Page 38 of Heat Advisory

Auntie:

Did you have the home inspection yet? I can help you with that if you want.

Gale:

What kind of house is it?

Hazel:

It’s a cute Craftsman bungalow. And it’s only a quarter mile from the beach. There’s a trail in the neighbor’s yard I can take to walk down to the beach!

Mom:

That’s wonderful and perfect for you!

Auntie:

Seriously, Hazel, I know a guy who can give you a great deal on a home inspection. I’ll go find his number and text you.

I cringed at Auntie’s comment. She always knew a guy or gal who could fix something or do something “for a great deal.” Shortly after, you realized there was a reason they never charged full price—because they never did a good enough job to charge full price.

I decided to shoot off my own private to my sister, telling her to ask her Realtor for a home inspector instead of whatever shady guy Auntie had in mind.

I also debated telling her about the engagement. It would be nice to get her advice on the subject, but I wanted to reflect on it a bit more myself because I knew she would have a million questions, and I wanted to be ready with answers. Hazel was a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of person and could wing it in many situations. I was not. I needed to prepare, to analyze every part of a situation or project—consider all sides and their possible outcomes—and then come to a decision.

Then, and only then, would I be ready to ask Hazel, or any of my other sisters, for advice.

Until then, there was only one place I would go to for advice.

“Frizzle, what do you think we should do?” I asked, picking up my cat and snuggling her on my lap. At first, she balked at my waking her from her beauty sleep, but she quickly settled into me and allowed me to pet her while I unloaded onto her everything I was feeling.

“This is happening too fast…too soon. Right, sweetie?” I asked rhetorically as I ran my fingers through her fur. “I mean, yes, we’ve known each other for years…but we also haven’t spoken in just as long. I mean, for all intents and purposes, he kind of came out of nowhere.”

She purred in my lap, and I took that to be her agreeing with me.

“You’re right. I need to play it safe, and that means slowing down and giving this time to develop naturally.”

Meow.

“You think we should make a pros and cons list?”

I sighed, leaned back on the couch, and let my brain go to town.

“Well, the biggest pro is that we’ve always wanted this scenario. He’s also really hot, so it wouldn’t be a hardship to be in his company while this plays out. He’s easy to talk to, fun to hang out with, and he pays attention to details,” I said, thinking back on the pop-up book fair he’d taken me to earlier today.

“The biggest con is obviously that he could break our hearts,” I said, my heart pinching at the thought of it.

“Okay, we need to decide,” I told her. “Meow once if you think we should go for it, or hop off my lap if you think we should walk away before we get hurt.”

She just stared up at me as though she thought I was the idiot in this scenario.

“Nothing? Really? No advice whatsoever to the person who feeds you and keeps you alive?”

Meow.

Was that her response to my previous question or my new one?

“Ugh,” I groaned and then sighed.