“There are other ways, little Savannah, to say fuck him without saying fuck him.”
“I mean, I’m hoping he just goes away. This may simply piss them off, fan the fire. I need to find out what I’m up against before I do that.” I shake my head, “But this is adorable.”
“You have a job in the city now,” Sofie walks over, grabs the bag again, reaches in, and starts tossing us all jerseys. “My advice: take it. You have the support system in place here, and like Mrs. Costello said?—”
“It’s Bitty,” Nalani cuts her off.
“That woman is a treat.” Noelle laughs as she pulls a jersey over her head. “I, for one, am not looking a gift horse in the mouth.” She looks at me. “We’re sisters, and sisters help sisters.”
“James, we need a round of champagne,” Sofie calls back to the bartender as the rest of us pull the jerseys over our heads.
Champagne flute in hand, we walk over and stand in front of the glass when the lights dim and the stadium roars to life as the Bears skate onto the ice.
Sofie raises her glass. “To KET and sisters who make each other’s lives voluminous.”
“I’ll drink to that, even though it’s a pretty messy word when not on paper, and I like words a lot.” Noelle laughs.
We tap each other’s glasses they sip the champagne, me, I don’t.
“Whatever that is, it’s delicious. It tastes nothing like the stuff we drank in college.”
“It’s the glow-up version.” Sofie hip-checks Noelle. “We didn’t all peak in college. Now it’s our time.”
“Voluminous,” Noelle says as if she’s trying to acquire a taste for the word.
“Am I the only one here who prefers fabulous?” I ask, and we all laugh.
As we sit down, Sofie tells me, “Yours is NA, drink up.”
“Thanks,” I say, looking at Nalani, who is staring at the ice, “Number twenty-nine?”
“The one and only,” she answers sadly as she watches him move across the ice.
“Do you need Savannah?” I ask, only half joking. “If you and Sofie don’t think that I don’t see how much you adore her, and if I weren’t a strong, sane, confident woman, I may think it is totally her and not me.”
“You caught us. We so adore her. But it’s both of you. Are you considering Bitty’s fabulous?—”
“Voluminous,” I correct her.
She laughs. “Are you considering her offer?”
“It’s a very expensive city to live in, but?—”
“You can stay with me. Like, seriously, please stay with me.” She holds out her hands for Savannah.
“I’d insist on paying rent.” I hand Savannah over.
“I would not object if that’s what it took.” She smiles at Savannah, whose eyes are getting heavy as she looks up from where her head is resting on her shoulder.
“Do you think she’s serious?” I ask Savannah.
“Hell yes, she’s serious,” Sofie answers. “About both options. She does, in fact, know all the crazies in the city, and”—she holds up her phone—“the Bears are looking for a staff psychologist. There’s an online application. Fill it out now and use Bitty as a reference. You can also use me.”
“Do you really think it’s that easy? I mean, what happens if he gets his way and insists, I move to LA.”
“If you get the job for the Bears, you’ll have one hell of a legal team behind you.” Sofie holds her phone closer. “If you don’t, you’ll still have one hell of a legal team behind you.” She nods to Nalani.
“I am not a lawyer yet, but I know enough about research and contracts. I can help find the best lawyers in the area.”
