Once we both had our food, I motioned her toward my bedroom.
The second the door closed, I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Lainey chew like nothing in life could interrupt her appetite.
“So…” I started casually, “how does an all-expense trip to Mexico, for five days, next weekend sound to you?”
Lainey stopped chewing mid-bite.
Slowly… very slowly… she turned her head toward me.
“Run that back,” she said, squinting as though her ears had just betrayed her.
“All-expense trip… Mexico… five days. You don’t have come out of your pocket for nothing.”
That girl swallowed so fast it almost looked painful. Then she pointed at me with her fork. “When you say ‘nothing’… are we talking nothing nothing? Or ‘bring some money just in case’ nothing?”
“Nothing,” I made clearer.
“Ajori, don’t tempt me with a good time! I will flake on all of my upcoming appointments!” These clients gon’ be outside of my door confused, pacing, and checking their watches like, ‘She said 10:00!’ Whole time I’m boarding a flight with a mimosa talking about, ‘New life, who dis?’ I don’t know them people no more!”
I giggled. “I’m serious, girl. But please don’t flake on your clients. At least cancel their appointments.”
“You’re right, boo. Let me go be professional real quick before I become a missing person. I don’t need nobody praying on my downfall because I ghosted them with their deposits in my account. But… to answer your question regarding how yourgenerousoffer sounds…thatsounds like adamngood time. But hold on—hold on—let me make sure I’m hearing you correctly before I embarrass myself. You mean the country? Like, therealMéxico? With beaches and margaritas and men who say ‘mami’ every five minutes? Not some raggedy cruise stop where the beach smells like fish and regret?”
“Yes, girl… therealMéxico.And…we’ll be flying private.”
The fork slipped right out of Lainey’s hand and clattered against the plate. “Private!” she whispered-yelled. “Girl, you mean the kind where they bring you champagne and warm towels and you don’t have to fight nobody’s baby for the armrest?!”
I chuckled. “Yes, fool!”
Lainey clutched her chest dramatically. “Jesus, I’ve lived long enough to see my blessings! But wait… who exactly is paying for this miracle?”
“Apparently, the ‘head honcho’ wants to meet me, and Marcos said I can bring whoever I want. So you know I couldn’t leave you out.”
Lainey pressed a hand to her chest as if she’d just received life-changing news. “See? I knew when I accidentally bumped into you at that school pickup that day, it was destiny. The universe lined us up for this exact moment.”
I blinked at her. “Really, Lainey? So none of the other moments in our friendship mattered?” I started counting on my fingers. “Not when I stayed up all night with you while you cried and swore you were never dating again? Not when I rode with you to get your car back from that ex who tried to keep it like it was his? Not even when you ate crackers for three days straight because you spent your whole paycheck on that ‘revenge makeover’ after the breakup, and when I found out, I had to drag you to a buffet before you passed out in the beauty supply aisle?”
Lainey pointed her fork at me. “First of all, that makeover was necessary; it was a part of my emotional recovery. A woman has to rise from the ashes like a phoenix… with lashes.”
I playfully rolled my eyes. “Girl, you didn’t rise from ashes; you rose from my couch… for three weeks, eating my food and listening to me fuss at you every time you tried to text that man again.”
Lainey gasped dramatically. “Ugh! Here you go! I swear you fuss like somebody’s grandma!”
“And you act like somebody who don’t learn their lesson,” I shot back. “If I hadn’t fussed, you’d still be outside his house writing love letters on his windshield.”
She shook her head, trying not to laugh. “Whew, chile. The disrespect in this house.”
I smirked. “Lainey, please! You survived heartbreak and my lectures. If that ain’t friendship, I don’t know what is.”
“Okay. You’re right. You’re the best. Yeah, yeah.” She chuckled. “But listen, if heartbreak and poverty come at the same time again, just know I’m skipping the cracker stage and going straight to the buffet.”
We shared a laugh.
“Now, back to this trip. Girl, I’m so in! Private jet, beach, seafood I can’t pronounce, and fine men who say ‘hola’ like it means something, and maybe a little vacation flirtation? Lord forgive me in advance, because Lainey is about to behave like she don’t know a single commandment!”
“Good. Now, while you’re feeding your face, I’m gonna count this money and see how much extra we got to spend in…” I switched to Spanish with a playful flourish, “…México.”
Laughing, I knelt and pulled the shoebox from beneath my bed—my secret stash, a promise of security for Kyrin’s upcoming surgery. But as I opened it, my heart plummeted into a void.