“The boys?” Megan knew that Gil had decided to go in case Megan wasn’t able to get off work. “Who else?”
“Edmond. Anna told me that he and Gil are going to share a room.” Lelani shook her head. “And now Anna is jealous.” She looked perplexed. “Do you think I should invite Anna to go?”
Megan wanted to say no way but knew that was selfish. “I don’t know, Lelani. If I don’t get to go, Anna might be good moral support for you.”
“Not as good as you, Megan. You really are my first choice.”
“Thanks.” Megan gave her a halfhearted smile. “But in the same way you’d feel lousy if you thought I was unemployed because of you, I’d feel terrible if you had to face down your parents alone because of me. Maybe you should ask Anna.”
Lelani seemed to consider this. “I suppose it would be nice for Edmond—and Gil—if Anna came. Even though she’s not you, she can be feisty when she needs to be.”
“I know she’d back you up, Lelani.”
She nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“So if you want to ask her, I’ll totally understand.”
Lelani said she’d think about it. But Megan figured that was probably as far as it would go for now. She suspected Lelani would wait until the weekend to see if Megan had gotten the time off. Still, Megan was perplexed. Would it really be a mistake to quit her job if Cynthia turned her down? Wouldn’t it be a legitimate form of protest, considering how Cynthia had ignored her all week? She knew her mom was against it. And it seemed Lelani was too. Still, Megan was fed up. Just because she was trying to be a good Christian, did that give her bosses the right to treat her like dirt and walk all over her?
Fourteen
Lelani
“I’ll bet you’re counting the days until your trip to Maui,” said Margot as Lelani punched out the time clock for her lunch break.
Lelani smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah, I can hardly wait.”
“Lucky you,” said Margot.
But as Lelani went down the stairs, she felt anything but lucky. In fact, she was starting to feel downright worried and upset. It was bad enough that she’d decided to do this thing without carefully thinking it through, but now it really looked as if Megan would have to bail on her as well. Certainly, Megan didn’t want to let her down, but Lelani had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to do much about it. And the last thing Lelani wanted was for Megan to sacrifice her job for this silly trip. That would be really dumb.
Maybe the smartest thing would be to cancel the whole thing. Sure, she’d lose some money on the ticket, but it would be a small thing compared to showing up at her parents and falling completely apart.
Of course, there was still Gil and Edmond to think of, but she hadn’t asked them to book trips to Maui. They were big boys, they could handle it. And yet she knew Gil had only made his plans for her sake.
“Lelani!” exclaimed Anna as they nearly ran into each other on the sidewalk outside. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
Lelani forced a smile. “I’m not in that much of a hurry, just thinking and not watching where I’m going. I was on my way to the Soup Pot for a quick lunch. How about you?”
“I was heading to Demetri’s. But the Soup Pot sounds good. Especially since it’s so cold today.”
“Why don’t you join me?”
Anna and Lelani hurried across the street and managed to beat the rush at the Soup Pot. They both ordered Manhattan clam chowder, then grabbed the last available table along the wall.
“You know I was thinking about you this morning,” Lelani told Anna as their soup arrived.
“Why’s that?” asked Anna.
So Lelani told Anna what Megan had said about inviting her to Maui.
“Seriously?” Anna’s eyes lit up. “You would invite me to stay at your parents’ home in Maui?”
“Sure. But, you need to understand that I’m not just inviting you for the fun of it, Anna.”
“I know.” Anna grew serious. “I understand about Emma and how it’s weighing on you and how you need to sort it all out.”
“I mean I’d hope that we could have a good time, but it might get a little messy and there are things about my family—particularly my mom—that might surprise you.”
Anna actually laughed. “Hey, don’t you remember my mom? Not to mention my grandmother?”
Lelani nodded. “Yes, I suppose you do understand.”
“More than you know. And Gil told me a little bit.”
Lelani frowned.
“Only to explain why he felt the need to go.”
“Yes, that’s sweet of him.”
“So you’re serious, Lelani? You’re really asking me to go with you?”
Lelani nodded. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“But what if Megan gets to go?”
Lelani just shrugged. “Although it doesn’t sound likely, it won’t be a problem. There’s plenty of room in my parents’ guesthouse.”
“This is so great!” Anna was already opening her phone. “Do you mind if I call Edmond and tell him the good news? And maybe he’ll start buttering up his uncle so I can get that week off.”
“Go for it.”
Lelani waited as Anna talked to Edmond, explaining this surprise invitation with more excitement than Lelani had seen from Anna in some time. And when she hung up, she was grinning.
“What?” asked Lelani hopefully.
“Edmond told me to start packing my bags, because he was almost positive it wouldn’t be a problem getting the time off.”
“That’s great.”
“I’ll ask officially when I get back to the office.” Anna looked at her watch. “Speaking of that, I should probably go. I wouldn’t want to be late when I’m asking for time off.”
“No, of course not.”
Later that afternoon, as Lelani walked home from work, she called Gil to tell him the good news and how it looked like Anna would be going with them to Maui.
“What about Megan?”
“I just don’t think it’s going to work for her.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Are you sorry I asked Anna?”
“No. She’s my sister, why would I be sorry?”
“I don’t know.”
“I just know how much you wanted Megan to go with you, Lelani. And I know how she can be a great encourager to you. That’s all I’m saying. But I also know that Anna is stronger than she seems. Sometimes she totally surprises me by how well she does under pressure. I think she’ll be a great asset to you. And I know Edmond will be jazzed.”
“She already told him and he sounds ecstatic.”
“I just wish you sounded happier.”
“Oh, I’m happy about Anna coming,” she assured him. “I just think the whole thing in general is getting to me. And I feel badly that Megan isn’t coming. At least I don’t think she is.” Lelani sighed. “You know, I’ll just be glad when the trip is all over.”
Gil laughed. “Now that’s something you don’t hear every day. Someone planning a vacation to Maui saying they can’t wait until it ends. Too funny.”
She kind of laughed. “Oh, you know what I mean.”
Although he assured her that he did know, she wondered if he could possibly have a clue. How could anyone understand how confused she felt? She didn’t understand it herself. If only she could figure out what was best—best for Emma, best for her, even best for her parents. But nothing about this seemed clear-cut or black and white. Although she’d been praying about it—or trying to—as Megan had suggested, sometimes she felt that she was just talking to the walls. Oh, sometimes she got an unexplainable peaceful feeling, but that was about it. She never got any kind of signal or direction regarding her daughter or her parents.
If only she knew how this whole thing was supposed to turn out. Or if there was any way to fix something that already felt so broken, so far gone, like it had spun out of control long ago when she’d let her guard down. Really, what was the point of trying to figure it out now? And what was the point of dragging three of her friends along for the show? The Let’s Humiliate Lelani Again Show.
These thoughts were erased from her head as she turned onto Bloomberg Place. Instead of the usual quiet, fairly dignified lane, cars lined both sides of the street directly in front of 86 Bloomberg Place. Kendall’s garage sale. Lelani hurried down the street and across the yard, where it looked like Kendall was about to lose it. Or maybe she’d already lost it.
“No!” Kendall was shouting at an overweight teenage girl. “You cannot buy that beautiful Chloé bag for three dollars! Can’t you read? The price on it is fifty dollars.”
“Fifty dollars for a purse at a garage sale?” complained the teen. “That’s nuts!”
“That bag was ten times that much new.” Kendall snatched the pink bag from the girl and clutched it to her chest.
“No one in their right mind would pay five hundred dollars for that,” the girl retorted.
“Maybe she’s not in her right mind,” said the girl’s friend. And several garage sale shoppers chuckled.
“Why don’t you take a break,” said Lelani to Kendall. “I think I can handle this.”
Kendall looked truly thankful as she continued clinging to her pink Chloé bag. “Yes!” she said loudly. “Lelani knows how to sell things. She works at Nordstrom.”
Lelani gave the onlookers a sheepish smile. Why did Kendall have to announce that to everyone?
“Well, your prices are too high,” said an older woman. “Don’t you know that this is a garage sale?”
“It’s a different kind of garage sale,” Kendall shouted as she went into the garage. “And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to shop here!”
“Well, I won’t,” the lady shot back at her and walked away.
Lelani did the best she could to calm the shoppers, but it was clear that their concept of a garage sale did not include high-priced designer goods. Even when Lelani tried to explain it to them, most didn’t get it. A lot of them continued to be rude. Just when Lelani was ready to put things away and put out a closed sign, Megan came home.
“Thank goodness!” exclaimed Lelani when Megan came to see how it was going. “I don’t know what to do.” She quickly told her what was going on.
“I was worried about that,” admitted Megan. “But maybe it’ll be better tomorrow. My mom told me the bargain hunters come on Fridays.”
“Should we shut it down for the day?”
“Why don’t you take a break and I’ll handle it for a while,” offered Megan.
“Thanks, my feet are killing me.”
As Lelani went into the house, she realized that she hadn’t even asked Megan about whether Cynthia had given her an answer or not. This only made Lelani more certain that it wasn’t going to happen. Surely if Megan was going to Maui, she would’ve told Lelani immediately. Or even called her on her cell phone. No, it was probably just as well that she’d asked Anna to go. Not that it mattered. The more Lelani thought about it, the more she knew it was a fool’s errand anyway. Best to just get it over with.
Fifteen
Anna
Anna was ecstatic that Rick Erlinger had agreed to give her spring break off. She knew his decision had more to do with Edmond than her, but she was thankful just the same. Okay, it offended her a little when Rick made his comments. He asked her to his office at the end of the workday after she’d put the official request form in his basket.
“I don’t normally approve of office romances,” he said, “but since Edmond is my favorite nephew, I guess I can make an exception.”
She’d been too stunned to respond with anything more than a quiet, “Thank you.”
“But I’ll warn you,” he’d added, “don’t bring it into the workplace, Anna. You’re a good editor and I’d like to keep you around, but if things between you and Edmond should go south, you’ll be the one looking for a new job. You understand that, don’t you?”
She just nodded.
“Okay, then. As long as we’re all on the same page here.”
But as she left the building without even saying good-bye to Edmond, she wondered if this was such a great idea. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Edmond, she did. And if things went south, as Rick had intimated, she knew Edmond would handle it like a gentleman. After all, hadn’t they been through this before? Still, it was a little unsettling to think she might be putting her job on the line. But maybe she was overreacting.
After she got into her car, she called Gil and told him the good news.
“I already know,” he admitted.
“Lelani told you?”
“Yeah, just a little bit ago actually.”
“Did she sound happy about it?” Anna put her key in the ignition. “I realize I wasn’t her first choice.”
“No, she sounded fine. She’s still pretty uneasy about the whole thing in general, but she seemed relieved that you’re going, Anna. And I’m sure you’ll be a comfort to her.”
Anna hoped she’d be comfort to Lelani, but, to be honest, she also hoped that she’d have some fun along the way. After all, it was supposed to be a vacation too. At least she had assumed that was the case when she accepted the invitation. It wasn’t like this was an expenses-paid trip. She’d have to cover her own airfare as well as buy a few things for the week. In fact, she decided to stop by the mall on her way home and do some quick shopping. Anna didn’t usually go overboard with things like clothes and fashion, but for some reason—maybe it was the enthusiastic sales girl in the petites department of Macy’s who kept telling Anna she looked fantastic in everything—Anna walked back to her little Cooper loaded down with bags.
By the time Anna got home, it was just getting dark, but she could still see the remnants of Kendall’s garage sale—the empty tables in the driveway, price lists and signs posted here and there, and garage-sale signs stuck in the yard. The lights to the house were all out, almost as if no one was home. Anna wondered if it was Kendall’s way of saying that the sale was closed for the day.
“What have you been up to?” demanded Kendall when Anna came into the house with all her purchases.
“Shopping,” Anna told her as she struggled to close the front door with her foot.
“For what?” Kendall’s eyes were wide with interest.
“For Maui.” Anna made her way to the stairs now.
“You’re going to Maui too?” demanded Kendall.
Just then Megan emerged from the kitchen with a confused expression. “What?”
“Anna is going to Maui!” cried Kendall. “You’re all going to Maui. Everyone is going to Maui except me!” She had real tears running down her cheeks now.
“You’re going to Maui?” Megan asked Anna.
“Lelani just asked me—”
“That’s right,” said Lelani as she came into the living room. “I was going to tell you, Megan, but the garage sale and—”
“I want to go to Maui too,” sobbed Kendall. “Everyone has a life but me. This is so unfair.” She sank down onto the sectional and continued to cry.
“So Anna is going too?” Megan asked Lelani.
Then Lelani quickly explained about her unexpected lunch with Anna. “And I just felt so sure that it wasn’t going to work for you, Megan, that I went ahead and asked Anna.”
Anna couldn’t read Megan’s expression. It was either hurt or anger, or maybe both.
“But if it works out for you to go,” Lelani said, “it’s okay. There’s room for three of us in my parents’ guesthouse.”
; “There’s room for three of you,” cried Kendall. “But not four? You won’t even invite me to come with you too?”
“Don’t worry, Kendall,” said Megan. “I’m not going either. It’s just going to be Anna and Lelani. Don’t get all worked up for nothing.”
“But I want to go too,” protested Kendall.
“Cynthia said no?” Lelani asked Megan.
“Cynthia is still in Astoria. Something went wrong and she’ll be there until tomorrow. But Vera continues to assure me that I will not be getting spring break off.”
“I’m sorry,” said Lelani. “I really wish—”
“But if there’s room for three,” said Kendall hopefully, “why can’t I go with you and Anna?”
Lelani looked perplexed.
“Because you’re broke?” tried Megan.
“Not anymore,” proclaimed Kendall. “And this was just the first day of the sale.”
“Even so—”
“You’re not the boss of me,” snapped Kendall. “If Lelani wants me to go to Maui with her, I can go. Right, Lelani?”
Lelani’s dark eyes were wide. “I, uh, I don’t—”
“No, you can’t go,” Anna told Kendall.
“Why?” demanded Kendall.
“For one thing, Lelani hasn’t invited you to go. For another thing, like Megan said, you cannot afford to go, Kendall. You need to pay your bills with that garage sale money.”
“That’s right,” agreed Megan.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Anna puffed as she trudged upstairs, “I need to put these things away.”
The three of them continued to talk as Anna hauled her purchases to her room to unpack and hang up and admire. Then she went online and began to shop for an airline ticket. To her shock and dismay, they were really expensive, about twice what she had available in her bank account. Anna had a Visa card that her parents had gotten for her in college, but they had always warned her that it was strictly for emergencies. She had heeded that warning and only used it a couple of times. She pulled the card out of her wallet only to discover that it had actually expired just a few weeks ago. Since the card had been sent to her parents’ address, she suspected that replacement cards had probably been sent there too.
Spring Broke Page 12
