Page 79 of The Kiss Countdown

While Ms. Katrina gets her daughter and all thepresents loaded up, I send Vincent a quick message, letting him know the event went off without a hitch. I see he replied to the picture I sent of the initial setup with a simple brown thumbs-up. Where normally I would read into this as an act of vague interest, I know it’s not Vincent’s intent. He probably sent the message when he was on a quick break. It’s enough to know that I’m on his mind, as evidenced by the times he’s FaceTimed me whenever he takes a break while still clad in his training uniform, or the random Almond Snickers bars I find in my car when I head out for the day.

Ms. Katrina waves at me to let me know she’s leaving, and all that’s left is taking care of the balloon arches and stacking the chairs. I grab a pair of scissors from my bag and head to a window.

Some people like to stab the balloons and rush through takedown, but not me. For one, I hate the sound of a balloon popping. Even when I know it’s coming, it scares me every time. Instead, I snip it at the neck. It easily deflates, just how I imagine Jacob’s ego will deflate when, a year from now, he’s crying himself to sleep for letting me go.

“Why are you smiling all demented-like?”

I jump and spin at the sound of Gina’s voice.

“I could see your reflection in the glass,” she says. “Let me guess, you were imagining Jacob’s head on the balloon?”

“No.” I tilt my head up and sniff. “But you’re close. Fancy seeing you here.”

When she didn’t show up to help me shop or get the centerpieces ready, I didn’t expect her to come for the teardown. Now here she stands, though quite subdued with her hands behind her back. I want to both hug her and cuss her out for her disappearing act, so I stay silent.

Gina sighs. “I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch. This messwith Mack and his mom really got to me, you know? I went to stay with my sister in Corpus and kept my phone off so I wouldn’t be tempted to easily forgive him and wash everything under the bridge.”

Wow. Gina didn’t even tell me where she was going.

“And are you feeling better now?” I say as pleasantly as I can manage through the hurt.

“Come on, don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I hurt your feelings. I just needed to get away.”

“It’s fine, and my feelings aren’t hurt. You needed space, so I’m not going to sit up here and jump down your throat for going AWOL.” I turn back to the window and stab a gold balloon. I jump at the sound. Barely. Then I take the scissors to a blue one in the same manner. This actually isn’t so bad. After ramming my scissors through another gold balloon with enough momentum to strike the one behind it like an arrow shot from a bow, I spin back around to face her. “I just find it funny that you went to see your sister, whom you barely tolerate since all y’all do is fight like cats and dogs, instead of reaching out to me.”

“Mimi—”

“I get you have a lot on your mind with Mack, but you’ve always been there for me when I’ve gone through relationship troubles or health issues with my mom. I just wish you would let me do the same for you.”

And just like that, I’m halfway done with the garland.

We’re silent for a while before Gina finally says, “You’re right, you know. I should have gone to you instead of my sister. By the second night with her, she was already driving me mad. She wanted me to deep clean her carpets as repayment for staying on an air mattress that leaked so bad I had to pump it at least three times each night.”

I huff out a puff of air and turn around. “I won’t say you deserved it by knowingly putting yourself at her mercy, but...”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gina rolls her eyes. “I deserved it.”

We both laugh, and in the span of two minutes, everything is fine between us and my world feels right. I can lose a lot—my job, Derrick, my apartment—but not Gina.

“Are you still the queen to my bee?” she asks.

“Always. Now, did you come back home to get away from your sister? Or did you come to a decision on what to do about Mack?”

Gina solemnly looks to the window before regarding me. Then a wide grin splits her face. “I’m going to marry him!”

She was holding her hands behind her back, but now she holds her left hand out, and a beautiful princess-cut ring glimmers on her finger.

I cover my mouth with both hands. “Gina, congratulations!” I reach for her hand to get a closer look at the flashy diamond. “This looks too shiny to be an heirloom. What happened with Mack’s mom?”

Gina’s smile doesn’t falter as she tells me the story. “He showed up to my sister’s on the third night and asked if we could walk and talk. He apologized for not doing enough to step between his mom and me over the years and said even though he hasn’t shown it, I’m the number one priority in his life. He’s even willing to go no-contact if his mom can’t respect our relationship.” She begins tearing up. “Then, while Mack Jr. played in the water, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him.”

“I am so happy for you.”

“Me too. But he’s not off the hook. If he backslides even a little, I’m out. If his actions back up his words and we make good headway in couples counseling, we’re eyeing awedding in early November. And Mimi, I would love it if you not only helped me plan it but were also my maid of honor.”

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