About fifteen minutes later, the Triple As returned. Nina hadn't moved from her spot on the fountain—probably became part of the decor to some of the other visitors—but when she saw them, she got up to rejoin them.
“Sorry, Nina, but my little guy here is getting a little fussy,” A-B said with a fussy baby in her arms. “So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to head out before he gets worse.”
“It's best if I head out as well,” A-C said.
“This was a lot of fun. We should do it again sometime.”
“Uh, sure,” Nina said.
“I know we're friends already on Facebook, but let's exchange phone numbers, too, yeah?” A-B proposed. “That way, we can stay in touch just like we did in high school, yeah?”
“Definitely,” A-C agreed.
“Sounds good to me,” A-A also agreed.
It didn't sound good to Nina, but she played along with the act anyway. She bet fifty bucks they wouldn't bother keeping in touch. One text, maybe. And that was the generous prediction.
Once everybody's numbers had been passed around, they walked together to the parking lot, chatting about nothing in particular.
“I'm parked over there,” A-B said, starting a ten second long topic where each of the woman pointed to a different section of the parking lot. It was supposed to be so long after that, but A-C said, “Oh, one more thing...” and then she said nine more things.
Their goodbye was long and drawn-out, and while Nina didn't mind goodbyes, she didn't like long goodbyes. Neither did the fussy baby, who grew fussier and fussier by the minute. I feel your pain, little guy. I really do. She thought about slipping away, but she was afraid of being caught and interrogated about leaving in such a rush.
Where's the fire?
Where's the concern for your baby's well-being?
Anyway, they went on and on, and half a millennium later, A-B remembered that babies are the worst fans of long goodbyes and said, “All right, it's definitely time for me to get out of here. You ladies take care. I'll be in touch.”
“Yup. You all can look forward to a text from me. Take care,” A-C said, then she waved to everybody as she headed for her car at the opposite end of the parking lot.
Now it was just the two of them. Nina didn't know what to expect, but she ended up being antsy over nothing.
“I'm bailing as well,” A-A—Kayla—said to Nina after waving to the other two As. “It was good seeing you today.”
“...Uh-huh...”
“I'll shoot you a text later on, so don't wait around 'til Christmas to reply, you got that?”
“...Sure. I'll be on the lookout for it...”
Kayla seemed satisfied with that answer. “Talk to you later.” Then she was off toward her car.
“Uh-huh.” Nina said, giving a weak wave. She stood there and watched Kayla. Her expression was...she seemed happy.
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