Episode 5

Katie held Sarah’s small hand and stared at the diamond. “It’s beautiful, Sarah. I’m so happy for you and Nick. Do you have a date picked out?”

“How fast do you think I work?” Sarah asked.

“What’s the date?”

Sarah sighed. “Next May. Before it gets too hot out.”

“I knew it,” Katie said. “You were looking at dresses today too, weren’t you?”

Sarah nodded.

“You should have told me,” Katie said. “I’d love to help in any way I can.”

“There’s a little more to it,” Sarah said in a whisper. She swallowed hard and started to tear up again. She cleaned herself up a second later and took a deep breath. “Nick and I are going on our cruise to celebrate…”

“That’s good,” Katie said. “Freshly engaged. Going on a cruise. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.”

“We’re not going on a cruise to celebrate the engagement.”

“Then why are you going on a cruise?” Katie asked.

We need to talk…

“Nick bought us a house.”

“Oh.”

As silence fell, Katie put the pieces together, she waited for Sarah to verify the point of the entire conversation.

“I’m going to be moving out,” Sarah said. “Moving in, with Nick.”

“Obviously,” Katie said. She knew there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice and she didn’t care.

“Don’t get upset,” Sarah said. “I’m moving on with my life. It’s time, right? We had fun in college. We had so much fun here. And now…”

I gave up going to graduate school for this fucking apartment, Katie thought.

“Time to grow up,” she said.

“Exactly,” Sarah said. “I mean, not that you’re not grown up. I’m just moving on.”

“I’m happy you found someone,” Katie said. “So you’re moving out in the next few months?”

It would possibly give her a chance to figure something out. There was no way she could pay for the apartment on her own. She barely survived now with her job and splitting the bills with Sarah.

“That’s the other part,” Sarah said.

“The what? How many parts does your little sticky note have?” Katie reached a level of annoyance that forced her to stand and step away from the couch.

“We’re celebrating everything in October,” Sarah said. She paused and then stood up. “We’re celebrating then because we’re moving now.”

“Now?” Katie asked.

“Now.”

“Now as in…”

“Katie, now as in now. Nick bought the house today, signed the papers. We’re moving in this weekend.”

“So I’m…”

“It’s not that bad,” Sarah said. She hurried around the coffee table and reached for Katie. “It’s not. This is motivation, right?”

“Motivation? How? You’re leaving the apartment. You know I can’t afford to live here. I can’t move…” Katie gritted her teeth. She flashed back to the day they got the apartment. Katie had been the only one with a real job and stable credit. She had been the one who signed the lease, on her own. Everything was in her name. “The lease, Sarah. It’s in my name.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Sarah said.

“I can’t live here by myself,” Katie said. She felt her throat crackling. Her bottom lip started to quiver and the intense collision of emotion couldn’t be stopped.

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