t expect it to sell quickly, and it’s a small house, so I’m not sure families will really want it, but we’ll see.
It’s my aunt’s place, but I’m helping as much as I can.
I also found her an in-home caregiver who will be there for her when I can’t be, so that’s making me feel less guilty about being gone a lot and leaving permanently. ”
“And then, you’ll move here?” Myra asked, joining the conversation.
Bryce looked over at her and gave her a nod but didn’t answer.
Myra didn’t know what that was about, but she and Bryce hadn’t really spent much time together, so she suspected it might have been that Bryce was wondering why Myra had joined them all for this lunch to talk about Melinda and Kyle’s wedding, which had transitioned to talking about Bridgette and Monica’s wedding and then Sophie and Bryce’s relationship.
“Okay. We’re here,” Jill said.
Myra looked up and saw Jill standing at the end of the bunch of tables they’d pushed together for this large group.
“For anyone who hasn’t met my girlfriend, this is Willa. She’s a teacher and has a half-day today, so she could join us.”
“Everyone’s met Willa,” Melinda said.
“I haven’t,” Myra replied.
“Oh, yeah. You couldn’t make the party we had,” Melinda remembered.
“Willa, this is Myra. Myra, this is my girlfriend, Willa,” Jill said.
“Nice to meet you,” Willa said and shook Myra’s hand.
“We need more chairs, I guess,” Melinda suggested.
“I’ll get a couple,” Kyle said and stood.
The group was supposed to be just Melinda and Kyle, along with Bridgette and Monica, but Sophie and Bryce had been available for lunch, so Melinda had invited them, too.
Then, Myra had found out that Jill and Willa were on their way and that Asher and Linden would be a little late but were coming here as well.
Rory and Enid were tending to NOLA Guides, so they wouldn’t be here, but Logan was working the bar and occasionally joined the conversation when she had a lull.
Myra was still getting used to having this many friends, and she thought some of them were more acquaintances than friends, so it was often overwhelming to be around them all at once, but she was starting to find her place.
“Hey,” Bryce said when Myra walked out of the bathroom, and she was waiting there.
“Oh, hey. It’s free if you–”
“No, I’m good. I just wanted to apologize for earlier.”
“What for?” Myra asked.
“When you asked if I was moving here, I didn’t answer.”
“Oh. That’s okay. Jill showed up, and I forgot anyway.”
“It’s kind of tricky with Soph right now,” Bryce said.
“Why?”
“Part of the reason I’m moving here is because of her family. Her grandmother was her primary concern, but now her grandpa has gotten sick, too. She’s been helping to take care of them for a while, but that situation has changed recently.”
Myra didn’t know what to say, so she stayed quiet.
“They’re in assisted living. One’s in hospice now, and it’s not looking good.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Myra replied, looking over at Sophie.
“And I want to be here with her. I love New Orleans. I know Soph does, too. I’ve been going back and forth between LA, home, and here for months now, though, and I don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?”
“If I want to move here anymore,” Bryce told her with a shrug.
“I know I’m ready to move out of Tennessee, even though I’ll miss my friends.
Two of them are a couple now, and that’s going really well.
They’re moving in together in a month when leases are up.
My other best friend is moving, too. She’s heading to Michigan at the end of the year for a job.
So, things are changing at home, and I’m ready to move and be with Soph, but… ”
“But?” she asked, wondering why Bryce was talking to her about this .
Then, Myra remembered that old adage about it being easier to talk to a stranger about some stuff than a friend or family member because they could be more objective. While she wasn’t a stranger, she also wasn’t close to either Bryce or Sophie.
“But I like LA,” Bryce shared. “I didn’t think I would, and I didn’t at first, but I do now.
I’ve been kind of playing it down because I didn’t want to scare her, but I like it there.
It’s expensive as hell, so I don’t know if I could actually afford to live there, but I’ve been working on this movie thing, meeting a lot of industry people, and they’ve introduced me to more industry people.
I ran this idea I had by a producer, not thinking anything of it, but he liked it and told me that I should write it.
So, now I’m working on a new script and going to meetings out there, and I found this cute little bungalow in North Hollywood that’s for sale and needs a lot of work, but I can do that myself. ”
“But Sophie’s here?” Myra guessed.
“Yes,” Bryce replied. “I can probably get the loan for the house without her, but that means it would just be mine and not ours, and I’m ready for things to be ours.”
“Sophie doesn’t know anything about this?”
Bryce shook her head.
“I don’t know her that well yet, but I don’t know that you should keep it from her for much longer. If that house you’re selling for your aunt does sell quickly, Sophie will expect you here, right? And I’m sure that bungalow isn’t going to be on the market for long in Los Angeles.”
“No, but I know the seller. It’s a cinematographer on the movie we’re making here in a couple of months.
It’s not technically on the market yet because she’s working on another project, but she’ll be listing it soon.
Soph hasn’t spent a lot of time in LA yet, so I was thinking about starting there and seeing if she likes it; just getting a vibe from her so that I know how to bring it up. ”
“I think you should be honest with her,” Myra said. “I know I wouldn’t like being invited somewhere to check my vibe. If it were me, I’d want to know that you were thinking about moving there instead of having you constantly staring at me, probably trying to gauge my reactions to things.”
Bryce laughed and said, “Yeah, you’re right.” Then, she sighed. “I just don’t want to disappoint her. I told her I would move here, you know? And New Orleans and Los Angeles are very different.”
“She’ll understand. If you love it out there, you need to tell her so that you two can discuss options, and she can do what’s right for her.”
“What if she wants to stay here and I want to move?” Bryce asked.
“I don’t know, but I do think you should talk to your girlfriend about it.”
“She’s my future wife. I’ve got a ring ready and everything. We just haven’t been together all that long yet and have been dating long-distance, so I wanted to wait until after we move in together and it’s been a little more time, but I already know it’s her.”
“Babe?” Sophie half-yelled. “Want to take this to-go?”
She pointed down to the plate in front of Bryce’s seat.
“Yeah, thanks,” Bryce replied loudly. “I could live here, I guess. I can keep flying back and forth to LA. It’s not that big of a deal. I need to anyway until we know what’s going to happen with Soph’s family. I wouldn’t ask her to leave while they’re still around and need her.”
“But the bungalow?” Myra guessed.
“Yeah…” Bryce said with a sigh. “It’s so cute.
It’s two bedrooms. I mean, one barely qualifies as a bedroom, but still.
It even has a very small pool in the backyard – think overly large hot tub more than a pool.
” She chuckled. “We could have an office or it could be a guest bedroom. Maybe it’s too small, but we won’t be able to afford anything bigger there right now, so it could make a good starter home for us. ”
“Just talk to her, Bryce,” Myra said with a smile.
“Yeah,” Bryce replied. “So, are you getting sick of the wedding planning stuff, too? ”
Myra laughed and said, “I get it. I’ve been there. My ex planned our wedding for over a year. I tried to help where I could, but she had a clear vision, so everyone else had to get out of her way.”
“I wonder if Soph will be like that. I doubt it.” Bryce shook her head. “Your ex? Divorced?”
“Yeah,” Myra replied. “About five years now.”
“Sucks. Sorry,” Bryce offered in response.
“It does, yes, but Myra has a new crush,” Melinda said, appearing out of nowhere next to them.
“New crush?” Bryce asked her with a lifted eyebrow.
“She’s a neighbor. And thanks a lot, Mel.”
“What? Was it a secret? You didn’t say it was a secret, which makes it fair game around here.”
“No, but there’s nothing much to talk about.”
“You told me you had dinner with her last night, but then we got interrupted when Bridgette and Monica showed up,” Melinda noted.