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“That’s a load of bullshit and you know it, VP. You cause havoc down here every day and then some,” Country banters. “Just yesterday, he put food dye in Texas’s toothpaste. He’s walking around with blue teeth.”
“I need to get y’all locks for your doors.” I sigh. “What’s up with the childish pranks, Kruger?”
“I’m bored,” he confesses.
“I’ll get you some damn crossword books to solve if that’s the cause. You need to stop antagonizing your brothers,” I admonish.
“Bet you miss those days, hmm?” Country asks. “I bet you told Charlee girl that a lot, didn’t you?”
“You have no idea. Even with their age gap, she still pestered him day in and day out. It was her favorite pastime,” I acknowledge. Remembering their childhood antics brings up happier times. “Damn, I never thought I’d look back on those days with any kind of fondness. That girl tested my patience like no other ever has. She saran wrapped his toilet one time when she heard Gunner’s motorcycle revving down the street. I thought Ma was going to skin her afterward. Gunner always hit the toilet when he came around. As she suspected, he rushed straight to the commode to take a leak. He cursed her with some pretty colorful phrases that, I have to admit, impressed the hell outta me. He had piss strewn everywhere, and the house stunk of urine. It took us days to air out the bathroom.”
“Those two are fucking nuts when they’re together,” Country states, but he doesn’t sound appalled by what she did in the least. “Damn, I love my girl, something fierce. Her ingenuity and imagination are off the charts. I hope Hunter’s nothing like her though.”
“She’s fucking psycho, but we wouldn’t have her any other way,” Kruger admits. A fond smile crosses his face because he’s been the victim of her antics on several occasions.
He and Gunner have ganged up on her several times, but my Charlee, she took it like a champ. They paid the price for it later on down the road, because my girl, she has a memory like a steel vault. She may not hit you back today, or even tomorrow, but you can count on her issuing some payback at some point.
“Let’s get this shit to the women. Luca and I need to talk to you guys about some shit,” I command. “It’s time to do some shuffling and start some chaos.”
“About fucking time.” Kruger whistles. “I’ll grab the trolleys from the janitor's closet to make moving things easier and quicker.”
Shayne
“I lovethis color on the walls,” Mera says, admiring our work.
“It’s gonna be feminine, but not overly so,” I add, putting the lid on the paint bucket and hammering it down so there are no air pockets.
“Things between you and Julius seem to be getting serious,” she casually says as we put our materials away.
“I’m gonna marry that man,” I confide. “He asked, and I said yes.”
“What? Shaynie, that’s ridiculous. We’ve only known them for a couple of months. Don’t you think that’s a little, I don’t know… too fast? Shouldn’t you two get to know each other better before you make those sorts of commitments?”
“It may seem fast to others, but I’m in love with him, Mera. He makes me happy. My life has been stagnant for so long, and I’ve been optionless when it comes to making my own decisions. But this time, I have that opportunity. It’s my choice, and I choose him. He’s been my every first and I willingly allowed that. Doesn’t that say something?”
“Whoa. Your first? You mean?” she asks, swiveling her hips, her eyes wide.
Embarrassed, I don’t verbally answer, but I shyly nod my head.
“Seriously? Wow… just, wow! How was it? Did it hurt? I bet it hurt. Did he at least propose first? He better have. Did it feel wrong? Abominational? Like you sinned, as the sisters predicted that we’d suffer consequently after bedding a man that’s not our wedded spouse?” She grills me, shooting question after question out of her mouth without pausing to give me a chance to answer.
It sounds like a tongue-twister of garbled words, and her sentences are so jumbled that they don’t wholly make sense. But I get the gist of what all she wants to know, so I simply go with it.
“It was phenomenal, life changing. It didn’t hurt per se, but it was uncomfortable. Just a pinch of pain then it went away. He proposed before we had intercourse. It was romantic because he put my beliefs to rest before seeking out his pleasure. It didn’t feel wrong, it felt right… perfect. No, it didn’t feel like what we did was an abomination or like I’d be smitted for following my heart. And no, it didn’t feel sinful. Yes, there was lust, but there was also affection. I felt his love in my soul.”
“Wow,” she whispers.
“You already said that.” I giggle. “What about you and Luca? You two seem to be getting cozy.”
“He drives me mad. Insane, really. I want to throttle him more than I want to kiss him.” She harrumphs. “But he does stir something inside of me, something I don’t understand, and I refuse to act on that until I get what that is exactly.”
“Don’t second-guess yourself, Mera. If you feel something deep and confounding, don’t let it slip away because of all the biblical beliefs the nuns stuffed into our heads.”
“Are you saying it’s nonsense?” Mera asks.
“No. But I am saying that God is forgiving. It’s even expected for us to make mistakes here and there. Mistakes are how we learn and grow. If you suspect, even a smidgeon, that Luca is your forever, your happiness, don’t hold back,” I sincerely convey. It’s not fair that we’re taught to be perfect little breeders and pretty little housewives who are to be seen, but not heard, doing the Lord’s work without any fault of our own.
Paper dolls that can be dressed up and micromanaged, that’s what the nuns say we should be. Forget that. I’ve enjoyed my time with Julius, and I’d never trade that for some “godly” man who thinks he knows what’s best for us.
