The Queen's Dilemma

Ch. 7: The Struggle is Real

Lou Ann, whose codename was 'Lord Farts A Lot', handed Rani some whiskey, while shaking her wild mane of reddish-brown hair.

"Come on! Drink up," she ordered.

Rani accepted the glass and took a small sip. The cinnamon syrup and strong alcohol choked her for a bit; she hadn't drunk something this strong since the wedding and immediately grabbed a few cookies to wash it down. As it moved down her throat, the spice heated her up from the inside out and Rani's teeth stopped chattering.

Lou Ann patted her back. "There, there! Keep it up. We all get drunk. Well, except for Charlotte."

"It's Charlie," the teen said snidely. Charlie's eyes were trained on the TV, where the Tangled DVD was playing. She laughed when Flynn Rider cried in amazement over the horrible poster depicting him with an oversized nose.

"Like you young ones say, 'whatever'." Lou Ann did a z-snap and immediately fell onto the floor, giggling like an idiot.

"Lou Ann," Lily said. "Lay off a little."

"What? I don't get to be drunk that often. Let me be. Besides, I'll be sleeping over tonight. Smart right?"

Lily huffed and looked around. Catching Rani's eye, she gave her a small smirk. "Enjoying yourself?"

Rani wasn't sure. Matt showing up in a well-fitting t-shirt and faded jeans had done a number on her heart. His hair had been chopped short, matching the sharp cut of his cheekbones. His eyes were still as piercing as ever, and she'd made a point of avoiding them. The way he'd slammed Lily's door only scattered her nerves.

But at the same time, a part of her was happy he'd come. She'd been so busy this week, she had barely any time to show Charlie how the electronic system worked. Calls and emails had eaten up her work week, along with having to travel to different vendors. She had to settle different contracts and compile them into a huge one with one specific company.

The fights with lawyers had lasted several days. She'd lost a few pounds from the stress.

Her pants, at the very least, were looser than she remembered.

It was nice to know that he was doing alright. Charlie didn't really mention much about her dad, other than that he was busy with the school year starting soon.

Rani shook her head, trying to get rid of the trance Lou Ann's alcohol had put her into. "Yeah, I am. You guys are pretty funny," she said, looking at Lily.

Deidra huffed. "Matt's panties have been in a twist this past month Lily. What's going on with him? Holly's not in town, is she?"

"No, and if she knows what's good for her, she'll never come back." Lily's face was a mixture of anger and sadness, something Rani had never seen before. Her black eyebrows were drawn in, glaring at the innocent glass in front of her.

"Who's Holly?" Rani asked.

"Matt's ex-wife," Nandini answered.

Lily's eyes shot towards Nandini, and a silent conversation seemed to be spoken with their eyes. Lily seemed to be telling Nandini to back down, almost begging at her to not finish the conversation.

Nandini continued. "She left so many years ago. Lily told me it was right after Charlie had been born."

Charlie, Rani noted, was staring at a curtain, not even paying attention to the movie that still played. She had a painful look in her eyes, and small blush creeped across her face.

"She's a nasty, spiteful woman," Lily said sourly. "I never want to see her again. Why'd you bring her up Dede?"

Dede sputtered, almost choking on her shot. "Well, I mean, you know how he is. He rarely, if ever, gets angry and he's just been so out of it for the past couple of months. All of us are worried about him."