“Early for you. I’ve been up for almost two hours.” He smiles.
“Show off.”
“Jo, I know you like cutting it close in the mornings, but I think you’re going to have to put on pants before we leave. I’m actually going to insist that you put on pants.”
“Pants aren’t required today,” I tell him. “Jack texted me and said the shop is really slow, and that he doesn’t need me for a few days.”
“Really?” He gets a pitying look on his face. “That sucks.”
“It’s fine. I’ll find something to do.”
“I guess it’ll be nice for you to just have a relaxing day. You can hang out with Mia.”
Any other guy saying this would probably piss me off because I’m sure it would come out condescending, but not with Beau. I know he’s just trying to make me feel better.
“Yeah, should be fun.” I put on the biggest smile I can muster.
Before he leaves for the day, he makes sure that I’m all set up with whatever I want to do. He showed me how to get the video games going and told me there’s a whole fridge full of food. I’m sure I could have figured most of this out, but it’s cute watching him be so diligent.
When he’s gone, I look down at Mia who is already sitting at my feet. “Well, girl, it’s just us today. What are we going to do?”
When she just gives a slight whine, I say, “Yeah, I know how you feel.”
For a while, she and I lay on the couch and mindlessly flip through all of Beau’s streaming services, trying to find something to watch. Everything that I pick only stays on the screen for about ten minutes before I’m bored and trying to find something else.
Finally, I decide I need to actually get up and do something with my day. After showering and making myself look somewhat presentable, I get out of the house.
I first stop by Dina’s for a cup of coffee and a donut. The store is packed, so I don’t stick around to talk. I figure Dina has better things to do than shoot the shit with me.
While I walk down the sidewalk and sip my coffee, I try to decide where I want to go next. I thought about going to the shop to see Beau, but I figure that will make me look super pathetic. They call me off work, and I show up anyway? No thanks.
Michelle and Liz will both be working, so I decide to go see what Ronnie is up to. She doesn’t work a traditional 9-5, so I imagine she’s home.
When I knock on the door, she answers a little more frantically than usual.
“Jo? What’s up? Everything okay?” She asks while turning around and motioning for me to follow her.
“Yeah. Jack didn’t need me at the shop today, and I’m bored.”
“Ah, got it.”
“What are you up to? You want to hang out for a bit?”
“I’d love to, but I have a plane to catch in a couple hours,” she says the words while we walk into the bedroom where her suitcase is open with piles and piles of clothes all around it.
“Where are you going?”
“My old boss called to see if I could go down to the Bahamas to do a shoot for a new resort they built down there. Normally, I would have said no, but they’re in a bind, and the money was way too good to pass up.” With a smile she adds, “Plus, it’s the Bahamas, so it’ll be way warmer than it is here.”
“When do you get back?”
“I fly in today, shoot tomorrow, and come home the next day. Don’t worry, I’ll be home in plenty of time for girls night.”
Oh, great. I was worried.
Before I can respond, she says, “Look, sis. This really isn’t a good time. Can I hit you up when I get back into town? I really have to finish packing, or I’m going to miss my flight.”
“Oh, yeah. No problem.”
