Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“What are you thinking about?” Audrey asks.
“Orgies.”
“You are not.” She rolls her eyes. “Listen, I know this is very complicated for you, and I understand why. But maybe this feels so uncomfortable and scary because you’re shedding your skin. You’re growing.”
I turn my face to hers. “Don’t bring your PhD into this friendship.”
She giggles. “I’m just trying to help. You’ve been so happy lately and—I don’t mean in a mean way—but calm. Content. And I love that for you.”
“Yeah, well, I love that for me, too, Auddie. But I couldn’t be this happy forever. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.” But I bet I could figure it out.
Her face grows serious, and I know that damn PhD is about to come for me. I should change the subject or pivot to something less, well, about me. But something inside me wants to hear what she has to say. Because if Audrey doesn’t believe something, she won’t say it. She’s not like Astrid, who will say things to shut you up, or like me, who sometimes says things just to get a reaction.
“You say that you’re not someone to love for a long time, but you do realize that isn’t logical, right?” she asks softly. “You’re just afraid, and this is the way you protect yourself. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Damn.
“You don’t earn love, Gianna. It’s not a performance review.”
Tears well up in my eyes, and I refuse to look at her. “Yeah, well …” I look up and see a moss-green house with black shutters, just like Pearl described. Oh thank God. “That’s it.”
Audrey pulls the truck up the driveway and parks it next to a red Cadillac. We hop out of the truck, I open my own door for once while drying my unshed tears and head up the walkway. Before we get to the steps, a tiny woman comes out of the house.
“Gianna?” she asks.
“Pearl?”
She beams. “I’m glad you found me all the way out here.”
“That church sign was a good tip. Auddie would’ve blown right by it.”
Audrey blushes.
“Hi, Auddie,” Pearl says. “Any friend of Gianna’s is a friend of mine. Come on in, girls.”
Audrey looks at me wide-eyed, and I shrug. I didn’t know that Pearl and I were that close, either.
Pearl steps gingerly through the door. She can’t be five feet tall, and her hair is a shade of blond orange that I’m absolutely sure comes from a do-it-yourself bottle of dye. I respect that, even if the color is atrocious.
The air smells like an apple-cinnamon air freshener used in abundance to cover what might be mildew. The wallpaper peels up in the seams, and the carpet has seen better days ... like in the nineteen eighties. And the light fixture above us has one out of three bulbs lit.
“Here she is,” Pearl says, gazing fondly at the piece of mahogany I purchased for way too much money. “This was my father’s. It sat just inside his front door for as long as I can remember. No one used this one but Daddy. His coats and hats were always covered in coal residue from the mines.”
That explains why it’s so important to her.
She sniffles. “But, yes, this is it. I can help you load it in your truck, if you want.”
Audrey smiles at her.
“I think we can take care of it, but thank you,” I say.
“Would you girls like a glass of tea?” Pearl asks, her eyes lighting up. “I just made some fresh this morning.”
I glance at Audrey, but already know her answer. Sure enough, her soft eyes tell me that her little empath antennae are on duty.
“Sure,” I say.
Pearl clasps her hands at her chest. “Really? Great. Follow me into the kitchen.”
“Gianna told me that you’re taking a cruise,” Audrey says as we take a seat at the small wooden table beside the stove. “Where are you thinking about going?”
“Ah, I don’t know. Anywhere, really. I’m just trying to blow all my cash before I croak.”
Audrey coughs, trying to hide a laugh.
“I know you girls probably wonder what cash I’m talking about, considering the state of this place,” she says, pouring three glasses of tea. “But this isn’t where I live. I live up the road a ways.” She hands each of us a glass and then joins us at the table. “I grew up in this house. This was my mama and daddy’s place. I’ve never been able to sell it. My brother lived here after his divorce until he passed away a few years back. It’s sat empty ever since.”
That’s a relief.
The tea is perfectly sweet and crisp, reminding me of my grandma’s tea from my childhood. Even the glasses remind me of her. They’re heavy-bottomed with a brownish-gold design that looks like stars.
“Did you ever get Lover Boy to bend you over the bed?” Pearl asks.