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Bea put the corn on the table too, and she turned back for the salt and pepper and butter. Cass said, “He’s doing great, but wow, sometimes men are such babies about things. He’s sort of acting like he’s never done construction before.” She sighed as she took a seat at the table.
The others started to gather around too, and Sage got out the watermelon granita and started scraping it one final time with a fork. She then spooned it into some glass cups she usually made individual servings of banana pudding in.
As she put them on the table, Bea’s smile lit up. “Sage, look how pretty those are.”
“It’s non-alcoholic,” she said. “Sorry, Cass.”
She wiped her hair back out of her face. “I didn’t get a ride tonight, so I wouldn’t drink much anyway.”
Sage put the last glass of granita at her spot and sat down. Everyone looked at her, and she looked back at them. All of her irritation at Bea’s questions and Joy’s restfulness and Cass’s tardiness dried right up.
“It’s a summer picnic menu,” she said. “And tonight, I want everyone to share one summer secret or summer worry. I’ll start, though mine is more like a whole-life-worry.” She reached for a piece of fried chicken, but she wouldn’t be able to put a bite in her mouth until she’d told her friends what she was worried about.
“I need some advice about Ty,” she said. “I…I didn’t realize how—” She tossed a look to Thelma on her right. “Stuck in the past I was until I started dating Ty.”
No one said anything, and Sage wished someone else would fill in the rest of the story. “Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “I thought I could just do things with him and have fun. I even told him when we first started seeing each other again that I just wanted to be his friend. I just wanted to see if I could have a male friend, I guess.”
“No,” Thelma said quietly. “That’s not true, Sage.”
All of her frustration came roaring back. “What did I want then, Thelma?”
“You wanted someone to go on adventures with,” she said. “So you could start to do things you hadn’t done before, but you didn’t have to do it alone.”
All eyes came back to her, and Sage couldn’t argue. So she didn’t. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“But?” Cass prompted, and oh, it was good she was here so Bea didn’t have to shoulder all of Sage’s ire.
“But we became more than friends really fast,” Sage said. “And the newness of adventures wears off even faster.” She hung her head and looked around at everyone. The food had moved around the table, and they’d each taken some. But no one had started eating.
“I really like him,” Sage said. “Like, I really, really like him. But.” She swallowed, the truth right there. “I’m not sure I want to get married again, and he does. Well, for the first time. He wants to get married, and I’m thinking I sure do love this house, and I don’t want to move again. I like my independence, and I’m still trying to figure out who I am, what way of life I’m trying to eek out for myself.”
“She hasn’t let go of Jerry,” Thelma said.
“I have,” Sage said forcefully. “I’m totally over Jerry.”
Bea reached over and covered her hand. “You’re not stuck on Jerry,” she said. “You’re worried you’ll have a marriage like you had with him.”
“Yes.” Sage cleared her throat. “I’m just not sure I have to be married to be with Ty. People love each other and don’t get married all the time.”
“Yeah,” Joy said with plenty of falseness in her voice. “They do.”
Sage didn’t like the way the others exchanged glances with one another, so she picked up her chicken and took a bite.
“Do you want advice?” Bessie asked.
Sage nodded, thinking that had been pretty obvious.
“Are you in love with him?” Cass asked.
Sage lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. That totally meant maybe, because it obviously wasn’t yes or no.
Cass made a noise of discontentment, and she looked at Bea. “Say something.”
“What should I say?” Bea bickered at her. “She knows intellectually that Ty isn’t Jerry. She doesn’t need to hear me say it.”
“Maybe something about how Ty looks at her like he’s in love with her,” Joy said. “She’ll take it best from you.”
“Or Thelma,” Bessie said, piling onto the game. “Have Thelma tell her that she doesn’t lose anything when she gains a partner. There’s only more to experience, because now she doesn’t have to do everything herself.”
