The little bell on the door jingled as I entered The Grind and spotted Liv in our regular area with colorful papers spread out, her phone to her ear, and a cup of coffee sitting precariously on the edge of the table. Joining her, I nudged the mug away from the possibility of falling and nodded when she rolled her eyes, pointed at her cell, and mouthed, sorry.

"Of course, you're not too much trouble! I'm determined to find something you love. I already have a few more places in mind. Are the two of you free later this afternoon?" Liv spoke in her best customer service voice, and I couldn't help but smile. She clearly loved her work.

After hanging up, she said, "Hey! So, how was your date last night?"

The way she pumped her eyebrows told me she already knew exactly how my date had gone. I cringed at the oddness of that, but I was sure they weren't discussing details. Mostly, I just still wasn't used to my sister being close friends with my boyfriend.

"It was great. Nate makes an amazing roasted chicken."

"I bet that's not all he's amazing at," she sang, and I chuckled.

"So what's all this?" I waved my hand over the open house listings she'd printed. "I thought Andre's neighborhoods were keeping you and Laurel busy."

"Fine." She let out a labored sigh. "Don't tell me anything. As long as you guys are happy, I'm happy."

"Well, thank you very much." I pointed at the papers again. "So?"

"Andre keeps me very busy, in and out of his neighborhoods, if you know what I'm saying." The eyebrow wiggle was back, and I shook my head.

"I think Laurel is rubbing off on you. Or are you always like this when you're in a relationship?"

Her forehead crinkled in thought, then she shrugged. "Since this is my first real adult relationship, I can't really say."

The waitress stopped beside our table and we placed our usual order of bagels with their house made blueberry cream cheese and fresh fruit on the side. "I'll have a cup of coffee, too, please, black," I said.

"Sure thing." She turned to Liv. "And a refill for you, hun?"

"Yes, please."

When we were alone, Liv gathered her papers into a pile, tucking them into her bag. "These are for an older couple looking for something small. Andre's neighborhoods are both way too big for them."

"How did you get hooked up with them, then?"

"Their son and his family just bought a house from us and they asked if I could help his parents. They said they were having a hard time finding something to fit their needs, and I love a challenge, so I thought, why not?"

"That's kind of you to add them on top of your regular workload." She'd get her commission, of course, but I'd seen no one more determined to make her clients happy.

"Ah." She waved off the compliment. "They're sweet people and I have a good feeling about the places I'm showing them later. Eighteenth time is the charm, right?" She giggled and took a sip of her pale coffee.

"That's a lot of places."

She shrugged, and I could see her gearing up to pose all her usual questions. Have you come out at work yet? Are you still avoiding being seen with Nate? How long do you think that can last?

"How's Laurel? I haven't heard anything new recently. Is she still seeing that college boy from New Year's?" Maybe if I kept Liv focused on other people's relationships, she'd leave mine alone.

Her nose wrinkled. "Cody, yeah. She sees him once in a while. Laurel says she still wants a real relationship, but she's not sitting at home alone while she waits for Mr. Right to come along."

"I guess as long as Cody's okay with that and doesn't get attached."

Liv rolled her eyes and giggled as the waitress dropped off our food. "Laurel calls him her activities partner, to his face! He seems fine with it."

I laughed and stabbed a bit of pineapple with my fork. "I'm sure he is, then. What about you and Andre? Anything new?"

The dreamy look that crossed her face at the mention of her boyfriend warmed something in my chest. She beamed at me between bites. "He's still amazing."

"I'm so glad. It's nice to see you settled with someone that seems to deserve you."

Her eyebrows pulled together. "Aww, Joby, that's so sweet. What about you and Nate? Have you decided how to come out at work?"

My shoulders slumped as I blew out a puff of air. There was no avoiding it. The girl was like a dog with a bone. "No, I haven't decided anything."

Disappointment wiped the smile from her face. "What are you waiting for? You can't expect Nate to wait around forever. He deserves better than that."

"I know he does, but I can't help it."

"Yes, you can. You're just scared. It's understandable, but you have to do something. Nate didn't want to date someone that was still in the closet. He broke his rule for you, and now he's spent months knowing you're afraid to be seen with him in public. That's not fair."

The back of my neck heated with anger and something else, maybe guilt, twisted in my stomach. "Should I quit my job? Do you think he'd prefer a homeless, broke boyfriend who can't afford to take him anywhere to even be seen?"

She scoffed. "That's a bit drastic, don't you think? I know you make good money and you must've saved a ton living at the hotel for free. Besides, you know Nate wouldn't care if you were broke."

Leaning back in my seat, I took a slow breath. She was right. Everything she said made sense. But the thought of leaving the job I'd had since college was terrifying. What if someplace else was worse? My job was stressful, but it was home. It was all I'd known as an adult living on my own.

"I do fine and I've saved, but not enough to last forever."

Reaching across the table, Liv rested her fingers on the back of my hand. "I wasn't trying to piss you off. You two are so good together, and I love you both. I'm worried you're going to wait too long until regret and that hotel will be all you're left with. But I'll drop it."

"Thank you. I hear what you're saying."

"Good." She patted my hand and grinned. "I talked to Granny this morning. She was getting ready to clean and freeze a bunch of collards someone brought her from the farmer's market."

Granny's kitchen filled my mind. The sinks filled with water to rinse the grit from the big leaves before she removed the woody stems and blanched them. It was a process that she'd spend half the day on, but she loved it. Anything to be in the kitchen, preparing to feed her family, even if we wouldn't get to visit for a while.

At least our parents were there a few times a week, hours from Liv and me, and close enough to Granny to be helpful. It was ideal and worked best for everyone, even though the thought of seeing my parents no longer caused a sweat to break out on my forehead.

Since their visit after Christmas, when Mom had promised to try, she'd put genuine effort into changing her ways. Even Liv said she could tell a difference. Mom hadn't questioned her hair or clothing choices in months. Sure, they've only chatted on the phone, but that never stopped Mom before.

"Collards sound good. I hope Granny makes some when we visit for Easter in a few weeks. You're still going, right?" I asked.

"You know it!" Liv sucked a smear of cream cheese from her thumb. "And this time, I'm taking a real boyfriend!"

"Hey! Me too." I chuckled, glad Nate was excited to spend time with Granny. "That'll be different. I wonder if Briar's going."

Liv stuck her tongue out in disgust for our cousin. "I'm sure Ruth Grace wants to go, but I don't know if she and Kiaan want to take Briar anywhere. That'd be a long few hours in a car when Briar's been giving them hell. I can't believe she sold their living room furniture."

"They should've called the police and let them arrest her." I remembered my shock when Granny passed that information along. "Can you imagine coming home and finding your couch and everything else gone? Kiaan is either a saint or an idiot for staying with Ruth Grace and her adult daughter."

"The poor guy must really love her."

"In all honesty, they should probably look into getting Briar some kind of treatment." I finished my bagel and wiped my hands with the paper napkin.

Liv arched a brow. "Is there treatment for being a supreme bitch?"

I said nothing as I waited for her to feel bad for saying that, even if it was true. Liv wasn't mean enough to let it go. It only took her a few seconds. "Ugh. That wasn't nice. I hope they can get her some kind of help."

"You're a better person than me." I stood and kissed the top of her head as I grabbed the check and headed to the counter to pay for lunch before she could protest.

Thanks for reading! 💜