"They fired you for punching that walking, talking HR nightmare?" Matt was incredulous. "You know what you need? A good freaking lawyer. My friend Thomas could help you. He would take your case, no questions asked. He eats shit like this for breakfast." Matt smiled mischievously into his coffee. "And he owes me."

"Oh, THAT 'Thomas'," Torie wiggled her eyebrows and Matt swatted her playfully, putting a finger to his lips.

"What?!?! You better tell us!" Penelope ordered.

"No way, that story is need-to-know... and consider it payback for getting drunk without us last night," Matt added.

"Totally unfair! You know I live vicariously through y'all's sex lives," Penelope whined. "It's been months for me. Ever since I broke up with-"

"Nope!" Torie cut Penelope off. "We shall not speak his name," she put a finger to Penelope's mouth. "He was trash, and you deserve way better."

"I keep telling you, it ain't hard to get laid; just walk your cute little ass outside and take your pick. Men ain't picky. Well, straight men, anyway. I've got standards," Matt said.

"He's not wrong," Torie added, shaking her head, the black ringlets dancing around her face.

"Remember the pervert who got caught-" she leaned forward and lowered her tone, gesturing for use to lean closer. We all moved in, craning to hear. "Remember that pervert who got caught whacking his sausage on the subway?"

"They do that ALL the time," Pen said.

"But not inside a sub sandwich," Torie said.

My jaw dropped and Matt covered his mouth. Penelope looked disturbed.

"Thanks for forever ruining sub sandwiched for each of us," Pen gagged.

"Please tell me it was ham," Matt begged.

"Why does that matter?" Torie wanted to know.

"Because I don't eat ham," Matt said.

"I don't know what kind of sub sandwich it was," Torie pondered. "But we can say it was ham if that makes you feel better."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He got his sick butt thrown in jail," Torie said. "It's times like these when I thank gawd that I like both the 'P' and the 'V.'"

"I wish I was attracted to men and women," Penelope sighed. "That would open up so many more options for me."

"It does make dating more... interesting," Torie admitted, leaving us to wonder what she meant.

"And that's definitely going on the list of "girl's night topics," Penelope ordered. "There's some juicy secrets you need to be sharing with your best girlfriends in the world." Pen grabbed both mine and Matt's shoulders.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Matt smiled broadly. "For the record," he said, "I'm the best girlfriend, but you two are free to believe what you want."

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? Who left me stranded at Eddy's Pizza with the bill?" Torie glared at him.

"I honest-to-Goddess forgot my wallet," Matt swore, crossing his heart.

"After eating an entire supreme pizza by yourself?" Torie added. "I had to order a whole extra pizza, and you ate some of that one, too!"

"I didn't eat it all! I took some to-go!" Matt pointed out.

"Wow," Pen said sarcastically, giving Matt a big thumbs-up. "Yeah, you sure beat me and Vinnie for best girlfriend."

"I DO!" Matt was emphatic. "In fact, Vinnie!" He turned to me abruptly. I jumped. "You're moving in with ME." He nodded.

"Hold on-" Pen sputtered.

"Nope! Don't even try to argue about. I am the only one with a guest room- she can't sleep on a couch for the unforeseeable future." He looked at Pen pointedly. She glared. "And-" Matt paused. "I could use a little help with the rent."

"I knew it," Pen shook her head and Torie gave herself a face-palm.

"My credit card is a little maxed-out," he admitted. "You don't have to go half-sies, but a couple hundred bucks a month until you get back on your feet, maybe?"

"I could do that," I agreed, mentally calculating my current savings. A couple hundred was definitely do-able.

"Maybe three hundred?" Matt said hopefully.

"Three hundred would be okay," I said, eyeing him.

"Three-fifty? No, four hundred- max!" he said, getting excited.

"MATT!" Torie and Penelope exclaimed in exasperation.

"Okay, three hundred works," he said quickly. "This is going to be so much fun!" He hugged me excitedly. "I can't wait to be roomies!"

"Thanks, Matt," I said uncertainly.

He released me. "But, back to your unlawful termination," he said.

"It might have been a LITTLE lawful," Torie interjected. "Like, a teeny-tiny bit lawful."

"NO!" Matt was adamant. "It was the most unlawful. And you need to contact a lawyer ASAP."

"But I doubt I have a case," I told them, crumbling the edge of a cookie and sighing. "I punched Tyler Baxter, and that's assault."

"It sounds like self-defense to me," Matt replied thoughtfully. "He had you backed into a literal corner and was harassing you, making sexual insinuations. You have a good employee record, and you never stepped foot inside HR before any of this. And his HR record speaks volumes. You should be compensated, but I wouldn't want to go back to work for a company that can't protect its employees from predators."

"Or hires creeps like that in the first place. That HR Department sounds like it's run by a bunch of idiots who don't know their ass from their head," Torie scowled, and Penelope nodded.

"But that's why you need to give Thomas a call," Matt said. "I insist. I'll phone him tonight and give him a heads-up and you promise me that you'll call him." He scribbled a number on a napkin and shoved it in my purse. "Promise me, Vinnie," he said.

"I'll think about it," I sighed. "Right now, I just want to climb back in bed and sleep. For a year."

"Don't you dare," Penelope warned, giving me a hug. "We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if you slept for a year."

"Thanks, y'all," I said, tearing up a little.

"Awwwwww, group hug!" Matt leaned over and wrapped his arms around us. Torie joined in and we all started laughing.

"It's going to suck really bad at first," Matt said, giving me one last hug as we left the shop and made our way home. "But it'll get better eventually. I swear."

I nodded.

"Go home and start packing your things. You're moving in! I need some extra cash. Pronto!" Torie smacked his arm and he flinched.

"Ouch," he whimpered.

"Don't be rude and I wouldn't have to do that," Torie glared. "What am I, your mother?"

"Good gawd, no," he shuddered. I laughed. Torie tried smacking him again, but he was prepared and dodged her easily. Winking at me with a grin, he turned down his street and waved. "Get to packing- and remember- call Thomas!" he shouted.

"I'll think about it!" I waved back.

He flipped me the bird.

"Right back at you!" I yelled.

"Awww, look at you two soon-to-be roomies getting along so well," Torie giggled.

"Yeah," Penelope rolled her eyes to the heaves and shook her head. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"A lot," Torie and I both said at the same time and we all laughed. Torie waved down a cab. "Smell you ladies, later," she called, waving from the window.

"Do you need me to come back with you? So, you're not alone?" Penelope asked.

"I'll be okay. I think I just need a good cry and I can't do that with anyone around. Not even my best friend in the world," I leaned my head on her shoulder and sighed.

"Okay, but promise to call me if you need anything." She looked worried as she gave me one last hug before getting in a cab herself.

I stood on the sidewalk and watched the cab disappear in the city traffic. Even with all the noise from the cars and buses, all the people rushing past, I was weighed down with a wave of loneliness so severe it felt crushing, and I wondered if being alone was the wisest decision.