Page 220 of The Baby Twist
“Yeah. Everything else is already arranged.” I glanced at my watch. “We have to leave now. I don’t want to be late and have Mrs. Lake up my ass. Her anxiety is through the roof as it is.”
We climbed into my car and drove to Brooklyn, arriving at the Lake’s townhome with five minutes to spare.
“Are you still thinking about Charlie McBillionaire?” Olivia asked, pulling a box from the back of the car.
“No. And I never was thinking about him,” I lied.
“Yeah, right.” She laughed. “He lives around the block from us. Walk over and say hi.”
“No. What is wrong with you?” My brows furrowed.
The front door flew open, and Mrs. Lake ran down the steps.
“Marley, thank God you’re here. We have a problem.”
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Lake?”
“The floral arrangements are all wrong!”
“Impossible. I saw them yesterday. Miguel did an excellent job.”
“No. Hurry up and get inside, and I’ll show you.” She flew up the concrete steps.
“I have no idea how you put up with these people.” Olivia shook her head.
Stepping into the monstrous townhome, I set the box down and walked over to the table where the centerpieces were sitting.
“Mrs. Lake, they’re beautiful.”
“Marley, they’re all wrong. I wanted a white ribbon around the tutus, not pink!”
Was she serious?
Taking my phone from my purse, I pulled up the notes I had taken.
“Mrs. Lake, you said you wanted pink ribbon.” I held my phone up.
“Why would I want that? The white stands out more. You misheard me.”
“No. I did not mishear you.” I shook my head.
“You want my honest opinion?” Olivia walked over.
“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Mrs. Lake asked.
“I’m Olivia, Marley’s friend and assistant for today. The white ribbon would have taken away from the entire look of the centerpiece.” Olivia looked around and grabbed one of the balloons with a white ribbon string. She wrapped the ribbon around the centerpiece. “See, when you look at the centerpiece, the only thing your eyes focus on is the white ribbon. You don’t want that, Mrs. Lake. You want your guests to focus on the beautiful roses and the cute little tutus.”
“Oh. I suppose you’re right.”
“That’s why you said pink ribbon because you already knew that. You just forgot,” Olivia said.
“Then I guess we don’t have an issue.” Mrs. Lake smiled at me. “I’ll let you ladies get things set up while I finish getting ready.”
“Thanks.” I glanced at Olivia.
“That woman needs a Xanax. Let’s get the rest of the boxes from the car.”
The entire party was ballerina-themed. Mrs. Lake’s five-year-old daughter, Sadie, loved ballet, so all the little girls who attended the party had to dress in ballet costumes. She even sent me to the New York City Ballet Company to hire three ballerinas to perform.
