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“Thanks, Doug!” It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn’t realize how tense she’d been about this whole situation until right now. She almost felt like hugging him, but she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “I really appreciate this. If you ever need a favor…”
“I’ll know exactly who to turn to.”
*~*~*
That night at Bunco during a break from playing, Mimi filled the Babes in on the latest development in the Spring Into Summer festival.
“Fatback Bubba and the Rattlesnakes, huh?” said Frida. “I heard them play at the St. George Chili cook-off a few years ago. They’re fantastic. I’m surprised they haven’t made it big by now.”
“How did Bettina Bailey take the news?” Pilar asked. “I bet she and Tofu had a litter of kittens.”
“Actually, I’m presenting it all at our next meeting and we’ll be taking a vote. Which is going to be tough, so cross your fingers and toes and anything else you can think of. I’m hoping she wants the festival to be a success more than she wants to see me fail. Tofu, on the other hand is definitely out to get me. Do you know that little creep snarls at me every chance she gets?”
“Maybe she smells Toby on you,” Lauren said, who seemed chirpier tonight than she had the last few times Mimi had seen her. Her morning sickness had delayed work on Buela’s dress, but she’d promised Mimi she’d have it done by the weekend. Which was a good thing, because Mimi didn’t think she could hold Allie off from buying her own wedding dress much longer.
“So how about couples Bunco this year? Everyone’s in, right?” Kitty said, which brought all eyes to Mimi again.
Couples Bunco was scheduled for the end of April and no one was quite sure how things currently stood between Zeke and Mimi. Mimi wasn’t even sure where things stood. Now that his father’s attempts at contacting him were out in the open, Zeke had cancelled their marital counseling, which was just as well. If he wasn’t going to be open with the counselor about it, then there was no use in going. Still, it was hard to forget their conversation the other night. He’d been so sweet.
We’ll sell the house and I’ll get a job selling coconuts on the beach.
It was so tempting to just forget about all their problems. But she couldn’t. He was right about one thing. They lived in reality, not some fantasy land.
“Technically, Zeke and I aren’t together, but—”
“Why not?” Pilar demanded.
“Yeah, why not?” chimed in a few of the other girls.
Why not was a question that only Zeke could answer. If she could explain the situation about Zeke’s dad, she was sure they’d understand. Unfortunately, that was something she couldn’t do.
“Mimi,” Shea said carefully, “You know I’m not one to listen to gossip—”
A round of snickering interrupted her.
Shea made a face that silenced the rest of the group before she continued. “But did you, or did you not reconcile the night of the armadillo scare?”
Mimi bit back a moan. The rest of the town, okay, but her own Bunco Babes?
“Just because we had sex doesn’t mean we’ve reconciled.”
“Fair enough,” Frida pointed out. “But if you still like each other enough to shag, then you like each other enough to play Bunco. It’s really not fair, you know, to the rest of us. You’ll mess up the numbers and Kitty is absolutely killing herself to host this year.”
The rest of the room murmured in agreement.
“Okay, so that’s taken care of,” Shea said as if Mimi had just agreed to come. Which, she supposed she did. “Oh, and don’t forget. This year we have a theme for couples Bunco. It’s famous couples throughout the ages. Moose and I are going as Anthony and Cleopatra. Isn’t that awesome?”
“But Nick and I are going to be Anthony and Cleopatra,” Pilar said.
“We have first dibs,” Shea shot back.
“You look nothing like Cleopatra! I, on the other hand, won’t even have to wear a wig!” Pilar protested.
Bunco was put on hold as everybody began to argue about which famous couple they would come as, with no one backing down. It seemed Anthony and Cleopatra was the hands down favorite. Eventually, there was no choice. Kitty pulled out a pen and paper and began writing down couple combinations. She put the pieces of paper into a hat and passed it around. “Everyone pick. And that’s it. What you get is what you get. No more arguing.”
Frida got Bonnie and Clyde and Lauren selected Napoleon and Josephine.
Shea’s face fell when she pulled out her slip. “Adam and Eve? Are you kidding?”
