She grins. “You’ve got it.”
Lorraine is bringing out the Tater Tot hotdish and Juicy Lucy when the girls arrive. We all hug and I swear, I already feel better.
Erin’s in her trademark red lipstick and combat boots, her black hair with a streak of blue making her look like the perfect edgy pinup girl. She shrugs off her coat, and I nod when I see her T-shirt.
Red Lip Rebellion.
“So fitting,” I say.
She sticks her chest out, eyeing her shirt proudly. “I thought so. Made it myself. Clothing art at its finest.”
“Youare the finest,” I tell her.
“I’m on brand,” she says, smirking as she lifts a shoulder. And then she leans in and says, “But this is what I’ve really been wearing today.” She lifts the shirt over her head, and underneath is a shirt that saysThe Big O,and there’s a picture of a bull’s-eye.
Goldie and I lose it.
“This one is even better,” Goldie says.
“I need one in every color,” I say. “Or better yet, the real thing would do. I wouldn’t even have to get the shirt.”
“How ’bout both?” Erin smirks. “We need to manifest getting laid.” She lifts her fist for me to bump.
I snort and meet her bump.
Goldie has a messy braid, and her pink sweater looks so soft. So does her expression—that dreamy, just-engaged glow.
“You’re unusually happy,” I tease.
“Figures. She’s enjoying the O on the regular,” Erin says.
Goldie makes a face. “I am annoyingly happy, aren’t I? Sorry, I’ll scale it back. Milo is just so…”
“Perfect,” Erin finishes. “Yeah, we know. You guys are a rom-com in real life. It’s disgusting and so damn cute.”
Goldie stares at her ring and sighs again. When she catches us watching, she makes another face. “Sorry, sorry. Who am I?” She laughs.
“If Goldie is living a rom-com, I’m living a sitcom. The way my grandpa and uncle flirted with your grandmas, Goldie…” I shake my head and crack up. “It was obscene.”
“I cannot believe I missed that.” She laughs. “Next time, you have to text me while it’s happening so I can rush over instead of after the fact!”
“Count me in on that too. I’ll gladly close the shop to witness lovin’ between the elderly,” Erin says.
I make a face. “I’m not sure I’m ready to go that far. Flirting was okay, but…” I shudder. “I don’t want to think of any sex going on there.”
“Old people love sex too!” Erin argues. “Haven’t you heard about all the action in the nursing homes?”
“That’s all great. For old people that I don’tknow,” I say emphatically. “I mean, I’d rather not know about it at all, but it’s much better knowing that it’s strangers I will never meet.”
I cut the burger into thirds, watching the cheese ooze out of the center of the meat, and put it on plates for all of us. We pile the hotdish on our plates, and Lorraine opens the bottle of wine, pouring each of us a glass.
“Can I get you anything else to eat?” she asks. “I don’t suppose you want a vegetable…”
“As if,” Erin says, and we all laugh.
“There’s lettuce on this burger,” Goldie says. “I’m good. But I think we’ll need another order of this hotdish. It’s extra good tonight.”
“I’m glad one of us has found her match.” Erin groans when Lorraine walks away. “Meanwhile, I matched with someone who used the wordmoistin her bio.”
