Page 8 of Ordinary Secrets

She’s practically dancing in my passenger seat. “All right, babes, you’re never gonna guess who called while you were getting a new tire.”

I merge my car into the leftmost lane. “Your brother?”

“Nah. Still haven’t heard from him. I’ll give you a hint. We should stop somewhere for a celebration cake.”

I knit my eyebrows together, then my jaw drops. “You and Rachel got approved for the apartment?”

Her face falls. “I wish. We should find that out next week.”

Javina and her girlfriend have been apartment hunting for almost three months. Every place they’ve toured is either adump or the rent is too high. Last week, when I found out that my upstairs neighbor was moving, I texted Javina and told her to apply for it.

“Okay, I’m just gonna tell you.” She grins with all her teeth. “I got the promotion!”

“What!” I squeal. “I knew you’d get it!”

“Thanks. I wasn’t confident. I was up against Carrie, who has been at the daycare for, like, three years longer than me.”

“Yeah, but you work harder than Carrie does.”

“If there’s anyone who works the hardest, it’s you. You always do all the extra shit nobody else wants to. I still think you should have applied.”

Our director hinted to me that if I applied, I was guaranteed the position. I didn’t apply because I knew Javina really wanted the job. I also knew that if our director didn’t promote me, she’d pick Javina.

She’ll be better at it, anyway. My strengths reside in handling the kids. Javina is better at all that leadership, organization, and technology stuff—all the skills she’ll need to be the best assistant director Sunrise Daycare has ever had.

In the grocery store, Javina stares at the cake options for way too long. Nothing fits her expectations for the “perfect celebration cake,” so we get popcorn instead.

The sun sits along the horizon in hues of pinks and purples as we arrive at my apartment in Culver City. Out of habit, I step out of my car and scan the lot to see ifhiscar is around.

When my tire blew, I thought the source of my problems washimagain.Hehas been messing with my life for years. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d sabotaged my vehicle either. Thankfully, my flat today was just an accident.

When I finish doing a quick eye sweep of the area and don’t see his car, I let out a breath.

“Don’t sweat it, babes.” Javina throws up a closed fist. “If he was here, we both woulda taken him. He’d be leavin’ with a bloody nose and a limp.”

I offer Javina the biggest smile I can manage.I love this woman.

The first thing we do when we enter my apartment is kick our shoes off, then drop our grocery bags onto my kitchen counter. Javina takes the liberty of rummaging through my fridge for a can of root beer. I’m not a fan of root beer. I only stock my fridge with it for her.

“Did you tell Rachel about the promotion yet?” I slide my finger under the flap of the popcorn box. It tears open easily.

“Yeah. I texted her as soon as I got off that call.” Javina takes a long chug from her can. “We’re celebrating on Sunday.”

“Why Sunday?” Today is Thursday. It’s rare for Javina to go more than a day without seeing Rachel.

“She’s on a business trip and won’t be flying back until late Saturday night.”

I unwrap the plastic off the popcorn. “How are you guys going to celebrate?”

“Probs go out for dinner and get drunk on wine.”

I chuckle. “Nothing like living your best life.”

Minutes later, we’ve got a bowl of yummy, extra-buttery goodness in hand as we head to my living room.

“Pick out somethin’ good for us,” Javina says as she shuffles down the hall. “I’ll be right back.”

My butt makes a lightthudas I flop onto my worn garage-sale couch. The TV brightens to life with the hit of a button. I scroll through our entertainment options, logging some choices into a mental list. Most are true-crime related. Javina and I like to judge the way murderers get caught and discuss how we could have done it better.

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