“Norma,” Henrietta barked, interrupting her.
I choked on a laugh.
“All men want that,” Margaret informed her. “Even Rae’s young man.”
They all looked over at me. “Why would you want to hear about that and not Norma and Harry?” I asked, trying desperately to get the spotlight off of myself.
“Because you’re young and beautiful,” Henrietta explained.
“And your young man’s ball sack probably doesn’t look like a dried up old prune,” Margaret added.
“Harry’s doesn’t look like that,” Norma argued.
I gasped at the same time she responded to her friends, unable to believe we were talking about this. “Ladies-”
“Where?” Henrietta asked me with a grin.
Right.
“Just because we’re old, doesn’t mean we don’t like sex,” Norma informed me. “And dehydrated kiwi’s would be more appropriate.”
“...good to know. However, I’m not used to…talking…so openly about it,” I countered.
Henrietta shrugged. “Well, you’ll get there eventually.”
“Best way to get over that shyness is to practice,” Margret said. “It’s been a long time since any of us have had the flexibility to?—”
“Got it!” I cut her off, not wanting any images in my head of seventy year olds doing whatever was at the end of that sentence.
“So spill,” Norma added. “We want to hear all about him.”
Looking around at them helplessly, I tried to find a way around it. They wore expressions that perfectly matched my group of younger friends when they were determined to get their way. Worse, actually, since they’d had decades more practice. Sighing, I gave in. “His name is Pyre-”
“What kind of name is that?” Henrietta asked, interrupting.
“People and their new-fangled names these days,” Margaret said in agreement. “They’re just odd. I met a young lady named Rainbow the other day.”
“Where did you meet someone?” Norma asked.
Biting the insides of my lips to keep quiet, I hoped they would go off on a tangent and forget about me. My hopes were soon dashed.
“She was here to visit her grandfather. You know what? Never mind that.” She pointed at me.
A commotion interrupted us and I jumped out of my seat to grab Penny as she scuttled by. Before I reached her a tray clanged far too near her for my comfort and bounced away. Penny froze mid-escape and fell over onto her side, stiff and seemingly lifeless. She’d been scared into playing dead, though thankfully the tray hadn’t hit her. It at least would give me the chance to catch her.
“I thought pets weren’t allowed here,” a woman named Betty complained. She was standing there with her hands on her hips after throwing the tray.
You can’t hit an old lady. You can’t hit an old lady.
Oh, but I wanted to. She’d almost hurt my sweet little girl. The only reason I brought her here is because a bunch of the residents living here begged me to. They loved seeing any kind of pet brought in. Had anyone ever heard of a therapy opossum? It was something I’d been thinking about looking into. I’d have to rethink that idea now that Betty could be a threat to Penny.
“Oh shut it, Betty,” Norma snapped at her.
“Yeah, Penny is family, not a pet,” Margaret told her.
I knelt down and scooped Penny up. She burrowed her head into my chest, looking for a safe place to hide. She’d given up playing dead as soon as I had her in my arms. She’d been visiting with the people who lived here as we sat in the rec center, not bothering anyone. Looking up, I glared at Betty. “Do that againand we’re going to have a problem.” If she continued to go after my girl, then I wasn’t going to hold back. Eighty years old or not, Betty was begging for me to return the welcome she’d given Penny.
Betty’s eyebrows shot up, but all she did was turn and go upstairs. Between my threat and everyone down here glaring at her for scaring Penny, she knew she wasn’t going to win that battle. Normally I was quiet and reserved, but I’d go to war for my loved ones and Penny was more important to me than most.
