“Lucy?” I say breathlessly.
“Tess…” It’s Lucy’s voice, but there’s something strange about her tone. I can’t quite put my finger on it. “Hey, sweetie. How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better.” My voice cracks on the words.
“I know,” Lucy says before I can explain further. “I’m sure it’s so weird for you. But I just want you to know that I have your back. I promise you that.”
“Thank you.” I squeeze the phone in my hand, but there’s an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I didn’t write Lucy’s name on my leg. I instructed myself to find Harry. “I appreciate that.”
“Of course.” There’s ruffling of papers in the background. “I’m busy at the moment, but maybe I’ll come by later in the afternoon and we can do something girly together. Like we can go to the mall and have a makeover.”
Why not? My face is already unfamiliar to me. May as well make it over. “That would be great.”
“Perfect!” Lucy squeals. “I know how you must feel right now, but we’re going to have so much fun together.”
I think about spending an afternoon with Lucy, and the sick feeling in my stomach dissipates just a little bit. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you, Lucy. You’re my best friend.”
“Oh.” She laughs, and once again, I can’t help but notice there’s something off about her voice. “You’ve managed just fine without me. But I’m happy to help.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course! Anything.”
I glance over at Camila, who is vacuuming on the other side of the room. I don’t know if she can hear me, but I’m willing to risk it. “Is Graham good to me?”
She hesitates. It’s a split second and if anyone else had done it, I might not have even noticed. But I know Lucy so well. “He’s a great husband to you, Tess.”
There’s something else. There’s something she’s not telling me. I want to grill her further, but I can’t do it in front of Camila. I’ll have to talk to her later, when we leave the house together. “Okay. Thank you. I… I’ll see you later.”
I almost hang up the phone, but before I do, Lucy’s voice stops me: “Tess?”
“Yes?”
“You’re my best friend too. And… I meant it when I said I have your back.”
She sounds so sincere. I’ve known Lucy forever. I’ve known her even longer than I’ve known Harry. And certainly longer than Graham, who I hardly know at all. I wish I could talk to my father, but the truth is, I’m closer to Lucy than I am to him.
Maybe I should tell her about the phone number on my thigh. Maybe she could give me advice on how to handle this. Or maybe she can stop me from making a mistake. After all, how can I trust random scribbling on my leg? How do I even know for sure I was the one who wrote it?
I open my mouth to tell her everything, but before the words can come out, I clamp it shut.
Those words written on my leg were for my eyes only. I feel it in my gut.
“I’ll see you later, Lucy,” I croak.
“See you later, Tess. Hang in there.”
After I end the call, I notice Camila has turned off the vacuum and is looking at me from across the room. But as soon as she notices me noticing, she averts her eyes and gets busy with the mop. At this rate, our house is going to be the cleanest one on the block.
“That was my best friend, Lucy,” I say. I’m not sure why I need to explain myself to her.
She nods vaguely, like she wasn’t eavesdropping on my conversation. “Oh, that’s nice…”
“Have you met Lucy?”
“I have. A few times.”
“Is she around a lot?”
Camila frowns as she pushes her mop across the floor. “She’s here a good amount. But…”
“But what?”
She stares down at the splash of water created by the mop. If I’m not mistaken, she doesn’t seem like she likes Lucy much. I don’t know why I care though. I’ve known Lucy since college whereas I met Camila this morning. It’s not much of a contest who I trust more.
Yet there’s something about Camila that I like. Something about her throaty laugh. She seems like an honest person. Someone I could imagine being friends with in another life. But there’s no way she’s going to tell me the truth about Lucy or Harry or Graham or any of that. She is our employee, after all. Not my friend.