How Green Becomes Wood

Hearing Sally talk to Ivy in Arabic made Daizi grin, immensely pleased that Sally would make a point of talking to Ivy in her language, and she didn't correct the mistake, "Did I tell you she's started laughing?"
 
Sally gasped and smiled. "No! You hadn't! Oh, that's wonderful!" She smiled and gave Ivy's cheeks the tiniest, gentlest of "pinches" (more like finger squeeze than a pinch) and stepped back. "She is delightful and a true treasure."
 
"Yeah, it was Saturday when she first laughed. I would've told you but the weekend was hectic." She kissed Ivy's forehead a couple of times, and between that and the little pinch, Ivy laughed. Beaming, Daizi agreed, "She really is. We've been really fortunate with her... But if I don't say goodbye now, I never will. I've not gone anywhere without her in a year, more or less."
 
"Alright," She gave Ivy one last kiss, murmured softly to her, and then handed her to Dark, who supported Ivy with one arm and hugged his wife with the other.

"You will both be just fine, my love," Dark promised, knowing from experience how strange it felt to go somewhere without bringing their baby with. To Sally he said, "Have fun, make sure she does not force herself into feeling guilty for having some time away."
 
"Absolutely!" Sally chirped, though she wasn't sure how "fun" this was going to be. She gently took Daizi's arm and started guiding her out. "This way, dear, before you change your mind. Here's the car. Let me open the door for you."
 
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Daizi followed her out, not relying on the guidance too heavily because it was, after all, her driveway, and she climbed into the car, buckling her seatbelt, "I'm not sure what we'd do if I had to bring her. Have Dark drive me seperately and meet you there, I suppose."
 
"That might be easier than trying to wrestle a carseat into my old car," Sally agreed, amused. She buckled up and made certain she knew where she was going before pulling out. It was a short drive, and she filled it with the usual small talk about life, work, children, and weather until they arrived.

"Would you like for me to hold your arm when we go in?" She asked as she turned off the car. "It does not look.too busy, thankfully."
 
"No, it's alright, thank you." Daizi said, unfolding her cane, although she didn't really feel like she needed it, "Dark and I really do come here often. There's a loft inside, upstairs seating, and that's where Dark proposed to me, so I'm able to navigate it fairly well."
 
"Oh my, then this is a sentimental place indeed," Sally said. She got out and straightened her clothes out after having been in the car for so long. She was still in her work clothes, having come straight from there, but she tried to soften to look by undoing her top blouse button and letting her hair down from its tight bun. It wasn't much, but it did help a little. "I guess in this case, I will be following you!"
 
Daizi walked to the host stand to get a seat for the two of them, "My work makes the first Friday of the month a half day, and that year his lunch break was at the perfect time to meet me. The way he did it, though, I thought he was about to tell me he was dying. To be fair to him, we always said we weren't going to get married, and then there he was." She hummed, fondly recalling the memory as they were led to their seats, and then, once they were all settled, she asked, "So what's going on, Sally?"
 
Sally sighed and lightly rubbed her face, trying not to smear her makeup. "I have been offered a job. An incredible job that has opportunities for both myself and Jack, and it is possibly my favorite part of the world. Egypt!" She smiled a little. "I could go back to Egypt!"
 
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Daizi said at first, before the information fully clicked in, but when it did she sat back in her seat, "Oh. Egypt. That's..." She swallowed, as she recognized what that meant, "It is a wonderful opportunity, though."
 
"I know," Sally sighed. "It's where I long to go, it's in Jack's favorite field, and we'll be getting a few other perks that are nothing to sneeze at. The problem is we'd be leaving all of this behind." She tapped lightly on her silverware as she spoke, her agitation coming out through her fingers more than her expression. "We've done that before, of course, many times, but this time feels a bit different for some reason. The friendships deeper, the place more stable... Perhaps I'm simply getting too old to do this and need to finally decide where to settle down for good. Yet, this opportunity... It is so very tempting."
 
She nodded, trying to push down her own feelings about the possibility of Sally leaving so as to not sway her, "It is really complicated. That's how Dark and I ended up here, I wanted to go back to Egypt but I knew I had more opportunities here. And our children would, if we had any, because at that point we didn't... But if your dream, it's worth it, right?"
 
"I would like to think so," Sally admitted. "We will get a decent amount of time off, meaning we could easily come back to visit, but I'm not certain. I have no love for this place in particular, but I do love many of the people. Oh, Daizi, dear, I do wish I could have both!"
 
Daizi nodded, swallowing hard. The only indication of how she was feeling was the way she fiddled with the wedding ring she had hanging around her neck, "Do you think you could negotiate it to be seasonal? Not that it's a commute that's particularly endearing, and you can trust me on that because I've made that flight many times, but..."
 
Sally made a face. "Maybe once we've gotten more established after a year or two, but certainly not at first." She reached out and touched Daizi's hand. "I would miss you the most."
 
Daizi squeezed Sally's hand, and couldn't help her voice from coming out strained, "I'm going to miss you too," and she felt immensely glad for her sunglasses. "If you go, then..." She swallowed and shook her head, deciding against whatever it was she was going to say.
 
Sally squeezed Daizi's hand before forcing herself to let go and sit back. "If I go, then you will have yet another reason to make the journey," she said as lightly as she could manage. "You will have absolutely no excuse not to come visit me and your family!"
 
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