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The next day at work, I manage to corner Angela and Michelle in the break room when Sarah isn’t around. I dread approaching Angela, but I feel terrible about being a no show at Sarah’s bridal shower and want to make it up to her by throwing one for her at work. I pull up a chair and sit down at their table. “Hey guys,” I say, quietly looking around to ensure Sarah isn’t behind me. When I left my desk, she’d just started a recorded statement with an insured. She had to use an interpreter, so she should be a while, but I’m paranoid.
“Hi,” Angela responds, nonplussed. She’s sipping on another one of her juice concoctions. Frothy bright green bubbles glisten at the top as she takes another sip. She’s on a juicing kick right now and brags about her liquid diet as if not eating solids is something to be proud of. I think dieting is a sort of hobby for her, but she never loses any actual weight and remains slightly on the heavy side.
“So I was thinking that even though Sarah already had her bridal shower, it would be nice to throw one for her here at work too.”
“Oh yeah, we were there. It was really nice,” Angela pipes up.
This is clearly a dig at me, because we all know they went and I didn’t. There was no need to point it out. I ignore the comment and continue. “We can reserve one of the conference rooms and hand around a sign-up sheet for people to bring snacks and drinks. I can get the cake, and we can collect money for a group gift. It doesn’t have to be anything big, I just thought it would be something nice to do for her here.” Angela and Michelle exchange side long glances but remain quiet. Do they not want to throw Sarah a shower? I’m surprised but if they don’t want to help, I’m fine with organizing it on my own.
“Well, if it’s not something you want to do, that’s fine, I just thought you might want to—” Angela cuts me off while Michelle, who always defers to Angela, squirms in her seat.
“Actually, we’re already on it,” Angela says just a little bit too brightly. “We were planning to throw her a work bridal shower all along, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Oh, I see,” I stammer. I should’ve known they’d try to beat me to the punch even though I’ve known Sarah way longer and she was my friend first. I’ve never had any issues with Michelle, but Angela gets under my skin and it’s not only because she doesn’t like me. I’m pretty sure the rumors about her faking a pregnancy to snag her current husband are true, and it wasn’t until she caught wind of Sarah’s engagement to a successful, wealthy businessman that she started closing in on her. She’s a user.
I doubt they want me to have any part in their shower plans, but I have to ask. “Well, if you need anything just let me know. I’d love to help out in any way.”
“We’ll definitely let you know,” Michelle says, but Angela doesn’t say a word.
I walk back to my desk, fuming because they know how close Sarah and I are. I didn’t attend her first shower and now she’ll think I couldn’t be bothered to help with this one. Annoyed, I sit at my desk and pick up my phone, dialing in for voicemail.
“You have fifteen new messages.” I drop the receiver back into the base like a hot potato. I was only away from my desk for twenty minutes. I write Angela sucks on my message pad before crossing it out with heavy black digs, replacing it with Find your passion and be your own superstar. With a red pen, I circle it over and over while my phone continues ringing off the hook. Eve sent us on our way with this phrase after every personal development session. In blue, I add stars and exclamation points. If we’re at our desk, we’re supposed to answer the phone, no exceptions. I sink lower into my chair so my head isn’t visible above my cubicle, defiantly ignoring the shrill tone of my ringing phone.
