LEO
Ithought about Mari for the rest of the day. The sharpness of her stare. The defiant way she held her own to me. Her takedown was a little bit sexy...
I admired her but wouldn’t be going to the game, no matter what. The whole thought of it made my stomach turn. Just imagining what the people of Green Valley would say if I showed up in blue and gold to cheer on the Black Bears.
No way.
Let her blast the music until the neighbors called the cops or the parents realized their kids were off school property. She was all talk and a bullhorn. I didn’t need her approval or her guilt anyway.
I had everything I needed right here. Thursday nights were for bunco. Janice and I set up card tables in the back garden. I’d hung string lights and had enough of those mosquito machines circling the perimeter that I could potentially wipe out the entire species. There was a nice breeze wafting the sweet smell of flowers toward the guests. I curated a selection of delicate, easy-to-eat snacks—like caprese salad kabobs—and tangy cocktails/mocktails made of fresh citrus. I was absolutely killing it here with my people. Who needed overcrowded tour buses and screaming fans when I had all the wisest matrons of Green Valley passing down generations of knowledge?
I smiled at the collection of Bunco Broads at my table.
“What’s wrong with your son?” Maxine Barton asked, glaring at me over the rim of her glass.
Janice glanced at me quickly before returning to her rapid rolling of three dice. “He’s happy.”
I grinned at the rest of the table, feeling the threat of a blush, but forced it away. Even if most of the town hadn’t accepted me, at least these ladies had let me into their circuit.
Maxine grunted.
The bunco rules were unclear, but I got the gist. And quite frankly, I was too afraid to ask any clarifying questions at this point. I rolled the three dice when they were passed to me and passed them to the left when I was told. I enjoyed the cadence of the rapid-rolling game pieces and the fast-paced play. I didnotcare for how intense the women got, especially if I took too long to go. I used to be able to drum roll faster than any other drummer I’d met, but apparently, when it came to dice, I was glacial.
The yard was set up today with three tables, each with four ever-rotating people. Twelve of us total. At my table, I had the pleasure of Janice across from me, and Maxine and Becky Lee Monroe, Maxine’s current partner for the round, to my right and left, respectively.
I looked longingly to the other tables where Belle Cooper, Julianne McIntyre, Faye Brentmore, and Daisy Payton played with a few other women I only recognized in passing. It wasn’t that I didn’t like this group, but Maxine was harder to win over than the others. She didn’t have the sweet Southern charm known in these parts, like Belle, my mother’s ex-stepmom. Belle Cooper had eight ex-husbands, but her maternal care for me kept me safe from her grabby hands. She often checked in on my mom and me, even though all we shared now was a last name.
I widened my smile at Maxine until my cheeks hurt when I looked up to find her narrowing her eyes at me.
Daisy snorted as she shared a look with Belle Cooper at the head table.
“You need a job,” Maxine said.
Guess who won’t be getting sugar on her rim next round.
“Oh, you shush, Maxine,” Faye said. “It’s nice having young blood around here.”
Maxine grunted as I tilted my head graciously at Faye. She was newest to bunco, newer than me, but she was quickly becoming my favorite.
“Young blood? My social life is more active than his,” Maxine said. “He needs a job.”
Janice remained awfully quiet at my side.
“I have the garden. Those plants won’t grow themselves.” I frowned and reached for my sweet tea. “Well, technically they do. Still.”
“Less talking. Hurry and roll.”
We went silent as Janice rolled for twos. She managed four points.
“It’s not healthy for a young buck your age to be hanging with a bunch of old biddies,” Belle Cooper added above the sound of dice clanging. “Bunco!”
Various sounds of displeasure went up from the other tables.
“Speak for yourself. I’m at the peak of my life,” Daisy called, and several ladies cheered.
“This is fun. Everybody talking about me like I’m not here,” I said.
“He needs friends. It’s weird.” Maxine was getting the spicy dip next time too. “He’s too young to be hiding out like this.”
