“What’s that?”
“A check for three thousand dollars for the door. I don’t like owing you. So please cash it. But wait until Monday so I can transfer money into that account, please. But cash it after that. If you don’t, I’ll just get cash to you or Gill somehow.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” I sound whiny.
“Oh, were we in a relationship?” She’s got one hand on her hip. She looks sassy.
“Well, yeah.”
“Hmm, well, I’d beg to differ. The kind of relationships I’m used to require some sort of communication on a regular basis and not through a third party.”
“Yeah, like you’ve got experience with relationships. You told me you’ve never had a boyfriend. I?—”
She interrupts again. “Personalrelationships. I’ve had plenty of personal relationships. I’ve had a best friend since I was seven. My grandfather and I were closer than two people could be, even when we didn’t always get along. Pops could be stubborn as a mule. But we were always there for each other—always.” Her face changes from anger to sadness as she remembers her grandfather.
“Baby?” Dammit, I’m whining again.
“Please, just go. Thank you for all of the stuff you did around my place. I’ll always be grateful that I’m safe now.” I watch herwalk toward the stairs. She stands at the bottom, waiting for me to leave.
I’m getting pretty sick and tired of this scene repeating itself but I do as she asks. I lumber past her and up the stairs. I want to say more, but it’s hard to talk with my big, fat, size thirteen foot in my mouth—even if I’m not completely sure how it got there. I open the door and leave. I pull the door closed and listen as she engages the locks. “Good girl,” I whisper. I climb into my car wearily and lay my head back on the headrest. “What the hell just happened back there? I totally miscalculated the situation—I miscalculated her.”
I push the start button on the dash. I’m going to be late if I don’t hit the road. Even if my personal life is imploding, duty still calls. I don’t want to go—the last thing I want to do is go to dinner with this famous diva singer. It would have been bearable with my girl beside me. Not to mention, I bet MacKenzie would have enjoyed meeting a celebrity. I rub my forehead. It feels warm. “Jesus, I thought I was over this bug, but I guess not.”
I want to talk to someone. I’m not going to call my sister; I don’t want to hear “I told you so.” Same with Gill. I’ll call Mom.
“Mom?”
“Yes, honey. What’s wrong?”
“Why do you guys assume something is wrong when I call?”
“Because it’s Saturday night. Besides, you don’t call me. I call you. It’s our thing.”
Ignoring the comments about our family dynamic, I jump right in. I tell her the entire story about MacKenzie—stopping short of telling her about the break debacle.
“It sounds lovely, darling. So, what’s wrong?”
Taking a deep breath, I launch into the story about the break. I tell her it’s Perri’s fault, but she doesn’t fall for it. I tell her that Gill’s on my ass, even threatening to steal her.
“Gill’s a gorgeous man, but he’s not you, honey.”
My mom’s awesome. She knows how to stroke my ego. “Yeah, well, I screwed it up somehow. I bought her a gift, and she threw it back in my face.”
Mom gasps.
“Not literally. She handed it back to me nicely. Politely, even.”
“Why? What was it?”
“A Burberry trench coat with matching gloves and hat.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely.”
“It is. It’s really nice. I bought it to replace the one she’s using now. The old coat she wears is threadbare, three sizes too big, and it’s not even a winter coat. It’s a raincoat and it’s falling apart.”
“Hmm, when I saw her, she was dressed well. Not in designer clothes, but certainly not cheap. She was dressed to look classic. Timeless. The coat must mean something to her.”
“I asked her on our first date what the story was with the coat.”
