A Guy's Best Friend by Shawna Hansen, Chapter 1

Katie said she was happy to see Emma happy and agreed that Ryan was saying all the right things now. Emma had been happy driving home from DC, but things had quickly fizzed out after Ryan gave her the engagement ring back.  He’d said something in DC that had bothered her at the time and he’d repeated it during every fight all summer – that even if they broke up, he’d always want her to keep the engagement ring. 

Ryan told her to keep the ring too many times now and she hated feeling like he was paying her off for being with him for four years.

Emma hated it when he said she could keep the ring when they fought.  She was starting to hate everything this ring stood for – cancelled wedding, no phone calls, abandoned at graduation, packing up their stuff alone to move out of the condo and all the money he’d taken from their joint saving account which was supposed to go towards the down payment on their first home together as a married couple in California. 

Emma twisted her ring around her finger and realized she had to get the ring resized again since she’d lost almost ten pounds hiking, swimming and running in New Hampshire.  All she could think about was how funny it was that hours after she’d gotten back together with Ryan and put this engagement ring back on her finger, she’d bumped into Austin for the second time when he pulled her over for speeding inside the North Conway city limits. 

Being pulled over by Austin was the second best memory from her road trip home.  Emma remembered the adrenaline she’d felt in the last hour of the almost eleven hours of driving from DC to North Conway on Day 3 of their post-graduation-party road trip home. 

The last four hours out of Boston had been grueling and her shoulders, neck and rear were all screaming to get out of the Jeep.  Ryan had been right that the Jeep wasn’t great for long trips, but she couldn’t wait to get home and take the top and the doors off. 

Katie had driven from DC through New York City.  Emma had been up late making up with Ryan in DC.  Katie had driven all morning while Emma caught up on her sleep in between rest stops to use the restroom and get more coffee and junk food.  Emma could feel her skin breaking out from all the junk food and soda she’d devoured. 

From Florida to South Carolina, she’d eaten to console herself for breaking up with Ryan and giving him his ring back.  Then after making up with him in DC, she was eating because it was there.  It was more fun to eat cheese curls and drink soda than to think about how many more miles they had to go before they were home. 

Emma had taken over the driving after lunch.  They’d made a detour into Brooklyn to see some of Katie’s Emerson friends who were actors and living in New York auditioning for jobs.  Emma drove out of New York before rush hour and even got past Hartford without getting slowed down by traffic.  Boston was a different story.  The Red Sox were playing and Emma and Katie turned on the radio to hear the late afternoon game. 

Katie offered to drive once they got past Boston.  Katie could drive the streets of New York, but hated Boston.  She chose to live without a car when she was working in Boston.  Ryan had boasted about his apartment and the parking under the new building near North Station.  Emma loved driving the highway between Boston and North Conway and knew every exit and toll booth like old friends. 

It was Katie’s turn to nap.  Emma had enjoyed the quiet time in the car and was driving faster than usual to get them both home at a decent hour. 

Katie had woken up about a half hour before they reached North Conway and the two were finishing off the bag of cheese curls they’d picked up at a rest stop and singing with Pink on the radio.  They were stiff, smelly and ready for a shower.  Emma knew she looked as bad as she felt, but Katie looked perfect as usual.