Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
The screen door squeaked when Mia pushed it open. Then, with a glass of Merlot in hand, she moved from her tiny deck to her favorite place in the world, her little garden. 
Every plant and seedling had been lovingly nurtured by her. Meticulous rows of tubular onions and tomatoes on vines were planted adjacent to each other, along with a few other plants and herbs that she used for cooking. Her garden also had a lone oak tree, and a substantial part of it spread out of her garden; perks of having an apartment on the ground floor. Her apartment may be small, but she loved it.
She sipped the wine before kicking off her shoe and trailed her toe in the mud. Nothing in the world calmed her more than this little slice of heaven.
No one could disturb her here—not a husband gone AWOL, not mountains of student debt or her familial responsibilities.
Okay, one thing could.
"Come on! I'm starving! Can you please hang out in your garden later?" Violet, with her mop of curly, red hair, poked her head out from the screen door.
She gave her fiery best friend a wry grin and followed her inside. Since college, they had been tight, sharing this very same apartment, but Violet recently moved out to live on the other side of the town with her architect boyfriend. So that room was vacant now, and Mia still hadn't decided whether she should lease it out or turn it into a study slash guest room.
The girls didn't hang out as often as they used to but still were close. Violet was the one who pushed her to meet Damian. Her exact words were, 'Grab the bull by its proverbial horns, and stop being so passive, dammit!'.
At dinner, Mia watched in amusement as a voraciously hungry Violet dug into her meal of buttermilk biscuits and chicken marsala. After eating some of it, she pushed away her own plate, but Violet was still sopping the sauce with her biscuits. Mia picked up her wine, not caring that it was her third glass. She was enjoying the pleasant buzz it afforded after the meeting with her husband.
"Oh man, your food!" Violet messily licked the sauce off her fingers. "Had I been a man, I would've married you."
"Poor Steve would've been so heartbroken." Steve was Violet's boyfriend, they had been dating since college. Her friend acknowledged with a wry grin as she got up to place her plate in the sink and wiped her hands on the washcloth before turning towards her.
"So, speaking of Steve, I believe I have some news." Violet's tone dipped low. "Our first date's anniversary is coming up, and, based on Steve's secretive behavior, I think he's going to, well...," she danced a little jig, "pop the question!"
The kitchen exploded with loud squeals from both of them.
"That's so wonderful! I'm so happy for you! You're my favorite person, and I love you!"
"Right back at you, girl!" They hugged each other, raised the wine glasses, and sipped.
"So," Mia leaned in, feeling exuberant and carefree. Violet was surely going to be happy for her as well. "I've news for you, too. Which means we both have two good news today! Or should it be too good news?"
Violet laughed. "Professor, you're wasted!"
"Probably," she giggled. "Well, I deserve a celebratory drink. I did it today, Violet! I finally met with Damian!"
Stunned silence met her declaration, which was broken by Mia's loud hiccup. 
Yep, she was drunk.
"Oh my God! That's great! You did it? You met him? In his office?"
When Mia nodded, Violet let out a low whistle. "Wow, I'm proud of you! Oh my God! Finally!" 
"Ye-ep." another hiccup.