Page 7 of Heartsick & Lipsticks
“I said okay.”
Just like Callie, I had no idea if she had actually heard me or not, but I had a ring camera that alerted me to everyone who came to the door and a security camera in the kitchen. If she did have people over, I’d be able to see it and deal with it in real time.
On my way out of the room, I picked up two mugs, a bowl with dried milk in the bottom, a plate with leftover pizza, an empty popcorn bag, and five Pop-Tart wrappers, two with half-eaten tarts in them.
“I told you, if you have food in your room, you have to clean it up.” The roach problem was bad enough without her giving them a buffet to eat.
“I was going to clean it up,” she said as she put her headphones back on.
“Of course you were,” I mumbled under my breath.
On my way to the kitchen to rinse off the dishes and throw away the trash, I reminded Callie, “We have to leave in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay,” she responded again without looking up at me.
“Are you going to change?”
She looked down at her sweats. “It’s the dentist.”
“Fine.” I learned a long time ago to pick my battles. If she wanted to go to the dentist in the clothes that she’d slept in, then so be it.
After rinsing the dishes, I walked into my room so I could change, and my phone buzzed. It was a text from my best friend, Rihanna. She’d been in Bali for the past week, and she was headed to India next. I pulled it up and saw it was a picture of her on the beach with a cocktail in one hand and a very handsome man in the other, with the caption:Wish you were here.
Ri’s life was the polar opposite of mine and always had been. We’d met in kindergarten, and we’d been inseparable ever since. She was also an only child, but her home life wasLeave it to Beaver,and mine wasMarried with Childrenif there’d only been a Peggy and no Al.
Ri lived off the inheritance her grandfather left her, giving her the flexibility to travel the world on a whim. She owned a four thousand square foot loft apartment downtown. She wore designer clothes, and went to spin class, and got manicures and pedicures. She was single. She traveled. And she had a new boyfriend and a new career every few months.
I’d worked full-time since I was fifteen and been a single mom since I was nineteen. I hadn’t dated anyone in that time. I had to save up if I wanted to make any purchase over one hundred dollars. My big vacation plans had been cleaning out my inbox and sunbathing on the roof, both things I’d very much looked forward to.
After double tapping the picture and liking it, I pulled out my drawer and stared at my only pair of clean jeans. The ones that had holes starting in the inseam from where my thighs rubbed together. Maybe with the money from this job, I’d splurge and get a new pair of jeans.
The fantasy that I might do that was nice to think about. But the truth was, I would put the money in savings. Because that was the responsible thing to do, and Ialwaysdid the responsible thing.
