Mansi hummed again like she was thinking. “Well, whatthen? Do we need to get you laid tonight, so you go into the house with someone else on your mind?”
“No!” she blurted before she really thought about it. But when she did think about it, she realized that she hadn’t slept with anyone except Chuck for months, and those months had ruined her for wanting anything different because no one else would ever measure up.
“I am so screwed, Mansi,” she said with a sigh.
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
Olivia glared at her suitcase in place of her friend. “Thanks.”
Mansi laughed. “Sorry. Maybe just don’t pack the incriminating bikini, then?”
She looked around at the piles of clothes she’d laid out and realized nearly all of them had some kind of history. Perhaps she’d have to fit buying a whole new wardrobe into her busy day too. But she knew that no matter what she was wearing, ratty bathrobe or ball gown, Chuck would find a way to strip it off her in one fell swoop like a magician or peel it off piece by piece like the delicate wrapping on a very expensive gift. Both tactics drove her wild, as it did when they found creative ways to leave all their clothes on.
“Maybe I should just wear a trash bag,” she said, knowing Chuck would find a way to make her feel sexy even in a pouch of sticky black plastic too.
“How about this,” Mansi offered. “We have a code word, and you can text me when you need to, when you’re in the house and feelingtempted, and I’ll send you pictures of objectively unsexy things, no questions asked.”
A laugh bounced Olivia’s shoulders. “That…might actually be helpful.”
“Perfect. I’ll start screenshotting random stuff to have it ready. What’s our code word going to be?”
Olivia thought about how desperate it was to need a code word and unsexy text messages from her best friend in order to control her desires, but she was willing to do whatever it took to win the money. “How about ‘yellow bikini’?” she said, and tossed the swimsuit in question aside.
“I love it. Now all you have to do is keep it in your pants for a month.”
Olivia groaned.
“You can do it, girl. I’ll see you for dinner later.”
“Bye, Manse. Thank you.”
•••
Once she was satisfied withher packing, Olivia took a trip to Willow Grove. For once, she did not enter the serene and sterile care home like a timid bunny darting through the woods but rather marched up to the director’s open door and knocked.
“Olivia,” Dr. Park said, surprised. She sat at her neatly appointed desk reading her computer screen. “How can I help you?”
“Hi. Sorry to barge in on you like this, but I wanted to let you know that I have the money. Part of it, anyway.” She entered the office and extended the check she’d written. It probably would have been more appropriate to send it through the accounting department, but handing it directly to Dr. Park felt like it earned her a few points back for her delinquency.
“You— What?” Dr. Park started and stopped as if she’dbeen prepared to roll out her customary lecture on overdue bills at the mere sight of Olivia.
“I can pay you now. It’s a long story, but I signed a contract to be on this reality TV show and negotiated an advance as part of the deal. I don’t technically have the money yet, but I will in a few days. So maybe don’t cash this for like a week? But it’ll be there, I swear.” She found herself both smiling and blushing over spilling her life story to someone as esteemed as Dr. Park. She probably needed to get back to work running Willow Grove, not listen to Olivia ramble.
“I see,” she said with a hint of doubt as she took the check. “Well, this is great. I was actually going to call you today to let you know that our financial hardship grace period will expire at the end of this month. At that time, we’d have to move Ruby—”
“That won’t be a problem,” she said, cutting her off. “I promise.”
“Oh. Okay, then, Olivia. Please let me know if anything changes.”
“I will, Dr. Park. Thank you. And also, I won’t be able to visit in person for the next month. I’m going to go let my grandmother know right now, but I wanted you to know too since you won’t see me. I’ll still call every week, and you can still contact me for any reason. I just won’t be able to come here in person unless there’s an emergency.”
Dr. Park eyed her suspiciously but didn’t press. “Okay, Olivia. We’ll be in touch if anything comes up.”
“Great. Thanks. I’m going to go see my grandma now.” She skipped out the door before the intimidating woman could make her feel any more inadequate by simply existing in her esteemed white coat with her degrees mounted on her officewall, or before she could ask Olivia any more questions about the strange update that she’d just given her.
Willow Grove was quiet on a Tuesday midday. Olivia passed through the calm, airy halls and out onto the property. Grandma Ruby’s cottage stood third to the left down a short pathway.
When she arrived, she knocked and then stepped inside. Her grandmother’s small home was decorated in soft earth tones and smelled like fresh lemons and sugar. Ruby sat in her favorite living room chair facing out her front window. She held a pencil and worked a Sudoku puzzle from the thick book that Olivia had stuffed in her birthday gift basket.