“Yeah, I know. I’m super sorry." Celia moved her head closer to inspect Kate’s chin. "Why is your chin all red?”
“I told you when you called; I was plucking.”
“I’m sorry, Kate. The car has been running great and I’ve been adding oil every week.”
“Celia, I think you have a keen sense for the obvious. Don’t you think there’s a problem when you have to put oil in every week?”
“Yeah, I guess that is a problem, but it’s been running fine and I didn’t expect that to stop.”
“Maybe you should start to plan on it breaking down, Celia, because it always does. I plan on it breaking down every time you drive when we go out. You should plan on it too. I don’t understand the emotional attachment you have with this car. It’s not worth a dime, it’s unreliable, it’s rusted out, it’s…”
Celia put her hand over Kate’s mouth. “Stop! I know all the faults this car has. You’re right. You’re right and I’m sorry we missed the reservation. Do you want to try to make Soma, or do you want to grab a burger somewhere? My treat.”
“No kidding it’s your treat!” Kate reached over and touched Celia’s shoulder. “I still love you, but you and your little car are royal pains in the ass. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know. And I appreciate you always being there to help us.”
“There is no us here.” Kate shook her index finger back and forth. “I never help the car. It’s YOU I help, not the car. Got it? You need to get over this passionate bond you have with this piece of aluminum.”
“I think it’s steel, at least for the body, hood, doors, and trunk. The bumper might be plastic, but it’s an old car. I’m not quite—”
“Whatever it is, it’s some kind of metal and it’s junk,” Kate interrupted, cutting Celia off mid-sentence.
“Hey, I thought you go to electrolysis. Why are you plucking?” Celia changed the subject onto Kate’s face.
“What do you mean?”
“Your chin is all raw and you told me you were plucking. You could get them waxed, you know. I got my brows waxed last week. Aren’t they great?” She traced her fingers over her eyebrows.
“I’ve never had to pluck my eyebrows.” Kate pointed to her chin and scrunched up her nose. “No, no. I don’t have hairy eyebrows. I couldn’t get that lucky. No, I have to have a full beard and a thick mustache.” Still pointing at her chin, she curled her lip in disgust at the fate of her hairy face. “I’ve spent a fortune to get the roots shocked and now they’re growing back. I don’t have time for those appointments.”
“You shouldn’t be plucking. It makes them grow back stronger.”
“Silence!” She rubbed her hairless pink chin.
They stopped for burgers but had chicken Caesar salads instead.
Kate glanced out the window as Brian drove by, towing Celia’s car emulating a minnow trailing behind a ferocious shark. “Well, well, well. Will you look at that? Talk about timing.” She nodded her head toward the street.
“Sorry.” Celia didn’t look out the window.
They shared a brownie sundae dripping in hot fudge.
The Original
Emma’s phone conversation was winding down when Celia stepped into her friend’s office. She carried with her a small folder. Emma motioned for Celia to come in and sit down and then put her finger up to indicate she’d be a moment.
Celia took a seat and placed the folder on her lap. After a minute, she put the folder on Emma’s desk, got up and straightened a picture on the wall, walked over to the window, and took a hard candy from the candy dish on the table. She returned to her seat, unwrapped the candy, put it in her mouth, and then took the folder off Emma’s desk and placed it back on her lap.
Emma hung up the phone. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“You busy?”
“I was taking care of loose ends with the engineers on the Cerise Street project. How’s your week going?”
“Good. I have some questions.” Celia took a piece of paper from the folder. “Here you go. Take a glance.” She handed the paper to Emma.
Emma burst out laughing. “I see you’ve been busy with the news I’ve shared.” Emma put the paper down and pushed it toward Celia.
“Busy? Try obsessed! I need some information.”
“And exactly what kind of information do you need?” Emma was amused by Celia’s diligence.
“As you can see, I have a list of questions.”
“Go ahead, shoot. But that looks like a long list—not sure we’ll have time for that kind of session. I have a meeting in ten minutes.” She reached over to the side of her desk, picked up a white box, and put it down next to her keyboard.
“That’s why I wrote everything down. I figured we could check things off as we go through it. But honestly, it’s a few simple questions.” Celia scanned the page.
“Let me see that list again.” Emma put her hand out.
Celia handed Emma the document. “This is your copy. I’ve got my own.” Celia opened the folder and removed an identical piece of paper. “Aren’t you lucky you shared this secret with a friend who has as much free time as I have?”
“You’re very organized. We need to get you a hobby or a boyfriend.” Emma perused the list of twenty-five questions. “I have time for one question this morning. Which question do you want me to answer?” She reviewed the list again and took a deep breath. “In five minutes or less.” Emma opened the box and displayed freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. She took one out and placed it on a napkin and slid it toward Celia and then took another one for herself.
“Thank you.” Celia put the napkin and cookie on her lap. “Let’s see here.” She lifted her paper and scanned the list of questions. “I think we should start with question one. When did you first meet her?”
“Hmmm. That’s a tough question.” Emma furrowed her brow and put her hand on her chin. “I first SAW her before I officially MET her. Fredric had picked me up on his way to take Freddy home. As soon as Fredric rang the bell, she ran to the window facing the driveway. She turned the light off in the room and stared out the window toward where we were parked. I guess she wanted to know if I was in the car.”
“If she turned off the light, how could you see her?” Celia picked up the cookie and took a bite.
“Is that legal to add a question if it isn’t on the list?”
“Yes, it’s my prerogative,
