“We did think Randy was an asshole at first, too,” Sue points out.
“And Randy thought everyone was an asshole,” Kavya adds. “Right up until the end.”
Sue hums. “Randy left me a note where he acknowledged that he was only pretending to know how to maintain his house out of stubborn pride. Which, considering the man’s stubborn pride, must have taken some effort.”
“And he asked us to be nice to his grandson,” Nance grumbles. “Because he knows that I’m a grump, too, but we’re all family.”
“Oh, he really twisted the knife,” Kavya says. “An apology and a sincere expression of affection?”
“All the cheap tricks,” Sue agrees. “You’d almost think it was a forgery.”
Nance shakes the shelves, trying to get the handiwork to budge. “Huh. Clay must like you,” she says.
“It’s not like that,” I say quickly, and all eyes are on me.
“What?” I ask, and my voice comes out annoyingly close to a yelp. When everyone continues to stare, I attempt to divert attention.
“Oh, did you hear? Elizabeth asked Kavya on a second date for Saturday night, but Kavya is turning her down because she’s going to the planetarium with Tanya instead.”
Nance puts her hand to her heart, my diversion working. “What? I thought Tanya was back together with Candace.”
“They’ve opened their relationship up, dear,” Sue says. “Didn’t you hear at brunch?”
It’s not that I mean to put Kavya on the spot, although I don’t feel bad about it. I’ve figured out that she secretly loves to gossip about her dating life with Sue and Nance, just like the long-married couple loves to learn about the younger generation and give her dating advice. And I know that I’ll fail if I try to hide my feelings about Clay from these three once we really get into the matter.
Crushy feelings. Horny feelings. Feelings that are like nature taking its course after someone fixes your shelves and sweats in your flower shop.
And feelings that I can’t ignore much longer.
