Page 77 of Rumor Has It

Wren nodded. “I agree. One was okay, two was a little rough, but three was brutal.”

There was a knock on the door that Barbara had disappeared behind. She very dramatically emerged with one hand covering her eyes. “Is everyone decent?”

“Oh my god,” Wren said, her voice fully deadpan.

Barbara finally lowered her hand and walked over, offering the same hand to Becky. “Since Wren has no manners, I figured I’d just introduce myself. I’m Barbara, Wren’s little sister.”

Becky already loved her. “I’m Becky. It’s nice to meet you. Wren has told me a lot about you.” She did her best to fight back her smile for the next part though because she wanted to make sure that Barbara knew she was being sincere. “I am sorry to have interrupted your time together, though. I truly didn’t know you were going to be here or I never would have imposed.”

“Are you kidding?” Barbara said, her voice full of excitement. “This is literally the best thing that ever could have happened.” Barbara grinned at her. “I’ve been rooting for you two.” She turned her attention to Wren. “Has she been here before?”

Wren shook her head no. “Nope, first time.”

“Well?” Barbara asked.

“Well, what?” Wren returned.

“Show her around.” Barbara flung her hands around dramatically.”

Becky burst out laughing at that.

Wren rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad the two of you have met,” she said sarcastically. But the way she was smiling told Becky the truth; Wren really was glad this was happening. All of Becky’s nerves about intruding melted away.

Wren’s apartment was cute and also very Wren. It was fully themed soccer, sapphics, and sci-fi, and it was perfect. With a little more ribbing from Barbara, Wren did finally put the flowers in water and give Becky a tour. Though, to Wren’s point, there weren’t exactly hundreds of rooms to see. Her front door opened into a little entryway with a closet. That opened into the living room. It was all very open concept so the living room flowed into the dining room, which flowed directly into the kitchen. There were two doors off the living room that led to Wren’s room and the bathroom, which could also be accessed through Wren’s room. And that was it.

“Are you hungry?” Wren asked as she concluded her tour. “We ordered Thai food a while ago. I could heat up some leftovers for you.”

Becky smiled at her. “That sounds really nice actually.” Becky took a seat at Wren’s kitchen table.

“Okay,” Barbara said, sliding into the seat next to her. “Can I ask questions now, because I’m dying?”

“I mean, I don’t have a problem with that,” Becky said, honestly. “As long as Wren doesn’t mind.”

Wren sighed. “Fire away, Barbs.” Becky watched Wren as she busied herself with making her a plate of leftovers. She bit back her smile and forced herself to turn all of her attention to Wren’s little sister.

“When did this start?” Barbara asked.

Wren froze in the kitchen. “Next question,” she said, never turning back around.

Barbara’s eyebrows lifted. “Wait. Did you really cheat on Andy? I mean, she was always a bitch, but damn.”

Wren put the food in the microwave and hit a few buttons before spinning around and lifting herself up to sit on the counter. She turned her gaze to Becky. “It’s up to you.”

“I mean, she’s your sister,” Becky countered.

“I think it’s probably best if we just start telling our loved ones the truth,” Wren said. “I mean, doesn’t Katie already know?”

Becky nodded at that. “Yeah, she does.”

“Is that your sister?” Barbara asked.

Becky shook her head. “No, I have a bunch of brothers.”

“Ew,” Barbara said.

Which pulled an easy laugh out of Becky. “Agreed. But no. Katie is my best friend.” She looked back at Wren. “Okay. Well, here it goes.”

“You see,” Wren said, though she was interrupted by her microwave beeping.