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I shook my head. “That’s not how it works for us. We’re not…” I lowered my voice. “We’re not in a relationship. We just have sex. And sort of live together. And work together temporarily.” I hesitated. “And occasionally have meals and deep conversations with one another. And casually, unofficially share custody of his dog.”
“Oh.” Ava nodded slowly. “Yeah, no, I can see how that’s… a very different thing.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I still say, though, you need to have it out. Make up a list of the things you want to say. Write it all down so you can be cogent and clear. Then when you read it to him, erupt like an emotional volcano and bury him in lava.”
“Bury him in—”
“Come to the bar and I’ll help you! Oooh, and so will my friend Mal. He’s the best at relationship lava.”
“That’s so sweet, but—” I broke off, unsure how to say “your friend sounds insane” in a positive way.
Fortunately, I was saved from having to explain at all, because my phone buzzed in my pocket.
“I’ve gotta get this. Probably another bridal emergency. You go on ahead,” I told Ava, squeezing her hand in thanks. “I’ll try to catch up.”
We both knew I wouldn’t.
“Fine, fine,” she grumbled. “Just remember you’ve got friends who have your back. And if you change your mind, come find me.”
As she turned away, I hesitated. Part of me wanted nothing more than to leave with her and drown my sorrows. Another part wanted me to do exactly what she’d advised and give Champ a piece of my mind. But I knew neither of those options would make things better.
My phone continued ringing, and I finally dug it out of my pocket impatiently, ready to deal with another non-emergency emergency. When I saw who was calling, I stared at the screen, wondering if I was losing my mind.
“Aunt Cherry?” I answered, half expecting it to be a hallucination. “Did I summon you?”
Her warm, familiar laugh helped me let go of some of my tension. “You sure as hell did, indirectly at least. I must’ve gotten pinged by the Thicket grapevine a hundred times tonight, young man. Supposedly my nephew has landed himself a devoted, wealthy hunk of a man and is rumored to be soon planning his own Taffet wedding extravaganza! Why am I the last to know?”
The very idea of me and Champ married was so ridiculous, I barked out a laugh that bounced off the walls of the nearly empty space and startled the cleaning crew. I walked out the front entrance and down around the side of the building to get a little privacy.
The February night was freezing cold but clear, and the happy little white lights twinkled in the light breeze. I took in a deep breath of fresh air and let it out in a cloud of frosty white.
“First of all, tell me you’re someplace warm and sunny,” I said, deliberately ignoring the Thicket gossip.
“Sure am. We’re in Florida.”
I nodded politely to a young couple still lingering in the parking lot. “Still? You and Mrs. Ambrose must really love it there.”
“Actually… Marianne decided to stay in Baton Rouge permanently because her daughter-in-law’s expecting twins. So it’s just Terrance and me now.”
“Terrance? Wait, the same guy you mentioned to me…” I counted on my fingers, then gasped in horror. “Three weeks ago?”
Cherry hesitated just a moment, but it was enough to warn me what was coming. “Yes, dear. We’re… well, I guess you could say we’re a thing.”
“A thing?” I said a little more screechy than I’d intended. “What kind of thing? A friends-with-benefits thing? A help-me-drive-this-big-RV thing?”
“No, honey,” she said patiently. “He’s helping me drive a big something, but it’s not—”
“Oh, God.” I gagged. “Spare me the details.” My whole world seemed to tilt on its axis.
“It’s a pickup truck,” she finished with a chuckle. “Mind out of the gutter, Quinn. We’re staying with some friends of his in St. Pete. It’s beautiful here. I wish you could see it.”
“And this guy… Terrance… he’s… you’re… Is it serious?”
“Very,” she said almost shyly. “In fact, I’d kind of like for you to meet him when we head north this summer.”
I didn’t want to meet her Terrance. In fact, I didn’t want to even acknowledge his existence during a phone conversation. “I don’t understand,” I muttered. “You don’t believe in relationships.”
“I didn’t, it’s true, because I’d never had one that worked out. It’s a little like trying to convince someone that the ocean exists when they’ve only ever seen puddles.” She sighed dreamily. “But the moment Terrance and I met, I knew he was different. We just… clicked. And I saw how wrong I’d been. He’s my ocean.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear to check that the caller ID was, in fact, showing the phone number of the sarcastic, pragmatic woman who’d been my role model all these years, because this poetry-spouting person sounded like a total stranger.
