Page 78 of Phishing for Love
Sofia raises her flute in a toast. “To remembering that you are not defined by your worst day.”
Kenzie lifts her flute. “To acknowledging that failure is a part of life.”
The lump in my throat swells, but I manage to add, “To getting back out there with my head held high.”
We clink glasses and drink.
Ash wanders in and instantly attaches himself to Kenzie, braiding himself around her legs and purring loudly while she strokes his thick fur and talks to him in a language only the two of them can understand.
“I love this cat,” Kenzie murmurs.
I don’t have to point out that all creatures, human and four-legged, love her equally in return.
“Hey, Thanos,” Sofia calls out. “I have something for you.”
Ash blinks and stares up at Sofia alertly, as though recognizing a worthy adversary. Sofia holds up the Calvin doll and then tosses it onto the carpet in the living room. Ash immediately launches himself at the doll, kicking and clawing it with ferocious aggression.
Sofia offers an approving nod. “The Destroyer of Worlds has redeeming qualities.”
I rip open the popcorn bag. “I trained him well.”
Turning to me, Sofia performs a critical scan of my face. I know exactly what she’s seeing: Red puffy eyes, blotchy skin, and hair gathered into a lopsided bun.
When compassion fills her eyes, I throw popcorn at her. “It’s not fair,” I complain. “No one should look that pretty without makeup.”
“You tackle the hair,” Sofia instructs Kenzie, snapping her fingers. “I’ll handle the nails.”
We cart everything to the living room. The snacks are spread out on the coffee table, and I set up my girl power playlist to filter softly through the speakers.
Kenzie perches on the edge of my couch and beckons me closer. I flop down onto the carpet between her spread knees, settling back against the couch, my legs extended in front of me. She pulls out my hair tie, whips out a comb from her tote bag, and gently starts working it through my hair.
Sofia, meanwhile, sits cross legged next to me, grasps my hand, and tackles my nails with an emery board. Their chatter swirls around me while they pamper me.
“You survived a Calvin tongue lashing,” Sofia says, popping a chocolate into her mouth. “You’re now a part of greeting card history.”
“I no doubt bumped Mevia from top spot.”
“As if Calvin would dare rebuke her,” Kenzie points out.
“True,” I acknowledge.
“To living fearlessly,” Kenzie says. We raise our flutes in tribute to Mevia.
“You know,” Sofia says thoughtfully as she files my nails, “we live in a world terrified of failure. We’re so scared to mess up that we keep our own worlds small and safe and boring. We don’t take risks because we’re too scared.”
Sofia’s not looking at me, but her words unerringly hit their target, piercing all the walls I’ve carefully constructed around the secret places in my mind. I have the uneasy feeling she’s not only referring to my work, she’s targeting my personal life too.
And I have to ask myself: Is that what I’m doing? Am I playing it safe by staying with Nathan?
My head aches. It feels like a lot to process at the moment.
Kenzie snags the champagne bottle from the coffee table and tops up our flutes. “To failing fearlessly,” she says, and her gentle hand on my shoulder tells me she understands.
I take a gulp. I’m not a big drinker and my head is quickly developing a lovely, soft buzz.
With the filing finished, Sofia begins painting my nails a bright, bold red. I barely stifle my eye roll. The woman doesn’t do subtle.
“Driving your point home?” I ask.
