most stylish woman in the western hemisphere that I was wearing a
pair of shoes I’d purchased at Ann Taylor Loft。 Another glance at
her face and I knew I couldn’t。
“I bought them in Spain；” I said quickly； averting my eyes。 “It was
at some adorable boutique in Barcelona right off Las Ramblas that
carried this new Spanish designer’s line。” Where the hell had I
pulled that one from？
She folded her hand into a fist； put it over her mouth； and cocked
her head。 I saw James approaching the glass door from the other
side； but as soon as he saw Miranda he turned and fled。 “Ahn…dre…ah；
they’re unacceptable。 My girls need to representRunway magazine； and
those shoes are not the message I’m looking to convey。 Find some
decent footwear in the Closet。 And get me a coffee。” She looked at
me and looked at the door； and I understood I was to reach forward
and open it for her； which I did。 She walked through without saying
thank you and headed back to the office。 I needed to get money and
my cigarettes for the Coffee run； but neither was worth having to
walk behind her like an abused but loyal duckling； and so I turned
to walk back toward the elevator。 Eduardo could spot me the five
bucks for the latte； and Ahmed would just charge a new pack toRunway
’s house account； as he’d been doing for months now。 I hadn’t
counted on her even noticing； but her voice hit the back of my head
like a shovel。
“Ahn…dre…ah！”
“Yes； Miranda？” I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her。
“I expect the restaurant review I asked you for is on my desk？”
“Um； well； actually； I’ve had a little trouble locating it。 You see；
I’ve spoken to all the papers and it seems none of them have run a
review of an Asian fusion restaurant in the past few days。 Do you；
uh； happen to remember the name of the restaurant？” Without
realizing it； I was holding my breath and bracing for the onslaught。
It appeared my explanation held little interest for her； because she
had resumed walking toward her office。 “Ahn…dre…ah； I already told
you that it was in thePost —is it really that difficult to find？”
And with that； she was gone。 ThePost ？ I’d spoken to their
restaurant reviewer just that morning and he had sworn there were no
reviews that fit my description—nothing noteworthy had opened that
week whatsoever。 She was cracking up； for sure； and I was the one
who was going to get blamed。
The Coffee run took only a few minutes since it was midday； so I
felt free to tack on an extra ten minutes to call Alex； who would be
having lunch at exactly twelve…thirty。 Thankfully； he answered his
Cell Phone； so I didn’t have to deal with any of the teachers again。
“Hey babe； how’s your day going？” He sounded cheerful to the point
of excess； and I had to remind myself not to be irritated。
“Awesome so far； as always。 I really do love it here。 I’ve spent the
past five hours researching an imaginary article that was dreamed up
by a delusional woman who would probably rather take her own life
than admit she’s wrong。 What about you？”
“Well； I’ve had a great day。 Remember I told you about Shauna？” I
nodded into the phone even though he couldn’t see me。 Shauna was one
of his little girls who had yet to utter a single word in class； and
whether he threatened her or bribed her or worked with her one on
one； Alex couldn’t get her to talk。 He’d been near…hysterical the
first time she’d shown up in his class； placed there by a social
worker who’d discovered that even though she was nine years old
she’d never been in the inside of a school； and he’d been obsessed
with helping her ever since。
“Well； it seems she won’t shut up！ All it took was a little singing。
I had a folk singer e in today to play the guitar for the kids；
and Shauna was singing away。 And once she broke the ice； she’s been
jabbering away with everyone since。 She knows English。 She has an
age…appropriate vocabulary。 She’s pletely and totally normal！”
His obvious elation made me smile； and all of a sudden I started to
miss him。 Miss him in the way that you do when you’ve seen someone
frequently and regularly but haven’t really connected with him in
any significant way。 It had been great to surprise him the night
before； but； as usual； I’d been too frazzled to be much pany。 We
both inherently understood that we were just waiting out my
sentence； waiting for me to plete my year of servitude； waiting
until everything went back to the way it was。 But I still missed
him。 And I still felt not a little guilty for the whole Christian
situation。
“Hey； congratulations！ Not that you needed a testament to the fact
that you’re a great teacher； but you got one anyway！ You should be
thrilled。”
“Yeah； it’s exciting。” I could hear the bell ring in the background。
“Listen； is that offer still open for a date tonight—just you and
me？” I asked； hoping he hadn’t made plans yet but expecting that he
had。 As I’d pulled myself out of bed this morning and dragged my
exhausted and sore body into the shower； he’d called out that he
wanted to just rent a movie； order some food； and hang out。 I’d
mumbled something unnecessarily sarcastic about it not being worth
his time because I wouldn’t get Home until late and would just fall
asleep； and at least one of us should have a life and enjoy their
Friday night。 I wanted to tell him now that I was angry at Miranda；
atRunway； at myself； but not at him； and that there was nothing I’d
rather do than curl up on the couch and cuddle for fifteen straight
hours。
“Sure。” He sounded surprised； but pleased。 “Why don’t I just wait at
your place and then we can figure out what we want to do？ I’ll just
hang out with Lily until you get Home。”
“Sounds absolutely perfect。 You can hear all about Freudian Boy。”
“Who？”
“Never mind。 Listen； I’ve got to run。 The Queen will wait for Coffee
no longer。 See you tonight—can’t wait。”
Eduardo allowed me upstairs after chanting only two refrains—my
choice—of “We Didn’t Start the Fire；” and Miranda was talking
animatedly when I set down her Coffee spread on the left…hand corner
of her desk。 I spent the rest of the afternoon arguing with every
assistant and editor I could reach at theNew York Post； trying to
insist that I knew their paper better than they did； and could I
please just have one little copy of the Asian fusion restaurant
review they’d run the day before？
“Ma’am； I’ve told you a dozen times and I’ll tell you again：we did
not review any such restaurant 。 I know Ms。 Priestly is a crazy
woman and I don’t doubt that she’s making your life a living hell；
but I just