I don’t know what to make of the way he’s been acting lately.
It was so weird waking up in his bed. I still don’t know what happened on Christmas night.
Which is making it hella awkward for me to be around him.
I want to ask him about it, but maybe I don’t even want to know how I acted.
I need something to distract me, and Bentley feels like the perfect distraction.
When Bentley walks out of the cafe, I overhear Uncle Hal telling Papa, “This yahoo comes gallivanting into town from Texas, singing in falsetto, and Juju got all swoony.”
I cover my mouth so I don’t laugh out loud.
Uncle Hal’s not done. “Who sings in falsetto anyway?”
“Turn on a pop station and you’ll hear a whole slew of heartthrobs singing in falsetto,” Papa says.
Uncle Hal snorts. “Juju needs a man who sings in full voice.”
“Times are changing, little brother,” Papa says.
He’s all of thirty-nine minutes older than Uncle Hal.
“I have a date tonight,” I say, walking up to them.
Papa startles and then puts his arm around my shoulder.
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart.” He looks at the clock. “Why don’t you let us close up when it’s time? I think we’ve got the system down. You could leave pretty soon even. Take your time getting ready.”
“Oh, I don’t want to leave you guys with all this.” I pat his back.
“Nonsense. We’ve got it. You could use the break, and what’s the worst that could happen?” He laughs. “Don’t answer that. Really. We can always call or come get you if anything goes wrong.”
“Are you so sure?” It’s a few hours before Bentley is picking me up, but I could use a catnap. And the thought of taking my time to get ready sounds lovely…
“Go on,” Uncle Hal says. “We’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I say, hugging them both. “Thank you! Are you sure?”
“Positive,” they say at the same time.
I take them up on it, and it’s blissful. By the time Bentley picks me up, I’ve napped, washed my hair, taken a long bath in Mildred, curled my hair, touched up my nails, and paced the house a few times. At the last second, I text Goldie and Erin.
Wish me luck. I have a date tonight.
Goldie
WHAT! WHO?
Erin
Attagirl. Do everything I would do.
lol I will NOT be doing everything you would do, Erin. Even if I wish I could. It’s with Bentley, the guy from Texas.
Goldie
The bartender at Elm & Echo?
