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“He sat down beside me anyway and nearly got the sharp edge of my tongue until he started talking!”
Lenny chuckled warmly, his eyes resting on Junie’s face affectionately.
Junie called to Minty, “Come meet my drummer, Mint.”
Minty stepped forward, holding her hand out.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Lenny.”
“Likewise,” he smiled.
“Okay! We’re out of here!” Junie announced as she and Lenny headed towards the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Everything had been going so well, for both Junie and me, that it was a bit of a shock to be standing in front of the flashing light of my answering machine the way I was a mere two days later.
The answering machine was old-fashioned, and Junie laughed every time she saw it, but having a house phone was paramount for Olivia. Using the phone had been one of the first things I’d taught Olivia to do when she first started coming to stay with me. I was terrified that I would let her down in some way and wanted her to be able to call her mom or dad if need be.
However, having this phone had the unfortunate side effect of Bea sometimes calling and leaving little gifts on the machine. She got the number from Olivia calling her from my place to share her excitement over one thing or another, and although I’d changed my cell number a few times trying to avoid her, she eventually got that number as well. So, I’d stopped trying to avoid her altogether and dealt with her on the few occasions I could not duck.
My finger hovered over the blinking light. If there was ever a time not to listen, a time my sense of self-preservation should kick in, it was now.
Funny how fast things can change. Not even an hour ago I was on top of the world. My mouth twisted to the side, and I reached to press the play button even while mentally rewinding the tape of today’s adventures by an hour searching for where I went wrong.
“I loved that place!” I enthused, dropping my purse on the floor next to the coat tree.
Barrett set my bags down on the counter then tossed his wallet and keys in the basket at the front door. I started unpacking the bags of goodies I’d purchased in St. Jacob’s, a small Mennonite town about an hour away, which was our chosen destination that day.
Barrett grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and filled them with water. We’d gotten comfortable at each other’s places over the past couple of weeks.
I took out the jams and lined them up on the counter, five jars of three different jams for myself and my favorite ladies.
“Aren’t they beautiful? I’d like to learn how to make jam one day.”
Barrett was quieter than usual, and much quieter than he’d been while we were walking around St. Jacob’s.
I glanced at him. “Are you okay?”
He lifted his chin towards the bags. “What else have you got?”
I smiled and pulled out three crusted meat pies. “I bought you the meat pies you like. I’ll make you one for dinner tonight,” I teased, “I’ll even throw in the mashed spuds and buttered peas to go with it.”
We’d eaten lunch while we were there and he ordered what he apparently always ordered when he went there, homemade meat pie. This led to a whole other question of who else he’d taken there, but I backtracked and told him I didn’t want to know before he could answer. The jealousy bug had never bitten me before. It was an odd and unwelcome feeling.
He crossed to me and touched his forehead to mine. “Thank you, angel.”
Something was wrong.
My heart skipped a beat and my stomach roiled and pitched. Oh, God! This was the end. I’d disappointed him already. I knew I wouldn’t be enough. I’d never been able to have a normal relationship, there was something missing in me, and he’d finally seen it.
“Tell me.”
I moved away from him and sat down on one of my dining benches.
He leaned his hip against the counter and blew out a breath. “I’m not comfortable with how things are going.”
I forced a bright smile past the breaking of my heart. “No problem, we tried. We can go back to what we were before, right? You’re breaking up with me, so it’ll be okay.”
His eyes bugged out of his face, and he gaped at me. “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you so uninvested?”
