Helen, Michelle and Gina wished the best to the newlyweds and left Barbados early the following afternoon. Helen would carry bittersweet memories from her first trip abroad. She had been there for one of her closest friend’s marriage. Olivia’s happiness filled her heart with joy, but, at the same time, it reminded her that she was still alone. Helen had no reason to worry that she wouldn’t find love. After all, she was only 24 years old, but still, she envied her friend’s luck. Olivia had found her one true love and she hadn’t.

Nevertheless, the discovery of her special one was not Helen’s biggest problem. Olivia and James’s wedding was the conclusion of a hectic, but very fun, four-month period. Her parents had allowed her to drive back and forth to New York almost on a daily basis, until the wedding. Most of the time, Helen visited Olivia. They would usually go out to a nearby club or even frequent “Barry’s”, the bar where Michelle and James often performed. More than that, Michelle and Helen helped Olivia pick her wedding dress and, along with Gina, plan the wedding. A strong bond began to develop among the four women. It wasn’t long before they realized that they had quite a few things in common and, even though Helen could not stand Gina’s cynicism sometimes, she liked her as well. She was much less sentimental than Olivia, but her sarcastic jokes and her strong character appealed to Helen.

The only thing that gave Helen some hope of escaping her dull, uneventful routine in Shandaken was the idea of working for Michelle. Although it would not last long, she would have an ideal chance of travelling to the West Coast. Visiting the golden beaches of Malibu had always enthralled her. Moreover, she and Michelle would get to spend a lot more time together. Her job would not be difficult, as it didn’t entail much, and she only had to work during Michelle’s concerts. In Helen’s mind, it was a dream job, but she still had to convince her parents.

Mom and dad won’t like that. Don’t understate things, Helen. You know they’ll hate it. You’ve been driving around like crazy over the past few months and they were very lenient. They allowed you to enjoy every second of the preparations. God knows you had a great time. Is it bad that I want more? I mean, I’ve never lived away from Shandaken. All this is still very new to me. Shopping, hanging out in the big city… I already miss that. Who’d want to go back to working at the supermarket, after experiencing all this? Let’s hope my parents can understand me…

Sadly for Helen, it was already 1am when she entered Shandaken. Whatever plans she had of discussing her future plans with her parents would have to wait until the next day. Jetlagged, but with a heart full of content, she unlocked her front door and pushed it open. Helen snuck a peek into the living room. Her mother, Debbie, had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Grabbing the handle of her suitcase, she tiptoed into the house, while her gaze settled on her mother. Before she could cross the room though, a strong gust of wind slammed the door shut.

“God!” Debbie gasped, jolting forward out of her sleep.

“Hi, mom,” Helen said, her voice low as she turned left to face her. “Sorry for waking you.”

“It’s okay, child.” Debbie assured her daughter, her chest rising up and down. “Welcome home. How was Barbados?”

“Amazing,” Helen uttered, her voice filled with sadness as she dragged her gaze away from her mother. “Too bad you couldn’t make it. Where’s dad?”

“He’s in our bedroom. You sound upset, sweetheart,” Helen remarked, rising up off the couch. “What’s wrong?”

“Now’s not the time,” Helen heaved a long, deep sigh. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

“Well, I’m up now.” Debbie spoke in a soothing voice. “And tomorrow will be quite busy for the both of us. Come on, child. Tell me; what’s bothering you?”

“I’m going to miss them.” Helen confessed, her voice wobbly, as she turned her gaze to her mother’s face. “Michelle, Olivia, James… I’m even going to miss that cynical ginger, Gina.”

“You can always visit them in New York, pumpkin,” Debbie said, her tone calm as she started towards her. “Besides, James told me he’d be staying in his cabin a lot this winter.”

“Winter is five months away, mom,” Helen whispered, feeling tears rising up in her eyes. “And James needs to focus on his work, which means Olivia won’t be here much.”

“What are you saying?” Debbie asked in a voice riddled with tension. “You want to move to the city? Is that it?”

“I don’t know, mom.” Helen lightly shook her head.

“Look beyond your friendships with them, Helen.” Debbie advised. “New York is one huge, vicious place. Things move faster than you can blink there. Sure, you’ll be closer to them, but, most of the time, you’ll either be too tired to see them or you won’t have time for them. What are you going to do, anyway?”

“Mom, don’t get ahead of yourself, okay?” Helen requested as her voice broke and a tear rolled down her face. “I just said I’ll miss them. I haven’t thought about living in New York, getting a job there or anything else like that.”

“I can understand why,” Debbie said with a relaxed nod. “All this time was like a long vacation for you and them. But, do you really think it’s going to be like that from now on? I got news for you. It won’t. Pretty soon, life will happen. James is a rich man; he’s more than capable of taking care of his wife. Michelle’s on her way to stardom…”

“She asked me to work for her,” Helen interrupted.

“What?” Debbie squinted at her.

“Michelle,” Helen drew in a sharp breath. “She wants me to be her personal assistant.”

“Go on.” Debbie urged.

“She’s going away on a West Coast tour in a couple of weeks. It’s a temporary thing, though.” Helen explained, running her hand through her hair. “It will only be for a month, give or take.”

“What about your compensation?” Debbie asked.

“We haven’t talked about that yet,” Helen replied, her voice lower, as she gazed deep into her mother’s eyes. “I wanted to discuss it with you first.”

“It’s for just a month?” Debbie raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Helen gave a firm nod. Just after her sharp answer, her mother leaned in towards her, arms wide open and took her in her embrace.

“You can go.” Debbie said in her most comforting voice, slowly leaning back. “I’ll talk to your father. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Really?” Helen breathed out, surprise written all over her face. “I thought it’d be harder to convince you. I mean, you won’t have any help at the supermarket.”

“I’ve been doing it for four months now.” Debbie smiled. “I can handle it for a little while longer.”

“Thank you so much, mom,” Helen whispered, a broad smile spreading across her face, as she circled her arms around her mother’s back. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Don’t mention it, honey.” Debbie assured, gently pushing her back. “Now, go get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”