“So have you heard from James recently?” Carla asked, as she sliced cheese for wafer.

“Yeah he called me two nights ago, he’s coming home next week and we’re gonna go out for dinner and a movie,” Veronica smiled. She was looking forward to it, she was really anxious to hear how everything was going for him.

“Yeah, I heard from him yesterday and he was telling me he was coming home.”

“It’ll be nice to see him again, I really miss him.”

“See, if you’d said something to him earlier, you could be waiting for your boyfriend to come home,” Carla winked.

Veronica chuckled, “It’s ok though.”

“Mmmhmm. How’s the job search going?”

“Pretty good, I’ve got a phone interview tonight when I get home from work, so hopefully that’ll go well. I gotta get out of here,” she sighed, pulling her gloves off and tossing them in the garbage.

“I hear you, me too. I’m gonna start looking myself, this just isn’t paying bills,” Carla frowned. “Anyway, how are things going with Nick? Have you spoken to him recently?”

Her face lit up suddenly, “Yup, he called me last night actually and we spoke for a little while.”

“Finally, how’d he sound? I mean, did he seem upset that you hadn’t called or anything?”

“Mmm, not really, he seemed really happy to talk to me though; he did say he was hoping that I’d called.”

“See, you should’ve called him sooner,” Carla scolded, grabbing a cloth and starting to wipe a slicer down.

“I know, I just don’t want to screw this up, I know I’m gonna mess up some how and do something wrong and make him pissed at me,” Veronica frowned, slumping back against the counter.

“Veronica you can’t go through this relationship always worried about making him mad, what kind of relationship is that gonna be?”

She nodded, Carla was right she knew, but she couldn’t help it. Nick wasn’t just some guy, he was famous, and he was a celebrity. Pretty soon everyone was gonna know he was dating someone and she doubted highly that she’d be spared the criticism once fans found out who she was. No relationship was perfect, but she felt an uncommon pressure to be better, to be stronger.

“Look, all I’m saying is that you can’t constantly walk around on eggshells. He’s a guy Veronica, just a guy. You’re in a relationship; the fact that he’s famous doesn’t make that any different in that sense. Ok, so you’ve got some…different circumstances, but still a relationship needs to be ya know, supported and all that. You gotta treat him like you would any other boyfriend. You have to keep communication open, especially since you guys are so far from each other.”

Veronica looked over at Carla and nodded.

“Ya know, you should be telling him all this honestly, he’s the one you’ve gotta go to with problems with your relationship girl, not that I mind you talking to me. But don’t let all this stuff accumulate and then the next thing you know…” Carla stopped, frowning.

“Yeah, I know, I don’t want that to happen, trust me.”

“Think of it like this, you guys spoke all the time before becoming an official couple right?”

“Right.”

“Ok, so just pretend you’re only friends still…just ya know, on another level of friendship…a very friendly friendship,” Carla wiggled her eyebrows.

“Carla!”

“What?! Seriously Veronica, I want this to work. I’ve never seen you so happy; I want you to stay this way.”

“Thanks Carla, I promise I’ll try my best.”

And she would.