I miss Will, Steph thought as she held back tears. Will had entered the Missionary Training Center just a week earlier. Steph hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to have him just a few blocks away but only able to talk to him through snail mail. It only made it harder that she had picked up extra shifts at the police department, where she often found herself looking for Will on the security cameras, hoping to just get a glimpse of his back or the top of his head.
Of course, nothing could have prepared her for the terror that her apartment had turned into. Sasha and Jessica had not let up on the whole room sharing thing. Every compromise that Steph could think of had been quickly shot down with insults. It had been two weeks of glares, insults, complaining, and whispering. Steph didn't have the patience for manipulative tactics. They weren't effective, but that didn't mean that she wasn't exhausted from ignoring them.
If only I could talk to Will, Steph wished. Steph knew that if she asked, Will would leave the MTC and come to her. If she asked, he would leave his mission, marry her, and take her away from the burden of living with other women. But she would never do that. She knew that it would only resolve the immediate problem while creating a whole slew of bigger problems. That didn't mean she wasn't more tempted to tell Will everything than she had ever been tempted by anything in her entire life. Will wasn't just her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend. He was her best friend, confidant, and biggest supporter.
Steph decided to take her mind off of her problems by preparing for school to start. Labor Day weekend was coming in just a few days and then it was off to the races. Soon, she was absorbed in finding the cheapest options for her her textbooks. She jumped as her cellphone started to vibrate loudly on her desk.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Stephanie. It's Grandpa."
Steph smiled. "Hey, Grandpa. What's up?"
"When was the last time you went out to the honey farm?"
"Long enough ago that I don't actually remember going," Steph said with a small laugh. Steph's grandma had grown up on a honey farm and her family revolved around honey.
"Well, we have to fix that. I'm coming out this weekend and I'm going to take you with me up to Idaho," her grandpa said. Steph could hear in his voice that he was both very serious and very happy with his decision. There was no changing his mind, not that Steph wanted to. Anything to get away from her toxic apartment even if it's just for a weekend.
"I'm looking forward to it, Grandpa," Steph chuckled.
---
Steph smiled as she looked out the passenger side window at the vast nothingness that is southern Idaho and northern Utah. Grandpa's idea of going to Idaho had been exactly what she needed.
She had spent a lot of time with her eccentric uncle and his family, which was always entertaining if nothing else. Her great-aunt had loaded her up with enough honey to last several years. Steph quietly laughed to herself. She could tell her great-aunt was getting old when she gave Steph a new jar of honey every hour or so, each time saying "now don't tell your uncle." It was clear that she had not remembered giving Steph honey just an hour before. Or the hour before that.
The best part of the weekend had been spending time with her grandpa. Grandpa had always been a pillar of spirituality and strength to Steph. Steph had confided in him about her roommates and he had been a great listener. She would never tell her grandpa that she wanted Will to come home, though. Grandpa would have given her a stern talking to and that was the last thing that Steph needed. So Steph had been surprised when she had asked her grandpa for a priesthood blessing and he had said, "Do not worry. Will is exactly where he is supposed to be and you are where you are supposed to be."
Upon hearing those words, the temptation to ask Will to come back had immediately left. Steph had managed to keep her composure, but just barely. She knew that her living arrangement was not going to get any better, but she now had confidence that she would get through it.