Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Brooke
Why didn’t Mrs. Henshaw stay upstairs where she was asked to do her work? She’s such a busybody, and she acts like she owns the place. I’m sorry she caught me suggesting that he can her though. I should have stayed out of it. I open my mouth to tell her I’m sorry when she screeches at me, “Who do you think you are telling Skyler what to do with his life?”
I blink in surprise and answer in a soft voice, “I’m someone who cares deeply for his well-being. Keep your voice down. He’s in pain.”
Skyler’s hand goes over his eyes again; he was beginning to look relaxed there for a second. He says in a wobbly voice, “What are you doing down here, Mrs. Henshaw? I asked you specifically to do your work on the second floor.”
“Oh, so you all could plot against me and plan to ‘get rid’ of me? For your information, I came down to grab the laundry basket for all the sheets you want laundered. There’s a lot of beds up there, you know.”
Skyler lets out a big sigh and reaches to still Levi’s hands and then wave him off. “Look, I know you haven’t worked up there before, but there’s a laundry chute right next to the linen closet in the hall. I distinctly remember showing it to you. Also, I never asked you to do any laundry today—only to change the bed linens.” He rubs his eyes and adds, “I can’t deal with any of this right now. I don’t like the way you’re speaking to me or my friends, and I wish you’d just go home. Now. We’ll discuss your job tomorrow. Right now, I need to go back to bed.” He stands and heads toward the hall.
“You better not try to skip out of paying me for today,” she hisses at him as he passes.
“Listen, lady, you haven’t done a damn bit of work, and you weren’t asked to show up, so there’s little chance you’ll be compensated,” Levi points out. “All you’ve done is complain since you barged in.”
“Mind your own business,” she snaps.
“One last time, Mrs. Henshaw, Levi and Brooke are also your employers from here on out,” Skyler says. “Go home. In fact…don’t come back. You’re done here.”
Bursting into deafening sobs, she flounces past us, heading to the back door. She turns at the last minute and shouts, “You’ll be sorry!”
About three hours later, Skyler wanders onto the porch where I’m trying desperately to get work done even though my concentration is shot for the day, and Levi is plunking away listlessly at his guitar without making any real progress either. Skyler looks better but still a bit shaky, and he’s holding a bottle of water. His hair is wet like he’s showered again, and this time he’s wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
“Are you doing alright?” I ask. “Should I fix some dinner?”
“Oh, it’s up to you. I’m starving though. My headache’s gone. Maybe getting a pizza delivered would be faster than cooking.” He has a hopeful look.
A short while later, we’re happily munching on pizza out in the screened porch when another car drives up. This is beginning to feel like Grand Central Station. The car pulls to a stop, and Skyler’s mother hops out. It’s going on dusk, and the overhead light is on in the porch, so she sees us right away.
“Skyler, I need a word with you!” she says a bit shrilly. This doesn’t sound good.
“Hi, Mom. Want a slice?” he asks as he unlatches the screen door and opens it for her. “It’s still hot.”
She’s confused and doesn’t answer. Looking at all three of us in turn with a perplexed expression, she asks Skyler, “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t feeling well, and I had it turned off. Migraine. I guess I forgot to turn it back on once I felt better. What’s up?” He politely pulls out a chair for her. She hesitates a moment and then sits.
“People have been coming into the garden center all afternoon reporting that you threatened Mrs. Henshaw, and she is too afraid to work here anymore. She also spread the news that you’re flat broke, have a…ah…boyfriend who likes to play with your hair, and you wander around the house with no clothes on. So I ask again, what in the name of all that is holy is going on around here?”
Levi turns a livid shade of red, but Skyler shakes his head and goes pale. “That fucking bitch!” he whispers with enough venom to scare a cobra.
“Skyler!” his mom exclaims.
He skewers her with a look and says, “Mrs. Henshaw is an interfering, lying sack of shit, and she needed firing. She was not threatened with anything other than the loss of her job, but when she was asked to back off with her nasty comments, she persisted in insulting Brooke and Levi. I warned her, and she did it again, so I asked her to leave for good. She wasn’t even supposed to be here today, but she forced her way in by being pushy and made everyone uncomfortable. As for having a boyfriend who plays with my hair, Levi was giving me a scalp massage because my head was in agony, and it was relaxing me—and it’s probably why my headache went away so quickly this time. Furthermore, I was not running around naked.” He stares at her a moment and adds, “But if I ever do feel like running around naked, it’s my house and my business. I’d been asleep and didn’t even know she was here when I came out to the kitchen in my underwear for a cold drink. If she got an eyeful, that’s on her for being where she wasn’t supposed to be.”
“I’m sure she was just trying to help.”
“She was butting in. I was thinking of firing her anyway, even before this.”
“But she’s a trusted member of the community, Skyler. She’s worked for lots of people over the years without incident.”
“Are you sure about that? Lots of people must have also let her go then. Why hasn’t she worked for one family or one person for years and years? Probably because she’s as obnoxious as all get-out.”
Skyler’s mother frowns and blows out a breath. I’m relieved to feel the tension dissipating. “Well, you may have a point, but I wouldn’t know. I’m sorry if by recommending her I got you into something that didn’t turn out well. I thought she was better than that, but I’ve never worked with her myself.” His mom sighs. “She has certainly bent some ears around town about this today.”
“Too bad she’s better at shooting off her mouth than she is at anything else. She was helpful at first when I was trying to do everything with one arm, but I didn’t like her cooking at all. It was just easier to put up with her until I had an excuse to let her have some time off. I’m sorry I put it off, now that Brooke and Levi were subjected to her.”
“Alright, well, again I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to do about the gossip. You know what this town is like. Somebody sneezes in church and suddenly you hear there’s a shortage on tissues and cough medicine. But maybe it’ll die down quickly.”
Skyler snorts. “Yeah, right.”
“I don’t want to start a gossip war saying everything was her fault. It will just make you look petty. I would like to spread around a bit of truth though.”
“Let her talk. I don’t give a shit what anybody thinks of me. If they don’t know me better than that, screw ’em.”
“Well, you may be right, even if I’d like to hear less colorful language from you about it. At least when the next person tells me their version of her story, I can refute it instead of just acting surprised by it. Hopefully, folks will believe the truth. Now, I need to get home and feed your father. I have a meeting tonight after suppertime with the Sewing Bees. At least I can set those ladies straight when they bring it up, and I’m sure they will.”
“Great,” Skyler says in a flat voice.
I have to say something about this situation, so I tell his mom, “I’m afraid I was the one who used the words ‘get rid of her,’ but all I meant was to fire her. I wasn’t suggesting violence, for heaven’s sake—as if Skyler would rough up a woman! I think she came in on the end of a conversation and purposefully got the wrong idea, and now Skyler’s bearing the brunt of it. It was certainly never my intention to frighten her. She was being nosy and rude, and I could see how badly she was bothering Skyler. You should know too that her parting words as she headed out were that Skyler would ‘be sorry.’ Or maybe she meant all three of us; she wasn’t very clear. I think she planned to make life miserable around here. Also…I think she has a rather unnatural fixation on him. She called him ‘her boy’ and things like that. She seemed terribly jealous and wanted Levi and me to hit the road. That was obvious.”
“Oh dear,” Tracy Colfax sighs. “She does sound like she’s gone a bit off her rocker.” She looks around at us with a much warmer expression than she had when she arrived and says, “I’m glad to see that you’re well, Skyler. I was worried when I couldn’t get in touch with you.” She looks at Levi who still hasn’t said a word. “If a scalp massage works for his awful headaches, thank you for trying it.” She looks back at Skyler and asks, “One last question. Why would she be telling people that you’re broke? That one doesn’t make any sense unless you’ve had a sudden investment failure, and how would she know about it if you did?”
Sighing, Skyler explains, “She wanted to be paid for today, and Levi pointed out that she wasn’t scheduled to work, and she hadn’t done a single thing except show up unannounced. She didn’t like that and thought she could bully me into paying her. It was just one more example of her being nuttier than a squirrel’s turd.”
Shaking her head at her son, Tracy Colfax gets to her feet and says, “You and your colorful language. I’m sorry to have brought you more to worry about.” She raises her hand to wave her fingers at us. “Y’all have a good night.” She walks to her car and takes off.
Skyler doesn’t look too good again, so I ask, “Will you be okay?”
He pauses before he reaches across to both of us with his hands, indicating to us both to take one. We do, and he answers, “I’ll be great as long as I know you’re both serious about moving in. Settle your affairs in Hopkinsville and stay with me. Please?”
Levi and I regard each other, and he looks so hopeful and happy. It’s a look I haven’t seen enough of lately, so I answer Skyler, “We’d love to.” Looking back at Levi, I say, “How do you want to get us moved, honey? Shall we all go back? Just you and me? Do you trust me to go back and do it on my own? I could hire someone if I decide I need help, but we don’t have a lot of stuff. And I don’t mind saying I won’t miss that house or living near the base.”
“That’s too much to ask you to do…” Levi begins.
“I honestly don’t mind. You can get started here with Skyler’s PT guy and the PTSD counselor, and you can start exploring what it is you want to do either with your music or a different job, and I’ll take care of it. You know I’ve never minded driving. I’ll just listen to a couple of racy e-books and maybe get some inspiration for when I get back.” I wink, and we all laugh at that. “And honestly, the small bit of furniture that’s ours and not the landlord’s isn’t worth moving, so I can just get rid of it all. I might be able to fit everything into the car if I’m by myself. It would just be our clothes and personal stuff. It was a good idea when we got rid of the second car, so we don’t have to worry about getting that here.”
We discuss all of the details as the light fades completely to night and the sky fills with stars. The guys get into a friendly argument about paying rent. Skyler doesn’t want any, and Levi says we refuse to be freeloaders, so we all agree on contributing to a household account that will be used for expenses like taxes, utilities, household repairs, and whatnot. I’m the only one who has set work hours, but even those are flexible, so we also commit to sharing and dividing duties as much as we possibly can. Levi says he’s willing to handle all of the bill paying if Skyler and I will handle the grocery shopping. We know we’ll all have to make adjustments as we go.
And then the elephant comes walking into the room and sits on the table right in our faces as it laughs at us. The elephant in the room is, of course, sex, and our relationship to one another.
Skyler didn’t want to have a beer or anything alcoholic after his headache today and taking medication, so we all had sodas with the pizza. We’re stone-cold sober, and that’s probably the best way to handle this conversation.
“Do we need to define anything?” I ask. “Can’t we just see how things go?”
Skyler looks worried and says, “I need more structure than that, Brooke. The last thing I want to do is interfere with your marriage. I want to be completely honest by saying if you guys want to live here with me like roommates, I can be happy with that—meaning the way we did when you first arrived, and we stay in separate bedrooms…”
Levi snorts and interrupts, “You mean with you sneaking peeks at us and whacking off afterward?”
“Levi!” I scold, but Skyler laughs.
“Yeah, probably that. What I was going to say was that if you want to continue to explore a physical relationship, all the better. I want to be clear that I have no expectations about that and respect your marriage one hundred percent.”
Levi loses his grin and looks first at me and then at Skyler. “I can’t predict the future, obviously, but I think we need to explore what we’ve begun. I have never felt so good as when we were all three together. It was a high like never before, and you both know I really needed it.” He looks closely at my expression then and explains, “I don’t mean to belittle our sex life from before, Brooke. It was amazing. You’re amazing, and I love you deeply and forever. But part of what I love about you is your openness. I hope you’re still willing to include Sky in our bed. Thinking about what he and I can do for you together turns me on like…well…wow.”
I can’t suppress a small shiver when I think of the possibilities this offers. “I love the idea,” I tell him softly. “You’ve known Skyler for several years now, and I see how much you mean to each other. Your connection doesn’t worry or threaten me in the least; I frankly think it’s hot. While I can’t say I’m in love with Skyler in such a short amount of time, I can visualize that happening.” I turn to Skyler and ask, “Are you at all worried about blowback from the community if and when they figure it out? Would you like us to be discreet? You’re the one who grew up here; you know the attitudes of the residents way better than Levi and I do.”
“I’m sure the reactions will be a mixed bag, but there isn’t a lot we can do about that. You heard how Mrs. Henshaw reacted to Levi giving me a scalp massage, and she weaponized her attitude to get a rise out of her cronies. That’s a small town for you. Some people will feel—or simply act—scandalized by us if they become aware, and others will celebrate our commitment and our happiness—if we decide commitment is the way we’re headed. I think we just need to mind our own business and be ourselves. I have no room in my life for prejudice or bigotry, so I won’t change to avoid it. It all boils down to this: it’s no one’s fucking concern who we choose to sleep with.”
“Agreed. Well said,” Levi says somberly. “But it may not always be easy. If you look at Juni, Asher, and Jack—they are all newcomers to the town. You’re not. They might have different expectations placed on them by the community because of that. Some of the locals may even feel a certain—for lack of a better word— responsibility for your actions because they’ve seen you grow up. The old ‘it takes a village’ thing. You’re theirs.”
Skyler laughs and says, “Well, anyone who thinks they have a right to an opinion ought to be told that I was swayed by more newcomers. Honeybee Hollow is obviously turning into a den of iniquity due to an influx of missionaries for sexual deviance.”
“Aww…but ‘missionary’ is such a mundane way to do it,” I scoff and then crack up. “We need to be the spice police!”
Levi stands and scoots his chair next to me. He sits and gives me a hot, probing kiss that makes my toes curl, and as he slides his hand under my shirt and up to my boob, he pulls back and says, “Then we’d better start practicing.”
“Skyler’s had a hard day.” I tell Levi. “I think we need to take extra care of him and make him feel incredible.”