“Hey, Manny.”
“Girl. Tell me we can have lunch together today.”
Rett winces at the pleading in her best friend’s voice. “That bad, huh?”
“So bad.”
“Alright. Uh, Dianne’s?”
“Perf. See you in five.”
“Man—”
But it’s too late: Manny has hung up. Rett giggles even as she shakes her head. She tucks her phone into her back pocket and pads to the front door. Once she’s slid a pair of sandals onto her feet, she clicks her tongue. Orpheus bounds over, and she crouches beside him to slide the muzzle over his head and attach the leash. He gives her a dopey smile, falling into step as soon as she stands upright.
Manny is sitting at a two-seater on the café patio by the time the car comes to a stop between two white lines out front. Rett frowns at the mass of chocolate tangles surrounding her best friend’s face. Even from this far away, she can see the tightness in Manny’s expression, the slip of a feigned easygoing nature. Rett slides out of the driver’s seat, reaching back to wrap her fingers around the leash. Orpheus follows obediently as she heads toward the patio. Manny smiles slightly and relaxes into the metal chair.
Rett sits, commands Orpheus to lie at her feet, then meets Manny’s gaze. She hasn’t seen her best friend this anxious since their Textiles final in college. The class had been the one in which Manny struggled most, so her nerves had nearly gotten the best of her. Something tells Rett that this is nothing like an exam.
“I’m about to get fired,” Manny says without preamble, and her hands darts out for the cloth napkin beside her glass of water. “I’m a hundred percent sure.”
Rett raises a brow, her lips tugging down into a frown. “What makes you think that?”
“I screwed up an enormous order. Like, thousands of dollars’ worth.”
Rett listens as Manny spills the entire story, from delivering the wrong patterns to ordering the wrong fabrics. A tear slips down her cheek as she recounts the verbal tongue-lashing her boss inflicted upon her. Rett reaches across the table to wrap her fingers around Manny’s hand, and Manny gives her a tremulous smile.
“I can’t lose this job, Lor. It—it’s my dream job.”
“I know, Manny, but… Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay? Sure, your boss yelled at you, but he didn’t fire you on the spot, right? Maybe he’s giving you the chance to fix your error.”
Manny blows out a breath, nodding slowly. “Right. You’re right. No use borrowing trouble.”
“Exactly,” Rett says with a smile.
“So…”
Rett freezes and stares at a spot over her best friend’s shoulder. She knows what the next words out of Manny’s mouth will be:
“Have you told Austin about Calum yet?”
“No.”
“Are you going to?” Manny asks after a slight pause when Rett says nothing more.
“No.”
“Lor—”
“Calum is my past,” Rett snaps out through gritted teeth. “Why should I ruin my future?”
“Austin deserves to know!”
Rett sighs. Maybe Austin does deserve to know, but it should be her choice when he learns the truth. He may never forgive her if she tells him. That’s a risk she isn’t sure she’s willing to take. She meets Manny’s gaze, unwavering. Manny exhales sharply and shakes her head. She rises to her feet in one fluid motion, drops her napkin to the tabletop, and gathers up her purse. When she looks at Rett, there’s something in her expression that gives Rett pause.
“I think you’re making an enormous mistake,” says Manny; her voice is quiet but sharp. “And I won’t sit by while you lie to your fiancé for your own convenience.”
Rett watches her best friend walk away; Manny’s spine is ramrod straight, her strides sure and rapid. Rett doesn’t remember the last time she saw Manny so angry, especially not at her. Blowing out a breath, Rett glances down at Orpheus, who stares back at her with golden eyes. Her fingers find the small dip behind his ear, scratching lightly, then she flags down a passing server to ask for the bill.
