A cruise

When Jenny arrived at the bistro, Elizabeth was facing her phone and didn't notice her walking in. It wasn't until Jenny pulled a little prank on her, the shoulder tapping prank, that she managed to startle Elizabeth and get her attention. Excitedly Elizabeth told her, "Hurry and sit down. I already ordered for both of us. I think you will like what I picked. I tried to make myself useful as I waited for you to get here." Jenny did as she asked and said, "Thanks. I was getting quite hungry. Running over didn't help with that. I was worried about having to wait long when I got here but it seems you read my thoughts and ordered something for me to make sure that our food would arrive shortly after I would." Elizabeth acted all flattered after Jenny's words as if she was given an award, causing Jenny to start laughing only seconds after sitting down. This told her that today was going to be a fun day for both of them.

Elizabeth and Jenny started with small talk and when their food arrived they dived into the bigger topics among which how she and Nick were doing. "How long is he gone for? When is he coming back?" Jenny asked Elizabeth. To which she responded, "He will be back just before Christmas. He has been gone for four weeks now and I still have three more weeks to go. So, far it has been going well and I haven't been missing him too much. Us living together helps a lot. Just knowing that the moment he does come back, he will head straight there, to me. That gives me a sense of comfort." "Wow. You are amazing Lizzy. I was struggling with not seeing Jason everyday when he was busy getting familiar with his new position at Westwood International, I cannot imagine being apart for weeks." A bit saddened Elizabeth responded with, "Yeah, I don't exactly enjoy it either but luckily I am quite busy myself which helps take my mind off of things. We call everyday and he visited me for the long weekend two weeks ago. With that time passes by quickly and before I know it I am lying in his arms on the couch, watching a movie."

Jenny felt bad for her friend that she had to face this struggle and was impressed at how she was handling it at the same time. Wanting to change the topic to a more cheerful one she asked Elizabeth about her honeymoon. "When do you guys plan on going on your honeymoon. You got married between the two terms and moved in together but Nick had to leave shortly after. Never giving you guys the chance to go away on a trip together to celebrate." Elizabeth nodded her head as her face lit up a bit. "We didn't manage to go then but we have big plans for when he returns for the holidays. We let ourselves be inspired by you and Jason's honeymoon and we are going on a nice long trip. We have booked a cruise and we will be gone for three weeks. We leave on the Friday before start of the winter break and wont be back till the Saturday after the first week of the new semester. So, unfortunately we won't be able to attend your birthday this year."

Jenny shook her head and said, "Not at all. Jason and I have had an eventful year and celebrated our birthdays quite extravagantly this past year. So, this year we plan on having a nice, quiet celebration with just the two of us. More importantly, what will you be doing about classes?" Elizabeth made an 'Ok' gesture with her hands and said, "That has all been taken care of. I asked for permission to miss the first week of the semester on the condition that I attend the lectures digitally and turn in my assignments on time. Since, I don't have many courses next semester, that is quite feasible and I agreed right away. Nick's semesters don't run parallel to mine nor do his holidays, so he has planned it so that he still is on break during that first week and starts classes after we return." Jenny grabbed Elizabeth's hand and looked at her with a soft smile on her face. "That sounds great Liz. I am glad you guys managed to work something out. I felt bad that things weren't going according to plan. First you had to postpone you wedding till after classes had started because of your father's heart attack scare and then you couldn't even enjoy married life as Nick had to leave for America almost right away. You deserve this. So, enjoy it to the fullest."

Elizabeth put her hand on top of Jenny's as she smiled back at her. Jenny always had that ability to look through her front and see her actual emotions. No matter how well she tried to hide them. She was telling everyone that she was okay with everything that was going on but in reality she had had a tough few months and she missed Nick like crazy when he left. Her cold nature and arrogant facial expressions hadn't changed much and therefore neither her lack of ability to make friends easily. Sure she had some people who followed her and tried to hang out with her because she was doing well in class, it wasn't the same. With no one who she could consider a friend in her class and her existing friends busy with their own classes and lives, she felt quite alone from time to time. Especially when Nick would be away as well. Having a day like this, where she could chat with a friend who knew her so well and be carefree, she could finally feel like herself again. Laughing from her heart while the other did the same.