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“Ready for what?”
“Dinner. Your dad said he wants veal cutlets tonight. I’ve got to defrost them and make the salad and the pasta. Come into the kitchen and help me start dinner. Then go straighten up the living room.”
Ant eyed up her frazzled mom. “I’m going to take a nap.”
“A nap?!”
“Yeah. A nap.”
“But I need help.”
“You want me to look good for tonight don’t you? ”
“Well, yes. But a nap? You can’t take a nap.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll depoof your hair!”
“We can only hope,” said Ant, as she ignored her mom’s protests and headed upstairs.
She got to her room and closed the door. Ant sat down at her childhood desk. On it was a standing mirror that she sometimes used to put her makeup on in high school.
She took a long, hard, look at her face. She barely recognized herself. Her poofed up, over teased hair cascaded around her ridiculously rouged cheeks and framed her Jersey shore, going out, Whoop! Whoop! full on guidette, makeup job. “What am I doing?”
An hour or so later Nikki came home, all sweaty and greasy from a day slinging cheesesteaks. A day covering for Ant who was supposed to be working. She had cut her thumb, banged her elbow and sprayed mustard all over her shirt when she grabbed a handful of packets and one gave way. On top of that she’d had a huge fight with a sketchy slacker who insisted he gave her the wrong change.
She hadn’t. But Cap made her give him the money anyway and then yelled at her when the drawer was short. All in all it had been a pretty sucky day.
Nikki took a peek in the living room and saw all the packages. New clothes, makeup, shoes, some expensive hair care products from the salon… All so Ant could go out with Patrick tonight.
“Really?” she asked out loud, to nobody but herself. “I worked all day covering for her and she gets all this and the guy. Unbelievable…”
Nikki walked to the kitchen where she found her aunt on the phone and the counter covered with the unfinished makings of dinner.
“No, tonight. Yes, the Deputy Mayor. Yes, that’s what I said.” Mrs Cap was on the phone. She’d made close to thirty calls in the last thirty minutes. Which must be some kind of record.
She was working the phones hard, making sure that everyone knew Ant had a date with Patrick. She noticed Nikki and put her hand over the mouthpiece.
“Go wake up your cousin.”
Nikki looked at her cynically.
Mrs Cap stomped her foot and reite
rated through clenched teeth. “Go.”
Reluctantly, Nikki climbed the stairs, grumbling to herself the whole time. When she got to Ant’s room she knocked on the door. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. Nikki opened the door only to find that Ant wasn’t in there. She checked the bathroom and the rest of the upstairs before heading back down.
“Where is she?” Mrs Cap was finally off the phone and nuking veal cutlets thirty seconds at a time hoping to power defrost them. They were looking kind of gray.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Did you check her room?”
“Yep.”
“And she wasn't there?”
