Chapter 1 #2
“I was just getting out of here,” Marjorie says. She picks up her cup, sloshing coffee back onto the countertop and on the floor, too. “Tina, please call me as soon as Ryan is home. I’m really worried about him. He hasn’t answered his phone in over an hour.”
Marjorie steps out of the kitchen, but slows when she reaches me. She frowns, her eyes wide like I’m the most horrible thing she’s ever seen. Then she looks at Tina, shakes her head, and heaves the world’s loudest sigh. With that, she takes off.
I raise an eyebrow, then look back at Tina. She grabs another paper towel and wipes up the new mess Marjorie left. I wait until I hear the front door closing before I say anything.
“Why is she so worried about Ryan?”
Tina rolls her eyes and breathes out an amused sigh. “Don’t even get me started. Go get cleaned up and then let’s have a glass of wine.”
I let myself into her bathroom. I undress and take a quick shower, then put on Tina’s fluffy white robe. When I come out, Tina takes my clothes and throws them in the wash. She has one of those washer-dryer combos that doesn’t need to be switched over when it’s done washing.
“They’ll be dry by the time you leave,” she promises.
She pours us each a glass of wine and then we sit down on her white couch. I wonder if she’d be upset if I spilled this red wine on it. Something tells me she wouldn’t be. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tina get upset about anything. She’d probably just buy a new couch.
“I have to tell you something, Priscilla.” She pulls her bare feet up under her, a big smile on her face.
I take a long sip of wine. She doesn’t know that I’ve been fired yet. She looks excited about whatever she’s about to say, so I figure I’ll let her have her fun and then tell her later when the time is right.
“Yeah?” I prod when she doesn’t continue.
She maintains her smile for a while longer until she can’t keep it in anymore. “I’m getting married,” she squeals.
I almost choke on my wine. “Really? Ryan proposed? When?”
I look at her left hand, searching for a giant flashy diamond, but she isn’t wearing a ring.
“He didn’t propose.”
I frown. “Then how do you know you’re getting married? Did you find a ring in his drawer or something? Ugh. I told you not to snoop.”
She rolls her eyes. “No, nothing like that. I decided that I’m going to do it. I’m going to propose to him .”
My eyes go wide. I’m not sure I hear her correctly. “You’re going to propose to Ryan?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“But… what if he says no?” The question leaves my mouth before I can stop myself, but Tina doesn’t seem to mind.
“To me?” She laughs and brushes a lock of blond hair off her shoulder. “Come on.”
I know that she’s right. I’ve never seen anyone more in love than Ryan when he looks at Tina. Even so, her news has caught me off guard. I take a second to process it, and then I feel a laugh bubble out of me. This is so Tina.
“This is exciting,” I tell her. “How are you going to do it?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” She leans back and smiles up at the ceiling like she’s picturing her future.
This is a good distraction from the fact that I’m jobless now. Maybe I can forget about what happened for a little while longer. “Tell me more. Did you get him a ring? How does that work?”
“I haven’t bought one yet. I just decided today.
I think I want to do a giant public proposal and make a big scene, like the types of proposals that you see go viral online.
Did I ever tell you that my mom proposed to my dad?
” She’s told me this a dozen times, but I don’t interrupt.
She loves retelling this story. “She proposed to him at Disney World. She was the first person to ever do a Disney proposal.”
I loved listening to this story when we were preteens.
I’ve heard different versions of it over the years from her mom, her dad, and Tina herself.
Each version of the story focuses on different details, with her mom and dad each remembering things the other had long forgotten, but all three versions end the same: with a husband and wife who were very happy together for eighteen long years, and a daughter who loves retelling their story.
Back then, I believed every word of it, but these days, I’m a little more skeptical.
I’m sure her mom proposed at Disney World, but she probably wasn’t the first person to do it.
Tina’s eyes light up every time she retells this story, though.
Maybe that tiny detail doesn’t matter. It’s Tina’s favorite story.
Everyone who knows her knows how her parents got engaged.
“They were surrounded by all of their family and friends and hundreds of strangers. And then, when my mother gave my father the ring, the sky lit up with fireworks, and they rode off in a carriage pulled by white horses.” She looks up at the ceiling while she talks, and a smile forms on her lips.
“I wish I could have been there. I wish they could have met Ryan.”
Her smile fades as her eyes come back down. She looks at me and, realizing she’s stopped, she smiles again. “That’s what I want,” she says with a determined nod. “All that and more. I want to feel like my parents are there, watching.”
I nod with her. “I love it. And I love that you’re doing this. They would have loved Ryan.”
Tina smiles, then leans back and sips her wine. “He’s going to be so surprised. I want all of our family and friends to see it. It’s going to be so magical.”
I smile. I can imagine it too. For a moment, I forget all about what happened earlier today. But then, like an annoying fly, the reminder that I lost my job today returns. My smile slips.
Tina reaches her foot across the couch and kicks my knee. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
I don’t want to take away from her moment, so I frown, pretending I don’t know what she’s talking about. “Nothing. Tell me more about the proposal.”
She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. She’s always been able to see right through me. I don’t know why I think I can hide this from her. I sigh.
“I got fired.”
Her eyes go wide. “Are you serious? Today?”
“Yes, today.”
“But that was, like, your dream job. And you were so good at it. What happened?”
“One of our vendors dropped the ball on a really big client’s fundraiser.
They ended up needing a last-minute caterer, which I managed to arrange, but since the food wasn’t exactly what they had on the menu, and it was over an hour late, the client was pissed.
They needed someone to blame, and since I was the new girl, and in charge of booking the caterer, I got canned. ”
“The new girl? You’ve been there for a year.”
“You know what’s the stupidest part about this whole thing?
The client was the one who chose the caterer that dropped the ball.
We had never even worked with that caterer before, but apparently the big boss had attended an event that was catered by them, thought it was the best food ever, and demanded that we use them for the fundraiser. ”
“That’s not fair. Didn’t you explain that to your boss?”
“Oh, he knew damn well that’s what happened. He knew it wasn’t my fault. I know he did. But I guess Malcolm Ridges said that if he didn’t fire me, he would sue them. Can’t disappoint a top client, I guess.” I roll my eyes.
“Malcolm Ridges? Isn’t he the president of that local charity? Guess I’m never donating to them again.”
“I shouldn’t have said his name. ANY-Time are a great organization and they do wonderful things. They lost money from donors because of the whole caterer situation, so I guess I can understand why he was upset. I just hate that it cost me my job.”
“I’m pissed for you. What are you going to do?”
I shrug. “Look for another job, I guess. What else is there to do?”
“You could start your own business like you’ve been talking about for ages. To be honest, I felt like your talents were being wasted there anyway. We both know you can do so much more than book caterers.”
“Starting my own business would cost a lot of money, and with the amount of student loan debt I have, it’s just not realistic.”
“I could help you out.”
I smile. I shouldn’t be surprised by how readily she offers to help.
Tina has always been the first person to jump in and help someone in need as long as I’ve known her.
I love that about her, but there are some things that I need to figure out on my own, so I shake my head.
“No. I could never ask you to do that. If my business failed, and I had no way of paying you back, it would ruin our friendship.”
“You don’t have to pay me back. Consider it a gift. How much do you need?”
I laugh. “I’m serious, Tina. I’m not taking your money. I’ll look for a job.”
“What if it takes a while to get one? What will you do?”
“If I have to, I’ll apply for unemployment.” And if times get really tough, I could always sell my fancy left-handed tape dispenser that I definitely didn’t steal from work. I’m sure I could get eight bucks for it on eBay.
She wrinkles her perfectly manicured brows. “Unemployment?” The word stumbles out of her mouth like she can’t believe I would consider such a thing.
“Yes. Just until I get a new job.”
“So you’ll accept money from the government, but not from me?”
“The government and I aren’t friends. Besides, my employer paid for unemployment insurance. That money is there to be used by people like me.”
“What about your apartment? Is unemployment enough to pay your rent?”
“I haven’t looked into it yet. I don’t know.”
“You can stay here if you need to.”
I’m not going to lie. I’ve thought about what it would be like to live in this house.
It’s a thousand times nicer than my apartment, and Tina and I have lived together before, so I know that we’re compatible.
At least we were before our careers took us in different directions and our financial situations became a bit lopsided.