Home is Not a Place

Paper Hearts

Rachel analyzed Lisa's face across the restaurant table, her smile a clear façade to how she knew her friend was truly feeling. Lisa waved her kids one last goodbye and Rachel turned around in time to catch Kingston waving back, his other hand taken by his father. Little Rebecca too raised her tiny hand and attempted a wave, which drew an emotional chuckle from both women.

"Au revoir, Kings!" Emma whispered from Rachel's side before busying her lips with a French fry.

Rachel kissed her daughter's head and reached across the table to cover Lisa's hand with her own.

"They'll be OK." She tried to reassure her.

Lisa's smile finally faded after the door closed behind her kids and her ex-husband.

"I know." She wiped the corner of her eyes and nodded. "Thanks for being here, Rachel."

Rachel nodded back.

"Of course."

Lisa looked at her directly into her eyes and half smiled, even if it was still a strained, pained smile.

"I mean it, Rachel. Most of my other friends are still happily married, or they don't have kids... they don't really understand, you know. But you do."

Rachel half smiled back at her. She felt grateful he could be there for her friend at this painful moment, the first time she would leave both her kids for a full weekend away with their father after the divorce. And Rachel did understand, though she had to admit her situation was not exactly the same. Moments like this reminded her just how lucky she was to be co-parenting with Ross, her best friends to this day, even after everything they have been through.

"We're happy to be here for you. You know you're like our family here, right?"

Lisa smiled truthfully again.

"Don't bloody make me cry even harder now, Rachel!"

Rachel laughed but also teared up with her. In the time that they'd known each other, Lisa had grown to become a true, great friend to Rachel in Europe. Comparable to her friends in New York even, which was really saying something.

"So, what do you say we finish lunch, and you take me around to finally give London a chance?"

Lisa chuckled and nodded again.

"Sounds good."

---

The past few months had been the best so far in Europe. Since Rachel had stopped pressuring herself into finding a man, she started focusing her energy in what mattered most. It was not like she was swearing off guys altogether, she just knew she wasn't in the right place to let someone in. Until she was, she would dedicate her time to herself, her daughter, and her friends.

They went on small getaways: London, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, to name a few. In just a few hours she could find herself in a completely different country, experiencing completely different cultures, so she started making the most of it.

And then came the curveball, just a couple of weeks after her trip to London, to let Rachel know she would need to dedicate more of her time to her family as well.

On a seemingly ordinary Tuesday afternoon, Rachel almost jumped out of her chair when her cellphone rang, having been so concentrated on the spreadsheet on her laptop at work. She clutched her chest with one hand and picked it up with the other, catching her mother's name on the screen before she accepted the call.

"Hi mom."

"Darling, are you sitting down?"

Rachel's insides instantly froze. No good news ever followed that question, right?