whereas Crys and Caitlin are in their early twenties.
Plus, I could feel Leila really reaching out, discovering a side to herself she'd never really uncovered.
And funny?
Leila had a wicked sense of humor which was, more often than not, aimed at herself.
She was on a binge to reinvent herself, something I could really respect.
When we decided our first stop was Victoria's Secret, Cait, Crys and I about fell out of our chairs laughing at Leila's, "Who is Victoria and does she really have a secret?".
Then when Leila showed us her new tattoo that the swoon-worthy Dex had inked on her the night before…ohmigod.
It was gorgeous.
Crys said Dex wasn't even supposed to be in the shop but when he saw what Leila wanted, he immediately got on board.
I caught a look between Leila and Crys, where Leila frowned and Crys stuck her tongue out before they both started laughing.
And Crys, holy shit.
What a girl!
She was an original with her short, white blond hair tipped in hot pink and tattoos on both arms she called sleeves.
From shoulder to wrist her skin had deep red flowers and black twining stems with black leaves. The ink was done so well and done with a crispness to it which, at first glance, you thought she was wearing a patterned shirt.
But it was her personality, her big, bold personality, making her something special.
Teaching us the correct way to do a 'Boo-yah' with the appropriate chopping motion to add emphasis.
Telling a story about a customer at the shop who was a walk-in and got a little too upset when she couldn't get him in that day. So she told him to 'eat shit and die' and when he still persisted, she told him 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on'.
Oh my God .
I hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time.
And with the stuff going on in my life, I needed to laugh.
Then there was Cait.
Beautiful, graceful Caitlin.
Who had captured the heart of the most gorgeous man in Grantham if not Colorado, Jake Stanton.
I'd already seen it but Crys is the one who pointed out the humongous chocolate diamond solitaire on Cait's hand.
Now when you and I blush, we get splotchy.
When Cait blushes, it’s a beautiful dusty pink that flows up her décolleté up over her face to her hairline.
Which she did at the mention of her engagement ring.
The kind of girl you would love to hate, but she's just such a great friend.
We were at the Mall for six hours.
Six hours.
I was tired and my feet were just starting to hurt when we called it a day.
But what I'll remember most about that day, a day of girl time, of making new friends and bonding with them, will be of my stomach muscles and cheek muscles which were sore from laughing for so long and hard.
I'm calling it a sign of friendship.
*.*.*.*.*
On Monday, I made a point of taking those stupid CDs that Steve had sent me to the bank putting them in the safe deposit box on Monday's lunch hour.
Just to make an uncomfortable day worse, the icky Mr. Jamison, Bank President and certifiable horn-dog managed to creep up next to me for a little chit-chat. I don't think the man has ever, not even once, looked at my face.
His eyes liked to roam and if the stories were to be believed, you never, ever wanted to be in a room alone with him, especially outside the bank.
Like I said, icky.
I called the Insurance company on my way back to the office and set up an appointment to meet with the insurance adjustor. But, I didn't want to meet with a stranger and have another meltdown like I did when I was with Ram. He said not to go alone, so I made a quick call to Caitlin to see if she could go with me for a second visit. She said she could get away tomorrow night.
Perfect.
*.*.*.*.*
I decided to grab a cup of iced coffee from Buxby's, which is right underneath our new offices, when I ran into Leila. She had her notebook out and was writing fast and furious. I tried calling to her and she was so
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