And padded my bank account for a good portion of the year’s expenses.
That felt really good. It had been a long time coming when I was solvent enough to be ahead of my bills instead of them chasing me like Michael Myers inHalloween. Slow and steady lumbering, but definitely still coming after me with that scary music in the back of my head.
Now I actually had a cushion and could concentrate on things that excited me instead of taking every job offered to me.
“This is amazing, Phee. Like seriously impressive.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal.” She flicked my ear. “Don’t sell yourself short. I hate when you do that. I don’t know anyone who could do that kind of scale without a team of people behind them. Our donors still talk about the intake room that you illustrated for me.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She shook me. “I want to take that family of bats home that you drew on the tree.” She slid off the stool. “And it was a tree from near the lake. Not just some generic leaves. Intricate details in your own style. And when we use it as a background for our social media people always ask who the artist is.”
I flipped the cover back onto my iPad. “Thanks, Lib.”
She looped her arms around my neck. “You’re so amazing and I’ll never stop being your hype woman.”
I hugged her back. We’d been each other’s support. The king of the family had always been Keaton and had left so little time or attention for us. “I need that.” I rested my head on her shoulder for a moment before I stepped back.
“Now, tell me about this guy.”
I sighed.
She took my hand and dragged me over to the couch and sat me down. “How long have you guys been doing the devil’s tango?”
I snickered. “Really?”
“What? I watch a lot of YouTube when I’m staying up with the animals. My favorite people are always looking for creative ways to say sex in those Am I The Asshole compilations.”
“You could watch something a little better for your brain. Or listen to a book.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Those put me to sleep. And I need all the help I can get. If I ever have a kid at least I know I’ve got the mental fortitude for midnight feedings.”
“Stop changing the subject!”
“Fine, fine. It’s been a few weeks.”
“Weeks?” Her eyes went wide. “And you didn’t tell me!”
“You’ve been a little busy.”
“Girl, all you have to do is text me with an eggplant and peach emoji and I’ll be over to discuss.”
“Um, we don’t need to discuss the specifics.”
“I should be able to get the specifics from my sister. Is he packing? He looks like he’s packing.” She wigged her fingers. “Big hands.”
“That is not the only indicator, Lib.”
“I know. Believe me I know, but he has that BDE walk.”
“Liberty,” I gasped then dissolved into giggles and slid down on the couch to hide my face. “Look, he definitely doesn’t have any problem in the bedroom.”
“So, why are you hiding your face? Own that shit. If he can take you to orgasm town, then we are ahead of the game already.”
I straightened up. “Sex isn’t the problem. At all.”
