Do Iwantto see him?
A week ago,gosh, I miss Fletcher Huxleywould not have been a thought I had. It still isn’t, butI should make sure Fletcher’s okayis something that’s been swirling.
I could slide into his DMs, but I wouldn’t believe a thing he told me.
If he told me anything at all.
He’ll show up for training next week.
He wouldn’t miss it.
But him showing up for training and acting fine no matter what his face looks like and himbeingfine are not the same. And who knows? By next week, he could’ve grown a bunch of the ’stache back.
Which should not be my concern. I am not his keeper. I’m not even his friend. And I certainly didn’t like the ’stache.
So I’ve been putting my move first and my clients at a very close second, and pretending for the moment that I have no other cares in the world.
The server stops at our table. “Afternoon, ladies. Just three of you?”
I shake my head, but Evelyn and Sheila nod. “Just the three of us.”
“Where’s Odette?” I ask.
They share a look.
It’s notguilty, exactly, but it’s notgoodeither. This one falls somewhere betweenshe’s holding a bedside vigil for an ex-boyfriendandone of her kids had an emergency and she had to fly to Milwaukee to babysit for a couple days.
Both of which leave a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I hope today’s long day is making me misinterpret this.
“We need a few minutes,” Evelyn tells the server.
“But let’s get started with some of those vegetable rolls,” Sheila adds.
“Do I want to know what Odette’s up to?” I ask my friends. More importantly,when will she be back?
“She’s a little under the weather,” Evelyn says.
My pulse kicks up. “Like we should be taking her soup under the weather, or we need to go see her in the hospital under the weather?”
“She pulled a muscle in Zumba,” Sheila says.
“And re-tweaked her knee getting out of her car at the doctor’s office when she pulled in to get the other muscle checked out,” Evelyn adds.
“The doctor told her to rest it for a few days. All of it.”
“And she knows what happened the last time she didn’t listen, so she’s following doctor’s orders this time.”
Evelyn’s obsessed with staring at something outside the window. Sheila’s concentrating very hard on sipping from her water glass.
Neither one of them is making eye contact.
“She can’t come with me to the wedding on Saturday,” I say flatly.
“She thinks she can,” Sheila says. “She’s planning on it. That’s why she hasn’t told you anything yet.”
Evelyn sighs. “But we think you might want to make other plans.”
Dammit.
