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The smell of stale coffee and lavender tells me my life kept chugging on without me.
My Bitty Beings top the kitchen counter, coffee table, my end tables—all except the one broken to bits.
After I unpack my clothes and take a load of laundry to the machines, I return and make dinner, deciding to go all in on homemade macaroni with good cheese, not the overprocessed stuff.
My phone rings just as dinner is done. I look down at the screen and see Mina’s name flash.
I go completely still. Oh, shit. I have to tell her. Or maybe she knows and she’s calling to talk to me about it. Either way, I’m no longer a contestant, so she needs be informed.
“Hey, Mina. How’re you?”
“I’m great, sugar. But I’m not calling to talk about me. I’m calling to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m okay. My throat’s still a little sore, but the lungs are good and I’ve got a full inhaler.”
“Great to know. But don’t worry, I’m making sure the next challenge isn’t gonna be anything strenuous. Can’t do that with Clarice involved anyway.”
Shit. She doesn’t know about Rhett. “About that, Mina . . .” I close my eyes and exhale, tell myself I won’t cry. I will not cry. But the tears don’t get the message. They start falling before the words are out of my mouth. “I won’t be competing.”
“Why not?”
“Because . . . because . . .” I swallow the knot in my throat. “Because Rhett and I broke up.”
There. It’s out in the world. I’ve told someone and it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would to say it.
It hurt worse.
“What?” she screeches. “How could you have broken up? Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“You don’t sound like it.”
I gulp down a sob and exhale a shaky breath. “I’ll be honest, it surprised me.”
“Hell, it surprises me, too. You were the best couple. Y’all are supposed to get married, have kids, retire on the lake or something.”
A bitter laugh slips from me. “Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.”
“I’m so sorry, honey,” she says, sounding like she means it. “Maybe you need a girls’ night in with movies and ice cream. Why don’t you call your friends and make yourself feel better? If you’d like, I can come over and rub your feet.”
That makes me laugh. “That’s okay.”
“You should call them,” she says sternly. “You don’t need to be alone right now.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mina.”
“You’re welcome, doll. Anytime. You just ring me if you need anything, okay. Anything.”
“Sure thing. Thanks.”
We hang up and I sit on my couch for a minute, turning over what she said about a girls’ night. It would be nice to see my friends and have them doomscroll Rhett’s socials before we unfollow him.
So I text Coco and Rowe. Hey, y’all. Out of the hospital and feeling better. Thanks for coming.
Three dots appear before Coco’s reply appears. Of course. We love you! How’re you holding up?
Not so great . . . Rhett broke up with me.
