Erica winced, and her fingers tightened around her cell phone. Deep down, she thought her friend was right. But Matthew didn't even Like her, let alone love her, and her feelings toward him were no warmer.

Why should she go back there and make a scene over Phoebe?

“No, forget it," she declared.

“I'm going to try Gifford. Besides, we haven't talked in a while. I should see if he has found a girlfriend and forgotten his little sister."

“Okay. Call me if you need anything," Rhea said.

“Okay. Bye!"

Still sitting on the curb, Erica took a few minutes to let her mood get back to normal before calling Gifford. The phone rang for almost a full minute before he finally answered. Gifford took the first word—and sure enough, it was a barb.

"Matthew doesn't strike me as a stingy man. Why are you calling?"

Erica rolled her eyes. It seemed like his opinion of her hadn't changed much.

"Brother, do you think I would only call you to ask for money?"

Gifford didn't miss a beat.

"Yes, that's exactly what I think."

“Oh, come on! I don't need money. I'm calling for something else."

His tone softened just a tiny bit.

"Well, go ahead. I'm all ears."

“Can you help me find out where Tessie's home is?" Gifford and Tessie had met several times, so Erica thought he should remember her.

“Why do you want to know?”

Erica bit her lip, then decided to just go with the truth.

"Tessie's sister said that she's not dead. I want to see for myself if it's true or not."

“She's not dead?" Gifford hesitated; he sounded genuinely surprised.

“Why don't you ask Matthew for help instead? He should know more about this than I do..."

After all, Matthew was friends with Tessie's sister, Phoebe. And the way Gifford saw it, Matthew would be faster than him in investigation.

But now Erica was annoyed. This day had already turned into enough of an emotional ordeal. She wasn't happy about having to tell Rhea that her husband was with Phoebe; she didn't want her brother to know about it too. She decided to show some teeth.

“Hey, Brother, why are you acting Like a sissy? Will you help me or not?"

Gifford was caught off-guard by her tone.