Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“You do kinda have the look,” Yasmen says, scrunching her nose and smiling. “Is the dick that good?”
“Most definitely, yes.” I nod my head. “No notes.”
We collapse our forty-year-old selves into girlish giggles and flop onto our backs to contemplate my bedroom’s stipple ceiling that hasn’t changed since I was a kid.
“It’s more than that, though,” I continue, resting my palm on my stomach, wishing it was the weight, the strength of Maverick’s arm around me. “We just have a ball together. Whether we’re on a yacht dancing in the moonlight…”
“Très romantique, by the way,” Soledad inserts.
“Or we’re just laying around watching YouTube videos or Top Boy on Netflix. It just all feels… right with him. You know?”
“Oh, we know from personal experience. Sounds like love.” Yasmen turns her head and smiles at my profile. “You think you’re in love?”
“Love?” I draw in a sharp breath and close my eyes. “That translated to me as Do you think you should jump off this cliff with a tinfoil parachute?”
“It can be scary,” Soledad says, reaching for my hand. “Remember how twisted up I was about Judah? You helped me sort my feelings for him by asking what I wanted for myself. And he was it. Judah checked all my boxes.”
“Does Maverick check any boxes?” Yasmen grins knowingly.
“Chile, Mav checks all the boxes and writes in some new ones. He’s like what about this? You’re gonna need this other thing, too, right? Did I mention I also color in the circles? I got ya covered.”
Our laughter floats up to the ceiling and settles over us, the joy of being together again even if for only a few hours.
“Zere did finally call,” I tell them, my smile dissolving. “She says I’m out. She wants to do the show with Chapel, but doesn’t trust me after I ‘stole’ her boyfriend. Doesn’t feel comfortable working with me anymore. I’m not looking forward to telling Chap, but I gotta put my big-girl thong on.”
“Um, you did a lot to get the show where it even is so far,” Yasmen says. “I remember you working on the pitch and reaching out to your contacts. Can she completely cut you out like that?”
“You know what?” I shake my head. “She tried to intimidate me talking about consulting her lawyers and they assured her I didn’t have a case should I try to buck. I think I actually could have a case, but I don’t want that. I just want… peace.”
And Mav.
“Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve led with your head,” Yasmen says. “Maybe this once, with this one, you can afford to lead with your heart.”
“What makes this time any different?” I scoff, but it’s half-hearted because I know what’s different.
Maverick is different.
“So I had a thought,” Soledad says, sitting up on the bed once they’ve drained me of all Maverick-related information.
“Uh-oh.” I turn onto my stomach and look up at her.
“I was researching things you can do to make the home more manageable for people who have Alzheimer’s and wrote up some notes for you.”
“Oh.” I sit up and nod. “Okay.”
“I know you feel helpless,” Soledad says, reaching for my hand. “But this is something we can do. Some you won’t need yet, but we can maybe do some now and the rest as you think necessary.”
“That’s a great idea, Sol,” I say.
My girls. What would I do without them?
I talk to Mama about doing some things to make the house a little safer and easier to navigate. At first she doesn’t even want to discuss it, but once I show her Soledad’s list, she sees the merit of taking a few measures.
For the next hour, Soledad does what she does best—removing clutter and clearing out things that aren’t necessary. She is so patient with Mama, who pushes back on some things and relents on others. We consolidate most kitchen stuff into two cabinets so Mama won’t spend a lot of unnecessary time looking for things, and leave the other cabinets empty.
“You know I love a label maker,” Soledad says, and sets about labeling drawers in the bathroom, kitchen, and even the ones in Mama’s bedroom when she admits sometimes she forgets where things are stored there, too.
“Okay, Mama,” Yasmen says to my mom, gently guiding her to the closet. “Let’s choose some outfits.”
While Soledad, the girls, and I run to the store to buy a few things, including a clock with large letters that clearly displays time and date, Mama and Yasmen arrange her clothing into sets that match to help avoid confusion and possible embarrassment.
Most things on this journey with my mother feel completely out of my control, but this is something I can do to make things slightly easier to manage not only for Mama, but also for Aunt Geneva.
“I forwarded the full list to you,” Soledad says when they are preparing to leave. “That way, you’ll have it for reference as you need to do other things like installing a raised shower seat or whatever.”