“Ugh, somebody’s acting stank,” Charlie answered. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I was fired today,” Stassi informed.
The line went quiet.
“I mean, you kind of should have quit a long time ago, considering…”
“Considering what?” Stassi snapped. “Considering you stole that girl man?”
“You know what, Stassi? Nevermind. I see you on your bullshit. If you had told me that Demi was married in the first place, I would have never entertained him. You know that! The last thing I wanted to become was your mother.”
Stassi burned with anger, but she didn’t feel like fighting. She knew the history of their family. Her mother stealing Charlie’s father when they were younger had caused a lot of resentment over the years. That wasn’t a conversation she was trying to havetonight. They had avoided it for this long; might as well keep ignoring it. “Charlie, I had a bad day. Can we just not do this right now?” Stassi asked.
She couldn’t even hide the emotion in her voice. She was near tears. It was just one of those days that felt hard, hard enough to give up. “I’ma call you back.”
She hung up the phone and retreated into her palms as frustration spilled from her eyes. The day’s events weighed on her. Overwhelm and uncertainty swallowed Stassi. She wasn’t big on pity parties, but she was the guest of honor at her very own today. Life was just hard. She had so many things to figure out and no road map to help her find her way. She had grown up watching her mom hop from man to man until finally meeting Charlie’s dad and settling down. She wasn’t even sure if her mother loved the men she dealt with. Each relationship seemed like it was a means to an end. There were boyfriends that paid the bills. She remembered Mr. Keith who was constantly dropping money off for the water bill. There was Mr. David who was the grocery-buying friend. Mr. Matt made sure the lights were paid. Stassi had been exposed to so many different men growing up that she resented relationships in general. Every time the doorbell would ring, her mother would take her company to her room, close the door and turn up the music. As a child, Stassi didn’t understand what was happening; as a grown woman she knew. The price to pay for that bill money had been her mother’s soul. Meeting Major, Charlie’s dad, had stopped the in-and-out traffic. The “guy friends,” as her mother would call them, became non-existent because her new husband had enough money to cover everything. It didn’t erase the wounds Stassi had been left with, however, and she had overachieved to avoid ever relying on a man to give her anything. To end up in this place of uncertainty, behind drama she had nothing to do with, washeartbreaking. Stassi tilted her full glass of wine to her lips and devoured every drop before making her way to the bathroom. She just wanted to wash the day off her body.
She wished the water could reach her insides and wash those clean too. By the time she was done, the water had run cold, and her tears had evaporated with the eucalyptus-scented steam in the air.
“Okay, bitch, get your shit together.” The self-pep-talks were necessary. She had let it out; now, she had to get the fuck over it and figure out a plan to piece her professional career back together.
She air-dried and then slipped into a short silk robe before grabbing her pedicure kit and taking it to the living room. Reality TV, wine, and some self-care would adjust her mood. She was sure of it. Powder pink toes put her heart at ease as she sat there painting them to perfection while watching the antics of a few old, rich, bitches from Potomac.
When her doorbell rang, the annoyance she felt rushed through her.
“What the fuck?” She shouted as she stood, walking awkwardly, trying to keep her toes lifted as she crossed the room. “I just want to be left alone. Who the fuckkkk?” She looked through the peephole and then snatched open the door.
Charlie. Her beautiful, natural-faced, honey-colored sister stood on the other side of the door. Charlie smiled nervously and held up a bottle of pinot.
“Bitch ain’t nobody tell you to show up at my house unannounced!” Stassi said.
“The wine is a peace offering?”
Stassi and Charlie had fought and made up more times than Stassi could count. Their sister quarrels were legendary. There was the fight over John Simmons in high school. Then, there was the summer they went without speaking when Charlie’sdad had taken Stassi to the father/daughter cotillion. Then, there was the massive blowup they had when their parents married. The fights never lasted, however. The bond they had didn’t allow them to do anything but makeup.
Stassi stepped aside and motioned for Charlie to come inside.
“I’m really sorry, Stass,” Charlie said.
Stassi sighed in relief. She was glad Charlie had waved her white flag first because the way Stassi was feeling, they would have gone at least a week without speaking.
“Me too,” Stassi replied. “Now, what do you want? Cuz I know you came over here to disturb my peace.”
Charlie turned up her nose as she looked at the bootleg spa Stassi had set up. “This ain’t peace. You’re wallowing in self-pity. Your ass ain’t never been able to paint inside the lines. You ain’t that broke where you can’t afford a pedicure! Fuck that job, Stassi.”
“It wasn’t just a job, Charlie! I took clients over there with me! I practically gave Lauren my entire list! I signed a non-compete agreement. Everything I’ve worked hard for over the last few years is gone.”
“It’s not gone. I have an event you can plan,” Charlie said.
She held up her left hand, and Stassi forgot about all her problems as she noticed the blinding diamond on her sister’s finger.
“Bitch, no!” She shouted in disbelief.
Charlie nodded excitedly. The smile on her face made Stassi’s mood lighten.
“Oh my god!” Stassi exclaimed. “Oh my fucking god! You’re getting married!”
The giddy squeals they released as they embraced erased any grudges they carried.
