“But everyone saw you on a date with him last night.”
“What? How?”
“Small town. Get used to it. News spreads here like snotty germs at a kindergarten.”
“Yuck!” I didn’t think I liked her analogy that much.
“What else did people say?” I asked.
“They said it looked like you guys were really hitting it off. Lots of talking.”
“He did most of the talking,” I quickly corrected her. “Just to be clear about that, he talked, I was forced to listen.”
“So, it didn’t go well?”
“Not really,” I conceded.
She folded her arms and looked me up and down. “Interesting.”
“What?”
“This isn’t the face and demeanor of someone who had a bad date. This is the face and the demeanor of someone who . . .” She gasped “Oh my God! You and Mark.You and Mark!”
“Shhhhhh,” I hushed her.
She looked around. “Why would I shush? There’s no one other than me to hear this. And it’s not like it’s a huge shock.”
“Why isn’t it a huge shock?” I asked, feeling a little warm in the cheek.
She clocked me and tilted her head to the side. “You told half the town that you saw him naked.”
I pointed at her belly. “Can’t babies hear you in utero? Isn’t that a thing? You wouldn’t want your babies to hear you talking about naked men now would you?”
She laughed. “That is great deflecting.”
“I am not deflecting.”
She eyed me. “So, are you guys a . . .thing?”
My face went bright red, and I started nodding.
She laughed at that and then leaned in some more. “Tell me everything!”
“Hey!” I held my hand up at her. “We are so not there in our relationship yet.”
“Aren’t we?” she asked, looking disappointed.
I shrugged. “I haven’t really had many friends. In real life anyway. I’m not used to this.”
“Well, get used to it. You’re living in a very teeny-tiny town now. You sneeze, everyone knows about it and talks about it. Besides, I make a really good friend. You know what my name means?”
I shook my head.
“It means good companion.”
I smiled at her. “I can see that.”
“Besides, you probably won’t be able to make too many other female friends around here, since most of the ladies in this town are going to be so jealous of you and Mark.”
