Page 53 of The Broken Hearts Club

To pass the time, I turned on the TV and was browsing Netflix when a message popped up from JoJo. She asked how I was doing, and I replied: I’m great, happy to be home, finally. Hey, quick question. I want to buy a record player for Miller. Do you happen to know of any local secondhand stores that might deliver?

She called me back instead of texting and told me, “We actually have a record player in our garage. It was left behind by a former tenant, and it’s yours if you want it. It’s kind of huge, though. It’s one of those old-fashioned types that’s built into an entire cabinet.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for! How much are you asking for it?”

“Oh, no, it’s free. We’ll be glad to get rid of it. If now’s a good time, I’ll dust it off and ask a couple of the guys to carry it across the street. I was planning to come by anyway with some casseroles.”

“Were you really? That’s so nice, and so small town of you.”

I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “We big city types know how to be neighborly, too.”

Maybe fifteen minutes later, my awesome neighbors arrived bearing gifts. Vee and a cute guy with unruly blond curls were carrying the wooden stereo cabinet, which looked pretty heavy. Vee said, “Hi, Collie. Where do you want this?”

“In the den, please. It’s straight back, at the end of the hall.”

The new guy smiled at me on the way by and said, “Hi, I’m Rowan, but everyone calls me Ro.”

JoJo followed them, carrying a picnic basket. I told her, “You look pretty as a picture, and like you’re ready to go zipping around Rome on a Vespa.” Her fashion sense was wonderfully retro. Today, she was dressed in turquoise capris and a white and turquoise checked top.

She looked delighted. “That’s exactly what I was going for, Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Well, Audrey if she was tall, blonde, and trans.”

We went to the kitchen while the guys worked on setting up the record player, and she asked, “So, what did you think of the yard?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oops! Forget I said anything. I guess Miller’s saving it as a surprise.” JoJo unpacked the basket onto the counter and changed the subject with, “I brought you macaroni and cheese, a vegetarian lasagna, and cheese enchiladas. I know Miller’s been stressed about work, and you just got out of the hospital and are in no condition to cook, so these should get you through the weekend. There are sticky notes with heating instructions on the lids.”

“Thanks so much, JoJo. This looks like a ton of work.”

She shrugged and said, “I just doubled some of my favorite recipes and stocked our freezer at the same time.” After she stuck the pans in the refrigerator, she turned to me and gave me a once-over. “It’s a good thing I brought those, too. You’ve lost a lot of weight, Collie, and you really didn’t have any to lose.”

“I haven’t had much of an appetite. Miller’s been keeping me going with smoothies that he loads up with supplements and protein powder, so I figure I won’t totally waste away. But what you brought sounds delicious, and I promise to eat some of it.”

Just then, a Nancy Sinatra song started to play. The guys cheered, and then both of them started to dance. When we joined them in the den, Vee announced, “It actually works! We probably should have checked that before we hauled it over here.”

“It sounds great,” I said, as I took a seat on one of the new chairs. “Thank you for bringing it over.”

JoJo started dancing too, and I did a little chair bop in time to the music. “This is a really groovy record collection,” Vee said. “It’s like you’re roommates with Austin Powers.” He put on a British accent and did finger guns as he shouted, “Yeah, baby, yeah!”

This impromptu dance party was still going on when Miller got home a few minutes later. Everyone greeted him enthusiastically. He was grinning as he crossed the room and took a seat in the other chair. “Your first day out of the hospital, and you throw a party,” he teased.

“It happened spontaneously.”

“Come on boys, let’s dance on out of here,” JoJo said, before telling us, “We’ll let ourselves out. Y’all enjoy your evening.”

I called, “Thanks again! Good to meet you, Ro!”

The three of them did a conga line through the kitchen, and JoJo picked up the picnic basket while Ro waved goodbye. Once they’d disappeared down the hall, I gestured at the record player with a flourish and said, “Surprise! Do you like it?”

“It’s great. Where did it come from?”

“JoJo’s garage. She gave it to us when I asked her if she knew where I could get you a record player. She also brought over some food. Maybe we can heat up the mac and cheese for dinner.”

“Sounds great. Are you hungry?”

“Not yet.”

Miller smiled at me. “It’s nice to see a little color back in your cheeks.”