Page 32 of Perfect Harmony

“Did you go to the doctor?” Grace asked.

“Yep. Emergency room, actually. Needed afew stitches. Hey, you wouldn’t be interested in fostering a pregnant cat,would you? Now that it’s spring, we’ve got pregnant cats coming out of thewoodwork.”

“I’m allergic, sorry,” Grace said. She thoughtabout her conversation with Addie and on a whim said, “But if you get anyguinea pigs in, I’m your woman.”

“We occasionally take in the exotics, so I’llkeep you in mind,” Rayna said.

“Animals are, like, so gross.” The girl onthe other side of Rayna, rolled her eyes. “They smell and,” she eyed Rayna’sshirt, “shed hair and, like, can’t keep their tongues to themselves.”

“Sounds like my Friday night date,” Raynasaid.

Grace laughed as the girl rolled her eyes againbefore sticking her hand out. “Hey, I’m Arianna.”

She looked to be about nineteen and Graceenvied her porcelain skin and sleek dark hair. She wore skinny jeans with ashirt that probably cost a month’s salary for Grace.

“Hi, Arianna, I’m Grace.”

“Nice to meet you. You work over at H&MDental Clinic, right?”

“I do,” Grace said. “Are you a client?”

“Yeah, but you’re not my hygienist. Hey,do you know when Dr. Connor is coming back? He’s, like, so dreamy. He actuallymakes going to the dentist enjoyable.”

“He won’t be back for a few more weeks,” Gracesaid.

“Bummer. I’m thinking of asking him out.”

“Aren’t you a little young for him?” Raynasaid.

She shrugged, “Age is, like, just anumber. Besides, I have a smokin’ hot body, guys can’t resist me.”

Rayna looked her up and down. “Can’t arguewith that logic.”

“I know, right?” Arianna said.

“So, do you do a lot of volunteer work?” Raynawas studying Arianna like she was some new and exotic butterfly she’d just discovered.

Grace couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t beenaround a nineteen-year-old in forever and the six-year gap in their agessuddenly seemed like twenty.

“Oh God, no. So,” Arianna waved her handin the air, “I’m, like, a pretty famous social influencer and it keeps mereally busy.”

“A social what?” Rayna said.

“Social influencer,” Arianna said. “I havea YouTube channel with, like, a hundred thousand followers, plus my Instagramis up to seventy-five thousand followers.”

“What do you… influence people on?” Raynaasked.

“Mostly, like, makeup and proper skin care andhow to dress for your body type, that sort of thing. But I also offer some adviceon relationships and making sure you’re valued as a, like, you know, person.”

She eyed Rayna critically. “You shouldcome by my house and let me do a makeover on you. My followers would love it. Youhave, like, amazing bone structure. The right shade of blush will really makeyour cheekbones stand out and the correct eye shadow technique will make youreyes go from blah to beautiful.”

“Oh, um, I’m not really into makeup,” Raynasaid.

“Obviously,” Arianna said. “But, like, alittle bit of blush never hurt anyone, right? Just think about it. I couldtotally pimp your animal rescue out to my followers if you let me video themakeover process.”

“I’ll think about that,” Rayna said.

“Anyway, so my biggest competition is this horriblegirl named Candace Werkenheimer. She lives in Willington and she is, like, atotal hag. Her makeup tutorials are so early two thousands. But she’s constantlytalking about how she volunteers for this and that and her followers, like, eatit up, you know? So, I figured, why should she get all the glory? I can,like, totally find a worthy cause to volunteer for,” Arianna said.

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