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Addie and Howie returned after a few days and things got back into their regular routine. Emma helped Addie with the baby when Howie was working and, whenever he could, he took over so Addie could hang out with Emma before she left. School started earlier in the South so Emma would have to leave in a few more weeks and Addie wanted as much time with her as possible.

At that moment, they were sitting on the outside patio of one of their favorite restaurant. The women had been shopping, Addie for the baby and Emma for her upcoming school year. After ordering their sandwiches, Addie jumped right into it.

“How come you have you leave?” Addie asked with a pout. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Nice face.” Emma chuckled. “You can save that for Howie because it doesn’t get you anywhere with me.”

“Brat!”

“I know but you still love me.”

Their sandwiches arrived and, as Addie started eating her fries, she noticed that her friend was only picking at her food. She put down the fry she was holding and wiped her hands on her napkin.

“Ok, what’s with you sitting there? You love this food.”

“I’m just kind of bummed.” Emma answered. “I’ve had a really good time here with you, Howie and the baby. I’m going to have to leave soon and head back to North Carolina. You guys won’t be there and I’ll be stuck with that stupid woman.”

Addie knew how much Emma despised her new boss and she was still pissed off that someone could actually dislike her best friend.

“She sucks.” Addie agreed and then paused. “Have you ever thought about coming back up here?”

Emma shook her head; she knew she had made a commitment to one more year down south and there wasn’t a huge draw for her to come back.

“I miss you and the baby but my life is down there now. I can’t imagine coming back and starting all over again. I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing plus I don’t think I can handle all the memories that come with being here.”

“I thought you and Nick were getting along? I mean you went out of your way to help him last week, I was kind of hoping that was a good sign.”

Sighing, Emma just looked at her friend. She knew Addie was looking out for her best interests but she seemed to think that, since the two exes were speaking, that meant things might go back to the way it used to be.

“Ad, just because I helped him one time does not at all mean that we’re going to be friends again.”

“But you were at the beginning.”

“I know.” Emma replied. “But so many things have changed, some good, some bad. You can’t ignore everything that’s happened and there’s no going back in time. It just doesn’t work like that. Plus, Nick’s only being polite so he doesn’t make everyone mad again.”

Addie knew that her friend was lying to herself trying to make her interactions with Nick seem more like ones that were demanded. She was able to see things a little more clearly than her friend and she knew that both her and Nick meant more to each other than they wanted to admit. Yes, Nick being nicer was born out of necessity but it seems to have developed into more.

Thankfully, Addie’s phone rang before she could start lecturing her friend. Howie told her that he was going to head over to the studio to check out Nick’s new music. He wanted to know if she could swing by and pick up the baby. Just as she was going to say yes, a new plan started formulating in her plan. She told her husband that she would love to swing by and help him out.

“What was that about?” Emma asked, finally finishing her sandwich.

“Oh, um, Howie wanted to go meet with a producer and asked if I would swing by and pick up the baby. Do you mind coming there with me? I can drop you off at your car afterwards.”

“Sure, a drive would be nice.”

The women were quiet on their way to meet Howie; Emma was thinking of going back to her home and Addie was contemplating the best way to make sure her plan worked. Emma finally snapped into the present when she noticed that they were pulling into the same studio that she picked Nick up from.

“Howie records at the same place as Nick?”

“Oh yeah.” Addie told her as they got out of the car. “This guy is one of the best and sometimes the guys like to collaborate; it’s easier for them if they have the same people in common.”

“Oh ok.” Emma said. “I’ll wait for you out here.”

“No,” Addie said forcefully and then decreased her intensity, “I mean I need your help. You know how much crap Howie packs for the baby. I need your help getting it into the car.”

Emma raised her eyebrow at her friend but she climbed out of the car and followed her friend into the studio. It took them a couple of minutes to find the right room but Emma recognized the voices coming out of it before they walked in.

“Nick’s here too?” she asked with a stare. “This better not be some stunt you’re pulling Ad.”

“I’m not planning anything at all.” Addie said with an innocent face. “I didn’t know he would be here honest!”

“Yeah right. Let’s get your daughter and be on our way.”

Howie smiled when his wife walked into the room. Pulling her into a hug, he told her that he would help her transfer the stuff from his car to hers. He gave Emma’s shoulder a squeeze and walked out with his daughter and wife. While she was waiting for them to come back, she listened to the music coming out of the booth. From where she was sitting, she had a total view of Nick but the room was so dark, he couldn’t have seen her there, which was probably for the best.

She waited about five minutes and then headed out to the parking lot. There was no way that moving things from one car to another. Her jaw dropped when she looked around and realized that both Howie and Addie had left. She had no idea how she would get home and she wanted to kill her friend for the set up; she couldn’t wait to get back to their house!