Chapter 2 #3
Max shrugged, fishing out a strawberry from the cup in her hands.
“Same old. I was covering the beverage cart, which is always…interesting.” She gave Lynn a look that said I’m sure you can imagine.
“But hey, money is money, right?” Her grin widened as her mind wandered through her day, and the vision of a cute blonde in a dangerously short golf skirt flashed across her thoughts.
“Met a cute girl today, so not a total waste.”
Lynn smiled into her next bite, shaking her head side to side, causing loose wisps of gray and brown strands of hair to fall free. She tucked one behind her ear. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess she was a pretty blonde?”
“Am I that predictable?”
“Well, in the time that I’ve known you, you’ve only dated blondes. There was Jen, Haley, Bridget, Victoria, Sasha… I know I’m missing a few.”
“I have a type, so sue me,” Max said playfully, not hiding her grin. “And I wouldn’t really call most of those dating…” She trailed off.
“What would you call them?” Lynn asked with genuine curiosity. That’s why Max liked Lynn so much. She always approached things with wonder, which, for a straight woman of her age, was rare and had caught Max off guard as she and Lynn were getting to know each other.
A cocky half-smile accompanied her answer to Lynn’s question, her usual snark present and accounted for. “Flings, situationships, fun weekends, and mistakes.”
“Huh. Noted.” Lynn scraped the bottom of her yogurt cup, taking her last bite. “Is that a normal part of dating these days?”
“Why? Thinking of putting yourself out there?” Max smirked, holding her hand out to take Lynn’s empty container.
Lynn placated her comment with a smile. “No, I’m curious. It’s all so different from the experience I had. Dan and I never really dated. He was just always there.”
From what Max had pieced together between the things about herself Lynn had willingly offered and what she had deduced from reading between the lines of the things Lynn left unsaid, Max knew that Dan was Lynn’s late husband, who had passed away a little over ten years ago.
Beyond that, he was a topic Lynn rarely brought up.
Max hesitated for a moment, afraid she may have overstepped with her admittedly not-great joke, but Lynn was already talking.
“So this girl. Did you at least get her number or handle or whatever it is you swap?”
Max let out a short laugh. “Uh, no. It was more of what I call a look-but-don’t-touch situation. She definitely reads as a straight-laced Republican, and I already learned my lesson there. We can all thank Stacy for that one.”
“Oh, how could I forget Stacy?”
“Hey, you’re the one who’s always asking about what I’m getting up to. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”
They moved together down the walkway bordering the water, the sun having mostly dipped below the horizon, the night sky pushing out the lingering golden glow. It was chilly without the sun, and Max pulled on the sweatshirt she had tied around her waist.
This was another thing she liked about Lynn. She seemed to lack the need most people had to fill every silence with words. The time they spent together was often quiet and comfortable, and usually exactly what Max needed, but tonight it felt different, like Lynn was holding something back.
“You’re a little quieter than usual,” she said after a moment of internal debate.
“Am I?” Lynn mused.
Over the years with Lynn, Max had learned the art of general coaxing. “Yeah. What’s up? Anything you want to talk about?” she encouraged, but a flash of blond hair hurrying across the street caught her attention. She put her hand out, stopping Lynn in her tracks.
Lynn looked at her in confusion. “What is it?”
“There.” Max tilted her head in the direction of the crosswalk.
“It’s Annie, the girl from the golf course this morning.
” She squinted to make sure, but there was no mistaking that brassy blond and those legs.
“Dillinger, I think that’s what she said her last name is,” she said, trying to recall the details of their earlier conversation, which were a little fuzzy considering how much time she had spent cataloging every shade of blue in Annie’s eyes.
“Dillinger?” Lynn asked quickly.
“Yeah, I think so. You know them?”
“Actually, yes. I know the mother at least. I babysat her years and years ago—back when she was an Avery, not Dillinger… But you know…small towns,” she said, her voice trailing off.
Max watched Annie approach the little teal building housing Spoon Me before she disappeared inside. “So was my read correct?”
“What?”
“Republican?”
“Yes. I believe the family has long-standing Republican ties,” Lynn confirmed as they approached Max’s car.
Max rummaged in her pocket, retrieving the key ring that housed her car key, apartment keys, an assortment of work-related keys, and her mother’s military dog tags.
“God, I do love it when I’m right.” She beamed, wiggling her keys. “That’s definitely going to be a no for me then. See, this is why I keep you around. You know everyone and everything.”
“I don’t, but I’m glad I can provide a service to you,” Lynn quipped quietly, climbing into the passenger seat.
Max grinned, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Being my best friend is a challenging task, but someone’s gotta do it.”