“Well, we financed the car in his name, so I need to have that title changed to mine in less than a month so I can keep my tags current.”
“Stella, I’m so sorry,” Salcedo said.
“Don’t be,” I said as the crowd dispersed, ready to get back to their own diversions. “I’ll think of something.”
“You’re not going to pay him, are you?”
“Hell to the no.”
“Apologize?”
“Very unlikely.”
I took my seat at the corner of the bar, and she sat beside me. Havisham joined us to ask, “I only heard part of that. Why does he have the title to your car?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Long, long ago and far, far away, a man sired me and lived in the same house and answered to ‘Daddy.’”
“Was he Darth Vader?”
“No. His name is Willie Stark, and he used my Social Security number to open a bunch of credit cards that he had no intention of paying off.”
“Sounds like a winner,” Havisham said as she wiped at a sticky spot on the bar. “So, when you and the Douchecanoe were together, you financed the car in his name to get a better interest rate?”
“Correct.”
“Ah,” she said. “Is the car paid off?”
“As of two months ago, but my birthday is next month, so ...”
“She needs the title to pay for her vehicle registration.” Salcedo took a sip of cider, looking for all the world as if she hadn’t just been asking me all the same questions.
“Bingo.” I picked up my wineglass, only to discover that it was empty. Havisham instinctively turned around to get a new bottle. When she returned, I confessed something I hadn’t even told my nana. “Here’s the thing: I’m two months behind on my student loans due to moving into the apartment. I can’t pay him any money to bribe him. I’mnotgoing to apologize, either. That hundred dollars earlier was welcome because, between student loans and moving expenses, I gotta come up with at least seven thousand dollars in the next month.”
Salcedo almost choked on her drink, her eyes wide.
“And I’m only telling you this to say ... don’t defer your loans unless you absolutely can’t help it. And don’t borrow more than you need. Seems like a good idea at the time, but the money’s gonna come due eventually. Oh, and be careful who you finance things with. I thought my relationship was rock solid, but it was a pile of gravel over a sinkhole.”
She nodded. “What are you going to do?”
I sighed. “Maybe take a break from my paralegal classes and look for extra jobs? Maybe take in a roommate. Or sell feet pictures—how are you with lighting and photography? Do you think there’s a market for knobby toes?”
I didn’t last long after my heart-to-heart with Salcedo and Havisham. My rage monster could deal in only brief bursts of energy, so the adrenaline crash left me both shaky and cranky. I retreated to my apartment half expecting to cry, but the tears never came. Instead, I felt numb, exhausted, no longer enthused about my paralegal courses.
Sadly, no ideas on how to get the title to my car materialized, either.
I was staring at my framed puzzle piece and trying to decide if it was level when Havisham texted me:
Meet Salcedo and me at the Waffle House at one.
“What? You can’t even add a ‘please’?” I asked myself as I plopped down on the love seat.
I had more coursework to do, but I dedicated quality time to moping instead. I couldn’t even muster the energy to watch television, whichwas just as well because Ken had changed all the passwords to our streaming services.
And to think he was callingmepetty.
But of all the bullshit I might’ve expected from Ken, barging into Finnegan’s hadn’t been in my top five. If nothing else, his appearance had reminded me to stop sharing my location with him. Since we were no longer friends, he didn’t have any need to find me. There was one problem easily solved.
But his irrational anger over the glitter bomb?
