And May simply exploded.
Emmy jumped back as her sister sprang off the couch like someone had jabbed her butt with a pin. Hands fisted, May let loose with a string of Japanese that had Emmy’s eyes going wide. She had no trouble translating, but she didn’t think May even knew those words, let alone felt comfortable using them.
“Thatcocksucker!” she screamed, switching to English. She began to pace furiously. “That absolute fart cloud! I could kill him! Iwillkill him! I fuckingknewit!”
“Uh…”
Emmy was so bewildered that her heartbreak actually receded, temporarily forgotten as May fumed and swore. Then she swung back to Emmy, perfectly styled hair whipping around her face, eyes blazing with fury.
“Iknewit!” she repeated, jabbing a finger at Emmy. “We were all waiting for you to tell us you wanted to go into gardening… landscaping… something like that. Dad thought you were going to be a florist. He even suggested I talk to Ando to see if you could shadow Yvette,” she added, referring to the florist who worked exclusively for Elegancia.
“Really?”
“Yes! It was obvious you had a knack for growing things, and you lit up whenever you talked about it. You didn’t freak out when you saw earthworms or when you got dirt under your fingernails.” May stopped, took a long, deep breath. “But you never went for it. Not a word from you. I always wondered if that asshole had something to do with it. I could tell something was off, but you never mentioned anything. I just had a feeling. I almost tracked down Beth to pump her for information, but she couldn’t have helped. If she’d known he was a slimeball, she wouldn’t have set you up with him in the first place. She’s not malicious like that. A little… dim, but not mean. She’s sweet.”
“May… you just insulted someone.”
“I said she was sweet.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Don’t tell Sarah, but I could tell Beth never clicked with you guys. I like to think we clicked. Not just you and me, but Sarah as well.”
“Yeah, we absolutely clicked. Definite clicking,” Emmy said quickly. It was true, fortunately, but she would havelied without compunction in that moment if it meant May remained calm. She’d never seen anything like this from her sister. It was fascinating and scary.
“I just knew…” May shook her head. “There was never anything I could point to, but Iknewhe was wrong for you. I felt so guilty when you broke up because you were hurting, but I was secretly glad to see him go.”
“I never knew any of that. You never said anything to me.”
May deflated a little. “Like I said, there was nothing to say. It was just a gut reaction. Anyway, it’s done now. And I can finally tell you I’m glad it’s done.” She sat next to Emmy once more. “Tell me the rest. I want to hear all of it.”
Emmy finished the story with no more surprise outbursts from her sister. The heartbreak crept back in, making some parts harder to tell than others. But she simply squeezed May’s hand and pushed through until she’d made it all the way back to waking up in her bed that morning.
Her throat was dry. Her eyes were swollen. She felt like a dishrag that had been wrung out and left on the counter in a damp heap. Then May hugged her, and she felt the soothing sensation of being believed.
“Can I see the book?” May asked quietly.
“Sure. Just don’t read it.”
“No chance of that. You said it was on the floor in your bedroom?”
“I can get it.”
May shook her head. “Go drink some water. Splash some on your face if you need to. I’ll be right back.”
Because she desperately needed to hydrate, Emmy didn’t argue. She got herself a glass of water and downed thewhole thing in one breath. Then she fumbled in the tea cabinet until she found a bottle of ibuprofen. All that crying had left her with an insistent, throbbing ache in her temples.
“Is this it?” May asked.
Emmy looked over, saw the unfamiliar cover, and shook her head. “No, that’s… wait.” She frowned at the book cover as May held it out to her. Then she snatched it out of her sister’s hands. “What thefuck?”
The model who had portrayed Will was no longer entwined with Bright beneath the swirling script of the title. While Bright remained the same, she now gazed lovingly up at a Black man with a chiseled face and appealingly defined arm muscles. He looked back at her with equivalent love in his expression.
It was Jared.
Emmy flipped the book over, read the synopsis. Bright’s section was, like the image on the cover, exactly as it had been. But the paragraph that had been dedicated to Will was now entirely about a divorced anesthesiologist named Jared.
“What the fuck?” Emmy repeated.
“What’s wrong?” May asked.
“It’s different. The book changed.” Taking a risk, she flipped open to the first chapter and skimmed a few paragraphs. Different here, too. The narrator followed Jared as he navigated a hectic shift at the hospital. “It’s not about Will anymore. It’s about Jared, his best friend.”
