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Thankfully, my vibrating phone saved me. “I need to get this.” It wasn’t urgent. Or maybe it was. I could use Georgia to talk some sense into me. “Hello?” I said as I walked to my office.
“Sis, we are going out tonight.”
“We? As in you and…” I waited to hear what she had to say because theweshe spoke of couldn’t include me. If I was dropping probes on patients, the last thing I needed was to be out and about around people. “I have a pint of ice cream and a bag of chips in my cart, ready for someone to deliver as soon as I leave the office.”
“Oh, hell no,” her voice boomed into the earpiece of my phone.
I pulled the phone away and wiped my ear against my shoulder. From a distance I said, “Chill. It’s fine. You and whoever have a great time.”
She argued, “Tati is already on board. Go home. Change and be ready by six.”
It was already four thirty. I stuck to my position. Determined to have another night alone, with my coping mechanisms. “No, Georgia. I’m not going.”
“Think we won’t be at your house.” Sadly, I knew they would. After the Shawn debacle they showed up. Georgia used her spare key to enter since I wouldn’t get out of the bed to open the door. I meant to grab it from her then.
“Remind me to take that key from you. It’s only foremergencies.”
She laughed into the phone. A cackle that rivaled that of the wicked witch of the west. “And this isn’t an emergency?” She scoffed, “Heartbreak is always an emergency.” I didn’t envy her over-dramatics. As a kid, it got her out of a lot of situations. Only because my parents would grow tired of her long monologues at the dinner table.
“Have fun,” I said in a chipper voice. I wasn’t at a dinner table. Not face to face with her. My finger hovered over the red button on my phone. One click, and her rant would be put to rest. “Bye, sis.” I ended the call and opened the delivery app. One other click, and mint chocolate chip and chili cheese Fritos would be at my door by the time I arrived.
Even if my cheeks didn’t rise to the occasion, my stomach did a happy dance of its own. One of epic proportions. As I walked from my office, I realized I worked straight through lunch. “Goodnight,” I called out as I reached the front door. Their responses trailed behind me. I had ice cream and chips to get to and had no time to waste.
On my drive home, thoughts of Angelo re-entered the scene.Ugh.I groaned and rolled my eyes. Dating would be a thorn in my side. It could have been the reason why I overlooked issues with Shawn. In college, the men I went out with didn’t stand a chance. Many of them made it clear they only wanted to fuck. Others, weren’t interesting in the least. Then there was Shawn. In comparison to the rest, he was a ray of sunshine. Someone who brightened my bad days and made me laugh through the good ones. He had a few red flags. Not interested in my post-college plans; couldn’t care less about the things I loved most; and doing very little towoome.
I convinced myself I didn’t need all that. That those things didn’t make or break my relationship. At least he wasn’t a bore. A nice-looking man and had a career.Yeah, my standards were ground level.
Then there’s Angelo. Someone who was nothing like Shawn—at first. Did I look past his red flags because he waswooingme? Maybe.
I pulled into my driveway. A smile finally greeting my face as the bag of ice cream and chips sat waiting on me at the front door. I skipped over like a kid in the park to swoop it up. But then I heard a car screech to a stop in my driveway and my shoulders sagged.
“Gigi.” I blinked my eyes closed when I heard the high-pitched squeal of my sister. I tried to rush into the house, lock the door behind me. But she banged on it, then reminded me, “I have a key, silly. Open the door so I don’t have to dig it from the abyss of my purse.”
“Fine.” I opened it and stared at her. “But if you aren’t ordering your own pint of ice cream to sulk with me on the couch, I don’t know why you are here.”
“To borrow a pair of shoes.” She waltzed past me like she didn’t need my permission to grab them.
“What?”
“Pair of shoes,” she uttered slowly. “Tati will be here soon to pick me up. Told youweare going out.” Her emphasis had me side-eyeing her, but since she wasn’t begging me to leave, I went to the kitchen.
The ice cream didn’t make it into the fridge, and the chips sat on the counter waiting for their turn. With a large scoop hovering in front of my mouth, I watched as Georgia carried a dress on a hanger toward me.
“This.” She shoved it in my face. “Put it on.” She dangled a pair of shoes next. “They don’t match what you’ll be wearing but are perfect for my dress.” She tilted her head to the side. “Can I?”
I hunched my shoulders. “Whatever,” I grunted. “I’m not going though.”
Then the doorbell rang, and I shoved another scoop of ice cream into my mouth. Tatiana and Georgia were loud enough for me to hear they were chatting. Not enough for me to hear the plan they were devising though.
As soon as Tatiana entered the kitchen, I said, “No. I’m not going.”
Tatiana rolled her eyes and groaned. “Ugh, this should be an easy decision. Last time the three of us went out together we bagged three rich, sexy men. I mean…” She shrugged. “Seems like a no brainer to me.”
“That’s a once in a lifetime type of luck,” I urged. “And if you are leaving with those type of expectations, then you’ll only be disappointed at the end of the night.” I sucked on my spoon, the cool mint and punch of chocolate making me more at ease than the conversation.
Tatiana pointed at me. “You’re right. It doesn’t even matter if we don’t meet anyone. You need to get back in the game. Remember what it’s like to be free. Free from expectations, and,” she flared her hands through the air, “bullshit.”
I huffed. “Bullshit is right.” My eyes rolled slowly as I dug an even bigger scoop of ice cream from the carton.
