38. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Kerry Winsor: Whose cat is stealing my sunflowers??
Comments:
Jade Clark: Is this a cry for help?
Tammy Jane: Every post of Kerry’s is a cry for help.
Kerry Winsor: No, I’m serious! There was a cat and he ate my sunflowers! ATE THEM!!!
Jade Clark: How do you know it’s a cat?
Tammy Jane: How do you know you don’t just suck at growing things?
Kerry Winsor: LOOK!!! I HAVE PHOTO EVIDENCE! HE’S A CRIMINAL. @SherriffMike Finch Arrest him!
Tammy Jane: Good Lord, he can’t arrest a cat!
Marjorie would absolutely make fun of me if she knew, but bringing Piper to meet them almost felt like I was taking her to meet my parents. It was a ridiculous thought, and I was pretty sure they only thought of me as a friend who happened to be younger than them, but I was nervous.
My fingers hadn’t stilled on the steering wheel once we’d gotten within a mile of their house, and I had no idea how this would go, or if they would even like her.
It didn’t help that I had a feeling something had happened between Piper and Joey, and I was tempted to call that asshole myself to figure out what it was.
All I could do was handle one issue at a time.
“Welcome to our humble abode.” Marjorie opened the door for us both. “The skeletons in the closet don’t bite.”
Piper laughed, seemingly fine despite her bad afternoon. “Good. I love it when they’re nice.”
“Hen!” Marjorie yelled. “I got him and his girlfriend too!”
There was a clanging in the kitchen. “His what?” Henrietta stumbled around the corner, eyes wide.
“Hi,” Piper said with a wave.
“They’re admitting it? Or are you joking to make them blush?”
“We’re together,” I confirmed, ignoring the tightness in my chest when her jaw dropped.
“Yes!” Henrietta said. “I can save all that energy I was gonna use on the interrogation on dessert!”
“It’s only for Piper,” Marjorie replied, “she’s nice!”
“Not that nice,” I corrected.
Marjorie waved her hand and offered Piper a tour of the house. I watched them closely, but didn’t intervene.
“She’s not gonna do anything to her, you know.” Henrietta said it lowly.
“No, it’s not that. I trust Marjorie.”
“I would hope so.” Henrietta crossed her arms. “So, why aren’t you sitting still?”
“No idea. I guess I’m worried you guys won’t like her or us together.”
Her eyes went wide at my words and my gaze fell to the ground. I didn’t open up to people that easily. Piper was a first, but she’d shown me that talking about it wasn’t always the end of the world.
“Theo,” Henrietta said. “You could date a blow-up doll and we wouldn’t judge you as long as you were happy.”
“A . . . what? Is Marjorie rubbing off on you?”
“It sneaks up.” She shrugged. “But either way, we would never stand in the way of what you want.”
“Even if it’s not the best idea?”
“Even then. But I have to say, Piper is a sweet woman. You did good with her.”
I smiled and nodded, but it faded almost immediately. Would they be so supportive if they knew everything?
That was the issue with caring, and why I had tried for so long to avoid it. If I cared, it would hurt when it all ended.
“Did I say something wrong?” Henrietta asked.
“Uh, no. Long day, I guess.”
“Food should fix that. You and Piper both look like you could use a good meal.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Need any help?”
“Oh, I could help too!” Piper offered as she returned with Marjorie. “As much as I love free food, I wanna do my part.”
“Nonsense,” Marjorie said. “This is now a special occasion and we handle everything with that. Sit down, catch up. We have it from here.”
“Damn,” I muttered when Marjorie pulled Henrietta to the kitchen. “Usually they let me help.”
“At least we get a second before dinner.” Piper’s voice was softer and she sighed.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Mostly. Joey called. The conversation didn’t go very well.”
I sighed. I really didn’t like that man. “How bad?”
“There were things thrown around, that’s for sure.” Her shoulders slumped and all joy was gone from her face.
It was an expression I hated seeing.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m not sure I handled it the best way either. It’s a mess with him, and I don’t want my friendship to feel this way.”
“As much as I’d love to say things never go wrong, they do. If he cares about you, and I have a feeling he does, it’ll work out.”
“You think so?” she asked.
“Why would he be doing all of this then?”
“True. Thank you. You always know what to say.”
“I’m faking it, just like always.”
“There’s merit to that.” She stepped closer before looking in the kitchen. “Think I can get a quick hug, or are we in the wrong place for it?”
I couldn’t give less of a fuck where we were. If she needed me, I was here. I pulled her into my arms without a second thought. We’d woken up together, and only spent a few hours apart, but I missed her.
“Got it!” we heard from the doorframe.
Both Piper and I sprang apart. Marjorie had her phone in her hands.
“What did you get?” I asked.
“Another photo for the wall!” she said with a laugh. “I knew if I left you alone, I’d get something good.”
“For the wall?” Piper asked. “Is that going on Facebook?”
“No, our wall! We have Theo on there!”
“Wait, really?” She grabbed my arm. “I wanna see!”
I immediately shook my head. “Oh, no. Please. I’d rather it be baby pictures.”
“And we’ll be adding this one too—” Marjorie frowned at her phone. “Now hang on a diddly darn minute. Why is this a photo of me? It was supposed to be of them!”
“Did you forget to flip the camera again?”
“Dammit! I did forget! And now they’ll never hug here again!”