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I gathered up my things and left the truck. He idled at the sidewalk until I was inside the house. When he saw the door close behind me, he pulled away. I watched him go from the window, wondering where he was headed and whether it was usual mafia business or something to do with my situation.
“You’re home.” Janie walked out of the laundry room with a basket in her arms. “I picked up some basics at Walmart before I headed to H-E-B. I’m keeping track of the receipts,” she added. “So I can pay Danny back with interest.”
“He doesn’t think of it as a loan.”
“I know he doesn’t.” She watched as I crossed the living room and entered the kitchen for a glass of water. I could feel her gaze following me, and I swallowed nervously as I reached for a glass from the cabinet. Eventually, she said, “Be careful, Macy.”
I glanced back at her. “I’m always careful, Janie.”
“Yes, but this is different.” She shifted the basket of laundry. “You’re weeks away from leaving for college. You have dreams. You want to be a doctor. I know you care about Danny, and I know he cares about you.”
“But?” I asked, apprehensively gripping the glass in both hands as I turned to face her.
“But you’re both young and young people do stupid things in the heat of passion,” she warned. “I don’t want to see you sidelined with an unplanned pregnancy.”
“I won’t be,” I promised. “I’ll be careful.”
“Careful isn’t enough, Macy.” She lifted a hand to stall my oncoming protest. “Let me put on my nurse hat for a moment, okay? We live in a state that doesn’t allow women to easily access reproductive healthcare. Your options are limited if something fails. Condoms and another form of birth control are good, but an IUD would be better. It lasts longer, and you don’t have to remember to refill it or take it or put it on in the moment.”
“I thought about getting one,” I admitted. “Not because of Danny,” I clarified. “Just in general. To be sure I have the most protection if I’m sexually active.” I hesitated before adding, “But I’m not sure what my insurance situation is at the moment. Dad got fired, and I’m sure he didn’t buy a new policy or do that COBRA thing either.”
“No, he didn’t.” She looked crestfallen. “If it wasn’t for this stupid accusation at work, I could add you to mine as a dependent, but the kids and I are going to lose our coverage soon. I’ll have to put them on the low-income state plan. You’ll have to find something similar. But,” she said, “there’s always Planned Parenthood. We can make you an appointment as soon as possible so they can give you the information you need to make a choice.”
“Okay.”
Janie sighed with what looked to be relief. “Thank you for discussing this with me like an adult.”
“I know you’re only getting in my business because you love me, Janie.”
“I do love you, Macy. As if you were mine from the beginning, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too, Janie. Like a mom,” I said, certain she didn’t hear it enough from me. “I know my mother would have been proud of the way you’ve always looked after me.”
“Shit, Macy.” Janie suddenly cleared her throat and blinked rapidly. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“I’m sorry!” I rushed to her side and hugged her. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s okay. Everything makes me cry lately.” She hugged me back with her free arm. Then with a wrinkled nose, she said, “You stink of cologne.”
“Yeah. Uh. I should probably shower.” I avoided her knowing look.
“Probably.”
“Right. I’m gonna go do that right now.” I took the empty glass with me, filling it up in the bathroom sink and gulping it down. Of all the ways that conversation could have gone, that was definitely the best outcome. She wasn’t wrong. I did need to figure out my contraception situation.
After getting a taste of what Danny had to offer, I wanted more and more and more. That desperate lust and need he provoked was going to get me into trouble if I wasn’t careful. As much fun as it was to daydream about someday being something more than just Danny’s girlfriend, I wasn’t ready for that yet. I wouldn’t be ready for that for a long while.
I just hoped Danny was on the same timeline as me.
Chapter Ten
“You hungry?” Ten asked from behind a stack of seven waffles smothered in chocolate chips and cheap imitation syrup. There was a half-eaten All-Star Special on the other plate and a foldedHouston Chroniclenext to his arm. He was still carrying around that same colorful book from Samovar. Danny read the title—The Vanishing Half—but didn’t recognize it.
“You’re going to have a heart attack if you keep eating shit like that,” Danny warned and sat next to him at the bar. The booths at Waffle House were way too small for a behemoth like Ten. Not that any of his size was due to fat. Like Ivan and Sergei, he was solid muscle with the frame of a polar bear.
Ten snorted. “You sound like Vivian.”
“I’m sure she’s worried about the bodyguard who takes care of her and her son dropping dead the next time he needs to run after someone who tries to snatch her kid.”
