I raised my brow at Candace, but she just shook her head. “Okay, who wants what date?” she asked once she opened the notebook and poised her pen over a blank page.
“May twenty-fifth,” April announced.
“This year?” I asked. “That’s only a few months away!”
“Hot and heavy, Princess,” April said smugly. “He’ll snap you up before you have a chance to get away.”
“No freaking way,” I told her. I didn’t yet know what hang-ups Elijah had, but I was sure they existed.
“Ignore her, Van. Write it down. I want May twenty-fifth.”
“That’s a Thursday,” Violet said, looking at the calendar on her phone. “I’ll take May Twenty-Seventh.”
“You’re both nuts,” I murmured, but they were too busy squaring off to hear me.
“That’s not fair!” April said. “This isn’t the Price is Right. You don’t just get to bid two days over mine to knock me out of the running.”
“You’re the idiot who chose a Thursday,” Violet said.
“I’m not an idiot! You’re a cheater,” April countered.
“What are you talking about?” Violet stood taller and looked really pissed.
Vanessa, Candace, and I exchanged looks of confusion. What the hell was going on here and where was the source of hostility coming from? They’d been back and forth since the moment I walked through the door.
“You used a calendar,” April replied accusingly. “That’s cheating.”
“Where was it stated that we couldn’t take a minute to look at a calendar before we gave a date?” Violet asked calmly. “Oh, that’s right. There were no rules, but you acted impetuously like you always do. Or maybe it was just ‘the alcohol talking.’ Does that sound familiar to you, April?” I would’ve known Violet was repeating words she heard by the tone of her voice alone, but her use of finger quotations added an impressive dramatic flair. Milo would’ve been proud.
April slapped her hands on the kitchen island. “I thought we got past this, Vi.”
“ApparentlyIdidn’t.” Violet closed her eyes and shook her head slightly to get herself under control. When she reopened them, she was once again the calm woman I was used to seeing. “Um, I think I’m going to head on home.”
“No,” Vanessa, Candace, and I said at once.
April started to follow Violet into the living room, but she was stopped by a scalding look. “Why are you following me, April?”
April swallowed hard, looking uncertain how to answer our friend. “You’re my ride home, Vi.”
I could tell that was the wrong answer by the way Violet’s skin paled and her mouth popped open. “Call Marley Kasey to come get you.” Violet turned and left without saying another word, only pausing to grab her coat. As if we didn’t already know she was pissed, she slammed the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
“Oh my God. I’ve been such a fool.” April covered her face and dropped in the seat next to me. I wrapped my arm around her while Vanessa and Candace circled the island to stand on the other side. We huddled together in an awkward group hug. April cried into her hands while Vanessa tried to communicate telepathically with me and Candace whispered soothing words in April’s ear. Telepathy didn’t work so well, so we resorted to body language.
Vanessa’s widened eyes said,Oh my God! What do we do?
I tilted my head slightly and grimaced to say,I don’t have a fucking clue.
“I’ve loved Violet for as long as I can remember,” April finally said. “I never realized she had feelings for me too.”
“What happened and when?” I asked softly.
“After her last breakup with that guy named Doug, Violet came over for dinner. She got a little tipsy and told me that she’s been attracted to me for a long time. I wanted to believe her, but I was too afraid to trust my heart to her. She had only dated men, only expressed desire for men. I didn’t want to be an experiment to her. I knew it would ruin our friendship if that happened, so I told her it was the wine and heartache talking.”
“Oh, honey,” Candace said. “When was this?”
“Six months ago,” April said. “She kind of laughed it off and said I was right. Things were awkward between us for a few days, but we fell back into our old groove. I really thought it was a meaningless, drunken pass.”
The timer on the oven chimed, interrupting us.Wow!All of that happened in ten minutes. Amazing how quickly a person’s life could change. Vanessa pulled away to remove dinner from the oven. I just kept rubbing circles in the center of April’s back.
