Chapter 17
Vienna
Girls’ Night & Scheming
“Vienna!” Laney greets me a little too enthusiastically as I open the front door to my house. But the other two women standing behind her shock me even more.
“Oh, uh…hi there.”
Laney glances behind her and then back to me. “I brought Dilynne and Elodie with me. I hope that’s okay.”
Shaking off my shock, I open the door wider and usher the three of them into my house. “Yeah, of course that’s fine. I’m just surprised is all.”
Dilynne lifts her chin in my direction as she walks past me.
“Moving forward, you should just know that Laney and I are a package deal, and now that Elodie is shacking up with my brother, she’s included in that package.
” Wrapping her arm around Elodie’s shoulders, she pulls her toward the kitchen.
“And we always bring food and wine, so there is a silver lining to getting more guests than you expected.”
When Laney called me yesterday and asked if I’d be open to hanging out this evening, I thought she meant just her and me.
Truth be told, I was nervous given the state of things with her brother right now, but I figured I could maybe get some help from her in that department and enjoy some female company.
Now, I guess my female company has multiplied. At least they brought food and alcohol.
Laughing, I follow them into my small kitchen, watching Laney begin to unpack styrofoam containers from Blossom Brews and bottles of wine from her family’s winery. The smell of greasy food hits my nostrils as I inhale deeply. “Please tell me you at least brought onion rings.”
Dilynne chimes in. “Ha. I would have divorced her if she hadn’t.” Popping the top on the correct container, she extracts one of the perfectly fried rings and pushes it into her mouth.
Nodding, I reach for one myself. “Yup. Laney, you’re forgiven. These have become my new obsession since moving here.” I’m not proud of how many nights I pick up food from Blossom Brews now.
Laney watches as Dilynne and I begin to inhale the onion rings, moaning out loud between bites.
Elodie clears her throat and leans closer to Laney. “Should we let them be alone?”
Laney laughs. “No, and if they don’t save me at least three of them, I’m keeping all of the wine for myself.”
I freeze but Dilynne just shrugs. “You can keep your booze. I’d rather slip into an onion ring coma tonight. My fucking period will be here in two days, so I need all the grease.”
Elodie groans. “God, me too. We must have started to sync up our cycles.”
“The ESP of our uteri is real,” Dilynne mumbles around a mouthful of food.
Laney takes a step back from them. “Don’t come near me then. I need my cycle to stay the way it is so I’m not on my period on my honeymoon.”
“The wedding is only a month away. Are you getting more excited?” I ask, trying to interject myself into this girl talk, but honestly?
I’m out of my element here. Lydia was the only friend I was ever comfortable talking about my period with—or lack thereof since my cycle was never quite regular.
And my mother? She wouldn’t be caught dead talking about any part of the female anatomy.
It’s a miracle I even knew anything about sex or my body before Lydia handed me my first Cosmopolitan magazine and taught me virtually everything that I know.
Laney’s eyes practically turn into hearts. “I honestly can’t wait until I get to call that man my husband. It’s been a long time coming.”
Dilynne nods. “Yes, it has. Personally, I’m more excited for the bachelorette party.”
Laney narrows her eyes at her best friend. “I swear, Dilynne Marie, if you got a stripper, I will never forgive you.”
Dilynne rolls her eyes. “Pull your panties from your ass, Laney. There isn’t going to be a stripper, but I did find us some entertainment.”
“What is it?”
“Nope.” Dilynne points a finger in her direction, wiggling it around. “You have to wait and see just like everyone else.”
Laney turns to me. “Just for future reference, don’t commission Dilynne to plan a party for you…ever.”
Dilynne puts her hand up, blocking Laney from my view. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just a control freak who hates surprises.”
Elodie and I are laughing at their antics just as Elodie reaches for a bottle of wine. “I think we could all use a drink, yes?”
Once the corks have been popped and we all load our plates with food, we settle into my living room, fitting snugly on the couch and the one other chair I have. “Sorry there’s not more furniture.”
Elodie shakes her head. “Don’t apologize. You probably don’t usually have this many people over.”
“I don’t have people over at all.”
All three pairs of their eyes land on me. “Seriously?” Laney asks. “You didn’t hang out with your girlfriends back in D.C.?”
“I, uh…only had one really close friend there.”
“And she hasn’t come to visit you?” Laney continues.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and reply, “No. Actually…she died about six months ago,” I admit to the first people besides Rhonan.
The three of them simultaneously gasp. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Elodie speaks first. “Was she your friend that you said was from Garnet Valley?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“What was her name?”
“Lydia Rodriguez.”
Elodie’s brows pinch together. “I don’t think I knew her.”
“She lived there when she was younger and then moved to D.C. with her dad when she was twelve. We met in high school, and we were inseparable ever since. You know, until…”
Dilynne shoves Laney from the side of the couch, nearly knocking her over. “What the hell was that for?” Laney barks.
“You better not die before me, okay? I’ll never forgive you.”
Laney looks perplexed. “Why would it matter? I’d be dead.”
Elodie glances over at me and shrugs. “She’s not wrong.”
“Besides, if you die before me, I know you’ll come back and haunt me, and that’s the last thing I’d want,” Laney fires back.
Dilynne’s smile is crooked. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Every time you hear a noise, you’ll always wonder if it’s me.”
“I’d just watch out for the smell of car grease and then I’d know it was you for sure.”
“God, you remind me of Lydia,” I say to Dilynne through laughter and unshed tears.
Her hand reaches out for mine, squeezing it. “Then I’m honored. Best girlfriends are the sisters we never got to have, or at least the ones we wouldn’t dropkick if we had the chance.”
All of us laugh. “Yeah, I’m an only child, so Lydia was definitely like my sister.” And the only friend who stood by my side when I made some questionable choices in my life.
Dilynne glances at Laney and then turns back to me. “I know the feeling.”
Elodie clears her throat. “I know no one can ever replace her, but you have us now, Vienna.” Her smile is soft and comforting.
“These two took me under their wings when I moved here back in August, so I know how it feels to be alone in a new place. Don’t be afraid to call any of us if you ever need anything, okay? ”
“I—I really appreciate it.” Blowing out a breath, I blink away my tears that I kept from falling. “God, I didn’t realize how much I needed some female interaction. Being around five-year-olds all day is draining and affecting my ability to have a conversation with adults.”
Dilynne laughs. “I don’t know how you do it. I would scream back in their faces if they started whining.” She shakes her head. “Me and kids don’t mix. That’s why I never want any.”
“It’s definitely a struggle some days,” I say. “But seriously? No kids?”
Dilynne shrugs. “I like my life the way that it is, and I don’t need to have children to feel fulfilled. Now, if some man wanted to buy me Jay Leno’s car collection in place of an engagement ring, I might consider marriage too.”
I chuckle as Laney rolls her eyes and Dilynne focuses back on me. “I take it you want kids then?” Dilynne asks.
The cheer I was feeling earlier gets cut in half. “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for me.”
“I used to think that way too,” Laney says. “But I’m a converted believer now that timing is everything. And I honestly can’t wait to have babies with Fletcher.”
“And when you do, I will maintain my status as the best aunt on the fucking planet,” Dilynne adds. “I certainly love my little Ellis and Remy and will fuck anybody up that ever breaks their hearts.”
Elodie rolls her eyes at Dilynne this time, but with a grin on her lips. “You might have to worry about Dilynne going down to the elementary school now to fight a kindergartener, Vienna.”
I shrug. “Honestly, I could think of a few that could use some discipline, that’s for sure.”
Dilynne shudders. “Seriously, I don’t know how you do it.”
“And I bet having Ellis next door doesn’t give you much of a break either,” Laney adds.
The soft spot I have in my chest for Ellis swells from the mention of her name. “Oh, gosh. I could spend all day with that little girl and never get tired of her.”
Laney smiles proudly. “She’s such a character. I can’t wait until she gets older and I can teach her all of the important things about being a girl. It’s one of the duties as her aunt that I’m most concerned about since Sarah isn’t around, you know?”
I cover the center of my chest with my hand. “I think about that all of the time. My heart just breaks for her. I mean, even though I’m not super close with my mom, the thought just makes me so sad.”
“Well, she has us, and Rhonan is doing a phenomenal job,” Elodie interjects.
“Speaking of Rhonan, have you seen my brother lately?” Laney adds, failing at her attempt at being sly. Dilynne arches a brow at me and Elodie weaves her hands together on her lap while she stares.
Suddenly, I feel like I’m under an interrogation, which only makes my cheeks heat up even faster. Needing to compose myself, I reach for my plate and head toward the kitchen. “Oh, uh…I’m not sure.”
By the time I place my dish in the sink and turn back around, all three of the girls are right behind me with curious expressions on their faces.
Laney purses her lips. “You’re not sure if you’ve seen him?”