Page 92 of Phishing for Love
Tess:Should I feel guilty celebrating this?
Mevia:Nope.
Tess:I don’t want you to get into trouble.
Mevia:Please. The company uses anonymous mailing addresses.
Tess:I have a feeling you’ve done this before.
Mevia:Yup. Lots of sparkly ex-boyfriends out there.
Tess:You’re a scary woman.
Mevia:I ordered an XL card. It’ll take him weeks to clean it all up.
Tess:Thank you.
Mevia:There’s also the option of spraying his shirts with perfume.
Tess:A waste of my perfume.
Mevia:I use my granny’s. She has a huge collection. And they all smell like a funeral home.
Tess:Any other ideas?
Mevia:He owns a car. With tires. You own a sharp knife. Do the math.
Tess:My math says one plus one equals a criminal conviction.
Mevia:Only if you get caught.
On Friday, I arrive at Amell Greetings ten minutes early. One day’s grace is the extent of Calvin’s goodwill, but one day is all I needed. After Sofia and Kenzie left yesterday, I spent the majority of the day comfort eating my way through some of the Thai food Aaron had placed in my fridge (the best I’ve ever tasted) and fielding calls from family and nosy Brown Oaks residents.
I had my mom insisting I come over this weekend and promising to make all my favorite foods. I heard Dad in the background shouting “now that Nathan’s out the picture we can spend more time watchingFriends.”
Grandma managed to wrestle the phone away from Mom to say, somewhat enigmatically, “remember my watch.”
Kate didn’t call but sent a series of furious text messages denouncing Nathan and men in general. For my own sanity, I didn’t read them, but I let her vent, knowing she needed to. Her last message apologized for all her previous messages and ended with how much she loves me.
And then, late yesterday afternoon, Mr. Silva, who doesn’t appear to own a phone, knocked loudly on my door. I ignored him for at least five minutes, but he announced in a loud voice, “I know you’re in there and I can stand here all day.”
I opened my door. “Now’s not a good time.”
“I’m not here to talk about your useless boyfriend,” he said gruffly. “I’m here to fix your leaking tap.”
“Thank you,” I said when he was done with the repair. What I really meant was,Thank you for caring for me in your way. “Sorry I didn’t open the door right away.”
“I guessed you were hiding,” he replied, his eyes kind, “but I’m not one to care that you have food stains on your shirt.”
Another good thing I did yesterday was to set off on an early-morning solo hike. I’d chosen a route so physically challenging it took all my mental energy to navigate it. There was no plodding Nathan holding me back, no well-meaning voices crowding my head, lamenting over my failed relationship and telling me what to do. The physical burn drowned out even my own traitorous voice wondering if I was in any way to blame for Nathan straying.
Surrounded by the rich life of the forest, seeing the hint of clear blue sky peeking through the pines, crisp air filling my lungs, I felt my spirits slowly revive. Front and center in my mind was the thought, I’m going to be okay.
I’m still holding on to that thought when I step into the lobby of Amell Greetings.
“Hey, Tess,” Bob greets me from behind the security desk.
“Hey, Bob.”
