*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*
When they got to the shop, Raven and Jynx prepared for opening while Antonia called D'arcy and asked if she'd be willing to work this week.
"Sure! I was waiting for your call when I saw the sale post go up." D'arcy sounded delighted. "I've been drifting a little aimlessly the last month; it'll be nice to have something to wake up to do."
"We'd be happy to hire you full- or part-time, D'arce." Antonia had to smile, D'arcy quit nursing after she won Lucky for life to focus on herself following her divorce and offered to come in when they needed help with the shop. "We'd be happy to have you, especially with the growth over the last year. Raven, Jynx and I are here six days a week and Posey and Jay work four. If we had you, the only day we'd be firm on you working is Monday to get the store ready for the week."
"You know, I wouldn't mind a part-time job. I could do it four days a week. We'll talk when I get there. What time do you want me?"
"Is ten too early?" Antonia glanced at her watch. They opened at nine, and it was already eight thirty. I'd also like to talk to you about something unrelated to the store."
"Ten works. Am I finally getting to put a curse on your stepfather?"
"Not him, no." Antonia glanced up as Posey knocked on the door and waved for her to take a seat.
"But someone. I'll see you at ten." The excitement in Darcy's voice made Antonia laugh as she hung up the phone.
"Hey, Posey, what's up?" She smiled at the nineteen-year-old. She was of Japanese descent and dressed in a gothic Kawaii style, and, as usual, she looked adorable.
"You mentioned that you were going to look into finding someone to do tarot readings and birth charts for Halloween, so I did some research last night, and I have a list." She slid a piece of paper across the desk to her.
"Posey, you just saved me a couple of hours of work." Antonia picked up the list and looked it over. "What are we gonna do when you finish university and leave us?" Posey smiled and shrugged a little shyly. Antonia knew she wasn't used to getting praised, but she was such a sweet girl and a very hard worker that she often found herself gushing over her.
"The first three had the highest ratings." She stood up and started to leave, but Antonia stopped her.
"Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it."
"No problem, Toni. I know you have a lot on your plate right now." She smiled and left the office. Antonia began emailing the names on the list. At ten to nine, she went out and put the float in the till and got ready to open the store while telling everyone she had hired D'arcy as a part-time worker.
When D'arcy came in at ten, Antonia handed the till over to Posey and waited for D'arcy to finish saying hello to Raven and Jynx. They went back to her office and sat at the table.
"Drink?" Antonia asked as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Sure." Antonia grabbed water for her and set it down as she sat down across from her. "What happened?" D'arcy opened the water but didn't drink it; she just played with the bottle, sliding the bottle back and forth between her hands.
"I found out that Dallas is a serial cheater, most recently with my sister." Antonia didn't mince words, not with D'arcy, who knew her almost as well as Raven and Jynx.
"I knew there was something off about him," D'arcy muttered. "Come to my house after work Thursday night. We'll take care of it."
—----------------------------------
The store picked up around lunchtime, and they were slammed until they closed. Antonia said goodnight to everyone and and made one last stop before she headed to her sisters. When she pulled up to Nola's house, she paired the Bluetooth speakers to her phone and made sure she put their names and pins in the notes section of her phone. Then she pulled out her purchased bottles of her mother's perfume, Dallas's cologne, and timed air fresheners. It took a little bit of jerry-rigging, but she managed to get the perfume bottles into the air fresheners, set the timers for different time intervals, and put them all in the oversized bag she borrowed from Jynx. Glancing at her watch, she saw she had twenty minutes before Nola got off work and climbed out of the car. The faint sounds of music playing came from the garage, and she made her way over to it, poked her head in and yelled. "Levi!"
The music stopped, and Levi Dixon looked up, squinting through the haze of cigarette smoke. "Toni? That you?"
"Yeah, I'm a little early. I wanted to talk to Nola about something. You mind if I wait in the house?" Antonia smiled at him. Despite his faults, Levi was a good guy.
"Ah, yeah... Give me a minute, guys." Levi nodded at them and gestured to Antonia to go outside, shutting the door. "You aren't here to confront her, are you?"
"Confront her?" Antonia raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah. I sent you a text." He looked very uncomfortable. "Nola and Dallas..." He trailed off and looked at her helplessly.
"Oh, no, I know, but I didn't get a text."
"No? Shit, who did I send that to?" He pulled out his phone. "Your phone number isn't 2059?"
"2095." Antonia corrected him. "What did you think when I didn't text you back?"
"Honestly? Nothing. I sent it and got a phone call like five minutes later that changed everything, and I stopped caring." He grinned. "My band got signed. I'm leaving for New York in two weeks. I'm just riding this thing out, so I'd rather not upset the apple cart just yet."
"Congrats Levi. And no, I'm not here to "upset the apple cart." She smirked. "I'm here to ask her to be a bridesmaid."
"You're still gonna marry him?"
"No, I just need to get my shit in order, too and have some fun in the meantime." Antonia studied him. "I'm not gonna ask you to get involved, but if Nola complains about weird smells or noises, just tell her you don't know what she's talking about."
"Sure, sure. I'm not planning to be around much. I can barely look at her; she knows something is wrong, but I just keep telling her I'm nervous about my new job." He shrugged and handed the key to the house. "He's not answering her anymore; she's not handling it well but does her best to hide it."
"Thanks." Antonia nodded. "Seriously, Levi, congratulations and good luck." She took the key and turned to go to the house. "And if you start hearing weird noises and smelling odd smells, just ignore it.
"You too, Toni, and thanks for the heads up."
Inside the house, Antonia hid the first air freshener behind a pile of recipe books on top of the fridge, wedging it in under the cupboard, out of sight, put the second one in her bedroom under the nightstand and put the Bluetooth speaker next to it, the second Bluetooth speaker went in the bathroom, taped up under the toilet tank. Next, she did the mirror trick again, writing, "I'm so disappointed in you, La-La." on it. No one but her mom called Nola, La-La.
When she was done, she went back to the living room and sat on the couch to wait for her sister.
*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*