At noon, Abby hurried into the courtyard, the common area between the three towering office buildings, hoping Sharon had beaten her there. The lunch crowd was crazy today as the first real cold front of autumn had chased away the lingering summer heat that had been holding on for dear life, it seemed. She saw a few empty tables but instead of grabbing one, she scanned the area, finally seeing someone waving at her. She smiled at her friend, then sidestepped two men who rushed to grab one of the remaining tables.

“I almost like the heat of summer better. At least we get our pick of tables then.” She looked longingly at their usual spot, the table under the big oak that provided them shade even during the hot summer months. Four chatty ladies were there, all talking at once as they gossiped.

“It’s like they just crawled out of the woodwork. I don’t even recognize half these people.”

Abby eyed Sharon’s lunch as she sat down. “You went to the cafeteria?”

“Yeah, I slipped out early. What did you bring?”

“Same old boring turkey sandwich.” She pulled it from her backpack along with the small snack bag of chips. Instead of eating, though, she let out a heavy sigh. “My mother called this morning.”

Sharon stabbed a fork into her salad. “And?”

“And it’s November.”

“And?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “She wanted to talk about Christmas.”

“You love Christmas.”

Abby looked at her pointedly.

“Oh.” Sharon waved her hand in the air. “Because you can’t control yourself with your ex, you’re afraid to go?” Then she laughed. “Can’t believe you slept with her last year.”

“I can control myself. I told you, she flirted with me the whole time I was there. Right in front of my brother, too. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her?”

“Umm, yeah. Or tell your brother what she was doing.” Sharon shook her head. “That whole thing is so messed up. I can’t really see you two together anyway. Can’t believe you’re still hung up on her.”

“You’ve never even met her.”

“I saw pictures and I’ve heard stories. She’s not you. You didn’t fit together. I see you with someone a little more…sporty.”

Abby smiled at her friend. She and Sharon first met out here seven years ago and became fast friends. “Courtyard friends” is what Sharon called them. They knew everything about each other’s lives, yet they’d never once met up after work or on weekends. They were the epitome of work friends, even though they not only worked for different companies, but they also worked in different buildings.

“Yes, you’re right. We didn’t fit. We had little in common, true.” She finally opened her sandwich. “It was just one of those things. Besides, we were together all of six months. I’m over it.”