“Hey. Good. Hey. You’re not at work.” She sounds hyper.
“No. I took a couple personal days,” I say, and I’m about to continue talking, but she cuts me off.
“So, I’m coming over after work so I can be there with you for the waiting game or whatever it’s gonna be. What if dickhead doesn’t come up with the cash? What then? Have you had the nerve to ask Killian? Because I’ve thought a lot about this and maybe it’s better that you don’t ask. I don’t wanna say too much over the phone because anyone could be listening, but maybe it’s better to never ask questions. All that matters is that the son of a bitch is out of your life for good, right? You don’t need to know how that happens, you-”
“Whoa. Hold up there, SusieQ. Can I talk for a second?”
“Violet, listen to me… the dickhead is poison. He might be better off put out of his misery, and face it, there’s a good chance that’s how he’ll eventually wind up. Face down in a gutter. So, whether it’s now or later – don’t ask, don’t tell. Okay?”
“It’s already over!” I blurt, loud, so she’ll stop talking for a second.
“It’s what?”
“He showed up at Killian’s club last night with the money.”
“He what?”
“Yep.”
“What? Money? Like… non-Monopoly money? Actual cheddah? How much was it?”
Susanna sounds baffled. And rightly so.
“I know; I don’t know where it came from, but that’s what happened. Fourteen g’s. It was weird and awful and also amazing, because I told him what I thought of him. He thought I was actually gonna go back home with him and pick up where we left off. Can you believe that shit?”
“Holy shit.”
“Right? And that’s not all…” I take a sip of my coffee.
“What? Tell me! What?”
I smile.
“What, Violet? What?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Out with it, bestie, so help me…”
“I jumped Killian’s bones when we got back.”
Dead air for a second. I’m about to ask if she’s still there when I hear background noise.
“Sorry. I had to sit down. Keep talkin’,” she finally says.
“Then I tried to escape, thinking I was losing my-”
“You didn’t! Now I’m standing up again.”
“Only temporarily. I came to my senses sometime between midnight and dawn.”
“Oh? Oh! Are you saying you spent the night with him?”
“I am.” My face splits into a smile.
“And?”
“And he wants it to be the beginning, not a one-off, so… it’s the beginning.” I’m smiling so wide. “And do you wanna come to Numbers for a fun night tomorrow night,” I add. “I’m gonna call a couple of the girls from work.”
“Not that and. And how was last night?” She sounds so annoyed with me.
I sigh heavily. “I’m on cloud nine,” I tell her. “Cloud ninety-nine.”
“He’s good in bed? I knew it. The way he walks, the way he carries himself, girl… I had a feeling. Please tell me he exceeds expectations.”
I sober. “Well…”
There’s dead silence on the other end of the line as she waits, but I can feel her deflating.
“I’m surprised I’m walking today. I should be on medical bedrest,” I whisper.
Susanna giggles and then sighs. “So it was good.”
“It was better than good. It was everything, Suse. It was intimacy, eye contact, feeling special, feeling like there was no one else he’d rather be with. And then…”
“And then?”
“Spooning.”
She makes a sound like she’s about to expire.
“I know!” I exclaim. “Twice last night and then again this morning before he left.”
“Girl, I’m a peanut butter ‘n jelly sandwich right now! Big and beautiful?”
“Oh yes, very. Suse, I’m telling you – he is amazing. I haven’t told you the half of how amazing he is because I’ve been-”
“On dat River de Nile?”
“Yeah.”
“Dickhead Dumbass Deathray broke you. Dreamboat’s fixing you,” she says.
“I gotta fix me, though. You know?”
“You will. I’ll help. He’ll help. Group effort.”
“I love you. I’m so sorry I let Ray get between us,” I say.
“I know. And I love you too. Let’s look forward, okay? Let’s make his name a swear word. But not an every day one. The name Ray is like the c-word … we only use that cuss when we absolutely need to.”
I cackle. “Gotcha.”
She laughs, too.
“You mean the world to me, Suse,” I tell her.
“Right back atcha babe. I gotta get back to work. Text me later. Or tomorrow. I’m totally in for tomorrow night. And I’m happy for you. So happy.”
“Perfect. And thank you.”
“Hey, you mind if I invite Brit? I want you to meet her.”
“Oh. Uh… okay,” I say.
“She’s great. You’ll love her. But hey… Violet?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re my bestest bestie. You. Okay?”
“Okay,” I say again, and I know she heard the difference between the okays. I hear it myself; I certainly feel it.
She knows I feel guilty. And jealous.
We say our goodbyes and I get a text.
Killian: Good morning, beautiful. In the middle of something but I’ll call you soon.