Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
She was laughing so hard she could barely get it out. “The report came back and—and—it turned out there was no special, all-natural super formula at all! It was just a bunch of other popular face cream brands all mixed together with the special ingredient! Poop!”
I jerked in my seat. “What! Did you just say poop?”
“Poop, Sarah! Bird poooooopp! Shit! Excrement!” She was crying, she was laughing so hard. “Sue scooped the crap out of the bottom of Tweety’s cage, plopped it in a jar, and charged two hundred dollars for it! And when the wives of Lantana found out, they sued her ass so hard and fast, she couldn’t sit down for a month.”
My jaw worked for a full minute. “They... sued her?”
“You bet they did. Not only that, but she was slapped with a huge fine by the FDA and ordered to stop selling immediately,” she said. “Sue settled all the lawsuits out of court and made them all sign NDAs as a condition for payment. I guess she thought that would be enough to make it all go away because, yes, she did attend the Lantana Street Fair last year with her SueNaturals booth.
“But she wasn’t the fucking h-headliner.” Court caught another case of the giggles. “Sarah, they chased her out of there—screaming and pelting her with anything they could get their hands on. Someone actually stole a tray of my cupcakes just to throw at her!”
If there was something to say in response to all of that, I didn’t know what it was. For eight hours, my sister blathered on and on about her perfect life and successful business, and it was all a lie.
“Wow,” I whispered. “Just wow.”
She squeezed my wrist. “Look, I told you all of that not only because it brought me great joy, but because I need you to know that Sue wasn’t the smart one, or the creative one, or the successful one. The only thing she had on you was being a better liar and bully. You’re the best twin, Sarah. Doesn’t matter that you had a ten-year delay, you will make all of your dreams come true.”
My eyes swam. “Now you’re making me cry.”
A knock sounded on the glass, drawing our attention to the figure in the window.
An older woman with thick-framed glasses, wispy red hair, and a worn, threadbare brown coat knocked on the glass again, and then pointed to the stack of papers in her hand.
“One sec.” Courtney went to the door. Flipping the lock, she stuck her head out. “Yes? Can I help you?”
“Hello,” floated to my ear. “You won’t know who I am, but my name is Collette Williams. My daughter, Tracy Williams, has been m-missing for two w-weeks.” I saw her eyes well through the glass. “She was last seen leaving her job at the post office on the night of the fourteenth”—Mrs. Williams turned and pointed to the post office right at the end of the street—“and I haven’t heard from her since.
“My daughter wouldn’t leave without telling me. She just wouldn’t.” A shaky hand peeled a piece of paper off her stack. “This is my girl. Have you ever seen her before? Maybe— Maybe she came in one afternoon for a cupcake or...?” She trailed off at Courtney’s headshake.
“I’m so sorry, but no,” my friend said. “She’s not familiar to me, but I spend most of my time in the back. My assistant mans the shop. I’ll ask if she recognizes her,” Courtney offered before she asked, taking the flyer. “And I’ll put this up in the window.”
“Th-thank you,” Mrs. Williams rasped. “Bless you, and thank you.”
“I hope she comes home safe and sound soon.”
Mrs. Williams just nodded, smile wobbling as she turned to go.
Courtney came back in—stricken. “That poor woman. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now. One time Mom and I got our wires crossed, and she picked Taylor up from school on the wrong day. When I got there and they told me Taylor wasn’t there, I had a straight fucking heart attack in the ten seconds it took for Mr. Stevens to finish his sentence and say her grandmother already picked her up. Worst feeling in the world,” she whispered, gazing at Mrs. Williams who was across the street, speaking to the owner of the dry cleaners. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
She tossed her head. “Okay, now we both need cheering up. Come with me to pick up Taylor. It’s long past time she met her favorite auntie Sarah.”
I was up, out the door, and in the car before the woman got her keys.
THAT NIGHT, I BUSTLED around the kitchen—putting away groceries, tidying up, and prepping dinner while the music blasted from Sue’s laptop.
After a shit-my-pants terrifying morning, I ended up having the best afternoon with Courtney and Taylor. Together, the three of us went to the park, the farmer’s market, and then the mall because Taylor informed me that I wanted to buy her a present. So, naturally, I bought her the biggest stuffed bear in the place.