Page 58 of The Goode Girls of Maple Lane
Regina and Tegan exchange another look before Regina turns to me.
“Oh no,” she says. “No, no, no, no, no. You didnotfall for that.”
I glance at Khalil, but he shrugs, looking as in the dark as I feel.
“Fall for what?” I ask Regina.
“Johann and Madeleine?” she says. “They’re totally banging.”
“They’re what?!” I sputter through a shocked laugh.
Khalil shrugs again while Tegan nods in anoh yeahkind of way.
“I thought they hated each other,” I say.
“Maybe they did, once,” Regina says. “Or maybe their parents hated each other so Johann and Madeleine pretended for their parents’ sakes. Either way, it has to be a publicity stunt by now because the minute the lights go out, someone’s getting their cake frosted.”
I almost choke on my croissant. “How do you know?”
“I told you,” she says. “I have a sixth sense about these things.”
“Also, we’ve seen them,” Tegan adds. “ButafterReggie told me what she suspected.”
I gape, speechless. All these weeks. All the hissed aspersions. Was Johann really faking it while sneaking next door after hours? And why do I kind of love the idea that he was?
We all devolve into speculation, though conversation shifts as we eat our croissants, parking ourselves on the floor so we can also play with Aggie. Khalil offers to let us all try the stuffed eggplant he cooked last night, making us drool as we recall the aroma. Tegan shows us her latest TikTok with googly eyes glued above a jaggedcrack in some brickwork and the captionRosy Mason. Whether you’re looking to get stoned or get laid, I won’t take you for granite.Regina tells us about a new sportswear line she’s launching this spring, speaking with the unshakable confidence I’ve come to know her for, the confidence that will likely get her to New York Fashion Week by age thirty, and have her dressing major celebrities shortly thereafter.
“Wait a sec.” She glances around as Aggie flops down beside me, tired from playing and resting her head in my lap, where I can pet her spectacular ears. “Aren’t we missing someone?”
All eyes turn on me, and a month of complicated feelings threatens to bubble up.
“He’s working,” I say, and plan to leave it there, but everyone’s looking at me like they know there’s more to say, and I guess I don’t have to keep this stuff to myself anymore, or save it all for Hannah. “He’s up for a promotion hereallywants, which is why he’s working on a Saturday. I miss him but I get it because my schedule doesn’t leave much room for him, either. I just... I wish he could turn off more when heisfree. We haven’t had much fun lately. He’s determined to keep helping with my TikToks, which is pretty much all we have time for, and I keep telling him they don’t need to be fancy and that I’m not sure I want to keep doing them at all, but he keeps pushing and I want him to feel appreciated, even when he’s being—” I cut myself off. I can’t believe I’m complaining about Everett. Not when he’s beensogood to me.
“A perfectionist?” Regina fills in for me.
“Single-minded?” Tegan suggests.
“Relentless?” Khalil offers.
For a moment, all I can do is blink. Then it sinks in. “You guys noticed?”
Regina laughs. Tegan smirks. Khalil shrugs. All three responses clearly sayyes.
“Our walls are thin,” Tegan says. “We know when he’s pulling an all-nighter.”
“And we’ve seen your TikToks,” Regina says. “Yours and Everett’s.”
Khalil doesn’t add anything but the look he gives me says he’s seen and heard plenty, and I’m sure he has. We all run into each other often enough to know when someone’s having a bad day, having a great day, or too exhausted and preoccupied to talk about their day at all.
“Everett has high standards,” I say as a fresh wave of guilt crashes through me. “He puts all that work into my accountfor me. And I need the income. Why can’t I just be grateful?”
“Gratitude is complicated when what people give you isn’t what you actually want,” Tegan says, addressing her point to Aggie and not to me. “Like cold, meaty dog food instead of the warm, tasty croissants your mean old mom won’t let me feed you. Right, Aggie Waggie?”
Aggie slides me the perfect resentful side-eye, and I can’t help but laugh.
“And being grateful doesn’t mean you have to keep going,” Regina adds. “Or that you can’t pop up an occasional TikTok without Francis Ford Redmond directing production.”
I know, I think. But also... “It’s hard to turn down that kind of help, not when he’s so insistent about providing it. He also knowshis way around social media so much better than I do. And his TikToks aresogood. They get ten times the number of views and likes mine do. They bumped my follower count up enough to double my sponsorship income. It’s an incredible gift.”
