Chapter 40
40
OPHELIA
1 New Message: The Powder Puff Girls
B:
Good morning beauties. I’m excited to see everyone’s pretty faces this morning. 11 still good for the group?
Margaret:
11 is good with me.
Magnolia:
Hi! Sorry, I might be five minutes late. Got a lttle held up
B:
Ohhhhh I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Margaret:
It’s always in the mornings for you two.
Magnolia:
What can I say? We’re just so refreshed in the mornings and ready to go.
I’ll fill ya in over brunch
B:
Ophie, you’ll be there, right?
I’m already here, sweetie. Been here since nine.
B:
Of course you are. Well, we will see you shortly then.
I’ll see you all soon. I can’t wait to see everyone.
* * *
“I t should be illegal to look as good as you do when you literally do the jobs of five people. I mean really, who else could pull off a bright orange jumpsuit and Prada heels, and make it look as effortless as you do?” My best friend gawks as she pushes open the front doors of Butcher and Block.
It had just opened for the day and my three closest friends are coming to meet me here for our standing Sunday brunch. Just like the guys have their weekly game night, we have our weekly gab session. The last few weeks I’ve had less to gab about but I still look forward to our Sunday sitdown when it comes around each and every week.
“Oh stop.” I roll my eyes. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m ridiculous? This outfit is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously amazing, I think you mean to say,” Magnolia corrects, walking up to the table to meet us. We both stand and give her a hug and wave when we see Margaret filtering in closely behind her. “Is that the new Chanel?”
“It is.” I pull the jacket tight and wave my arms in front of myself. “Got it for myself last week. Once I saw it I couldn’t unsee it. It had to be mine.”
“And it might have to be mine.” Her finger traces the stitching of my jacket, running her thumb over one of the ornate buttons and I swear she’s practically drooling. “Kolbi won’t mind if I get one more new piece for summer, will he?” Her voice perks up at the end and we share a laugh. We’ve bonded over clothes, Magnolia and I, since we discovered we have the same style and taste in them: expensive.
“Whatever you buy keep in mind you’ll have to share it with me too,” Margaret jokes as we all take our seats. The bar is empty since it’s still early but in the next hour or so, it’ll be full of people. Adding in Sunday brunch was a great idea for business and great for us seeing as how we now have a free place to eat when we get together. I’ve been grateful the girls were willing to meet me here over the last few weeks so we could continue our Sunday morning tradition.
“So, Magnolia, how was Kolbi’s dick this morning?” Bailey asks without warning and I nearly spit my water across the table. The four of us erupt in laughter and Magnolia’s face turns five different shades of red.
The next hour is spent gossipping about work and life and how everyone’s relationships are going. My heart sinks a little when Hank, Kolbi, and Conrad are brought up but a fourth name is clearly missing from the usual lineup. I do my best to keep a smile as the ring that’s dangling from a chain tucked under my jacket burns into my skin like a hot stone. They ask me about work and I fill them in on everything going on at the agency and even share about how Dale is seeing someone new. They ooh and ahh at the cuteness that is Dale and his boyfriend when I show them pictures and I feel like a proud mother when I hold up my phone for them to see.
“Sorry to interrupt ladies,” Alice’s voice cuts through. “I just had a quick question for Ophelia.”
I hold up a finger to the table and stand to speak with Alice about what she needs. Her quick question ends up being a twenty minute ordeal and when I return to the table, there’s a noticeable shift in the energy that surrounds it.
“What?” I question, glancing between them.
“We just don’t know how you do it.” Bailey shakes her head at me with a look of admiration.
“Do what?”
“Do this.” Magnolia waves a hand around her head to motion to the bar. “This, and your job, and see us, and have time for yourself.”
“You amaze us,” Margaret finishes and they all nod.
I intertwine my fingers together and prop my elbows up on the table before resting my chin in the hammock I’ve created. “I guess I just don’t want to let him down,” I sigh.
“Who? Malcolm?” The air gets dry as Bailey says his name and I suck on the inside of my cheek for a moment before speaking.
“No.” I shake my head sharply. “Marshall. Before he passed he…he asked me to watch out for Malcolm. To take care of him. And this place.” I look around Butcher and Block which is now nearly full of Sunday morning brunchers stopping in to grab something to eat after church. “This place means everything to Malcolm. My taking care of it is, like, a way I can take care of him while he’s gone.”
“Conrad told me he’s coming home this week,” Margaret offers with an uneasy tone.
“Who, Marshall?” Bailey quips and I try to hold back a laugh. Sometimes what they say about blondes is true but god do I love her anyway.
“No, sweetie, Malcolm,” I explain gently, patting her hand. Her head whips back with a gasp and mouths ‘ooooh.’
“When did he tell you that?” Magnolia looks at her friend out of the corner of her eye as she takes a sip of her coffee.
“When I was at his place yesterday,” Margaret says as if it’s not a big deal.
Magnolia sets her cup down a little too firmly and causes coffee to slosh over the sides. After wiping it up with her napkin, she turns to her friend. “You were at his house yesterday?” Her dumbfounded tone is shared across the table.
“ Yes ? Why are you acting like that’s so strange?” Margaret squints her eyes, annoyed by the third degree she’s getting.
“Because it’s Conrad and he’s as strange as they come,” Bailey deadpans.
“Mills isn’t strange, he’s just misunderstood.” Margaret rolls her eyes again and plays with the napkin in her lap instead of looking at any of us.
“Did you just call him Mills ? Are you two sleeping together?” Magnolia interrogates, leaning closer to her friend with a sly smile.
“Can we change the subject please?”
“Avoidance is a key indicator that someone’s hiding something. I’m going to go with yes,” Bailey quips.
“So he’s coming home this week?” I ask, willing to throw the poor girl a bone. She looks at me with grateful eyes and a smile that screams ‘thank you.’
“That’s what I was told,” she answers.
“By Conrad, the guy you’re totally not hooking up with but are just hanging out with and not telling anyone about…” Bailey sings under her breath, pushing her lips out like a fish and swinging her eyes over to Margaret who is now pouting.
“You didn’t know?” Magnolia asks, looking at me.
I shake my head and feel my lips pull into a tight line.
He’d told me he was doing a thirty day program and since it’s been thirty-three days since he left, I figured he would be coming home soon.
Not like I’m counting or anything.
Ever since he left my place and gave me Marshall’s ring, I’d worn it on a chain around my neck tucked under whatever shirt or jacket I had on. Each day, I’d feel it against my skin and it somehow made me feel closer to him. Even after what happened between us, after what he did, I still feel this pull to him that I can’t deny. Wearing the ring makes dealing with the ache of not being able to see him a little bit easier to bear.
“Have you heard from him?” Bailey asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Uhhh, no. I haven’t. But, I’m not really surprised. I didn’t expect to hear from him while he was gone.”
The three of them exchange a glance before setting their focus back on me.
“Are you going to see him once he’s home?” Magnolia questions, being the brave one to ask what they’re all dying to know.
My shoulders touch my ears as I shrug. “I don’t know, maybe. If he wants to see me. I don’t know if I’m ready to see him yet but…”
Bailey reaches over and squeezes my hand in hers. “Whatever you decide to do, sweetie, we support you. We know how hard this has been for you.”
“Thanks, B.” I hold her gaze for a beat before smiling at Magnolia and Margaret. The three of them look at me with so much love and reverence that I feel tears begin to prick my eyelids. Not because I’m sad about everything that’s happened between Malcolm and I, but because my heart is overwhelmed by how lucky I am to have such incredible women in my corner.
As the conversation starts again and morphs into a new, lighter subject, I realize that there’s no better medicine for the soul than a few hours sitting around the table with other women who see your heart and your faults and still choose to love you anyway.