"Jenni!" she exclaimed, looking her friend of old over. "My goodness! You're a sight for sore eyes!"
Jenni struck a quick pose, and began to laugh. "You're one to be talking. My God, you look great! Women must really keep well over in France. I'm gonna have to move over there..."
"Yeah, right," Ashley snickered. "You look great. How have you been?"
"Busy," Jenni replied. "How about you? I heard here a while back you got married!"
Ashley blushed and looked embarrassedly at her feet. "That was a long time ago. He died a few years ago."
"Oh," Jenni said, suddenly more quiet. "I didn't know. The rumor mill over here doesn't quite extend to France..."
"It's okay," Ashley said, putting a little more strength in her voice and coaxing the redness out of her cheeks. "I'm fine."
"Well, I should say so!" Jenni spouted again. "You look well!"
"How'd you know I was back?" Ashley asked, sitting back on her couch.
"Your mother called me this afternoon and said you were just wallowing in your own mud," Jenni said. "I'd heard there was talk of you coming in with your dad sick and all, but...you know, after the wedding and all it was hard for us to keep up with you. You seemed to want to lose us..."
Ashley sighed. "So, what have you been doing with your life?"
Jenni held out her hand, and Ashley immediately noticed the glimmer of the huge stone on the other's finger. "Is that REAL?!" Ashley squealed.
"It sure is," Jenni sniffed. "And hard-earned. It's taken 26 years of chasing, but I finally caught him!"
Ashley gave her a funny look. "What are you talking about? Taylor's married..."
"NO, SILLY!" Jenni laughed. "ISAAC!!! I was always after Isaac. Why do you think I spent so much time at the Hanson's? It certainly wasn't because I wanted to intrude on you and Taylor! It was HIM! I've had a crush on Isaac since I first moved next door to them."
Ashley's mouth fell open, and she began to giggle. "I had no clue! Why didn't you ever say anything? I could have set you up..."
"I wanted to do it myself," Jenni admitted. "And I got him. He's always so busy, but I finally got him to slow down. We're getting married in 2 months!"
"Wow," Ashley breathed. "How sweet..."
"Which is another reason why I came here," Jenni said slowly. "I was wondering if you'd like to be my matron of honor."
"Oh," Ashley said, her laughter ending abruptly.
"Please don't get that look on your face!" Jenni said quickly. "I know it seems a bit sudden, but it really would be an HONOR for you to do it. After all, you don't come to see us here in Tulsa very often, Ashley..."
Ashley looked at the girl whose flower of a mouth was screwed up in a pout. She sighed. "I'll think about it."
Jenni jumped up, all smiles again. "THANKS! I knew I could count on you!"
Ashley flashed her a weak smile. "No problem..."
Jenni looked around the Phillips' living room. "This place never changes. I love it here..." Then her eyes turned back to Ashley. "Well, I've got work pretty soon. So I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay," Ashley said quietly.
"I'll call tomorrow," Jenni promised. "Bye!"
"Bye," Ashley called softly. The front door was heard shutting just a moment later. Ashley looked dumbly at her hands. She hadn't been in Tulsa for a week, and already she was being pushed into the path of the Hanson family. Where one of them went, the rest followed; and she knew that the rest included Taylor.
