Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Sometimes you just need the reminder that you’re doing a good job, that you’re appreciated. We all need that, no matter who we are or what we’re doing. I feel appreciated today, and I feel appreciative.
—CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER ORTIZ, VIDEO DIARY #10
The sound of teens screaming and melodic house music—every single track sounded like the one before it—still pounded in my head as I opened my laptop to vent about my day. I’d changed into my pajamas (a David Bowie shirt and a pair of loose jersey pants), scrubbed off my makeup, and piled my hair on top of my head. Reading glasses on, I curled up on my couch, laptop in one hand, mug of decaf coffee in the other, and began recording my video for my imaginary Chris.
“So today was Alison’s sixteenth-birthday party. You can bet it was a very trying day. On the upside, my friend Althea is perhaps the best person I’ve ever met in my life. . . .”
* * *
“Thanks for being here with me,” I said to Althea for like the fiftieth time as we decorated the kitchen and the patio surrounding the pool.
The caterers had already arrived and dropped off the food. Miranda was taking care of organizing that while Alison primped in her room.
“You don’t have to say thank you again. In fact, I might have to push you in the pool if you do,” my friend griped.
Chuckling, I nodded. “Got it.”
Althea was just as busy as me, even more since she had a fiancée and a family she actually enjoyed being around, so her dropping everything to be my support today was amazing. I hadn’t even asked her. I’d mentioned yesterday at work that when I’d called up my friend Gabby to ask if she’d come to the party with me, her response had been obnoxious and hurtful.
“Oh, Hallie, we’re not in high school anymore. I know you don’t understand this, because you’re not a mom, but most of us don’t have time to go to teen pool parties. I can’t just drop everything because you’re afraid to go alone. And this coming from the woman who wanted to go backpacking alone. Can you imagine? You’d either get lost in a jungle or eaten by something, or you’d fall for some strange guy and end up kidnapped by sex traffickers.” Gabby’d snorted.
“So that’s a no on the party, then?” I’d ignored the sting of her words.
“You’ll understand when you have kids, Hallie. The rest of us just don’t have that kind of free time on our hands.”
Althea had had a few choice words for Gabby’s attitude. “Women like her,” she had seethed, “give moms a bad name. Some of my girlfriends have babies and you don’t see them acting uppity, like the rest of us don’t know what hard work is. I’m coming with you to that party.”
“You don’t have to do that. You’re busy. What about Michelle?”
“Michelle will understand. And it’s only a few hours, right?”
“Right.”
And so here we were. Though I wouldn’t say it to Althea because we weren’t in high school anymore, she had just been promoted to my best friend. I’d demoted Gabby after that conversation, though truth is I should have demoted her a long time ago.
“Pink?” a high-pitched female voice asked shrilly behind us.
We turned from where we were arranging rose-gold and gold balloons at one end of the pool. In among the ordinary balloons was a rose-gold flamingo and a golden balloon shaped like a number one and another like a number six. We’d wrapped fairy lights around any object we could safely wrap them around.
“What?” I called to Alison.
She narrowed her eyes and flounced toward me in a short summer dress my dad would never have let me wear at that age. “I specifically said no pink!” Alison yelled at me.
“This isn’t pink,” I told her calmly. “This is rose gold. Very grown-up. A lot of my clients prefer this metallic over others.”
“Well, I’m not a bored fifty-year-old housewife.” She wrinkled her nose as she looked around the pool area. “I can’t believe you get paid for this shit.”
“Watch your mouth.” Althea stepped up behind me.
Alison’s bravado faltered.
“Ladies, how’s it going?” My dad stepped out into the yard, beaming at us. “Look at this place.” He stopped beside Alison, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He drew her to his side. “What do you think, Cupcake? Hasn’t Hallie done an amazing job?”
It was like getting punched in the gut.
Cupcake?
I stumbled back a little and felt Althea’s hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, it all looks fine. I’m going inside. Mom’s making me a smoothie before my friends arrive.”
“Sounds good.” Dad turned and winked at me. “Place looks awesome, Hal.”
Watching them walk away together, I tried to ignore the burn in my chest.
“Hey, you okay?” Althea suddenly stood in my path.