Read Online MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche - Free Book Online

in the female, face-to-face manner.
    And, anyway, these days friends are a luxury women
can
afford, so I want to embrace the “have it all” mentality. Marriage and bestfriendship. They’re not one and the same, nor are they mutually exclusive. And, as it is with work and life, I need to find a balance.
    When I started this project I told Matt that I’d found the perfect man, now it was time to find the perfect girl. He encouraged my quest so that I could find a way to be happier here, not so I could decide we should move back East. Hence, the fight.
    It’s become one of those arguments where halfway through neither of us knows what we’re arguing about. Matt does make one point that sticks with me. “It was just a visit,” he says. “You were with Chloe for less than twenty-four hours. If she lived here it wouldn’t be like that all the time.” He’s right. Maybe I’m letting the idea of having a best friend here cloud the reality of it. I’d still have to go to work. I’d still want to spend time alone with my husband and veg out on the couch solo once in a while. I’d still have family obligations. And if, say, Chloe were here, she’d have her own life, too. We wouldn’t have sleepovers and stay up late every night. People are busy, people travel. It’s likely that if she lived in Chicago, we’d only actually see each other once or twice a month.
    Matt and I leave for work. While I’m at the office, I get a call from Chloe. She didn’t get the job. Well, that was quick.
    Back to the drawing board.
    The workday separation gives Matt and me time to breathe. When I come home, things are okay. We apologize. Matt knows I don’t regret moving here with him, I know he just wants me to be happy where we are. That’s what I want too. After all, I can find a new BFF in Chicago. I can’t find a new Matt in New York.
    FRIEND-DATE 6. Fight or no fight, there’s no time to dawdle at home. I have a date to get to. My coworkers and I have planned a group date of sorts. We’re all fans of musicals, both the High School and Broadway varieties, and Kari found a coupon for thirty-five-dollar tickets to
In the Heights.
We decided to make it an event. Kari, Ashley, Joan, Lynn, and I gather at Ashley’s for dinner and drinks before the show. These four are currently my closest friends in Chicago, hands down. After two years of lunches together, they know I hate strawberries and mint, send me any and all links related to
How I Met Your Mother
, and agree that Rachel Bilson should play me in the movie of my life even if my hair is closer to Keri Russell circa
Felicity.
There are a few problems though. First of all, they’ve lived in Chicago longer than I have—Joan, Ashley, and Lynn are all from here originally—so they already have their own best friends. I figure that’s not too big an issue. I’ve already entered their Dunbar circle, I’m just fighting for higher status. If I earn a spot, they can add me to their BFF list just as I’m looking to add to mine. The larger problem is that we spend most of our time together gossiping about work. As we grow closer that’s fading, but it’s stillour common thread and dominates the conversations. I want time with my best friend to be an escape from office politics. Then, of course, there’s the fact that since we spend so much time together on weekdays, we hardly call or see each other on weekends. When we do, it’s for a group activity like dance class. I can’t imagine any of us will share a one-on-one “want to get brunch?” call until we’ve moved on to new jobs.
    But this year is about building relationships. I’m not going to make a best friend overnight, so this is a date with long-term potential. Every time the five of us have a real-life playdate we move another step closer to being friends independently of the office.
    There’s a pretty large collection of research about workplace friendships, both pro and con. Some experts say you should keep