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Tuesday morning was gray, and storm clouds loomed in the distance as I peddled to work. Bronte had texted the group thread earlier about her latest fight with her boyfriend, Hunter. They’d been together since college, and I had lost almost all my patience with the guy.
You think it might be time to cut the cord? He’s hot one day, cold the next. You don’t need that.
I ducked inside the store when the rain began to fall. Alex greeted me with a wave of a dustrag. “A good day to get some cleaning done. How was it yesterday? Any customers?”
“A few.” I put my bike and bag in the storage room, carrying a broom back to the front to help. “How was your day off?”
“Great. And thank you so much for working. We went hiking, had a picnic on the mountain, and had a little too much to drink. You know, the usual. Did you get to do anything fun last night?”
“I, uh…” My cell phone buzzed in her pocket with a message.
Sam
What do you want to do, B?
“Nothing good, then?” Alex asked, skirting around me and my phone in the middle of the floor.
“No, it was…”
Bronte
I have to think about it.
You mean make a list? ??
Bronte
YES
Laney
??
“It was?”
I finally lifted my attention to Alex. “Sorry, what?”
He propped a hand on his hip, his eyelids highlighted in a shimmery yellow and white. “Your day, it was…?”
“Remember the guy I told you about?”
He crossed his arms, always ready for tea. “Jason, the Boy Scout. Yes, of course. What happened?”
That was when my phone vibrated with a group FaceTime call. It was the easiest way for all of us to chat together, and I immediately answered.
Alex rolled his eyes. “You know your boss is standing right here.”
I stepped up next to him and adjusted the angle so we were both on screen. Bronte, Sam, and Laney all appeared in their boxes. “Hi!”
Alex took stole my broom to lean on it, grinning into the phone. “Hello, lovely ladies.”
The girls all greeted him cheerfully, even Laney, who was still in bed, her naturally curly hair spread out on the pillow.
“Am I the only one who ever works?” I said, and Alex snorted behind me. The girls all had similar reactions. Laney was the social media manager for the Giants in San Francisco, Sam was currently working on her doctorate in psychology, and Bronte taught at a middle school.
“I only have five minutes before the bell rings,” she said. “This is my free period.”
Laney yawned. “You’re the one who wanted a team huddle? It’s not even seven here yet.”
