Note- This story has very little sex and this chapter has none.
*****
Janice tried to ignore her feelings but they only weighed heavier on her as with the passage of time, it began to sink in that she had lost Edward in every way possible. Now that he and Yvonne were living in the same city and dating they were no longer communicating via mails. So, of course she was cut off from Edward's life except for whatever news she would get from Yvonne during their calls. As difficult as it was to hear the intimate details of their relationship it was even more difficult to accept that she had lost her friend.
Even though Yvonne had once assured her that she would tell Edward the truth about all the years of communication between him and Janice she was unable to keep her word. Like Janice she began to see how Edward may consider it a deception and feared that it would alter his feelings for her. When Yvonne asked Janice to continue to keep her secret she found there was no way for her to refuse without confessing to the truth of her own feelings; she saw no choice but to agree.
*****
The first few weeks that followed were tough but Janice gradually came to accept the fact that Yvonne and Edward were together now. She tried to find love or at least a good pen pal, but, eventually she gave up on trying to find a substitute for Edward; what they had shared, they had taken over a decade to build and it wouldn't just happen overnight with a new person. Run out of all other options she chose to immerse herself in the only thing left now, her work.
Janice directed all her passion into her work and it paid off. Before her year was up she received an offer for her to complete her internship program at one of the global leaders in architecture firms. This was the company in Philadelphia she had mentioned to Yvonne on several occasions in the past. She had thought it would take several years before she could get her foot in their door so she was thrilled and upset with the timing of it all.
She knew she had the option of staying in France and completing all three years of her internship at the firm she currently worked at. But it wasn't what she wanted. Janice felt she would be acting foolishly to pass up working at the company of her dreams over something, she didn't even know what to call her thing with Edward, which never was and never could be.
*****
"Oh-my-god!" screeched Yvonne in the phone when she heard the news from Janice. "This. Is. Incredible!"
"I know. I can't believe they made me an offer." said Janice.
"Oh yeah, that's great too. I'm just excited that you're coming here."
"Yes, that'll be nice." said Janice sincerely. She did not need Yvonne for emotional support in the same way Yvonne needed her but she was practically her sister and her best friend. She had missed hanging out with Yvonne and doing the crazy things she allowed herself to only do in her company.
"I thought I was gonna be the one delivering the good news today but yours got mine beat."
"Really? What was your news?"
"No biggie. Just that I'm moving."
"You are? When did this happen? I thought you were doing really well there."
"Well, I'll have to move out of here if I'm gonna move in with Eddie, won't I?
"You're moving in?!"
"Yes! Eddie asked me to move in. We've been dating each other exclusively for a while now and I'm over at his place so much that he asked me to move in."
Janice sat down as she processed this new piece of information. "That
is
big news."
"I'm a big girl now, Jan."
Janice knew that moving in was a huge deal for Yvonne who had never lived with anyone other than her parents or Janice till date. She had never even lived with a roommate let alone a boyfriend.
"So when're you moving in?"
"Next month, most likely. Work is crazy right now. I'm always busy. It's one of the reasons why living together felt like a good idea; it's been really tough trying to make time for Eddie." she explained. "So, when do you get here?"
"Another six weeks or so. I'm going to have to settle on an apartment for when I get there."
"Why don't you move in here?"
"Your apartment?"
"Yes. I just renewed my lease two months ago so you could move in here."
"I doubt I could afford to pay the kind of rent you do though. I'm just an intern you know."
"Yeah but you'd save on the security deposit and you won't have to spend any money on buying new stuff for the place because I won't be taking anything other than my personal items."
"Hmmm... That does sound good."
"Plus, this way you'll be holding my place for me in case things don't work out."
"Why do I suspect that's your primary motive here?"
"Because you know me?"
Janice couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay. I'll hold your place till your lease runs out and then I'm moving into something more suitable to my modest budget."
"Fantastic."
"I've gotta get back to work, Yves. Congrats on your big news."
"You too Jan. Bye."
Despite the jokes it was clear to Janice that her friend was deeply in love with Edward for her to even consider moving in with him.
Yves and Eddie living together!
Janice was glad she had over a month to digest that piece of news.
*****
Janice exited the airport and looked around for any sign of Yvonne. It took her two minutes to spot the leggy blonde bombshell in the crowd of people. Yvonne was waving like a crazy person and running towards her.
"Jan, you're here!" she said, grabbing and hugging her. "Gosh! You look spectacular. Love the bangs."
Part of the changes that Janice went through while abroad had included a new hair style. For years she had shown a preference for shorter pixie styled cuts while now her dark hair cascaded down her back with long bangs in front that served to accent her large hazel eyes making her appear less like a kid and more like a sultry young woman.
"Thanks." said Janice as she was whisked off to the car park along with her trolley of bags. They got into Yvonne's car and drove to Yvonne's old apartment.
Throughout the way Yvonne kept telling Janice how good it was to see her and how much she'd missed her. Janice was content with watching the road ahead and listening to Yvonne talk. For her, there was something comforting in the familiarity of listening to Yvonne excitedly ramble on while she sat quietly beside her. Soon enough they were at Yvonne's old and Janice's new place of residence.
The terrace apartment was on the sixth floor. For Janice the best feature of the place was the little terrace garden. It was a small space with one diagonal half littered by pots and the one half had a garden bench and a couple of chairs around a coffee table. The whole space was sheltered by loosely draped overhead sails that added a touch of whimsy to the space. Janice was thrilled to see that the plants were not all dead during Yvonne's absence.
"This place is really great Yves. I can't thank you enough."
"Hey, like I said earlier, you're doing me a favour by holding it for me."
"Speaking of... how are things with Eddie?"
"How? Well, we've been living together for a month now so things are no longer new and exciting but they're nice. I mean, I think it's nice. I'm just so busy with my work most times he's free. And I really don't get much about Eddie's work so at the end of the day when I get home I don't really enjoy talking about all those things... But the sex is good He's very-"
"Okay. TMI."
"Gosh! A year in France and you're still a prude. I thought you'd come home and teach me a trick or two."
"I could teach you a trick or two... about architectural design."
