“I could teach you,” Devlin said.
“Wait,” Jack said. We all looked at him expectantly. “Oh. I have an idea.”
“I don’t like that look,” I whispered to Skip.
When I looked to my best friend, he was watching Jack with a smile on his lips.
“Trust him,” Skip said.
“How do you feel about sideburns?” Jack asked.
* * *
Roxy
“Mother Nature approved,”Gretchen said as we all looked up and warmed our faces in the unseasonably warm fall day.
The SWS had just arrived at the Autumn Carnival just outside Green Valley, celebrating the start of my favorite season. A traveling carnival had arrived to town. The once abandoned mall parking lot now housed a carousel, a few sketchy rides, and food trucks. The delicious smell of fried Twinkies and cotton candy filled the air. This year’s theme for the Autumn Carnival was 1950s and Gretchen of course had taken the theme and run with it. Earlier in the day we were invited to her closet and she dressed us accordingly from the wardrobe that could double as a store.
“It’s a shame we look so damn cute,” Kim said. “I’m about to eat my weight in fair foods.”
“Don’t worry, boo, I’ll roll you out on one of those roller-coaster carts,” I said lightly but inside I was a bundle of nerves.
“You’re a good friend.” She nudged me with her shoulder.
Kim wore white linen shorts that highlighted her fantastic legs. Her chestnut brown hair was rolled in pin curls and tucked neatly under a maroon ribbon. Her shirt was a long-sleeved crop top that wrapped around her to show just a smidge of her midriff. It was a patterned plaid of browns, yellows, and oranges, with a starched collar.
I wore simple pedal pushers in a retro pattern in a rainbow of goldenrod, hazelnut, and pea green. I wore a turtleneck of a solid goldenrod and a thick brown belt that cinched my waist to unrealistic proportions. I finished my look off with black and white saddle shoes and a high ponytail with ringlets. Gretchen even gave me a cat eye on point with hers and curled my usual straight bangs to fit the style.
“I’m glad you came out,” Suzie said to me. “You’ve been working so much.”
Suzie wore black capris and ballet flats with a fuzzy pink, cap-sleeved crop top. Her hair was reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in her pixie phase … but with a body strong enough to hang perpendicular off a pole.
“I didn’t really have a choice. Gretchen made me,” I teased.
“Hey! I am not so pushy these days. I’m getting better,” she added when I gave her a look. “Listen, people don’t change overnight.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I said. “No. I really did need a night out. Seeing Skip at the hospital was a wake-up call.” I didn’t mention the other person I saw there nor my big plans for the day. Only Gretchen knew and helped me ensure it would happen. “I’m going to be cutting back a little at work.”
“Glad to hear it. Did he seem better?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, he’ll just be in crutches for a while. But they gave him one of those cool scooty things so he can still get around.”
“That’s good,” Kim said patiently. “But I was referring to Sanders.”
“Oh.” I let out air. He looked tired that night at the hospital. His preppy look had grown out. The beard had been surprisingly dark and thick for his light coloring. His longer hair showed that he was more of a dirty blond, sun-bleached and saltwater-textured. Like he’d been captaining a ship especially wearing that damn knit sweater. I said, “He seemed sad. Better and worse. Haggard? Skip said he’s talking to a therapist though. I’m glad.”
“Therapy is so necessary,” Kim said.
Suzie nodded. “We need to treat mental health like a priority and not emergency aftercare. If it was up to me, we’d have therapy as often as haircuts.”
“Agreed,” Gretch said sucking on a red lollipop that she had produced out of nowhere. Of all of us, she looked the most at home at the carnival. Her fiery red hair was wrapped in a silk polka-dot scarf paired with oversized white sunglasses so big her fire-engine red lips popped even more. Her outfit was a simple white and cherry halter dress with a sweetheart-cut top and a flared skirt.
“Does he love you?” Gretchen asked.
I shrugged. “He hasn’t said so.”
“Maybe the timing wasn’t right?” Kim said.
