“Ay, Grace, not everyone is thinking about lawsuits all the time.” Her mom rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide her amusement.
“Guess I’m blessed with seeing liability and disease vectors everywhere.” Grace swung open the door.
“Trick or treat!” a chorus of adorable Disney princesses chimed in unison.
Groups came and went every few minutes because Grace’s mother’s house was the candy-giving epicenter of a busy neighborhood. Tagging her mom in for her turn, Grace padded to the kitchen for a glass of wine.
She pulled her phone out of the pocket sewn into the side of her black leggings. Alix had been silent for the last few hours, but Grace found herself opening her text app anyway.
Bottle of Malbec on the counter, Grace slid onto the stool and scrolled through their messages. Chuckling at things that had already made her laugh once, Grace kind of missed her. And that was weird, because she shouldn’t miss someone she didn’t really know.
But Alix hadn’t responded since Grace said she was stopping at the pharmacy to overpay for candy that would go on sale in the morning. Of course Alix wasn’t staring at her phone onHalloween. She was probably at a party making out with some delightfully slutty nurse.
And why shouldn’t she? Alix was funny and cool and so sweet. She deserved a little cheap vinyl pressed against her thigh.
With a groan, Grace dropped her phone on the counter and poured a very generous glass of wine. She was a little tipsy when she padded back into the living room to catch her mom dumping a new bag of candy corn into the bowl.
“I’m not defending you if you get sued, lady,” Grace joked as she lay down on the love seat.
Head on a throw pillow and feet kicked up on the armrest, Grace found herself staring at her screen again. Curiosity lured her back to the Breakup Buddies app, but Alix hadn’t been on in weeks. The knowledge triggered a little satisfied tingle in her belly, but she didn’t stop to analyze it. Didn’t stop herself from opening her texts again.
Grace
Candy Corn: yay or nay?
The answer didn’t appear as quickly as usual, but that only made Grace’s thrill more acute when it did.
Alix
You think there’s a wrong answer here, don’t you?
Grace
There’s an objectively incorrect response.
Alix
I have a feeling you were a target of the Candy Corn smear campaign.
The front door opened again, letting in children’s screeching over theGhostbusterstheme song. Grace blamed the sudden noise for the jump in her pulse.
Alix
Why are you thinking about Candy Corn? Those delicious, chewy little nuggets of happiness. Alas, I’m vegan and no longer indulge.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Grace suppressed a grin. Candy corn was revoltingly sweet, but she couldn’t help finding Alix’s enthusiasm about them endearing.
Grace
Because my mom is dressed up as Typhoid Mary this year.
Alix
Wait. Are you handing out candy with your mom? This does not fit the cool lawyer vibe I imagined for you, but it’s very cute.
The “ha!” that escaped Grace’s mouth was mercifully muffled by the wall of sound that invaded the house when her mom opened the door again. No one had ever accused her of beingcool. A type-A, overachieving, overthinking, control freak? Definitely.
She was dizzy from the wine and mildly disoriented when the pathetic truth seeped through her thumbs.
