grimaced. “Sure, if I want to do menopause commercials or print ads for incontinence.”
“Adult diapers?” Hope sputtered, barely able to contain her laughter. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Joy turned her phone around and showed them the email. “It says right here that they want someone to model these special ‘urine collecting bottoms that are made to look like underwear.’ Kind of like that period underwear I keep seeing advertised all over social media.”
Gigi grimaced. “They want you to model underwear?”
“You’re lucky you have such great legs,” Grace said solemnly. “You could model underwear with no issues. I’d have to get some sort of cellulite treatment first.”
“I’m not modeling incontinence underwear!” Joy said, looking scandalized. “That’s almost as bad as appearing in an STI ad.”
“Do they want you to do one of those, too?” Hope asked. “I hear the largest segment of new STI outbreaks are in retirement communities.”
Joy pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head. “No, thank the gods. But do remind me never to move to a retirement community.”
“Oh, honey. You’ll be fine. Just remember to use a condom and get tested regularly,” Hope said, patting her friend’s knee.
Gigi chuckled, enjoying the exchange between her friends. Contentment settled around her, making her feel both strange and happy at the same time. This dynamic was new for her. She’d never had a group of friends to lean on before and the more time she spent with them, the more she started to feel something mend inside of her that had been shattered years ago. The thought made her think of Sebastian again, and she involuntarily scowled.
“Whoa. What’s that about?” Hope asked, reaching over and squeezing Gigi’s knee. “You look like you’re ready to murder someone.”
Tears suddenly stung Gigi’s eyes while her throat tightened. Oh, gods, she prayed to herself. I can’t fall apart like this. Not now.
Joy sucked in a sharp breath as her body went rigid.
Gigi stared at the woman, watching with wide eyes as horror flashed over Joy’s pale face. She reached out suddenly, grasping at the air, and then let out a choked sound before blinking rapidly.
“What did you see, Joy?” Grace asked gently.
Tears streamed down Joy’s face unchecked as she turned to Gigi and grabbed her hand tightly in both of her own. “I’m so sorry, Gigi. I just… um, I just saw the moment when your mom was abducted.” Joy glanced around the circle before meeting Gigi’s eyes again. “Did they ever find out what happened to her?”
Gigi’s head started to spin as her heart sped up, making her feel like it was going to beat right out of her chest. “She was abducted? Are you sure? What did you see?” she choked out, having no doubt that her friend had really had a vision about her mother. She’d known all along that her mother must have been taken by someone. She would’ve never left Gigi like that. But this was the first time there had been any sort of confirmation. Hope and dread warred for dominance, making her chest ache even more.
“I…” Joy closed her eyes as if concentrating, and then when she opened them again, she turned to Gigi, but her voice dropped to a whisper as if she didn’t want to put the words out into the world. “All I saw was a person larger than her, wearing a mask and gloves, come up and grab her from behind. The next image was the police arresting Sebastian.”
Pain exploded in Gigi’s chest. It was the first confirmation of what she’d known had to have happened to her mother. That didn’t make it any easier to process, though. There was a small part of her that had always been on the lookout for her mother’s beautiful blond hair and kind green eyes. Now even that small thread of hope had been snatched from her.
“Gigi?” Joy asked. “Are you all right?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. That sharp pain that was always present when Gigi thought about that time in her life intensified, making her stomach cramp. It had been the single worst two weeks of her life. Her mother had vanished, and then her best friend had been arrested for her mother’s disappearance. Ultimately, there hadn’t been anything other than circumstantial evidence against Sebastian and he’d been released. But the missing persons case had never been solved.
And now after all these years, not only did she have confirmation that her mother had been abducted, a ghost had also told