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“As if you care,” Taylor said, with her hands folded and her lips pouted.
“Then why don’t you let me in?” Alina asked, and her friend moved aside so that she could pass, closing the door behind her.
Taylor’s apartment was just as exquisite as Alina’s, that is, before she suffered the pain of heartache. There were three cream-colored couches in her sitting room, positioned in a semicircle with a coffee table made of glass in the center. This table matched the triangular glass cabinet in the corner. Taylor also had a forty-two-inch television on the wall.
The unique splash of gold in Taylor’s kitchen was the highlight of this room. Alina remembered how she jumped and squeaked when she first saw it in the store, though she didn’t know why Taylor bothered to put so much effort into a room she hardly used. Taylor’s housekeeper always kept the kitchen stocked, but she usually had to take the food away or throw it out.
The bedroom was where Taylor displayed her elegantly classic style, since she believed it was the most used room in the entire apartment. As she headed there now, Alina followed closely behind.
“Taylor, I need your help?” Alina asked her friend as Taylor allowed her body to drop on the bed.
“Can’t it wait till tomorrow?” she whined. “In case you forgot, tonight was ladies’ night. The party doesn’t stop because you leave early.”
Alina ignored her. “I need you to call Lee.”
Taylor’s head flew up, and she stared at Alina with wide eyes. Then she placed her hand on her temple. “I must be drunker than I thought. I thought you asked me to call Lee.”
“That’s because I did, Taylor,” Alina said matter-of-factly, knowing Taylor and Lee’s complicated friendship. But Lee was one of Dereck’s friends and he would most likely know where to find Dereck.
Taylor pressed her fingers against her temples. “And why would I do that?”
Alina gave a wide smile and interlinked her fingers at her lap before blurting out. “Because you are my best friend and I desperately need to find Dereck.” Then she said more calmly. “He wasn’t at the hospital or his apartment and his neighbor said he took a trip.” She blew out hard. “He even left his plant.”
Taylor shook her head. “And what do you intend to do after you find out where he has gone?”
Alina responded confidently, “Whatever I need to.”
Taylor said nothing to Alina, but stretched for her phone and pressed some keys.
“Hi Lee,” she said after a while, then there was a pause. Taylor turned her body away from Alina and spoke in a hushed tone, but Alina still heard. “Stop it, Lee. That’s not why I’m calling.” Her cheeks were flustered when she laughed. “Anyway.” Her tone regularized. “Do you know where Dereck is?” Taylor listened while Lee spoke. “You’ll be doing me a huge favor.” Then she forced Alina to look into her eyes. “Drinks at Tipsy - my treat. I’ll do anything for my best friend.”
Alina swallowed hard but said nothing. When Taylor was finished with the call, she asked. “Did you find out where he is?”
Taylor thrust out her chest and raised her chin. “Was there any doubt?”
Alina drew closer to her friend and held her hand. “So where is he?”
“Never forget what I do for you, okay?” Then Taylor paused to increase the mystery. With a smile on her face, she said. “He’s in his hometown in Connecticut.”
When Alina didn’t say a word but simply gathered her bag and headed to the door, Taylor asked, “Where are you going?”
Alina spun around, a smile on her face. “To get my man back.”
“Not without me, you don’t. I’m overdue for a road trip,” Taylor declared.
15
The drive to Connecticut was like a scene taken straight out of a fantasy novel. Though they stuck to mostly highways and main roads, there was no avoiding the lush and vibrant trees that lined the road and the mountainside. Occasionally, the women passed streams and rivers and stopped to splash in the water and capture the moment on their phones.
They passed acres of grassy farmlands and coastal towns where time seemed to just stop. The women allowed their hair to flow in the wind and Alina became just as rowdy as her friend, almost forgetting the true nature of the visit.
“This is awesome,” Taylor said as she rolled down the car window, partially sticking her head outside to take a deep inhale.
“Girl, are you mad?” Alina scolded from the driver’s seat.
“Come on, there’s no one else on this road,” Taylor countered. “It’s the perfect time to let your hair loose.”
Alina gripped the steering wheel tighter and said, “Well, you better pull your head back in now because I see traffic upfront.”
