Why is my cousin calling me?
I tap on the green button to take the call. “Nick?”
“Hey! Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Uh…” I look down at my watch. “No, it’s okay. What’s up?”
“Sorry to bother you so early,” he says. “But it’s about that girl. Your ex’s new girlfriend?”
“What about her?”
“You gotta listen to this,” he says. “You won’t believe it.”
Chapter 38: The New Girl
Cassie is waiting in line at Starbucks to get her morning coffee. She’s fiddling with her phone, when a familiar voice cuts through her thoughts: “One cappuccino filled to the brim—make sure it’s to the brim—in a to-go cup. And make sure the foam is good. If the foam isn’t good, I’m sending it back.”
It’s Lydia. Ordering a drink from the barista. There are only two people separating them in the line. Cassie considers slipping out, but decides Lydia shouldn’t get to be the boss of whether or not she orders a drink at Starbucks. If she wants a latte, she’s going to get a latte.
“And I would also like a raisin bran muffin,” Lydia continues, her voice sharp as if they’d already gotten her order wrong. “Lukewarm. Put it in the microwave for exactly fifteen seconds.”
The cashier’s lips are valiantly straining to hold her smile. “Will that be all?”
“Repeat it back to me,” Lydia demands.
“One cappuccino to-go and—”
“One cappuccino filled all the way to the brim. With good foam.”
“Filled all the way to the brim,” the cashier says dutifully. “And a raisin bran muffin.”
“Microwaved for fifteen seconds.”
The cashier bows her head. It’s clear her patience is running thin. “Microwaved for fifteen seconds.”
Lydia is lucky they prepare the drink in front of her. Or else there would definitely be spit in it.
She’s standing right by the counter when Cassie orders her drink. Cassie is certain Lydia will notice her and say something, but Lydia is doing something on her phone that completely absorbs her. Cassie is no more than an ant on the pavement to her.
Cassie watches her for a moment, safe in the knowledge that Lydia doesn’t notice her. She’s wearing a dress suit that looks achingly expensive, even from across the room. Her blond hair is pulled back into a severe French knot, and her keen eyes scan the contents of the screen of her phone. Lydia is very beautiful, although not as beautiful as Francesca. But apparently, that was never a source of resentment. Lydia has never seemed one to be obsessed with her looks, but Cassie gets a vibe that Francesca spent a lot of time maximizing her appearance.
Francesca. Why does that woman keep invading her thoughts?
“Lydia?”
Lydia jerks her head up at the sound of her name being called. She sees her drink on the counter along with her muffin. She touches the muffin with the tip of her finger. “It’s still cold,” she says impatiently.
The girl who brought out her order frowns. “We microwaved it for fifteen seconds.”
“Then you did it incorrectly because it’s still cold.”
The girl shakes her head. “I don’t know if it’s possible to microwave incorrectly.”
“Yet somehow you still did.” Lydia slides the plate back across the counter. “Please microwave it for another fifteen seconds.”
The girl would have, in Cassie’s opinion, every right to throw the muffin back across the counter at Lydia. But instead she dutifully goes back to the microwave and heats up the muffin a second time. She brings it to Lydia.