As the crowd headed for the exit, people jostled her on all sides.  Relieved to be out of the fray, Devon lugged her bag with effort into the train station.  It was white marble in every direction with a high-arch glass ceiling, enormous pillar entranceways, and benched seating.  Standing there to admire it all, Devon thought it was beautiful.

She had only been to Chicago once with her parents during her junior year of high school.  They’d had some kind of music appearance, and she had spent most of her time in the hotel room while her younger sister had followed her parents around the event.  The record label her parents worked for had put them up in a suite, and in no particular order, Devon had alternated between the Jacuzzi tub, pool table, and minibar.  She had regretted not getting to see much more of the city.

She craned her neck, looking around the giant room for her friend.  Hadley was supposed to be picking her up.  Devon wasn’t about to try to traverse the subway or L all by herself.

She turned around and nearly ran smack dab into someone.

“Sorry,” she muttered, moving around the stranger.

Then, she found Hadley standing there.  She was staring down at her cell phone, ignoring the masses swarming around her.

“Hadley!” Devon called.  “Hadley Bishop!”

Hadley turned around and rushed toward Devon.  “Hey,” she cried, throwing her arms around Devon.  “So glad you made it.  I just couldn’t believe it when you called and said you were coming to the city!”  Hadley released her and took a step back.

“I know.  I’m so last minute,” Devon said.

“Oh, whatever,” Hadley said shoving her phone into her front pocket.  “You know you always have a place with me.”

“Thanks,” Devon said appreciatively.

“Need help with anything?” Hadley asked, looking Devon up and down to see if she had other stuff with her.

“Nope.  Just this.”  Devon motioned to her oversized purse and suitcase.

“Alrighty!  This way then,” Hadley told her, motioning back toward the trains.

Devon followed with a smile plastered on her face.  She had missed her friend more than life itself.  Hadley had graduated from Wash U in December, leaving Devon without a roommate for the spring semester.  Hadley always did exactly what she wanted.  For instance, she had graduated early, moved to Chicago, and accepted a job at a high-end marketing firm.  It was just something Devon would have never thought to do.  In fact, this whole trip was something that Hadley, not Devon, would do.

Thankfully, Hadley knew her way around the metro.  They took a seat on the train, and Devon angled her body to face her friend.  She had forgotten how much they looked alike.

Devon’s parents had always said that she looked like country music royalty.  She didn’t know if it was because she had a small, curvy body that looked great on camera or because her mother had started bleaching her naturally light brown hair in middle school.  Magnifying the country music image, her parents had dressed her in cowboy boots and a hat, had her belt out every song on the radio, and paraded her around to every music venue they could get her into.  Since leaving for St. Louis, she had resisted all of these things except for her blonde hair.  She hadn’t been able to get rid of the blonde.

Hadley was taller than Devon by a couple of inches.  They had the same blonde hair.  Though Devon had seen Hadley change it to black, brown, red, and every color in between in the two and a half years they had lived together.  They used to have similar styles, but now Hadley was moving toward business professional, and Devon was stuck in her jeans, even in the summer heat.  It made Devon wish she had packed some dresses.

“So,” Hadley began, “are you hungry?”  She crossed her right leg over her left, crinkling her grey pantsuit.

She looked positively radiant.  Devon wasn’t sure she had ever seen Hadley quite like this.

“Yes, I am,” Devon said staring at her friend.  “There’s something different about you.  I can’t put my finger on it.”

“I moved in with someone!” Hadley squeaked, unable to hold in her excitement.

“Already?” Devon asked, her mouth falling open.  “You’ve only been here for six months!”

“I know!  It’s so new and so fresh, and I probably shouldn’t, but I did.  I just had to!  Wait until you meet him.  You’ll see he’s perfect!” Hadley gushed.

Devon tried to keep her smile as natural as possible.  She had hoped that they would spend time together, just the two of them, like old times.  Not that she wasn’t happy for her friend.  She was.  It would just be different.

“Congrats.  I’m so happy for you,” Devon told her.  “That must be why you’re practically glowing.”

“You have no idea, Dev.  You’ll get to meet him tonight.  Can’t wait!”

The L slowed down and Hadley stood, indicating that this was their stop.  Devon stared down the stairs, cursing the person who had decided escalators weren’t needed in this town.  Flying down the stairs in front of Devon, Hadley seemed to forget her earlier offer of assistance.  Devon grumbled under her breath as she hauled her bag to the ground level.

“We’re going to go this restaurant that I love.  It’s kind of a you-have-to-know-it type of place.  I think you’ll like it.  It’s right around the block, so let’s eat first, and then we’ll take your stuff to my place,” Hadley said, walking into traffic without a backward glance.

She’s going to kill herself, Devon thought.  She waited for traffic to stop before following Hadley.

“What is this place?” Devon asked when she finally caught up.  As she rolled her suitcase behind her, it made clicking sounds every time it hit a bump in the sidewalk.

“Just a restaurant.  Nothing fancy, but my friend Brennan works there as a bartender.  It’s the place right now if you know what I mean,” she said.

Hadley turned down an alleyway and then immediately walked into a restaurant.  Devon hadn’t even seen the door.  She read the sign, Jenn’s Restaurant, over the door and went inside.

Hadley was right about the restaurant.  It wasn’t anything fancy, but the place was slammed.  It was on the smaller side, and all the tables and booths were full of young professionals still in their suits after leaving work.  Although some had stripped down to their button-up shirts, Devon felt woefully underdressed even if the atmosphere was welcoming.

As Hadley veered through the crowd, people on all sides called out hellos to her.  She elbowed a couple out of the way and took the last two remaining seats in front of the bar.

“You’re popular,” Devon muttered, plopping down in the seat next to her.

Hadley had always been popular though.  She radiated energy, and people seemed to gravitate toward her spontaneous personality.  Hadley always seemed to be going, going, going and waiting for life to catch up with her.  Devon had missed Hadley’s fast-paced mindset.

Hadley just shrugged with a confident smile on her face.  “Ay!  Walker!” she called, leaning over the edge of the bar.  When he didn’t immediately respond she called out again, “Brennan!”

The bartender turned in their direction and shot Hadley an exasperated expression.  He was good-looking in the she-shouldn’t-go-anywhere-near-that kind of way.  He had devious eyes and a knowing smile that made Devon wonder what secrets he had tucked up his sleeves.  He wore a barback uniform of black slacks and a white button-up rolled up to his elbows with a towel slung over his shoulder.  His brown hair was styled in a way that made it appear he hadn’t spent any time on it.

“Gimme me a minute, Hadley.  I’m with a customer,” Brennan called.

“What do I look like?” she asked with a sassy smile.

“An annoyance,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

While the other customers snickered like this interaction was commonplace, Devon was having a hard time peeling her eyes off of the bartender.