Page 48 of Derivation

“Okay. Let’s go,” Gabi said, walking out of her room. “And, hey, if you want to stay longer, I’ll take an Uber back or something. I don’t know how long I’ll want to be there. I have to work tomorrow, and it’s only my third week there, so I don’t want to piss off my new boss just yet.”

“Yeah, save that for a real party, not one of Violet’s,” she joked.

Gabi chuckled and asked, “Is it going to be boring?”

“I don’t know,” she said as they walked into the living room and headed toward the front door. “Stella has been a pretty good influence on her, so Vi has been taking things a little less seriously instead of having a stick up her ass all the time.”

“So, it’s only up there some of the time?”

“Yes, exactly.” She laughed and pulled open the door. “It might be fun. I don’t know who else is going to be there. I imagine Jen and her girlfriend, Haley. I’ve met Jen a few times, but Haley only once. They both seem fine, but Stella has probably invited more people I don’t know, so we’ll have to see.”

“Can we work out a code word?” Gabi asked.

“A code word?”

Sarai locked the door and turned around to see Gabi walking toward her car.

“If one of us wants to go home, we say the word, and the other one can make up some excuse so that we can leave. If it’s really lame, we can grab burritos and bring them back, watch something, and just chill.”

“Burritos?”

“The place we got tacos from the other night was really good. I want to try their burritos, and I’m guessing Violet and Stella will not be serving those.”

Sarai laughed and unlocked her car with her key fob.

“I don’t even think I’ve ever seen Violet eat a burrito. Whenever we’ve gotten tacos, she always gets a soft taco and tries to roll it like a burrito and then eats it with a fork so it’s not as messy. She was very rich before we started our company. Please forgive her.”

Gabi got into the car, and Sarai got behind the wheel.

“No forgiveness necessary. And I’m thinking burritos.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“No, I meant as the code word. I can say that I had a great burrito the other day or something, and that’s me telling you that I’m ready to leave.”

Sarai laughed and pulled them out of the driveway.

“And if I say it, we go, too?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Deal.”

They talked more as they drove, mainly about the music choices on Sarai’s playlists, and when they arrived at Violet and Stella’s house, the trip felt like it took no time at all.

“Hey, about time,” Arlowe said as they walked through the unlocked door.

“We left, like, thirty seconds after you,” Gabi told her.

“And they’re almost out of roast beef sandwiches. You should grab one before they go.”

“I don’t like roast beef,” Gabi replied.

“They have other stuff, too,” Enya added. “Vi’s in the kitchen. Stella is in the backyard. She’s actually grilling stuff.”

“They went all out, huh?” Sarai asked, nodding to the table they’d set up in the living room with just about every kind of alcohol and mixer on it.

“There’s beer in the fridge, too. It’s like a real grown-up party.”