“Yay!” She clapped, and I ended the conversation before she started planning the birth of my fourteen fat babies who would grow up drinking goat milk because that is her milk of choice.
Now, I’m notreallya believer in mysticism, but you know what? The universe hasn’t been so bad to me in the past few weeks since the Lindsay debacle, so I figure it certainly can’t hurt to heed the advice of a well-intentioned shaman-in-training. Plus, I’ve been missing Colin something fierce, and I think his absence has made it easier for me to bust out these pages so fast. I just hope my plan to get him back works.
In the meantime, Gracie 5.0 has been keeping busy, and not just with writing. I started my new job at Starbucks three weeks ago. (My mom’s not too thrilled, but she thinks all Starbucks employees are stupid because a barista misspelled her name on the side of her cupone time. She has not returned since the “incident.” Side note: It’s not likeEminais the easiest name to spell, either.) The manager, Bess, is a woman about my age, and she’s been really welcoming and sweet. The benefits are awesome, and the perks (which include one free drink per day, whether you’re working or not, and one free meal per shift) are even better. I spent the first two weeks in training, learning about all the different ingredients that go into all the drinks, and now she’s got me on a regular evening shift Monday through Friday, which is amazing because I still have my entire days free to write. The evening shift is also a good fit for me because I’m not as seasoned as the other baristas, and evenings are quieter, so the store is a lot more chill. I’ve only messed up two drinks so far, and my first paycheck was more than my last royalty statement, so things are looking up in the bank account department.
I used to think Starbucks was super hoity-toity, but that’s probably just because I couldn’t afford to make it a habit. What I love most aboutit is the people. Most of them are in school, and boy oh boy, do they bring the drama. It’s so interesting to listen to them share stories about who’s seeing who, who just got dumped, who’s on drugs, and more. The customers are equally fascinating; so many of them sit by themselves, spilling their secrets via Bluetooth for the whole store to hear, and they don’t even realize we’re listening! Or care, maybe. In fact, just yesterday I heard this one woman have an in-depth conversation about her thoughts on the HPV vaccine for her daughter. It was all going well until sheannouncedinto her Bluetooth headset that the vaccine is important because “Genital warts are the worst! And trust me,Ishould know.” She went on, “What? Weallhad it in high school!”
Did we though?I thought, laughing to myself.
Working at Starbucks has also improved my health—or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. In the mornings, I wake up bright and early and stroll down to Emmons to pick up a skinny vanilla latte. It’s free and forces me to get out of bed and shower and start my day. Also, it gives me the added benefit of daily exercise and a good, early morning dose of sunshine.
Granted, I don’t think it’s a forever job, but it’s certainly a good-enough-for-now job. And Bess is cool—she actually lives on my block, two buildings down. She has no pets and no spouse, but her boyfriend is the drummer in some band, and she likes to go watch him play on the weekends. She invited me last weekend, but I said no, only because I was committed to finishing up my manuscript by the time the moon had finished its monthly orbit. But if she were to invite me again, I would go. It would be nice to have a friend in the neighborhood who’s not over the age of sixty and who speaks English fluently. I’m taking a hiatus from hanging out with Melly, Alisha, and Tori, but not in a hateful way. More in aI’m here if you need me, but maybe we should cool it on the drinking for a few weekskind of way. They’re trying to be supportive from afar. Plus,we chat via group text at least once a week, and Melly’s mom told her all about Olga’s predictions (which she, of course, shared with the group), so they’re letting me run with my superstitious foolishness for right now.
If it weren’t for the situation with Colin, I would say things have actually been kind of perfect lately. In addition to the steady income, the universe also afforded me the greatest gift I could ever have hoped for exactly one week ago today. I was at home, taking a quick break from writing at about 2:00, when my phone rang. Now that I’ve become better with the swiping and typing on the new phone, I was able to pick it up on the first try. I didn’t recognize the number, but I went for it anyway.
“Hello?” I said.
“My boo!” I heard.
“Evan! To what do I owe this honor? And what is this number? Where are you calling me from?”
“Are you sitting down? Because I have got All. The. News,” he said.
I love Evan. He’s one of those people who is always smiling, and you can hear his smile through the telephone even when you can’t see it. I wish I could be more like that.
“Spill it! I’m ready,” I said.
“Well, first of all, you need to take this number down because it’s my new office line!”
“New office? What do you mean?”
“You are talking to Table of Contents’ Literary Agency’s newest Associate Agent!”
“Shutup! Evan, that’s amazing! I didn’t even know you werelookingto leave Vision Board!”
“I know! I love secrets!” He laughs. “For real though, that place was hella toxic. I couldn’t stay there long term. That wouldn’t be a good look for me.”
“Damn. I’m so proud of you! And Table of Contents is a big deal! They’ve got some amazing talent!”
“No shit. I fully plan to be New York’s next ‘it’ thing in publishing.”
“I’m sure you’ll be up there in no time.” I smiled.
“No, love. I don’t think you understand. I’ve been doing some digging.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.Hold on to your hats, boys and girls. I just got off the phone with Danielle Oliver. She’s the editor who Lindsay was talking to at Cabaret aboutReckless Outlaw.”
“No way,” I said, my heart lodging itself in my throat.
“She was wondering what happened to Lindsay—said she’d called and left messages, but nobody ever got back to her, so she assumed the deal was off the table. She was pissed too. Apparently, she had to fight hard to put up those kinds of numbers in your offer.”
I chewed on my fingernail, hanging on every word as my blood pressure threatened the longevity of my new healthy lifestyle with a potential stroke.
“I let her know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lindsay was no longer with Vision Board and Karlie London was no longer repped by her. I told her that you were now a client with Table of Contents’ newest agent, and that I would be more than happy to revisit that deal with her.”
“Evan!” I shrieked. “Shut up! What did she say?”
