no place like home

“I appreciate that, Chlo, really,” he offered back, trying to form somewhat of a reassuring smile, although the conversation at hand seemed to worry him. He knew if anyone would get it it was Chloe, but just saying it out loud made him anxious. He knew people were already sort of walking on eggshells around him since being back, but he also didn’t want to give any indication for them to doubt him or his sanity. He looked up from the spot on the table he’d fixated on as he spilt his guts when she mentioned her confession. “No you didn’t but holy shit I didn’t even think about that,” he spoke with exasperation although it did bring him a small smile to know that he wasn’t the only one still struggling with this. “It’s like my gut reaction is to just get so angry, you know? So many memories were taken from us being there- like my freaking brother had twins and I wasn’t there for him,” he spoke with a shake of his head, “I just don’t know how to move past it.” He spoke, resisting the urge to sigh again. A tug pulled at the corner of his lips, “Yea, it was nice to have her so close to me again, even though she literally never left my side. I even had to take her to work with me for a couple of days because we got calls that her howling for me was disturbing the neighborhood,” he commented with a laugh. “I think so too. Sometimes I feel like I had to relearn how to talk to people that weren’t in the meadows, you know?”

Chloe folded her hands together, and did her best to remember to keep smiling. Even a sad smile would do her some good. She was a firm believer in the idea that the act of smiling made her happier. And smiles were contagious, so wouldn’t those make others happy too? “I do most of my present-acquiring in advance, but I got mixed up about which days that I missed. I still can’t help but worry that I’ve missed getting caught up on that schedule. Some people seem surprised I’m trying to catch up on this, though.” Chloe really just wanted people to like and appreciate her, so it wasn’t even a question of whether or not she would try to give people gifts. It was heartbreaking that so much happened on Icaria and around the world with everyone’s families that were just... missed. She felt so bad for Luke, and dismayed that he seemed to feel guilty for something he could not help. “I don’t have the answers on how to move past it either, but things are at least getting a little better for me. I wish the same for you. And for Holly!” Not that the process of getting everything back to how it was before (or better) was easy. Chloe had been a little worried that people would care about her less now that she was back, but that appeared to no longer be a problem. “I- I do get you. The hardest part for me is that dynamics changed while we were gone, and catching up means having a different sense of grief than the people who were left behind.”

Fae nodded her head in agreement. “We can do a number randomizer on Google,” she pulled out her phone, counted the number of items in the appetizer portion, and inputted it. She listened as Chloe talked. “I didn’t know I had siblings until I came here,” she replied, “Or I would have told you. It was a bit hard to track you down once I got here though. Ah, for obvious reasons I hit a dead end and didn’t have a way to contact you. If I’m honest,” she said the next part in a lower tone, her face growing red, “I might have really built up an idea of you in my head from what other people told me about you. Like, maybe akin to Hestia,” she drew her lips into a line, wondering if she should have said that. “It didn’t help my nerves,” Fae added. “I’ve never really been apart from him before,” she answered, fidgeting with her coaster. “I don’t know how I’ll act away from my dad for a long time. He’s definitely a hugger,” she laughed, recalling her dad. “Will cannot watch a movie without needing to sit on the same sofa and share a blanket, or hugging me randomly several times a day just because. It’s really nice,” Fae added, smiling. “Really? Maybe we’ll go and check it out. I mean, we can physically share a room? We used to share a room back when we were kids, but I don’t know how well it would work out now.”

❛ She never told me she does art, but now I’m curious. I know that she restore things. ❜ He remember that she told him that she find things on the ocean, and keep for restore or things in between this lines. He was confused for a moment, he thought she knew what he told her, but apparently no… ❛ Ah, well. I … ❜ He rubbed the back of his head trying to find the correct word in English. ❛ Hm.. It’s… AH! I’m looking forward a friend. ❜ His French accent slip from his tongue.

“If it feels like too much, or you don’t feel comfortable, don’t unload it. But please know – I’m your friend and I’m here for you. Sure I got therapy training and whatnot behind me – but I’m your friend and I just want to help.” She reached out and touched Chloe’s hand with a delicate smile. “Insecurity about your place in your future?” she asked cocking her head to the side. “The future…” she leaned back looking up at the sky, “It’s – exhausting to think about, but remember, your future is what you make of it. Your future is yours to take hold of. It’s yours to control. Just – remember YOU control how you react to things that happen to you, which means you control how your future goes.” she tapped her lips. “Wish You Were Beer is just around the corner,” she said with a bit of a shrug as she pushed herself up. It was a good enough place to go to get something too much on. Once they were walking she looked over at Chloe. “Have you ever written down a list of the things you can control from the things that are stressing you out?” she asked, “It sounds weird, but writing those things down and can really help to — let go. Once you look at the list of what you can do to deal with the stress on your shoulders it makes it so much easier to deal with what you can’t.”

Jasmine chuckled and nodded her head, “I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled, shrugging now. “It’s a way away, but – Athens is only 45 minutes by plane… so it’s not horrible thankfully. If you ever need a dad hug though… you can come with me to visit my pops and get a really good dad hug.” She offered. Her dad was – well he wanted to be everyone’s dad. He was protective over Jasmine’s friends and he did whatever he could to make her friends smile and have an easier day. So giving her a big-ol-hug and cooking her food? He’d do that without even being asked.She paused and then held up a finger her eyes lighting up. “We need to find a friend who can teleport!! If we find someone who can do that, then we can go see our parents way more often. Then there doesn’t have to be the sadness of being away from them!” She clapped much too excited now. 

“It was sudden for both of them yeah, I think – the panic of being taken and of getting them back made people just decide – they had to?” Jasmine mused, as she shrugged her shoulders.  “Either way, I doubt anyone will mind if it takes some time to get gifts and what not in order. It’s not like they planned a big ol wedding yet anywho.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she spoke. “How’s everything else been?” she asked, propping her head up on her hand and tossing Chloe a large smile.

Chloe did not want to disappoint Jasmine. Yes, she genuinely did want to meet up with Jasmine’s dad, but she did think that even the fuss of having to travel at all was chaotic enough. It was certainly better than dealing between the European Union and the UK, though- even if just a little bit. However, she did very much enjoy having the opportunity to spend time with kind people outside of the island... Okay, she would do it. “I would love to come along with you to visit with your dad- whenever is convenient for everyone! It certainly would be helpful to have someone who could teleport that far so easily, but I don’t know if anyone is on the island like that...” How unfortunate, but she supposed that even the normal variety of travel would have to be worth it.

“I certainly hope they don’t mind. If they do mind then- then I would just be very sad.” Chloe would also probably find a way to mentally beat herself up for taking that long to get gifts to people. There was a reason that she shopped for months in advance for presents when she could manage it. Disappointing anybody- the idea of it. No, she could not take that kind of stress right now. “Uhm! Everything is fine. Now that I’m back, doesn’t it feel like everything has changed, but nothing has?”

❛ Yeah! This girl. She’s nice, and interesting. ❜ He was fascinated with the stories of the objects she found on the oceans. ❛ I’m definitely looking for a copine.  ❜ He beamed to her, posing is trademark toothy smile. ❛ I’m starting to like this place, except the ocean… I don’t like them yet. ❜ For obvious reasons, but not that Chloe knew that he came from the ocean to this island… And survived an accident.

-

Hearing Chloe’s slight panic at the idea of Ava being scared of her made the therapist shake her head chuckling. “You’re precious.” she smiled. “You don’t need to apologize or anything. I’m not actually scared of you because – you make mistakes and that’s okay. Just keep reminding yourself of that. Mistakes are okay, they’re healthy.” she said and then lifted her water glass to her lips to take a sip. The cupcake was good but it made her really thirsty. “What’s making you feel like the world is falling from under you?” she asked – more as a curious friend than the therapist she was. “Totally agree, having someone to share a meal with and talk to is what makes a good day even better.” she glanced to Chloe, they were just outside of the bakery – and all this talk about brunch was making her hungry, “Do you want to grab an actual bite of food instead of just sweets?”

“Oh. okay.” Chloe wrinkled her brow, not sure if she was really allowed to make mistakes or if Ava was just being nice. Like, sure, technically she could do whatever she wanted because life was like that, but Chloe tried to respect the rules of society and manners. But then she reconsidered, thinking that nobody could become a kinder person without having to change. She would permit this. “I don’t, uhm, know if that’s too much to unpack right now, if I’m honest. Everything I’ve mentioned, and, uh, insecurity about the future and my place in it. Which... that was a lot fewer words than I expected to need, actually, but that’s the, you know, tip of the iceberg.” Chloe supposed there was a lot to delve into, but she had a burst of relief for being able to come up with a concise explanation for what the problem was. The future! She was scared of what was going to happen there! Oh, she was so relieved. “Sure. I can’t promise that I will be terrifically hungry, but it sounds like you do need food, and I will probably need some eventually. Did you have anywhere in mind?”

Noelle placed a kiss on Chloe’s cheek. “We talked about it, you apologized, I vented my feelings, and we’re fixing it. It’s okay. I don’t want you beating yourself up over something that we’re working together to make better. If you do, then we’re not really making it better right? We’re only going to resolve it if we both feel better, not just me.” It didn’t matter if Chloe was the one to mess up a bit. They wouldn’t be able to fully move past it if Chloe couldn’t forgive herself too. Otherwise, it would just fester which the vet didn’t want for her girlfriend. “That’s all I ask. I’ll tell you if anything is bothering me too. I promise.”

Noelle couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the idea of a ton of scrapbooking supplies living somewhere in their house. It was a cute image though. That and about a gazillion candles. While it was so incredibly opposite of her own decor and habits, the idea of it all made the house feel more home. That was probably because all those things were so incredibly chloe though. Noelle was taken out of her surprisingly corny thoughts when she heard her girlfriend backtrack and touch on what else she said. A smile formed on her face though at Chloe’s worries, and she gently shook her head. “Well, probably not too much time because, i don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of smart,” she said with a playful wink. The veterinarian was never one to really boast about her intelligence, but she was very confident in it. Schooling wasn’t something that ever was too intimidating for her. In fact, she seriously enjoyed the challenge of it all the harder it became. “But Chlo, you’re — I don’t even know how to put what you are to me in words. All I know is that you’re my Chloe, and I want you happy. Me studying for London certification won’t be too much trouble, and it’ll just mean that if you do stumble upon a great house or something happens, we are prepared to move whenever we need to. It’s a small thing I can do. A small security that will hopefully make you feel better too.”

Wringing her hands a little bit, Chloe tried to smile. She was not sure how to get better at anything without beating herself up just a little bit. So maybe she had some more things to work on for herself. “I don’t want to forget that I hurt you, though. I’m scared that if I let myself take it out of the uh, far- fo-” She couldn’t think of the word. “Front of my thoughts, then I’ll hurt you again, and I never want to betray you again.” Logically, Chloe was sure that this did not make sense, but it was all that she had as an explanation right now. Her guilt was the only thing she could feel keeping her from messing this up again.

Sighing a little, she eliminated some of her personal space, and her arms around Noelle’s shoulders. “Of course I know that you’re smart, but any test is kind of a big deal! And from what I remember, exam fees are so expensive if it comes to that. I can’t help but find it surprising that you are so unbothered by all of these steps just to make me comfortable on the chance that things change. Are you sure?” Chloe looked down at her feet, and then back up at Noelle. It was a really good thing that nobody else was around. While she Chloe loved people so much, she did not want anybody else to see her so insecure. That someone else was taking steps to build a home and life with her (exactly what she had wanted all along) surprised her. She had trouble believing that after everything that had happened, someone she loved would want to do all of these things for permanence. How in the world was this Noelle and the woman that lived with no strings attached the same person?

Noelle took in everything Chloe said and stayed quiet for a few moments. She’d gotten her feelings out, she’d been heard, and now she knew they both needed to work towards a resolution. She got no satisfaction out of seeing Chloe hurt more over what had happened, and harping on it wasn’t going to do anything. So, she maneuvered herself on the couch and tugged Chloe’s hand so she could tuck her girlfriend into her side. “It just grew into this big thing that got more intimidating as time went on,” she said with a nod of understanding. That was something she could understand. It was like hyping something up too much, and then worrying the reality wouldn’t live up to what was built up in someone’s head. “Just know for anything else that might come up, we’re a team, okay? I won’t just break up with you or something else horrible because of a problem. We’ll figure it out.” She’d waited too long to find someone like Chloe. No, that wasn’t even right. Noelle didn’t think someone like the event planner even existed. There was no way she was going to give up on them easily.

“Hey, you missing different homes and people is totally normal,” she reassured gently. “Just because I’m a bit of a nomad doesn’t mean you have to be or that it’s even normal. I think more people have attachments to their childhood homes and family than not. We can visit and do holidays back in London. Now that we aren’t stuck here, we have a lot more options. We can even bring your dad and his boyfriend out here sometimes too.” Making room for so many people in her life was going to be an adjustment period for sure, but she was looking forward to it. It had been a long time since she’d felt like she was a part of a family, and to her surprise, she’d enjoyed it after the initial shock. “Scrapbooking is definitely an option too. Plus, it’s something we can do together which I know you love to do. You can have more than one home, okay? And if you do want to move sometime, just give me notice okay? I’ll start studying for the London certification exam either way just to be prepared.” Surprises were not Noelle’s friend, so being overly prepared was much better to her than being caught off guard.

“Uh huh. Uhm. I don’t like how much I hurt you because of putting off telling you.” Chloe also disliked that her anxiety had somehow turned her into a procrastinator. She prided herself in her ability to prioritize tasks most of the time. When it came to what was in her head, it was a little dicier. “Okay. I can’t think of any more problems right now. If I do remember any, I’ll tell you.” Chloe tried to smile, and she only looked like she was in a little pain from trying to do it. She was happy and worried and guilty all at once. At least that was only three things to feel at the same time. She had done many more feelings at once, and could not say that she wholeheartedly recommended that for anyone.

“I do love when we get to do things together. I also am going to be bringing over more supplies good for scrapbooking than is probably healthy. I’m starting to realize this only now, and- Wait, what?” Chloe repeated what Noelle had just said in her head, but it still did not make a ton of sense to her. While she had been forgiven and told to keep communicating, Chloe had not expected that Noelle would suggest something so burdensome off the cuff. “You don’t- I don’t think you should have to study for a difficult exam on the off chance that I want to move, Noelle. Your time is so valuable to me. How much time do you think you would need to start studying? I can- I don’t think I’ll want to move back so soon. But I- uh- I just- If- Oh, I can provide the amount of months that you need for notice.” If for some reason she decided that she could not bear to live away from her dad for too much longer, she was sure she could hold out for, oh, six months. She was sure she could organize a swift move if she put her mind to it, but she would rather it be a well-planned one anyway. Still, she just could not understand how casual Noelle could be about the idea of studying for an exam that would only maybe be helpful to take. If she did not know Noelle well enough by now, Chloe would have been confused that this was some kind of elaborate prank.

Luke let out a sad but small smile at Chloe’s questions. He was at least happy to be spending time with her, and those that had been trapped with him. In all honestly Luke had been having a hell of a time coping with being back. It brought him some comfort to check in on those who’d been trapped with him, especially since they understood more than anyone what it was like. He was even appreciative of Chloe getting him out of his head as she asked away, knowing she was one of the one’s in the meadow who shared a lot of his ideals about the place. “Oh god…. how long do we have?” he teased as he playfully leaned back and checked his watch. “I… I really don’t know, Chlo. Better I guess but also not? If that even makes any sense,” he sighs. “Just every time someone brings up something we weren’t here for I get this weird pang of guilt, I guess? Is that weird?” he asked curiously, looking to the petitite woman for what he guessed was validation that he wasn’t crazy. “Oh god. Holly has finally calmed down after weeks of almost literally being up my ass. I don’t blame her though. I really missed her too. And what about you?”

Luke’s response put Chloe off-guard. The man seemed like he was still not back to his usual self- if there was anything like a usual self to get back to. Whatever was happening, she was concerned about how... unsteady the conversation felt. “As much time as you need! I’m not joking around when I say I am here to listen,” Chloe said somewhat seriously. Joking around could be fun, but she did not want there to be any ambiguity regarding how much she cared about other people. “Of course it makes sense, Luke. There is nothing normal about what you went through. Did I tell you about how I rushed around trying to make sure I got all of the birthday gifts I missed to everyone?” She still worried on occasion that she had missed someone important because she had not learned about their birthday soon enough. “Good, though! I am so glad that your dog is less stressed. I missed everyone so much, so I’m glad to be able to speak to them again. That was the most maddening part to me.” 

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” Daniel assured Chloe, mainly because he wasn’t really sure what else to say to her disclaimer that he might not like everything she made. He couldn’t guarantee that he’d like everything, but he was at least confident that anything Chloe made would be objectively great, so it seemed best to stick with the facts. “Oh, no, I didn’t have anything else to talk about,” he added, privately a little relieved that was the case and feeling rather guilty about it. “Sounds good, I’ll see you then - and if there’s anything you ever need let me know, yeah?” He wasn’t an amazing cook like she was, but maybe someday she would need a sous chef or… he wasn’t sure what, really, but he felt better knowing the offer to help was there.

“Well, thanks!” Chloe assumed that her food would at the very least be pleasant. Of course everyone had their own taste, but Chloe did not lack confidence in her ability to create edible and substantial food- food allergies, aside. “Of course. Let’s keep in touch. I know that isn’t, uhm, a need, but it would be nice.” Chloe gave Daniel a smile that did not entirely reach her eyes. She liked Daniel as a person very much, but the conversation had been very up and down. It was easy to move past the difficult parts of a conversation when she was happy or distracted, but she was too unfocused and on edge for anything easy.

“You’ll never be done making mistakes. That’s part of how life is. It’s how you learn and grow as a person. If you stop making mistakes – you’d be the first person in history and I would be scared of you.” Ava chuckled giving Chloe a smile. “Mistakes make you a better person, if you accept that you make mistakes and you learn from them, then things can only get better. Just takes time and hard work. It also helps to have friends to talk to, or a good therapist.” She winked before ripping off a bit more of her cupcake and popping it into her mouth. “Don’t do things for me.” she said quickly, covering her mouth with her hand. She took a moment, finished chewing then swallowed, “Do them for you and for her. I’m just a protective best friend who wants to see you both happy.” Ava chuckled. “Humm,” Ava hummed out, “I don’t think I need any sort of brunch meeting. More just – a brunch buddy. Yanno, someone to go actually have brunch with and just catch up on life and how things are going. No meeting required.”

The idea made her sigh, even though Chloe accepted that it was true that she would never really be done making mistakes. She understood being imperfect, but it always was unfortunate to be reminded of just how capable she was of letting other people down. “I don’t want you to be scared of me! I’m s- I don’t usually find it so difficult to open up. I promise. There’s just a few things that make the world feel like it’s falling out from under my feet.” Lying was not a good look on her, so she spoke candidly about her inner fears. Perhaps she needed to seriously look into a therapist that was not her girlfriend’s best friend. There were just too many potential problems there, and this conversation was starting to indicate that. Chloe was not really sure what Ava was looking for out of brunch, but she did not want to make the other woman uncomfortable by saying absolutely the wrong thing. Was this a hint that Chloe should set up a brunch time together? That Ava was looking for more friend of friend connections? “Oh, that sounds like it would be awfully nice. I think the best part of brunch is that it’s not a solitary meal.”

Romeo smiled awkward when she assured him, everything is fine. Once she introduced herself, by telling her name. ❛ Ohhh! You’re the Chloe chick, a blue-haired girl talked about! The girl who makes nice breads, huh? ❜ He talked about food with Mari the other day. ❛ Listen for now I’m a bit broke as hell to even thinking in go party, but 0800 parties I’m in. ❜ 0800 he meant, parties’ for free. ❛ I don’t think I ever been to a party, here, nope. ❜

“Oh no, that’s fine! We can stick with the original plan,” Daniel assured her quickly, mentally berating himself for asking questions that seemed to have made Chloe uncomfortable again. “That’s really very kind of you - I appreciate it,” he added, keen to assure her that he really didn’t have any problem with any of what she’d offered to do to help. As long as it didn’t trouble her, of course - and it seemed it didn’t, as long as he didn’t say or do anything that suggested it might. “That’s right - I’m not allergic to anything,” he confirmed.

“Sure!” Mentally, Chloe added that Daniel was not allergic to anything that we know of because she was in a weird place. Not physically, of course, but she was trying to work this conversation back to some semblance of normal and failing. Daniel seemed to be helping her out there, though- thankfully. “Okay, that’s great! Will make it easy to continue doing what I’m doing. I can’t promise that you’ll like everything I make, though.” She wanted to apologize, but didn’t, which was the closest thing to progress that she showed here. “Uhm, well, uh, anyway, I’m glad that everything seems to be, uh, going okay for you now. We should definitely catch up more in the future. Unless, uh, you want to talk about something else, I suppose I’ll see you soon when I get you the food.”

Caroline’s knowledge of the Gujarati language was next to nothing. In fact, she didn’t know it existed until she’d dated Chloe. So she was going to be absolutely no help in this situation. The most she could do is offer unhelpful solutions. “I don’t suppose he clarified what he meant by ‘weird mood?’ If he means angry then we’ll definitely ask another time.” She didn’t want to get Chloe’s cousin in trouble. “Yeah, but you know, if he ever feels like it or he’s bored today…” Caroline smiled. “Uh, well,” she looked over at the remainder of her friend’s box. “I don’t think I’ve ever looked in them, no. Does this mean you have other generational recipes like these?”

“That sounds great! Or if you want me to pick it up instead, let me know - it’s no trouble,” Daniel replied, unable to help but offer to help after all. “Hmm… I s’pose it could?” It hadn’t occurred to him that people might fight over leftovers, but now that she mentioned it he could imagine how there could be some potential for fighting if supply was too much lower than demand. “On the whole though, I don’t reckon it’d be a problem.” He hadn’t realized that Chloe would need to hire someone to code her website for the addition - he would offer to help, but he didn’t know all that much about those sorts of things either. “Really? That’s very kind of you, thank you - I’ll definitely let you know, if you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.” He wasn’t typically one to take people up on offers for help, but - this really did seem like a situation that could be of mutual benefit. He’d been having a bit of trouble remembering to feed himself enough since he’d gotten back from Asphodel - he’d mostly gotten into the swing of things in the past few weeks, but some days were better than others.

“I’ll make it work. I don’t want to forget. Which I might do if we switch up the plan too much. If it’s really important to you, then I can, uhm, try to change it. I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” Chloe said, letting the anxiety creep back into her voice. The conversation had moved somewhere less stressful, and she worried that she had pulled back to uncomfortable territory again. Oh, this was all her fault. “No, not too much trouble at all. There’s not very much that’s too much trouble for me- apart from the impossible. That’s not impossible.” Or, well, Chloe hoped that there was nothing about this process of getting food to people that was impossible. It could really save her some strain if she could make this all work, though. “Uhm. Checking, but, uh, you’re not allergic to any foods or anything, right? I forgot I need to keep asking about that.”

“As far as I know I’m not in your head, but I guess I could be?” she said with a chuckle as she shook her head. “Hey, I totally get that too. My dad can’t live on the isle cause he’s human, not demi-god. Half my heart and home lives in Athens, while the rest of it is here. So I get that.” she rubbed Chloe’s arm as comfortingly as she could with a small smile. “You’ll – figure out what your home is when half is here and half is somewhere else.” She smiled. “And if you’re having a hard time, just – ask me. I’ll do my best to help ya.” Jasmine had learned a long time ago how to balance the two, but luckily for her she didn’t have a long flight to go to see her dad and her other family members – not like Chloe. She had a long ass flight to see them, there was no comparing a 45 minute flight to hours just to see your parents. 

“It is!!” She said clapping her hands as they talked. She practically bounced in place as she did so. Jasmine was – just obsessed with people being happy and liked to do whatever she could to help make them happier. Its why she wanted to do photography, that made people happy. “Oh! Right! yeah I think introducing her to Kelly would be a good idea” she smiled swaying, “And yeah, – only thing with wolf and lach is they wont say what they need! I’ve tried asking, I’ve gotten nothing from them.” She rolled her eyes. “So you’ll have to make a guess of what they need or want as a present.” It annoyed her to no end that she didn’t have  list of things the two wanted. She really wanted to get them something they needed… not just something she thought they might like. 

“Oh, well I hope you have a nice visit in my head if you ever visit.” Chloe was not sure how or why someone would wind up in her head. Telepathy was a bit of a scary power that she was pretty sure Jasmine did not have. That was good. She could only imagine how stressful it would be to lurk in Chloe’s thoughts over the last few months. “That’s still too far away. It, uhm, means a lot that you get it. Like- you really get it.” She knew a lot of people missed their parents dearly, but Chloe got the idea that many other people were not quite as devastated by the distance. That was probably a good thing, though. She did not wish problems on anyone else.

“Kelly’s good with people. I’ll make sure it happens, thank you.” Chloe really did not want to take the lead on this one. She was even less interested in this part of other people’s weddings than she had been before. Of course if she could solve a problem better than other people or someone asked her directly for help on the topic, Chloe would be obligated to help. It was just difficult to assist with some things. “That’s okay. I’ll dwell on it for a little bit on my part. It sounds like it was all a little sudden, so I’m sure the happy couple won’t mind if I take longer to pick something out.” Worst case scenario was a gift card, and she didn’t want to do that. There was something exciting about going off-registry anyway. The thrill of picking out the perfect gift...