Page 62 of The Hanukkah Hoax
“Be well, Phoebe. You can hate me for as long as the hurt lasts, for as long as you need to. I hold none of it against you and deserve every bit of it. I truly do. But I also hope, perhaps foolishly, that one day, you can finally move past this. Not for me but for the next person in your life who you think is worthy of your attention. I’ve robbed you of enough. The last thing I want is to rob you of a happy future as well.”
Alec let the jangle of the entry bell show him out, but its somber tinkling wasn’t enough to drown out the worries that kept cycling through his mind.
And the cold realization of just how far away Argentina was.
Chapter 25
The audible whines of Marisa’s stomach weren’t the only groans echoing around the commercial kitchen she had commandeered from her friends. Poor Captain had probably fared the worst.
Marisa spread out the last of the cooling mint chocolate candy canes and grimaced as her beloved pal sat at a table, an array of shimmering plastic treat bags stuffed with ribbon candy before him, with withering determination in his eyes as he grappled with his clubbed fingers’ greatest enemy: thin scraps of quarter-inch ribbons.
“Do you want me to switch to a thicker ribbon? You don’t need to sacrifice your dexterity for candy.”
“I said I got it.” Captain’s tongue curled around the corner of his upper lip, and his eyes narrowed as he tried to pull the last piece of ribbon through the loop to make a bow. Once success had been acquired, he leaned back in his folding chair and finished off his second longneck beer. “I tell ya,” he said, bringing the still-frosty bottle to his forehead, “I will never underestimate the skill required to make friendship bracelets ever again. I don’t have the finesse for this shit. No wonder Emily and Maya were always so happy to braid my hair. They knew their handiwork would stick around for a while, because my fat fingers could never summon the patience to undo it.”
“But I love you? Does that help?”
“It would help a lot more if you got me another beer and something to eat that won’t send my glycemic index spiking.”
“Alec’s on his way with real food. And I need you to know this.” Marisa took both of his stiff hands and massaged the tender joints with her thumbs. “I absolutely love the shit out of all of you for helping me. I’m serious. I couldn’t have done any of this on my own.”
“Like we’d let you.” Sid chuckled as he loaded up another box of finished ribbon candy and set it with the others, while Manic was at the sink, cleaning the last of the sheet pans.
It had taken all day, but with their help, Marisa had finished prepping all the candy canes and ribbon candy. It was impossible to know how many to make in advance, so she’d gone off last year’s Ball attendance numbers, which, according to Monica, had been lower than the event organizers usually liked to see for the occasion. So, Marisa tacked on an extra twenty percent of product, which pushed her to her absolute limit in terms of production, given the timeline, and, at Eden’s suggestion, printed up some promotional cards for the table that offered customers a discount on sold-out items when purchased from the Sweetest Heart’s Desire website.
There was only one thing left to do.
Eden’s car keys announced her arrival as she backed into the kitchen door with her arms full of the one machine Marisa’s hopes and dreams hinged on. Unfortunately, before Marisa could take it from her best friend, she froze, expecting to be blown backward by the steam that was surely about to erupt out of Eden’s ears.
“Oh no. What happened?”
“This is the last fucking time I’m picking up anything from those online auctions you always win out on.”
“But this was the one for government surplus products. The reviews were really good. They partner with different municipal and government agencies to auction off equipment municipalities don’t need anymore. I thought that since the edible printer was coming from the local community college’s auction, it wouldn’t be sketchy.”
Eden hefted the machine onto the counter and plugged it into the nearest outlet while Marisa unhooked the plastic bag dangling from her friend’s wrist. Then Eden wiped her brow and full-on glowered. “Your instructions said to meet the seller in lot A.”
“Yes, that’s what he wrote down.”
“There were four lot A’s.”
“What?”
“Oh yes.” She stormed over to Captain, yanked the freshly opened beer out of his hand before he’d had a chance to take a sip, and chugged her feelings. After a third of the bottle was gone, she dried her mouth and sighed. “That place was fucking huge, and all the lots were color-coded and then sorted by letter. I wasted thirty minutes driving through every goddamn color in the rainbow before I found the right place. It was like some Sesame Street episode from hell.”
Marisa casually plucked the beer from Eden’s hand and discreetly handed it back to Captain behind her back. Then she rubbed Eden’s shoulders and gave them a good pat. “You did well, soldier. I’m proud of you. Big Bird would be proud of you, too.”
“All I can say is that I am dying, dying, for those auction site motherfuckers to send me a survey. And not one of those How many stars would you rate your experience? surveys. I’m talking about a full-fledged text box with unlimited characters.”
“I’ll be sure to forward you anything they might?—”
“Thirty minutes, Marisa! I was driving in circles for thirty minutes, hungry out of my mind and wondering whether I’d have to gnaw off the rest of my fingernails just to get some freaking protein in my system.”
“Well, thank goodness you didn’t, because the nail technician who painted the sparkly snowflakes and winking snowmen on your nails truly outdid herself. I’m so jealous.”
Eden sniffed as Marisa’s compliment injection started to do its work. “I know, right?” Then she held her nails up, admiring them. “They’re just so cute.”
“They are. Plus, I love you.” Marisa scooped Eden into the hug she knew the woman needed. And she needed, too, if she were being honest.
