She closed the door and puffed out a breath of air as if trying to calm herself down. Even still, she looked frazzled. She brushed her hair back away from her face and then tucked her phone into her back pocket with a touch too much force.
“Everything okay?” I asked, doing my best to sound unbiased by what I’d just heard. A part of me wanted to ask her point blank if she was having money problems. I wanted to help her if she needed it, but I didn’t want to offend her either.
“Yup,” she replied with a thin, fake smile. “Fine.”
I was about to question her answer when she glanced up and met my eye. The emotion there warned me not to push the subject.
“About this weekend,” she began.
“What about it?” I asked.
She rounded the back of the couch as a smile crept onto her face.
“Does Dean have a margarita machine on that crazy-ass boat of his or are we going to have to stop and rent one on the way?”
I burst out laughing. Even in the middle of a stressful morning, Jo had a way of surprising me.
“Libations aplenty.” I grinned. “I promise.”
Chapter Fifteen
What Jo Wore
Post #1257: A little help from my friends…
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Today’s post is a little different. I won’t be sharing any outfits or accessories with you guys. Instead, it’s confession time.
My move to New York has been really hard. My parents weren’t thrilled with my decision to leave Texas (to put it lightly), and because of it, my mom and I haven’t talked in weeks.
That’s never happened before.
It’s hard not to think that maybe I’ve made the wrong decision in coming here, especially since I know how nervous they are about it. I’ll be honest, this city is NOT all sunshine and daisies. It’s stressful and intimidating. It’d be a lot easier if I had some family here, but I don’t. They’re all a billion miles away.
New York was my dream and it still is. I’m not ready to give up on it yet.
In the meantime, do you guys have any advice on how I should convince my parents that I’m doing the right thing? That just maybe I know what I’m doing?
Let me know what you think.
Until tomorrow,
XOJO
…
Josephine
On top of my have-to-do-something-soon-or-I’ll-be-homeless money problems, there was another issue weighing on my mind since I’d moved to New York: I hadn’t talked to my mom in weeks. Not once. She refused to accept my decision to move to New York and I knew if I called her, she’d try to convince me that I’d made a huge mistake by moving away from Texas.
I’d assumed that she or my dad would have made more of an effort to keep in touch. I guess they thought I’d made my bed and now I had to lie in it. Well I’d be damned if I told them that my current bed was a used futon with a lumpy rock trying to pass itself off as a mattress. Every night I drifted off to the gentle sounds of my upstairs neighbors tromping around like a herd of elephants.
It wasn’t perfect, but I was in New York and it’d take a lot more than a crappy bed to convince me to move back home. Like, oh, I don’t know…my mountain of student debt. I pushed the thought away as I started to get ready for a day out on the boat. There was no point in dwelling on it. I’d be okay for a little longer. Julian had paid me early and I’d put most of it toward my outstanding loan.
I’d already started to look for another job, something I could do in the evenings. The night before, after a glass of $5 wine, I’d perused the pages of Craigslist, trying to stay away from the call girl ads in favor of something more suited to my degree.
I’d had a hard enough time finding the position with Julian. The chances of finding another job that would allow me the flexibility to continue full time at Lorena Lefray were slim to none. Still, I’d made a mental note to search around for jobs when I got home that night. Dreams were fun and all, but I didn’t have the luxury of living in New York and pursuing mine scot-free. When I’d packed my bags and left for greener pastures, I’d known that my decision had come with strings attached. Unfortunately, it now looked like those strings were more like chains.
Chapter Sixteen
Josephine
The moment we arrived at the marina, I realized I’d made a huge mistake. Julian punched in the private access code and two wrought iron gates stirred to life. A brick-paved drive lined with rose bushes led us toward the guest parking lot. Attendants in white oxfords and starched slacks zipped around on golf carts, helping guests at the marina and ensuring that everything was running as it should be.
I stared out the window as I unclicked my seatbelt. Dread was already swimming in my stomach.
“Uhhh, I thought we were going boating,” I said, focused on a group of gorgeous girls stepping out of a Mercedes SUV a few yards away from us. They might as well have been in ball gowns compared to my outfit.
Julian peered over my shoulder and I turned to meet his eye. Whereas I probably looked like I’d just seen a ghost, Julian looked calm and collected.
“We are,” he said.
“No. We’re going yachting,” I said, pointing toward the rows of massive sailboats that lined the front of the marina. “Those girls are wearing designer dresses and high heels.”
I was wearing a colorful, short cover-up over a royal blue bikini. I had on gold strappy sandals and I looked cute-as-fuck. Did I, however, look like I was about to go yachting with New York City’s upper elite? No. I probably would have fit in better at the Jersey Shore between Snooki and JWoww.