She shook her head. Everything she needed was here.
She wasn’t attracted to Maude.
They danced to Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 hit, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ which made her sleepy. Maude turned away.
Ronnie hugged the shorter woman from behind, swaying in time to the music. Things would never be comfortable between them, but neutral was good enough. This was a kind of a tenderness. Rainbow tied them together. They were family in a way.
Maybe if she didn’t date anyone for a while, if she spent time with herself, worked on herself instead, she could sort out how to be the best version of herself.
Rainbow deserved that.
She and Maude danced face to face again. She spun Maude around, out of step with the music. The dance floor at the pub was hot and crowded. She loved her eccentric, close-knit town.
“You clean up nice,” Maude said.
“So do you.”
“The farm looks good on you. You’ve grown up.”
“Oh?”
“You look ten years older. It’s wild. You’re giving dorky dad energy now.”
Ronnie was a little softer around the middle than she had been last year, and better dressed. Not trying to impress anyone.
She taught Rainbow dance moves, the lasso and the fishing rod.
She understood why Nev made the commitment every day to be with herself, content with herself, a unit of one. She respected that. It surprised her. Now that she had seen it, it seemed so clear.
It was a privilege to be single. A gift. Selfish, in a way. People pitied single folks, but they had the best deal. They had figured out something and they weren’t letting the secret out. They were the lucky ones, the people who loved themselves.
45
PEGGY’S WEDDING
The next morning at the wedding venue the last empty parking spot was directly in front of the door.
Ronnie jogged down the lawn.
The stage was a Persian rug. Nev and Gunni sat on folding chairs. Nev fiddled with the sound system at her feet. Someone in a STAFF T-shirt miked Ronnie and explained where the stationary mikes were while she took her guitar out and tucked the case behind her chair.
Nev had dressed all in cream from head to toe to make a point; shirt, vest and slacks, with a black silk ribbon tie that made her look like a reenactor. Her mouth was symmetrical again.
“Where’s your straw hat?” Ronnie teased.
Nev pointed under her chair.
Ronnie ran a hand through her hair. She was wearing it down today. If it got sweaty and stuck to her neck she could always tie it up later.
“Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”
“You’re on time,” Gunni said. “We were early.”
Nev held her guitar. “Can I show you the opening bars of Mairi’s wedding again?”
Ronnie propped her guitar on her knee, put her fingers on the strings. Nev played the opening. She copied it.
“Good.” Nev put her guitar behind her chair. “How’d you sleep last night?”
