Page 12 of Sassy Surrogate
But first, coffee. I must have coffee. Copious amounts of the life-giving substance. That’s the only thing that’s going to kickstart my brain. And lord knows, I’ll need all braincells firing today to find solutions.
Powering my phone up while I wait for the coffee to brew, I can’t help but wince as the notifications start blowing up. A good portion of those will probably be Becca – if not all of them. I’m almost too scared to look. She’s going to be hopping mad. I definitely need my cuppa joe before I can deal with her. The bigger, the better.
Finally, when I can stall no longer, I start scrolling through the progressively more frantic messages. The final one came in a scant ten minutes ago and has me frantically dialling her number. It barely rings on my side when she answers.
“Danica Kathleen May Brand, where the hell have you been? Woman, I’ve been going out of my mind with worry. I was literally about to call the police to check on you.”
She’s shouting so loud I’m sure my neighbours can hear her. Holding the phone away from my ear, I wait for her to finish.
“Sorry, Becca. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just needed the time, you know?” I know she’s going to really lose her mind when I tell her what my father’s done, but I don’t have much of a choice. If, somehow, it comes out and it doesn’t come from me, she will lose what’s left of her ever-loving mind. “I have so much I need to tell you. Losing my job yesterday was just scratching the surface.”
“I’m sorry – you did what now?”
Oh shit. I clap a hand over my mouth, realising too late I had been avoiding telling her that little nugget of information.
“Um, yeah. It’s a long story, but suffice to say, it involves the leech showing up at work. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t know how.”
There’s a long silence on the other side, so long I check to make sure the call hasn’t disconnected. Then I hear her sigh. “So that’s why you’ve been avoiding my calls and messages.”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you?”
“Slouching around my living room with a satisfying large mug of caffeine, feeling sorry for myself. Why?”
“You up to having lunch? My treat.”
It’s couched as a question, but with Rebecca, it’s less of a question and more of a command. I’m really not, but I know it’s futile to say so.
Sighing, I reply, “Sure. Where did you have in mind?”
“There’s a new coffee shop that’s opened downstairs in my building. Let’s give it a try. I hear they have the best coffee around, and their sandwiches are fabulous. And there’s no travel time involved for me, so it means I can spend more time with you. Meet me there at one thirty?”
I check the time again and see it’s already ten to one. If I’m going to make it on time, I need to get a move on.
“Since it’s already ten to one, and I look like something out of a horror movie, I might be a couple minutes late. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Just so you know, I’m still mad at you. But I’m glad you’re okay. See you soon.”
And with that, that phone goes dead in my ear. I can’t help but laugh and shake my head. Rebecca is, without a doubt, a force of nature. Like a hurricane or tornado. But she’s the best friend a girl could ask for. Always there for you, no questions asked.
* * *
R
acing through the shower, I keep my hair clear of the water so I don’t get it wet. I don’t have time to blow-dry my hair now; I’m already cutting it close. With no time to spare, I grab the first things to come to hand, apply enough makeup to avoid looking like the walking dead, and fly out the door. Travel time should be short since traffic is minimal at this time of the day.
I’m impressed to see the clock on my car’s dash click over to exactly half past one as I pull into a parking space across the road from Rebecca’s building. Hopefully, I didn’t incur a speeding ticket getting here. Locking the car, I’m just crossing when Rebecca exits.
As I come to a stop in front of her, she scrutinises me thoroughly.Tsking at what she sees, she pulls me in for a tight hug.
“I’m guessing whatever it is it’s pretty bad.”
“You got that from giving me the once-over?”
“Yep.”
“Girl, your powers of observation are scary.” Straightening my spine, I answer her. “Yeah, you could say it’s that bad. Let’s go find a table and I’ll fill you in on all the fun stuff that’s happened.”
