Chapter Fifty-Two

"I can ask Nick," Sharlene suggested as she unfolded her arms. "Maybe he can straighten Mr. Thomas up. Tell him a thing or two. Show him whose boss. Right?" 

Sitting in the empty spot near Rita, she repeated for emphasis. 

"Right."

"Nick?" 

Rita murmured as she sniffled for the eighth time. A few seconds later, her eyes suddenly widened. Swinging the empty spoon in the air, she cried.

"Oh yes, Nick!"

Laughing, she gently hit her head with the back of her hand. It was as if a ding went off when she remembered something of more importance.

"Look at me crying and eating ice cream when my best friend's dream husband has been chatting her up like a storm for those past days!"

Beaming, though tears were still falling down her cheeks, Rita placed the bucket of ice cream in Jan's hand, who had also become curious about Sharlene's relationship with Mr. Ross. 

"He is not chatting me up like a storm, Riri. We were talking like normal people do on the phone."

Sharlene defended but failed to stop the blush from painting her cheeks.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Rita teased, her tears vanishing into thin air.

"And I thought you said I had a weird mood personality change. Crying, then beaming and teasing with joy the next? Now that is weird."

"Why was the word ignore coined? To not interrupt a change in subject. Now spill about the juicy details with Nick."

Raising an eyebrow, Sharlene was amused. 

"Weren't we having an important conversation?"

Rolling her eyes, Rita placed her hand underneath her chin.

"You were the one who mentioned Nick, and the important conversation is now about him."

Jan agreed with an enthusiastic nod, her eyes similar to Rita's curiously dancing ones. 

Sighing, Sharlene was unable to argue with her persistence.

"Okay, okay. Nick has been calling me for the past three days."

"What? Really? I am sure you were excited."

Her cheeks turning rosier, she hastily nodded with a smile. 

Exclaiming, Rita held Jan's hands in hers while a wide grin split her face in half.

"KYAH! I knew it!"

Without catching her breath, Rita exclaimed.

"When did this begin? What did he say? What time did he call? Was his voice as sexy as it sounded on the phone, like in person? Were you blushing as if you ate pepper?"

Sending her a breath-will-you type of look, Sharlene honestly responded as best as she could to her giddy friend. 

"It all started three days ago. Nick called me three times on Monday morning, which I thought was an alarm I set up at first, but on the fourth call, which was at 3 am, I found out it was him all along. I was so happy that mom thought I was suffering from a heart attack, and maybe I was."

Laughing while doing her signature seal claps, Rita was on cloud nine.

"A heart attack of love. He sounded like a desperate man to call you at 3 am."

She added with wiggling eyebrows. 

Sharlene scoffed.

"He was not desperate."

"Uh-huh."

Rita's eyes spoke doubt, and Sharlene quickly refuted.

"No, he was not. He called early because the time zone is completely different in the country he went to."

"That sounds like a reasonable explanation. However, I rest my case."

Giving up when there was no way of winning the argument, Sharlene continued to ramble. 

"We spoke of how we missed each other, which I proudly said without blushing..."

"Who are you, and what did you do with my original Sharlene?"

Rita dramatically gasped, and Sharlene laughed.

"Oh, stop it, Riri. As I was saying, I asked him when he was coming back."

"And what did he say?"

"He will have to stay for another week."

"I am sure you were disappointed."

Janice spoke after silently soaking up the information like a sponge.

"Yes, I was, but what to do? I told Nick to come back sooner because I missed him."

With a coy smile, Rita burst out laughing. 

In a sing-song voice, she teased. 

"Well, well, well, it looks like Miss Shy Girl is turning bolder every day because of her future hubby."

Blushing redder, Sharlene cleared her throat while ignoring Rita's cheekiness.

"Anyway, he asked me what reward I would give him if he arrived earlier than expected, and I said-" 

Touching her lips, Sharlene squealed. 

"I'll give him a kiss!" 

Squealing alongside her, Rita and Jan were elated. But for two different reasons.

"I cannot believe you'd say or think of something like that. You clever girl." 

Rita said, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"I can't believe myself either."

Laughing, Sharlene danced giddily on the bed.

"I am so proud of you, Shar, and what happened after you told him that?" 

Jan asked, her hands busy digging through the contents of her bag for her favorite notebook and pen.

"He choked." 

"Wait, what?" 

Jan and Rita spoke in sync, their eyebrows meeting their hairline.

"He choked? Did I say something wrong?"

They shared a look before glancing back at her. 

"Like choked, choked?"

Frowning, Sharlene was confused.

"Is there another term for choke?"

"Yes, there are many different definitions of choke in the dictionary. The most popular is choking on your food–"

Hastily, Sharlene interjected while shaking her hands in front of her face.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, and no. Nick did not choke on his food because he was not eating. He choked because he lost his breath."

"Oh, thank god."

The girls sighed with heavy breaths of relief.

"Oh, my word, Shar. Did you almost send my brother-in-law to his grave by choking on air?"

Rita gasped, her eyes ready to pop out of her sockets. 

Rattled, Sharlene hurriedly denied.

"No, I did not. And who's your brother-in-law?" 

Smugly, Rita spoke while bouncing her shoulders with hers. 

With pride, she said.

"Of course, he is my brother-in-law, and when I meet him again, I will tell him about all your embarrassing childhood memories."

Hiding her blushing face in her hands, Sharlene groaned. 

"Argh, Riri."

Jan curiously asked.

"So, then, what happened? Did he accept your reward, you know, after he caught his breath?" 

"Yes, he did. He also mentioned about us going to buy engagement and wedding rings."

Squealing, Rita pulled her into a tight hug.

 "I am so happy for you!"

"Can't...breathe. But...happy...for...me...too."

Stuttering as she firmly tapped on Rita's back, Sharlene greedily sucked in air into her lungs when she instantly pulled away. 

"Boy, you sure have a mean and firm grip, Riri."

Ignoring her statement, Rita continued to gush.

"I am so proud of you!"

With a wink in her direction, she tapped her blushing cheeks. 

"Your man sounds like a keeper!"

"He is not my man."

Mumbling, Sharlene pushed her hands away. 

"Yet. That's right. Oops, my bad. But he will soon be. Your baby daddy/fiance/husband all in one. I call it an entire package deal! Who could ask for more?!" 

Exclaiming, Rita was over the moon with joy for her best friend.

Standing up after breathing in and out to decrease her blushing, Sharlene swiftly changed the conversation. 

"Back to Mr. Thomas. We cannot just forget this situation ever happened."

Instantly, Rita's happy mood deflated. 

Taking the bucket of ice cream from Janice, she suddenly began to sob at the mention of Mr. Thomas's name. Shoving a spoon into her mouth, she wailed.

"Why should we continue speaking about him? It's depressing. It's not like I can do something about it. Fired means dismissal."

Breathing in and out, Sharlene voiced.

"Yes, you are right. You can't do something about it."

Her eyes were focused as she placed her hands behind her back like a soldier.

Raising an eyebrow as her sobs halted from shock, Rita's hand that was bringing the ice cream toward her lips paused. 

"What?" 

Janice also looked confused. 

Sighing, Sharlene began to pace, but her gait was slower. 

"As I stated, my friend, you won't do anything."

Rita inquired with raised eyebrows. 

"Wait a moment. Weren't you the one who said we should do something about this five...wait, six minutes ago?"

Briskly, Sharlene nodded her head. 

"I know what I said."

"And?" 

Rita pressed, for she felt like Sharlene was speaking in codes. 

"I am officially lost."

Janice mumbled with a frown adorning her lips. 

"There is no reason to be lost. Rita is not going to do anything or continue to cry and lament about her future looking bleak because I will avenge her."

A pin-drop silence passed before Rita burst out laughing. Sharlene glared in her direction. 

Upon seeing her annoyed glare, she placed her hand in front of her lips.

"I...am...sorry." 

She sputtered between laughter.

"It's just...the way you said it...oh my, god."

Unable to control her laughter anymore, she slapped her hands on the bed. That action caused the bucket of ice cream to slide down her lap. Janice with quick reflexes, caught it before it fell to the ground.

"How did I say it?" 

Sharlene asked with a frown, her eyes averting towards Janice to confirm the reason for laughter, but she gave her an I-don't-know movement with her shoulders while placing the lid on the ice cream bucket.

"What's so funny, Riri?"

Looking at her, Rita broke down in laughter once more, her eyes twinkling like stars. 

"You said it...like those actors in the movies...who make a promise of vengeance for their dead masters to kill their enemies."

Laughing until tears fell from the edges of her eyes, Rita turned as red as a tomato. 

Throwing her hands in the air, Sharlene huffed.

"Oh, come on! When I thought it was for something else! You, crybaby, had way too much sugar! Janice, can you please bring the bucket of ice cream downstairs? She needs a bathroom break and rest."

Like a light switch, Rita's laughing seized, and she hugged the ice cream bucket for dear life. 

"What? No. I am not tired."

"Of course you are. You have been crying, smiling, then crying again. Squealing with excitement, then crying again, then laughing and crying again for the last six minutes. You need to sleep. I bet you'll instantly fall asleep if you place your head on the pillow."

Sharlene expressed with dramatic hand gestures, while Janice nodded in agreement like a doddle head. She effortlessly pulled the bucket from Rita's slack hold.

"I won't."

Rita denied it while confidentially lifting her head. 

Smirking, for she knew she was on the losing end, Sharlene shrugged.

"Then we have an assured bet. I will be the first. I bet 5 dollars. What will you bet, Jan?" 

Contemplating on the matter, while Rita lifted her head with a huff as if she was entering the arena, Jan exclaimed. 

"I am betting 7 dollars!"

"That's a lot of money for something so trivial."

Rita's sarcastic grumbling made Sharlene's smirk broaden. 

"Then what do you bet? Remember, whoever wins gets the total."

Confident that she would win, Rita unabashedly laid down her cards. 

"Two tickets to Toronto and an extra 25 dollars."

Gasping when she heard this, Janice was astonished. 

"You have two tickets to Toronto?" 

As if she was talking about gold, Rita flashed a cheeky smile. She puffed out her chest like a pigeon. 

"Yes. I won it from playing solitaire online."

Grinning, Sharlene exclaimed. 

"Well, aren't you a lucky bird? Deal! Let us shake on it."

Stretching her hands, she had the eyes of a winner, and Rita noticed. 

"Don't think you've already won."

Huffing, she placed her hand in hers and Janice, who was giddy about the entire fiasco. 

"It is a pleasure doing this deal with the both of you."

Business-like, Sharlene pulled her hands away when their brief handshake was over. 

Scoffing, Rita reluctantly gave up on eating the ice cream.

"You and I know I am very good at winning bets."

She murmured, but ten minutes later, she was working up a long and loud snore.