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Estelle:Hey, hope you didn’t forget about me now that you’ve moved on to bigger and better things ?? Lunch date today? I’ve got some tea to spill about your girl Daniella and Janine ??
Just the thought of going near HC Bookstore after I had been fired gave me heart palpitations, but I did want to see Estelle. I missed her.
Ciara: Lunch sounds good! This tea, however, does not. Are you okay?
Estelle:Oh yeah, girl, I’m fine. But Daniella and Janine aren’t ??????
Estelle:See you around noon?
Ciara:Noon works; see you then!
Intrigued, I continued eating my breakfast, letting my mind wander. What could Daniella have possibly done that would require Estelle tospill the teaabout it? The most evil of spirits seemed to prosper, and that was always apparent with Daniella. I burned with curiosity about what she’d done.
I left the apartment by eleven, taking my time going down Route 9 and enjoying the sunlight streaming through the windows. I felt a pang of nostalgia as I parked in the HC Bookstore parking lot, remembering a time before Nathan when things were simpler and I wasn’t wondering why my husband was avoiding sex with me.
When I got into the bookstore, Estelle came from the front register. “Girl, I’ve been waiting for you to get here,” she said, grabbing her purse. “Let’s go.”
We left the way I came in, Estelle waving to a handsome man with a nametag that I had never met. When we got outside and started walking, she turned to me with a grin.
“So, how have things been?” she asked. Then, she raised an eyebrow. “Thanks for calling me to tell me about your engagement, by the way.”
I grimaced. “I’m so sorry,” I rushed to say. “Things just happened so fast, and all of a sudden, I had all of these things to plan…”
She laughed. “I’m just playing with you, C,” she said, bumping my shoulder. She opened the door to the cafe, gesturing for me to go in first. When she stepped in beside me, she said, “I know how these things get. My cousin went through it last year, and it was anightmare.Between venue shopping and bridal expos…it was a hot ass mess. I get it.”
Her eyes lit up. “Found us a table,” she explained, marching toward an empty two-seater in the middle of the room. We both sat down, taking off our coats, and I leaned toward her.
“So,” I said in a low voice. “Tell me about you. Tell me about what I missed! What’s going on with Daniella?”
She looked over my shoulder and hers. “I don’t know if I should say anything right now,” she muttered. “It’s crowded in here, and I don’t know who might be looking for gossip today…”
“It’s me! I’m looking for gossip. Please tell me,” I pleaded. “I need a good laugh today.”
“Okay, fine,” she relented. “But you gotta keep this to yourself, okay? I’m not sure if they’re gonna break the news publicly.”
I made the sign of an X on my chest. “Of course.”
She bit her lip, grinning nonetheless. “Daniella got fired yesterday.”
“What?” I screeched. Estelle’s eyes widened pointedly, and I lowered my voice. “What do you mean she gotfired? For what?”
“For embezzling money,” Estelle answered with a smirk. “HerandJanine. The bookstore hasn’t been doing well since Daniella got brought on as manager, and as it turns out, they had been investigating what was happening with the profits. The day you got fired and the higher-ups were here? That was one of the days they came to see what was going on. They did tell Daniella that she had to fire someone, and youknowshe’s had it out for you, so she probably figured it was a win-win situation. But then, they really started digging into it and found out where the profits were going.
“Somehow, Janine was involved in it, but she got off easy. She threw Daniella under the bus to save her own ass, of course, so she was simply transferred to another department on campus. Daniella, however…well, I heard that the college is coming after herand all her money. They might even take it to court.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Wow,” I said. “Geez.”
“I know, right! I wanted to tell you as soon as the news broke, but I didn’t know what you were up to.Somepeople forget a bitch when they find a fine-ass rich dude.” Estelle gave me a sour look. “Have me out here in these streets finding outthrough the grapevinethat my work wife is married. We go from seeing each other, like, all the time, tothat.” She pursed her lips.
“I know, I’m sorry again.” I sighed. “Like I said, these last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, and I can’t believe how fast everything has happened. But that’s no excuse for not telling you.”
She waved this away. “Water under the bridge. Between planning what I assume will be the wedding of the year, and then having to move in with him, meet his sister, all that…it’s a lot.”
My eyes widened. “How did you know I moved in with him??” I asked.
Estelle shot me a look that said,Girl, how do you think I know?“Gossiping grannies,” she said by way of explanation.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. But yeah, it’s been a lot. His family is really nice, though! I’ve been planning the wedding with Mack, his younger sister.”
