Got Your Number

bridesmaid."
    "I'm...flattered."
    "Dee had a fit, though, and I was pretty sure I'd never get you in a pink dress anyway."
    "I guess you were the one who sent me the invitation?"
    She nodded. "I wasn't sure you'd get it, but I'm glad you did."
    "So am I. I think. Angora, you're not close to any of the women in your wedding party?"
    "To Trenton's three sisters, I thought. But I heard them saying nasty things about me in the bathroom at my bridal shower." She's not very bright, is she? No, and she's chunky. I don't know what Trenton sees in her.
    "What about a coworker?"
    "The only person I associate with outside of work is my boss, and that's only because he's a friend of Dee's." Her coworkers had made it clear that since she'd gotten the job because of her connections, they weren't about to include her in their art-uppity circle. They seemed to enjoy talking over her head, discussing artists and paintings that she had to look up during her lunch hour. She was sure they had come to the wedding for the shrimp cocktail.
    "There must be someone."
    "Maybe I should just go with you."
    But Roxann shook her head. "Sorry."
    She lifted her arms and allowed Roxann to pull off the hideous tie-dyed T-shirt. "I won't be any trouble."
    "Angora, you can't help but be trouble."
    "I know." She sniffled.
    "Don't start crying, your head will hurt worse."
    "It can't hurt worse," she mumbled as she shrugged into the flannel shirt Roxann held behind her. "And these thongs of yours make me feel like I had a wedding night after all."
    "You'll feel better once you can rest in your own bed in your own underwear."
    Angora relented, knowing that her cousin didn't want to be bothered with her on whatever exciting adventure she was off to next. No one wanted to be bothered with her. She choked back a sob, and tugged on gray sweatpants that swallowed her, tummy bulge and all. She looked like a bum, but her only alternative was to wear her wedding gown home, and she wasn't about to try to get back into that torture garb. "What will I do for shoes?"
    "I have an extra pair of sneakers."
    "But you wear a size six and a half, and I need at least an eight."
    Roxann frowned. "You remember my shoe size?"
    She remembered a lot about Roxann. In fact, from those few months rooming together, she probably knew more about her aloof cousin, and had revealed more of herself to Roxann, than anyone else on earth.
    "Well, I might be able to find a pair of Dad's house shoes."
    "Never mind," she said, standing and holding on to her head to keep it from flying apart. "I'll wear my pumps. Might as well get one more wear out of them, considering they cost as much as the plane tickets to Hawaii." Dee wouldn't be up anyway, to be scandalized by her appearance. She wadded up the dress that she'd spent so many hours searching for and stuffed it under her arm. "I'm ready." Not really, but she was trying to prove to Roxann that she could be brave, too.
    Roxann picked up her duffel and led the way back through the cramped little house, which seemed much neater and smelled a little nicer than the previous evening—for that, her stomach was grateful. When had Roxann had time to clean? As always, she seemed capable of doing everything at once. Envy barbed through her—was there anything her cousin couldn't do?
    Roxann turned when they reached the side door. "Stay here until I tell you to come out."
    Angora frowned. "Why?"
    "Because...this isn't the best neighborhood. Sometimes homeless people sleep under the carports."
    She watched as Roxann slipped out, her hand inside her duffel bag, probably on the pepper spray can. Her cousin was so brave. In the dim light of a naked bulb, Roxann walked all around the van, then signaled her to come out.
    Angora stepped down onto the uneven concrete and promptly twisted her ankle in the high heels, but recovered adequately. It was still dark out, the air wet and cool. The tang of garbage from a nearby Dumpster burned her nostrils and toyed with her unsettled stomach. Still, the lights in the small houses across the road, silhouetting people moving around in their kitchens, probably getting ready to go to work at the electric plant, was somehow comforting. Living in a tight-knit neighborhood must have been so fun growing up, with kids everywhere, and fire hydrants opened wide in the dog days of summer. Since she had no friends of her own, she'd always hoped Roxann would invite her over to play with hers. Dee wouldn't have agreed, of course, but