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An hour later, Gracious arrives with several bags of food. The scent of pizza, burgers, and fries emanates from the bags the diner owner brought. Yum. When I stand to get some food, I wobble. I have to clutch the back of the chair to steady myself.
“And now you know why I asked Gracious to bring food,” Aspen frowns as she watches me.
“What? You’re the one who organized a paint and sip night. I’m following your directions. I’m painting and sipping.” There may be a bit more sipping than painting going on, but no one said the two must be done equally.
“Whatever.”
I follow her to the counter where the food is being laid out. As I stroll through the room, I check out the other paintings. I screech to a halt when I notice someone thought this was male anatomy night. “Holy cow! Who painted the penis?”
Bryan raises his hand. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
I step closer. “Is it a self-portrait?”
Everyone gathers around me to study the painting.
“It’s really big. My Orion isn’t this big,” Petal says.
“I don’t think it’s life-sized,” I say.
“Oh.” She frowns.
“It’s very symmetrical. Sirius’s balls are uneven. It’s never bothered me, but I can’t help but notice,” Clove tells us. “Plus, it bothers him. He never wants me to touch the smaller one. I feel bad for it.”
I giggle. “You feel bad for your husband’s balls?”
“One of my breasts is smaller than the other one,” Cayenne announces. “Arlo never seemed to mind. He gave it extra attention if you know what I mean.”
Arlo is Cayenne’s deceased husband. I never met him as he passed before I was born.
“I’ve never been with a woman,” Bryan announces. “Does it matter if the breasts are asymmetrical? Is this a thing?”
Cayenne tugs on her shirt and I grab her hand. “No. It’s not show and tell time.”
“Bryan doesn’t care.”
He nods. “It’s intellectual curiosity.”
Lilac sighs. “Why do people say ‘intellectual curiosity’ when they actually mean they’re being nosy? Intellectual curiosity is about acquiring knowledge, not about comparing the size of someone’s right breast to her left. Breast asymmetry affects more than half of women. There, your ‘intellectual curiosity’ has been satisfied.”
Normally, I’d be annoyed with Lilac’s wet blanket comment, but she has efficiently stopped show and tell hour and I’m thankful to her. We’d start with viewing Cayenne’s breasts, but who knows where it would end?
Cayenne tucks her blouse back in and everyone returns to their original activity – eating the yummy snacks Gracious brought us. An hour later, we pack up. I’m fairly satisfied with my painting. Maybe I’ll hang it in my bedroom back home.
“Where to now?” Juniper asks as we leave the bookstore with our paintings in hand.
“I need to get back to the inn,” Ellery says and marches off without waiting for a reply.
“I have an early meeting tomorrow,” Lilac announces before following Ellery.
“And I’m off to wake my husband to ravish him,” Aspen announces.
Juniper wrinkles her nose at me. “I suppose you’re off to ravish Rowan as well.”
I lace my arm through hers. “Nope. He’ll be fast asleep since he needs to start baking at a time when no one in the world who’s sober should be awake. I can’t complain, though, his pastries are utterly delicious.” Although, his sleep schedule is going to take some getting used to.
“Awesome. The brewery’s still open.”
Aspen moans. “Please tell me you won’t get in trouble. It’d be nice if my husband could have an uninterrupted night of sleep for once.”
