Bernadette is a thirty-something mother of two who is always a little hard on the students because of what I think is a dream deferred. She was a nursing student ten years ago but had to quit school and work to help out her mother at home. I don’t know all the details, but I know that she never went back to college, and I think she resents everyone who was able to.
“I know, girl. I was doing everything I could to keep my composure when I heard her over there stuttering,” another coworker named Casper chuckles in agreement. “A complete mess.”
Casper refuses to share his age, but I’m pretty sure he’s in his late thirties or early forties and works as a patient actor to fund his life as a drag queen at night. He can be catty sometimes, but out of all the actors here, he’s the most fun.
“Y’all, I thought we could grab some appetizers and a drink at that new bar around the corner. It's a new Mexican place, and I heard they’ve got bottomless margaritas.”
“You down to go too, Gigi?” Ben asks.
He’s a relatively new hire who I’ve barely had a full conversation with, but he seems nice enough.
I check my phone and see that Knox hasn’t sent me any more threatening messages since this morning. Maybe he’s cooled off. But then I think about fish tacos and margaritas and my stomach growls and figure that a few more hours out can’t hurt anything. A girl’s got to eat.
“Sure, I’m starving,” I say.
Casper’s mouth widens in exaggerated surprise. “You’re coming with us, Miss super-secret Sally?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe it’s because Ben asked.”
“I’m just hungry.” I blush at Bernadette’s insinuation of some sort of love connection. “Would it be okay if I invited someone to meet us?”
It might be a great time to see Matthew without the pressure of explaining why I’ve been missing in action.
“The more the merrier,” Casper says.
I send a brief text to Matthew telling him when and where to meet me for dinner if he can but am disappointed when he doesn’t respond to my text. He’s either still angry with me or done with me.
Gah!
Knox is already ruining my life, and he’s only been here a few days.
“Let’s split the Uber. I’ll order it,” Casper suggests.
“I’m just going to check in with Janet and I’ll be right there,” I tell them.
After reviewing the rest of my schedule for the week with my supervisor, Janet, I pack up my things and head out the door with Casper, Bernadette and Ben. As we walk toward the corner of the street to wait for the car, a call comes in to my phone from an unknown number and my guess is that it’s Matthew wanting to talk before he commits to having dinner with me.
“Hello?” I answer optimistically.
“You're making this whole protection thing difficult.”
Ugh, it's Knox.
“What phone number are you calling me from?”
“Never mind that. Where are you?”
“Listen, I had a full day at work. I'm tired, and I'm getting something to eat before I come home. I'll see you later.”
“Gigi-“
I click the home button to end the call. I’m not in the mood for our usual repartee right now. I’m exhausted, hungry and hoping that I can finally explain my sudden distance to Matthew.
Unfortunately, Matthew never calls or shows up, but the bright side is that dinner is delicious. Instead of tacos, I decide to order the most orgasmic steak, black bean and chipotle quesadilla ever and wash it down with two and a half glasses of bottomless margaritas. I don't normally indulge in food and alcohol like this because I was raised to eat super healthy, but sometimes a girl just needs to feed her soul a little lime and tequila.
“So how long have you been doing this?” Ben asks.
