loser.
And maybe Mia was right.
Maybe I was holding out for a dream that might never come true.
“Did you handle the meat guy?” I asked Jess.
“Is that sexual or…?”
“No. I didn’t ask if you handled the meat of the meat guy… there’s a big difference.”
“How do you know it’s big?” Jess asked.
“I’m your boss. I can fire you.”
“You started it. I can sue you.”
“Truce?”
“Fine,” Jess said. “I handled the meat guy, but not his meat.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I went through the day’s orders again just to - again - check everything one more time.
That was my superpower.
The power of perfection with a touch of OCD.
It worked because we rarely had complaints or mistakes.
That was one thing Mia and I agreed upon… we were not going to accept bad work.
Gina worked her ass off to establish the business.
And locally, she did a decent amount of business.
For Mia and I, we wanted to survive off the business, which meant we had a long road ahead to keep going with it.
Mia stood at a table, writing notes by hand.
“Still doing that?” I asked.
Mia lifted a small card and showed it to me.
I shook my head.
She had the best handwriting I had ever seen in my life.
It was like calligraphy without her really trying.
So she sent handwritten notes to everyone who ordered something from us.
It kind of took a lot of her time, which was a good thing because it meant we were busy. At the same time, it was a bad thing because she really spent a lot of time writing out those notes.
She did do some of it at home, but she was getting to her breaking point with it. There were just too many orders to keep that practice going.
“Did you text the rock star back yet?” Mia asked with a sly grin.
“Do you really have to call him that?” I asked.
“What? That’s what he is.”
“It’s Sebastian.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” Mia said. She looked at me. “He’s Sab. Remember? You have to get it right. He will never be Sebastian ever again.”
“Then call him Sab,” I said.
“I like teasing you.”
“I can see that.”
“Hey,” Mia said. “Imagine if you were sexting with a rock star…”
“Stop.”
“Can’t I fantasize?”
“Do you want to sext with Sab?” I asked.
“I’m married,” Mia said.
“Exactly.”
“I can talk about it. Live vicariously, through you. Of course.”
“Oh, so you found a cheating loophole?” I smiled.
“Cheating?” Mia asked. “That’s not cheating. Like I don’t know that Ted watches porn on his phone and tries to clog the shower drain.”
“Ew,” I said.
“That’s not ew.”
“Yes it is. I don’t want to picture your husband… doing that…”
“Why?” Mia asked. “Is Ted not handsome to you?”
I laughed. “You are a gigantic trap, Mia. Wow.”
“I was perfectly content just handwriting notes here. You came over.”
“And you started up on Sab.”
“When I look at you, I see him. You two have been texting each other for how long? You’ve sabotaged every relationship… gee… I wonder why…”
“Mia, come on.”
“I’m just going to say it like I always do,” she said.
I folded my arms. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
“You and Sab were always friends. Please. You two danced around each other like idiots for so long. You don’t know how many times I just wanted to smash your faces together and tell you to just kiss and get it over with. Then he left. I get it. He met some guy playing guitar and just took off. He was going to go and become famous. The truth? He was running from you, Bree. He wanted to get away from the feelings. But they never died. He became rich and famous. You stuck around here. And you two casually just check in here and there. Lately it’s been more. You know that’s true.”
“He texts when he’s drunk.”
“He’s a rock star. Aren’t they always drunk?”
“Maybe,” I said. “Or not. There’s two different kinds of texts…”
“Right. The sober ones. When he wants to talk about the weather. Then the drunk ones. Which are the truthful ones.”
“Even if you’re right, there’s nothing I can do about it,” I said. “I’m here. He’s down in LA. It just doesn’t work. And I can’t even believe I’m even entertaining the idea for a second.”
“Long weekends,” Mia said. “He’s rich. You can fly down and back in no time. I mean, if what you’ve got going between your legs is worth it.”
“Thanks for saying that. I’m sure whatever woman he’s involved with is much better than… me…”
“You never know,” Mia said. “You’re the one who got away. You’re the