Get it together, Belle.
Belle: Mattyyyy, don’t make me cry. I love you!
My phone rings with a rare video call from Matthew. “Hi! Oh my god, I’m so happy to see your face.”
“Why are you crying?” No hello, nothing. Always concerned for me.
I shrug, embarrassed. “I just miss you, that’s all.”
His body deflates. “Please, don’t. Especially when I’m not there to hug you, I can’t stand it.” Then his eyes narrow. “Are you drunk? It’s…” He looks down at his watch. “Barely five.”
“Celebratory!” I’m all too happy to change the mood of this call. Today has been a lot of ups and downs. “Oh, you have to meet Lola finally. She’s walking back from the loo now. Hold on.”
His eyes bulge. “I’m in no state to meet anyone right now.”
“Oh, it will just be a quick—”
“Dr. Hughes, you need to scrub in for your last surgery,” a nurse says, cutting me off.
“Saved by the bell. Sorry, Annabelle, I need to go. I love you so much.”
“Love you!”
“Who was that?” Lola asks.
“My brother, Matthew. I was hoping the two of you could finally meet, but it sounded like he had to head into surgery.”
“Oh.” She drops her head, and… is she crying?
“What’s wrong with you? This is the fifth time you’ve started crying out of nowhere this week.”
What is going on with her lately?
If she isn’t deep-diving into work, she looks like someone killed her cat.
She shakes her head and wipes them. “I don’t know, I’m drunk.” She dismisses me and then points at my phone ringing, so I let it go.
“Hey, Sades!” I yell, just as I hear Lola chirp, “Hi, Sadie,” over my shoulder.
“Hello, my drunk little friends.” She laughs.
“How do you know we’re drunk?”
“You only call me Sades when you’re drinking, and I’m sure you pressured my sweet, innocent Lola.”
“She did, she really did.” Lola sighs, and I roll my eyes.
“I was calling to see if you two wanted to come for a celebratory dinner. I’m cooking your favorite, Lola.”
“Chicken Milanese?”
“Yup.”
“We’ll be there! Especially because I’m starting to feel a little sick. I just realized we haven’t eaten anything.”
“Oh, you two better sober up. I’m so stressed about the wedding. I need your help, and Charlie is driving me insane, and I also want to—”
“Sadie,” I say, cutting her off, “if you don’t stop waffling, we can’t leave.”
