Bette snorted, covering her mouth with her hand briefly. "Her ego can only be overridden by her awful maiden name, Weiner."
Kerrie choked out a laugh, drawing the attention of a few people nearby. She leaned down so only Bette could hear her. "So, you're telling me those people over there," she nodded to Shelly's parents, "are the Weiner's?"
"Yep."
"I'd definitely go with Cooper over Weiner."
They both fell into a fit of quiet laughter until Zoe walked over, causing them to sober.
"Mom, it's time to take pictures," instructed Zoe. She leaned into Bette and Kerrie. "And honestly, I just need out of here."
Kerrie grinned mischievously, asking, "What time is the party later?"
Zoe's bright blue eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"Just a hunch," Kerrie chuckled.
The photographer was the lady that did their holiday and yearly family pictures. She was around Bette's age. Missy Topps. She liked Missy. Shelly wasn't the easiest person to deal with, and Missy handled her in stride.
The photos were going to be taken in front of the gazebo by the lake, a small, man-made lake that Shelly had dug out and spent a 1/3 of their savings on. Bette had been livid when she found out. Shelly had told her it had been worked into the loan, completely covered, but she had lied.
"There's a lake? I'd like to have a lake. Stock it full of fish, and Kenny and I could sit out on the dock catching dinner," said Kerrie, with an airy, daydream look on her face.
Bette snorted. "You'd get more use out of it than Shel. She doesn't do anything with it. Just occasionally sits in the gazebo and looks at it."
"That's a shame. Such a waste of a lake."
Missy spotted them. She smiled at Bette, walking over, pulling her into a quick hug. "It's been too long!"
Laughter bubbled up from her chest as Bette pulled back and looked at the dark, curly-haired woman. "It really has been."
"We need to hang out now that you're away from Mrs. Uptight over there," Missy said lowly and looked over her shoulder.
"We really do. I'll call you this week. We can go have dinner or something."
"That sounds good," nodded Missy, turning her attention to Kerrie. "And who is that tall drink of hotness?"
Blushing deeply, Kerrie chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head. "I'm Kerrie Matthews."
"Well, Kerrie Matthews, I hope that you are far better than Mrs. Uptight because Bette deserves much better."
"Well, I'm trying my best."
Missy gave her a hard look, then cracked back into a grin and turned to Bette. "Well, I need to go finish setting up. Make sure you call me this week. I would love to catch up."
They watched the dark-haired woman walk back to the gazebo. Kerrie was the first to talk. "Whoa, she was, uh—"
"A breath of fresh air?" Bette offered.
Nodding, Kerrie said, "Yeah, exactly. We've been around stuffy people all day, and she was definitely a much-needed break."
"Yeah, I agree. I think I may actually take her up on going out. I don't have a lot of friends anymore. They all sort of disappeared after the divorce. I guess I was of no use to them anymore. It would be nice to have someone to talk to."
"Gee, thanks," Kerrie said jokingly.
Bette quickly responded, her face heating up once more. "You know what I mean. It's different with you. You're, um--" They hadn't actually discussed their relationship. They were more than friends, but she didn't know if she could go so far as to say they were dating.
It was Kerrie's turn to offer an answer: "A potential suitor?"
