A few months fly by and since then Molly, my funny friend, and myself, have gotten really close — like a version of sisterhood that I just can't quite explain. Somewhere along the way, we'd created a group chat of our own. A chat that we'd often spend hours of our day in, typing back and forth throughout the day, making each other laugh — our conversations often keeping us entertained until the wee hours of the morning when we should be sleeping.
Tonight is no different.
On cue, a notification comes in from our secret chat. It's my funny friend.
“Sorry I haven't been around much today,” my funny friend says. “My job is ruining my life.”
Morbidly, I laugh at this. To many she may sound dramatic, but the free spirit in me knows just how right she is and how unfortunately, it seems to be the American way. Wake up. Clock in, handing over nearly the majority of your waking life, do what you hate, then go home, do chores until you almost hate yourself too—just to do it all over again.
Ok, maybe that's a tad dramatic, but it's not too, too far off when you really stop to think about it.
I'm still thinking of how to comfort her without one of my stupid jokes, when Molly texts me.
“What if we bring her on board with us and she can quit her job and start importing?”
I've barely processed the words before I type out an excited yes.
“Yes! I think she'd love that. The group is big enough now to support us all and if it's not, I can continue to keep growing it.”
“Totally,” Molly agrees.
“What about Katie?” I ask hesitantly. I know she was less than thrilled with bringing me on board; I can't imagine she'd be thrilled about this. At least, that's what Molly had told me.
“I'll handle her,” Molly assures me.
A notification from Molly for our group chat appears on my screen.
“What if you work with us?” Molly's next message says, as it comes into our group chat.
“Are you serious?” My funny friend types back, not sure if we're just teasing her.
“Very serious,” I chime in.
My funny friends sends excited heart emojis that seem to fly across the screen.
“I'd love that!” She says excitedly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Just tell me what I need to do.” She offers.
“Don't worry,” I tell her, “I'll show you the ropes and help you get set up with your website too.”
And just like that, our threesome becomes a foursome. Me, Molly, Katie, and my funny friend, are all open for business.
It isn't long before my funny friend quits her day job.
For months on end, we work together but long distance. Each of us using the same shipping program, the same web host, and the same customer base that I'd spent hours on end developing.
As the weeks pass, Molly's side of the business grows by leaps and bounds. Her pregnant belly does too. (Turns out, she did in fact, get pregnant that night we went shopping, you know…the night I became an accomplice to her pregnancy— inspired by a little tiny onesie.) Anyhow, she's juggling both of them beautifully. Pregnancy and business, I mean. She's absolutely glowing and her eyes seem so sparkly, I can see them shine in our brief video chats. She's exactly where she wants to be.
Seeing her this way, brings a smile to my face. I'm so proud of her. So happy for her. It's a joy to watch her shine in business and in motherhood. Plus, I know how much she wanted another baby to love and I'm so glad all of her dreams are coming true.
As expected, as Molly's business takes off, she visits our group chat, less and less.
While Molly's business is rapidly growing, on my side of our virtual fence, I'm starting to rapidly lose my fucking mind.
