“And don’t you think it’s weird that I would have to go to Seattle with him?”
“You’ve always wanted to see the Space Needle in person.”
“I’d have to spend the night with him, Celine. If we’re pretending to be a couple, it would be expected that we stay in the same room.”
“Hey, you’re not getting anymore pressure from me. I fully support your choice. When do you need to let him know?”
“Probably the sooner the better so he can find someone else.”
My sister nodded her head. The timer on the stove beeped and she jumped off the couch to check on our pizza. The oven ran hot so we needed to be on top of it if we didn’t want charred food.
“I’ll send him a text.”
“Why not just call.” She reset the timer.
“Texting is easier. He’s a busy man.” And if I heard his baritone voice, I might change my mind. Without giving it another thought, I quickly typed out a message:Sorry, but I can’t be your fake girlfriend.I hit the send arrow before I could hit delete. “There, it’s done.”
“Boy, you don’t waste any time.” She clucked her tongue and winked at me, a sign that she was on my side even if I did the opposite of what she wanted.
“Why drag it out? I can relax now. Or at least until the next time we clean his place.” I glanced at my phone, wondering if he’d reply.
“Unless he fires us to get back at you for rejecting his proposal.” She sat back down next to me. “So how much of a tip did he give us?”
“You know, I hadn’t even looked.” I hopped off the couch and went to my purple tote bag. The envelope had felt a little thicker than previous ones. I took the cash out and nearly choked on my spit. “Oh my gosh.”
“How much?” Celine made praying hands. “Enough to get our plane tickets?”
“Yes!” I counted the bills. “Ten thousand dollars! We’re flying first class for Christmas sister!” I squealed with joy.
“Holy crap! I wonder why he gave us so much.”
I noticed the note inside the envelope. “He wrote something. It says ‘You’ve been exceptional this year. Keep up the excellence.’” I studied his handwritten note, feeling warm fuzzies. “I can’t believe he gave us so much.”
“It’s probably for us to split.”
“Probably.”
“And you know that’s probably just pocket change to him.”
“Yeah, probably.” Guilt flooded my veins. “Now I feel bad for telling him no.”
“Don’t. It was an unusual request. He couldn’t possibly believe you’d say yes.” Celine extended her hand, and I placed the stack of bills on her hand.
The timer beeped, again.
“I got it,” I told my sister. “You play with the money.”
“I’ve never had this many hundred-dollar bills in my hands before. It’s way better than a man’s pecker.”
“Oh, my gosh, CeeCee!” I laughed as I cut the pizza and plated it. “You’re so nasty!”
“Stop being all innocent. Mom and Dad aren’t here. You can let loose.”
“I’m sure their ears are burning right this second.” My sister was a rebellious child, and I followed the rules. She could curse like a sailor while I preferred not to. We were pretty different yet, the best of friends.
Carrying two paper plates to the couch, I set hers on the coffee table next to our tiny tabletop Christmas tree with battery-operated lights. We didn’t have a dining table, so we ate our meals in our small living room. We also didn’t have room for full-size tree, which made me sad.
“What if he gave us so much, hoping it would help convince you to be his fake girlfriend?”
