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I snorted.
“Well, whatever he is, I know he isn’t the type of guy you would normally want your girlfriend to spend time with. I know he’s a ‘whatever the word is for what he is’ and it’s made you feel uncomfortable at times but you can trust Jesse honey. He’s been your best friend since you were knee high in diapers and besides, even if you couldn’t trust him, you can trust Jules.”
I softened a little bit.
“Thanks mama,” I kissed her forehead. “What ya’ makin’ here?”
Jesse brought Jules to my house at ten fifteen and I nearly burst from the kitchen door when I heard them pull through the gravel. I had stayed in the kitchen with my mom the entire time they’d been out, pretending that I wasn’t waiting for Jules. I could hear them laughing and my God did that irritate me.
“Cost you to keep me quiet,” I heard Jesse tease.
What the heck does that mean?
Jules opened the screen door and peeked her head inside.
“You’re late,” I said as coolly as possible given my extreme unexplainable rage.
“So we are,” she said, without any other explanation. “Hi Shelby!”
My mom tugged her into the kitchen and kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly as if she didn’t just see her the day before.
“Come in here Jesse boy!” She laughed and hugged him fiercely.
“Hi Shelby,” he said in his best Eddie Haskell voice.
“I’ve missed you boy!” She said. She sobered, bringing her fists to her hips, “Why haven’t you been to church lately?”
He shifted from foot to foot, “Well, you know.....”. He rubbed the back of his neck, exposing his tattoo.
“Land alive!” My mom said forgetting her question. “What is that foolish thing on your neck Jesse Thomas!” She gasped. “Does your mama know about that?”
I sat up a little.
“I got a tattoo. You don’t like it?” He asked, sheepishly.
She grabbed his chin and turned his head this way, then that way, examining it from all sides.
“Hmm, I guess it ain’t that bad,” she lied.
“What are you cooking there?” He asked her, desperate to change the subject..
“I’m not cooking baby. I’m baking. A pie. Blueberry. Want some? It’s almost done baking. I’ve got vanilla ice cream to go with it.”
“Heck yeah, I do!”
I sat in my chair and bristled while my mom showed Jesse some new kitchen contraption that he could probably have cared less about. Jules came and sat on my knee.
“Hi,” she whispered in my ear.
“Hi,” I said, trying very hard not to smile.
“Feel like explaining your kiss to me? Or maybe the slap on my bum?”
“No,” I said, defiantly. “It felt like the right thing to do. That’s all.”
“Mmm, hmm.”
She kissed my neck softly and let me know what she was thinking. Disappointed with a twinge of satisfaction.
