“Yeah, I wasn’t that much of a pussy, but-” Harley cut off with a grunt, as Rocket elbowed him in the chest, “Hey, I’m still your VP, man.”
Rocket snorted. “Look, all we’re saying is that you don’t need to hide what you’re going through, okay? Apparently that way leads to people running off like, I dunno, whatever they called me back then. A prick, a coward, a pussy. Whatever. I came back, because I’m a strong ass motherfucker, and so can you.”
I grinned at him, some of the tension leaving my spine as I sunk into the banter with him.
“I was there, man. It was like pulling teeth trying to get you to see reason, but sure, spin it your way.”
He smirked, folding his arms, but I caught those discreet middle fingers in the process.
“Just telling it like it is.”
“Yeah, in your head,” Harley murmured, fiddling with the dart he’d clearly taken from Rocket while I wasn’t paying attention. What, did he think he’d do something with it, or was it his ammo in case Rocket nicknamed him again?
“You gonna take your shot or what?” I asked Rocket, and he smirked.
“Dunno, are you?”
Glory
Without the men eyeingme, somehow I was able to go back to eating a few more bites. Not the plain rice Caroline had offered, but what I’d been devouring until my brainkicked in. My favourite, something that my best friend hadn’t forgotten.
“So you don’t need to tell us about things, but we’re here to listen if you want,” Caroline said gently, while we both glanced at V to see if she was about to declare something too. She was too busy trying to get a whole dumpling in her mouth, and eyed us sheepishly as she chewed.
“Mwattt,” she mumbled around the mouthful. Caroline giggled, and I almost joined in too. No, scratch that, I did. I giggled. Me. With all the crap weighing on me, I giggled. It was pretty cute too, not my giggle, but V trying to hurry up her mouthful.
“Quick, before she can interrupt. Let’s talk about…” Caroline pondered, then shot her a wicked grin, “how Schitts Creek is way better than Friends.”
A strangled growl came from V, and we both laughed. Clearly this was a topic they’d been debating before, but here’s the embarrassing part. Sure, I’d seen Friends, way back in the day, but I’d never seen Schitts Creek. I wasn’t allowed to watch TV, because wives were supposed to be in the kitchen, or cleaning, or making sure dinner was on the table at six sharp, that the shoes were lined up perfectly in the hall wardrobe, and that… I realised silence had fallen and both women were watching me curiously.
I swallowed hard, pushing my food away once more.
“Sorry. I’ve uh… not seen it.”
They exchanged a surprised look.
“Which one?”
I sighed. “I wasn’t allowed to watch TV, okay? He was a bastard and I was the pathetic little bitch who let him destroy everything about me that I recognised, until all that was left was this placid, dutiful fucking STEPFORD WIFE!” Was I yelling? It felt like I was yelling.
“That’s my girl,” V said, with a flash of what looked like pride in her eyes.
“So you’re saying we need a Schitts Creek binge session?” Caroline asked, clapping her hands together. The pup was on the chair between them, and yapped with excitement, making all of us laugh.
“Can I hold her again?”
V nodded at Caroline, who picked the pup up, kissed her head, and passed her to me. There was something so comforting about the snuggly warmth of the beautiful little dog, something that made me want to cradle her in my arms and never let her go.
It was strange that I barely knew these women, and yet felt a sense of acceptance, something automatic and unquestioning. Almost like just being Nate, uh Henley’s friend was enough for them to just open their arms and let me in.
“Why aren’t you cold with me?” I blurted out, watching them both frown and tilt their heads in a gesture so similar, it was suddenly so easy to recognise that they were related, even though in every other way they were so different.
“Why would we be?”
I thought back to the people in my life with Sean, the upper classes who always looked down on me, and yet I was joining their circle as his wife. These were just friends of my friend, and yet they’d never even acted like they didn’t already know me.
“I dunno,” I shrugged a shoulder, and the pup caught my sleeve in her teeth, tugging it with a tiny, but ferocious, growl. “Oh my god, she’s so cute!”
“That’s our Nixie, I mean, originally that dickhead tried naming her ‘Baby’. It took me a few tries to change that though. I mean, who’s going to let it slide when he’s running around after her calling her Baby?”
