Chapter 59 Junie
Junie
Coming here to The Saddle, Whitetail’s one and only dance-hall-slash-bar, was the only option on a Friday night in this town.
“Stop gawking at the cowboys and come dance.” Georgia yanks on Junie’s loose arm, and she’s jolted in the direction of the
dance floor.
The crowd kicks and steps in line, and Georgia shuffles her up front.
“I don’t know how to line dance!” Junie yells over the pop country thumping through the speakers.
Georgia swats the air as she slams into the patron grapevining beside her and mouths, Sorry!
Cece is parked at a high-top with Tina flittering at her side. Junie waves at Tina, who hurries to her side.
“Three left, kick, turn, spin,” Tina calls as she dances the steps perfectly in time, clapping out the beats.
Junie looks at her, astonished and impressed, but of course, of all of them, Tina would know the steps. She takes Junie’s
hand and helps her move along with the crowd, collision-free.
Junie hits a grapevine the next time and lets out an excited scream.
She keeps studying her aunt, and by the end of the song she’s got half the moves down.
She doesn’t remember the last time she had this much fun, for fun’s sake only.
This is living. And Georgia too. She’s freestyling off to the side, looking thrilled and confident.
She’s spent too much of her time working, chasing, performing, excelling—come to think of it, this might be her first time to stop to enjoy herself.
Soon the music dulls, and Cece waves the others over to her table. She unstacks four plastic cups and pours from the pitcher
of sweet tea.
“Oh, Cece,” Junie says. “Why don’t you get yourself a splash of bourbon in there?”
“This’ll do for now.” Cece lifts her glass and pats her wig. “Feeling brand-new in this.”
The rest nod, clink cups, and sip as they sway to the music.
Suddenly, Tina yelps. “That son of a—” she snarls.
Everyone turns to look at what has her all hot and bothered. Randy the Worst is leaning on the bar, slurping on a longneck
beer and chatting up Tallulah Franklin, one of the sweet nurses from the hospital.
“That man’s rarely up to any good,” Georgia says, then rolls her eyes.
Tina is growing redder every second.
“Guess he’s out shopping for a new woman willing to house him,” Cece says. “Tina, how do you want us to handle this?”
Tina takes off marching in his direction. The others follow, prepared to intervene only as far as required to keep her out
of legal trouble.
She stomps right up to Randy. “What on earth are you doing here, chatting up girls? Trying to find the next innocent young
thing to mooch off of?”
“Oh, it’s not that!” Tallulah scoffs, like the thought of her entertaining romance with Randy is laughable. “Really.”
Tina turns to her. “Go on, honey. Find your friends. Don’t waste your time on this guy. Trust me, I’ve already wasted years.”
She twists back to Randy. “You’re seriously here hitting on other women? Tell me I’m seeing things.”
He shrugs. “You said we were over.”
“But you haven’t moved out.”
“You know that’ll take time,” he says.
“Time’s up.” Tina snatches the beer right out of his hand. “I guess you used my cash from the jar to buy this? So it’ll be
mine?”
He has no reply.
Tina eyes the bottle for a moment before a smirk spreads across her face. She lifts the bottle and tips it upside down over
his head.
The Louises stand there and watch in awe as the frothy liquid runs over his hair to his shoulders and down his arms. A few
giggles erupt at the bar. When the bottle’s empty, Tina shakes out the last drops on him.
“Get yourself out or your stuff’s going on the curb.”