With arms extended, Libby rushed toward the friend she hadn’t seen in years. Embracing in the kind of bearhug only Zena could deliver, Libby squeezed her back with equal enthusiasm.
“Girl, I have missed you!” Zena shouted in her ear. “Look at you! You look amazing!”
Libby laughed. “Thanks, but you’re the one who looks like a million bucks!” She stepped back to get a better look at her friend. The white dress she was wearing was painted on her body.
“I’ve taken up Zumba. A little dorky, I know, but one of the older ladies in my practice has a lot of fun doing it and she finally convinced me to give it a try,” she replied, sitting on the sofa with Libby.
“Not dorky at all! You’re practically radiant.”
“Well,” her dark skin flushed as she played coy. “That might be thanks to Ari.”
Libby raised an eyebrow. “Who is that?”
“The very cute sports physician who works across from me,” she replied mischievously. After she’d told Libby about how she tagged along with Ari to a medical conference in Miami to surprise her and how serious they were getting, the conversation turned to Libby’s new relationship. “Soooooo tell me everything about this new girl you’re seeing! And you better spill all the tea.”
The temperature in the room soared as Libby
’s blazer tightened and constricted inexplicably. “I don’t know if that’s a conversation for the o ce,” she replied, hoping to push the topic o the table.
“True, because I want all the scintillating details,” Zena said as she stood. “Let’s go. I looked up the nearest bar and there’s one three rooftops away.”
Libby laughed. “I can’t leave work in the middle of the day to go drinking! If you’d told me you were coming, I could’ve prepared better.”
Zena propped her hands on her hips. “First of all, what’s the fun in giving you a head’s up on a surprise. Second of all, it’s six o’clock, a time well regarded the world over as happy hour. I don’t want to hear another word of protestation.
Doctor’s orders.”
Standing to grab her purse out of her desk drawer, Libby shook her head. “You can’t use that on me. I’m twice the age of your patients.”
“Well, I’m older than you, so there,” she joked as they started for the door.
“By like four months!” Libby argued as they strode through the empty lobby to the elevator.
“Older is older. Now mind your elders.”
Minutes later, they were sitting at a glass bar being served by a very attractive bartender. Despite her objection that it was too much, Zena ordered half a dozen tapas and a bottle of wine.
“I’ve seen your new hottie on your socials,” Zena said once half the bottle was empty and their food was gone.
“What’s your grandmother have to say? I’m sure Abuela was shocked with a capital S. Did she give her the third degree?
How bad was it?”
Libby was out of stalling tactics. She wasn’t eager to lie to her friend’s face. The fauxmance required so much more dishonesty than she realized. Faking it for the world was one thing, but deceiving the people she loved made her queasy.
In her silence, Zena cringed. “That bad?”
“Not nearly as bad as I expected. Considering I feared excommunication from the family, it was pretty okay,” she replied honestly. “But she hasn’t actually met her yet.”
Zena’s dark eyes widened. “And the Grande Dame is just allowing you to have someone in your life she didn’t stamp her seal of approval on? Shit, I remember the first time I came here with you on spring break. Your grams played psychological chess with me the entire ride home from the airport, and I was just your roommate!”
Libby laughed. “And that’s precisely why she hasn’t met her. It’s too soon. I don’t think she’s ready to su er the inquisition.”
I know I’m definitely not ready for Mima’s intensive scrutiny.
Zena’s dark eyes shown with sympathy. “Well. . . I’m going to be here for a few days. Do I get to meet her? I promise not to put her under my microscope.”
“She’s out of town for a ceramics thing,” Libby snapped, praying the lie was delivered quickly enough to sound believable and definitely not made up on the spot. She winced internally. If Zena pressed, she had no idea what kind of pottery-related event would require out of state travel.