Page 85 of Road Trip
Was that a compliment? I felt my face get hot.
“I guess I’m Abra’s cop.”
She smacked my arm and laughed out loud. “Let me go grab the food and Abra’s clothes. She called earlier and asked me to bring this over. I’m so glad you’re here. She was a mess when I talked to her.”
Jilly reminded me of a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. She even moved all fluttery-like. She was wearing a halter top that was open in the back, showing off her back tattoo and piercings up and down her spine. Ouch. She also wore a flowy skirt and sandals. Her pink hair was wrapped up in a messy looking beehive. She reentered the house with a casserole and a duffel bag, which I took from her, and then I followed her back to the kitchen. She moved around the place like she knew it well. She turned on the oven and placed the casserole in there. Then she went out to the car and brought in another bag with food items and started making a salad.
“You from around here?” she finally asked.
“Livermore.”
“How long have you been a cop?”
“Almost five years.”
“Do you like it?”
“Most of it.”
“Do you love her?”
“Very much.”
Her questions halted at that. She turned around and faced me.
“Well, you’ve got a tough road ahead of you. I love Abe like a sister, but she’s not always easy to love. She can be temperamental, stubborn, and sometimes she’s unpredictable, like driven in a totally different direction than you would expect. You have to know that going in.”
“I think we’ve already established those things.” Jilly turned back to her cooking. I offered to help, but she waved me off, shaking her head.
“I doubt it. You couldn’t possibly know the depths of shit Abe has to deal with. The last time she had to come and stay here, she tried to do it all by herself and she ended up sick and depressed. It took several months before she was back to normal. I’m worried about her being here.”
“She won’t go through this alone. At least not if I have anything to say about it.”
Jilly frowned. “You say that,” she muttered. “Look, I’m not going to pussyfoot around with you. You can’t know what she goes through every time her mom has an episode or her Gran gets sick. It’s a lot. You’re going to really have to be patient if you plan to stick around.”
I took in a breath. “Patience I’ve got. My little sister made sure of that. But.” I paused. How much should I actually say to this woman? I knew she was Abra’s roommate, but she hadn’t given me a lot of details about her. In fact, I really didn’t know a whole lot about her life, I was coming to find out. Was that on purpose? Had she kept me in the dark intentionally? Or was it just her being afraid. “Jilly? I want to be here for Abra, but she pushes me away whenever I try to offer to be there.”
Jilly made a frustrated sound. “Yeah, because she tries to do everything her damn self. Look, she’s no picnic. I love her, but her martyr routine can be a bit much.”
That remark didn’t sit well with me. “Look, just because she—”
“Relax, cop. You’ll see what I mean. Just do what she’ll let you, and take no for an answer if she’s not ready to accept your help. You’ll be okay.”
She asked me a bit more about our trip, and I accepted the change of subject because I honestly didn’t know what else to say to this woman. When I told her about the festival and Las Vegas, she squealed.
“Shut up! You guys saw Slash? That’s so rad! My old lady and I need to get to more shows. She’s kind of a fuddy-duddy. Doesn’t really like my concerts, or any of my music to tell the truth. I have no idea why I’m with such a stick in the mud!”
From what Abra had told me, it didn’t sound like they made a great pair, but who was I to judge? I was in love with a woman my complete opposite and I wouldn’t change a thing about her.
“Take that out when you guys are ready to eat. I’m just leaving it on the warmer. There’s salad in the fridge and I also left a cooked chicken for tomorrow. Let Abe know I’ll bring more food if she needs. I love to cook, so it’s no big deal. I’m going to head out. Tell Abe I love her and tell Gran I hope she feels better. I’ll call Abe tomorrow.”
I thanked her and walked her to her car. I didn’t like how dark the driveway was at night. I went back into the house and touched Adrianna on the shoulder.
“Are you ready for some food, ma’am?”
She opened her eyes, looked confused for a moment, and then smiled at me. “Hello, young man. Yes, I do think I will eat.”
I helped her up and followed her closely to the kitchen. I served us both some of the casserole and asked her if she wanted some salad. She shook her head, so I served myself up some.
