The Meadow 69 reverence in the titles I’m coming across now, though. Heaven is for Real is too on the nose. And the four Fifty Shades books I come across feel dirty to the touch (literally: I read that in Belgium, copies of the book tested positive for traces of herpes and cocaine). But eventually I come across more lyrical titles, ones that remind me of Brigid: The Night Circus, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Casual Vacancy… Lupita charges up to me, braid swinging, a look I can’t read on her perfect heart of a face. “Guess what,” she says, a little breathless. I raise my eyebrows but don’t give her the satisfaction of saying what. She bites her lip. “Danny proposed to me last night.” The books I’m holding slip from my hands and thud on the floor. Several patrons turn to stare at us. Lupita sighs. “You gonna ask me anything?” I give her a withering stare as I bend to gather the fallen books: Outbreak, a Cat Who mystery, The Fault in Our Stars. That last one could definitely be a line from a prayer. But I’m in the mood to blaspheme today. “Does he know you like pussy?” She whips around to see if anyone heard. “What’s your problem?” she hisses before pushing a cart off into the stacks. I want to chase after her and hack off her beautiful hair. I can’t say I’m surprised. Though she’s ambivalent about the guy, I figured he would ask eventually and she’d say yes. She probably thinks she was doing me a favor, telling me so I wouldn’t have to hear it from someone else. But what the hell did she expect? I’ve been ignoring the insistent vibrations of my phone for at least a half hour. All I wanted was to finish these books but then Lupita lobbed her grenade at me. I’m having trouble remembering the goddamn alphabet. Finally, I pull my phone from my pocket and see that I have three missed calls and a voicemail from Mom. “It’s 10:14 on Saturday. Brigid’s out,” her
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