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“Yeah, that did not go over well. Maybe that’s why I’m obsessed with dyeing my hair now. To stick it to my parents,” I said.
I looked at a piece of my hair.
“It looks so great on you. Like, it seems natural that your hair should be pink,” Linley said, blowing on my toes a little bit before putting the cap back on the polish container.
I wiggled my toes in the little toe separators. She’d painted them in a bright sunny yellow.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?” she asked, and it kind of felt like she was fishing.
“Work, obviously, and then I have to drop some books at the library, and I want to see what’s new, and then who knows? Maybe a drink at the bar.”
It was always fun to visit with Esme the bartender, try one of her signature drinks, and people watch. Since I was still newish to Castleton, I would always be treated as an outsider, and I was fine with that. I didn’t have the history with all these people, so it was still fun to learn from my friends the intricacies of the relationships around here.
“Sounds like a plan. I wish I had more energy to go out and do things, but with work and the wedding, I’m so tired all the time,” she said, yawning.
“Hey, it’s fine. I’m fine on my own.” I really was. Most of the time.
Sure, when my friends and cousin had someone to come home to, I got jealous. There was no way not to. I just didn’t resent them for being happy. I mean, I tried not to.
It wasn’t their fault that my relationship had blown up so spectacularly in my face. I’d chosen the wrong person to give my heart to, and now that heart was a shriveled little thing sitting in my chest. I didn’t even know if it would work again. If it could work again.
If my fate was to be the cool spinster aunt with the pink hair who always brought donuts to parties, then so be it.
“I can’t believe the wedding is coming up so soon,” she said. The bachelorette party was in two weeks. Linley had decided that she didn’t want strippers or a booze cruise. Instead, she wanted to go to the beach, then out for lobster rolls, then Pine State Bar and Grille for dinner and drinks and karaoke. Linley’s older sister, Rachel, was supposed to come, but they weren’t that close and she’d come up with some work excuse not to, so it would be me, Paige, Esme, Natalie, and Em. She could have had a bigger party, but she’d said she wanted to keep it small, with only her nearest and dearest.
We also had the bridal shower next week, which was going to be held at Linley’s parent’s house. Weddings were a marathon, not a sprint.
“Sorry, I brought up the wedding again,” she said, cringing at herself.
“Hey, it’s okay. It doesn’t bother me. It’s an important thing.”
She smiled and then leaned forward to give me a hug.
“You’re my favorite cousin,” she said. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t,” I said, hugging her back.
* * *
During my afternoon break I headed to the little Castleton library to return some books and see what they had that was new. I also couldn’t stop myself from going into the little used bookstore that was attached to the library and grabbing a couple of paperbacks.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to find my roommate. I’d forgotten that her knitting club met on Tuesdays. “Hey, fancy seeing you here.”
I set down the small stack of books that I’d already selected to add to my personal library. “Small world,” I said, remembering what Alivia had said to me.
“You’re not bringing more books into the apartment, are you?” Natalie’s brown eyes narrowed. She’d put her wildly curly blonde hair up in a bun today, and it looked really cute.
“No,” I said, stepping in front of the stack of books. “Just like you’re not going to raid the free yarn box and bring a few skeins home,” I countered.
We both glared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.
“Fair enough,” she said.
I did try to cull my collection a lot. When I brought books home, I made sure to swap out some of the other titles that I hadn’t liked as much or was ready to part with.
“I’ll limit myself to five,” I said, even though I’d picked out seven books. I could limit myself if I tried.
“It’s fine,” Natalie said. “Get what you want, I’m just giving you a hard time.”
