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Fire’s on the other side of the canyon again, just an FYI. I see your lights on.
She texted back.Are you alone?
Her phone rang.
“Kathy’s here asleep,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what direction the fire’s going.”
“There’s really nothing on this side to burn but our houses. If I hear anything from Paul, I’ll text you.”
“Okay. I’m sitting outside to keep watch. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Maybe I’ll come out. Do you want company?”
“Sure. I’ll meet you outside. Do you want a beer?” Billy asked.
“No, I’m sick from chips.”
“Aw, I’ve got lemon water for that.”
“I’ll be right over.”
Emily left the light on over the stove and went out the back slider doors, across her terrace and side yard to Billy’s place. She smelled citronella candle wax and saw the flickering light. Bugs weren’t normally a problem that time of year, but he’d lit it for the light.
“I haven’t sat outside this late at night in a while. It’s nice.”
“Look east,” he said, pointing.
The sky was inky black, but at the horizon, a hint of red.
“I sent Paul a text, but no answer. Earlier, he said they had a roadside brush fire from probably a cigarette. I wonder if it’s the same thing.”
The slider opened and Kathy stepped out, tousle haired and yawning. “What are you two doing?”
“Watching the fire,” Billy answered, pointing again.
She bent down and kissed Emily’s cheek. “You okay, honey?”
“No. Are you okay being my only attendant?”
“Of course. You know you can ask his girl cousins if you want more, but I thought you wanted it small and simple.”
“He’s got his whole family standing up for him,” Emily said.
“Honey, tell the man it’s too many. You’re the bride; you get to say. Tell him you’ll have to have a big church wedding with all those men in tuxedos, and it will take longer than three months to plan.”
“His family doesn’t like me because I’m fat.”
“You’re imagining it. His aunt apologized, and it sounds like his mother is a mess. You know Conrad’s family hated me because I was a schoolteacher and he was a television star.”
“Kathy, Conrad Greenway is a friggin’ game show host. And his family is awful. I see his grandmother in Albertsons all the time, and she wears housedresses with food stains down the front. Give me a break.”
“She’s vile,” Kathy said, laughing out loud. “Anyway, you’re having a crisis because you spent the day with Alice. It always happens. But wait! You didn’t tell me! Did you find a dress?”
“I did and it’s beautiful. One hurdle jumped. Now if I can just wrangle in the number of attendants I’m supposed to have…”
“Just ask his cousins to stand up for you. What about Marilyn? She’d jump at the chance to upstage the bride.”
“Have you heard from her once this summer?” Emily asked.
