My friend appears on the screen, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, babe,” she greets me with a smile.
“Hi! Oh my God, I’m so glad you picked up.”
“Is everything alright?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I need your help. Do you have a moment?”
“Sure! I just fed this little milk addict, so we’re good to go,” she explains, angling the phone away so I can see Lucas thrown over her hip as she holds him there with her free arm.
He looks adorable with his chubby cheeks and big smile. Hana and Tyrone really created the most perfect baby, with his warm brown skin, beautiful eyes, and a head full of tight curls.
“Hey, baby boy!” I cheer. “You’re growing so fast!”
Although he’s far from speaking, Hana excitedly tells her infant son, “Say ‘hi’ to Auntie Genny. Can you say that for me, my sweet prince?” When he replies with nothing but gurgling, she sighs and gives him a kiss on his tiny dark-haired head. “One day. And remember that if you say ‘Dada’ before ‘Mama’ I will drop you at the nearest orphanage.” I laugh incredulously at her savage joke, which brings her attention back to the phone. “So tell me, darling. How can I help?”
I scan the extensive wardrobe surrounding me, feeling stupid for not finding one good thing despite my plethora of choices. “I’m meeting with Jake,” I explain, “and I can’t figure out what to wear.”
“Does it really matter? You’ll end up naked in five seconds, won’t you?”
I wince. I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell her, and this is it. “Tonight is actually a date.”
She freezes so hard that I think it’s a connection issue at first. But then she echoes, “A date?”
“Yes.”
“A date-date?”
“Yes-yes.”
Her shock is almost comical, but I hold back from chuckling. Her gaping mouth turns into a huge grin, and she shakes her head incredulously. “You’re a terrible godmother; I almost dropped my child. Are you and Jake seriously dating?!”
When a broad smile tugs at my lips, I feel like an infatuated teenager—especially when I sense my cheeks warming. “We are. I told you I left my parents’ gala and went to his place, but I didn’t tell you everything.”
“You sneaky, sneaky hoe. What happened?”
“Well, I cried—probably enough to fill a bucket.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. And he was so… Hana, I swear, he’s so perfect. He was gentle, and patient, and tender… He comforted me while I confided in him and then held me the entire night. And in the morning, he made love to me in a way I’ve never experienced before. It was like we were one being, like we began and ended with one another.”
“Oh my God, Gen. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
“I know, I’m sorry. You’ve been such a vocal advocate of Jake, I suppose I wasn’t ready to share yet. I needed to sort out my feelings by myself, you know?”
“I get it, babe. I can be very pushy at times, especially since you can be so stubborn. Have you figured out how you’re feeling?”
“Oh, I’m falling for him.Hard.”
“Of course you are,” she says, nearly squealing with excitement.
I sigh, overwhelmed by the mere thought of Jake and tonight. “He’s so perfect, you know? And he makes me feel like myself. I don’t think I’ve felt that way since Victoria died, and I’m like, alive, and free, and so damn happy every time we’re together.” My eyes scan the room around me and the clothes hanging on their racks, and frustration overwhelms me. “And now we’re having our first real date, but it won’t be perfect because I can’t find anything to wear.”
“Oh come on, that’s impossible. Show me what you’ve tried so far.”
For the next five minutes, I settle the phone against a console and show her the outfits I’ve tried and dismissed. She agrees some don’t work but calls me irrational for a few others.
“But I really want to wear the leather jacket he got me,” I insist, showing it to her again. “And those colors don’t match.”
