“We really can’t thank you guys enough, especially David. He really is a hero.” Walt shakes hands with John Andrews as Penny and Meredith squeeze the life out of each other – well, as best they can with Meredith’s still-sore wound.

“We’re glad to help out,” Penny says as she hands over the bags of clothing and toiletries they’d picked up on their way over. “So what will you guys do?” Penny asks cautiously, not wanting to upset Walt and Meredith.

Pulling his wife to his side, Walt kisses the top of her head. “We’ll be all right. We’re going to go stay with my brother for a bit while we figure things out.”

“Will you come back to the neighborhood?” Penny and Meredith have hit it off pretty well and she would hate to see them leave for good.

Shrugging and fighting back tears brought on by uncertainty, Meredith looks over at David and Grace watching TV. “I’d like to, but we’ll just have to wait and see.” She swipes a tear away from her cheek and looks up at Walt – her rock, her savior.

“Come on, Pen, let’s leave them be for a while.” John extends his hand to Walt, who thanks him for helping them out. “It’s time to go, Dave.” Penny calls for her son and smiles warmly at the sight of little Gracie staring in awe at him.

“See you around, Gracie.” David ruffles her hair as she holds Puppy tightly at her side.

If she would have known that was going to be the last time she’d see David Andrews, she would have done more than wave lamely at his retreating back as he exited the room.

“Can you believe we finally did it?” Jade raises her glass of Merlot and clinks it against my beer.

“Here’s to six long years!” Dragging out the word long, I laugh before taking a sip of my beer. In one huge gulp, she finishes her drink, all while my lips are still on the rim of my glass. She does not appreciate the look I shoot her across the table.

“What? We just finished grad school. I can live a little.” Jade arches an eyebrow as she wiggles her finger in my face. “I’m getting another one. You want?”

Holding up my still very full mug, I eye her over the rim. “Nah, I think I’m good.”

In true Jade fashion, she sticks out her tongue at me as she struts away from the table. I love this girl, but man she can be a trip sometimes. Having lived with her for four years as college roommates, and the last two while we worked through grad school, I know pretty much everything there is to know about her. Like right now, she’s leaning up against the guy at the bar, slowly dragging her finger down his arm. Stopping at his bicep, she squeezes it and her face twists into one of appreciation. Totally stroking his ego, her main intention is to get a free drink. And oh, would you look at that, a free drink is exactly what she gets. Even though I know she can’t see me, I roll my eyes at her antics.

When the guy turns toward the bartender to pay, Jade peers over at me, a smug ‘I told you so’ look plastered on her face. After handing her the glass of wine, Mr. I Just Got Roped Into Buying a Drink makes a motion to escort Jade onto the dance floor, which, of course, she declines. Pointing over to me in my lonely existence at our booth, I’m sure I make for the perfect excuse.

When she slides back into her seat, I can’t suppress the laughter.

“You’re too much, you know that?”

“Why? Because I can con a guy into buying me an $8.00 glass of wine. I’d say that’s a skill.”

“Sure,” I quip sarcastically. “Put that right on your résumé. It’ll help you land a job in no time.”

Opting for a small sip instead of a large gulp like before, Jade eyes me from across the table. Paying no attention to my previous words, she huffs a sigh at me. “Actually, I’d call it a gift. And if you got out there more often, shake what your momma gave you, then you’d get a freebie every now and then, too, you know.”

That comment alone almost makes me choke on my beer. “Shake what my momma gave me? Are you serious?” As my lips pull into a thin line of cynicism, I shoot her a wry look. “First of all—”

“Oh, yay. It’s a list. I love when you get all listy on me.” Her sarcasm cuts me off mid-sentence. Bouncing playfully in her seat, she claps her hands, mocking me with a delicate balance of love and playfulness.

Holding up one finger for extra emphasis of her love for my lists, I continue with my original statement. “Yes, first of all, you can get guys to buy you drinks all you want. Look at you, you’re . . . you’re . . .” I pause, looking for the right word before landing on, “stunning. You’re absolutely stunning, Jade. Guys drool over you and your mile-long legs.”

“Sweetie, that’s nice of you to say, but they drool over you, too. You just never pay attention.”

“And that, my friend, brings me to my second point.” After taking another sip of my beer, I hold up two fingers this time. Wiggling them back and forth in her face causes us both to laugh at the silliness. “And second of all, I don’t need a hot guy to buy me a drink. I already have a boyfriend.” The last words carry a playfully smug ‘this ought to be fun’ tone, one which causes Jade to laugh.

Though she might think the boys drool over me, I’m not so sure she’s right. Besides, I wasn’t kidding when I said she was stunning. Standing at around five foot nine inches tall, Jade is fit enough to be a model. With dark ebony skin, she looks like Naomi Campbell. Her mocha eyes are set in a perfect face—perfect cheekbones, perfect nose, perfect lips—hell, even her forehead is flawless.

I mean, do people even rate the perfectionism of foreheads? Because if they do, Jade’s would top their list.

Essentially, she’s everything I’m not. I’m the short to her tall, the curves to her sleek lines. Where everything about her is rich and exotic, I’m pale and bland. Nothing says Irish like dark red hair and blue eyes. Oh, and the freckles, you can’t forget the freckles.

“Speaking of boyfriends,”—Jade waves over the top of my head—“here comes Blake now.” Even though she tries to hide it, the disdain she feels toward him drips from every word. I love her for at least trying to disguise it.

“Hey, babe.” Blake slinks into the booth next to me, pulling me close to his side. When the guy from the bar comes over to our table a few seconds later, a friend in tow, Blake’s arm tenses around my shoulders. What started out as a casual show of our relationship, turns into a grip with the sole purpose of staking his claim on me. Jade rolls her eyes, not in any way whatsoever attempting to cover up her disapproval of Blake’s behavior.

Extending his hand to Jade, bar guy introduces himself as Johnny. “And this is Chris. So, how about that dance?”

Before either of us can say anything, Blake answers for us. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m good. Oh and so are the ladies.” Blake’s face twists into a mean look, all hard angles and thin lips as he shoos the guys away.

Jade stands from her seat, not at all attempting to veil her anger this time. “I’ll catch up with you later, Gracie.” As she walks away, I uncurl myself out from under Blake’s arm.

“Why’d you do that?” My question bounces off the back of his head as he turns to flag down a waitress. Blake and I have only been together a few weeks. I wouldn’t consider it much of anything serious, but I think he sees it as more than it is. He can be over-protective and overtly macho at times—all the more reason for Jade not to like him.

He didn’t start out like this. In fact, we were friends for a few months before we started dating. Paired up in an economics class, we spent a lot of time together in study sessions. He did little to hide his interest in me. Having never really been the center of someone’s attention, I’ll be the first to admit, I ate it up. Sure, I caught minute signs of his jealousy every now and then, but there was a small part of me that loved it.