Lex didn’t notice the rain until a big drop splashed onto her nose.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” she cursed and wiped it off with her sleeve.
Lex adjusted the collar of her leather jacket. She really needed to start wearing a thicker coat in this cold weather. Menacing clouds filled the sky, blocking the sun and giving the city a gloomy atmosphere. On any other day, Lex would have halted a cab.
Tonight, she needed the ice-cold air to stop her from freaking out entirely. Because boy, had she fucked things up today. Mary Alexander was probably on the phone with Hannah right now, telling her everything. There would be no way back after that.
“Fuck,” Lex said again, louder this time.
She had lost her temper today. She didn’t understand why it had happened. She used to be as cool as a cucumber. No one got under her skin. No one. After losing her job, though, she got thrown off balance far too easily and far too frequently.
Lex turned onto 5th avenue, wiping her cheeks. The raindrops were falling hard and fast now. Her hands were shaking from the cold. She zipped up her jacket all the way up to her neck. With her luck, Lex would get pneumonia on top of everything else.
No use worrying about the weather, she thought. She had five more blocks to go and needed that time to come up with an explanation for Hannah. The truth was she had utterly failed her cousin. And at the worst possible moment.
Lucile, Hannah’s mother, was finally out of intensive care, but things were still scary. The doctors said she had been extremely lucky. It had been a pretty severe stroke.
This was the first evening Hannah would spend at home after days of camping out at the hospital. She had called Lex to tell her the good news this morning and to invite her over for a drink that night.
Lex had cried softly in the bathroom afterward. She was ashamed to admit she hadn’t really let it sink in before. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how Hannah was feeling.
This had been Lex’s chance to be there for her cousin, and she was only giving her a bigger headache. She assumed Hannah would be waiting for her, furious. Or worse: disappointed. There would be no toast to Lucile’s improving condition.
Lex kept replaying the disastrous scene in her head. It had happened in Mary’s small office a few hours ago. Lex had been pacing around the room, humiliated after the situation with the register.
“I was doing fine out there!” Lex had yelled.
“No, you weren’t,” Mary replied, shutting the door with her shoulder.
Lex walked up to her. “You’ve been trying to embarrass me from the moment I set foot in this store,” she hissed.
Mary held her ground, narrowing her eyes. “That’s a ridiculous thing to say, and it says more about you than it does about me.”
Lex scanned Mary’s face, momentarily perplexed by her reply. She took a step back, running her hands through her hair.
Part of her was considering a hasty retreat. “Just go outside for a walk and calm down,” the adult voice in her mind urged.
“I think your promotion has gotten to your head,” she said instead. She pointed at the picture of Hannah and Lucile. “You forget this is a family business.”
Mary’s chest went up and down a few times before she spoke softly. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Lex locked eyes with her, doubling down against better judgment. “I’m part of the family. Hannah put me here for a reason. You don’t get to belittle me like you do other people.”
Mary’s eyebrows shot up. “What?!”
“Yeah,” Lex replied, tucking her hands in her pockets. “Your team is immature and that’s on you. You run this place like it’s a daycare center instead of a business.”
Mary flinched and averted her gaze. Her voice was shaky when she said, “You’re the only one acting immaturely here.”
She took in a deep breath and walked to the desk. “And if this is what Hannah has in mind for the. future of Leroy, giving jobs to incompetent family members …” She huffed. “Then I don’t want to work here anymore.”
This was the moment when Lex had realized she had seriously, immensely, fucked up. She had made her cousin’s favorite employee in the whole damn company want to quit. And she had done it in less than 48 hours.
Lex hadn’t said another word. She had shut her mouth and left the room. After hiding in the bathroom for over an hour, she had quickly left the store through the back door. No one would miss her, she knew.
Now, she was on her way to see Hannah. She expected Mary had given her a call by now. She might have already resigned. Lex didn’t see how Hannah would ever forgive her for this. Especially given the circumstances.
Maybe Hannah had been able to convince Mary to stay. Lex definitely hoped so. But she would be out of a job again by the end of the evening. This time, she truly deserved being kicked out, though.
*****
Lex swallowed with difficulty. The back of her throat was burning. The muscles in her legs were trembling from the cold. Her skin was itching from the wet clothes. She felt absolutely miserable.
It took Hannah a while, but when she finally opened the door, she was smiling. “Hey, come in.”
The dark circles under her eyes were evidence of the nights spent in a hospital chair next to Lucile’s bed. Lex even noticed a few extra lines around Hannah’s lips.
“How is aunt Lucile?” she croaked, stepping into Hannah and Milly’s apartment.
“As good as she can be,” Hannah sighed, gesturing for Lex to follow her. She wore jeans and a hoodie that looked very comfortable and very warm.
Hannah’s cat, Charles, was sitting on the counter of the open kitchen. His yellow eyes widened when he spotted Lex. He jumped onto the floor and raced out of the room.
“Hates everyone but me,” Hannah mumbled, walking to the fridge. “Nothing personal.”
“Sure,” Lex replied. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why was Hannah not yelling at her?
“Beer?” Hannah asked, inspecting the contents of her fridge.
Lex heard a drop of water splash onto the tiles. She looked down and cursed. “I’m ruining your floor.”
Hannah glanced over her shoulder. “Shit, sorry, you’re all wet!” She closed the fridge. “I’ll get you a towel.”
Lex wrestled out of her leather jacket. It was soaked and stuck to her skin stubbornly. “I might need a few.”
“Just get out of those clothes! You can wear something of mine!” Hannah yelled from the hallway leading to her bedroom.
“Yeah, okay,” Lex agreed, kicking her boots off.
Her teeth were rattling. She could no longer tell if it was from the cold or because of her frazzled nerves. Her jeans felt twice as heavy. She wanted to hang them over the wooden barstool, but it would probably get stained, she thought.
“Here,” Hannah said, handing Lex a fluffy towel. “Give me your clothes.”
Lex wrapped the towel around her waist and pulled her shirt over her head. Hannah accepted the dripping wet garments and left the room again.
Gym pants and a white t-shirt were waiting for Lex on the counter. She dried off as best as she could, then slipped into the warm cotton. She wrapped the towel around her neck and ruffled her hair.
“Better?” Hannah asked.
“Much better,” Lex confirmed, “Sorry to be such a burden.”
Hannah chuckled. “No problem at all. That shirt looks good on you.”
Lex hadn’t paid much attention to what she had put on. She pulled at the bottom of the t-shirt so she could read the print. It said “Mo-mo-mo-mo-Mozart!”
“What does that even mean?” she asked and frowned.
Hannah shrugged. “I forgot. It’s Milly’s.”
Lex’s eyes snapped up. “Oh, shit, won’t she mind?”
“Nah,” Hannah replied and walked to a small cabinet in the corner. “I wear it all the time too.”
Now that she had changed, Lex’s anxiety was flaring back up. She watched Hannah grab two glasses. Her shoulders didn’t look tense and her eyes lacked any hint of anger. How could this be?
“Whiskey?” Hannah offered.
Lex sat down on the couch, wrapping her arms around herself. Her voice was shaky, “Yes, thank you.”
Hannah looked over her shoulder as she poured. “Still cold?”
Lex shook her head. “No, it’s okay.” She pulled her legs up and leaned against the soft pillow.
“How are things at the store?” Hannah asked, picking up the two glasses.
Lex’s throat was so tight it hurt. Was Hannah testing her? Was she pretending not to know? Give her a chance to explain her side of the story maybe?
“Eh, challenging,” Lex answered, accepting one of the drinks.
Hannah nodded and strolled to the window. The view from the apartment was terrific. Drops of rain were hitting the glass. The city lights reflected in them.
Hannah spoke softly. “I really thought I was going to lose mom.”
Lex didn’t know what to say to that. She lifted her glass and sniffed the whiskey. Her nostrils widened.
Hannah took a big gulp of the amber liquor. “Thank God it happened when she was in New York. The doctors say she might make a full recovery.”
“Will she have to stay at the hospital for a long time?” Lex asked, clearing her throat after a sip.
Hannah turned around. “No,” she said. “Without complications, she can come here by the end next week.”
Lex let the glass rest on her thigh. “She’ll be staying with you?”
“Yeah,” Hannah nodded, “She can’t be alone for now and she needs the company to speed up her recovery. Milly and I decided this was best.”
“Right,” Lex mumbled, staring at the liquid in her glass. “Makes sense.”
She couldn’t imagine ever doing that for her mother or father. Nor did she think either of her parents would ever want to stay with her.
“So, how are you and Mary getting along?” Hannah asked.
Lex froze. She glanced up at Hannah. There was only genuine curiosity in her eyes. “She really doesn’t know?” Lex thought.
“Oh come on, it can’t be that bad,” Hannah joked, taking another sip. “Mary is great.”
“No, no,” Lex croaked, “Not that bad.”
Her mind was racing. She could only come up with one explanation for Hannah’s unexpected behavior. Mary hadn’t called her. Mary hadn’t quit. Yet.
Hannah ran a hand through her copper hair. “Are you two finding a way to work together?”
“Eh, we’re doing the best we can,” Lex said. She didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to tell the truth either.
Was there a chance Lex could still fix this? She would have to apologize to Mary, of course. But maybe not all hope was lost?
“Maybe you two need to get out of the store,” Hannah suggested, nodding her head as if she had made up her mind about something.
“What?” Lex asked, confused.
Hannah smiled. Some of the sparkle in her eyes was back. “I know just what you need,” she said, raising her glass. “I assume you can travel next week?”