Page 120 of Till Death Do Us Part

“What do you think?” I examined what we’d done. “Do we need it?”

He tilted his head, almost studying the space. “Yeah. It’s not gaudy at all. It could use a little moreoomph.”

He handed it to Kerry, and she handed it up to me. I was on a small step ladder.

“I agree,” Kerry said, standing back, checking out what we’d done so far.

“I’m not a fan of screaming‘surprise!’” Fredo said.

We both looked at Fredo. He was putting together another lantern. He looked up.

“Sometimes my finger gets trippy.” He made a motion like he was pulling a trigger. “You come at me like that—I’d shoot first and ask questions later. Then I'd miss out on cake. Probably,” he added as an afterthought.

Kerry's cheeks puffed out and I turned my face, not wanting to explode with laughter. If I looked at Kerry, we both would, and we wouldn’t be able to stop.

Once we had the lanterns up, I texted Felice.

Me:No surprise parties for you?

His response came back almost instantly.

My Carnivore:No.

I grinned.

Me:I'll save you a piece of cake.

I sent him a heart after.

My Carnivore:Life-long quest.

He sent me a confused face after the text.

Look at this guy, using all his emojis with me.I started laughing, imagining the blank look on his face while he searched for the confused face.

He’d never sent emojis until I asked him why.They’re there to help show emotion, I’d said. Then he started sending them.

A knock came at the door. Fredo answered it. It was Elsa’s landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Chen, with the food. Lo showed up next, bringing the cake. A few friends of Elsa's trickled in over the next fifteen minutes. Hayden was the last to arrive. He’d brought games.

Kerry shot me an eye roll, and we both shook our heads. Games were great unless Hayden was playing. He took all the fun out of them with his unhealthy competitiveness. He even went as far as accusing people of cheating when he started to lose.

I checked my watch. Cassio was going to drop Elsa off in the next fifteen. What Fredo had said about his trigger finger made me somewhat antsy. What if Cassio had missed the part about it being a surprise party? I texted Felice asking him to remind Cassio for me. Felice had strict rules about me and other men. We were never alone, and texting or calling seemed to step over boundaries too.

I had no clue what Felice would do if he ever found out Cassio had come to the museum to see me.

My watch lit up. He sent me a thumbs up.

Me:That one is passive aggressive. Forget it exists.

He sent me another confused face.

Kerry nudged my shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.” She smiled at me. “I’m so happy for you.”

She pulled me in for a hug, and it was so warm, we must have stood there for a minute or two rocking back and forth. Lo wrapped her arms around us, closing her eyes.

“We’re all Gucci here.”

“I think she’s coming!” Mrs. Chen said, pumping her hands down, rushing to get back in the apartment. “She is walking down the street with her friends.”

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