I hopped out of the shower and walked into our hotel room expecting to find Mags still napping, but instead I walked into a panic attack. She was on the bed shaking, crying, and staring at her phone.
“What the hell happened?” I rushed to the bed and sat down next to her
Mags just sat there staring at her phone, silent tears streaming down her red face. I grabbed her phone and scrolled through the last text messages from Randy.
Randy: Babe, I need to talk to you.
Mags: Everything ok?
Randy: I got my orders today.
Mags: And?
Randy: You’re not going to like this.
That’s where the messages ended and Mags had called Randy. “So, when are they leaving?” By the terrified look on Mags’ face, I knew it was way sooner than she had anticipated.
Her voice was barely over a whisper as she hugged her knees into her chest. “They are leaving right after we get back from Bimini.”
“Oh honey!” I pulled her into me. “Do you want to head home?”
She nodded against my shoulder. “I’m sorry we have to cut this trip short, Cal.”
“Hush your face. You need to be with Randy right now. We’ll have plenty of girl time together while he is gone.”
And just like that our relaxation and destressing went out the window as we frantically packed and begged for part of our money back from the front desk. Luckily the manager on duty was an Army brat, so she took pity on Mags’ situation and gave us a partial refund.
Anything is better than nothing.
I drove like a madwoman for the two-hour drive from Clearwater to Mags’ and Randy’s brand new home that they had barely had time to unpack any boxes in.
Right when we walked through the threshold, Randy was scooping Mags into his arms and pulling me in so the three of us could hug out the sadness that was thick in the room. We had all known it was coming, but knowing it was in the future and having a specific date were way different.
Muffled I love yous made tears sting the back of my eyes.
“I think I should let you guys have some time.” I pulled away from my best friends and started to make my way to the door. “Mags, call me later if you want to.”
Randy wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as she pulled away from him. “Thanks for everything this weekend, Cali. I really did have a great time.”
I pursed my lips as I dug my keys out from the bottom of my purse. “Me too.”