FRIDAY'S GIRL ·ϿʘϾ·

Chapter 32

That Thursday morning, I got up past nine. The night before, I had arrived home in the early hours and had a hard time falling asleep. As my parents told me as soon as I got home, the principal had given us special permission due to what happened during the trip, so that day I was going to skip school.

I stayed in bed, being lazy for a little over an hour, watching videos and Stories. I also replied to several messages from Maddison and Chloe; they kept bombarding me about what happened during the trip; they wanted to know all the details, even the gory ones. I didn't give them the satisfaction, being as brief and concise as possible.

Around twelve, my neighbor Dorothy called to invite me for lunch. She was beaming about a new suitor she had met at the community center. I showered, dressed, and headed to her house, enjoying the good weather. The sun warmed my face as I walked, not thinking about anything, just enjoying the birdsong.

When I arrived at the door, painted bubblegum pink, and rang the doorbell, I could hear music playing from a gramophone inside.

"Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around... Money makes the world go around. It makes the world go 'round." I heard my neighbor singing as she came to open the door.

She was dressed like a true diva, in a neon green silk robe with feathers around the cuffs and collar. Her hair was up with chopsticks, barely matching a leopard print jumpsuit and orange house slippers with at least a seven-centimeter wedge.

"Hello, dear. Sorry to greet you looking like this, but I haven't had time to dress up." The eccentric woman let me in in a very theatrical manner.

"You look very beautiful," I said to flatter her, as that was precisely what she wanted to hear.

"Oh, you sweet talker!"

The house smelled of her perfume mixed with the aroma of freshly baked bread. She must have spent a good part of the morning cooking. She was an avid cook, something the rest of the neighborhood appreciated. She always had a little treat in the form of food for any of us, at least for those closest to her.

"How are you today?"

"Excellent! I think this is definitely the man of my life. Well, what's left of it," she said enthusiastically, heading towards the kitchen with her usual grace.

Being with her meant having a good time. The elderly woman didn't usually judge other people's circumstances haphazardly and tried to be fair. She was one of the few people who never compared me to my outstanding brother Jack. She accepted me as I was, without demanding any kind of demonstration. Not having to meet someone else's expectations made me feel relaxed, with no emotional burden.

"And what's the lucky man's name?" I asked, taking a seat at the table, where the finest china from the cupboard had set.

"You got me there, honestly. I don't remember if it was Jonathan or Robert..." Her wrinkled face made an effort to remember.

Mrs. Pendleton had had so many partners throughout her life that she often mixed up details and names. For example, I had met Carlos ten years ago, who was a retired baker from Riverview, but when she showed his photo to everyone, bragging about how handsome he was, she insisted that he worked as an electrician in Knightsen and that his name was Cayetano. I had also met the latter; their relationship had barely lasted a couple of months. No one could keep up with her pace and zest for life.

During lunch, she explained that she had met her new lover during a salsa class. Despite having joint problems, the man was a fantastic dancer, and she loved that. While my neighbor made coffee, I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. After finishing the task, I decided to send a message to April to see how she was doing. I still felt a knot in my stomach when I remembered her lying on the ground, trembling with fear and shock. Anger had blinded me to the point of hitting Oliver without thinking twice. In my mind, only my friend could be the culprit; it took me a while to realize he wasn't involved in that atrocious act.