Always

2 : business trip.

Call incoming.

"Hello Ivy," Grace says in a cheery voice. How is she so cheery at 5 in the morning? "Hi Grace, I was about to call you. "

" So your flight for L.A leaves in 3 hours and the driver is about to pick you up in like 5 minutes since the airport is far, as it is a private airport. So, are you ready with your luggage?"

See, the thing is, I ain't scared of shit but Grace ?  She can be really scary.  Now I'm trying to find ways to tell her that I forgot to pack for the trip. She's gonna eat me alive.

"Yeah, about that," I start with a nervous laugh. "I forgot to tell you that my dog got really, really sick yesterday and puked all around the house, so I had to take him to the doctor. But my car broke down, so I had to wait for a taxi which was late and took me about four hours to get back. And then, when I arrived back, I had to clean the whole house because of the dog, which had a mouth from which it .....puked. A-and when I finished cleaning, I realized that I forgot to turn off the toaster, which caught fire and burned the kitchen and alerted the whole building. So, I had to go over each and every house and personally apologize to everyone, so I couldn't pack," I say all this in one go. Did I tell you that I'm shit at lying and also that I tend to ramble absolute gibberish and illogical things when I'm anxious or nervous ? No? Okay.

There is a pause for like two seconds and then I feel her take a long, deep breath. "Ivy, first of all, you have no dog that can get sick. Secondly, you have like twenty cars, so I don't really think that all of them can break down all at once. You don't use a toaster. I once offered you a toast, and you told me that they are the most depressing thing known to mankind and you have helpers for cleaning , Ivy," she raises her volume, and her voice turns pitchy.

"And what FIRE ? We live in the same damn building. What dimension are you living in?" I think... I think she caught me?

" And considering you, even if you did get the whole building on fire, you're not gonna apologize for shit, you'll just throw your credit card on their face. " I mean, she's not wrong. I would do that I don't apologise to no one.

"Oh my god, Ivy, how can you forget to pack your bag after I reminded you like 15 times?" "23. You reminded me 23 times, I counted." I'm not helping myself, am I?

She scoffs "So you remembered to count the number of times I reminded you, but you forgot to do the thing I reminded you for? What am I gonna do with you, Ivy?"she sounds like she's gonna explode " You're rich, I get it, but that doesn't mean you just don't pack for any trip and order a new wardrobe everywhere you go." Why not? I hate packing.

In a whiny tone, I say, "I'm sorry, Grace, I forgot." She sighs "Your cab has arrived, Ivy, and your clothes are already at the villa where you and Celeste are going to stay for a month."

  "But I just told you about the clothes." Hearing this, she sighs "Ivy, I knew you weren't going to pack even if I reminded you a thousand times, so I already sent a new wardrobe. I just wanted to hear your new excuse," she says while bursting into laughter. "You suck at lying, you know." And that, my friends, is Grace for you. I roll my eyes, smiling. She really is something.