“What do you mean, you lost your job?”

She told him about Virgil’s call, surprised herself at how matter-of-fact she was managing to sound, as though it had all happened to someone else.

He arrived in about an hour with breakfast and a thousand suggestions for her next move. By this time she’d taken a bath and changed into a black turtleneck and leggings. She’d eased out of her funk a bit. It was the bath. As she pampered herself with scented soap, she realized that she hadn’t had time for herself in a while, certainly not in midweek. Her schedule was so packed. Her entire life was rushed. All she took were showers. After her bath, she searched for some cocoa balls she’d bought in Tobago some time ago but had never found the time to use. She grated one into a pot of boiling water, added a half stick of cinnamon, and let it simmer. There’d be no microwaved Nestlé today.

“What the fuck are you doing looking so happy?” Diego said as he kissed her hello. “You’re supposed to be in a bathtub full of bloody water by now.”

“Do you know why I’m not depressed anymore?” she asked, as she buttered some muffins at the coffee table. “I have time. It felt so strange this morning to have time. It’s something I haven’t had in a while. It feels so good.”

“So what’re you gonna do with it?”

“I don’t care. I really don’t care what I do. As a matter of fact I don’t want to do anything except finish my new novel.”

“There’s a new one?”

“Yeah. A love story.”

“What happened to the old one?”

“I trashed it, man. You were right. It was shit.”

“I wouldn’t say all that. It was a fart. Fart. Yeah, that’s what it was.”

“You’re so fucking crazy.”

“Now that you’ve got all this time, why don’t you work with me? Come work on some screenplays.”

“I don’t know. I’m really into this novel—”

Then she remembered. “Oh, shit, I have to get my stuff from Umbra. Lemme call the front desk to see if it’s packed.”

Her confidence stalled as she picked up the phone. She was embarrassed about the firing. Not losing her job so much as the reason behind it. She’d betrayed a whole lot of trust. Everyone at the office had been so nice to her when they’d believed her lie. Now they all had something over her. She was a liar.

“Hi. This is Sylvia. Are my things packed and ready?” She sounded assured enough, she thought.

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” The reply was normal. As if nothing had happened.

“How many boxes are there?”

“Could you hold a minute?” There was silence for a bit. “Six.”

This surprised her. “Are you sure that’s all mine?”

“I wouldn’t lie, now would I?”

Then came the laughter of other people on the line.

Sylvia thought she recognized some of the voices; but she didn’t know what to say. She wouldn’t sound tongue-tied though, and give them satisfaction. Fuck them. She’d call Boogie Boo at home and apologize personally.