Chapter 34

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Dinah glanced up from the Classifieds section of the newspaper to see Camila walking into the apartment.

"How did it go?" she asked, hoping to catch some kind of hint from Camila's features. Her best friend's face, however, revealed nothing.

Camila dropped down on one of the kitchen chairs, emotionally exhausted from the endless battle with her parents.

That she was still alive and breathing was quite the miracle, seeing as she'd prayed to God during the entire trial to strike her dead on the spot; put her out of her misery. But she'd survived. To Dinah , she said, "They're heartbroken over the loss of their boyfriend." She dropped a an envelop on the table. "Prom pictures came back."

Dinah reached forward and grabbed them in a smooth swoop of the hand. She was relieved that Camila seemed in good spirits, in spite of the fact that her demeanor looked slightly sapped. Flipping through the pictures, she grinned. "You looked gorgeous in these." She glanced up quickly. "Not that you don't usually."

"Right."

"Hey, I mean it," Dinah assured her. "If I were a guy, I'd do you."

"Thank you, Dinah ," Camila commented wryly. She glanced down at the newspaper on the table and a light brow shot upwards in question. "Since when do you care about the news?"

Dinah glanced down and shrugged. "I need another job," she admitted.

"Starbucks isn't gonna cut it for rent this month." She finished glancing through the photos and put them aside.

Camila frowned slightly. "But you won't have any time to audition," she argued.

"Better than being homeless," Dinah replied lightly. She winked. "I'll find time for acting. I always do."

Camila wasn't so sure. Dinah hadn't been to a single audition in months, but she wasn't about to start an argument with her best friend about this. She could tell that Dinah wasn't happy about the prospect of working two jobs. Who would?

"So, what are we ordering tonight?" she asked, wishing to change the subject.

"Chinese," Dinah responded. "I've got the menu right here." She reached under the newspaper and pulled out a paper. "I'm told they have the best pork fried rice in the state."

"Really," Camila said. "Of course, I'm a vegetarian so ...."

Dinah rolled her eyes and put the menu down. "So, what did your parents say exactly? Are they mad at you?"

Camila sat back in the chair as she considered. She thought back to the afternoon. There had been shouting. Her mother had cried. Her mother had prayed.

Eventually, they'd all calmed down enough to have a civilized conversation. "They weren't so much mad, as disappointed, I think," she finally explained. "And I don't think they're as much disappointed, as worried. All this time they'd felt certain that I'd be taken care of. Now, we're back to square one. In their minds, anyway. Most of the arguing was about what I planned to do with my life now that I didn't have Nathan as a security blanket."

Dinah made a face. "Have they ever heard of the Feminist Movement?" she wondered, and Camila smiled. "So what did you guys settle on?"

"Mom is going to pray a lot," Camila replied. "And Carlos is hoping that I dumped Nathan for someone else. A doctor, maybe."

This elicited a laugh from Dinah . "You should've told them about your lesbian friend. Freak them out completely."

Camila snickered and got up to retrieve a can of soda from the fridge. Which reminds me, I haven't checked my e-mail yet.

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