I focused my attention back on Lady Julia. “So, this guy you’re seeing in the tea leaves, is he like ‘the one’ or something?”

  She eyed her cup critically, taking a deep sigh. “I can’t tell for sure, but he is most definitely important to you somehow.”

  I sighed at her cryptic remark.. “Maybe he could give me a job, too. That would be great,” I said dryly.

  Julia looked up from her cup and leveled me with a benevolent stare. “Don’t be in such a rush, Lucy. It will all come together when it’s supposed to… but you know that already, dear.”

  She was right, of course. That very sentiment she just expressed was one that I had been telling the few clients I had regularly. Everything had a way of coming together the way it was supposed to, even if it sometimes wasn’t as seamless or desirable as we hoped for ourselves. Life wasn’t perfect, and the quicker we all embraced that fact, the happier most of us would be. I knew that, but somehow, it didn’t stop me from stressing about my current situation.

  I thanked Lady Julia for her time and ambled my way home. I had learned a lot of complex and fancy terms for emotion while studying for my psychology degree, and I could sit here and rattle on about all of them that I may have been experiencing, but what much of it came down to was fear and loneliness. I didn’t know for sure if what I was doing was right, and I missed my friends terribly. I felt like something big was missing, and until I identified exactly what that was, I would continue to feel that way. I was hoping the fresh air on the walk back to my house just a few blocks over would help me clear my mind, but going back into the house, knowing that Lucy and Reagan weren’t there and that there was no other friendly face to greet me just made that lonely feeling all the sharper.

  Nothing that a long hot soak in the tub with some essential oils wouldn’t cure, I told myself as I went inside my house. It will all come together how it’s supposed to, I kept chanting to myself as I drew my bath.

  ***

  “I don’t understand why you won’t just come out here with me?” Reagan asked, frustrated with my lack of cooperation.

  I sighed heavily. “It’s not that I don’t want to see you,” I explained for the millionth time. “It’s just that this is my home, I’ve never lived anywhere other than California. I’m not sure I would know what to do with myself and in New York of all places.”

  “Of all places?” Reagan asked, clearly insulted.

  “I don’t mean it like that, it’s just that I am a California girl down to the bone. I have a hard time imagining myself in big bad New York.” I told her.

  “Yeah, well big bad New York is full of true blue, California girls, so it’s not like you would be alone. Besides, there’s something here for everyone. So, all those times you were told that you needed to narrow your focus and just pick something, well, you don’t have to do that here. You can be all the crazy you want to be, people embrace it…to a point, of course. I’m just saying, I think you could carve out your own little niche here. And you don’t have to be by yourself or with your creepy new roommates,” she argued.

  “She’s not creepy,” I defended, “she’s just a little different, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  I could practically hear Reagan’s eye roll over the phone. “Different? That’s putting it mildly. Didn’t you tell me you saw a garland of doll heads over her bed one time?” she asked, reminding me all too painfully of the couple of times I’d seen into my roommate's room and discovered several elements that looked like they belonged in A Nightmare Before Christmas.

  “Yeah, yeah, I did. That’s a bit unfortunate, but she doesn’t bother me, and I don’t bother her. Plus, she pays the rent on time, what more can I ask for?” I reasoned.

  “Look, I love the fact that you can always put a positive spin on literally everything, but I think you might be living with a serial killer in the making, I’m just saying. And even if you’re not, why don’t you come out here with me? I mean, I know I’m busy, but I miss having my friends here with me.… Come on,” she said cajoling. “Don’t you want to come out here and make sure that big bad New York doesn’t turn me into a cynic?”

  I sighed. “I’ll think about it,” I relented.

  But that wasn’t good enough for Reagan. She was a bulldog, and she was definitely getting into the right profession by becoming a lawyer. “That’s what you said last time, and I’m pretty sure you just blew me off. Okay, well, if my other arguments aren’t working, think about this: you have exhausted the job market where you’re at now. The perfect job might just be waiting for you right here with me.”

  She had a point. I hadn’t really thought about that. I was born and raised in California, and it seemed to have everything I ever needed or wanted, so it never really occurred to me to look elsewhere. Reagan took my silence as a clear win because before I could say anything in response, she said determinedly, “All right, that’s it. Tonight, I am looking for job postings for you in this area. Two thirds of the Golden Girls can reunite—let’s make it happen!” I knew better than to try to argue, not with that sound in Reagan’s voice—she was now officially on a mission.

  “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to see what’s out there,” I offered.

  “That's right, thatta girl. We’re going to make this happen, and it’s going to be wonderful! Would you listen to me? See how you’re a good influence on me? I am a regular ball of sunshine over here. Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t you see I’m trying to cross here?”

  “Reagan? Are you okay?” I asked, worried about the obvious situation occurring thousands of miles away.

  “Oh, sorry about that—taxi almost ran me over, no big deal,” she said nonchalantly. “Okay, listen, girl, I got to go. I’m late for work, but I will be looking at those job postings later. Expect to get something from me soon.” She nearly squealed. “I am so excited. This is going to be great!”

  She had hung up the phone before I had a chance to say that I couldn’t make any promises, that I was just looking. I really hoped that I didn’t disappoint her too much when I told her that leaving California just didn’t seem like much of an option to me…even if it did make a lot of sense, I mean, it’s not like I had a lot going for me here at this point. Reagan was in New York. Amelia was starting her new life and building a new family, and I was left in our old college dwelling with a roommate that had a baby doll head garland. “God,” I moaned to myself. Maybe it was time for me to start seriously considering what Reagan offered.

  I rolled over to my side and plugged my phone into the charger on my night table before shutting off the lamp. “I don’t have to make any decisions tonight, it’s nothing that can’t wait until the light of day,” I assured myself and then closed my eyes and went to sleep.

  ***

  I dreamed about the man from the tea leaves that night, and just like Lady Julia had described, he had one ferocious scowl. He looked at me with the utmost intensity as he did absolutely wicked things to me. I woke with a start, hot, confused, and with damp panties caused by my dream lover. My heart raced as my brain replayed all of the deliciously naughty things my dream man had done to me. Maybe while I was contemplating a new life in New York, I should rethink my relationship hiatus, or at the very least find somebody to have some fun with. I drifted off back to sleep, thinking that maybe this moving idea wasn’t so bad after all. I did some deep breathing and wished for a sign to let me know what the right thing to do was.

  The next day, I woke up to a text from Reagan that informed me that there was a position available at a local company not far from where her law offices were located. She sent me a link to the job responsibilities and salary projection, and my eyes about popped out of my head at the sight of both. Yes, indeed, it seemed I’d ask the universe for a sign, and she had delivered just that.

  “New York, here I come.”

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