“Sparkling wine goes with everything, dahling.”
Jules would know. She worked at a high-end restaurant her parents only went to for their anniversary. Elissa took a bite of the cookie. As usual, Jules was right. She gave her friend a wide smile.
“You can say it. I don’t hear it often enough.” Jules waggled her eyebrows.
“You are right, Jules. Sparkling wine goes with everything. Dahling.”
Jules pulled down the blanket on the back of the couch and wrapped herself in it. The two friends settled into a comforting routine they’d repeated so many times it was second nature. The only difference now was the wine. It used to be milk or juice, then they’d upgraded to soda and tea. When the movie ended, Jules turned to Elissa.
“How was your New Year’s Eve?”
Elissa opened her mouth to answer, but her friend interrupted before she could.
“No, let me guess. Your parents crashed before the ball went down in Times Square, you fell asleep on the couch trying to keep Leo company, and the poor kid had no one to ring in the year with.”
Jules hit it on the head. It had been a spectacularly boring New Year, the worst ever. Elissa vowed next year he would have a proper New Year’s party.
“You know me so well.”
“Ah, lady, what am I going to do with you?”
“It’s been a rough year, Jules. I wasn’t in the mood for a party.”
“But things are better?”
“Mom’s got an appointment next week, so we’ll see.”
The past year was filled with we’ll sees, and Elissa was tired of holding her breath, waiting for the worst. She was ready to move on, she really was, as soon as her mom got the all-clear. And tax season was over. Couldn’t forget that. So April. She’d be ready in April.
“You can’t always be waiting for the bad. You gotta get out there and find the good.”
“But as soon as something good happens, the bad follows.”
“Lissa…”
Jules pulled her in for a hug. They’d had dozens of arguments over the decades about tempting fate, about the wheel of fortune constantly spinning out bad things, sometimes terrible things, right after the good. Arguing further was useless.
“You brought the wine, so let me clean up,” Elissa said as she pulled back from the hug. Jules rubbed her hair and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Fine, but one of these days, I’m gonna convince you that you’re wrong.”
Elissa unwrapped herself from her blanket and cleared the coffee table of their glasses and the napkin now holding only crumbs. As she walked into the kitchen, her phone vibrated on the now-empty coffee table.
Quick as a cat, Jules grabbed it. “Ooh, who could it be? I thought I was your only friend.”
Rolling her eyes, Elissa put the glasses in the sink and tossed the napkin into the trash. If she tried grabbing her phone from Jules, her friend’s long arms would have no problem keeping the device well out of her reach. It was probably her mom or Leo, anyway, telling her they’d be late. Jules would return it quicker if she didn’t fuss. Elissa washed the glasses and walked into the living room.
Her suspicions high—Jules had been awfully quiet—she tiptoed behind the couch, looking over her friend’s shoulder. As usual, she was unable to get the jump on Jules, who promptly turned the phone over so Elissa couldn’t see what she’d been up to.
“Whatcha doing?” Elissa asked in a singsong voice, sitting on the couch.
“Nothing.” Jules handed the phone over, a remarkably innocent look on her face. Too innocent. And the corner of her mouth twitched, despite her friend’s stubborn desire to look as though she hadn’t been doing anything to Elissa’s phone.
“Jules…”
“If you didn’t want me to have access to your phone, you would’ve chosen a better passcode than my birthday.” Jules lost her battle with the impish grin. Elissa was in trouble. Jules had done something Elissa wouldn’t be happy about.
She unlocked her phone to discover a brief exchange of texts, beginning with one from an unknown number.
