Page 83 of Happy Endings

“Bitchin’!” Reina declared. Trixie echoed her friends’ cheers.

While her friends gave updates on their businesses and asked for advice, Trixie checked her phone again. Two days. The number of days since she’d heard from Andre. Their last conversation had gone horribly. She was giving him the space he asked for, but this was the longest they’d gone without any contact. It felt strange not to receive a meme or emoji from him every day.

“You all right, Trixie?” Josie waved a hand in front of Trixie’s face.

Trixie blinked, remembering she was still with the Boss Babes.

“Tell them,” Zoe prodded. “Unless you want me to.”

Trixie shook her head. Though based on the number of times she’d recalled the conversation and overanalyzed it with Zoe, herroommate could retell it verbatim. Trixie quickly filled in Josie and Reina on what had happened between her and Andre. From when he saidI love youto when he accused her of not caring about him or the restaurant.

“What are you going to do now?” Josie asked.

“I’m going to sign the lease. If you can loan me the deposit.” Trixie looked at each of her best friends. They nodded. “Thank you. I’ll pay you back as soon as I win this contest.”

“And Andre?” Reina asked. Zoe tried to shush her. “Come on, we were all wondering.”

“If I don’t hear from him today or tomorrow, I’m going to assume things are over between us.” She couldn’t believe that she’d let him do this to her again. Ghosting her.

“If he can’t support your dreams, then he doesn’t deserve to be part of your life,” said Josie. “We believe in you.”

“You three are the best friends I could ever have.” Trixie smiled through her sadness. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“We’ve always believed in you,” said Reina. “Let’s go to Lucky Stiff tonight and celebrate. Drinks on the house!”

“I’m in. It’s been too long since we went out together.” Zoe grinned. “What’s tonight’s theme, Reina?”

“My dancers are very into superheroes right now.”

“My two worlds colliding! Hot men dancing and cosplay.” Zoe turned to Trixie. “Please say you’ll go out.”

“That does sound fun, but I have so much to do to get ready for my store.”

“You have to celebrate your wins,” Josie reminded her.

“Fine, twist my arm.” Trixie didn’t need much convincing to watch Reina’s dancers perform. The shows were as much art as they were entertainment. “It’ll be nice to hang out and not talk shop.”

Tonight she’d go out with her friends and try to forget about Andre.

“TRIXIE,IHEARDyou were here today.” Keisha waved from the doorway of a meeting room. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“I had some free time so I dropped by. I’m sending out donor letters.” Trixie motioned to a stack of letters, envelopes, and stamps on the table. “Want to join me?”

“I was on my way to study group, then to prep for dinner service.” Keisha pulled up a chair next to Trixie and set her bag on the floor. “Got a minute?”

“Sure.” Trixie searched Keisha’s face. Did Andre send his sister to check on her? She was now going on day three with no contact from him. There was nothing on Keisha’s face that hinted at him or their fight.

“Thank you for helping out with dinner on Monday. With all the pop-ups and this week’s community dinner, you must be tired of Mama Hazel’s!”

“Not really.” At least not until her fight with Andre. “Helping out at community dinner reminded me of home.”

There was a sense of family among the regulars at their community dinners that made Trixie miss her large extended family. Though they weren’t related by blood, they cared for each other. People like Mrs. Harris looked out for her neighbors, even if she came off as nosy.

“I’m glad you and Andre are together,” blurted Keisha. “I was hoping from that very first bachelorette party that you two would hit it off.”

So Andre hadn’t told his sister about their disagreements. Howmuch was he keeping from her? Trixie didn’t have the heart to tell Keisha what happened after Monday’s dinner.

“Did he tell you that we knew each other in New Orleans?” Trixie tested to see how much Keisha knew about their past.

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