“But I’m not.”
She narrowed her eyes playfully at me. “Because you won’t admit it or you’re really not.”
“I’m really not,” I snapped.
“Right.” She shot me an exaggerated wink with a chuckle. “Make sure you drink Mrs. Bennett’s tea. You’ll be regular in no time.”
“I don’t need to drink the tea because I’m not constipated!”
She laid her hand gently on my arm, and somehow, that soothed the irritation simmering under my skin. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ve all been there a time or two.”
“Don’t placate me. I’m not constipated!” I shouted just as an old man stepped out of the pharmacy wearing an old-fashioned apron around his waist.
Josie barely held back a laugh at the studious look on the man’s face. “Bud, this is my friend JR. JR, this is Bud Carson, the pharmacist.”
“Druggist,” Bud corrected, but he immediately directed his attention to me. “How long has it been?”
“How long has what been?”
“The backup. Son, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Happens to the best of us, but if you don’t take care of that blockage, you’re gonna have problems that not even Josie’s herbs can fix.”
I stared at the man, my mouth gaping, then glared at Josie before storming off. Sticking with her was the worst idea I’d had yet.
People were shootingme worrying looks, and I might have considered that it was just my usual unhappy demeanor that was setting them off, but when an elderly lady came up to me and gave me her tips and tricks for constipation, I knew word had spread in the five minutes since I let the druggist.
“JR!” Josie called, rushing to catch up to me.
“Leave me alone,” I grumbled.
“It’s not that bad.”
“Easy for you to say. The whole town isn’t discussing your bowel movements.” Stopping, I got in her face. “You know, this is all your fault.”
“My fault? How the heck is it my fault?”
“Because you’re the one who started this whole thing!”
“Because you looked constipated!”
“I was thinking!” I exploded. “Since when is a person not allowed to think?”
“You’re always allowed to think. I just thought I should point out that it wasn’t a very good look on you. I mean, not that thinking is bad, but maybe consider how your face looks,” she teased. “You know, none of this would have happened if you had just told me what was on your mind.”
“I can’t even remember,” I grumbled, stomping away from her.
Yes, I was pissed and acting a tad idiotic, but never in my life had I heard so much gossip about my bathroom habits. This was why I didn’t stick around one town too long. Well,not specifically for this particular reason, but in general, I never wanted to become attached to one place or have anyone get too used to me being around.
“Well, I’m almost to Mrs. Bennett’s house. If you don’t want to come with me, you can just go home. She’s my last stop of the day.”
“It’s fine,” I grumbled.
“Well, let’s get this over with then,” she grinned, patting her leg for Milo to chase after her.
I suddenly wondered what it was like to be around her during the holidays. Was she extra cheery? Did she sing everywhere she went? Was the smile on her face ten times bigger?
Would I be able to handle that much happiness?
I shook the thoughts from my mind and walked up to the house with Josie by my side. It didn’t matter. With any luck, I would move on sometime soon. Hopefully, Archer would leave this place behind, and we’d go back to what we had been doing.
