The Queen of Minor Disasters (23 page)

           
Anna? Mrs. Lancetti? How the hell did she know? I give my mom a puzzled
look. “Honey, she’s friends with the Motleys.”

I feel like my world is
crashing down. The Island is too small for me. Now the entire town knows about
my love life. I’m a laughing stock.

“Stellina” my mom says, which
makes me sadder. She only calls me that in dire situations. “There’s someone
out there who’s better for you.”

“Yeah right,” I say. “All men
are assholes.”

My mother shoots me a troubled
look, but I’m convinced. That’s it, I’m giving up men. What I’ll probably do is
devote my life to others. I’ll become a nun and move to a little town in Peru.
The children of the world will be my children. It’ll be like
The Sound of Music
, only without the
lederhosen.

My mom sighs. “Listen, I think
you should stay home tonight. We can manage at the restaurant.”

I shake my head. There is no
way I am staying home.

“Stella, you look awful, and
you’re stressed out. Just take the night off and rest.”

Nope. Not gonna happen.

Even though I feel like a bus
leveled me, I
need
to go into the
restaurant tonight. I need to see people and solve all the problems that arise.
No one can do that like I do. Without me the restaurant will practically fall
apart. “Mom, I’m going into work,” I say and fling the covers off my bed. She
moves slightly to let me out.

“Whatever you want to do
Stella,” she says with a frown.

I walk past her and into the bathroom.
I step into the shower and let the water run over me. Before I can stop myself
I start to cry. It’s really over. Drew is marrying someone else. There’s
nothing left to do but get over him.

As I shampoo my hair I start
thinking back to our relationship, and suddenly everything becomes clear. Drew
wasn’t the man for me. When I was with him I compromised myself, and always did
what he wanted. Without even realizing it, I let him control me. How could I
have let this happen? I feel like a fool, and I never want to feel this way
again.

Sorry,
I can’t even
think
of chocolate
right now!

My phone rings at exactly
10:30 the next morning.

           
“Hello?” I say without looking at the caller ID.

“Stella, it’s Lucy.”

I knew Lucy and I have ESP.
Just last night I was thinking about how I needed her now more than ever, how
she’ll be able to make sense of this whole mess and put it into perspective for
me. Before bed I started sending her subliminal messages, and she got them.

I just knew she would.

She sounds drained. “Is
everything all right?” I ask.

“Yeah, I just… I miss you.” I
hear her beginning to cry and tears well up in my eyes too.

“I miss you too Lucy. You have
no
idea. I’m so sorry for
flipping out at you.”

“No, it’s okay. I admit I was
being shady.”

I can hear her clinking things
in a kitchen, and I wonder where she is.

“Want to get some breakfast at
Cindy’s?” I ask.

Cindy’s is our favorite
breakfast spot, right on the bay, and it’s a tradition for us to eat there
whenever we need to talk about serious issues. Today I need a thick stack of
pancakes and my best friend.

“No,” she says and instantly
I’m disappointed.

Doesn’t she get that I need
her?

Maybe her ESP is out of whack.

I’d be able to tell if
she
was having a crisis.

“I do need to talk to you
though. Can we meet at the restaurant?” her voice snaps me back to reality.

“Sure.” Why does she want to
meet there of all places? Why doesn’t she just come here?

“Can you be there in a half
hour?”

I get to the restaurant a few
minutes early, planning on making myself a cappuccino, but Lucy’s already
there, sitting on the bench out front. She looks sleek in skinny jeans and a
tight red tank top. Her long hair is pulled into a low ponytail, and she’s
wearing the Tiffany’s open-heart necklace I got her for her twenty-fifth birthday.
She smiles at me and stands.

God, I missed her.

I can’t wait to tell her
everything
that’s happened.

“Luce, I’m so sorry,” I say
giving her a hug.

           
“Me too, Stella.”

           
I move to unlock the door and Lucy follows me into the dining room. She
sits at the table closest to the door. “You want a coffee?” I ask.

           
“No, I’m good.”

           
“I need one. I had
such
a
rough night.” I move towards the espresso machine and turn it on. As it heats
up, I cut a slice of strawberry short cake, and another of almond amaretto cake.
I plate the desserts and walk them over to the table. ”Breakfast.” I smile and
place them down. “I made these myself.”

           
Lucy looks at the cakes but doesn’t move to take a bite.

           
“Do you want a different cake?” I ask. I walk back over to the espresso
machine to check if it’s warm enough.

             “No.
I’m not hungry actually.”

           
I’m not sure if Lucy is mad at me, or if she’s really not hungry so I
make a quick espresso that comes out luke warm. I heat some milk and pour it
over the coffee then return to the table. I sit across from her. “So what’s
going on?”

           
Lucy takes a deep breath.

I’ve known my best friend for
four years and she’s never nervous.

Something bad must have
happened.

She looks straight at me and I
prepare for the worst. She’s ending our friendship, I know it. I can imagine it
already. She probably has all of the stuff she ever borrowed from me in a
cardboard box in her car. She’ll leave it out by the front door and I’ll have
to scramble to collect everything while running after…

“I’m pregnant,” she sighs.

What?

           
Pregnant
?

           
As in, with child?

           
The words seem to float around in my brain but don’t sink in.

           
Lucy leans forward and I can tell she’s waiting for my reaction, but
honestly, I don’t know how to respond. I can’t tell if she’s happy or sad about
this news.  I still don’t know who her
boyfriend
is, for God’s sake. “Oh my God,” I manage to say.

           
“And I’m getting married.” She looks down at her lap.

           
“Lucy,” I nearly yell. “Who’s the guy?” My heart is racing. This is too
much.

           
 Lucy stays silent but I can see the corners of her mouth tighten.

She doesn’t want to tell me.

Why wouldn’t she want to tell me?

Oh God.

 It’s one of
my
ex-boyfriends.

 I flip through the list of my
previous boyfriends. I hope for her sake it’s not Tom. Anyone but Tom. None of
them were exactly
winners
, but
Tom was the worst of all. But Tom’s from the Bronx, why would he be in New
Jersey?

 “Lucy, you know you don’t
have to get married.” I hear myself saying. A baby is a big enough deal, she
doesn’t need
marriage
to a guy
she hardly knows thrown in the mix.

Especially if it’s Tom.

           
“Stella, I want to. I’m…
we’re
in
love.”

           
Love?

           
I swallow hard. Ok, Stella, be supportive. She’s obviously hormonal. It’s
critical to be supportive in situations like this.

           
“How the hell did this
happen
?”

           
She looks at me as if she’s about to explain human biology. She opens her
mouth and then immediately closes it. She sighs.

“Does your dad know?” Lucy’s
father is stricter than mine. I can only imagine how he reacted.

           
“Oh God, no. He’s going to flip out. You’re the first person we’ve told.”

           
Since she refers to her boyfriend, I assume he knows about me. It must be
one of my exes. “Who is this guy Lucy?”

           
I’m bracing myself for the worst. If it’s Tom, I’ll have to smile and
tell her how wonderful he is.

           
She takes a deep breath. “Lorenzo.”

           
I feel as though I’ve been slapped in the face.

My brother?

My twin brother?

There’s no way.

           
This isn’t happening.

           
“Stell, I wanted to tell you from the beginning but I couldn’t. We both
thought it was best not to say anything until the summer is over.”

           
“
Lorenzo
?” I say, stunned.

           
“Stell, don’t be mad.”

           
“I’m not… mad.”

I’m shocked.

 I had no idea they even
liked
each other.

Oh God. My parents. They’re
going to die. “This is crazy.”

           
“I know, I know,” she says. “I didn’t mean to be shady about it all
summer but we had to. Now we’re in this mess, but we’ve talked about it. We’re
getting married.”

           
“When? How did this all happen?” Even though I’m sitting down, I feel
dizzy. “Wait, I don’t want details of
that
,”
I say with slight disgust. I do not want to imagine my brother and Lucy.

           
Ew.

“Stell, I’ve loved him since
the day I walked into this place for an interview. I remember he was standing
at the hostess stand, looking over inventory, and you were there waiting for
me. The first thing I thought was that I belong here. But not just as a worker.
As family.”

           
I look at her strangely.

This was
not
supposed to happen.

He’s my brother and she’s my best
friend. They are
not
supposed to
get together, ever.

Ew.

When her words finally settle
in my brain, I start to feel a little used. “Were you only friends with me to
get to my brother?”

           
She looks hurt. “Come on Stell, that’s not fair. You know you’re my best
friend regardless of anything.”