Page 46 of My Best Friend's Dad

I was bracing for it.

I’m still bracing for it.

The door could open at any second, and she could pop her head back into my miasmic den of sickness, shout the words, and then run.

I laugh hoarsely, snorting at the end of it because I’m so congested. It’s against my better judgment to text Mika because I know she’ll head right over here, and I don’t want to get her sick. I can’t help it though. I’m so wretched that I need a friend. An in-person friend, not an over-the-phone friend, though if she doesn’t want to come, it’s okay. Phone Mika is still better than most people’s best-in-the-flesh friends.

I text her, and she responds to the SOS code right away.

She lets me know that she’s off in two hours, and she’ll get me soup and ice cream and her butt straight over to my place. No,she does not care that I’m disgusting. No, she doesn’t mind if she gets sick. Her text about her mom spoon-feeding her enough vitamins since birth to kill an elephant makes me laugh.

Marlene is rigid about her nutrition, that’s for sure. She’s not restrictive. She just likes to eat healthily, and she takes expensive vitamins, drinks, and shakes. Aside from using creams, she also drinks her skincare regime. There’s a good chance I’m not sure how collagen actually works. Up until a few months ago, I didn’t even know you could consume it.

Over the next two hours, I attempt to clean up the place. I do the dishes, clean the coffee table, empty the garbage, and get myself into the bath.

I wanted a shower, but I didn’t have the energy to stand up anymore after those chores.

This cold has sucked.

The cold, compounded with the sadness, stress, and almost hopelessness I feel over losing my job, double sucks.

My parents’ visit was just the shitty fudge topping on the non-existent ice cream.

This week has been one fuck of a poopslide, so it’s extra awesome when Mika walks in the door bearing a huge takeout container of soup tied in a plastic bag with handles along with a giant ice cream cake. It’s enough for at least ten people, but that’s what the freezer is for, and mine is empty.

“Oh my god!” I run to her but stop short, remembering that I’m snotty and sneezy.

She’s having none of it. She sets the food on the counter and flings herself at me, hugging me tight. “Ahhh, I’m so sorry your parents are jerks.”

“How did you know?” I didn’t say anything about that in the texts we exchanged.

She rubs my arms through my fuzzy pink bathrobe with the avocados that are actually cats.

“If they’d taken care of you, you wouldn’t have had to SOS me.”

“You look great, by the way. Those bangs are on point.”

She beams. “I cut them myself.”

They’re shorter in front and blunt across her forehead, with two long stabbing pieces trailing down. They’re bright orange, but she’s made the rest of her hair jet black again. Her makeup is exceptionally on point, as always. The trench she’s wearing probably cost a fortune. It’s got a lace-up back. In her towering platforms with all the silver rings and buckles, she’s almost a foot taller than me. Her black dress is in the pin-up style, with little cherries on the neck part by the collar.

“I love it. All of it.”

“We got a new shipment in, and we get a killer discount.”

She doesn’t need the discount, but that’s the nice thing about Mika. She’s always had an allowance from her dad as well as a big trust fund put away for her education. He bought her a car, paid for Marlene’s house…all of it. Despite the fact that she’s never had to worry about money, she’s still good with it. She doesn’t treat herself that often, and she doesn’t have ten closets bursting full or a massive shoe collection. She wears what she buys, and she only buys what she truly loves.

When it comes to her hair and nails, though, she has always splurged.

“What the hell is that?” Mika asks.

I laugh weakly when she asks the exact same question about the big box in the living room.

I round the small island, pull out spoons, and then grab two bowls and two plates from the cupboard.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” I ask Mika.

“Nope. I’m starving, and I can’t wait to dig into that cake,” she replies.