Come Undone by Jessica Hawkins

Lucy.” She
didn’t seem surprised by my request, just nodded.
    “Of
course,” she said. “Of course I’ll cover for you. But if you need to talk about
it, or if gets serious . . . or bad,” she added, “please come to me. I know
you’re not easily fazed, but I’m here if you need me.” She paused. “I still
haven’t forgiven you for freshmen year of high school,” she said. “The way you
clammed up after your parents’ divorce wasn’t fair. I wanted to be there for
you.”
    I
nodded. “Thanks. You’re a good friend.”
           “Well I try,
but sometimes you make it hard.”
           “Let’s not
get into that,” I moaned. “Anyway Lucy just texted that she’s downstairs. I’ll
fill you in on the details in the elevator, and then I want to hear more about
Ava’s hot co-worker.”
    ~
    Lucy tapped
her foot on the pavement.
    “These
magazines are ridiculously heavy,” she said. “They’re killing my back. Let’s
go. Liv, did you bring my earrings?”
    “Earrings?”
I asked, taking the bag from Lucy.
    “Yes!
The chandelier earrings. We talked about this at my engagement party – I
need them back, and you said you’d bring them last Monday.”
    “I
did?”
    Lucy
groaned with disgust. “Let’s just go.”
    “I
don’t remember any of that.”
    “It’s
true,” Gretchen pitched in. “I was there.”
    “Forget
it, come on,” she said impatiently, walking away.
    Gretchen
gave me an encouraging look as we walked, nodding toward Lucy. “Oh,” I said.
“Luce, I have something to tell you. It’s about New York.”
    She
slowed a bit and turned around to wait for us. I gave her an abbreviated
version of the story, gulping guiltily after the lie. I bore another
sympathetic reaction and hoped that was truly the end of it, mostly so I
wouldn’t have to tell the story anymore. She apologized for snapping at me
about the earrings and we laughed. When we arrived at the restaurant, I let
them both give me a long hug and was grateful that it didn’t come up again.
    ~
    The next
night, Bill and I followed the maître d' through a
crowded restaurant. I reached behind me for Bill’s hand and gave it a squeeze
when I noticed my father seated rigidly straight, sipping his signature whiskey
on the rocks. He looked as handsome as ever – and although I was biased,
enough of my friends had told me so that I knew it was true. His hair was all
charcoal now, aside from white tufts at his temples.
    “Hi,
Dad,” I said, greeting him with a big hug as he stood.
    “Livs.
You look skinny,” he said, holding me at arm’s length. “Bill.” He stuck out his
hand.
    “Hi,
Mr. Germaine. Nice to see you.”
    “Is
she eating enough?” he asked Bill heartily.
    “Like
a champ,” Bill said, winking in my direction.
    “I
do, Dad, I eat a lot. What are you doing in town?”
    “Nothing
exciting.” He waved his hand. “I’m meeting with the VP at a local ad agency
about doing some consulting there.”
    “How’s
business?” Bill asked, unfolding his napkin onto his lap.
    “Not
too shabby. I just finished up a big project in Dallas that should get me some
referrals. I’m considering trading in the BMW for a C7.”
    “Corvette,
huh? Can’t argue with that. Maybe we’ll take that Shelby off your hands, then.”
    My
eyes widened and I bit the inside of my lip. “Really?”
    “Olivia,
don’t make that face, you look like an owl.” It was my father’s favorite thing
to tease me about, my big eyes.
    “Once
we move out of the city, we’ll need to get you a car,” Bill continued with a
slight smile. I narrowed my eyes and smirked at him playfully.
    “You
still want the Shelby, Olivia?” I nodded. “We’ll see what happens with the C7.
Any news at work?”
    “Not
since last month, although today I reworked one of Lisa’s layouts, and my boss
was very impressed.”
    “Does
that mean you got the promotion?”
    “No,
Daddy, I won’t know that for a little while,” I explained, taking a