“Can we seriously not?” I cried. “There is no reason to be talking about him. Honestly, it was nothing. He knew that I had taken the class he was in and practically guilted me into helping him last night. I felt bad and fell asleep on the couch because I had been kicked out of my room by my heinous roommate. Leave it at that.”
They all paused.
“All right,” Gertrude conceded.
“Thank you.”
“Then, I do expect you to come to us next time there is something to be told,” Gertie said. “Us ladies need to get our kicks somewhere.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please.”
“Something entertaining this year at least. Last spring was such a snooze,” Gertie complained.
Faith pursed her lips in consideration. “The summer was pleasant.”
“Another word for boring, darling.”
“Fine,” I agreed. “But it was nothing. He got up and left this morning, barely looking at me. He got what he needed from me. Now, I’m back to exactly who I am.”
“And one day, someone will see just how wonderful that someone is,” Gertie said gently, as if only now noting my extreme discomfort.
Sure, sure.“Are those turnovers, Celeste?”
“Apple blossoms actually.”
Of course they were. The message of love had practically been stacked in their many layers.
“I am testing the apples before I share my recipe with you all next week on Mabon, so come early if you care to learn it. Care for one?”
I picked up a plate from the drying rack next to me. Depositing one out of the tin, Celeste waited for me to say anything else. I only stared down at the crisp-covered apple rose.
Faith was still staring at me, wagging her eyebrows as she leaned against the counter beside me.
“I heard you two looked cute together. Opposites attract and all that. I wish I had been there to see,” Faith whispered in my ear. Her tiny radish earrings clanged together.
“You would’ve seen nothing.”
“Defensive over your future mate—I like it.”
Mate.Like we were animals in one of her fantasy novels.
“You’re so weird, Faith.”
She grinned. “Thank you.”
“Stop.”
“You’re only going to make me tell youI told you so, you know.”
“You’ll be saving that one for a long time.”
“We’ll see.”
7
The final patters of rain gently clanged as they slipped down the brass gutters. I curled my legs in toward my chest, and my eyes shut as I let the sound envelop me like the thick blanket tucked under my chin.
For once, after so many days, I was at peace. My hair was washed and combed. My body smelled like black-lavender soap. The air was fresh, fresh and not stained with a hint of air freshener and body odor the residence halls constantly had the tang of.
