11. Renne
Renne
Dina greets me at the front door. She’s barefoot, wearing a cute blue dress, and her hair is pulled up in a deliberately messy bun.
“When they said there was a woman making her way up here, I thought it might be Chi-chi,” she says. “She’s into hiking now. Are you into it too? Seems like the whole city is motivated to get fit. Except me.”
I hug her, bury my face into her neck, and inhale. Dina smells like comfort and support, and I need that right now. I’ve needed that every day since my life changed, but especially tonight. I feel like discarded trash.
Dina rubs my back. “I take it the date didn’t work out? Wait, he was supposed to drop you off at the house? This won’t go well for him.” She squeezes me tightly. “We have really good wine. Come in, come in.”
I follow her in and wipe the tears off my face. My mascara is probably smeared on my cheeks. As we pass the cabinet at the entrance, I swipe a tissue and dab my face on my way to the kitchen, where Dina makes us drinks.
“Did you have trouble putting Hanna down?” I ask.
Dina cringes. Before she says anything, I know she let Hanna run the night. “They’re at the pool,” Dina says.
“They?”
“Connor and the baby. Who knew he loved babies? I’d never have guessed.”
“Why not?”
Dina shrugs. “He’s Connor, you know?”
“Not really.”
“Me either, but it makes sense to his brother, so I’m tagging along.”
We sit around the firepit in the backyard.
Connor wears pink shorts that match the color of Hanna’s pink bow, which Dina must’ve put in her hair.
Even though it’s nighttime, he’s lying on the floater in the pool with his sunglasses on.
Hanna sleeps on his chest, sprawled like a lion cub on a wide tree branch.
I reach for my purse to take a picture. “Damn it.”
“What?”
“Forgot my purse.”
Dina’s eyes widen. “The wallet, the phone, everything?”
“My house keys. How did they even me let me on the bus without my resident ID?”
“You look fine, that’s why.” Dina pats my shoulder, trying to comfort me. “Do you remember where you left your purse?”
I nod. “In the booth with Pete. I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and he held on to my purse as insurance so I’d come back, I think.
I don’t know. All I know is that I slid out of the booth and tugged the strap of my purse, but before I could pick it up, Pete held it down.
It felt like he wanted some kind of insurance that I’d come back from the bathroom. ”
“And you left without it?”
“Yes, but then I forgot because I’m so pissed I went out with him in the first place. I shouldn’t have done that. I knew I couldn’t make myself like him only because he was stable, and a doctor, and because I should. You understand?”
Dina and I drink up.
“I get it. Don’t worry about the purse. I know a guy who can get it.” She looks pointedly at Connor.
“You think he’s sleeping too?” I ask.
“Doubt it.”
“Does he know I’m here?”
“Probably.”
Flipping the sunglasses off his eyes, Connor waves.
He uses his hands to paddle over on the floater. I pick Hanna up off his chest, and she continues sleeping on my shoulder. I kiss her and inhale her baby scent. She smells like heaven to me. Uniquely mine and only mine. I love her so much, I want to glue her to me.
Connor joins us at the firepit. Water drips off his fine body. The pink shorts suit him. Not many men can wear pink shorts and appear masculine, but Connor can pull it off, especially with all those tattoos, mostly skulls, in addition to Gothic towers and broken crowns.
“Made it home early, huh?” Connor grabs a pair of towels. He throws one over Hanna’s back, and the other, he uses for his hair. When he’s towel dried it, the golden strands stick out every which way.
“My date was a bust,” I say.
He wipes his hands and grabs a walkie-talkie. He speaks that foreign language into it, then switches it off and asks me. “Doc didn’t drop you off?”
“No, I left.”
Connor stills. “But I told him to drop you off.”
“I left so he couldn’t.”
“I don’t give a fuck…” Connor’s gaze falls on my legs, and his eyebrows draw down. Bending at the waist, he turns on the flashlight on his phone and shines the light on my legs.
Dina bends to look as well. “Ekatia,” she says in a serious tone. “Why are there red marks on your thigh?”
I can tell from the way they’re looking at me that they’re bracing for the worst possible thing that can happen to a woman who went out on a date, then ended up leaving and climbing a mountain barefoot.
“It’s not what you think,” I say.
Dina exhales a breath. “Thank God.”
Connor watches me. His gaze is icy, devoid of personality or humanity.
Only a minute ago, he held my baby and looked fairly pleased when he saw me here earlier than expected.
It’s as if a switch has flipped. A pendulum that swings hard left and right, leaving no room in the middle where the rest of us spend most of our lives.
“I was sliding out of the booth, and Pete tried to stop me.”
Connor rubs the back of his neck. “Pete was supposed to drop you off here.” Connor shakes his head. “He should’ve dropped you off. How did you get up here?”
“I took a bus, then walked. One of your men picked me up and drove me the rest of the way.”
Connor looks at Dina. “I have something to do with Dec. Cover for me, will you?”
Dina nods, and Connor bolts into the house.
I look from Dina to the door, then back to Dina, who shrugs. “Unless you want to talk about the dress shopping we’re doing next weekend, it’s best we don’t talk about your date anymore. Connor will get your purse.”
“I have no doubt he will.”
“Let’s just hope he doesn’t also include Pete’s head.” Dina chews her lip.
I chew mine too, but probably for a different reason. “Dina?”
“Hm?”
“I’m working next weekend.”
Her shoulders slump. “But you worked this weekend. Isn’t it every other?”
“I pick up weekend shifts because you’re off and you can babysit.”
“Shoot.” She sips her wine. “The designer squeezed me in, and Declan is pushing for a fast wedding.” She smiles shyly. “He doesn’t want me to change my mind. Which I wouldn’t, but he’s very… He really wants to marry me.”
“Aw, Dina, the man loves you.” Declan crosses the living room and joins us on the patio. He’s wearing black slacks and a black button-up shirt.
He looks from me to Dina. “Am I interrupting something?”
“We were talking about you.” Dina slides her hand around his waist.
They’re facing me, so I can’t tell for sure, but I think she groped him. I’m sure her man has a fine behind, the kind with dimples on it. Connor’s ass looks fine in jeans, and they’re twins.
“I’ll be out of here soon. You can talk about me all you like.” Declan checks his watch. “Con’s late. The baby is here. Where is my brother?”
“Just stepped out to grab something for me,” Dina lies.
“Baby, we have staff for that.” Declan’s phone pings, and he reads the message. “Mmhm. I need to make a call.” He looks up. “By the way, your baby is great.”
“We love babies who aren’t ours,” Dina says.
“Agreed,” Declan says.
The front door slams, and Connor marches toward us.
He opens the sliding door and pokes his head out. “Hey, Dec.”
“Hey,” Declan says, eyeing Connor, who is wearing unlaced boots and a pink bathing suit.
“You need a ride?” Connor asks.
Declan pins me with a look that makes me want to shrink into the bushes.
I nod. “If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t. Declan, eyes on me,” Connor says.
“Please go put on some decent clothes. We want to look less like killers in pink and more like businessmen.”
Says the man who nailed the chief of police to a wall with a crossbow.
“I’m on it. Ten minutes,” Connor says, then he leaves with his brother.
Dina sips her wine. “Before they came, we were talking about something important, but I can’t remember what now.”
“Dress shopping.”
“Yes,” she says, excited. “I’m going to try to reschedule, but I doubt I can. When’s a good time for you?’
“I’m off the weekend after next.”
“I’ll try that weekend, but if I can’t reschedule, I’ll go alone.”
“Is Chi-chi not coming?”
“Chi-chi is wearing a suit. She was very firm about that.”
I hope it works out for us, because I don’t want Dina to go alone either. I want to be a part of her wedding as much as she wants me to be.