“Do you remember the tie I made for John last spring when Frank got married?” Mel’s cousin Frankie had gotten married the spring before. Melanie had found what she proclaimed was the perfect dress in the perfect shade of lilac, but she had been extremely disappointed when John hadn’t been able to find a tie that matched her dress. This had seemed, to Libby, a tad ridiculous— but that was just Mel’s way. So, Mel had taken it upon herself to make John a tie that went perfectly with her dress.
“John got so many complements on it, and a couple of his frat brothers even offered to buy it off him. Not that he would sel it of course. When his Fraternity threw their end of the year formal I designed at least a dozen new ties for them. Mom and Dad agreed to loan me the amount the colege refunds them for this year’s tuition, and I am going to move in with John in New York.”
Libby was reasonably sure that some piece of vital information had been lost somewhere, but years of patience had taught her how to coax the information out of her friend. “Okay. So what is the money for?”
“Supplies sily.”
Okay maybe she was little out of practice. Libby silently counted to ten. “What sort of supplies?”
“Oh mostly silks, and some satins. And I wil need a better sewing machine. And John has a friend that is going to set up a web site for me, so I wil have to pay him…”
“You are quitting school to make neckties?”
“Not just neckties. Scarves, and pocket hankies.
And I am looking into a leather working class to decide if I want to try my hand at belts. I am starting with men’s accessories because I think there is more room in that market. Plus John’s mom is a surgeon and she promised to talk me up to her surgeon friends, and most of them are men. When the brand get’s going I would like to do something with women’s accessories.”
“You’re moving to New York!”
“Catch up Libby.” Mel’s was smiling again. “I love John, and I am tired of only having one weekend a month together. It’s going to be great. You are in Florida most of the time anyway. We can probably see each other even more with John’s airline hook up. I want to do this Libby. I finaly found something I am good at.”
“You are good at lots of things.” Libby chewed on her bottom lip while she processed everything Mel had said. “I think it’s great, but you might want to take some business classes, design classes. Make sure you are realy prepared to succeed.” That was Libby’s plan anyway. She wanted her degree in business so she could open her own café and bakery.
“Nah. I am kind of making this up as I go. Tony has a friend in law school that can probably point me in the right direction while I am getting set up. But now that I figured out what I want to do I don’t want to wait another three years to get started!”
Libby nodded dumbly. “When did this happen?”
“Weren’t you listening? My cousin got married and…”
“Not that Mel. I was actualy talking to myself. I was just wondering when I got left behind. You are going to be in New York with your career, and Tony is in New Jersey with his career, and I am left behind.”
“Geez! Pity party much? Mel tossed her crumpled napkin at Libby. You aren’t left behind you are going back to Florida next week, and you have lots of friends there, and you actualy like school. Libby I was miserable last year.
You were in Talahassee, and John was in New York. Can you please try and be happy for me? “
“I am Mel. If I were a man I would buy al my neckwear from you.”
“Okay good. Now that that is settled— do you want to help me move? John and Parker are going to be here tomorrow morning, and we are renting a truck and driving back. You could spend the weekend. Parker is.”
“I’d love to Mel, but I have a lot to do before Monday. I wil come by in the morning and help you pack though.” Libby wanted to say yes. That she would love to help Mel move, and see the fabulous town house where John lived. But she needed to start back to Florida on Monday, and Tony was going to be home for the weekend.
He had told her so himself.
“Wel I suppose I should have given you more notice.” Melanie seemed to be studying Libby’s face. She blew her bangs out of her face and started talking again.
“Tony is coming home tomorrow night.” Libby wasn’t sure how to respond, so she decided to play it cool and ignore her nosy interfering friend. Mel was completely undiscouraged. “You never realy told me what happened with Parker.”
“What? Nothing happened with Parker. We went out those few times with you and John, and now we are just friends.”