It had been so interesting to spend the weekend with a celebrity. Karamel Kitty, given name Karina, was sweet and a lot calmer in real life compared to her energetic in-your-face rap persona. She’d rented out the backroom of a restaurant on South Beach for Violet’s bridal shower yesterday and they’d been bombarded with a horde of fans as soon as they got out of the car. Violet was used to this and easily slipped behind Karina and her security. But Lily and Iris got lost in the chaos. Being trapped amid a crowd of Karamel Kitty stans, who were eagerly rapping the lyrics to her newest song, wasn’t something Lily had expected to add to her bingo card for the year.
Tonight, Lily was wearing one of the few club-appropriate outfits she owned: a black leather bandeau top and a matching high-waist black leather miniskirt. She’d borrowed another pair of Violet’s high heels and her feet were killing her, hence the sitting. She should have gone the same route as Iris, who’d paired her loose-fitting, white T-shirt dress with a pair of all-white Stan Smiths. Meanwhile, Violet and Karamel Kitty both donned spandex sleeveless catsuits. Karamel Kitty’s was bubble gum pink (with a lace front, waist-length bubble gum pink wig to match), while Violet’s was bride-to-be white. Lily and Iris had bought her a glittery veil that kept slipping off her head as she danced.
Violet’s admission that Eddy was barely home and that she’d planned so much of the wedding alone had concerned Lily and Iris, of course. But whenever they brought it up, Violet insisted that she wanted to marry Eddy and that she was happy. She definitely seemed happy tonight.
Lily had gone over Violet’s situation in her mind time and time again. Ultimately, there wasn’t much Lily and Iris could do. It was Violet’s life, and Violet was going to do exactly what she wanted, like always. They could only hope that things worked out between Violet and Eddy. And in the event that they didn’t, Lily and Iris would be there for Violet no matter what.
“I’m getting motherfucking married!” Violet shouted now. She climbed off the table and stumbled over to Lily and Iris, lying across their laps.
Iris brushed Violet’s hair out of her face and smiled down at her. “Are you having fun?”
“Yesshh,” Violet mumbled. “Are you?”
“No, but that’s okay because tonight isn’t about me.”
Violet flashed a lopsided grin. “I want everyone to have fun.” She pointed at Lily. “You need to celebrate too. Your new job!”
“I don’t have a new job yet,” Lily reminded her, laughing.
Her interview with Francesca Ng had gone very well, though. She hadn’t suffered from the things that had plagued her during interviews past: the freezing up or stumbling over her words. She spoke confidently about her love for children’s books and what qualities she would bring to the assistant editor role. Now she was waiting to schedule a second interview with Francesca’s boss, Anna Davidson. She was confident that she’d do well in her interview with Anna as well.
She hoped that she’d get the job, but even if she didn’t, deciding to throw caution to the wind and following up with Francesca a second time had unlocked something in Lily. For the first time in a long time, she was genuinely proud of herself. She had proof that taking risks and going for what she wanted could have good results. Just look at her and Nick.
She thought of him now and wondered if he was sleeping. He’d been in North Carolina for three days. She’d talked to him earlier that morning, and he’d been at his hotel room, attempting to work on his book before he went to the hospital. He’d seemed chill, but she couldn’t forget how anxious he’d looked before he left for the airport earlier that week. Nick told her that his dad was stable and mostly slept whenever he visited, and that he was helping his mom get herself better situated, because she and his dad had been living at a motel before his dad’s accident. But otherwise, he didn’t go into much detail about what was happening with his parents. He sweetly evaded Lily’s probing questions with such skill, she ended their conversations wondering if she’d attempted to ask anything at all.
“Why am I sitting down? It’s my bachelorette party!” Violet said, jumping to her feet. “I need another drink!”
She joined Karina on top of the table again, and Lily and Iris both yawned at the same time.
“Technically, I know I’m not too old for the club life,” Iris said, “but I feel too old for the club life.”
“I’m hungry,” Lily said.
Iris checked the time on her phone. It was almost three a.m. “Let’s get an Uber and see if they can take us to McDonald’s on the way home.”
“Deal.”
They said goodbye to Violet, who gave them sloppy kisses on the cheek and kept dancing.
* * *
? ? ?
Someone from Karina’s security team let Lily and Iris inside of Karina’s mansion. It was so spacious, you could hear an echo when you spoke. Because Karina rarely spent extended periods of time in Miami, the entire house was pristine. The fancy marble dining table alone probably cost half of Lily’s yearly salary.
After she and Iris finished eating, they migrated upstairs to their shared guest room. Iris went to shower, and Lily lay across the king-size bed and texted Nick. Are you awake? She watched three dots appear.
Nick: Hey, yeah. How’s the club?
Lily: It was definitely an experience. Iris and I left, though.
Lily: You’re up late.
Nick: Oh you know, just chilling here, waiting on that goodnight text from my lady.
She smiled. Facetime?
Her phone vibrated in her palm then with a FaceTime call from Nick. She answered, and he was sitting on the hotel bed, pillows stacked up behind him.
“Hi,” she said, grinning.
“Hi.” His smile was tired, but warm. She was hit with how much she missed him when he said, “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. How’s your dad doing?”
“He still has a concussion, and he’ll need physical therapy for his broken leg.” He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I think I’m gonna be here for at least another week. I need to make sure his sessions get paid for and I’m helping my mom get approved for an apartment. She said she’s leaving my dad.”
“Really?”
Nick nodded. He looked so exhausted.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
“It could always be worse.”
“You’re a good son,” Lily said.
Nick smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. She could tell that he didn’t believe her.
“Are you okay? You’re the one who survived a whole weekend with XXL magazine’s rapper of the year.” When she looked at him in surprise for dropping that fact, he said, “I just googled it.”
Lily smirked. Nick was trying to lighten the mood and change the subject, evading her again. She couldn’t shake the feeling that after everything they’d been through, he was slowly rebuilding his defenses. He was still there with her, attentive and present for now. But she wondered if one day she’d blink and be completely shut out.
Then she had a realization.
“You’re going to miss M&M’s party this week,” she said. “Maybe your team can put together a bookstore signing for you instead once the book publishes.”
Nick fell quiet. “Nah, I don’t want them to do that.”
She tried to gauge what he was thinking, but his face was carefully blank.
“Why not?” she asked.
“I don’t think it was ever a good idea for me to go to the party in the first place.”
Lily frowned. “But what about all the things you wanted? You said you wanted to stand in front of a crowd and talk to people about your book. You wanted to take the credit.”
“I changed my mind.”