“Yes!” Henrietta said. “I can save all that energy I was gonna use on the interrogation on dessert!”
“It’s only for Piper,” Marjorie replied, “she’s nice!”
“Not that nice,” I corrected.
Marjorie waved her hand and offered Piper a tour of the house. I watched them closely, but didn’t intervene.
“She’s not gonna do anything to her, you know.” Henrietta said it lowly.
“No, it’s not that. I trust Marjorie.”
“I would hope so.” Henrietta crossed her arms. “So, why aren’t you sitting still?”
“No idea. I guess I’m worried you guys won’t like her or us together.”
Her eyes went wide at my words and my gaze fell to the ground. I didn’t open up to people that easily. Piper was a first, but she’d shown me that talking about it wasn’t always the end of the world.
“Theo,” Henrietta said. “You could date a blow-up doll and we wouldn’t judge you as long as you were happy.”
“A ... what? Is Marjorie rubbing off on you?”
“It sneaks up.” She shrugged. “But either way, we would never stand in the way of what you want.”
“Even if it’s not the best idea?”
“Even then. But I have to say, Piper is a sweet woman. You did good with her.”
I smiled and nodded, but it faded almost immediately. Would they be so supportive if they knew everything?
That was the issue with caring, and why I had tried for so long to avoid it. If I cared, it would hurt when it all ended.
“Did I say something wrong?” Henrietta asked.
“Uh, no. Long day, I guess.”
“Food should fix that. You and Piper both look like you could use a good meal.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Need any help?”
“Oh, I could help too!” Piper offered as she returned with Marjorie. “As much as I love free food, I wanna do my part.”
“Nonsense,” Marjorie said. “This is now a special occasion and we handle everything with that. Sit down, catch up. We have it from here.”
“Damn,” I muttered when Marjorie pulled Henrietta to the kitchen. “Usually they let me help.”
“At least we get a second before dinner.” Piper’s voice was softer and she sighed.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Mostly. Joey called. The conversation didn’t go very well.”
I sighed. I really didn’t like that man. “How bad?”
“There were things thrown around, that’s for sure.” Her shoulders slumped and all joy was gone from her face.
It was an expression I hated seeing.
“I’m sorry.”
